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Creative Corner => Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) => Topic started by: Garryl on November 07, 2011, 02:35:15 AM

Title: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 07, 2011, 02:35:15 AM
Behold! Ideas that aren't complete, but might be some day.
I'll be transferring things over from the old thread over the next few days.
Everyone is welcome to post here with their own half-formed ideas, too, by the way. Basically, anything you've got that you want to put up but isn't big enough or complete enough to warrant its own thread is all fine and dandy.

Index
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 21, 2011, 12:21:54 AM
Spellcasting Barbarian Variant
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 28, 2011, 06:41:54 PM
Mental HP, Mind Control, and hopefully something that can later be used in a social combat system
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 21, 2011, 04:07:49 PM
Some notes for a thieving martial discipline. Uses Sleight of Hand. A lot of other maneuvers will borrow from Setting Sun (mostly regarding moving your opponent around and fooling him/her) and Shadow Hand (Sneak Attack and sneaking around).
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 22, 2011, 01:11:41 AM
Int- and Wis-based invocation users.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 10, 2012, 02:43:22 PM
Imagine a hypothetical, D&D-like system, but different.

Ability scores are normally found from -5 to +5 (instead of 1-20). Death (or equivalent) is at the ability score reaching -10. You add your full ability score to relevant things (not (score-10)/2).

Regardless of class, everyone gets +1/2 level on attack rolls and saving throws. There is no BaB or base saves. Classes boost ability scores as you level up. Classes that are traditionally full BaB-types give +1 Str every other level. Good Fort types give +1 Con every other level, good Will gives Wis, good Ref gives Dex, high skills give Int, and spellcasting gives Cha. Or something like that. Classes that have a minor emphasis towards something might give +1/3 to +1/5 levels (like Str for average BaB types).

More to come if I think of it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 31, 2012, 03:05:22 PM
Swift actions are used for various things. Usually, its a limiter on things that you're supposed to use on top of your normal attacks (standard/full-round actions), but can't use completely freely (free actions). But as you get to higher levels, you pick up more swift action things and more attacks per action, but unless you're popping off quickened spells or using ToB, your swift action options don't improve much for a given action compared to what you had at lower levels. So how about more of them?

You get 1 swift action per attack from BaB (or, more specifically, 1 swift action/round + 1 per 5 BaB beyond 1). ToB boosts cost 1 swift action per 4 maneuver levels (rounded up). Quickened spells cost 1 swift action + 1/3 spell levels (before the +4 metamagic adjustment). And then we add a few more options for swift actions that use varying amounts depending on their power and usefulness. Say, a souped up Anklets of Translocation that teleports you 60 feet split between before and after your actions for the round might take 2-3 swift actions. A Monk's Flurry of Blows instead lets you make an attack as a swift action (with the usual penalties and yadda yadda) and gives you extra swift actions when you full-attack. Weapon Focus/Spec will let you reroll attack/damage rolls and stuff as a swift action. Imp. Feint lets you feint as a swift action.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 01, 2012, 01:15:59 PM
Natural Weapons and TWF: Why can't they just use (essentially) the same mechanics?

Attacks now have one of two designations: primary and secondary. Primary attacks are your normal BaB attacks (full Str to damage, etc.). Secondary attacks are your secondary natural weapon and off-hand weapon attacks. Regardless of what your weapons are, you can treat any weapon you wield as either primary or secondary as part of a single action.

Natural Attacks: Treat them just like manufactured weapon attacks. You get a number of primaries based on your BaB. Secondaries are based on the Multiweapon Fighting feat and multiweapon fighting in general. "Primary" natural weapons (bites, slams, tail slaps) are considered balanced weapons (one-handed), and "secondary" natural weapons (claws, tentacles, wing slaps) are considered light weapons.

Two-weapon Fighting: This is rolled into the general multiweapon fighting.

Multiweapon Fighting (MWF): You can get extra attacks as secondary attacks, as long as you use different weapons than you used for your primary attack(s). One extra secondary attack per extra weapon wielded. Secondary attacks have a -5 penalty on attack rolls and add only 1/2 Str to damage. Making any secondary attacks also causes a -4 penalty on all attack rolls for the round. If any of them are with weapons heavier than light, the penalty on all attacks increases by 2.

Feats:
Multiweapon Fighting: Reduces the attack penalties for MWF by 2. Reduces the secondary attack penalty by 3 (to -2).

Multiattack:  Reduces the MWF attack penalty by another 2 points  and gives you your full complement of BaB-granted attacks with secondary weapons (instead of just one per weapon).




Also, weapons are now categorized as light, balanced, and heavy instead of light, one-handed, and two-handed. It's functionally the same, but I had a reason (that I forgot). Something to do with the fact that you sometimes use a different number of limbs to wield a weapon (or don't have hands at all, like with natural attacks).

Oh, and while we're at it, how about tweaking the rules for wielding weapons in multiple hands? For every extra limb you use to wield a weapon, it's considered one category heavier (no maximum). Light weapons add 1/2 Str and 1/2 Dex to damage. Balanced add full Str. Heavy adds 1.5*Str to damage, with an extra 0.5*Str per category heavier. I dunno where I'm going with this.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 01, 2012, 03:50:24 PM
Monks and whales. There may be more, or not.

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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 02, 2012, 08:29:36 PM
If a Ranger uses the Favored Terrain ACF, each one gained should give him an exotic weapon proficiency related to that terrain type.

For instance, a ranger who favors mountainous or icy terrain should get proficiency with an Ice Axe.  Jungle terrain would be Machete, that sort of thing.

Likewise, Planar Rangers should get a related EWP too.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 08, 2012, 05:06:50 PM
Conditions with degrees.

Snared (1/2 speed) -> Entangled (1/2 speed, minor penalties) -> Immobilized (0 speed, more significant penalties)
Dazed -> Stunned -> Paralyzed
Sickened -> Nauseated
Shaken -> Frightened -> Panicked -> Cowering
Fatigued -> Exhausted -> Sleeping
Dazzled -> Obscured (needs a better name) (20% miss chance, -4 on Spot checks) -> Blinded
Ringing (needs a better name) (-4 Listen, -2 initiative) -> Deafened
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 19, 2012, 04:30:08 PM
Turning/Rebuking

Standard action, 60 foot radius, requires LoE but not LoS. Turnable subjects in the area must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your turning level + your Cha mod). No turning check, no turning damage. No destroying/commanding unless you spend a feat, though (in which case the subject has to fail a second consecutive Will save to be so affected). The feat probably boosts your save DC while it's at it or something. Knowledge (religion)'s synergy bonus should be changed to something else that's actually relevant for non-Clerics.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 20, 2012, 12:26:38 PM
These aren't the feats you're looking for: Sorcery edition

Would it be unreasonable to give one of the casting/manifesting feats as a bonus feat to everyone in a high magic campaign?

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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 21, 2012, 02:16:15 PM
Racial Substitution Levels

Fighter
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 27, 2012, 12:39:04 PM
Skills, training, and stuff.

Degrees of Training
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Jump
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Spellcraft
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 28, 2012, 06:08:39 AM
Practiced Invoker:

Your caster level for the chosen invocation-using class increases by 4. This benefit can't increase your caster level to higher than your Hit Dice.  This benefit increases your caster level for the purposes of Eldritch Blast damage as normal.  Etc, etc.

This feat assumes that the normal Practiced Spellcaster doesn't apply, which might be a valid argument.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 05, 2012, 03:47:12 PM
Spells whose names I don't like

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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 22, 2012, 11:57:51 AM
Standardized durations for spells (and similar abilities). Not necessarily appropriate for everything, but certainly a lot of lower level buffs and combat effects.

1 round/level -> 5 rounds, or possibly 1 minute. Long enough to last the fight without running into the next one.
1 minute/level -> 10 minutes. Long enough to last a couple of fights, depending on how long you dilly-dally in between. Unlikely to last the whole day unless you're rushing. Long enough that you can precast it upon entering a potential combat zone and still expect it to be up when you need it.
10 minutes/level -> 2 hours. All the adventuring day most likely. Doesn't last across the rest period.
1 hour/level -> 24 hours. If it's all day, it might as well be all day.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 22, 2012, 09:35:46 PM
Completed: Marshal (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13687.0;msg=236210) is part of the Aura Classes (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13687) project

The Marshal, a revamp.
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This version of the Marshal is a bit more active than the original. In addition to auras (which should be a bit more interesting and useful now), the Marshal has a variety of Shouts to use which provide a variety of temporary buffs and debuffs. This Marshal uses a new mechanic, Presence, which ebbs and flows based on how much you use your abilities. The more you shout about, the less effect each shout will have, but if you take the time you make every order and command count, they'll keep their prime potency.


1       +0           +2   +0   +2      Major Aura +1, Presence, Skill Focus (Diplomacy)      -
2       +1           +3   +0   +3      Aura Shift (2 auras)                                  -
3       +2           +3   +1   +3      Dilate Aura (90 feet)                                 -
4       +3           +4   +1   +4      Major Aura +2                                         -
5       +3           +4   +1   +4      Extra Aura (Minor)                                    -
6       +4           +5   +2   +5      Dilate Aura (120 feet), Leadership                    -
7       +5           +5   +2   +5      Aura Shift (immediate)                                -
8       +6/+1        +6   +2   +6      Major Aura +3                                         -
9       +6/+1        +6   +3   +6      Dilate Aura (150 feet)                                -
10      +7/+2        +7   +3   +7      Extra Aura (Major)                                    -
11      +8/+3        +7   +3   +7                                                            -
12      +9/+4        +8   +4   +8      Dilate Aura (180 feet), Major Aura +4                 -
13      +9/+4        +8   +4   +8      Aura Shift (3 auras)                                  -
14      +10/+5       +9   +4   +9      Contingent Command                                    -
15      +11/+6/+1    +9   +5   +9      Dilate Aura (210 feet)                                -
16      +12/+7/+2    +10  +5   +10     Major Aura +5                                         -
17      +12/+7/+2    +10  +5   +10                                                           -
18      +13/+8/+3    +11  +6   +11     Dilate Aura (240 feet)                                -
19      +14/+9/+4    +11  +6   +11                                                           -
20      +15/+10/+5   +12  +6   +12     Aura Mastery, Aura Shift (all auras), Major Aura +6   -


                 Minor   Major
        Shouts   Auras   Auras
Level   Known    Known   Known
1       1        2       2
2       2        3       3
3       2        4       3
4       3        4       3
5       3        5       4
6       4        5       4
7       4        6       4
8       5        6       4
9       5        7       5
10      6        7       5
11      6        8       5
12      7        8       5
13      7        9       5
14      8        9       6
15      8        10      6
16      9        10      6
17      9        11      6
18      10       11      6
19      10       12      6
20      11       12      7


Commander: Many Marshal abilities rely on your commander level. You commander level is equal to your Marshal level, plus your total levels in other classes that grant Presence, shouts, or auras (such as Paladin and Divine Mind), plus one half your levels in other classes.

Presence: Your Presence is a numerical representation of ability to lead in the heat of battle. You use your Presence for various effects of your shouts. Each time you use a shout, your Presence decreases after resolving that ability's effects, which may reduce your Presence below 0. The amount decreased depends on the shout used. Lost Presence returns at a rate of 1 point per round. If your Presence is 0 or lower, you cannot use shouts, although stronger shouts have higher minimum Presence values required to use them. Your maximum Presence is equal to your commander level.

TODO: Actions that influence presence
- Passive: +1/round
- Backup Plan feat (swift action a few times/day, recover all presence)
- Standard action: Recover 1/4 of max presence
-

Shouts: You know a total number of shouts based on your Marshal level. You can learn any shout whose prerequisites you meet.
   Despite their name, shouts don't require you to yell, or even speak. Any sort of communication that the subject or subjects are aware of is sufficient, even if it isn't understood fully. Usually this requires speech, but telepathic communication is also sufficient. When no shared language (or equivalent) exists, tone and body language are usually enough to get the message across.

TODO:
-> effective level = marshal + other presence classes + 1/2 non-presence classes
-> max presence = effective level
-> shouts require minimum effective level to learn, not minimum max presence
-> Shouts are usable as long as you have presence >0, not based on the minimum needed to learn them


Auras (Ex): As a Marshal, your presence and leadership exerts an effect on allies in your vicinity. You can learn to produce different effects, or auras, over the course of your career. You may project one minor aura and one major aura at a time. If you possess the ability to project auras from multiple sources, the number of auras of any given type that you can project at once does not stack. For instance, a Divine Mind 2/Marshal 2 would be able to project both a major aura and a mantle aura at the same time, but only a single minor aura.

Activating an aura is a swift action. The aura remains in effect until you use a free action to dismiss it or you activate another aura of the same kind (major or minor). You can have an aura active continually; thus, an aura can be in effect at the start of a combat encounter even before you take your first turn.

As a Marshal, activating an aura is a purely mental action. Unless otherwise noted, your auras affect all allies within 60 feet (including yourself) that you can communicate with, even if you don't share a language. An ally must have an Intelligence score to gain the bonus (mindless creatures cannot benefit from your auras). Your aura is dismissed if you are dazed, unconscious, stunned, paralyzed, or otherwise unable to communicate.

Some auras affect your enemies instead of, or in addition to, your allies. Unless otherwise stated, the save DC of your aura is equal to 10 + 1/2 your class level + your Charisma modifier.

All modifiers granted by your auras are morale bonuses (or penalties) that do not stack with each other. These morale bonuses and penalties still affect targets immune to mind-affecting effects that are otherwise subject to your aura.

Skill Focus (Diplomacy): Because you have a way with people, you gain Skill Focus (Diplomacy) as a bonus feat. If you already have that feat, you can choose a different one that you qualify for.

Leadership: Count as having it at 6th, but you don't get the cohort. If you ever take the Leadership feat, you gain a +2 bonus to your Leadership score and can use your Leadership score in place of your Presence when determining the effects of your shouts on your followers (this doesn't let you use shouts for which you have an insufficient Presence).

Dilate Aura (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, the range of your auras increases by 30 feet (to a total of 90 feet). Their range increases by 30 feet again every 3 levels thereafter.

Aura Shift (Ex): You can activate multiple auras at once. Beginning at 2nd level, you can activate two auras as part of the same swift action. At 13th level, this improves to 3 auras at once. Once you reach 20th level, you can activate any number of auras at once.
   In addition, starting at 8th level, you can dismiss an aura and activate a new one of the same type in its place as an immediate action.

Extra Aura (Ex): Starting at 5th level, you can project one more minor aura at once than normal (for a total of 2 minor auras and 1 major aura). Beginning at 10th level, you can also project one more major aura at once than normal (for a total of 2 minor auras and 2 major auras). You must activate or dismiss your auras separately.

Contingent Command: ... I don't remember what I intended with this. Probably a shout on a contingency-type trigger.

Aura Mastery (Ex): Beginning at 20th level, once per day as a swift action, you can project up to 5 additional major auras at once (for a total of 7) for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1 round). You can change which major auras you are projecting and activate new ones as part of this action.


Shouts
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Minor Auras
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Major Auras
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Feats
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 26, 2012, 05:49:19 PM
Wizard as Warlock. Inspired by Prime32's reserve feats as cantrips thread.
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 28, 2012, 12:35:58 PM
Completed: http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=19246

Temple Raider base class (optionally, of Olidammara)
A divine "skillmonkey" class (by which I mean has decent skills supplemented or exceeded by the spells it also has access to). Many common skillmonkey things will just get replaced by the appropriate spell. Think divine Beguiler, but with Divination and Abjuration rather than Illusion and Enchantment.

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Note to self: As cute as it is to do "everything" by spells, it's not quite practical for an actual class. If I ever get around to making this class properly, some things can be spells, but it'll be more along the lines of class features with the names of spells that do what normal class features would do (for instance, instead of Sneak Attack (Ex), give Hunter's Eye (Su)). I'm going to be trying more for the feel of existing spells being worked into class features, rather than shoving them in directly.

BAB: +3/4
Saves: Poor fort, good Ref, good Will


Class skills (6 + Int modifier per level): ...

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: As a temple raider, you are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the hand crossbow, rapier, sap, shortbow, and short sword. You are proficient with light armor, but not with shields.

Dispel Wards (Sp): As a standard action, you can produce a dispelling effect to disable magical traps and wards. You can use Dispel Wards as a targeted or an area effect.

As a targeted effect, Dispel Wards targets a single object. You make a dispel check (1d20 + your caster level) against each abjuration spell upon the object (DC 11 + the spell's caster level). Each success dispels that spell, as per dispel magic. If the object is a magical trap, you also make a dispel check against the trap itself (DC 11 + the trap's caster level), with a success disabling it for 1 minute. If you succeed by 5 or more against the magical trap, you can instead choose to disable it permanently. This only disables the magical components of the trap. A trap that combines both magical and mundane components (for example, a trap that launches both a volley of darts and a fireball) must still have its mundane components be disabled manually using the Disable Device skill.

Alternatively, you can use Dispel Wards as an area effect to dispel a 5-foot cube. This allows you to make a dispel check (as described above) to dispel any abjurations whose areas include that space (even if they emanate from elsewhere).

Unlike dispel magic, you do not automatically dispel your own spells with Dispel Wards.

Dispel Wards has a range of 5 feet. This is the equivalent of a 0-level spell.

Find Traps (Su): You gain intuitive insight into the workings of traps. You can use the Search skill to detect traps just as a rogue with Trapfinding can. Note that unlike Trapfinding, this ability grants no ability to disable the magical traps that you may find (but see Dispel Wards, above).

Spells: As a temple raider, you cast divine spells, which are drawn from the temple raider spell list. However, your alignment may restrict you from casting certain spells opposed to your moral or ethical beliefs; see Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells, below. As a temple raider, you cast your spells spontaneously, like a bard or a sorcerer, and need not choose and prepare your spells in advance.

To learn or cast a spell, you must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against your spell is 10 + the spell level + the your Wisdom modifier. You automatically know all spells on your temple raider spell list.

Like other spellcasters, you can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Your base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, you receive bonus spells per day if you have a high Wisdom score.

As a temple raider, you meditate or pray for your spells like a cleric. Unlike a wizard or a cleric, you need not prepare your spells in advance. You can cast any spell you know at any time, assuming you have not yet used up your spells per day for that spell level. You do not have to decide ahead of time which spells you’ll cast.

Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells: As a temple raider, you can’t cast spells of an alignment opposed to your own or your deity’s (if you have one). Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaos, evil, good, and law descriptors in their spell descriptions.

Hunter's Eye (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, you gain insight into the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of your enemies' defenses. This functions as the rogue's Sneak Attack ability. The extra damage is 1d6 at 2nd level, plus an additional 1d6 every 3 levels thereafter.

Protection From Traps (Su): Starting at 3rd level, you are warded against traps. You gain a +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 resistance bonus on saves. These bonuses increase by +1 every 3 levels thereafter. Both these bonuses apply against attacks made or effects created by traps or creatures summoned by traps.

Creatures summoned by traps are also prevented from making bodily contact with you. This causes the natural weapon attacks of such creatures to fail and the creatures to recoil if such attacks require touching you. The protection against contact by summoned creatures ends if you creature make an attack against or try to force yourself against the blocked creature. A creature with spell resistance can make a special spell resistance check (1d20 + the creature's spell resistance, DC 21 + your class level) each time it comes up against this warding to be able to bypass it and touch you.

Evasion (Ex): At 4th level and higher, you receive flashes of insight that allow you to avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If you make a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, you instead take no damage. Evasion can be used only if you are wearing light armor or no armor. You do not gain the benefit of Evasion while helpless.

... More class features for higher levels.

Temple Raider Spell List
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 08, 2012, 01:15:45 AM
Screw it. Everyone else is making a Samurai rewrite, why shouldn't I?

Common themes of the various incarnations of the class seem to be
- Honor
- TWF w/ daisho (katana + wakazishi)
- Fear effects

So, what can we do with that?
Well, honor is as good as any excuse to give a supernatural power source of sorts that you basically need at higher levels. Not that you can't do a non-supernatural thing, it's just generally harder to justify, and I'm tired so I'll take the easy way out, thank you very much. Let's give the Samurai a number of internalized spells (some combination of SLAs and permanent effects, or just regular spells and something akin to Battle Blessing) from the Law domain, plus up to two others based on the Samurai's particular ideal of honor. Naturally, there will be variants that use different alignments. While we're at it, let's give some Exalted feats as bonus feats, except you treat them as non-Exalted feats because you might not be good and Exalted feats suck (also, use these (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=2208.0;msg=24335) instead because they don't suck and might actually be worth the hassle). Then get some extra things to tie in with the fear effects, especially against dishonorable opponents. Basically, if the Paladin is a paragon of good, and the Blackguard is the same for evil, Samurai should feel sort of the same for law, maybe with Ronin bringing up Chaos. And it's at this point that I really get why Dman was saying it should be a PrC and not a base class.

So, where were we? Oh, yeah, honor, done. Now fear. Staredown and friends actually make a tolerable basis for a fearmonger. But it needs more. MOAR! Like piercing the oh-so-common immunities. Don't just cause fear, make your enemies cower before you, their executioner, who has judged them unworthy of life or afterlife for the dishonor they have brought upon themselves and their family. Indeed, their dishonor is such that they are unworthy of even dying by your hand. You are totally using Death Urge as a fear-based PLA. Or something.

Last and definitely least, TWF. I don't know why that's even in there. It never made sense to me and never jived with my image of a Samurai. Let's junk it. With a crowbar. I don't care if it's the finest nonlethal military vehicle ever made, I want it junked.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 23, 2012, 10:12:15 AM
This space reserved for the psionic/ToB dual progression combination that I've never seen done: Crusader/Ardent. With a hint of Divine Mind, in the sense that it's got some auras and White Raven stuff going down. Devoted Spirit and White Raven. Diamond Mind gets enough psionic love already, and I like to be different/am contrarian.

Requires:
- Manifest powers (1st level).
- Any mantle.
- 1st level White Raven stance.
- Diplomacy 8 ranks.

d10 HD, full BaB, good Will, 2+Int skills/level, yadda yadda.

Maneuvers: Devoted Spirit and White Raven.
   Known @ 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
   Readied @ 3, 6, 9
   Stance @ 2, 8

Manifesting: 8/10 progression. Loses at 3rd, 8th.

Psychic Auras: If you have Mantle Auras (not the dinky kind classic Divine Minds get, but my fix (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1013)), this class's levels stack with your existing class levels to determine their effects. If you don't, you can project them as a (fixed) Divine Mind, but only while in a White Raven stance.
- Alone, this caps you out at a +3 aura bonus at level 10. Not shabby.
- Alternatively, give you a +1 increase to your bonus at levels 5 and 9, with a base of +1 at level 1 if you didn't have auras to begin with. (I'm going with this version.)

Extra mantle at 2/6/10.

Strike of the Vitalized Mind (Su): Starting at 3rd level, whenever you heal an ally other than yourself with a martial strike, you can manifest a power of the strike's level or lower as a swift action, targeting only that ally (and/or other allies healed with the strike, if the power has multiple targets). You can manifest powers regardless of their range in this way.
   At 8th level, you can also use this ability to manifest powers with a target of "you" as though they had a target of "one willing ally" instead.

Aura of Leadership (Su): Starting at 4th level, give up your White Raven Stance, take on a special stance, still in White Raven, yadda yadda.
   Choose a mantle you possess when you take on this stance-like thingy. Allies within the radius of your Psychic Aura gain the granted power of this mantle. While you are psionically focused, so are they for the purpose of the mantle. When you expend your psionic focus for the mantle, they can, once during the next 1 round, act as though expending their psionic focus to use the mantle's granted power.
   At 7th, instead choose 2 mantles for this ability.
   At 10th, instead choose 4 mantles for this ability.

Ideas?
- Some ability to spend PP to boost maneuvers.
- Expend psionic focus to reshuffle maneuvers.







Level
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Base
Attack
Bonus
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+6
+7
+8
+9
+10

Fort
Save
+0
+0
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2
+3
+3

Ref
Save
+0
+0
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2
+3
+3

Will
Save
+2
+3
+3
+4
+4
+5
+5
+6
+6
+7


Special
Psychic Auras
Extra Mantle
Strike of the Vitalized Mind
Aura of Leadership (1 mantle)
Mantle Aura +1
Extra Mantle
Aura of Leadership (2 mantles)
Strike of the Vitalized Mind (personal powers)
Mantle Aura +2
Aura of Leadership (4 mantles), Extra Mantle

Maneuvers
Known
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0

Maneuvers
Readied
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0

Stances
Known
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0


Manifesting
+1 level of existing manifesting class
+1 level of existing manifesting class
+1 level of existing manifesting class
+1 level of existing manifesting class
+1 level of existing manifesting class
+1 level of existing manifesting class
+1 level of existing manifesting class
+1 level of existing manifesting class

Almost done. Just needs a little something else at level 7 or 9, I think. All of the high level class features are currently just upgrades of the lower level ones.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 26, 2012, 10:58:43 AM
Just so I don't forget about it.

I'm thinking about a psionic Dodger PrC. More Warmind/Psionic Fist style than a dual progression class. Call it the "Fleeting Thought". 4th-5th level powers, Mind-slip (somewhere between Invisibility and Mass Cloud Mind), maybe Int to AC or something. You could probably do it such that Dodger isn't absolutely required for it, but just by far the easiest entry.

- 8 ranks Acrobatics
- 3D Combat
- Moment's Notice

3/4 BaB, good Ref/Will, 6+Int skill points

Manifesting: As Psionic Fist, Int-based.

- Mind-slip: Some sort of invisibility/cloud mind effect as a swift action, later as an immediate action, usable a few times per day.
- AC Bonus: Int to AC in light armor or unarmored.
- Fade Into Memory: Hide in plain sight against creatures that do not know you.
- Some sort of Modify Memory effect, usable in combat (say, to make people forget they know you?), possibly triggering on sneak attacks.
- Some Death Attack-like ability usable against targets that do not know you.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on April 26, 2012, 11:04:18 AM
http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=4799.0
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on April 26, 2012, 11:09:37 AM
This space reserved for the psionic/ToB dual progression combination that I've never seen done: Crusader/Ardent.
I've built and played a few multiclassed ardent/crusaders, and love how the two classes synergize. Definitely interested in what you work out with this, but I don't really have much input at the moment... too busy with work. If anything comes to mind, I'll come back.  :tongue
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 26, 2012, 11:15:39 AM
http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=4799.0

I have a different plan. Now, nothing may come of it, but I'll see how it goes. Not so much Swiftblade as Shadowdancer/Assassin.

This space reserved for the psionic/ToB dual progression combination that I've never seen done: Crusader/Ardent.
I've built and played a few multiclassed ardent/crusaders, and love how the two classes synergize. Definitely interested in what you work out with this, but I don't really have much input at the moment... too busy with work. If anything comes to mind, I'll come back.  :tongue

I need about 2 more class features before it's ready (+/- a little filler for the remaining not-quite-dead levels). So hopefully soon. I'll split it off into its own thread when (if?) I finish it. Thanks for your support.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on April 26, 2012, 11:25:16 AM
One thing I've always found lacking with Ardent is that some powers just don't exist on any mantle, and some mantles have so few powers. So maybe the ability to add/subtract powers to a mantle? I know this already exists in various forms, though...

Maybe just a bonus Expanded Knowledge feat every few levels? Really, the ones I wanted were Expansion and Share Pain, which I added to the Physical Power and Guardian Mantles, with DM's permission, when I played an ardent/crusader multiclass (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=346.20). I was very much going for a "bodyguard" theme, and this combo works quite well for that.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 26, 2012, 09:51:42 PM
Gambler


Game Theory (Ex): Add your Int modifier to all Profession (gambler) checks.

Cheat Fate (Su): Can use Profession (gambler) checks in place of d20 rolls. Initially, just saves, but higher levels allow it for skill checks, attack rolls, and more.
   Each time its used, it imposes an increasing penalty on future uses in the day for the same thing. The House (fate) starts to catch on if you cheat the same way, but the more you win, the higher the stakes.

Idea 1: Cumulative -(1d6-2) modifier (so from -4 to +1, average -1.5).
Idea 2: Scaling table. (DOESN'T WORK: Too much effort, doesn't scale fast enough.)

Modifier   Max Penalty   Max Bonus
-(1d4-1)   -3         +0
-(1d6-2)   -4         +1
-(1d8-2)   -6         +1
-(1d10-3)   -7         +2
-(2d6-4)   -8         +2
-(2d8-5)   -11         +3
-(1d20-5)   -15         +4


Ante (Su): The real meat of the class. Bet one metaphysical concept against that of another. Make an opposed check based on what you're betting. Winner wins, loser suffers a loss of some kind. Betting an Ante is an immediate action.

Time: Make an opposed initiative check. Winner gains an extra standard action on his turn. Loser is staggered for 1 round.

Awareness: Make an opposed Spot check. Winner gains see invisibility for 1 round. Loser is blind and deaf for 1 round.

Might: Make an opposed grapple check. Winner gains +4 Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution for 1 minute. Loser suffers a -4 penalty to same for 1 minute.

Thought: Make an opposed Will save. Winner gains immunity to mind-affecting effects for 1 round. Loser is confused for 1 round.

Magic: Make an opposed caster level check. Winner gains


... and so on.

Double or Nothing (Ex): Modify a successful Ante. Make the check again. if the winner won again, the effects increase. If the loser won, the Ante is negated.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 26, 2012, 10:29:12 PM
So, I found these in my notes from almost a year ago about making a Chrono Trigger d20 system/subsystem/whatever. I don't have any plans to finish it, but if anyone wants to run with the idea, go right ahead. The basic idea of the mechanics is ToB meets psionics. Point-based resource system split between a daily pool and a per-encounter pool. More caster-y classes have a larger daily pool but a smaller encounter pool, and vice-versa. Uses initiator level to determine the maximum TP you can spend on an tech (similar to manifester level capping the PP you can spend on a power). Since it's an initiator level, it stacks with half your other class levels, and you have easier access to ToB maneuvers and whatnot.

(click to show/hide)

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on April 30, 2012, 12:57:41 PM
For the ardent/crusader PrC: how about a mechanism for them to reshuffle their granted maneuvers? So if they're not happy with them, then can basically "reroll" to try and get a better set. Maybe require them to expend their focus, but otherwise not put a cap on how often they can do it?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 07, 2012, 05:05:36 PM
Okay, so I was thinking about the various minor resource systems various classes have (spell slots, inspiration, essentia, grit, etc.) and how a lot of classes that actually use them tend to make their own. That's perfectly cool by me. With your own distinct resource, you get the whole resource system thing that can be fun to play with, but without stepping on any other classes' toes or risking being influenced by an unexpected effect that modifies an existing resource. Like, if I were to make a new class that used Ki and had a way to regenerate it, it would dramatically modify the existing paradigm of the CA Ninja just by existing. So having your own thing can be a good thing. Unfortunately, having all of these different pools of power means they don't always mix as well as they could have. Take, for example, the PFMonk's Ki and PF Gunslinger's Grit. Functionally, they're pretty similar, are granted on the same scale, and are even based on the same stat. Sure, Grit is easier to get back right out of the box, but there are enough Monk archetypes out there that can regenerate Ki if you want it, it's not a big difference any more.

There isn't any really point to this. I'm just thinking out loud. Also, I think I want to make a Gunslinger/Incarnum PrC (using 3.5 rules because I'm too lazy to learn the system differences, natch).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 08, 2012, 12:13:06 PM
Thief of Concept

Requires Sneak Attack +2d6 and probably other things.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 08, 2012, 04:47:03 PM
To go with my pipe dream of revamping the core rules of D&D in ways that make the rules clear and precise, yet don't actually change their effects much from the common interpretations:

Change all references to "full-round actions" to "full-turn actions". I mean, it takes up your turn, not a whole round (that's what "1 round" things are for), it just seems like an easy and obvious change.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 09, 2012, 04:59:24 PM
Bear with me for a sec. This idea is a terrible one for actual play, I think, but I'll suggest it all the same to get it out of my head.

What if everyone had a fixed amount of hit points (possibly scaling with level or something). Hit Dice are used as a form of damage reduction/resistance against every attack. Every time you would take damage, roll your hit dice and reduce the damage by that amount. Makes having big hit dice a significant thing, no?

(Why is it terrible for actual play? Too much rolling, damage and hp need to be rebalanced, and the actual damage taken per attack becomes swingier.)

Edit: Okay, maybe not too terrible if you do it right. I'm still concerned with rolling dozens of dice for every attack at higher levels. There's a reason many people roll damage only once for area attacks, rather than for each subject.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Tarkisflux on May 09, 2012, 05:48:37 PM
To go with my pipe dream of revamping the core rules of D&D in ways that make the rules clear and precise, yet don't actually change their effects much from the common interpretations:

Change all references to "full-round actions" to "full-turn actions". I mean, it takes up your turn, not a whole round (that's what "1 round" things are for), it just seems like an easy and obvious change.

I am totally stealing 1-turn actions.

Bear with me for a sec. This idea is a terrible one for actual play, I think, but I'll suggest it all the same to get it out of my head.

What if everyone had a fixed amount of hit points (possibly scaling with level or something). Hit Dice are used as a for of damage reduction/resistance against every attack. Every time you would take damage, roll your hit dice and reduce the damage by that amount. Makes having big hit dice a significant thing, no?

This actually isn't terrible for play if you use static damage sources and then reduce them with this roll. Then you still have an activation roll and a damage roll, you just have them split up so that each side of an attack is always involved in the rolling. Yeah, maybe you have to rebalance damage and hit points at each level, but you could probably get a good fit to current numbers depending on how you scaled up the soak rolls as you leveled.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: TravelLog on May 09, 2012, 06:22:17 PM
There isn't any really point to this. I'm just thinking out loud. Also, I think I want to make a Gunslinger/Incarnum PrC (using 3.5 rules because I'm too lazy to learn the system differences, natch).
Drooling. I would love to see that.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on May 09, 2012, 06:23:32 PM
An Arcane archer with spell progression of his own (somewhat like assassin) and no casting requirements on entry, so that it can be used to upgrade archer characters rather than downgrade caster chars.

(someone has probably already done that?)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 09, 2012, 06:26:57 PM
An Arcane archer with spell progression of his own (somewhat like assassin) and no casting requirements on entry, so that it can be used to upgrade archer characters rather than downgrade caster chars.

(someone has probably already done that?)

I did that (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1716).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 09, 2012, 08:47:33 PM
Completed: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=14170.0

Enigma Prestige Class
A Gunslinger/Incarnate PrC.
It's a secret to everybody: The Enigma, a Gunslinger/Incarnate PrC. WIP.

   Alignment: Any but true neutral.
   Skills (3.5): Knowledge (the planes) 4 ranks, Spot 8 ranks, Tumble 2 ranks.
   Skills (PF): Acrobatics 1 rank, Knowledge (the planes) 2 ranks, Perception 5 ranks.
   Feat: Soul of Fortune (new feat, see below).
   Meldshaping: Must be able to bind a soulmeld to a chakra, must be able to shape at least 3 soulmelds.
   Special: Must be able to use a deed, must have a pool of grit.

d8 HD, full BaB, good Will/Ref.
Skills: 4+Int

(click to show/hide)

New Feats:
(click to show/hide)

- Deep Midnight at High Noon. Not a clue what it does, but I need to have it. Probably a feat?
- Not quite happy with the heart bind for Spirit of the Gun. But since I've already forgotten my objections, it must be okay. I should still do another pass over the various chakra bind effects while I'm cleaning up the wording.
- Need to properly write out the Spirit of the Gun abilities.
- Table and class skills.
- Some soulmelds to go with the finished product
(click to show/hide)

Some WIP abilities and unused or older versions of existing abilities:
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 10, 2012, 12:26:13 AM
So, the Ethereal Plane is sort of another plane, except that it acts in almost no ways like a distinct plane, instead being a sort of parallel dimension to every other plane. It also gets confused a lot with just being incorporeal. So, in my ultimate revision of never going to happen, it won't actually be a distinct plane, instead being a, well, parallel dimension to every other plane.

Creatures on the ethereal dimension are considered Ethereal. Those that aren't are Material.
Similarly, Incorporeal vs. Corporeal will be made clear as being different (and, in fact, as being on an independent axis from Ethereal/Material). A Ghost, for example, goes from Ethereal Corporeal to Material Incorporeal when it manifests. Shadows are normally Material Incorporeal but become Ethereal Incorporeal when subject to an Ethereal Jaunt spell. And so on and so forth.

Ethereal being a status rather than a distinct plane means two things. One, you can't use Plane Shift to hop into the Ethereal Plane (since it no longer exists). Two, if you're Ethereal (or are temporarily Material but normally not), you're not extraplanar any more.

On a side note, if this change goes through, either all Etherealizing spells (and similar effects) will work the other way if you're already Ethereal, or there will be a new line of spells and abilities for Material jaunts and whatnot. Probably the former, not the latter.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on May 10, 2012, 07:05:26 PM
An Arcane archer with spell progression of his own (somewhat like assassin) and no casting requirements on entry, so that it can be used to upgrade archer characters rather than downgrade caster chars.

(someone has probably already done that?)

I did that (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1716).

Beats anything I could brew... (most importantly, its elegant in its simplicity - something I tend to have problems with) Any plans to expand the spell list as stated, or are you too busy with new stuff to come back to it?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 10, 2012, 08:17:13 PM
Thanks for the good words :)

The spell list is just what I picked out of the SRD. There are probably a couple other spells in there that fit. I haven't even touched any other books, so I'm sure there are plenty of spells in there that will work. So if I ever get any other books (lol) or feel like borrowing a copy of Spell Compendium, I might add some more if I think of it. But mostly I tend to forget about adding more to my old brew once I'm done with it, unfortunately. So I probably won't be changing it. Until then, you're welcome (and encouraged) to add spells from other sources to it if you use it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: TravelLog on May 10, 2012, 08:34:30 PM
The Enigma, a Gunslinger/Incarnate PrC. WIP.

Requires:
   Skills (3.5): Knowledge (the planes) 4 ranks, Spot 8 ranks, Tumble 2 ranks.
   Skills (PF): Acrobatics 1 rank, Knowledge (the planes) 2 ranks, Perception 5 ranks.
   Feat: Soul of Fortune
   Class Feature: Grit
   Class Feature: Deeds
   Class Feature: Nimble +1
   Meldshaping: Ability to bind a soulmeld to a chakra
   Meldshaping: Ability to shape at least 3 soulmelds

d8 HD, full BaB, good Will/Ref.

(click to show/hide)

New Feats:
(click to show/hide)

- Needs more deeds. I want to have about 5-8 to give out over the 10 class levels. Say, 1-2 each at levels 1, 4, 7, 10.
- Still need to fill out some of the firearm chakra binds.
- Wandering Soul needs to be finalized.
- Existing class features and deeds need levels assigned.
- Deep Midnight at High Noon. Not a clue what it does, but I have to have it. Probably a feat?
Terminology:
Cyan
Cerulean
Midnight
Indigo
Sapphire

I'm definitely a big fan of where this is headed. You're keeping things unique and interesting, and I really have nothing negative to say at this point, though I'll definitely be going back over everything once the class is finished.

One feature I'd like to see is generating some form of "Soul Bullets" rather than needing mundane ones. Maybe add a floating enhancement pool for bullet enhancements that scales over the course of the class.

Another of the things that struck me is that in addition to deeds, I think it'd be cool to see some unique Gunmelds that occupy either Hands, Arms, or Brow (or a combination) that grant unique and powerful abilities to your bullets.

Some possibilities:

Just a few examples. But I thought it'd be cool.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 10, 2012, 10:46:51 PM
Thanks for the feedback. Those sound like cool ideas. I could have sworn there was a deed already that let you shoot without needing bullets. Since there isn't, Cerulean Detonation will probably have that merged in. And I certainly hope to add some of those gunslinger-themed soulmelds.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 16, 2012, 11:58:52 AM
Thinking up a sort of magic-reading race that "sees" by looking at auras rather than light.

- Does not see light. Not considered blinded, though. Immune to blinding from light-based effects, although other forms of blinding (such as through the Blindness/Deafness spell) still affect them normally.
- Can get a general sense of environment, enough to move around and fight about as effectively as a sighted race. Specific details, such as written text, color, facial features, etc. are not sensed in any significant sense. Ignores the effects of illumination (or lack thereof).
- Permanent Arcane Sight-like sense of magical auras. CL equals HD. This also grants them a form of sight similar to blindsight that allows them to detect any creatures or objects with magical auras within sight. Mundanely hidden auras (such as through the Sleight of Hand and Hide skills) still require a successful Spot check to detect, although Xs have a +5 racial bonus on such checks.
- Individual Xs have unique or near-unique magical auras detectable with Detect Magic and similar effects, with a caster level of 0 and of the Universal school. Other races usually don't know the nuances to differentiate these auras between similar Xs, but those who become familiar with them can learn to recognize them.
- Xs have a -5 racial penalty on Disguise and Hide checks. The very concept of altering one's visual profile is foreign to them.
- Xs have a +2 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks against creatures with spell-like or supernatural abilities, or with natural magical auras, but a -2 penalty against those without due to their inability to read body language. Sense motive checks have no bonus or penalty against creatures without innate magical auras but that have them temporarily due to spells or wearing magic items.
- Xs have a +2 racial bonus on Bluff checks. Much of their body language is expressed through fluctuations of their magical auras that other races don't detect. Their visual body language, meanwhile, is less expressed and often much more random regardless of the situation.
- Magic Aura as an SLA a few times per day (or maybe at will).

Written language still exists for Xs. They primarily use inks made from naturally-occurring magical fungi that have trace magical auras. X writing is difficult to read without seeing its magical aura (readers who know the language need a DC 15 Decipher Script check to read it, which can be done untrained and retried if failed; all other Decipher Script attempts have their DCs increased by 10).



Also, another unrelated thing.
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on May 16, 2012, 09:07:47 PM
I know someone who has a char that's part Radiance Elemental.  Among other things, one of the consequences is that her natural vision is flipped.  She can see the entire electromagnetic spectrum, except for the narrow band that humans normally see.  All infrared and longer wavelengths, and all ultra-violet and shorter wavelengths are visible to her.  She can also naturally see magical auras, and has taught herself to be able to read and understand them.  She can read a person's aura and "know" their alignment without having to spend a spell.  She doesn't need Detect Magic because she can just see it.  And if she wants to read something written mundanely, then she casts Faerie Fire on the document.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 17, 2012, 09:57:48 AM
Completed: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=5372

Mage base class

Point-based, encounter/at will spellcaster. Psion meets Warlock meets Spirit Shaman, I guess.

Side note: Spirit Shamans also use retrieved spells. I've tried to make what few mechanics deal with retrieved spells compatible with them, too.

All about Mage spellcasting:
(click to show/hide)

Skill Points: 2+Int
Class Skills: Pretty much as Wizard
Proficiencies: Wizard

(click to show/hide)

(click to show/hide)

Feats:
(click to show/hide)

Items:
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on May 17, 2012, 10:09:01 AM
Point-based, encounter/at will spellcaster. Psion meets Warlock meets spirit Shaman, I guess.

- Mage spells are arcane spells.
- A Mage has a pool of MP used to cast her spells, the size of which is based on her class level and her Intelligence modifier. A Mage regenerates a certain amount of MP each round based on her class level and Intelligence modifier. This regeneration can not grant a Mage more than her maximum MP at any one time. A Mage with MP in excess of her maximum loses half of the excess (rounded up) each round at the beginning of her turn.
- Casting a spell costs a certain amount of MP based on the level of the spell slot the spell would occupy after all modifiers (such as metamagic) have been considered.
- Casting a spell with a duration other than instantaneous impedes the Mage's ability to cast further spells. Her maximum MP is reduced by the spell's cost for as long as the spell remains in effect.
- All Mage spells are dismissible.
- Mages cast spells from the Sor/Wiz spell list.
- A Mage can have a limited number of spells retrieved at once, based on her class level. She can cast any of her retrieved spells spontaneously and at will as long as she can pay the MP cost. Retrieved spells must be retrieved in the form that they could be prepared (which mostly means with metamagic already applied). A Mage can change her retrieved spells with 15 minutes of study or meditation. A Mage can only select her retrieved spells from among the spells she knows.
- A Mage has a spellbook and learns spells as a Wizard. The highest level spell she can learn, retrieve, and cast as a Mage is based on her class level and her Intelligence score.

- Starting at 4th level, a Mage can dismiss her Mage spells as an immediate action. At 9th level, this improves to a free action (even if it is not her turn).
- Power Burn: At 6th level, a Mage can voluntarily take 1d6 points of damage as a free action to gain 1 MP, which can exceed her normal maximum MP. This ability can be used at will, even multiple times per turn. The damage caused by Power Burn cannot be shared, reduced, or prevented in any way, and ignores regeneration and temporary hit points.

I very much like this idea.  Questions: Is there a limit to what level spells can be cast?  Like, can you only spend X amount of MP on a given spell (like psionics)?  If it's instead a hard spell level cap, does that apply to metamagicked spells too?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 17, 2012, 10:39:39 AM
Still figuring out the details, and numbers are just off the top of my head. The most powerful spell castable (with metamagic and everything) will be limited by the effective spell slot it would occupy. So metamagicked spells will follow the same limits as if you were preparing them out of normal spell slots (eg: Quickened Fireball works like a 7th level spell for max level and cost, Extended Mage Armor is 2nd, etc.). I'll probably toss in some metamagic feats and metamagic reduction somewhere along the line.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on May 21, 2012, 05:15:24 PM
A series of special features for Sigil factions

(something alonge the lines : a free feat but with drawbacks)

for each faction - there were whole prestige classes for them but all turned out rather underwhelming
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on May 21, 2012, 07:19:52 PM
A series of special features for Sigil factions

(something alonge the lines : a free feat but with drawbacks)

for each faction - there were whole prestige classes for them but all turned out rather underwhelming

Should be affiliations instead.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on May 21, 2012, 08:13:41 PM
Conversion classes, which change your type.  2 levels each, require specific feats:

~Draconic Conversion requires Dragontouched (or dragonblood subtype) & Draconic Heritage feats
~Outsider Conversion requires Celestial or Infernal Heritage feats
~Fey Conversion requires Fey Heritage feats
~Aberrant Conversion requires Aberration Blood feats

All change your creature type to the relevant stuff, give you a couple unique abilities.

Maybe a secondary thing for Outsider to grant an alignment subtype.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on May 22, 2012, 08:29:42 AM
Quote
Should be affiliations instead.

From what I remember, some factions gave actual supernatural abilities in 2nd edition. ( Like the Dustmen being so "separated from life" that they were ignored by undead. )
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on May 22, 2012, 08:44:45 AM
Quote
Should be affiliations instead.

From what I remember, some factions gave actual supernatural abilities in 2nd edition. ( Like the Dustmen being so "separated from life" that they were ignored by undead. )

So?  This seems like exactly the kind of thing that affiliations are designed for.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 23, 2012, 10:39:40 AM
New Wizard ACF: Sorcerer
Level: Wizard 1st
Replaces: Spellbook, Scribe Scroll
Benefits: You use Charisma instead of Intelligence to determine your spellcasting ability. You do not need a spellbook to prepare the Wizard spells you know, nor do you prepare your spells in advance. Instead, you cast your spells spontaneously. You gain 2 additional spell slots of each spell level you can cast. However, you cannot learn new spells from scrolls, spellbooks, or other sources, and the number of 1st level spells you know at 1st level is reduced to 3 (instead of 3 + your Intelligence modifier). You still learn 2 spells of your choice at each subsequent Wizard level, although this number cannot be increased by effects that modify the number of free spells you add to your spellbook each level, such as the Collegiate Wizard feat. Effects that generically add spells known, such as the Extra Spell feat, still function normally for you.
Special: If you choose to specialize, you cannot select Evocation as a banned school.


Fusion Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisites: Quicken Spell, Repeat Spell, or Twin Spell.
Benefit: A fused spell contains two spells in one. When you apply this metamagic feat to a spell, choose another spell you know from the same spell list that could be cast from a spell slot 3 levels lower than the first spell's spell level. You may apply metamagic to the second spell as normal, independently of the first spell, as long as the final spell slot it would use is still within the specified limits. Metamagic applied to the first spell similarly does not affect the second spell. When you cast the fused spell, its casting time is the longer of the two spells, but you cast both spells as part of the same action and from the same spell slot. A fused spell requires a spell slot two levels higher than normal.
Special: Sorcerers require a spell slot only one level higher than normal, rather than two, when applying this metamagic feat to their Sorcerer spells.

Cover Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisites: Delay Spell or Quicken Spell.
Benefit: You can cast a spell in such as way as to hold its energies around you as a protective barrier. A cover spell does not take effect immediately when cast. Instead, its energies stay in reserve surrounding you. When you are attacked, you can discharge this effect as an immediate action, granting you a bonus to AC equal to the spell's level against that attack and producing the spell's normal effects. You can still discharge the spell's effects when not under attack, but doing so takes the spell's normal casting time. A cover spell remains for up to 1 hour before dissipating without effect if you haven't discharged it by then. A cover spell requires a spell slot four levels higher than normal, and can only be applied to spells that Quicken Spell could be applied to.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on May 27, 2012, 11:54:48 PM
Random idea I thought I'd throw in here, since I don't have one of these threads of my own:

Lead Sheeting/Plating, for warforged, which makes them immune to all divinations. It could be a warforged component or a "body" feat. I'm not sure which would be more balanced. I feel like it is probably worth a feat, but I actually hate most of the "body" feats (except adamantine). You're usually better off just wearing armor (or not, depending on your class).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 29, 2012, 03:46:37 PM
Weapon categories: These are to replace the previous distinctions of light/one-handed/two-handed (which are perfectly fine, except that I find them cumbersome). I'm also including a little bit of the TWF and natural weapon changes I suggested earlier in this thread (reply#7, I think).

Light: Suffers reduced penalties when used as a secondary weapon (see the multi-weapon fighting rules), in a grapple, and probably a couple of other things.
 - Unlike 3.5E light weapons, these get the usual increased Str bonus when used in multiple limbs.
Balanced: Usable in one limb easily enough.
 - Replaces the old one-handed designation.
Heavy: Requires more than one limb to wield. By default, heavy weapons always require at least 2 limbs.
 - Replaces the old two-handed designation.

Wielding weapons with multiple limbs:
 - If your Str modifier is positive, you add (Str * 0.5 (1 + #limbs used)) to melee damage rolls, minimum (Str * 1).
 - For every limb used beyond the first, add +4 to your opposed Disarm and Sunder attack rolls.

Using weapons designed for larger size categories than you forces you to treat the weapon as one category heavier (light -> balanced -> heavy) for each size category of difference. If the weapon is already heavy, it instead requires twice as many limbs to wield for each subsequent size category of difference.

Using weapons designed for smaller size categories than you forces you to treat the weapon as one category lighter (heavy -> balanced -> light) for each size category of difference. If the weapon is heavy, it instead requires half as many limbs to wield (rounded up) for each subsequent size category of difference, becoming balanced only when the number of limbs needed is reduced to 1. Light weapons designed for smaller creatures are unusable.

Double Weapons: These weapons can be used as either a single heavy weapon, as a single balanced weapon, or as two light weapons as once.

Power Attack: Now grants a bonus on damage equal to the penalty you take multiplied by the number of limbs used. Works with light weapons.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 05, 2012, 10:34:58 AM
Point Charge Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisites:
Benefit: You can focus the power of a wide area spell into a single point, amplifying its power upon a single target. Rather than affect an area, a point charge spell targets a single creature (or object, if the original spell also affected objects) within range. Your caster level for the spell and its save DC increase based on the area of the original spell. A point charge spell requires a spell slot of the spell's normal level. This metamagic can only be applied to spells with an area defined as a burst or spread.

Minimum RadiusCaster LevelSave DC
Less than 5 ft.+0+0
5 ft.+1+0
10 ft.+2+1
20 ft.+4+2
40 ft.+7+3
100 ft. or more+10+4

Not really sure on the balance of this. It's probably very borked.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 10, 2012, 09:58:00 AM
Hammer Fist (reworking)

Prerequisites: Improved Unarmed Strike, STR 13
Dwarf or BAB+6 and Medium or larger

Benefit: You add one and a half times your Strength bonus on your damage when you hit with an unarmed strike. This extra damage does not apply if you make a flurry of blows attack or if you are holding anything in either hand. You must use both hands to make the unarmed attack.  You are treated as wielding a two-handed weapon for the purposes of Power Attack and other feats and abilities that are dependent on whether you are wielding a light, one-handed, or two-handed weapon.  You may not benefit from Weapon Finesse while using this feat.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 11, 2012, 04:18:22 PM
Just a (not-as-) minor (-as-I-first-thought) modification to monster stat blocks and advancement.

Instead of advancement as gaining hit dice until the creature eventually increases in size, advancement should be gaining hit dice until a creature advances to an advanced base creature that's essentially the same thing, but an older, more powerful, or more experienced version (eg: small elemental -> medium elemental -> etc., or ogre -> skullcrusher ogre, or animal -> dire animal). This would require stat blocks for the advanced size category creatures that already exist, so it's not as small a change as I first though, but on the plus side it would make it easier on DMs, having more premade stat blocks to choose from for various level ranges. Another MAJOR advantage of this is that that silly size advancement stat boost table in the MM can be thrown out (along with the confusion it brings in regards to non-advancement size changing).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 14, 2012, 12:23:45 PM
Elite template, Diablo style.
Note: I'm going to be using the term "level" here a lot. It's not HD, but probably will be based on CR instead, or used in a variant where all the monsters are rebalanced to have HD ~equal to their CRs.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 14, 2012, 03:43:49 PM
More senses:

Tremorsight: Tremorsense meets Blindsight. You can "see" everything you'd be able to detect with tremorsense.
Mindsense: What the current Mindsight feat does (except not necessarily based on your telepathy range, though most sources would be).
Mindsight: See Mindsense (above) + Blindsight.
Odorsense: Souped up Scent, possibly with a larger range, that also functions as Blindsense out to the whole distance (instead of only within 5 feet).
Odorsight: Odorsense with Blindsight.
Touchsense: Telekinetic force lets you feel your surroundings, but not very well. Like blindsense, but reaches into the ethereal plane and detects incorporeal creatures and objects just fine. Not sound-based, so silence/deafness does nothing, but Force immunity prevents detection.
Touchsight: Like Touchsense above, but with Blindsight instead of -sense. Not quite the same as the power by the same name.
Magnetism: Like Scent, but with magnetic materials only. Also, you always know magnetic north.
Magnetsense: Magnetism with Odorsense instead of Scent.
Magnetsight: Magnetism with Odorsight instead of Scent.
Spellsense: Like Blindsense, but only detects magical auras or creatures/objects with them. Also lets you determine properties of auras like Detect Magic.
Spellsight: Spellsense + Blindsight. Aura reading is as per Arcane Sight. (Or was it Greater Arcane Sight? I need to check their differences.)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 16, 2012, 01:58:51 PM
Slow Spell Metamagic:

Benefit: The caster may opt to cast a slower version of a spell to give it additional power.  A Swift spell can be cast as a Move action to gain +1 to its caster level, as a Standard to gain +2, and a full round to gain +4.  A Standard action spell may be cast as a full round action to gain +2 to its caster level.  For this purpose, casting a full round spell means it takes effect during the turn it is cast.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 18, 2012, 12:11:52 PM
Completed: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?board=112.0

Tomb of Battle: The Book of Dead Warriors
An undeath-focused set of martial adept things. ToB meets Libris Mortis meets a common typo.

Note to self: Read Libris Mortis and reread ToB before going too much further with this.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on June 18, 2012, 12:19:29 PM
Tomb of Battle: The Book of Dead Warriors
An undeath-focused set of martial adept things. ToB meets Libris Mortis meets a common typo.
(click to show/hide)
This sounds hilarious and fun. I want to subscribe to your newsletter.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on June 19, 2012, 01:25:44 PM
If you are looking around for stuff to include in the Tomb of Battle... I'm willing to lend my AXE! MADE OF ZOMBIES!
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on June 19, 2012, 03:05:02 PM
Tomb of Battle: The Book of Dead Warriors
An undeath-focused set of martial adept things. ToB meets Libris Mortis meets a common typo.
(click to show/hide)
This sounds hilarious and fun. I want to subscribe to your newsletter.

Oh god I would want to play this so much... bonus points if it uses the Crusaders recovery mechanism. (I could also see one along the lines of refreshing whenever anything dies but that has issues against boss type encounters)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on June 19, 2012, 03:44:14 PM
How about a recovery mechanism based on taking damage?  Basically deal damage to self to recover a maneuver based on the maneuver's level... and then a feat to allow others to take the damage for you, but has to be willing.  Then you can perform neg energy maneuvers on yourself to heal.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 20, 2012, 09:34:03 AM
I have Diablo 3 on my mind (mostly because I've been playing it a lot lately. Could the various classes' abilities be made into martial disciplines? Many of the ability names and rune names are fitting as maneuver names and sufficiently coherent to hit as part of the same martial discipline.

You can probably guess which class I play the most. Hoping to do Monk later, followed by Barbarian. I think Wizard and Witch Doctor are too magical for my tastes, and cover too broad themes for just one discipline anyways.

Pursuing Hatred (Demon Hunter)
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 21, 2012, 09:33:25 AM
I'm interested in the concept of healing surges. It's a nice idea, to free hit point recovery from the shackles of magic and seems to promote a more heroic play style (instead of taking days of bed rest or chewing on the CLW stick). 4E did and gave it the name (subsequently back-ported to 3.5 here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13358925&postcount=1), although I have a few problems with Azernak0's implementation), and 3.5 itself was no slouch and tried something similar with UA's reserve points. Here's my shot at it.

Healing Surges and Second Winds
(click to show/hide)

Healing Surge Feats
(click to show/hide)

Flaws and Traits
(click to show/hide)

Skills
(click to show/hide)

New and Modified Class Features
(click to show/hide)

In the end, what does this all mean?
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on June 21, 2012, 12:47:08 PM
You know, I like your implementation of Healing Surges...

And the following feat has to exist.

Surge of Power [Surge][Psionic]
You may spend a Healing Surge in the place of your Psionic Focus.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 21, 2012, 01:33:12 PM
Ask, and it shall be done.

Edit: It was asked, and it has been received.

Okay, I think I'm actually done with healing surges for now. Maybe a few more feats and ACFs if I think about it. I could set up the further variant where even healing spells are based on healing surges, but everyone else seems to have done that and I don't feel like it. Besides, with the limited surge recovery in my system, magical healing is still actually needed for prolonged adventures with little rest time, and I do actually like the idea of magical healing being this sort of semi-unlimited font of hit points (I just don't want it to be the only practical source of hit points).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 25, 2012, 07:18:19 PM
Additions to http://dndtools.eu/feats/monster-manual-v--78/]awesome-blow--157/ (http://dndtools.eu/feats/monster-manual-v--78/awesome-blow--157/)
An Awesome Blow counts as a Bull Rush even though you do not use the standard initiation of moving into an opponent's square or making an opposed Strength check.  Because it is not an opposed Strength check, Improved Bull Rush's effects do not apply.  A creature with Powerful Build is treated as one size category larger than it actually is for purposes of qualifying for and using this feat.

Adding onto it via another feat: Incredible Blow (or some other equally impressive name that goes a step beyond Awesome)
Prereqs: Awesome Blow, BAB +10, STR 30

When using an Awesome Blow, you may throw the defender an additional 5 feet for every 5 points by which your attack result is greater than the defender's AC.  If an obstacle prevents the completion of the defender's move both the defender and the obstacle take 1d6 (2d6 maybe?) points of damage for every 5 feet the defender would have moved if the obstacle had not prevented the move's completion.  A confirmed critical increases the distance the defender is thrown as shown on the table, and the defender and obstacle take increased damage as such.  If the damage done to the obstacle is enough to destroy it, the defender continues moving through it but the distance thrown is reduced by 5 feet.  In addition, the creature can make an Awesome Blow at the end of a charge and making an Awesome Blow no longer imposes a -4 penalty to the attack roll.

Table for crit modifiers: (subject to adjustment, but you get the idea)
x2: 10 feet
x3: 20 feet
x4: 30 feet

Special: A fighter can select Incredible Blow as one of his fighter bonus feats.


Lots of text, but I would hope it's an awesome ability even if it's a bit of a pain to get it all right.  The reason I added extras for the distance and damage is so the feat scales, unlike many others.  TL:DR on it is the creature is such a badass it can fling its opponent not only into, but through obstacles and do some pretty decent damage.  The note about Awesome Blow counting as a Bull Rush is mostly for Dungeoncrasher and Combat Brute.  I'll make a build based on this later.  I might have to add something about not being able to do Touch attacks with this, but Rule of Cool says otherwise.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 26, 2012, 06:53:58 PM
Mounted Skirmisher:
You are adept at making deadly strikes while mounted.

Prereq: Mounted Combat, Ride 5 ranks, Skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC)

Benefits: Your training with steeds enables you to coax more out of them.  Any mount you ride gains your AC bonus from Skirmish (but not the extra damage).  Your mount also gains the enhancement bonus to speed that you do from your scout levels.  Finally, you may benefit from your Skirmish ability while mounted by using your mount's movement in place of your own, which may enable you to make a full attack.

Special: A scout can select Mounted Skirmisher as one of her scout bonus feats (Complete Adventurer 13).


Additional notes on Mounted Combat, Mounted Archery, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge and Trample: A scout can select any of these feats as one of her scout bonus feats.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on June 26, 2012, 07:27:03 PM
Off topic but... thematically Skirmish is a stupid ability, anyway. How does moving around let you stab someone in a vital area more easily? Much less if you do so from horseback? Sneak Attack at least makes sense, although of course it can be more difficult to pull off on a ranged attack. So mechanically I understand why Skirmish is popular, but thematically? WTF...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on June 26, 2012, 08:09:04 PM
Skirmish is supposed to be you hitting them with extra force due to your momentum, or something along those lines.

It also encourages a hit-and-run type of fighter, so it helps with the thematic niche, as it were; and that is a nice feat you got there.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on June 26, 2012, 09:05:18 PM
Skirmish is supposed to be you hitting them with extra force due to your momentum, or something along those lines.
Then why is it precision-based damage? It should be like Power Attack, a flat additive, and not precision-based. So it would be multiplied in crits, etc.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 27, 2012, 04:10:10 AM
Skirmish is supposed to be you hitting them with extra force due to your momentum, or something along those lines.
Then why is it precision-based damage? It should be like Power Attack, a flat additive, and not precision-based. So it would be multiplied in crits, etc.

I think of it more like going by a chain link fence.  Standing still it is definitely there and can obscure things, but start moving and the chains essentially aren't there.  To turn this into combat terms, it's possible to train oneself to take advantage of the extra perception moving can offer to spot a weak point that might not otherwise be noticed.  That's why it's precision damage.  Such training can also result in perceiving threats and reacting to them better, hence the AC bonus.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 30, 2012, 04:50:14 PM
Mongrelfolk Paragon class

3 levels
BAB: 3/4
HD: d6
Proficiencies: All simple weapons, light armor.
Saves: Poor Fort, Good Ref, Poor Will
Skill Points: 6 + Int
Class skills: Appraise, Climb, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Search, and Spot
Features:
Greater Emulation:  At first level, choose a race from your general ancestry (human, halfling, dwarf, elf, gnome, goblin, or orc) or a mixed race such as half-elf or half-orc.   You may count as that race for the purposes of qualifying for and using one class (standard or prestige), one alternate class feature, and one feat.  You may use this feature to qualify for and take a feat at the level you gain this class feature.  (Shouldn't really need to note that, but it might prove a useful reminder.)  At third level, you may choose another race to emulate with this ability, or the same one as before.  If you choose the same race, you may count as that race for another  Special: You must have lived in a community where a large minority (greater than 15%) of the population is the chosen race, and you must learn that race's associated racial language before gaining this class feature.  To maintain this class feature you need to come into peaceful contact with a member of that race at least once a month.

Bonus Feat: At second level, a mongrelfolk paragon gains a bonus feat.  Due to the his varied ancestry and talents, this feat can be any the mongrelfolk has the prerequisites for.


I'm kinda iffy on it, but the flavor is nice.  It might require lowering the racial bonuses for certain things not related to the race(s) chosen for Greater Emulation, since the mongrelfolk is closer to those than others and thus loses some benefits regarding other races.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 30, 2012, 10:32:01 PM
War Drummer prestige class

Basically Barbarian + Bard.  Raging grants bonuses to Perform (Percussion) checks, and bardic music based on that.  Call it Thundering Music or something.  It needs some bonuses on Inspire Courage, Greatness, and Heroics, plus some other stuff.  If the bardbarian is raging he can't use Inspire Competence, unless the skill is strength-based perhaps.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 06, 2012, 12:07:06 PM
Glancing Blows variant

Under this variant, attacks use two attack rolls instead of one, but have no damage rolls.
If both attack rolls hit, the attack hits and deals maximum damage. This is referred to as a solid hit.
If one attack roll hits but not the other, the attack hits and deals minimum damage. This is referred to as a glancing hit.
If neither attack rolls hit, the attack is a miss and deals no damage.
The damage for both solid and glancing hits is maximized or minimized entirely, including all bonus damage dice.

Critical hits, I'm not sure about. Here's a quick thing, but it doesn't feel right and might be too complex.
Critical hits occur normally, and are threatened based on the higher attack roll's result, but are only confirmed if the confirmation roll is a solid hit. The extra damage from a critical hit is rolled normally (whether it triggers on a glancing or solid hit).

Feats:
(click to show/hide)

What does this mean?
At lower levels, when damage is high and accuracy is low, sudden lethal blows are less common, but weaker ones are more frequent. Battles are less of a coin toss about who gets a lucky blow in first since glancing blows can more easily wear an opponent down.
Static damage modifiers are more important when your accuracy is low (yay, Power Attack), but bonus damage dice are more valuable when accuracy is high (yay, Sneak Attack).

So, there are still a few kinks to work out.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on July 06, 2012, 01:13:10 PM
Fort that particular variant I would have:
2 Hit: Max damage
1 Hit: Average Damage
0 Hit: Minimum Damage

Otherwise there is a massive jump in damage between 1 hit and 2.
Power attack and other static forms of additional damage would need to be looked at as well.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 07, 2012, 07:33:07 AM
Brutal Throw addition:
In addition to using his Strength modifier for attack rolls with thrown weapons, a character with this feat may also use his Strength modifier for attack rolls when using a sling.

Rapid Reload addition:
A character with this feat may also use a free action to reload a sling, allowing him to make a full attack with it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 08, 2012, 12:48:53 AM
Brutal Throw addition:
In addition to using his Strength modifier for attack rolls with thrown weapons, a character with this feat may also use his Strength modifier for attack rolls when using a sling.

Rapid Reload addition:
A character with this feat may also use a free action to reload a sling, allowing him to make a full attack with it.
AMEN!
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 09, 2012, 04:40:56 PM
Crippling Overspecialization [Fighter]
Prerequisites: Fighter level 20th, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Specialization, Weapon Supremacy, Improved Critical, Power Critical, and one of Melee or Ranged Weapon Mastery, all applying to your chosen weapon.
Benefit: Whenever you deal damage with your chosen weapon, the subject of your attack also takes 2 points of Strength damage and must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 damage dealt) or be dazed for one round.
Special: A Fighter can select this feat as a Fighter bonus feat (and kinda has to to take it before epic).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 09, 2012, 04:47:14 PM
Crippling Overspecialization [Fighter]
Prerequisites: Fighter level 20th, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Specialization, Weapon Supremacy, Improved Critical, Power Critical, and one of Melee or Ranged Weapon Mastery, all applying to your chosen weapon.
Benefit: Whenever you deal damage with your chosen weapon, the subject of your attack also takes 2 points of Strength damage and must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 damage dealt) or be dazed for one round.
Special: A Fighter can select this feat as a Fighter bonus feat (and kinda has to to take it before epic).

Awesome for a Martial Monk!
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 10, 2012, 10:46:07 AM
Druid+Warlock PrC, fluffed as Fey-based of course.  It should probably have alignments loosened for the druid to allow for all chaotic to fit the theme.  Wild Warlock has a nice ring to it, and now I have an image in my head of various animals shooting Eldritch Blasts out of their mouths.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 10, 2012, 04:31:54 PM
Druid+Warlock PrC, fluffed as Fey-based of course.  It should probably have alignments loosened for the druid to allow for all chaotic to fit the theme.  Wild Warlock has a nice ring to it, and now I have an image in my head of various animals shooting Eldritch Blasts out of their mouths.
I'd love to see this combined with this idea:
I should homebrew a Warlock prc that channels EB through natural attacks.  Could pair with lots of different classes (totemist, druid, polymorphing gish).

I also like the name Wild Warlock.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 11, 2012, 03:31:58 AM
Don't you mean "Warlocks Gone Wild"?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 11, 2012, 08:00:12 AM
Don't you mean "Warlocks Gone Wild"?

I am now imagining a bunch of nymph warlocks dancing.  As per the D&D rules, I am now distracted.  lol
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 13, 2012, 11:31:37 AM
Driving Charge

Prerequisites: BAB +8, Knockback, Shock Trooper  (To be honest, I'm wondering if the BAB is too low on this)

Benefit: If you use Shock Trooper's Heedless Charge tactical maneuver and successfully bull rush your opponent with Knockback, you may move with your opponent if you have the movement to do so.  If you can make multiple attacks during a charge, you may continue to move with your opponent after each successful bull rush if you have the movement to do so.  Unless you have an ability to make a direction change during a charge such as the skill trick Twisted Charge, you must continue to move in a straight line as per the normal charge rules.

A fighter may select Driving Charge as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Enemy too far away from a wall? Not such a problem anymore.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 13, 2012, 11:49:16 AM
Incorporeal creature in a suit of Riverine armor? A (technically) incorporeal creature that moves around and interacts with the world like a corporeal one.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 14, 2012, 11:51:16 AM
Piercing Glare:
Prerequistes: Intimidate 9 ranks (plus other appropriate stuff I'll think of), Skill Focus (Intimidate)

Benefit: You may make a demoralization attempt in place of an attack action, including attacks of opportunity.  You may not attempt more than one demoralization per creature as an AoO during a turn. 

Probably insanely overpowered combined with Imperious Command, but the flavor is fitting.  Something goes in for an attack and you react in such a way as to hopefully unnerve it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 15, 2012, 11:07:33 AM
Decept race, living shadow magic

(Description)
Decepts usually appear as human-like creatures, but with the same otherworldly, slightly alien presence shared by the magic races.
While Decepts are ultimately shadowstuff and illusion magic, that magic is so powerful that they are as real as any other creature. True seeing and other similarly potent effects and senses that reveal the truth beneath illusions can see past a Decept's outermost layers, revealing the murky swirl of shadowstuff that forms them. As Decepts are so real, unlike with most shadow illusion magics, there is no opportunity for other creatures to merely disbelieve them, and the revelation of the Decept's true nature has no effect on the potency of its abilities.



Decept Feats
(click to show/hide)

Note to self: Wasn't Undetectable Aura supposed to be a Magic Aura spell, rather than Nondetection? Did I mix them up or did I change my mind?
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 15, 2012, 11:10:56 AM
That's a really awesome idea.  Do they get any bonuses to casting illusion spells?  What happens if they're hit by an Illusion Purge?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 15, 2012, 01:27:41 PM
That's a really awesome idea.  Do they get any bonuses to casting illusion spells?  What happens if they're hit by an Illusion Purge?

They do now. Not familiar with Illusion Purge, but I suspect it would do nothing (if instantaneous) or reveal their shadow soul (if it has a duration).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 15, 2012, 01:49:05 PM
Illusion Purge (http://www.scribd.com/doc/83283520/105/ILLUSION-PURGE), from Races of Eberron.  You're probably right that it would reveal their shadow soul.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 15, 2012, 02:49:51 PM
Love the shadow-stuff race. How about naming it Deceits instead of Decepts, though? Decepts makes me think of Deceptecons...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: TheGeometer on July 15, 2012, 04:40:14 PM
Garryl, have you considered making a different thread called "1001 Fleshed Out Ideas?" You would take what you think are the best ideas from this thread that could not stand on their own, and consolidate them into a collection of complete, game-compatible homebrew. A lot of the ideas in this are great, but can't be fit into campaigns yet because they're not fully developed.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on July 15, 2012, 09:39:48 PM
Garryl, have you considered making a different thread called "1001 Fleshed Out Ideas?" You would take what you think are the best ideas from this thread that could not stand on their own, and consolidate them into a collection of complete, game-compatible homebrew. A lot of the ideas in this are great, but can't be fit into campaigns yet because they're not fully developed.

Or get a sub-board of the same name to have a thread for each to-be-fleshed-out idea...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 16, 2012, 10:09:18 AM
Garryl, have you considered making a different thread called "1001 Fleshed Out Ideas?" You would take what you think are the best ideas from this thread that could not stand on their own, and consolidate them into a collection of complete, game-compatible homebrew. A lot of the ideas in this are great, but can't be fit into campaigns yet because they're not fully developed.

Or get a sub-board of the same name to have a thread for each to-be-fleshed-out idea...

You mean like have a thread/board where all of these half-formed ideas can be worked out (by the individuals who posted them and the viewers who are interested in them) into fully-fledged homebrew?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: TheGeometer on July 16, 2012, 01:45:25 PM
Garryl, have you considered making a different thread called "1001 Fleshed Out Ideas?" You would take what you think are the best ideas from this thread that could not stand on their own, and consolidate them into a collection of complete, game-compatible homebrew. A lot of the ideas in this are great, but can't be fit into campaigns yet because they're not fully developed.

Or get a sub-board of the same name to have a thread for each to-be-fleshed-out idea...

You mean like have a thread/board where all of these half-formed ideas can be worked out (by the individuals who posted them and the viewers who are interested in them) into fully-fledged homebrew?

Exactly! That new race you just made, for instance, sounds like it could be a nice addition as a monster or race for lots of different campaigns, but it's not 100% complete yet due to missing abilities, saves, etc. A lot of the classes in this thread have nothing but a name and a theme, but sound like they would be a lot of fun to play. They should actually be fleshed out, not left to be "fleshed out sometime" forever.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 16, 2012, 03:10:56 PM
Sounds good. A thread would probably get too crowded if multiple people are working on multiple things, so a board would probably be better. I was going to suggest that we just make individual threads, but a lot of the ideas still won't get finished, so no need to have them cluttering up the main boards or getting completely lost in them, right?

So, what should be board's the name?

1001 Homebrew Ideas
1001 Fleshed Out Ideas
Community Homebrew Workshop

Any other suggestions?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 16, 2012, 03:12:17 PM
Spur of the Moment Homebrew
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 16, 2012, 04:57:49 PM
The Museum of Small Homebrews

Microbrews
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: RedWarlock on July 16, 2012, 05:14:02 PM
Ooh! I like Microbrews.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on July 16, 2012, 11:37:04 PM
Indeed, Microbrews have Potential.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 17, 2012, 06:43:38 AM
Prestige class revision: Hunter of the Dead

Prerequisites: Turn Undead, Favored Enemy: Undead, BAB +5, Knowledge Religion 5 ranks, any nonevil, etc.

Benefits: Hunters of the Dead level stack with other classes for the purposes of determining Turn Undead.  They also stack for the purposes of determining the total bonus on Favored Enemy: Undead, but not when you are able to select additional favored enemies.

Special: A Hunter of the Dead may use his Wisdom score in place of his Charisma score for all Turn Undead purposes.

A Hunter of the Dead adds his Favored Enemy: Undead bonus on damage to all Turn checks.

At will, a HotD may cast Detect Undead, as the spell.

Gain Unquenchable Flame of Life (http://dndtools.eu/feats/libris-mortis-the-book-of-the-dead--71/unquenchable-flame-of-life--3029/) as a bonus feat.

At 5th level gain Mettle against all extraordinary and supernatural abilities of undead creatures.

At 10th level gain Improved Mettle against all extraordinary and supernatural abilities of undead creatures.

True Death: Any undead slain by a HotD is forever destroyed, if he so chooses.

Spellcasting: A Hunter of the Dead mat opt to gain the spellcasting as given for the Hunter of the Dead entry in Complete Warrior, or he may advance the spellcasting of the class that granted him the Turn Undead ability at every odd level.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 17, 2012, 09:04:23 AM
Random prestige class idea: Hellrager.  It's like Hellfire Warlock for Barbarians.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 17, 2012, 09:12:01 AM
Random prestige class idea: Hellrager.  It's like Hellfire Warlock for Barbarians.

You could do that with a bunch of base classes.  Hellsinger (bard, duh), Hellstalker (ranger), Hellmage (sorcerer).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 17, 2012, 09:55:03 AM
Random prestige class idea: Hellrager.  It's like Hellfire Warlock for Barbarians.

You could do that with a bunch of base classes.  Hellsinger (bard, duh), Hellstalker (ranger), Hellmage (sorcerer).

True I suppose, although the flavor varies a bit.

The main reason I even said anything is there's typical anger, there's the screaming blood frenzy that rage is called, and then there's such burning fury that can only come from the burning hells.  I don't really see how well the "merits" of the burning hells would work as much for a bard or ranger, but I am somewhat distracted by other thoughts at the moment.  A sorcerer with fiendish ancestry would definitely fit the bill for hellmage though and be fond of stuff like Blistering Spell.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 17, 2012, 09:57:55 AM
Hellsinger is this:

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 17, 2012, 11:48:57 AM
Hellsinger is this:

(click to show/hide)
This is what came to mind for me.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 17, 2012, 11:52:12 AM
Watch out or this is gonna turn into a Powerbard discussion.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 17, 2012, 02:55:56 PM
New Trait: Friendly Face

Benefit: Creatures you meet who share a language with you start out one step friendlier toward you, to a maximum of Friendly.
Drawback: You suffer a -4 penalty to Intimidate checks, since you're just not convincingly scary.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 17, 2012, 03:21:57 PM
New Trait: Friendly Face

Benefit: Creatures you meet who share a language with you start out one step friendlier toward you, to a maximum of Friendly.
Drawback: You suffer a -4 penalty to Intimidate checks, since you're just not convincingly scary.

Effectively +10 Diplomacy (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/diplomacy.htm), way too powerful for a trait, even if it had a penalty on the same scale. Also prevents a lot of encounters since Unfriendly becomes Indifferent and even Hostile becomes only Unfriendly (which means not hating your guts enough to attack on sight).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 17, 2012, 05:23:05 PM
New Trait: Friendly Face

Benefit: Creatures you meet who share a language with you start out one step friendlier toward you, to a maximum of Friendly.
Drawback: You suffer a -4 penalty to Intimidate checks, since you're just not convincingly scary.

Effectively +10 Diplomacy (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/diplomacy.htm), way too powerful for a trait, even if it had a penalty on the same scale. Also prevents a lot of encounters since Unfriendly becomes Indifferent and even Hostile becomes only Unfriendly (which means not hating your guts enough to attack on sight).

Hmm... any balancing suggestions?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 17, 2012, 09:24:41 PM
New Trait: Friendly Face

Benefit: Creatures you meet who share a language with you start out one step friendlier toward you, to a maximum of Friendly.
Drawback: You suffer a -4 penalty to Intimidate checks, since you're just not convincingly scary.

Effectively +10 Diplomacy (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/diplomacy.htm), way too powerful for a trait, even if it had a penalty on the same scale. Also prevents a lot of encounters since Unfriendly becomes Indifferent and even Hostile becomes only Unfriendly (which means not hating your guts enough to attack on sight).

Hmm... any balancing suggestions?

Take the Polite trait instead and refluff it? +1 Diplomacy, -2 Intimidate.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 18, 2012, 12:27:40 PM
Consumptive weapon property. Deals 1d6 damage per round per round to wielder while held. Adds that much damage on each hit. Damage resets if not held or used for a damaging attack for 1 round.

Viscous weapon property. Weapon is half-way between a solid and a thick sticky liquid. Immune to bludgeoning and piercing damage, but has half hardness. Grants a +4 bonus on attack rolls made for disarm attempts.

Casque of the Vanishing Prophet: Helmet that lets the wearer turn invisible (as invisibility) and gain a +5 insight bonus on any one d20 roll made while remaining invisible. Usable 3/day as a swift action.

The Long Claw of the Law: +2 Axiomatic Keen glaive. On any successful attack of opportunity, the subject must make a Reflex save (DC 14 + wielder's Cha mod) or be entangled for 1 round.

Doormat of Friendship: When placed just outside the entrance to the user's abode, any creature passing over it must make a Will save (DC 12 + user's Cha mod) or have their attitude towards the user improved by 1 step (maximum helpful) and be unable to attack the user. These effects are mind-affecting charm effects and last as long as the subjects remain in the user's abode.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 19, 2012, 05:39:25 AM
Mobility fix:

Mobility also grants +4 on tumble checks to avoid attacks of opportunity.  If you fail your tumble check to avoid an AoO, you still gain the +4 dodge bonus against AoOs.

Hang on, don't we already have a quick fixed thread somewhere on the forum?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 20, 2012, 07:57:49 AM
Ninjutsu Genius:

Prereqs: Int 13, must be gained at or before your first level of Ninja

Benefit: You use Intelligence instead of Wisdom for all ninja abilities that rely on Wisdom such as the AC bonus and Ki Power.

Ninja equivalent of Kung-fu Genius.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 20, 2012, 08:28:56 AM
New Trait: Friendly Face

Benefit: Creatures you meet who share a language with you and would otherwise be Indifferent towards you start out as Friendly instead.
Drawback: You suffer a -4 penalty to Intimidate checks, since you're just not convincingly scary.

How's that?  Significantly reduced, since it doesn't change hostile or unfriendly.  No encounter avoidance, just makes people who couldn't care less a little more on your side.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 20, 2012, 09:28:54 AM
A prestige class for Shadowcaster, using divination-focused mysteries (new ones, I guess).  I don't really have any mechanics in mind, just a general premise of someone who gains knowledge through Shadow.  Help?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 20, 2012, 09:35:10 AM
A prestige class for Shadowcaster, using divination-focused mysteries (new ones, I guess).  I don't really have any mechanics in mind, just a general premise of someone who gains knowledge through Shadow.  Help?
"Who knows what Evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows."

Like that? :D

Wish I could help, but I know absolutely nothing about the shadowcaster. I heard it so much about what a PoS class it is that I never bothered to read it.

Hmm... are there any Divination-based Spellshaping circles? Wouldn't it be awesome to have a Spellshaper focused on using Illusion, Divination, and Negative energy? How about skipping the crappy mechanics of the shadowcaster, and just going "whole hog homebrew"?  :p
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 20, 2012, 09:45:46 AM
A prestige class for Shadowcaster, using divination-focused mysteries (new ones, I guess).  I don't really have any mechanics in mind, just a general premise of someone who gains knowledge through Shadow.  Help?
"Who knows what Evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows."

Like that? :D

Wish I could help, but I know absolutely nothing about the shadowcaster. I heard it so much about what a PoS class it is that I never bothered to read it.

Hmm... are there any Divination-based Spellshaping circles? Wouldn't it be awesome to have a Spellshaper focused on using Illusion, Divination, and Negative energy? How about skipping the crappy mechanics of the shadowcaster, and just going "whole hog homebrew"?  :p

Well, I'm (as we speak) implementing a shadowcaster fix based on the fixes I made for Powerbard.  That would transition the Shadowcaster directly from PoS --> awesome.  So it would be for that.  However, the spellshaping thing does indeed sound awesome!
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 20, 2012, 10:00:14 AM
A prestige class for Shadowcaster, using divination-focused mysteries (new ones, I guess).  I don't really have any mechanics in mind, just a general premise of someone who gains knowledge through Shadow.  Help?

You might find some divination mysteries in the Descent of Shadows project on GitP.

Hmm... are there any Divination-based Spellshaping circles? Wouldn't it be awesome to have a Spellshaper focused on using Illusion, Divination, and Negative energy? How about skipping the crappy mechanics of the shadowcaster, and just going "whole hog homebrew"?  :p

Fleeting Image for illusion, Devouring Shadow for negative energy, and Astral Essence or Glimmering Moon for divination (I don't remember the exact contents of each).

Hmm, I should make a Shadowcaster fix. But that would probably look too much like a Sorcerer with class features. How about if the shadowcasting mechanic, instead of locking you to having each mystery available 1/day (or 2/day or 3/day), gave you a pool of uses for each of your apprentice, initiate, and master paths, which would be spent spontaneously to cast your mysteries. At the beginning of the day, you would prepare your mysteries form those you know (a number far greater than the current crappy 1/level). The more your prepare, the fewer daily uses you get. Prepare less, and get more uses. Gets a hint of both prepared (Int-based) casting and spontaneous (Cha-based) casting blended together, with a bit of being different so it's not just casting by another name. Also, at-will fundamentals from level 1, would there be anything broken about that?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 20, 2012, 10:23:26 AM
I think I'm going to write this up later. I'll just jot down some stuff here as a placeholder, and for help brainstorming. If you'd rather me not clog up your thread, and instead post it in one of my own, just let me know, Garryl.

Shadow Spy (or Umbral Oracle, still debating the name... and focus)
Requirements: 8 ranks in Spot and Hide. Must know at least one Formula from the Fleeting Image (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=4073.0) circle, and one from either the Astral Essence or Devouring Shadow Circles. Must know at least one Formula of second level or higher.
Special: Must have spent 24 hours in a dark place with no light source brighter than starlight.

Abilities:
Shadow Familiar - You can animate your shadow and have it act as a spy, scout, or just a second pair of eyes while keeping watch.

Have this scale with level, starting out with a very limited range it can move away from the character, and no ability to interact with anything (other than observing). Later on, it will be able to move farther away (eventually unlimited as it becomes a full-blown cohort/familiar) and interact with the physical world (maybe give it the stats of a Shadow (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/shadow.htm), but without the create spawn ability). Also, have it start out with darkvision, then get the ability to see in magical darkness.

SLAs: Later on, give the shadow companion SLAs like Shadow Walk, Clairvoyant Sense (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/clairvoyantSense.htm), and Remote Viewing (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/remoteViewing.htm) (because the psionic versions of these are a lot better than the arcane version). These will only be usable in areas where there are natural shadows or in areas of darkness or shadowy illumination.

Me and My Shadow
Give the character the ability to share/borrow some of the abilities of his shadow companion, and eventually merge with it, gaining all of its abilities (and more?).

The class will also progress spellshaping, of course, and be a d6 HD, 3/4 BAB class with 6 skill points per level and a focus on stealth. I'm debating whether it should also have some other focus, like Knowledge-based abilities, Sense Motive/Read Thoughts, Divination (although there are already two "Divination"-based spellshaping PrCs), etc.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 20, 2012, 10:24:40 AM
Here's my shadowcaster fix (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6231.0).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 20, 2012, 11:32:37 AM
I think I'm going to write this up later. I'll just jot down some stuff here as a placeholder, and for help brainstorming. If you'd rather me not clog up your thread, and instead post it in one of my own, just let me know, Garryl.

Nah, go right ahead. It's a public thread. I just use it as a notepad, but it's got a life of its own.

Quote
Shadow Spy (or Umbral Oracle, still debating the name... and focus)

From what abilities you've mentioned, I'm getting a vibe similar to the way the Blades of Nammara used their Shade familiars (from Bared Blade if I remember the book's name right, think magical assassins working for the goddess of justice).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 20, 2012, 12:25:47 PM
Shadowcasting, Mk. whatever

A shadowcaster begins play knowing all fundamentals available to her and 3 apprentice mysteries. At every level thereafter, she learns 2 new mysteries of her choice that she can cast. To learn a mystery of a given level, the Shadowcaster must be at least 2x mystery level -1.

At the beginning of each day, a shadowcaster can retrieve any number of her mysteries known. Each mystery retrieved counts against her daily uses of that grade of mystery. The 1st mystery along a path (1st, 4th, 7th) costs 1 daily use to retrieve, the 2nd (2nd, 5th, 8th) costs 2 uses, and the 3rd (3rd, 6th, 9th) costs 3 uses. Once retrieved, each mystery can be cast spontaneously. Later in the day, a shadowcaster can retrieve additional mysteries by meditating for 15 minutes and spending additional daily uses of her mysteries as appropriate.

As normal shadowcasting otherwise.

Shadowcaster: Daily Mystery Uses by Level
LevelApprenticeInitiateMaster
13----
25----
37----
410----
514----
618----
7243--
8305--
9307--
103010--
113014--
123018--
1330243
1430305
1530307
16303010
17303014
18303018
19303024
20303030

10/6/2016: Smoothed out the progression of uses so you don't actually fall behind the original shadowcaster when you're just getting 2nd, 5th, and 8th level mysteries (3/5/7/10/14/18/24/30, up from 3/4/6/9/13/18/24/30).
20/7/2012: First draft.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 20, 2012, 12:58:25 PM
So once it's retrieved, how many times can they cast it?  Or is it that there's a communal pool of uses, that you spend to (a) retrieve mysteries and (b) cast them, so that it's a tradeoff between more mysteries and more uses?

If it's the latter, I would allow retrieval at any time, kinda like an Erudite's unique powers per day except enforced by the communal pool.

That's a pretty damn cool mechanic, btw.

EDIT: Also, does the spell->SLA->Su progression still apply?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 20, 2012, 01:08:16 PM
Exactly like that. Communal pool of uses. If you want access to a mystery you haven't retrieved yet, it only takes 15 minutes to retrieve it. Spell/SLA/Su and everything else about mysteries (probably not the bonus feat thing, though, due to the increased number of known mysteries) is just as before.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 20, 2012, 01:12:40 PM
If you want access to a mystery you haven't retrieved yet, it only takes 15 minutes to retrieve it.

Missed that line.  Carry on...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 20, 2012, 05:19:22 PM
Brainstormage.

Multipurpose class construction grid.  Choose a power source (draconic, deific, primal, shadow, psychic) and a caster progression (mundane, lesser, greater, full).  Not sure if unique mechanics should be tied to power sources or caster progressions, or even a third axis... probably the second choice, since you can define two mechanics and have the "caster progression" be relative strengths of two mechanics (0-100, 30-70, 70-30, 100-0 or something like that).

Ideally, you could reproduce relatively-balanced versions of the original base classes using this.

Basically, a huge project.


Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 22, 2012, 12:34:02 AM
You know, I think I can make the Diablo 1 classes for D&D using that mana mechanic I whipped up for my Mage class. Everyone gets the Sor/Wiz spell list, because Diablo 1, that's why.

Warrior
- Use Fighter chassis and bonus feats, except d12 HD.
- Starting at 2nd level, gets a small mana pool and cantrips, working up to 1st level spells at 3rd, 2nd at 7th, 3rd at 11th, 4th at 15th, and 5th at 19th. Caster level is 1/2 class level. Mana regen is 0 until about 10th level, rising to maybe 2 at level 20. Casting is Int-based.
- Repair Skill: Gain Skill Focus (any Craft) at 1st level. Can craft mundane items faster and cheaper. Get Craft Magic Arms and Armor at 11th level. Add Mending, Make Whole, and the Repair Damage line (for the spells within the level range you can cast) to your spells known and spells retrieved at all times.

Rogue
- Ranger with Trapfinding in place of Track. Also, Disable Device as a class skill.
- No animal companion.
- Gain Blindfighting instead of Endurance.
- Inner Sight: At 4th level, you can perfectly detect (as per blindisght) creatures you have attacked within the last 1 minute.
- Gonna need something for the later levels.
- Starting at 1st level, gets a small mana pool and cantrips, working up to 1st level spells at 2nd, 2nd at 4th, 3rd at 7th, 4th at 10th, 5th at 13th, 6th at 16th, and 7th at 19th. Caster level is full class level. Mana regen is 0 until about 5th level, rising to maybe 4 at level 20. Casting is Wis-based.

Sorcerer
- See my Mage class, but maximum spell level is Cha-based instead of Int. Still uses Int for bonus MP and spells known at 1st level.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 22, 2012, 08:52:36 AM
Hulking Leap

Prereqs: Jump 5 ranks, size large or larger (Goliaths and Half-giants qualify with Powerful Build), Improved Bull Rush

Benefit: You may make a hulking leap.  If you jump at least ten feet of distance and land onto or within 5 feet of an enemy, you may make a special bull rush attempt against that enemy.  If you succeed, you knock them back as far as possible but do not move with them.  If you land such that multiple enemies are within 5 feet of you, you may make the special bull rush against all of them, knocking them back  If you intentionally jump down from a height you ignore the first 20 feet of fall damage.

Inspired by Leap from Diablo 2's barbarian, but I think it needs more.

I know the version in the D2 Diablerie would work, but that needs a bit of a redo as well.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 24, 2012, 03:55:48 PM
Sublime Dervish, basically a martial adept dancer.  Available disciplines: Border of Life?, Dancing Goddess, Scarlet Rose, Dancing Fox, Dancing Leaf, Bitter Edge?

Ideas for class features?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 24, 2012, 04:11:59 PM
I'd also give Desert Wind as a discipline. It's has the most mobile feel of the ToB disciplines (possibly barring Tiger Claw, which is mobile in a different, less graceful way).

Dervish Dance: Whirling Frenzy without the flurry component. In order to gain the benefits, you must move 5' each round (or else the dance ends). Also gives Spring Attack for both normal attacks and for martial strikes. If you make multiple attacks as part of a strike, you must move at least 5 feet between each.

Uncanny Dodge (duh).

Dex to Perform checks. Or Cha to initiative checks.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 24, 2012, 04:24:00 PM
Good stuff.  Is this a prc or a base class?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 24, 2012, 04:28:29 PM
Why don't you tell me? The way you were talking about it, as an alternative to the Sublime Rogue, implied a base class. But the printed Dervish is a PrC. Give me a little more info and I'll tell you how it feels.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 24, 2012, 04:49:05 PM
Adaptive Style: Needs different prerequisites, because the current ones are stupid when (theoretical) ToB splatbooks and homebrew come into the picture.

Possible alternatives?
Prerequisites: Ability to recover maneuvers as a class feature from a base class.
Prerequisites: One level in any martial adept base class.

Invalid alternatives:
Prerequisites: Ability to recover maneuvers.
 - Various feats and a few PrCs give maneuver recovery.
Prerequisites: Ability to choose which maneuvers known are readied.
 - PrCs give this, too, as soon as you get a bonus known maneuver.
Prerequisites: More maneuvers known than readied.
 - PrCs give this, and worse, 1st level Crusaders and Warblades don't.

I need to reread the sections on PrCs granting extra maneuvers and on Martial Study. IIRC, they both reference being a martial adept in some way that should be usable.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 24, 2012, 04:51:56 PM
Why don't you tell me? The way you were talking about it, as an alternative to the Sublime Rogue, implied a base class. But the printed Dervish is a PrC. Give me a little more info and I'll tell you how it feels.

Yeah, I originally thought of it as a base class.  But I'm not sure if I have enough ideas to fill 20 levels.  I shall cogitate.  But the War-Dancer will exist.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 24, 2012, 05:23:47 PM
Alright, a little more flesh.

Wardancer
d8 HD, full BAB, good Ref, poor Fort/Will, 4 skill points (Balance, Escape Artist, Martial Lore, Perform, Tumble)
Disciplines: Dancing Goddess, Dancing Fox, Dancing Leaf, Desert Wind, Scarlet Rose
(ACFs: swap Desert Wind for Border of Life and be more like an undead, tireless dancer; swap Desert Wind for Bitter Edge and get cold-themed crap)
Warblade progression

~Wardance: Whirling Frenzy + Skirmish: move at least 5 feet each round to gain benefit; as soon as you don't, you get fatigued.  Take 5' steps between attacks.  Gain scaling bonuses including Dex, AC, damage, later extra attacks.
~Mobile Dance: make a DC 15 Dance check to ignore all AoOs from movement.
~Uncanny Dodge & Improved Uncanny Dodge
~Battlegrace: Dex to Dance, Cha to Init, Cha to Ref, Cha to AC at various levels.
~Deceptive Dance: Feint as part of a Wardance using a Dance check.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 25, 2012, 07:17:32 PM
I have a song stuck in my head.
I could get rid of it, but I don't want to.
When it's fast, I go fast.
When it's strong, I'm strong.
When it's slow, the world slows around me.
I can control it if I concentrate.
When I think about it, I can share it with my friends...
or my enemies.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 25, 2012, 07:18:36 PM
Seems like a powerbard prc.  Lol.  Or something having to do with okilei & ohrwurm.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 25, 2012, 07:32:00 PM
I have a song stuck in my head.
I could get rid of it, but I don't want to.
When it's fast, I go fast.
When it's strong, I'm strong.
When it's slow, the world slows around me.
I can control it if I concentrate.
When I think about it, I can share it with my friends...
or my enemies.

(click to show/hide)
Sounds like the Okilei race turned into a class. Or maybe racial sublevels for Okileis. One of the song choices for the Okilie's Ohrwurm song is Eclectic song... which basically means they can change their song.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 25, 2012, 07:37:12 PM
Implacable Life, a positive energy-based circle for spellshaping.

Note: This is a circle about positive energy, not light.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 25, 2012, 08:17:46 PM
I need an interesting recovery mechanism for the Heron-Marked prc that I'm working on.  ...help?  I'm drawing a blank.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 27, 2012, 12:27:45 PM
Temporary Damage: Probably needs a better name. Basically, it functions exactly like like real damage, except that some things only heal temporary damage instead of all damage. Temporary damage can be lethal, nonlethal, vile, etc. just like normal damage. Generally, temporary damage is only used for dealing with regeneration (see below).

Regeneration: Transforms all damage taken that doesn't bypass the regen into temporary damage. Heals temporary damage only, not real damage. You don't die if your hp is reduced below -10 (or whatever your death threshold is) unless your hp without temporary damage would also be low enough to kill you. Suffocation, thirst, etc. all bypass regeneration by default as normal.
   Optionally, like PF regeneration (and I think also 2nd edition and earlier Trolls, but we played with so many house rules I don't know what's what), any bypassing damage taken negates the Delay Death component of the regeneration for 1 round.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 27, 2012, 03:14:02 PM
Quick Stick:  Same as Lightning Mace except it's for the Muspelrule from Planar Handbook instead.  It's a 1d4 19-20/x2 simple bludgeoning light weapon.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 27, 2012, 06:12:41 PM
I need an interesting recovery mechanism for the Heron-Marked prc that I'm working on.  ...help?  I'm drawing a blank.

Bump
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 27, 2012, 06:39:04 PM
Hmm... since it is based around White Raven and Bards... You may recover all of your maneuvers by beginning a Bardic Music effect.

Alternatively, you may recover a maneuver the first time in a round that someone empowered by your buffs makes a successful attack, heartened by their success...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 27, 2012, 06:40:57 PM
Hmm... since it is based around White Raven and Bards... You may recover all of your maneuvers by beginning a Bardic Music effect.

Alternatively, you may recover a maneuver the first time in a round that someone empowered by your buffs makes a successful attack, heartened by their success...

What?  No it isn't... it's based on Wheel of Time blademasters.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 27, 2012, 06:42:22 PM
Any time anyone touches Saiden/Saidar (i.e. casts a spell) within your line of sight, you may recover a single maneuver as a free action. Or should that be reserved for Warders only? I guess this class isn't specifically for Warders, is it?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 27, 2012, 07:13:20 PM
Any time anyone touches Saiden/Saidar (i.e. casts a spell) within your line of sight, you may recover a single maneuver as a free action. Or should that be reserved for Warders only? I guess this class isn't specifically for Warders, is it?

Not at all.  It's just a martial adept class based on the blademaster lore, and with three disciplines of maneuvers using the blademaster sword forms from the books.  It's here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6328.0), for anyone who wants to take a look.  I'm working on the disciplines now (among 9382543895 other things -- I'm pretty sure I have more homebrew going than EjoThims's build has attacks).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 27, 2012, 11:46:03 PM
Ooh... I completely mixed it up with another, similarly named PrC...

I say that you should regain a single maneuver at the beginning of each round, in a FILO stack that they can pull any maneuver out of; so, to give an example, you have 3 readied maneuvers, and you know 5 maneuvers.

At the beginning of the battle, you have maneuvers 3-2-1 readied; you use 2, so next round, you would have 4-3-1.

Then, just let them regain an extra maneuver whenever they feint, or something (you can only use 2 maneuvers in a round (barring Rushes, which not all disciplines have, and a couple Shadow Hand maneuvers), unless you are using Diamond Mind's 8th level stance, or other bonus action shenanigans.)

So, in other words, your PC's readied maneuvers look like this from round to round, if they don't use them:
1. 3,2,1
2. 4,3,2
3. 5,4,3
4. 1,5,4
...

But if they, say, actually used their maneuvers, it might look like this:
1. 3,2,1
2. 4,3,1
3. _,5,1
4. 2,5,1

And so on and so forth.

Think of it as incompletely shuffling cards; hell, in a PnP game, you could just draw off maneuver cards and just put them back in the deck when you use them.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 28, 2012, 12:38:49 AM
How about... in any round in which he does not miss with any of his attacks, he may recover one maneuver as a free action. Yes, it oddly penalizes people who make lots of attacks, as critical fumble rules do. But in this case, I think it makes a certain amount of sense. If you're focused, and only deliver a single, heavy blow (likely a martial strike), you seem to have a sense of mental calm compared to a guy who attacks 10 times in the same six seconds.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 28, 2012, 07:38:52 AM
Ooh... I completely mixed it up with another, similarly named PrC...

<awesome idea>

This is extremely cool... but I have no idea how to describe it in one line, and it seems quite complicated.

How about... in any round in which he does not miss with any of his attacks, he may recover one maneuver as a free action. Yes, it oddly penalizes people who make lots of attacks, as critical fumble rules do. But in this case, I think it makes a certain amount of sense. If you're focused, and only deliver a single, heavy blow (likely a martial strike), you seem to have a sense of mental calm compared to a guy who attacks 10 times in the same six seconds.
The problem with this is that you don't have so many readied maneuvers.  I think (at least until the 10th-level capstone) that there will be too many rounds where you can't recover a maneuver.

I could do what I did for the Wardancer, replacing Perform with Concentration... the more focused they are, the better at recovering maneuvers.  Thoughts?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on July 28, 2012, 07:46:14 PM
I should probably start my own thread for this kind of stuff... Incidentally, is there a thread or forum specifically for small bits of homebrew, like individual feats, that are fully fleshed out? Or should we just make a new post for each one in the main homebrew forum here? (Or just make our own compendiums? :P ) Anyway, since I'm sick of playing dragon-themed characters just to get some of the cool abilities (including feats) that are only available to them, I decided to homebrew a feat that's similar to Dragonfire Inspiration, but instead is psionic-themed. Also, if you haven't you should check out the Mantra feats at Dreamscarred Press. Some of them are awesome. For example. (http://dsp-d20-srd.wikidot.com/fury-of-the-storm)



Resonant Feedback

You've learned to imbue your songs with the power of your mind.

Prerequisites: Inspire Courage bardic music ability, must have a power point reserve, Concentration 4 ranks

Benefits: By expending your psionic focus when using Inspire Courage, you may psychically charge the weapons of your allies (including yourself), causing them to vibrate at a high frequency. Instead of the normal benefits of Inspire Courage, your allies' weapons do an extra 1d4 points of sonic damage per point of bonus to attack and damage that your Inspire Courage normally does. This replaces all other effects normally produced by Inspire Courage, but otherwise works the same (duration, range, etc).

In addition, any creatures that use echolocation have that ability disrupted within 20 feet of anyone holding a weapon affected by this ability.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 28, 2012, 07:47:58 PM
Garryl requested a Microbrews forum for these to be fleshed out in, but I don't think it's been made yet.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Agrippa on July 30, 2012, 02:54:51 AM
Tomb of Battle: The Book of Dead Warriors
An undeath-focused set of martial adept things. ToB meets Libris Mortis meets a common typo.

Note to self: Read Libris Mortis and reread ToB before going too much further with this.
(click to show/hide)

Your death knight idea sounds interesting, but I was thinking more along the lines of Saint Kargoth (http://www.canonfire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Saint_Kargoth) than any Warcraft death knight. I'm not nearly that old.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 30, 2012, 09:46:33 AM
Your death knight idea sounds interesting, but I was thinking more along the lines of Saint Kargoth (http://www.canonfire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Saint_Kargoth) than any Warcraft death knight. I'm not nearly that old.

Thanks. I'm fleshing those ideas out more here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?board=112.0), if you'd like to weigh in with your thoughts.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 31, 2012, 02:10:51 PM
ToB Pyrokineticist, requested by phaedrusxy (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6311.40;msg=95500)
Didn't someone do this already?

Note: This one's aimed at Swordsages. But if you're not playing a Swordsage, feel free to switch it all back to being Cha-based instead of Wis-based.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 31, 2012, 02:25:35 PM
There's another psionic one, but I think Sleeping Goddess fits better.  Looks awesome.  May want to include Chthonic Serpent, since it's a whip.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 31, 2012, 03:00:52 PM
I really have to start looking at the homebrew disciplines that are around. There are so many of them! People aren't kidding when they say that every other homebrewer has a piece of ToB brew.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 31, 2012, 04:20:07 PM
If only there were a place where they were all compiled... just kidding ;)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 01, 2012, 12:44:23 PM
Step 1: Imagine a system where all the fiddly +1s and other numerical bonuses of items got rolled into the basic character progression, like free Vow of Poverty benefits for everyone.
Step 2: Items are rarer but more valuable, like (very minor) artifacts. They give interesting and varied effects, much like the various spells everyone loves.

... then an optional extra thing, what if you could only use so many magic items based on something that mundanes get but full casters (usually) don't. Say, your BaB? You can only benefit from some total number of item levels at once based on this characteristic. Fighters and Artificers also get additional item levels to use as class features.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on August 01, 2012, 12:49:32 PM
The system I use in Exiled  (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=861.0)does some of what you're talking about, but I based it on character level, not BAB. I also didn't want to have to rewrite/recreate all magic items... or assign them some arbitrary "power" number (when they already have that in the form of a cost in gold pieces). So I made it X attuned items of Y value at Z level, with a chart.

Edit: And that Conflagration ability in your Pyromaniac class above could get nasty when combined with the Breath of Fire discipline... Of course, it's only 1xday. So it's probably still OK as a capstone.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 01, 2012, 06:27:24 PM
Greater Arcane Stunt:

Prereq: Arcane Stunt (Swashbuckler ACF)

Benefit:  When you use your Arcane Stunt ability, you may spend an extra use of it to double the duration.  The number of times you can use Arcane Stunt per day is increased to one-half your class level (minimum 1) plus your Intelligence modifier.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 01, 2012, 07:28:48 PM
Completed: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=9324

Monk base class (no, not that one)

First off, full BaB. It makes things sync up so nicely with the following mechanics. However, most of the traditional Monk abilities won't be present. At least, not directly.

Pressure Strikes: You learn a number of pressure strikes based on your level. These come in 4 grades: Least, Lesser, Greater, and Ki. You can apply a single pressure strike to any unarmed strike attack you make, but you can only use any given pressure strike once per round. Some pressure strikes impede your enemies. Others rejuvenate and enhance your allies. Most pressure strikes are extraordinary abilities.
   The save DC of your pressure strikes is equal to 10 + 1/2 your Monk level + your Wisdom modifier.

Mantras: You learn a number of mantras based on your level. Mantras are persistent effects, usually either emanations or personal effects. Starting a mantra is a swift action, but maintaining or ending one is a free action. Initially, you can maintain only one mantra at once, but at higher levels you learn to use multiple at once.
   Using a mantra requires focusing on a group of sounds, syllables, or words with mystic meanings relating to the universe. Only creatures that can hear these sounds can be affected by one of your mantras. Normally, this requires chanting them out loud, but telepathy can communicate them just as well. If you do not wish for any creatures other than yourself to be affected, you can silently think of the sounds in your mind.
   The save DC of your mantras is equal to 10 + 1/2 your Monk level + your Wisdom modifier.

Resonance (Su): Starting at 6th level, whenever you hit a creature with at least two attacks in a single round, you create one point of resonance on that creature. If you do not add to or use this resonance within 24 hours, it dissipates harmlessly. Starting at 11th level, you can create an additional point of resonance if you hit a creature three times in a single round. At 16th level, you can create yet another point of resonance if you hit a creature four times in a single round.
   If multiple creatures create resonance on the same subject, track each pool separately. They don't interact with each other. Resonance can only be used by the creature that created it.

Releases: Starting at 6th level, you learn to release the resonance that you can build in your foes and your allies. You learn a number of releases based on your level. Releases are supernatural abilities that can be used as a swift action. Regardless of their effects, using a release removes all of your resonance from the target, and you can only use a release on a creature that has at least one point of resonance.
   The save DC of your releases is equal to 10 + 1/2 your Monk level + your Wisdom modifier.



Class Features
(click to show/hide)

Pressure Strikes
(click to show/hide)

Releases
(click to show/hide)

Mantras
(click to show/hide)

Edit: I really need to go back and look at what comes where and form what again. The pressure strikes are all over the place, and midway through I forgot about releases and mantras, so some of those effects should be there instead, or moved around, or whatever.

In pressure strikes I want 4 things
- Damage
- Debuffs
- Healing
- Buffs
More of the same in releases, but also with area of effect abilities.
Mantras get personal buffs, area buffs, and area debuffs. Not so much the damage and/or healing things.

The writeups of most releases will state that they don't benefit from more resonance than your level. So not much point in building up ridiculous amounts of it on yourself out of combat, for instance.

Feats
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on August 02, 2012, 01:16:34 AM
I like those monk ideas... I've been playing with making a Tier 3 combat class without reliance on ToB stuff, and I might just steal your ideas...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 05, 2012, 09:15:50 PM
Gnome Twist Cloth addition:

A character proficient with Gnome Twist Cloth can treat herself as being unarmored for class abilities that require it such as the Monk, Ninja, or Duelist.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 07, 2012, 05:30:35 PM
I've mentioned this variant before in the old thread. I've expanded it a bit since then.

The idea is to make iconic class defenses more prevalent. Everyone knows that Rogues are supposed to be dodgy little buggers, but with light armor their AC is still lower than a full plate warrior, even with an 18 Dex. Likewise, Fighters and Barbarians are supposed to be able to take hit after hit and shrug it off, but in practice larger hit dice may be helpful but are largely eclipsed by high Constitution scores. What these classes all have, at least, are base saves that represent this general idea, at least with respect to magical effects and the few other things that require saves.

Under this variant, base saves apply to more than just saving throws.
You reduce all damage taken from a given source by your Base Fortitude Save. This might not be huge, but it's noticeable at low and mid levels. Tough guys ignore weak attacks, you know?
You gain a bonus to your AC equal to your Base Reflex Save. This doesn't apply when you're denied your Dex bonus to AC. Dodgy folks are hard to hit, right?
You gain spell resistance equal to your ECL plus your Base Will Save. You can raise or lower it without an action, even if you are unconscious or unaware. Spellcasters are good at blocking enemy magic, okay?


Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 07, 2012, 08:44:47 PM
I just added a list of links to my ideas in the original post. I hadn't realized how much is in here. The links themselves take up almost a whole page's view on my computer.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on August 07, 2012, 08:58:32 PM
I just added a list of links to my ideas in the original post. I hadn't realized how much is in here. The links themselves take up almost a whole page's view on my computer.

What will you do when you actually flesh out an idea?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 07, 2012, 09:46:24 PM
I usually just make a new thread for it to stand on its own, mark it as complete in the list, and add it to my main homebrew listing. I do that from time to time. Remember the Mage? I also did it for a few of the things in the old thread.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 08, 2012, 03:20:06 AM
Wild Spell feat

Prereqs: Natural Spell, ability to Wild Shape into a Large animal

Benefits:  While Wild Shaped, you may treat yourself as the type and subtype of the creature you are Wild Shaped into for the purposes of your own spells.  For example, this would allow you to cast Animal Growth on yourself while Wild Shaped into an appropriate animal.

For more fun stuff, be a Goliath and get a barbarian level for Mountain Rage, then take Powerful Wild Shape.  From the looks of it, that'll allow the character to become a larger animal.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on August 08, 2012, 06:44:01 AM
Wild Spell feat

Prereqs: Natural Spell, ability to Wild Shape into a Large animal

Benefits:  While Wild Shaped, you may treat yourself as the type and subtype of the creature you are Wild Shaped into for the purposes of your own spells.  For example, this would allow you to cast Animal Growth on yourself while Wild Shaped into an appropriate animal.

For more fun stuff, be a Goliath and get a barbarian level for Mountain Rage, then take Powerful Wild Shape.  From the looks of it, that'll allow the character to become a larger animal.

Hmm.... not a great idea.  Makes Awaken shenanigans even easier.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 08, 2012, 07:48:15 AM
Wizard-like class with about half the spells per day, but with an Eldritch Blast-like ability and invocations as the Warlock.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 08, 2012, 10:16:35 AM
Okay, so there's this world, and around it (hundreds of light years away or so), there's this uniform, spherical cloud of dust expanding outward like a growing shell. Except now it's collapsing inwards due to gravitational forces pulling it together. In only [x amount of time], it will collapse to the center, where this planet it, wiping out all life on it.

This planet, the shell, and the plane they are on have a history. The plane itself used to be a Far Realms-type place where reality does not exist in any way, shape, or form we can possibly comprehend. A plane of primordial chaos. It was at war with some other plane, one of ultimate law and order. The order plane built a bomb, a perfect sphere placed in the center of the chaos plane. When it exploded, it released an expanding shell. Inside the shell was uninhabitable for the denizens of the chaos. So they did the only thing in their power they could to fight back and stem the tide of their destruction. They invented physics. Suddenly, gravity existed, and its pull started pulling the shell back in on itself, slowly decelerating it, then accelerating it inwards. But physics had another effect. It introduced randomness and change into the otherwise fixed nature of the interior. Where once a perfect sphere existed, the spent remains of the planar bomb, it slowly began to vary. Life began to evolve on it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 08, 2012, 03:54:00 PM
Wild Spell feat

Prereqs: Natural Spell, ability to Wild Shape into a Large animal

Benefits:  While Wild Shaped, you may treat yourself as the type and subtype of the creature you are Wild Shaped into for the purposes of your own spells.  For example, this would allow you to cast Animal Growth on yourself while Wild Shaped into an appropriate animal.

For more fun stuff, be a Goliath and get a barbarian level for Mountain Rage, then take Powerful Wild Shape.  From the looks of it, that'll allow the character to become a larger animal.

Hmm.... not a great idea.  Makes Awaken shenanigans even easier.

That one I didn't think about, but Awaken on a PC is broken anyway and shouldn't be used.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 08, 2012, 09:01:53 PM
Reinforced Crossbows

These variants on normal crossbows have a heavier frame and spring, allowing them to fire bolts with far greater velocity. A reinforced crossbow weighs twice as much as a regular crossbow of its type, and has a range increment 20 feet larger when fully cranked. However, they are, obviously, harder to crank to their fullest extent. A reinforced crossbow costs twice as much as a normal crossbow, plus an additional 100g per point of strength rating.

A given reinforced crossbow is made for a given strength rating, similar to composite bows. A character with a strength modifier at least as high as the crossbow's strength rating can wield and reload it like a normal crossbow of its type, cranking it fully as part of reloading it. For every point of strength modifier below the weapon's strength rating, the character requires one additional full-round action above and beyond the normal action or actions needed to reload the crossbow to fully crank it. Fully cranked, the weapon grants a bonus on damage rolls equal to its strength rating. When fired while not fully cranked, the range increment is reduced by half and the attack suffers a -2 penalty on attack rolls.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 09, 2012, 01:51:57 PM
Revamped sizes and 5' steps.

Reaches given are for upright bipeds. Use the reach for one size category smaller for quadrupeds and other non-upright creatures.

SIZE: Space/Reach
Large: 10'/10'
Huge: 20'/20'
Garganutan: 40'/40'
Colossal: 80'/80'

Shift: A new action option that replaces 5' steps. For smaller creatures, it's effectively the same as before. However, big creatures can move further than just 5'. When a creature shifts, it can move a distance up to half its space (rounded down to the nearest 5', minimum 5') in a straight line, to a maximum of its movement speed for the mode it uses.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on August 09, 2012, 01:53:26 PM
Shift: A new action option that replaces 5' steps. For smaller creatures, it's effectively the same as before. However, big creatures can move further than just 5'. When a creature shifts, it can move a distance up to half its space (rounded down to the nearest 5', minimum 5') in a straight line, to a maximum of its movement speed for the mode it uses.
Great idea. I remember hearing someone discuss something like this, but have never seen it implemented in a game. It makes being big even better than it already is, though...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 10, 2012, 12:01:38 AM
Fighter as (over-the-top) fighting styles.

Basic chassis is as present. In addition, at first level, the Fighter chooses a distinct fighting style, and gains additional benefits relating to that style at every odd level. At 6th level, choose a second fighting style. You gain the benefits of that style as a Fighter of your level -5. At 11th level, you gain a third fighting style as a Fighter of your level -10. At 16th level, you gain a fourth and final fighting style as a Fighter of your level -15.

Oversized Weapon Fighter
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Lightning Bruiser
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Determinator
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Juggernaut
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Forgemaster
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 10, 2012, 07:25:47 PM
Breathe Weapon [Breath]
Prerequisites: Breath Weapon
Benefit: As the same action as drawing a weapon would take, you can channel your breath weapon into the form of a weapon you can wield. This can be any weapon with which you are proficient, chosen when you use this ability. The breathed weapon functions in all ways as a masterwork weapon of its type, except that instead of dealing damage, any creature you hit with it is subject to your breath weapon (a saving throw may reduce the effects, as normal).

Being made of energy, your breathed weapon cannot be sundered. It can be disarmed, but you add your Constitution modifier as a bonus on the opposed attack roll to avoid being disarmed of it. Any creature other than yourself who holds the breathed weapon is subject to your breath weapon once per round as though struck.

Using this ability counts as a use of your breath weapon. A breathed weapon lasts for 1 minute before dissipating.

Edit: Probably want to drop the duration on this, probably 1d4+1 rounds. Maybe also you can't use your breath weapon again until this dissipates.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 10, 2012, 07:39:27 PM
Einhander addition:

If you have 9 or more ranks in Tumble, you gain the benefits of the Dancing Blade Form stance while wielding a light or one-handed weapon in one hand and nothing in your off hand.

I'll eventually rework this into a rewrite of the feat, but for now that's what I've got.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 11, 2012, 02:38:22 PM
Some notes on combining characters' ability scores (to be used with giant mecha... yeah, the idea's still floating around my head even since the previous thread).

Treat each ability score as the controlling creature's ability score plus the ability modifier of the other creature's ability score, excluding modifiers from ongoing sources (such as spells and magic items, but not instantaneous effects). Modifiers to an ability score from either party caused by ongoing sources are applied to the gestalt whole's final score, stacking as normal.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 11, 2012, 11:54:01 PM
How much do you think this would change the game?

Taking a 5' step doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity for moving into another space a creature threatens. If you move entirely outside of a creature's threatened area, you provoke and attack of opportunity from that creature as per normal movement.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on August 12, 2012, 11:43:50 AM
It'd reduce combat mobility even more I think. Not sure if you think thats desirable, D&D combat is pretty immobile as it is.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 13, 2012, 09:18:03 AM
I was just thinking of older editions where the 5' step didn't exist, along with other mechanics which meant that completely avoiding the risk of spell disruption weren't possible. Consider it with some combination of the following additions:

Break Away
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AoOs
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 14, 2012, 10:45:53 AM
Revamped weapon proficiency. Ironically, this variant may seem closer to AD&D's proficiencies that 3.5's.

Proficiency is no longer boolean. You have degrees of proficiency. If you have given degrees of proficiency with one or more weapons form different sources, they don't stack, use only the highest. Generally, only classes give you fixed degrees of proficiency. Most feats modify your proficiency.

Any class that originally gave proficiency with any simple weapons gives 1 degree of proficiency with all weapons it gave proficiency with.
Any class that originally gave proficiency with any martial or exotic weapons instead gives 2 degrees of proficiency with all weapons it gave proficiency with.
The Fighter class gives 3 degrees of proficiency with all weapons. Even exotics.
Simple Weapon Proficiency gives 1 degree of proficiency with all weapons.
Advanced Weapon Proficiency (combining the old Martial/Exotic Weapon Proficiency and Improved Unarmed Strike feats) gives 3 degrees of proficiency with the chosen weapon.
Weapon Focus and the rest of the chain each increase your degree of proficiency with the chosen weapon by 1 in addition to their previous effects.
Racial weapon familiarity increases your proficiency with a weapon by 1 degree.

Simple weapons require 1 degree of proficiency to use properly.
Martial weapons require 2 degrees of proficiency to use properly.
Exotic weapons require 3 degrees of proficiency to use properly.

Some weapons give additional benefits if you have high proficiency with them. For example:
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 14, 2012, 04:56:39 PM
Minor Wounding Aura (Clr 2, DN 2): As Inflict Minor Wounds, but affects all creatures within 30' once per round for 1 round/level.
Light Wounding Aura (Clr 3, DN 3): As Inflict Light Wounds, but affects all creatures within 30' once per round for 1 round/level.
Moderate Wounding Aura (Clr 4, DN 4): As Inflict Moderate Wounds, but affects all creatures within 30' once per round for 1 round/level.
Serious Wounding Aura (Clr 5, DN 5): As Inflict Serious Wounds, but affects all creatures within 30' once per round for 1 round/level.
Critical Wounding Aura (Clr 6, DN 6): As Inflict Critical Wounds, but affects all creatures within 30' once per round for 1 round/level.
Harming Aura (Clr 8, DN 8): As Harm, but affects all creatures within 30' once per round for 1 round/level.
Vampiric Aura (DN 7, Sor/Wiz 7): As Vampiric Touch, but affects all creatures within 30' once per round for 1 round/level. You gain temporary hit points equal to the highest damage dealt to any one creature (does not stack between rounds).

(Remember, you're within 30' of yourself.)




I have an even better idea!

Spell Aura [Metamagic]
Turn a touch spell into an emanation that affects all creatures within 30' (including yourself if you are a valid target). If the spell was instantaneous, it instead lasts 1 round per caster level, but only affects each creature the first time it enters the emanation. A spell aura uses a spell slot 2 levels higher than normal.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on August 14, 2012, 07:52:49 PM
Spell Aura sounds familiar... maybe a little crystalline...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 15, 2012, 02:47:27 AM
Spell to Power Ardent.  Swap the mantles for psionic versions of cleric domains/appropriate spells.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 16, 2012, 12:15:00 PM
Skill Parcels

De-granularizing skill points. At every level, you get some number of skill points you can assign to your skills. You get a +4 bonus to that skill for every point assigned. Maximum one point per skill at level 1, +1 at 5th and every 4 levels thereafter.

Classes (and Int and human bonus and stuff) give 1/4 the points they used to. Use fractions, much like fractional BaB. So a human fighter with Int 13 would get 1 skill point per level.

All skills, in addition to having higher modifiers, grant some extra benefits by rank.

Skill prerequisites would need to be reworked. As would first level benefits. And class vs. cross-class skills. And how you spread things out so you can actually have multiple skills trained at levels before 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, etc.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 17, 2012, 09:57:23 AM
Denial

If I can't see it, it's doesn't exist (Su): You have improved cover against creatures that have total concealment from you.

If I don't understand it, it's just a trick (Su): As long as you have not identified a spell, you treat it as an illusion and are immediately granted a saving throw to disbelieve it (in addition to any saving throws it may already grant). You only gain this special disbelief saving throw once the first time you become aware of any given spell (when it's cast, or in the case of ongoing spells when you can perceive it or its effects in some way).

If I don't like it, it must be evil (Su): Your abilities that normally function only against evil creatures, or that have greater effects against evil creatures, function or provide their greater effects against any creature you consider your opponent, regardless of alignment.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 18, 2012, 01:09:50 PM
Wild Spell feat

Prereqs: Natural Spell, ability to Wild Shape into a Large animal

Benefits:  While Wild Shaped, you may treat yourself as the type and subtype of the creature you are Wild Shaped into for the purposes of your own spells.  For example, this would allow you to cast Animal Growth on yourself while Wild Shaped into an appropriate animal.

For more fun stuff, be a Goliath and get a barbarian level for Mountain Rage, then take Powerful Wild Shape.  From the looks of it, that'll allow the character to become a larger animal.

Hmm.... not a great idea.  Makes Awaken shenanigans even easier.

That one I didn't think about, but Awaken on a PC is broken anyway and shouldn't be used.

Bit of an update I thought of:

The effects of any spell you cast on yourself while wild shaped using this feat only last as long as the single wild shape does if the effect doesn't end before then.  For example, if you cast Animal Growth on yourself and then ended or changed your wild shape, the spell would end.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 18, 2012, 03:19:21 PM
That limitation is both too specific and too general, and doesn't influence Awaken anyways (it's instantaneous). Too specific because other casters can still Animal Growth or Awaken you without limitation, and too general because it kills your Barkskin and Bull's Strength and other buffs that you could put on yourself regardless.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 18, 2012, 10:53:38 PM
"The effects of any spell you cast on yourself... using this feat..."

It only allows the person wild shaped to cast certain spells on himself, and all effects of any of those specific spells end when the wild shape ends.  The benefits of Awaken are still effects of a spell, thus it ends.  I guess I need to clean up the wording though.


While I'm here:  I just realized Natural Spell was a [Wild] feat in Masters of the Wild, but was not given that descriptor in the 3.5 update.  The best reason I can think of for this is they didn't want to release any other [wild] feats in core, so they just took the descriptor off.   :fu WotC, it deserves to be a [wild] feat!
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 19, 2012, 12:49:21 PM
Dark Archer

An invoking variant of the Arcane Archer. See also my revamped Arcane Archer.

Invoking: Can't decide if it should progress your existing invoking or grant a new progression (ending with 2 least, 2 lesser, and 1 or 2 greater by level 10).

Eldritch Arrow: Add bonus damage to your shots (+1d6 @ 1st and every 4 levels thereafter). If you have Eldritch Blast, add half that damage, too.

Enhance Bow: Bows you use have Greater Magic Weapon.

Imbue Arrow: At 2nd, can add eldritch essences to your eldritch arrows, but requires a standard action.

Seeker Blast: Learned at 4th level. New Eldritch Essence, 3rd (Least), blast goes around corners, ignores cover/concealment, etc.

Phase Blast: Learned at 6th level.  New Eldritch Essence, 4th (Lesser), blast goes through solid objects, ignores cover/concealment/armor, etc.

Eldritch Hail: Starting at 8th level, can take a full-round action to make a bow attack against any number of targets within range. Can apply and eldritch essence as Imbue Arrow.

Consuming Blast: Learned at 10th. New Eldritch Essence, 6th (Greater), blast deals negative energy damage. You heal half the damage dealt.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on August 20, 2012, 08:59:22 PM
A transformational prestige class based on Boots & Cloak of Elvenkind, which turns you (over X levels) into an Elf.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on August 20, 2012, 09:03:10 PM
A transformational prestige class based on Boots & Cloak of Elvenkind, which turns you (over X levels) into an Elf.

A prc that turns you into an ECL 1 race?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on August 20, 2012, 09:07:18 PM
A transformational prestige class based on Boots & Cloak of Elvenkind, which turns you (over X levels) into an Elf.

A prc that turns you into an ECL 1 race?

I haven't worked out all the prereqs, but you may have to have levels in Feater.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on August 20, 2012, 09:11:04 PM
If it turned you into a drow it might be worth it as long as its is only 2 levels long :D
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: geniussavant on August 20, 2012, 09:57:19 PM
A transformational prestige class based on Boots & Cloak of Elvenkind, which turns you (over X levels) into an Elf.

A prc that turns you into an ECL 1 race?

I haven't worked out all the prereqs, but you may have to have levels in Feater.

Wouldn't it have to? After all, E.L.F. stands for Epic Level Feater right?  :smirk
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 21, 2012, 03:04:39 AM
Random rogue idea:

Special Ability:  A rogue who successfully feints allows crits and precision damage to work on the target as if it wasn't immune for one round.  This special ability may be taken a second time to increase the number of rounds to 2.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 21, 2012, 10:36:30 AM
Rogue Mk. 2

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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 21, 2012, 11:17:25 AM
Incomplete: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16925.0

Truenaming, Mk. N+1

Link for me: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=2773.0
If this winds up any good, it will be because I stand on the shoulders of giants. I'm going to draw a lot from that and Kellus's Truenaming. The good parts, anyways.

First, some revisions to the Truespeak skill. Like any skill, it should do skill things on its own.
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Miscellaneous Truespeech Effects (effects related to the Truespeak skill and truenames that I'm not sure should be in the skill or in Truespeech magic)
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Truespeech Magic
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Utterances
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Orator (base class)
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on August 21, 2012, 11:32:10 AM
I'm thinking you'd just be expanding the PF rogue with the Rogue MKII.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 21, 2012, 11:56:38 AM
I'm thinking you'd just be expanding the PF rogue with the Rogue MKII.

Yeah, you're probably right.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on August 21, 2012, 04:37:00 PM
Another semi-joke class:  The SHAMURAI, which is a 10-level prc which gets +0 BAB progression.  It's all about convincing your opponent that you're a good fighter, so you do damage with Bluff checks instead of attack rolls.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 22, 2012, 06:41:15 PM
Brainsplosion! How I might be able to do mecha!

First off, linky (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=253168). That's sort of like what basic mecha will look like, mechanically. Just replace those modules with cybernetic modules (and energy and sockets) from Power of Cybernetics. Feats and classes will improve your abilities with them. Particularly, one path of base classes that deal solely with that kind of mecha, able to pilot whatever they come across, akin to the Warblade of martial adepts. A sword is a sword, pointy end goes in the other guy. A robot's a robot, pointy actuator goes in the other guy's cockpit. In anime/manga terms, this would be more like "real" pilots and "real" robots. Basic mecha will just be purchasable like any other piece of equipment. However, as they essentially replace large swaths of your character under normal use, they'll also prevent or dramatically impede your abilities and class features, including spellcasting, initiating, activating, etc. The aforementioned feats and class features will lessen or remove some of these limitations, eventually putting you in roughly the same boat mechanically as machine spirits (see below), where the mecha you pilot enhances your abilities instead of replacing them.

Second (and influenced by the fact that I'm reading Shinji and Warhammer 40k right now), there will be a separate category of mecha, more like "super" robots. They have a semi-sort of sentience at the very least that lets them only work, or at least work much better, in the hands of a chosen pilot. These are called "machine spirits" (and in an homage to WH40k, there will also be an Artificer-like cybernetics class called the Techpriest). Pilots will gain access to and bond with machine spirits similar to Druids and their animal companions (class feature name: Machine Bond?). Machine Spirits will level up and improve with you. Also, you're a lot more free to use your own abilities through a machine spirit. Spellcasting, manifesting, initiating, etc. will be barely impeded, if at all.

Later on, I might add some sort of crossover like Weapons of Legacy that turns a mecha into a machine spirit over the course of your career. Or a PrC that lets you do that. Or something.

Mechas are always designed for creatures of some specific size at least one size smaller to pilot them. If you're one size smaller than that, you can still pilot them, albeit with some difficulty. Any smaller and the controls probably just don't work. Any larger and you probably can't even fit inside the cockpit. A mecha can be built/designed for any such size pilots. Most mecha (and especially machine spirits) can also be retrofitted to a larger size.

Some possible mechas, by size. Because they can be enlarged, this is really just a minimum size as far as PCs are concerned, but whatever.
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on August 22, 2012, 08:52:45 PM
Yoink for the mecha, by the way...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on August 23, 2012, 01:17:48 AM
I'm thinking the biggest problem is making Mecha work without making the whole party mecha operators. Hmm.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 23, 2012, 01:37:32 AM
Might need an effective counter to them a la Yoko's gun from Gurren Lagann.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 23, 2012, 08:06:34 AM
I'm thinking the biggest problem is making Mecha work without making the whole party mecha operators. Hmm.

The first thing I'm doing is altering the scale of mecha from city-sized monstrosities to just large robots (at least at low levels). And at high levels, mundane(-ish) characters are expected to stand toe to toe with city-sized monstrosities anyways, so all is good. Aside from that, it's just a matter of keeping the numbers and abilities balanced with what's already available.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 23, 2012, 06:47:51 PM
Slight fighter redo:

Certain feats designated as Fighter feats gain a bonus when taken by a fighter, based on the character's levels in fighter.


Totally out of the blue and might cause some issues, but it might alleviate more than it causes.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 24, 2012, 09:14:40 AM
When you roll a critical threat but miss, make the critical confirmation roll anyways. If you confirm, you hit and crit, but deal damage with a multiplier 1 less than normal.
 - OR -
Any critical confirmation roll that itself rolls a critical threat (regardless of whether that would hit or not) confirms the crit.

Both of these options should "fix" the math on crits when you don't hit on all values you threaten. However, they're not perfect. The first triggers your extra effects and damage dice on a hit too much, and the second doesn't fully account for modifiers to your critical confirmation roll. Still, close enough for me.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on August 24, 2012, 10:11:54 AM
Slight fighter redo:

Certain feats designated as Fighter feats gain a bonus when taken by a fighter, based on the character's levels in fighter.


Totally out of the blue and might cause some issues, but it might alleviate more than it causes.

Actually, I've seen that fix a couple of times; my favorite iteration scales by the number of Fighter feats you have, with that number set to your Fighter level if that would be higher.

Considering that I wish that all feats worked like that...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 24, 2012, 05:54:39 PM
Fighter with Wizard mechanics
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Arsenal
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 27, 2012, 12:16:19 PM
Illusions

1) Illusions fools the senses in some way.
2) Illusions allow a saving throw to disbelieve them if you "interact" with them.
3) Illusions are automatically disbelieved if you experience sensory information that directly contradicts the illusion.

Well, what does this all mean? A headache. Let's try this another way.

   If you are passively aware of an illusion, you don't get a save at all. An illusion covering a side passage, for example, when you're just walking down the hall towards your destination.
   If you actively interact with an illusion, you get a save to disbelieve. Active interaction is defined as anything that normally requires more than a free action. Attacks of Opportunity also count as active interaction, despite taking no action. An attack (hit or miss), a Spot check made as a move action to notice something you missed, casting a spell, etc. all count.
   If you have evidence (not proof) that something is an illusion, you can attempt to disbelieve it (this takes no action), even if you have previously attempted to disbelieve and failed. You gain a +4 bonus on your save. Evidence is any reasonable, but also deniable indicator contradicting the illusion, such as someone you trust telling you it's an illusion, or seeing someone else's sword pass cleanly through an illusionary creature or object without apparent harm or even being slowed. You only get this one extra chance to disbelieve, and it is lost if you choose not to take it. If you are not already aware that something is an illusion, it may be very difficult to generate evidence on your own, as you will subconsciously react to what you think you perceive, pulling your blows or the like. Throwing things tends to work better than feeling or attacking in melee in this regard (which would only generate active interaction), and even then, illusions that are programmed to interact and respond to the environment generally do not provide evidence of their illusory nature.
   If you have undeniable proof that something is an illusion, you are automatically aware that it is an illusion. This is not the same as disbelief. However, should you attempt to disbelieve (which you can do as no action, even if you have previously attempted to disbelieve and failed), you automatically succeed on the save (treat as a natural 20 on the die roll and an additional +10 bonus if the margin of success is important).

You only get one chance to disbelieve a given illusion. Disbelief saves are made in secret by the DM. Like Spot and Search checks, you only know (in theory) if there's anything you've actually disbelieved when you you succeed and the DM tells you.

Awareness that something is an illusion is not the same as disbelief of the illusion. Awareness of an illusion lets you act in many ways as if it isn't an illusion, although you still perceive it as such. Disbelief of an illusion has different effects depending on the illusion in question.

Disbelief
- Figment: You remain vaguely aware of the false sensations caused by the figment, and can identify them, but you otherwise perceive reality as though without the figment. Any visual effects remain as a faint outline that does not impair your vision.
- Glamer: You remain vaguely aware of the apparent changes to the subject's sensory qualities, and can identify what changes appear to be made, but you otherwise perceive the subject as though without the glamer.
- Pattern: You can still see the images, but they do not invade your mind. Images created by the pattern appear translucent, allowing you to see through them without penalty, and any other effects of the pattern are negated.
- Phantasm: All effects of the phantasm are negated. Any visual effects remain as a faint outline that does not impair your vision.
- Shadow: You can identify the creations of shadow illusions as what they are, and suffer reduced effects from the shadow illusions (depending on the effect's percentage reality and the effect in question). Any effects appear as transparent images superimposed on vague, shadowy forms.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 29, 2012, 04:26:50 AM
Create a Shifter psionic class with an ability that treats psionic feats as shifters feats like Moonspeaker can get item creation and metamagic feats treated as shifter feats.  Might require Fierce Mind from Dragon 355 as a prereq.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on August 29, 2012, 01:26:26 PM
Slight fighter redo:

Certain feats designated as Fighter feats gain a bonus when taken by a fighter, based on the character's levels in fighter.


Totally out of the blue and might cause some issues, but it might alleviate more than it causes.
Sounds familiar. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=729.0) ;)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 29, 2012, 01:38:19 PM
Yeah, I figured it would have been done.  I know I've read such redos, but at the time I honestly couldn't remember where.   :??? :-\
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on August 29, 2012, 01:44:15 PM
Yeah, I figured it would have been done.  I know I've read such redos, but at the time I honestly couldn't remember where.   :??? :-\
You know... I originally had a bunch of feats scaling with fighter level only, but wound up converting most (all?) of them to scale with either character level or BAB, as I thought that was a better mechanic. I'd actually forgotten about changing that, though, as no one in my games actually uses my homebrewed fighter fix (except maybe for a 1 or 2 level dip). :P
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 30, 2012, 12:07:32 PM
ToB ACFs

... well, that was easy.

Crusader
(click to show/hide)


Swordsage
(click to show/hide)


Warblade
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 31, 2012, 11:15:14 AM
Stupid movie titles

First Post: The Flame Wars
Double Post: Tagged for Deletion
Third Post: Back on Topic
Preview and Post: The Typo Menace
Quote and Post: The Lost Board Tags
Repost: The Return of Typo
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on September 01, 2012, 05:13:36 PM
Fighter Fix idea: Basically, make a bunch of abilities that, in effect, duplicate Blast Shapes and Eldritch Essences.

A Fighter can apply them to different actions they take (there could be essences that boost movement, or drinking potions, or 5' steps, or full attacks...), and they can do this at will.

Basically, it's like ToB with build-your-own-maneuvers.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 06, 2012, 11:02:32 AM
Raptor Grapple (http://xkcd.com/1104/) [Tactical]
Prerequisites: Balance 4 ranks, Battle Jump or wings, Improved Unarmed Strike or any natural attack
Benefits: Raptor Grapple grants you access to the following options.
   Raptor Grasp: To use this option, you must make an unarmed or natural attack as your first attack at the end of a charge from above an opponent. If the attack hits, you can initiate a grapple as though with the Improved Grab ability for that attack, and you retain your Dexterity modifier to your Armor Class against opponents you aren't grappling as long as you are only grappling the creature you attacked.
   Raptor Hold: Whenever an opponent attempts to escape from a pin or a grapple with you, you can use your ranks in Balance and your Dexterity modifier in place of your Base Attack Bonus and your Strength modifier when determining your grapple modifier. If you do, you gain an additional +4 racial racial bonus on your grapple check if you have wings.
   Raptor Attack: To use this option, you must deal damage with a natural attack or an unarmed strike to an opponent during a grapple on your first turn. On your second turn, you do not take the normal -4 penalty on attack rolls for attacking with a weapon while in a grapple.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 09, 2012, 05:18:38 PM
Combat Expertise addition:

Any time you use the Combat Expertise feat, you are treated as fighting defensively for all purposes.


The reason for the addition is because that's probably what it was meant to do in the first place but the rules dance around it like the designers couldn't be bothered to make it work that way.

While I'm at it, the Deadly Defense feat needs a bit of a rewrite because -2 to gain +1d6 is alright at low levels, but as weapon damage goes up the accuracy is worth more and eventually it becomes a net loss.

Addition to Spring Attack:

Against your Dodge target you are treated as threatening an additional 5 foot area around you as long as you aren't using a light weapon.  A medium creature not using a reach weapon could attack his dodge target as if he was using one, and if the creature already benefits from a reach weapon then his reach effectively increases 5 feet.

I think that might be enough to actually make it worthwhile.



Dodge chain change:

For each [Dodge] feat you gain an extra +1 to your dodge bonus.  For every 2 [Dodge] feats you can designate an additional enemy to apply your dodge bonus, but you must lower your total dodge bonus to apply this.  For example, a character with Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attack (all [Dodge] feats with this change) has a +3 dodge bonus against one opponent or a +2 against one opponent and a +1 against another.

Since the Dodge feat is just a +1 against one enemy and that's it, I think that's an appropriate starting point.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on September 09, 2012, 05:23:24 PM
Barbarian: The Disipline. Barb ACFs as different maneuvers, with actual raging as stances which you can only enter for a certain length of time.  Or a boost, with a crappy recovery mechanic.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 11, 2012, 11:10:10 AM
Found this in my PM box, a buried discussion with Sirpercival.

Echotracer Ritual/Psionic PrC (either dual progression or Ritual Mage style)
    A lot of abilities based on sound and time.

    - Echotracing: Track by the sounds of the past. Functions as the Track feat, but uses Listen instead of Survival.
    - Resonance: Build up resonance in targets whenever you deal sonic damage with a power to them. Functions like the similar ability of the Serene Guardian from Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde (or my Monk from a couple pages back, or Sirp's new and improved Mentalist class). Resonance will be used by some class-specific rituals.
    - Echoes of Reality: Force target to repeat its previous actions (like the Deja Vu power).
    - Muffle Echoes: Remove targets from time temporarily (as Time Hop).
    - Stifle Echoes: Remove targets from time permanently (as Recall Annihilation; see Weaponizing Divination in my homebrew compendium).

    Class ritual list:
    - Time Vortex
    - Zone of Timelessness: Creatures in area are subject to Temporal Stasis.
    - Ritual of Whispers: Become silent.
    - Ritual of Awakened Senses



Echoes of Future Past: look back in time by sound, a la Hindsight.
Minor -- 1 minute.
Least -- 1 hour.
Lesser -- 1 day.
Greater -- 1 week.
Advanced -- 1 month.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 11, 2012, 04:47:36 PM
House rule for Warlocks (and maybe also DFAs): You gain an extra, floating invocation at 5th level. You can change it to any invocation on your list that you can learn once per day by spending 1 minute. When you do, any existing instances of the invocation are automatically dismissed. This invocation can be a Least invocation only, initially, but can instead become a Lesser invocation at 10th level, Greater at 15th, and Dark at 20th.

Inspired by this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13873499&postcount=1).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 17, 2012, 11:33:54 PM
Energy Tolerance: Whenever you would take damage from a single source that deals an amount of your tolerated damage less than or equal to your tolerance, you instead take no damage of that type. Any source that deals damage greater than your tolerance deals its full damage to you, as normal.
(Or, functions as energy resistance/immunity if it would prevent the whole thing, otherwise does nothing.)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 19, 2012, 10:37:11 PM
Barbarian Rage (and other Con-reductions):

When your Constitution score drops [at the end of a rage] and you enough lose hit points as a result to reduce you to -1 or fewer hit points, you remain conscious and stable (if you were before). Even if your hit points drop low enough to kill you, you do not die, you merely fall unconscious. If you take damage from any other source afterwards, however, you immediately suffer the full effects of your negative hit point total. Even a single point of damage can cause your death if your hit points are low enough. Healing does not worsen your condition, even if it leaves you at negative hit points, although you cannot regain consciousness by any means until your hit points are high enough for you to be alive under normal conditions (usually -9 or higher).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 21, 2012, 12:40:01 PM
Favored Nemesis (Ranger ACF)
Instead of choosing a creature type for your favored enemy, you instead choose a category of character classes. You gain your bonuses against any character with at least one level in a class that matches that category. Creatures with racial abilities that both match a category and count as the ability granted by a class that matches that category also count as favored enemies, but not those with similar abilities. For example, a dragon with spellcasting as a Sorcerer would count as an arcane spellcaster class, but a Reth Dekala would not count as a martial adept class because its racial maneuvers do not function as though used by any martial adept class.

Arcane Spellcaster: Any class that grants the ability to cast arcane spells, including most shadowcasters.
Divine Spellcaster: Any class that grants the ability to cast divine spells.
Manifester: Any class that grants the ability to manifest powers.
Binder: Any class that grants the Soul Binding ability.
Meldshaper: Any class that grants the ability to shape soulmelds.
Invoker: Any class that grants the ability to cast invocations.
Martial Adept: Any class that grants the ability to initiate martial maneuvers.
Skillful: Any class that grants at least 6 + Int skill points per level.
Warrior: Any class that grants full Base Attack Bonus.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on September 21, 2012, 12:45:24 PM
Favored Nemesis (Ranger ACF)
Instead of choosing a creature type for your favored enemy, you instead choose a category of character classes. You gain your bonuses against any character with at least one level in a class that matches that category. Creatures with racial abilities that both match a category and count as the ability granted by a class that matches that category also count as favored enemies, but not those with similar abilities. For example, a dragon with spellcasting as a Sorcerer would count as an arcane spellcaster class, but a Reth Dekala would not count as a martial adept class because its racial maneuvers do not function as though used by any martial adept class.

Arcane Spellcaster: Any class that grants the ability to cast arcane spells, including most shadowcasters.
Divine Spellcaster: Any class that grants the ability to cast divine spells.
Binder: Any class that grants the Soul Binding ability.
Meldshaper: Any class that grants the ability to shape soulmelds.
Invoker: Any class that grants the ability to cast invocations.
Martial Adept: Any class that grants the ability to initiate martial maneuvers.
Skillful: Any class that grants at least 6 + Int skill points per level.
Warrior: Any class that grants full Base Attack Bonus.
Psionic (any creature with a power point reserve)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on September 21, 2012, 01:11:36 PM
What if a creature fits in more than one category?  Multiple boni?  That wouldn't happen with favored enemies...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 21, 2012, 01:37:25 PM
Psionic (any creature with a power point reserve)

Thank you. I don't know how I missed manifesters.
The point of this ability is to go by class (as per the Nemesis weapon property, but generalized a bit because it was printed while there were still only about a dozen base classes), so it would be any class that gives PP (or probably the ability to manifest powers) instead. For reference, Nemesis was "printed" in one of the 3.0E original adventures on WotC's site (I don't remember the adventure, but it was something around 5th-7th level). It's like Bane, but class-based instead of type-based.

What if a creature fits in more than one category?  Multiple boni?  That wouldn't happen with favored enemies...

Use the highest bonus, exactly as Favored Enemy says. (And it can happen with Favored Enemy, particularly with Humanoid and Outsider subtypes.)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 24, 2012, 11:42:58 PM
Strength to Intimidation:

You may use your strength mod instead of (or on top of, whatever) charisma for intimidation, but the modifier benefit is capped by your ranks in Intimidate.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on September 25, 2012, 10:30:58 AM
Strength to Intimidation:

You may use your strength mod instead of (or on top of, whatever) charisma for intimidation, but the modifier benefit is capped by your ranks in Intimidate.

I am sure there was a feat or class feature that does that already. If I remember correctly it might be in a racial sub level though (I think Orc or Half Orc, not sure)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 25, 2012, 01:28:09 PM
Strength to Intimidation:

You may use your strength mod instead of (or on top of, whatever) charisma for intimidation, but the modifier benefit is capped by your ranks in Intimidate.

I am sure there was a feat or class feature that does that already. If I remember correctly it might be in a racial sub level though (I think Orc or Half Orc, not sure)
There's the alternate use MotW has on page 18 for barbarians using strength for intimidate as well as the feat Dread Tyranny from Races of Destiny.  Mostly this is just my idea on how it might work since the character needs to actually train to know how to use strength that way whereas doing it with charisma is simply natural.

It's just an idea though, I'm not saying whether it might be balanced or inferior to other feats.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 25, 2012, 07:06:57 PM
Replacement for most of the TWF feat chain.

Ambidextrous [General]
Prerequisites: Two-Weapon Fighting, Dex 17
Benefits: You suffer only a -2 penalty on attack rolls when fighting with multiple weapons, regardless of whether or not your off-hand weapons are light weapons. In addition, you add your full Strength score to damage rolls with off-hand attacks, rather than half. Finally, you can make a number of off-hand attacks as part of a full-attack as are granted by your Base Attack Bonus (at appropriately decreasing attack bonuses) instead of only one.
Normal: If your off-hand weapon is not light, you suffer a -4 penalty on attack rolls. You gain only a single additional off-hand weapon attack and you add only half your Strength modifier to damage.
Special: A Fighter can select Ambidextrous as a bonus feat. A Ranger who has selected the Two-Weapon Fighting combat style gains Ambidextrous as a bonus feat at level 6.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 26, 2012, 10:58:39 AM
Give a Warlock the Hideous Blow invocation (altered to not provoke AoOs, which is stupid), then add in a bunch of Eldritch Essence invocations and a bit better scaling on Eldritch Blast damage. Suddenly, you're not to far away mechanically from what a martial adept does, are you?

Eldritch Erosion - (Least, 2nd) Eldritch Blast ignores resistances, DR, and hardness.
Leading Blast - (Least, 1st) If your Eldritch Blast hits and deals damage, your allies (other than yourself) gain a +4 bonus on attack rolls against the damaged creature for 1 round.
Reinforcing Blast - (Least, 1st) If your Eldritch Blast hits and deals damage, you gain DR 5/cold iron for 1 round, or your existing DR/cold iron is increased by 5.
Shadow Twin Blast - (Least, 1st) Roll twice when determining your Eldritch Blast's attack roll and choose one to use. If you take the lower result or both are equal, your blast deals an additional 1d6 cold damage.
Crusader's Blast - (Least, 1st) If your Eldritch Blast hits and deals damage to an opponent that poses a viable threat, you or an ally within 10 feet heals damage equal to 1d6 + your CL (max +5).
Blast of the White Raven - (Dark, 8th) If your Eldritch Blast hits and deals damage, the target is stunned for 1 round (no save).
Mountain Blast - (Dark, 9th) Your Eldritch Blast also deals 2d6 points of Constitution damage.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 26, 2012, 09:13:28 PM
Simmering Rage [General]
Your fury sits just beneath the surface, rather than being unleashed in short but violent bursts.
Prerequisites: Ability to rage, frenzy, or enter a similar enraged state.
Benefits: You gain lesser benefits of your raging state even when not enraged. You gain the following benefits and penalties of your enraged state:

These effects only apply if you can still enter your enraged state. Thus, if you do not have any remaining uses of your raging ability, or have already enraged this encounter, you may not gain these lesser benefits. If you can enter multiple such states, track whether or not each one applies independently, although their effects do not stack. The effects of this feat do not stack with the actual benefits of your enraged state.
Special: Effects that would modify your enraged state also influence the aspects of your rage that are maintained by your simmering rage, as indicated above.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 28, 2012, 12:04:45 AM
Afterlife ideas:

There is no afterlife, per se. At least, not in the traditional sense. When you die, your soul just kinda floats around as it slowly deteriorates. Resurrection spells have a time limit because the magic doesn't just recreate a body and rebind the soul to it, it also has to repair the deteriorated soul as well.

Necromancy and animation as undead is a sort of MacGyvering of the soul-body rebinding process without the repair job first. The soul doesn't deteriorate any further while its body is animated as a skeleton or zombie or whatever, but it's still damaged and torn. Awaken Undead and similar effects are quick fixes that sort of try to repair the damaged soul, but can't do it correctly since the undead animation holds it in the body poorly.

Souls with intense force of will can sometimes forestall this process, becoming ghosts, but even that just slows the process. Incorporeal undead (shadows, wraiths, specters, etc.) are just weaker wills or more damaged souls. They don't hate the life, they just claw at it on instinct, desperately trying to reacquire that living link back that they can't possibly get.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 01, 2012, 11:04:12 PM
How could 4E classes be made more awesome through power types? And by "awesome", I mean distinct from each other and keeping with the ideas of previous editions.
Disclaimer: I've never played 4E.

Fighter: ToB style. Plenty of encounter powers, a few at-wills, and few if any dailies. Encounter powers can be recharged so you never really run out, but the more you want to spam a single one, the more time you have to spend on the recovery actions. Like with the Warblade, where if you used the same maneuver over and over, you had to spend every other round recovering, while if you went through all of your maneuvers before recovering, you only had to spend a round recovering once every 3-5 rounds.

Wizard: Lots of dailies, a couple of at-wills, few if any encounter powers. As per tradition, lots of big spells, but limited options to fall back on when they're used up.

Rogue: Tons of at-will, some encounters, few if any dailies. Most of the at-wills are situational, needing some sort of setup to work at peak efficiency or having effects that aren't useful in all circumstances. Should have enough options that there's still something to do all the time, though.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on October 04, 2012, 06:21:50 PM
Enlightened Ascetic Mage:

Prereqs: Ascetic Mage, Concentration 8 ranks, ability to spontaneously cast 3rd level arcane spells.

Benefit: In addition to the benefits of Ascetic Mage, you may now use your Charisma score in place of Wisdom for special monk benefits such as Stunning Fist.  You may now sacrifice a spell slot to gain a unarmed attack bonus equal to the spell level sacrificed and unarmed damage equal to 1d4 times the spell level.  Finally, as a full-round action you may use your Stunning Fist feat in conjunction with a touch or ranged touch spell.

I'd like to eventually make improved versions of all the multiclass feats.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on October 08, 2012, 08:23:50 PM
The undead that results when a warblade iron heart surges away the condition of being dead.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 10, 2012, 12:30:21 AM
TWF/Flurry Rules

Regardless of the weapon you use (natural or manufactured), you get the full BaB complement of attacks.
If you wield multiple weapons, you can Flurry, gaining one extra attack with any number of your secondary weapons (as secondary weapons, see below), as part of a full-attack. Each extra weapon attacked with imposes a cumulative -2 penalty on all attack rolls for the round.
Secondary attacks are at full BaB, but grant only 1/2 your Str mod to damage, regardless of the number of limbs used. Power Attack only adds 1x to damage on secondary attacks (again, regardless of limbs used).

Multiattack: The cumulative attack penalty is reduced to -1.

Improved Multiattack: The cumulative attack penalty is negated.

Monk's Flurry of Blows: Can gain extra Flurry attacks with Monk weapons even while wielding them as primary weapons. The extra attacks granted with Monk weapons gain the full benefits of being a primary attack (other than extra attacks for a high BaB).
   At 5th, gain Multiattack.
   At 9th, gain Improved Multiattack.
   At 11th, gain the full benefits of extra attacks for high BaB when flurrying with Monk weapons.

Rapid Shot: Can gain extra Flurry attacks with ranged weapons even while wielding them as primary weapons. The extra attacks granted with ranged weapons gain the full benefits of being a primary attack (other than extra attacks for a high BaB).

Two Weapon Fighting: The extra attacks granted with off-hand weapons gain the full benefits of being a primary attack (other than extra attacks for a high BaB).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on October 12, 2012, 03:10:36 PM
Universal templates.

Each gives +1 to a stat and -1 to another stat, as well as a minor ability.  All are LA +0 and you can only apply 1.

Examples:

Brutish. +1 Str, -1 Dex. +2 bonus on opposed checks.
Bright. +1 Int, -1 Wis. Pick one non-exclusive skill as a class skill.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 18, 2012, 06:58:04 PM
Completed: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13775.0

Endurance skill

When using this skill, replace any bonus feat of Endurance (such as the Ranger) with the Skill Focus (Endurance) feat. Any prerequisites for the Endurance feat instead require 2 ranks in the skill. Higher level effects can require more, but should never require more ranks than the cross-class maximum.

Endurance (Con)
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 18, 2012, 08:46:52 PM
The Agraramel, a thief of time.
(Note to self: Pilfer Stratovarius's Echocaller (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=5819.0) and my Time Sifter (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=2262).)
This came to me in a dream. Well, the basic idea, anyways.

Base class
3/4 BAB
d6 HD
Good Ref
6+Int skills

Table: The AgraramelHD: d6


Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
Base
Attack
Bonus
+0
+1
+2
+3
+3
+4
+5
+6/+1
+6/+1
+7/+2
+8/+3
+9/+4
+9/+4
+10/+5
+11/+6/+1
+12/+7/+2
+12/+7/+2
+13/+8/+3
+14/+9/+4
+15/+10/+5

Fort
Save
+0
+0
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2
+3
+3
+3
+4
+4
+4
+5
+5
+5
+6
+6
+6

Ref
Save
+2
+3
+3
+4
+4
+5
+5
+6
+6
+7
+7
+8
+8
+9
+9
+10
+10
+11
+11
+12

Will
Save
+0
+0
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2
+3
+3
+3
+4
+4
+4
+5
+5
+5
+6
+6
+6


Special
Moment of Inertia, Fast to Fight, Sneak Attack +1d6, Stolen Time
Trapfinding
A Moment Forever (1 round)
Time Share
Before Its Time, Sneak Attack +2d6, Time Warp 1/day
Accelerate (1 attack)
Timeless Battlefield
A Moment Forever (2 rounds), Time Warp 2/day
Sneak Attack +3d6
Time for Action (standard)
, Time Warp 3/day
Accelerate (2 attacks)
A Moment Forever (3 rounds), Sneak Attack +4d6
, Time Warp 4/day
Sneak Attack +5d6, Time Warp 5/day
A Moment Forever (4 rounds), Accelerate (3 attacks)
, Time Warp 6/day

Maximum
Potential
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40


Potential: By storing and releasing time, you can produce marvellous effects. You can designate an object you possess as your potentiometer, the device you use to store potential time. Any non-living, non-magical object can be made into a potentiometer, but most Agraramels choose objects that are somehow connected to time, such as hourglasses and stopwatches. A potentiometer looks and functions as a normal object of its type, except that it exudes a faint aura of Transmutation (CL 1st) and may appear slightly unusual at times. For example, a pocketwatch might appear to be stopped when observed, but always shows the correct time, or a knife may appear to pass through things moments before the cut appears.
   Potential time is measured in moments. Your potentiometer can only store a certain amount of time at once, equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 0) plus twice your class level. Any excess potential is lost. Whenever you have a spare moment, you can store it in your potentiometer, adding one moment to the potential stored. This takes a swift action. You can also spend 1 minute to completely fill your potentiometer to its capacity.
   If you lose your potentiometer, you can still spend potential from it through the link backwards in time when you still possessed it, but you can't add more potential to it. You can only have a single potentiometer at once, and creating a new potentiometer reverts any previous potentiometer into a mundane item. Creating a new potentiometer takes 1 hour of concentration and immediately fills the new potentiometer's potential to its maximum capacity.
   Many abilities ask you to spend potential. You can never spend more moments in any one round than your class level. This limit count from the end of your turn to the end of your turn on the next round.

Fast to Fight (Su): You can spend moments as part of making an initiative check to gain a competence bonus on the check equal to the amount of moments spent.

Moment of Inertia (Su): You can spend moments as a swift action to increase your speed by 10 feet per moment spent for 1 round.

Sneak Attack (Ex): As the Spellthief. +1d6 at 1st and every 4 levels thereafter.

Stolen Time (Su): Whenever you make a successful Sneak Attack, you can also steal your target's moment of inattention for yourself. You can reduce the number of dice of Sneak Attack damage you deal by 1 to store 1 moment of potential. This effect applies even if this would reduce your Sneak Attack damage to 0.

Trapfinding (Ex): At 2nd level.

A Moment Forever (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, you can spend 3 moments as a standard action to stop time (as the time stop spell) for 1 round. For every 5 additional moments you spend, you can stop time for 1 additional round, to a maximum of 5 rounds when you spend 23 moments.
   If you affect multiple creatures at once with this ability (such as through Time Share), you can all perceive and interact with each other, although you still can't interact with unstopped creatures and objects.

Time Share (Su): Starting at 4th level, you can spend additional moments while using an ability that requires you to spend moments and only affects yourself. For every 2 additional moments spent, you can grant one ally within 30 feet the benefits of that ability (using the same number of moments your spent).

Before Its Time (Su): Beginning at 5th level, you can reduce the number of dice of Sneak Attack damage you deal by 1 and spend 5 moments to momentarily accelerate magical effects on the target. Make a dispel check as though using a targeted greater dispel magic effect, except that the modifier is equal to your class level instead of your caster level. Only non-permanent spells can be dispelled this way. This effect applies even if this would reduce your Sneak Attack damage to 0.

(click to show/hide)

Time Warp (Su): Once per day starting at 5th level, you can remove your self from time for a few moments as a swift action. This functions as the time hop power, except that it lasts only until the beginning of your next turn. When you return to normal time, you retrieve and store your lost time, allowing you to store a number of moments up to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 0). You can use this ability one additional time each day at 8th level and every 3 levels thereafter.

Accelerate (Su): Starting at 6th level, you can spend moments as part of a full attack. You make one additional attack at your highest Base Attack Bonus for every 6 moments spent.

Timeless Battlefield (Su): Beginning at 7th level, whenever a creature within 300 feet to which you have line of sight and line of effect is removed from the normal flow of time (such as through a time hop power, a time stop spell, or a similar effect) you can join them as an immediate action. Doing so requires you to use an ability, cast a spell, manifest a power, or activate an item you possess that would shift you out of the normal flow of time in a similar manner (whether through using the exact same ability yourself or by using similar effects such as using A Moment Forever to act alongside a creature that had manifested temporal acceleration). Doing so uses up the resources required to use that ability normally (such as moments, power points for powers, spell slots for spells, and charges and daily uses for items) and lasts no longer than the effect you used would last, but can be done as part of the immediate action used to activate this ability (even if the normal action would be longer or shorter). Additionally, you can dismiss this effect as a standard action, even if the ability you used is not ordinarily dismissable. If the prevailing temporal conditions would prevent actions (such as with the time hop power), you can bring your own time with you, allowing you to take your normal allotment of actions each round and the other creature to take only a limited number of actions, as though it was staggered. If the prevailing temporal conditions would normally prevent interaction with others (such as with the time stop spell), you and the creature you join can interact with each other normally.

Time for Action (Su): Starting at 10th level, you can spend 10 moments as a swift action to gain a standard action (or a move action), or 15 moments to gain a full-round action (or a standard action and a move action, or two move actions). By spending 5 additional moments, you can use this ability as an immediate action instead of a swift action.



Other ability names:
Time heals all wounds: Grant a target a day's worth of natural healing.
Perfect Moment: Take 20 on a d20 roll.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on October 18, 2012, 08:57:02 PM
That is awesome.  PrC or base?  Also, time stop seems overly strong, though without spellcasting I guess it's less so.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on October 18, 2012, 09:06:34 PM
That is awesome.  PrC or base?  Also, time stop seems overly strong, though without spellcasting I guess it's less so.
He can share it with his friends...

Before Its Time seems kind of weak. How about making it a modified Dispel check? (if successful, spells end as if their duration had expired, Permanent effects are not dispelled).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 18, 2012, 09:23:37 PM
That is awesome.  PrC or base?  Also, time stop seems overly strong, though without spellcasting I guess it's less so.

Base class. One of the major points is having a 1 round Time Stop at 3rd level, although we can tweak through the details until it works right. The fact that it starts at 3rd level is one of the things I remember strongly about the dream. That, and the potentiometer, and a PrC all about spells with vocal components that gives you selectable abilities akin to the Archmage's High Arcana and a total of DR 2/- over the course of its 7 or 10 levels. Also a plot about some stolen goods that I didn't really understand.

But, yeah, it's a base class, and making a 3rd level Time Stop work is an important point.

That is awesome.  PrC or base?  Also, time stop seems overly strong, though without spellcasting I guess it's less so.
He can share it with his friends...

Before Its Time seems kind of weak. How about making it a modified Dispel check? (if successful, spells end as if their duration had expired, Permanent effects are not dispelled).

Good point. Time Share + Time Stop is a bit of a finicky ability. Mind you, you can't do that until level 5, the same level that White Raven Tactics becomes available.

That reminds me, I may need to tweak how Time Stop interacts with the moments per round limit.

Straight dispel check probably is a good idea. Say, 1d20 + moments spent? Or a fixed moment cost and 1d20 + class level? Moment cost could also be based on the number of effects affected.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on October 19, 2012, 05:54:59 PM
Straight dispel check probably is a good idea. Say, 1d20 + moments spent? Or a fixed moment cost and 1d20 + class level? Moment cost could also be based on the number of effects affected.
Fixed cost and 1d20+class level, IMO.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 20, 2012, 12:36:12 AM
Straight dispel check probably is a good idea. Say, 1d20 + moments spent? Or a fixed moment cost and 1d20 + class level? Moment cost could also be based on the number of effects affected.
Fixed cost and 1d20+class level, IMO.

Done.

So, any ideas for level 11+ class features?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on October 20, 2012, 08:12:07 AM
Spend moments to gain bonuses to saves and/or AC (or avoid effects altogether) as you manipulate the time stream.  Spend a lot of moments to teleport, as you skip ahead to where the planet has rotated a little bit.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 02, 2012, 12:15:37 PM
Hilt Smash [Fighter]
Prerequisites: Str 13, Dex 13
Benefit: You can treat any non-double melee weapon you wield in two hands as a double weapon, using the hilt of the weapon as the second head. The hilt deals bludgeoning damage with a base damage of a weapon two sizes smaller. Enchantments and other effects applied to the weapon also apply to the hilt. Similarly, any other properties that the weapon is made with (such as weapon templates and masterwork) also apply to the hilt. Regardless of the weapon used, the hilt is not considered a reach weapon, nor do any other special bonuses of the base weapon apply to it (such as bonuses to disarm attempts or the ability to be used as part of a trip attempt). The hilt is not otherwise considered a distinct weapon from the normal weapon, and any effects that would specifically affect the hilt instead affect the weapon as a whole.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on November 04, 2012, 12:01:12 AM
Hmm... so screw double weapons, then? This makes any weapon better than pretty much all of them (which isn't saying much, but still...), since you only have to pay for one "head". This also gives a nice alternative to spiked chains (or guisarme + armor spikes). I guess the reduction in damage is a big enough drawback, though. Overall, I like it.
Hilt Smash [Fighter]
Prerequisites: Str 13, Dex 13
Benefit: You can treat any non-double melee weapon you wield in two hands as a double weapon, using the hilt of the weapon as the second head. The hilt deals bludgeoning damage with a base damage of a weapon two sizes smaller. Enchantments and other effects applied to the weapon also apply to the hilt. Similarly, any other properties that the weapon is made with (such as weapon templates and masterwork) also apply to the hilt. Regardless of the weapon used, the hilt is not considered a reach weapon, nor do any other special bonuses of the base weapon apply to it (such as bonuses to disarm attempts or the ability to be used as part of a trip attempt). The hilt is not otherwise considered a distinct weapon from the normal weapon, and any effects that would specifically affect the hilt instead affect the weapon as a whole.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 04, 2012, 01:57:02 AM
Clever Wrestling redo:

Prereqs: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, BAB +6 (fuck the former size requirements)

Benefit: You have a knack for turning your opponent's size against him as well as using your own size to better suit the situation.  Treat your opponent as one size category smaller than it actually is for purposes of grappling if it is advantageous to do so.  This means that you can grapple with a target three sizes larger than you, and that its size bonus to grapple checks is lowered by 4 when grappling with you.

Special: A Fighter can take this feat as a fighter bonus feat.  A 6th level monk may take this feat as a bonus feat if he took Improved Grapple as a bonus feat at 1st level.  He need not meet the prerequisite of BAB +6.


Alternately, I'm thinking of a way to allow AoOs while grappling and being able to keep Dex to AC against other opponents too.  There's also the annoyance of the -4 on attacks with unarmed strikes, natural weapons, or light weapons.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 04, 2012, 04:41:01 PM
Swift Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisites: Quicken Spell
Benefit: You can apply this metamagic feat to any spell with a casting time of one standard action and a non-instantaneous duration other than concentration. For spells with level-based durations, this only applies to spells with durations of 1 round/level or longer. For spells with fixed durations, this only applies to spells with durations of 1 minute or longer. For spells with durations involving concentration, consider only the non-concentration component of the spell's duration. This metamagic feat cannot be applied to spells with other durations. The duration of the spell is dramatically reduced, but its casting time becomes 1 swift action instead of 1 standard action. If the spell had any targets, its target becomes you. If the spell had a range longer than personal, its range becomes personal. If the spell was designed to affect objects instead of creatures, it instead affects one or more objects in your possession (as applicable), but only while they remain in your possession. The level adjustment of this metamagic depends on the duration of the original spell.
   If the spell does not have a duration exactly matching an entry on the table below, use the longest-duration entry for which the spell has a longer duration.
   A Swift Spell's duration cannot be further modified by other metamagic, spells, or abilities.

Original DurationNew DurationLevel Adjustment
1 round/level1 round+1
1 minute/level1d4 rounds+1
10 minutes/level1d4+1 rounds+1
1 hour/level or longer2d4+1 rounds+2
1 minute1d2 rounds+1
10 minutes1d3+1 rounds+1
1 hour1d6+1 rounds+2
1 day or longer2d6+1 rounds+2
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 07, 2012, 03:01:29 PM
Changing the rules a bit with regards to stuff like Inhuman Reach:

When wielding a reach weapon made for a creature of your size, the weapon only doubles the natural reach as determined by your size.  Feats such as Inhuman Reach do not allow you to double the reach granted by the reach weapon.  However, if you are able to wield a reach weapon of appropriate size to your combined reach from size and effects like Inhuman Reach (such as a Large weapon for a medium character with Inhuman Reach) then you may gain the extra reach from the weapon.


Or we could just simplify things by saying reach weapons made for X size creatures may only give a maximum amount of extra reach equal to double the normal reach of a creature of that size.  Small and medium are capped at +5, large is +10, huge is +15, etc.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 08, 2012, 10:16:31 AM
Taking a cue from 5E (D&D Next) and taking it a step further, what if saving throws were skill checks? You'd have your huge list of skills, some of which you had ranks in, some of which you didn't, just as things are now. Classes would have base Str/Dex/Con/Int/Wis/Cha save bonuses, which you could use in place of your ranks of the skill in question when making a save. Different spells and effects would have different skill saves. Web would be an Escape Artist save, Fireball a Tumble save, Charm Person would be a Sense Motive save, Rock to Mud would be a Jump save, Discern Lies a Bluff save, and so on and so forth.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on November 08, 2012, 05:21:48 PM
Taking a cue from 5E (D&D Next) and taking it a step further, what if saving throws were skill checks? You'd have your huge list of skills, some of which you had ranks in, some of which you didn't, just as things are now. Classes would have base Str/Dex/Con/Int/Wis/Cha save bonuses, which you could use in place of your ranks of the skill in question when making a save. Different spells and effects would have different skill saves. Web would be an Escape Artist save, Fireball a Tumble save, Charm Person would be a Sense Motive save, Rock to Mud would be a Jump save, Discern Lies a Bluff save, and so on and so forth.
I like this.

Actually, let's make everything skill checks. Sorcerers cast with spellcraft, etc. Have to rebalance, though, skill checks are too easy to boost.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Eldritch_Lord on November 08, 2012, 06:15:36 PM
Taking a cue from 5E (D&D Next) and taking it a step further, what if saving throws were skill checks? You'd have your huge list of skills, some of which you had ranks in, some of which you didn't, just as things are now. Classes would have base Str/Dex/Con/Int/Wis/Cha save bonuses, which you could use in place of your ranks of the skill in question when making a save. Different spells and effects would have different skill saves. Web would be an Escape Artist save, Fireball a Tumble save, Charm Person would be a Sense Motive save, Rock to Mud would be a Jump save, Discern Lies a Bluff save, and so on and so forth.

That won't work for 3e without a serious overhaul of saves and skills.  The reason that saves, BAB, etc. aren't skills already is that they implicitly require a basic level of competence for all PCs; even a low-BAB low-Str arcanist needs to make attack rolls sometimes.  Adventures won't grind to a halt if no PC has ranks in a certain skill--being unable to see hidden people, know about monster weaknesses, and such won't kill you, so it's okay to allow characters to not invest ranks in them.  But if you put 0 ranks in Sense Motive and have a total mod of +3, say, and then have to use that to resist a DC 24 dominate person, you're kinda screwed.

Spell DCs already give the caster the advantage, because a caster uses his highest stat to set the DCs but can target the weakest of three saves of his target, usually keyed to a secondary or tertiary stat.  Opposing spells with skills is replace three saves with over twenty separate saves.  If you give classes a base progression in the different saves, you effectively have six saves instead of three--congratulations, you've only made the problem twice as bad instead of seven or eight times as bad.

On the other hand, if people invest in a certain skill, they pass their saves with flying colors.  See the Mind Over Body maneuver, where you replace a save with a Concentration check, and if you max out Concentration your ranks are around double your base save at all levels.  If a save DC is set assuming the base save progression, rolling a skill check will pass it easily; any character who invests in Sense Motive basically gains immunity to charm effects unless they consistently roll low against higher-than-average save DCs.

Quite frankly, the stats-as-saves thing only works in 5e (for a very loose definition of "works") because their math is crap.  The scaling is minimal to nonexistent, competent characters fail easy checks half the time while "godlike" DCs can be hit by 3rd level characters, rogues barely need to roll to pass the majority of skill checks while fighters have a hard time jumping a few feet in the air, and so forth.

Now, if you were making a 3e variant from the ground up so that saves, attack rolls, and skills advance roughly at the same rate, that might be more workable mathematically, but you still have the problem of people investing no ranks vs. investing full ranks in certain skills.  Look at SWSE: the difference between "no ranks" and "full ranks" is +10 at most, skill training is worth +5, bonuses above +1 or +2 are hard to get, and it's very hard to stack bonuses from more than one or two sources.  Yet even with the similar progressions, Force powers using opposed checks (which consist of one skill, Use the Force, against a selection of other skills such as Perception/Acrobatics/etc.) are far too good against untrained enemies, and Force powers against defenses are only balanced at mid levels when trained Use the Force is within a few points of automatically-progressing defenses, with Force powers dominating at low levels and falling off at high levels with less than a +10 skew either way.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 09, 2012, 02:34:08 PM
Speaking of save DCs, what if the save DCs of spells (and similar effects) were based on the save they targeted? Int for Reflex saves, Wis for Fort saves, and Cha for Will saves (and for when save DCs are needed for effects without saves for whatever reason)? Shuffle it around as you see fit. Different classes wouldn't necessarily even need the same stats for each save type, although the consistency would be good.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on November 10, 2012, 03:10:31 PM
That would be pretty good to have. It does help make Offense Diversity more a thing than outright victory.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: ariasderros on November 10, 2012, 08:29:31 PM
Homebrew requests:
Another Martial Discipline, focused on throwing: specifically, trowing axes and javelins (as per the gloves of endless javelins).

Another Martial Adept: Iron Heart; Diamond Mind; Mystic Eclipse; the Throwing Discipline above. Theme, strategic use of attacks.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on November 10, 2012, 10:10:00 PM
I can work on these, perhaps.  Since I write martial adepts like it's my job.

(I wish it was my job.)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: ariasderros on November 10, 2012, 11:02:29 PM
I can work on these, perhaps.  Since I write martial adepts like it's my job.

(I wish it was my job.)

Well, I was talking about people who should just get paid for all of their work on stuff for D&D.

I mentioned you.

Then I remembered that you said you do some of this during downtime at work.

So, you do get paid to do some of this :)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 12, 2012, 01:05:54 AM
Life Domain - Similar to the Healing domain, but mostly just an excuse to add in some SpC spells and tweak the list to be a bit more useful.

Power: Once per day, you can cast a single healing subschool spell targeting only willing subjects as a swift action instead of a standard action. Spells with longer casting times or with any non-willing subjects are not affected.
1: Lesser Vigor
2: Close Wounds
3: Mass Lesser Vigor
4: Panacea
5: Revivify
6: Greater Restoration
7:
8: True Resurrection
9: Mass Heal


New spells:
Coagulate (Clr 1, Healer 0, Medic 1): Stops bleeding, prevents subsequent bleeding wounds for 1 minute.
Rebirth (Drd 7): Returns subject to life in a newborn body equivalent to its own, mimicking its original body's lifetime of growth and physical development over the course of 1 day.
Rejuvenation, Lesser (Drd 1, Healer 1, Medic 1): Subject heals 1d4+CL/3 hp each round for 3 rounds.
Rejuvenation (Drd 3, Healer 2, Medic 2): Subject heals 2d4+CL/3 hp each round for 3 rounds.
Rejuvenation, Greater (Drd 5, Healer 4, Medic 4): Subject heals 4d4+CL/3 hp each round for 3 rounds.
Regenerate, Lesser (Clr 4, Drd 5, Healer 4, Medic 4): Heals cosmetic damage, stops bleeding, reattaches severed limbs.


Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 12, 2012, 09:40:17 PM
A base class (or maybe PrC) all about teleportation.

Jaunt (Sp): Once per round, you can teleport up to [distance] as a move action. You must have line of sight and line of effect to the target location. [Insert text about being shunted if you can't arrive.] As a spell-like ability, using Jaunt provokes an attack of opportunity, but see Tumbling Teleportation. Jaunt is the equivalent of a 1st-level spell.

Tumbling Teleportation (Su): Whenever you use a teleportation ability that provokes an attack of opportunity you can make a Tumble check to avoid provoking the attack of opportunity, as though moving through a threatened space. You do not suffer any penalty on your Tumble check for teleporting the full distance, although your still cannot use the Tumble skill in this manner if your movement is slowed armor or encumberance.

Blink Strike (Su): Whenever you teleport at least 5 feet, you can leave yourself slightly between the planes and between locations for a short while. Attacks against you strike thin air where you were a moment ago, and your strikes simply slip past your opponent's guard in less than the blink of an eye. [Bonus precision damage and AC as Skirmish.] [Counts as Skirmish for stuff.] You gain the benefits of Blink Strike whenever you teleport, and its effects last until the beginning of your next turn.

Warp Breach (Sp): [High level ability.] As a standard action, you can randomly teleport all matter in a 40-foot radius burst centered on a point within medium range to random locations on random planes. This deals 30d6 damage, ignoring hardness, to all creatures and unattended objects in the area except those that you designate. Creatures and objects that are reduced to 0 hp or lower by this damage are disintegrated, and their component atoms are scattered across the multiverse. Attended objects that are no longer attended due to the creature attending them being annihilated in this way are also subject to this damage. A successful Will save (DC 10 + [Class level] + [Ability modifier]) halves this damage. Warp Breach is a teleportation effect and is the equivalent of a 9th-level spell.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 17, 2012, 11:16:53 PM
Locate Death
Divination
Clr 2, Drd 2, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 1 mile/level
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

When cast, this spell instantly reveals to you the exact distance and direction of the location at which the last creature to die within the spell's range died. This only detects the deaths of creatures with 1/2 or more HD that died within the past week; creatures with less HD simply do not register, and the metaphysical echoes of deaths more than a week past are too faded to detect. If multiple creatures died at the exact same moment, only the nearest is detected. This spell does not reveal any information about the dead creature other than the location of its death. A creature that died and was moved or even animated as undead or returned to life are still detected (as the event of their death is what registers to this spell, not the dead creature itself). Creatures that are not alive and thus do not die (such as Constructs and Undead) do not register to this spell. If no valid creatures within range have died within the past week, this spell indicates it by providing no location.

This spell is somewhat ineffective in the wilderness and in large cities where the natural predation of animals and larger vermin frequently occurs, masking the deaths of more important entities.

Material Component: A drop of blood.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 18, 2012, 12:12:01 PM
Timid Berserker [Flaw]
You are meek and timid until you fly into a destructive frenzy.
Effect: When not in a rage, frenzy, or similar state, treat your Strength, Constitution, and Charisma scores as 2 points lower than they actually are (minimum 1).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 21, 2012, 11:24:49 AM
Frenzy [General]
Prerequisites: Con 13, ability to rage.
Benefits: Whenever you rage, you can push yourself further into a frenzy. While in a frenzy, you gain a +2 morale bonus to your Strength score (which stacks with any bonuses granted by your rage), temporary hit points equal to your character level, and you can make a single attack with a -5 penalty on your attack roll once per round as a swift action. However, you cannot choose to end a frenzy prematurely, and at the end of the frenzy you are exhausted for the duration of the encounter (or fatigued if you have the Tireless Rage ability or a similar effect). Each round spent in a frenzy counts as one extra round when determining how long you can remain raging.


Deathless Frenzy [General]
Prerequisites: Con 15, Frenzy.
Benefits: While in a frenzy and at negative hit points, you remain stable and do not die, regardless of your hit point total. You remain conscious and can continue to act normally. Nonlethal damage staggers you, but never causes you to fall unconscious. Each round spent in a frenzy while you are negative hit points or would normally be unconscious due to sufficient nonlethal damage counts as two extra rounds when determining how long you can remain raging (this stacks with the extra round that Frenzy costs).


Immortal Frenzy [General]
Prerequisites: Con 17, Frenzy, Deathless Frenzy.
Benefits: While in a frenzy and at negative hit points, you gain fast healing equal to half your negative hit point total, rounded up. While in a frenzy, you can use your full maximum hit points in place of your actual hit points (whichever is better) when determining the effects of nonlethal damage.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 23, 2012, 12:33:24 PM
Completed: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16809.0

Hexblade base class
Yet another Hexblade remake.

Full BaB
d? HD
Good Will
? + Int skill points

1 Hexblade's Curse, Curse of Misfortune -2, Curse of Stupor
2 Arcane Resistance
3 Mettle
4 Siphon Misfortune +1
5 Chaotic Commands, Ill Tidings
6 Black Cloud 20 ft.
7 Curse of Misfortune -4
8 Chains of Adversity
9 Black Cloud 30 ft.
10 Double Hexblade's Curse
11 Mystic Contrariness
12 Black Cloud 40 ft., Siphon Misfortune +2
13 Curse of Misfortune -6
14 Dark Companion
15 Black Cloud 50 ft.
16 Aura of Unluck
17 The Same Doubled
18 Black Cloud 60 ft.
19 Curse of Misfortune -8
20 Karmic Imbalance, Siphon Misfortune +3, Triple Hexblade's Curse


Spellcasting: As Bard.
Note to self: Spell list must be expanded. See Sirpercival's house rules.

Hexblade's Curse (Su): Hexblades are known for their ability to curse their foes, stealing skill and fortune with a glance. You can attempt to curse any target within 60 feet. Unless otherwise stated, curses take a swift action to use and last 5 minutes unless removed earlier (you can dismiss any of your curses as a free action). If a curse allows a saving throw, the DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 your Hexblade level + your Charisma modifier. You can use your curses a total number of times per day equal to your Hexblade level plus your Charisma modifier (minimum 1/day). Some curses, particularly stronger ones, require multiple daily uses to effect.

Most curses normally only affect one or a few targets. However, beginning at 6th level, you gain the ability to bring your curses into effect as a black cloud of misfortune. Each curse that can be used this way indicates its effects when effected as a black cloud. Curses that do not indicate their black cloud effects cannot be used as a black cloud. The radius of your black cloud is 20 feet at 6th level, and increases by 10 feet every 3 levels thereafter, to a maximum of 60 feet at level 18. You can dismiss your curses from each subject of a black cloud individually, without affecting the other subjects or the cloud itself. A curse effected as a black cloud appears as a thin black mist that does not impede vision.

A given subject can only be affected by a single one of your Hexblade's Curses at once. Any creature only has a finite amount of luck to steal away. To apply new curses, you must first dismiss your older ones (a free action). As you gain levels, you learn to steal even more dregs of fortune from your victims. Starting at 10th level, you can affect your subjects with 2 curses at once, Increasing to 3 curses at level 20. This limit applies only to your own Hexblade's Curses. Hexblade's Curses from other Hexblades and curses from other sources and abilities (even your own) are not subject to this limit.

(click to show/hide)

Arcane Resistance (Su): 2nd; Cha to saves vs. spells.

Mettle (Ex): 3rd; No partial effect on successful Fort or Will save.

Siphon Misfortune (Su): When you steal away the luck of others, it need not go to waste. Starting at 4th level, you gain a +1 luck bonus on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks for 1 round after effecting a curse. This improves to +2 at level 12 and +3 at level 20.

Aura of Unluck (Su): Even when you aren't actively willing it, luck just isn't with your enemies. Beginning at 16th level, all melee and ranged attacks directed against you, except those that you specifically allow through, have a 20% chance of missing entirely. This stacks with (and is checked separately from) other miss chances, such as those from concealment and incorporeality.



Feats
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 23, 2012, 05:41:23 PM
Yet another variant skill system.

There are 6 skill checks, one for each ability score. You invest skill points into each ability score, gaining a bonus on all skills related to that score. If you're trained in a skill (it's a class skill for one of your classes), you also get a +5 bonus on skill checks that can reasonably go under that skill (think of class skills more like specific areas of expertise to supplement your training/ranks). No Int modifier to skill points, just 1-4 per level based on your class (take the current skills/level for classes and just divide by 2). Don't multiply by 4 at 1st level.

Combine this with the skillset of your choice. Be flexible, no reason there can't be some overlap between skills (for the +5 bonus, that is; not all Disable Device checks need be Int-based, Dex works as well sometimes).

The +5 for class skill is from the 3 point increase over your level you normally get, plus another 2 points for synergies so we don't have to worry about them (and since they don't exist). Or maybe it's because that's what SWSE and 4E do for trained skills. The possibilities are... no, that's about all of them.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 04, 2012, 01:17:02 PM
Expanding on this (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=243.msg100284#msg100284).

Break Away
(click to show/hide)


AoOs
(click to show/hide)


Mobility
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Dodge
Benefit: You gain a +4 dodge bonus to your armor class against attacks of opportunity. In addition, you can move up to your full movement speed when performing a break away action instead of only half.


Spring Attack
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Dodge, Mobility, BAB +4
Benefit: As part of performing a break away action, you can split your movement before and after your attack (instead of only after). You provoke no attacks of opportunity for your movement out of your starting space or any space you attack from, nor do you provoke an attack of opportunity from any creature you attack for any movement made as part of the break away action. If you have the ability to make multiple attacks as part of a break away action, you can apply some of your movement between each attack as well.


Bounding Assault
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, BAB +6
Benefit: As part of performing a break away action, you can make a full attack instead of only a single attack.


Defensive Break Away
Prerequisites: Tumble 5 ranks, BAB +1
Benefit: You do not suffer a penalty on your attack rolls made as part of a break away action for fighting defensively. If you fight defensively as part of a break away action, you may still suffer the penalty on other attack rolls made during the round.


Plow Over
Prerequisites: Improved Overrun
Benefit: As part of a break away action, you can attempt to move through the spaces of any creatures you attacked and overrun them as part of the same action.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 04, 2012, 07:33:49 PM
Core feat prerequisite changes. Because the current ones are just stupid so damn often. Naturally, many other feats that rely on these as prerequisites will also need to have similar changes.

Combat Expertise: BAB +1
Dodge: --
Far Shot: Precise Shot
Improved Bull Rush: Str 13
Improved Disarm: BAB +1
Improved Feint: Bluff 1 rank
Improved Grapple: Improved Unarmed Strike
Improved Overrun: Str 13
Improved Sunder: BAB +1
Improved Trip: Str 13
Power Attack: BAB +1
Precise Shot: --
Rapid Shot: Dex 13, Precise Shot
Weapon Finesse: Dex 13

Less because they're stupid and more because there's no reason for you to have them if you can't use them unless you're doing something cheesy.
Metamagic Feats: In addition to any existing prereqs, most of these require the ability to cast a spell of the metamagic's spell level adjustment or higher. The exceptions are variable adjustment metamagics (Heighten) and +0 adjustment metamagics (Invisible, Sanctum), which just require the ability to cast spells (ignoring level).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: RobbyPants on December 04, 2012, 09:34:27 PM
As I said in the other thread, I like the Break Away mechanic. As for the feats, it's a nice boost to stuff like Mobility, but while Bounding Assault is nice, it has a pretty big feat investment.

Our games may play out differently, but I'm not used to people trying to move from one opponent to another that often. Perhaps it's an effect of the AoO system, the full attack system, or the player just deciding to finish up the guy they're on. That being said, in my experience, I'm not sure I'd want to spend feats to improve something like Break Away.

What I like about Bounding Assault is that it basically gives you a way to treat a full attack as a standard action. It's just a round about way to get there. I've been debating for some time now if I should make full attacks standard actions. I feel it would kick a lot of ToB in the nuts...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 04, 2012, 10:22:48 PM
Like most things in this thread, I'm not shooting for any particular balance point with these feats. Mostly it's just an exploration of the mechanics, namely that the Spring Attack line of feats can pretty easily work with the break away action.

Here's a question: How much should full-attacking as a standard action cost, if it were available? WotC says you can get limited forms of it for 3-5 feats (SA line), 1 level of Barbarian (Pounce), a swift action and a 2nd-level power (Hustle), and probably a few other ways. Me, I think it's worth more than 1 feat, and I agree that 4 is a little excessive. What are your thoughts?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on December 04, 2012, 10:38:19 PM
I'd say around 3 feats would be fine, really.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 05, 2012, 01:51:01 AM
Barbarian needs more rage!

Core mechanics:
Rage. The basic rage can be started as a free action, lasts for 0 rounds, and does exactly nothing. You get to craft your own personal form of rage from a number of templates and effects, each of which can be further modified on the fly by spending fury points. Only 1/encounter initially, but at higher levels you can enter multiple rages at once, or consecutively.
Fury points. Whenever you deal damage or take damage, you gain one or more fury points. Your maximum fury and the amount you start each encounter with rises with your level.



Rage components:
   Each component has a base cost in fury points, which may be positive or negative. Add up the total cost of all components used in your rage. The rage costs that many fury points to enter, and while enraged your maximum fury points are reduced by the same amount. If the final cost is negative, you gain the negative value when entering the rage, and your maximum fury is likewise increased.
   Many components have an augment effect. While in a rage, you can spend fury points on the augment components of your rage. Except as noted, this takes no action. You needn't even be conscious. You can normally only spend fury points on augmentations during your turn. Track the total amount of fury spent on augmenting each component across the duration of your rage to determine the total effect. You cannot spend more fury points on a given component's augmentations than your class level.
   Since the base duration of a rage is 0 rounds, ending instantly, you must select a rage component that alters its duration. You can only select one such component. Duration components are listed separately for ease of use.

General Rage Components
(click to show/hide)

Penalty Components
(click to show/hide)

Duration Components
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: RobbyPants on December 05, 2012, 07:02:29 AM
Here's a question: How much should full-attacking as a standard action cost, if it were available?
Three feats makes it available for a non-human barbarian at 6th level.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 07, 2012, 11:31:28 AM
Rogue + Ambush = Profit?
Borrows a bit of 5E's expertise dice conceptual space, too.

Sneak Attack: At 1st level, you gain 1 Sneak Attack die, and one additional die at every subsequent odd-numbered Rogue level. Your Sneak Attack dice only apply when you attack a target that you have flanked or that is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC, but they apply for each valid attack you make. Sneak Attack dice can be spent to use ambushes. You can spend Sneak Attack dice on any number of ambushes as part of the same attack. Unspent Sneak Attack dice are lost after the attack.

Ambush: At 1st level, you learn the Deadly Strike ambush and one other ambush of your choice. You learn another ambush at every even-numbered Rogue level. You can learn any ambush on your class list, even if you do not have enough Sneak Attack dice to use it yet.

(click to show/hide)

Trapfinding
Evasion
Trap Sense
Uncanny Dodge
Improved Uncanny Dodge
Special Abilities
... all the same as normal.

Ambush Master: At 20th level, the cost of all of your ambushes with fixed Sneak Attack die costs are reduced by 1 (minimum 1 die). Those with variable costs function as though you spent 1 more die on them than you actually did as long as you spent at least 1 Sneak Attack die.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 07, 2012, 12:04:15 PM
Craft (spellsmithing)
Lets any schlub with some Craft skill make magic items.
Follows the normal rules for making mundane items. No feat or spell or CL prerequisites.
DC = 20 + CL of item

Just running a couple of numbers here.
23*23 = 529
A trained smith (4 ranks, skill focus) with some natural talent (Int 15), good tools (mwk artisan tools), and a competent assistant (aid another) has a +13 modifier. He can make a +1 sword in about 38 weeks.

47*47 = 1369
A master smith (10 ranks, skill focus) with some natural talent (Int 15 + 1 level), some magical ability (Magecraft spell), enchanted tools (mwk artisan tools, one of them +10 forges), and two competent assistants (aid another x2) has a +37 modifier. He can make a +1 sword in about 10 weeks, or a +5 sword in about 7 years.

71*71 = 5041
A grandmaster smith (16 ranks, skill focus) with absurd talent (Int 17 + 3 level), some magical ability (Magecraft spell), enchanted tools (mwk artisan tools, one of them +10 forges), and an army of competent assistants (aid another x10) has a +61 modifier. He can make a +1 sword in about 4 weeks, a +5 sword in about 2 years, or a +10 sword in about 7.6 years.

Alright, never mind, this won't work. The Craft skill takes way too damn long. Just to get to the 1000g/day that spellcasters do, you need a check result of about 265. That's plainly ridiculous. Remind me to redesign Craft one of these days.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Eldritch_Lord on December 07, 2012, 05:54:07 PM
Alright, never mind, this won't work. The Craft skill takes way too damn long. Just to get to the 1000g/day that spellcasters do, you need a check result of about 265. That's plainly ridiculous. Remind me to redesign Craft one of these days.

As a quick fix:

Efficient Magical Craftsman [General]
Prerequisite: 8 ranks in each of Spellcraft, Knowledge (Arcana), Craft (Spellsmithing), and at least one other Craft skill, ability to cast magecraft
Benefit: When determining the cost in gold and time for crafting a magic item that relies on a Craft skill in which you have at least 8 ranks (Craft [Weaponsmithing] for weapons and so forth), you use the item's price in gold pieces instead of silver pieces (or silver instead of copper, if making daily checks).  You may take a -5 penalty to your check to instead use the item's price in platinum pieces (or gold pieces, if making daily checks).
Normal: You use an item's price in silver pieces to determine the cost and time for crafting the item.  If you make checks by the day instead of by the week, your progress is in copper pieces instead of silver pieces.

...or something like that, with whatever added restrictions you want to limit the kinds of magic items you can craft that fast.  With that feat, +1 longsword can thus be made by your master smith in a day and a half (cost is 232 pp, DC is 23, taking 10 is 42 with the -5 platinum penalty, 42*23 = 966, 200/966 = ~.2 weeks), and it takes your grandmaster just over 4 days to make a +5 longsword (cost is 5032 pp, DC is 45 after voluntarily increasing the DC by +10, taking 10 is 66 with the -5 platinum penalty, 66*45 = 2970, 2970/5032 = ~.6 weeks).

Compared to the normal times of 2 days for the +1 sword and 5 days for the +5 sword, the smith actually comes out ahead of a wizard--which is really how it should be, at least for the basic magical arms and armor if not rings and such.  If you don't want mundane crafters to be able to outdo wizards, you can increase the platinum penalty to -10 or so, it'll still vastly speed up the process.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on December 08, 2012, 04:31:37 AM
Simple matter is that Craft is first, cost based in terms of duration, and linear in growth.

Complexity and Mass-based crafts - Make the 'craft unit' factor based on the weight of material involved(actually, volume, but weight applies as well and heavy materials tend to be more difficult to work), multiplied by the complexity rank of the craft.
Your craft rank then, goes against the complexity rating, which sets the DC of the roll, and the number of craft units you score per roll of work.
Raw materials just pay for craft units.


And of course, you don't actually make money with this directly, unlike magical goods, resale is not assured.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 09, 2012, 09:36:42 PM
Percentiles are for suckers.

Concealment check: 1d20 + your miscellaneous modifiers (usually none) against DC 5 (concealment) or DC 11 (total concealment) to hit.

Incorporeal attack check: 1d20 + your miscellaneous modifiers (usually none) against DC 11 to affect a corporeal target. Non-magical sources have a -10 penalty on the check. Ghost Touch weapons and force effects have a +10 bonus. Positive energy effects against incorporeal undead automatically succeed.

Arcane spell failure check: 1d20 + your miscellaneous modifiers (usually none) against DC 1 (no armor) up through DC 8 (full plate) to successfully cast. Shields increase the DC by 1 (light shields), 3 (heavy shields) or 10 (tower shields).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 09, 2012, 09:52:57 PM
I like that one Garryl, especially since it's difficult to use a d100 and two d10's are a bit annoying compared to a single d20.

While I'm here:  Change Multiweapon Fighting from requiring three hands to ability to wield three manufactured weapons at once.  Why?  Roronoa Zozo (http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Roronoa_Zoro), that's why.  Usually needs the mouthpick weapon ability from Lords of Madness, but whatever.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 10, 2012, 01:00:59 AM
Just a reminder to myself that since I've already done a Divine Mind (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1013) remake, and I'm working on a Marshal remake (in this thread, near the end of the 1st page, I think), I should probably do one for the Dragon Shaman as well, it being the third major aura user. In order to do so, I'll try to stick to my formula of minor aura + class aura + special mechanic. Minor auras are, of course, the same deal as everyone else, though I'll probably give the same number as Divine Mind, rather than the increased number that I'm giving the Marshal. For the draconic auras, I'll have to check Dragon Magic and PHB2 to see what already exists, and then make them awesome. I already have a few psychic auras in the Divine Mind that are similar to some of them.

Finally, I need the special mechanic. Divine Mind has manifesting with mantles, Marshal has/is getting it's own fancy new shouts/battlefield presence mechanic (mundane buffing and debuffing). What to do for the Dragon Shaman? There are a few options that come to mind. Invocations (like the Dragonfire Adept) and spontaneous arcane spellcasting are the most obvious. Neither mesh quite as well as I'd like with the existing sub-mechanics of Breath Weapon and Touch of Vitality that I'll look to keep. Maybe those two together could be enough? Spend points from your ToV pool to enhance your breath weapon in various ways, and/or make it do the healing? Food for thought.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 11, 2012, 04:23:45 PM
Sometimes you want an effect with a random chance of success or failure and more than one degree of success or failure. Doing more than the bare minimum will get you a better result, or failing badly might bring the pain. The standard method of randomization is the check (1d20 + modifiers vs. DC), and I have no intention of changing that. I rather like that concept as the unifying mechanic of the d20 system. No, what I'm talking about is the degrees of success/failure.

There are two main ways I can see to do it (and a few others that I won't really get into here). Each has its own advantages that make it suitable for different goals.

1) Multiple DCs. Make your roll, compare it to each of the DCs. Whatever you succeed on, you get, and nothing more. This works best, I feel, when extreme success can have multiple different ways of expressing itself, not all of which are strictly superior to all others of lower values. This setup makes it easy to let you pick which one (of the DCs you've made) you want to take after resolving the roll (as opposed to beforehand, like with the Craft skill, which is a separate matter in which you're trying for a more difficult task rather than succeeding on the same task with differently flying colors). I don't think this works well when degrees of failure (how badly you failed) are involved as in order to fail less (but still fail), you're technically succeeding, just at a less-than-ideal DC.

2) Exceed or fail by a threshold. Make your roll, and see how far above (or below) the DC you rolled. You get whatever it says. This works best, I feel, when extreme success is strictly superior to lesser success, or any time degrees of failure are involved (such as with the Disable Device skill).

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 12, 2012, 03:03:38 PM
Cheap magic items (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14367088#post14367088).

Now completed and expanded (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=17298.0) to a stupidly stupendous degree!
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 15, 2012, 01:01:08 AM
Perfect Defense [General]
Prerequisite: Int 13, Combat Expertise
Benefit: A natural 20 on an attack roll does not automatically hit you. It may still hit you if the total result is high enough to hit your AC, as normal, but the attack does not automatically hit as a result of rolling a 20 on the die. This effect does not apply while you are denied your Dexterity modifier to AC.
   In addition, you can use your Intelligence score in place of your Dexterity score when determining the bonus you add to your AC (subject to all the normal limitations of adding your Dex mod to AC).
Normal: A natural 20 on an attack roll automatically hits, regardless of the target's AC. You add your Dexterity modifier to your AC.

Steadfast Determination for AC.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 15, 2012, 07:45:45 PM
Biopolitan (Deathless version of Necropolitan)

I'm just going to refluff as necessary here since it doesn't take much.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on December 16, 2012, 02:38:44 PM
Seems to me it'd be better named Immortal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xian_%28Daoist%29#The_word_xian) personally.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 16, 2012, 11:23:09 PM
Seems to me it'd be better named Immortal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xian_%28Daoist%29#The_word_xian) personally.

Yeah, the name is a bit wonky, but I did it that waysince necro is the Greek prefix for death while bio is the Greek prefix for life.


Totally unrelated to that: Allow a throwing weapon enchanted with Returning to be able to do iterative attacks dammit!  Or at least have a synergy to do so.  Also, make shuriken able to be used in melee just like it's possible to do in real life.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on December 17, 2012, 12:36:48 PM
You can use practically anything in melee though.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 17, 2012, 02:32:38 PM
Shuriken are specifically disallowed from being used as melee weapons, unfortunately.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 20, 2012, 03:23:05 PM
Suggestion to make things more interesting for Power Attack users:

Addition: If a creature can add 1 1/2x its Strength modifier (or more) to its damage with a weapon, that weapon is treated as a 2-handed weapon for the purposes of all feats and abilities.  For example, a dragon could treat its Tail Slap as a 2-handed weapon for the purposes of Power Attack because it adds 1½ times its Strength bonus to damage with that attack.

And an update to certain Dragon 304 feats:

Windup was updated to Power Throw (Windup doesn't have prereqs besides Str 13+, but PT has Brutal Throw and PA)
Anything requiring Windup as a prereq now requires Power Throw instead, such feats being Bowl Over, Heft, and Route.  Heft was the one that gave me the idea, though since the Power Throw feat doesn't allow for the 2-handed version of PA it needs some reworking.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: 8wGremlin on December 24, 2012, 09:49:22 PM
ACF cleric 1st level - Heretic: you believe your religion is wrong and that your deity has given you the right to lead the religion in a new direction
replace one granted domain that you have, for any other domain not of your gods normal selection
you also get a -6 Cha penalty to NPC reactions with worshippers of your religion, unless they to are heretic priests with the same domains as you
for instance, a Heretic Cleric of Pelor gives up 'Strength' for the domain 'Summer'
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on December 25, 2012, 12:09:37 AM
Just give them Heretic of the Faith as a bonus feat at first level; as a bonus, it lets you be up to 2 alignment steps away from your god!

("Praise the Burning Hate!" Thus spake my LE Cleric of Pelor.)

Anyway, this is just a stub of an idea:

Making a magic sword no longer gives it a +X to hit or damage. It's either magic or its not. Same goes for shields and armor (I mean, DR was simplified, so why not?)

There is now a progression:

Normal -> Masterwork -> Magic -> Epic

If you have Weapon Specialization, it moves whatever weapon of that type that you wield up a step, up to Epic (so if you have Weapon Specialization (Dagger), and you're wielding a Masterwork Dagger, you treat it as a Magic Dagger.)

If a weapon is Epic, you may reroll an attack roll with it once per round, and attacks do not autofail on a 1. This is in addition to piercing DR/Epic.

If you have Weapon Focus, you get a benefit based off the type of weapon. For example, Weapon Focus in Daggers might increase the range increment for all Throwing Weapons.

This could, of course, benefit the most from that classic houserule that the Weapon Focus line affects an entire Proficiency Group (so you could grab Weapon Focus (Axe), because that's just cool.)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: 8wGremlin on December 25, 2012, 12:40:24 AM
Just give them Heretic of the Faith as a bonus feat at first level; as a bonus, it lets you be up to 2 alignment steps away from your god!

("Praise the Burning Hate!" Thus spake my LE Cleric of Pelor.)

Ooh thanks I didn't know that feat existed! Awesome!
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 29, 2013, 12:15:59 AM
We're back! Yay! And I've officially backed up my stuff to my computer. The rest of you are on your own.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Bauglir on January 29, 2013, 01:21:23 AM
I'm reminding you to rework crafting.

(click to show/hide)

I definitely am not trying to distract you from a positive energy spellshaping circle.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 31, 2013, 04:14:13 PM
While mentioning in High Arcana, I figure it bears mentioning here too.

Add Scare to the Hexblade spells, because it's just plain weird that they get Cause Fear and Fear but not Scare.  While we're at it, they need new names!  Scare, then Fear, then Terrify.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on February 02, 2013, 02:17:28 AM
Kinda bored, so I thought of this:

Unorthodox Arrows Technique
OK, so you kinda are not using arrows with your bow; that's just fine...
Prerequisites: ???
Benefits: You may use any improvised weapon that you would be able to use as a Light weapon as if it were ammunition for any ranged weapon of your choice. This is regardless of the actual shape of the improvised weapon; it is entirely possible to fire a length of rope or a single coin out of a bow (just don't ask how...)

This "arrow" deals normal damage for ammunition of its size, and has the added benefit of allowing you to apply any feat or effect that applies to improvised weaponry to your ammunition.
Normal: You can't fire fish out of your bow.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Agita on February 02, 2013, 06:58:52 AM
Kinda bored, so I thought of this:

Unorthodox Arrows Technique
OK, so you kinda are not using arrows with your bow; that's just fine...
Prerequisites: ???
Benefits: You may use any improvised weapon that you would be able to use as a Light weapon as if it were ammunition for any ranged weapon of your choice. This is regardless of the actual shape of the improvised weapon; it is entirely possible to fire a length of rope or a single coin out of a bow (just don't ask how...)

This "arrow" deals normal damage for ammunition of its size, and has the added benefit of allowing you to apply any feat or effect that applies to improvised weaponry to your ammunition.
Normal: You can't fire fish out of your bow.
Spoilered for cruelty to animals.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on February 02, 2013, 07:15:03 AM
Prereq is Throw Anything.  And I love this feat.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 02, 2013, 12:34:19 PM
A ranged martial discipline flavored for (but not requiring) firearms (but assuming the ones you're using either have the magazine capacity to not need reloading or you have a way of doing so as a free action).

It will have a little sub-mechanic called "target lock". Some maneuvers create it, some maneuvers benefit from it. You can have a target lock on one creature at a time (barring exceptions), and you lose it if you can't see the target or you acquire a target lock on another creature.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 05, 2013, 11:10:47 AM
Incarnum meets ToB.

You know a number of styles and have a pool of focus. You can have only so many styles readied at a time. You always gain the basic maneuvers of your readied styles. By investing focus in a style, not only are its maneuvers improved, but you gain access to the higher level maneuvers. Just like normal ToB, maneuvers must be recovered once used, but if you don't want to, you can also shift your focus from one style to another, losing access to the maneuvers you've already expended and gaining access to a new set of available maneuvers. Shifting focus is a swift action and you can change your stance while doing so (even to a stance that is only available after shifting your focus). Some abilities may let you shift your focus through other actions.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 08, 2013, 01:08:58 PM
Goliath feat:  Stone fist.  Basically gain a slam attack that does 1d6 damage.  A bit of a step up from the 1d4 for medium creatures like Warforged, but I think it's fair due to Powerful Build and needing to take a feat for it.

Warforged feat: Adamantine Tracery: Natural weapons and grapples are treated as adamantine for purposes of overcoming DR as well as hardness.  Dunno if it should add a save bonus like the other traceries, or do something else.

Rapidstrike addition: Allow constructs to take Rapidstrike and Improved Rapidstrike, assuming they can take feats at all of course.

Random thought came to mind: What happens when a Warforged druid with the Ironwood Body feat gets his armor enchanted with the Beastskin enhancement and then proceeds to use it?  Funny stuff there.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 10, 2013, 10:29:29 PM
Ranger variant:  Instead of a flat damage boost against favored enemies, perhaps have Sneak Attack dice instead.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on February 11, 2013, 12:04:41 AM
Ranger variant:  Instead of a flat damage boost against favored enemies, perhaps have Sneak Attack dice instead.

Favored Enemy: Ooze!!!
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 11, 2013, 12:30:24 AM
Yeah, pretty much.  Admittedly though, there are rarely enough oozes going around to make that a meaningful choice.  Constructs and undead though?  Oh yes.

And in case anyone was wondering, changing it to Sneak Attack for the ranger's favored enemy would automatically bypass its immunity to SA because of type.  Since FA is so specialized and limited, it's pretty much the only way to make it meaningful.  Something the designers realized during the 3.5 revamp since in 3.0 a ranger actually didn't get extra damage against creatures immune to crits except via a feat, and that feat applied only to one of the ranger's FAs.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Bauglir on February 11, 2013, 01:00:37 AM
Yeah, if you're going for racism-based damage, you need to make it reliable on the occasions it actually comes up.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 11, 2013, 04:25:24 PM
Weapons of Legacy done right

Some notes for now...
1) A weapon is a cool tool. It does neat things. It is not, however, an extension of your class features. Working better with some class features is fine. Requiring them for basic functionality is not.
2) Costs should bring benefits worth the cost. Levels at which the weapon gains nothing should have no costs, appropriate to the lack of benefit.
3) It's a cool toy and you're going out of your way to make use of it, including both special costs, requirements, and learning another damn subsystem. These things are more than just what you can buy for level-appropriate cash. Not so much greater numbers, but special abilities kind of things.

Not a huge fan of how the special costs are set up. They feel like the weapon is sapping your strength, rather than you devoting your energies towards unlocking its power. Ergo, the costs as they appear are gone. You still spend cash to awaken the legacy and all that, but the abilities are split in two. One set you get just for doing the rituals. No level requirement, just cash and time and research and maybe a minor quest or two (like they are now). This set is basic stuff, basically what kind of magic item you can get just from spending that cash normally.

The second set is the special stuff. Things that you'd expect from class features and well-made feats. This is because you unlock them by spending class levels and feats. Spend a feat, get a legacy ability. Spend a class level in the newly revised 3-level Legacy Champion class (sort of like bloodline levels, but as actual class levels instead of pseudo-LA... better look into bloodlines one of these days), and get a chunk of abilities based on your level and how much of the weapon you've unlocked.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 15, 2013, 06:15:22 PM
Just futzing about with terminology a bit.

Die size: The size of an individual die. There is no die size smaller than 1d1, nor higher than 1d20 (percentile dice don't count, they're on their own separate scale). If an effect changes a die size beyond the highest or lowest size, keep track of how many steps beyond the limits it is, but only for interacting with other die size-modifying effects.
1d1 -> 1d2 -> 1d3 -> 1d4 -> 1d6 -> 1d8 -> 1d10 -> 1d12 -> 1d20

Damage Rating: The expression, possibly containing multiple dice, normally used to calculate damage done. Any given damage rating contains only one size of die, although it may involve rolling multiple such dice. There are different tracks of damage rating, each of which has different expressions at each step. If a damage expression it found in multiple damage rating tracks and does not specify which, assume it's in the first such track (as they appear below).
   If an effect changes a damage rating beyond the highest or lowest step, keep track of how many steps beyond the limits it is, but only for interacting with other damage rating-modifying effects. However, unlike die sizes, damage ratings extend indefinitely upwards. Every step upward beyond those listed has twice as many dice as the one two steps lower.
   If one or more effects modify both a damage expression's die size and damage rating, apply the changes to die size after the changes to damage rating.
Standard (d6): 1d2 -> 1d3 -> 1d4 -> 1d6 -> 1d8 -> 2d6 -> 3d6 -> 4d6 -> 6d6 -> 8d6 -> 12d6 -> 16d6
Advanced (d8): 1d3 -> 1d4 -> 1d6 -> 1d8 -> 1d10 -> 2d8 -> 3d8 -> 4d8 -> 6d8 -> 8d8 -> 12d8 -> 16d8
Compressed (d4): 1d1 -> 1d2 -> 1d3 -> 1d4 -> 1d6 -> 2d4 -> 3d4 -> 4d4 -> 6d4 -> 8d4 -> 12d4 -> 16d4
Expanded (d10): 1d4 -> 1d6 -> 1d8 -> 1d10 -> 1d12 -> 2d10 -> 3d10 -> 4d10 -> 6d10 -> 8d10 -> 12d10 -> 16d10

(Just a note. For common weapon sizes, 1d12 is expanded, 1d10 is advanced, 2d4 is compressed, and everything else is standard.)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on February 15, 2013, 06:18:34 PM
Interesting that with the same number of die size increases, standard and compressed do more damage than the others.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 15, 2013, 11:42:54 PM
Interesting that with the same number of die size increases, standard and compressed do more damage than the others.

Yeah. I was thinking about that as I wrote it. I think the solution is just to move the baseline up. I mean, anything that actually uses the non-standard damage rating has to start at a higher level to begin with to avoid defaulting to standard.

It's not perfect, but the quirky scaling is a byproduct of me wanting to have damage expressions of the same type but on different tracks be as close to identical as possible when moving up or down one step. For example, expanded should, technically, skip 1d10 and go straight from 1d8 to 1d12.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 23, 2013, 04:43:59 PM
Agile Athlete:

Prereq: Dex 13, 2 ranks in Climb, Jump, and Swim

Benefit: You may use your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier for Climb, Jump, and Swim checks.  You may not carry more than a light load while benefiting from this feat, and the combination of your Armor Check Penalty and Dexterity modifier must be greater than 0.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 24, 2013, 12:08:32 AM
Isn't that a strictly inferior version of the Agile Athlete printed in Races of the Wild?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 24, 2013, 12:24:49 AM
Slightly.  It does allow Swim to benefit from Dex as well, but at the expense of ACP and the character's load getting in the way.  Which is unlikely in the first place given the kind of characters that would use it anyway (dextrous types with light armor), so that last part is mostly just flavor text like what the designers add on when they think it'll matter but in practice it won't.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 25, 2013, 04:03:07 PM
Three Monkeys Style

Prereqs: No idea

Benefit:  Spend whatever resource to blind, deafen, or mute opponent.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on February 25, 2013, 11:15:53 PM
Three Monkeys Style

Prereqs: No idea

Benefit:  Spend whatever resource to blind, deafen, or mute opponent.
Sounds awesome. Prereq: Stunning Fist, uses Stunning Fist usages to power the feat.

Now what is the next feat in the chain, "12 Monkeys' Style", going to do?  :D
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on February 25, 2013, 11:59:51 PM
Kills all non-Monks on the Material Plane?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 26, 2013, 12:05:03 AM
Render the target insane and send him back in time?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on February 26, 2013, 12:09:19 AM
A tactical feat to blind, deaf and mute targets as the three tactics?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on February 26, 2013, 12:33:59 PM
What about the No More Monkeys feat which disallows Jump checks?   :P
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 27, 2013, 03:16:17 PM
Dragon Disciple revamp:

Cleric/Dragonfire Adept dual-progression PrC.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 28, 2013, 04:32:01 PM
Qualifying for bonus feats.
I don't remember exactly what the rules are (if they're even properly defined). Here's what I think they should be...

Specified Bonus Feats: If an effect grants one or more specific bonus feats without offering any choice or selection, you need not meet the prerequisites for the feat or feats. This includes effects that grant one or more specific bonus feats based on a separate choice (such as a 3.5E Ranger's Combat Style).

Selectable Bonus Feats: If an effect grants one or more bonus feats chosen from a list or matching some criteria (such as a Pathfinder Ranger's Combat Style feats), you must meet the prerequisites of such feats to select them. If you do not qualify for enough feats, any excess are lost.

As always, specific overrides general. Specific abilities (such as for 3.5E's and PF's Ranger Combat Style abilities) may function differently.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on February 28, 2013, 04:57:44 PM
Render the target insane and send him back in time?
I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 01, 2013, 01:23:21 PM
3E Basic
Some (hopefully) simplified rules based on 3rd edition. Ideally this will be like an introductory ruleset

Assume (to keep things simple) that the rules only go up to 6th level. Yeah, go E6 or whatever.

Actions: You get a standard action + movement each round. You can trade the standard action for more movement. Full-round actions don't exist.

Standard actions
(click to show/hide)

Free actions
(click to show/hide)

Movement
(click to show/hide)


Stat generation is array-based. Put 16, 14, 14, 12, 10, 8 across your 6 ability scores as you choose.
Classes, skills, and spell lists will be simplified, feats will be made less trappy, and stuff.
BAB does not grant extra attacks, partly because there's no full attack any more. Also partly because it would only happen at exactly 1 level and only with a small subset of the classes. Depending on how simple things go (all the way down to just Fighter/Rogue/Cleric/Wizard), it might just be one class to boot, in which case just make it a class feature if we want it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Eldritch_Lord on March 01, 2013, 05:23:26 PM
3E Basic
Some (hopefully) simplified rules based on 3rd edition. Ideally this will be like an introductory ruleset

*snip*

Classes, skills, and spell lists will be simplified, feats will be made less trappy, and stuff.

I ran a similar D&D for Beginners campaign for my younger cousins a while back and came up with some stuff along those lines you could borrow:
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 01, 2013, 07:31:27 PM
Deflective Armor (http://dndtools.eu/feats/races-of-stone--82/deflective-armor--561/) addition:

This counts as a force effect, thus raising the wearer's AC against attacks from incorporeal opponents.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 02, 2013, 10:40:15 AM
Alternatives to shield spikes:

All of these increase the damage done by shield bash attacks and change its damage type. They can be made masterwork and enchanted as weapons independently of the shield to which they are attached.

Shield Spikes: Deals piercing damage
Shield Razors: Deals slashing damage
Weighted Shield: Deals bludgeoning damage
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 08, 2013, 11:50:25 PM
Biote (name pending)

Uses hp as his resource.
d12 HD, average BAB, good Fort save.
Gets fast healing early on (5th level at the latest).

Using various abilities costs hp.
Lower level abilities just deal nonlethal damage to the Biote. Starts taking lethal damage shortly after the class-granted fast healing comes online.
Bio-Purge: Remove negative effects (like Dragon Shaman's Touch of Healing, or like Iron Heart Surge) by taking hp damage. Stronger effects and conditions cost more hp.
Vitality Shift: Transfer hp to allies, or drain hp from an opponent.
Adrenal Strike: Power Attack-like ability, using hp damage instead of attack penalties.
Vitalizing Aura: Allies gain statistical benefits. You take hp damage.
Life Armor: Take damage to gain Mettle/Evasion-like benefits.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on March 10, 2013, 04:39:19 PM
Needs name

Dual-caster (Incarnum/Artificer)

Prereq
Alignment: must be CN, LN, NE, or NG
Feats: Craft Construct (or craft homunculus) & Share Soulmeld
Cast 1st-level arcane spells or infusions and shape 3 soulmelds.

Item Creation (Ex): As you unlock the secrets of homunculi, you also continue to advance your item creation abilities. For purposes of meeting item prerequisites, a homunculus master adds his levels in this class to his levels in the artificer class and gains a craft reserve of the same level.

Improved share soulmeld – You may share all your shaped soulmelds with a number of homunculii equal to your consitution-10. In addition, you may share the benefits of all your incarnum feats except the bonus essentia with all your homunculii. Homunculii only gain these benefits when they are under your telepathic direction. You may share the effect of any spell or infusion cast upon your soulmelds.

Homunculive(Ex): When one of the homunculii under your telepathic direction dies you have a grace period of one round before it disintegrates and you take damage. This increases by one for every even level in this class.

Incarnum Radiance (Su): You can activate an incarnum radiance as an incarnate. If you already possess this ability you gain the 7th-level ability to Share Incarnum Radiance.

Swarmfighting (Ex): All small constructs under your telepathic direction can share the same square. At 8th-level you may share your square with one large construct or your constitution-20 small constructs.

Bonus feats: At fifth and tenth level you gain a bonus feat as selected from the artificer class or that is an incarnum feat that you meet the prerequisites.

Share Incarnum Radiance (Su): You can share your incarnum radiance as an incarnate. If you expend a second use of your incarnum radiance you may also share with all homunculii you telepathically direct. Expending this second use causes you to become dazed at the end of this ability.

Thrifty Construction (Ex): You have unlocked the secret of cheap homunculi construction, learning to substitute cheaper materials without reducing the effectiveness of the homunculus. The gold piece and experience point cost for any homunculus that you produce is reduced by 25%. In addition, the cost for adding additional Hit Dice to
any homunculus that you own is reduced by 50%.

Need to trim abilities and/or determine CL advancement.


Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on March 10, 2013, 04:41:28 PM
Needs name

Artificer advancement


Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Gain proficiency in all simple and martial weapons and all armor and shields(including tower shields).

Item Creation (Ex): As you unlock the secrets of weaponry, you also continue to advance your item creation abilities. For purposes of meeting item prerequisites and craft reserve, a ? adds his levels in this class to his levels in the artificer class.

Folding Time and Value (Ex): “At the smithy you hammer with allicritious economy.” All costs and time for any weapon that you produce are reduced by 5% per class level.

Superior Attunement (Ex): Increase the insight bonus gained by the Attune Magic Weapon feat by one per class level.

Exoticist (Ex): “You have yet to give up your wild-eyed enthusiasm for new arms.” You gain proficiency in one exotic weapon and one exotic armor or shield.

Attune Armor (Ex): “You discovered unified shield theory.” All class features that applied to weapons also apply to armor and shields. Attuned armor and shield gains an insight bonus to armor and shield instead of attack and damage. If the armor or shield is also a weapon it also retains an insight bonus to attack and damage.

Half-cocked (Ex): “Others think you crazy, but you are always prepared to stand and deliver round two.” You gain Rapid Reload and Improved Shield Bash as bonus feats.

True Attunement (Su): You may exchange your insight bonus from Attune Magic Weapon for one weapon ability as a full round action. This reduces your insight bonus by the value of the weapon ability.

Originally intended for full BAB. Not so sure now.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 12, 2013, 10:48:07 PM
What kind of abilities that are present only through magic can we fluff up as being sort of nonmagical?

Planar Travel
Journey (Ex): Wherever you go, there you are. Starting at 5th level, you lead yourself or a group into an impossible, meandering journey, possibly even leaving the Material Plane behind. A journey can lead from anywhere to anywhere, but only if you know your way (see below). You and your fellow travelers need no special tools to undertake this journey, although those who are unprepared for the environments they may traverse are not protected from them.

You can bring other willing creatures with you, provided that these subjects are present and are able to follow you at the time you set out on your journey. These fellow travelers are dependent upon you and must accompany you at all times. If something happens to you during the journey that causes you to break line of sight for more than a short time, your companions are stranded wherever you leave them. You need not personally maintain line of sight with all of your fellow travelers; travelers can follow other travelers in a sequence leading up to you.

The journey lasts while you and your fellow travelers continue to travel together, until (1) you reach your intended destination plane, (2) you desire to end the journey while still traveling, (3) you or anyone traveling with you breaks the line of sight chain connecting the travelers for more than 2 rounds, or (4) the journey is terminated by some outside means. When the journey ends, you and your fellow travelers halt in whatever portion of the land or plane you happen to be traversing.

Destination Knowledge (geography)
KnowledgeCheck Modifier
None1n/a
Secondhand (you have heard of the destination)-10
Firsthand (you have visited before)+0
Familiar (you have visited three or more times)+5
1. If you have no direct knowledge of your destination, you must have some connection to it in order to travel there; see below.

Knowledge (geography)
ConnectionCheck Modifier
Likeness or picture of destination+2
Object from destination+4
Cartographer’s map of destination+10

Journey Complexity
DistanceComplexity
Same country3
Same continent4
Same planet6
Same plane, different planet8
Coterminous plane8
Non-coterminous plane9
Alternate Prime Material plane11
Dimensionally Locked or otherwise inaccessible plane12

Depending on your knowledge of geography, your journey may take a longer or shorter period of time. For each 24 hours you travel, make a Knowledge (geography) check. Unless a location is particularly hard to find and well guarded, or conversely easy to find and well advertised, the average DC for a journey should be set at 20. Hidden, obscure, or particularly inaccessible locations can have DCs of 25, 30, or higher. You cannot take 20 on this check, though you can take 10. Each check may be modified by your degree of familiarity with the destination or by some connection you have with the place; see the associated tables.

Each successful check indicates that you are one step closer to your goal. To finally arrive at your location, you must succeed on a number of checks equal to or greater than the journey's complexity within a span of 12 days. (If you fail to make enough successful checks within the first 12 days, you can continue to make one check per day until you get the requisite successes within a span of 12 consecutive days). When you successfully make the requisite number of checks, the journey ends, and you appear within 10-1,000 (10d%) miles of your intended destination.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on March 13, 2013, 10:29:43 PM
Needs name

Artificer advancement

I did a thing. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=9275)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 15, 2013, 02:33:24 PM
Primal Fear
Prerequisites: Intimidate 9 ranks, one of Frightful Presence, that Fighter ACF's ability, ability to cast Phantasmal Killer, stuff like that
Benefit: Fear effects you use are not considered mind-affecting. Protections that function specifically against fear effects are still effective.
   You gain a +4 bonus on saves against fear.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 15, 2013, 09:53:38 PM
Nature's Blessing

Benefit:  Battle Blessing for rangers essentially, with a clarification that only spells appearing on the Ranger list can be modified so there aren't any Prestige Ranger or Mystra ranger+wizard shenanigans.  Alternate spells can be modified though (such as the Mystic Ranger additions).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 18, 2013, 10:44:20 PM
Totemist/Warlock PrC, with the requirement of the Eldritch Claws feat.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 21, 2013, 02:43:58 PM
Intuitive Stalker:

Benefit: Use Wisdom instead of Dexterity for Hide and Move Silently checks.

Although I now have a sudden urge to make a Factotum that actually acts like a Ninja instead.


Hm, perhaps ninjas should get Wis as a bonus to Str and Dex ability and skill checks that is exclusive with the Factotum's Int to those?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on March 22, 2013, 12:14:29 PM
New system to replace LA: All races grant HD dependent benefits. (This is effectively half of a gestalt, and would raise the overall power of the players. In general though, mundanes would benefit far more)

Human:
+1 Skill Point/HD
+1 Feat at 1/5/10/15/20
+1 Ability score at 4/8/12/16/20

Dragon:
Breath weapon (1/3HD)d6
+1NA/3hd
+1 to Con & Cha every 5 HD

The whole thing is crazy powerful, but casters already have nice things, and the nice things they would get from races are generally redundant (except stats, but that's still not THAT big of a deal considering the relative increase in power). Obviously still not balanced, but that's why it's in 1001 and not a full writeup.
 
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 23, 2013, 02:47:10 AM
What if Max Dex Bonus reduced your Dex modifier by some flat amount instead of capping it?

Instead of a maximum Dexterity bonus in armor, you treat your Dex modifier as reduced by half your ACP (rounded down) for the purposes of determining AC (and only for determining AC). Shields don't count, only your armor.

What this means is that any really dextrous fellow has a better AC than a less dextrous dude. Also, a lot of armor will be at effectively +1 AC for being masterwork. Chain shirts are now effectively +3 AC, breastplates also +3 (but they should have had a base armor bonus of +6 in the old rules anyways, which would make them a net +4), and full plate +5. Each of them happen to have even ACPs, so masterwork means +4/+5/+6, respectively, and mithral is +4/+6/+7.

Meh, doesn't seem to be working out without even more overhauling.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 25, 2013, 03:16:17 PM
Ammo-like enchantments for melee weapons?

Oil of Enchantment
   Oil of Enchantment can be enchanted as though it was a masterwork melee weapon. Only properties that can be applied to melee weapons and synergy properties that rely on a property the oil already has can be applied to the oil. Those that are restricted to only certain types of weapons (such as Keen) cannot be applied. If the properties applied to the Oil of Enchantment would make it count as a specific type of weapon (such as a thrown weapon or a weapon that deals a specific type of damage), properties that can be applied to such weapons can also be applied to the oil.
   When smeared on a weapon, Oil of Enchantment temporarily grants all of its properties to that weapon. Properties that the weapon already has do not stack. The weapon is also treated as a masterwork weapon while the oil is in effect.
   With each attack (regardless of whether it hits or misses), some of the oil wears away. A full vial contains enough oil to fully coat one weapon, which is good for 50 attacks (regardless of what weapon it is applied to, be it a dagger or a greatsword). Once all attacks have been made, the oil fully wears away. Otherwise, the oil remains indefinitely. Oil of Enchantment can be cleaned off of a weapon as a standard action, removing its properties and (if a suitable container is available) preserving any of the oil that remains out of the 50 attacks for future use. Only one Oil of Enchantment can be applied to a given weapon at a time.
   If you wish, you can smear on less than a full coating. In that case, you choose how many attacks worth of oil you coat the weapon with, leaving the remainder in the container.
   Oil of Enchantment only functions when applied to melee weapons. It has no effect on projectile weapons or ammunition. Natural melee weapons and improvised melee weapons can, however, benefit from the oil.

Cost: One vial (50 attacks worth) of Oil of Enchantment costs as much as the weapon properties would if applied to a normal masterwork weapon plus 300gp.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 25, 2013, 05:46:16 PM
No more plusses any more...

1) Remove all enhancement bonuses. Weapons are just magical and stuff, or they're normal, or they're masterwork which just means they can be made magical but doesn't do anything special otherwise because enhancement bonuses don't exist so no more +1. Ditto for armor (although masterwork armor still drops the ACP, since that's not an enhancement bonus). Gauntlets of Ogre Power and their friends get tossed into the recycling bin.
2) Fractional BAB/Saves. Not really necessary, but it stops things from stacking up too high or getting lost.
3) Everyone gets an extra +1/4 BAB per level.
4) Everyone adds their base Reflex save to AC.
5) Instead of +1 to a stat every 4 levels, it's +1 to a stat at every even level, and an additional +1 to each of 2 stats at every 3 levels. Can't pick the same stat more than once at any given level. Also, I get to punch myself for not thinking of a way to give even-numbered ability bonuses instead of sticking with +1s while also making this harder than it needs to be.
6) Weapon damage magically increases through methods that I can only describe as "I lost my idea around here".
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on March 25, 2013, 07:31:10 PM
6) Weapon damage magically increases through methods that I can only describe as "I lost my idea around here".

+Full Damage Dice for every iterative attack (for a total of 5x weapon damage at 20). That way, your attacks get stronger AND you get more swings.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 30, 2013, 07:35:36 PM
Domain Savant variant Cleric

In place of normal Cleric spellcasting and domains.
Your spellcasting is Cha-based instead of Wis-based.
You are a spontaneous caster instead of a prepared caster.
Your spell list consists of the spells on every Cleric domain and all Cleric orisons. You can cast all orisons, but other than that you can only cast spells on the domains you have prepared (see below).
Each day, you can select any two domains to prepare. You gain their domain powers for the day and can cast their spells. At 2nd level again again every 3 levels thereafter, you can select an additional domain each day (to a total of 9 domains at level 20).
Spell slots as Cleric, except with the domain slots as general spell slots.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on March 30, 2013, 07:38:49 PM
Domain Savant variant Cleric

In place of normal Cleric spellcasting and domains.
Your spellcasting is Cha-based instead of Wis-based.
You are a spontaneous caster instead of a prepared caster.
Your spell list consists of the spells on every Cleric domain and all Cleric orisons. You can cast all orisons, but other than that you can only cast spells on the domains you have prepared (see below).
Each day, you can select any two domains to prepare. You gain their domain powers for the day and can cast their spells. At 2nd level again again every 3 levels thereafter, you can select an additional domain each day (to a total of 9 domains at level 20).
Spell slots as Cleric, except with the domain slots as general spell slots.
I've already been developing this as the Cleric for Great Wheel, actually. :)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 30, 2013, 11:14:58 PM
How are things coming with that project, by the way?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on March 31, 2013, 06:26:28 AM
How are things coming with that project, by the way?
Ever so slowly.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 01, 2013, 01:03:53 PM
Paragon Traits
As you gain levels, you become simply better than others. This is represented by a variety of special traits you can select from.

The purpose of this is to reduce magic item dependency and shift some of the (at least numerical) power of characters back into internal sources. Traits are based on existing magic items. WBL should be reduced by somewhere between 25% and 50%, I think, to compensate. I'm tossing in mostly numerical things, but also a few of the interesting effects here and there. Each trait is worth approximately 4000g, scaling up to about 40000g as the level of availability increases. Of course, I did bullshit a few of them for effects that I think are overpriced.

At each level, you gain a single trait of your choice. Some traits can be selected multiple times. Some traits have requirements before being selected.

Ability Enhancements
(click to show/hide)


Defenses
(click to show/hide)


Skills
(click to show/hide)


Spellcasting
(click to show/hide)


Miscellaneous
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 04, 2013, 02:11:58 PM
I've talked about countering absolutes (like Tumble saying you don't provoke AoOs and Thicket of Blades saying you always do) and possible changes to the system to resolve them before. Now, I'd like to talk about a specific subset of that, immunities.



Immunities: Each immunity has a strength, a numerical value of 1 or greater. You're effectively immune to anything for which you have an immunity strength of at least 1. Having an immunity strength greater than 1 doesn't do anything in and of itself, except when interacting with pierce. Multiple different effects that grant immunity of the same type stack their strength values. Immunities of different types that apply to different effects of the same attack don't stack their strength values; evaluate each one independently to determine what effects of the attack are prevented.

Pierce: Some forms of attack have a pierce strength, a numerical value of 1 or greater. Most attacks don't have a pierce strength (treat them as 0 where relevant). Pierce doesn't do anything in and of itself, except when interacting with immunities. Some forms of pierce only function against specific types of immunities, rather than any and all immunities.

Resistances: Resistances are like a lesser form of immunity. They count as immunity 1 against damage sources that match their damage type, but only apply against a certain amount of damage from each source, as indicated by the resistance. Some resistances count as stronger strengths of immunity, as noted after a slash (similar to damage reduction's notation). For example, fire resistance 30/2 counts as fire immunity 2 against the first 30 points of fire damage from each attack. Resistance strengths stack normally as per and with immunity strengths with regards to the points of damage that they protect against (including with other resistances of the same type). However, the quantity of damage that resistance applies against does not increase with multiple sources of resistance. For example, a creature with cold resistance 10/1 and cold resistance 10/3 is equivalent to a creature with cold resistance 10/4, and a creature with sonic resistance 5/1, sonic resistance 20/1, and sonic immunity 1 effectively has sonic immunity 3 against the first 5 points of sonic damage, immunity 2 against the next 15 points of damage, and immunity 1 against any remaining sonic damage and non-damaging sonic effects.



Immunities vs. Pierce: There are two ways I can think of for this to work. The simple way, in which you just subtract one from the other, would leave you with an immunity if you had more immunity than pierce, or no immunity if the pierce was greater than or equal to the immunity. Optionally, equal amounts could have a 50% chance of counting as immune to non-damaging effects and reduce damage by 50%.

The other way is a bit more complex. Rather than being all or nothing, it would be proportional. A creature with immunity would have a (immunity/(immunity + pierce)) chance of being unaffected by non-damaging effects (damage being reduced by the same fraction), and a (pierce/(immunity + pierce)) chance of being affected normally by non-damaging effects (taking the same fraction of damage). For example, a creature with immunity 2 being attacked by by a spell with pierce 1 would take only 1/2 of normal damage and would have a 1/3 chance of being affected by non-damaging effects.



Most mechanics of immunity can remain relatively unchanged, granting immunity 1, with the exception of energy-based subtypes (fire, cold, etc.), which should grant immunity 2. The few mechanics that allow attacks and effects to bypass immunities can be changed to grant pierce 1 (if the immune subject is still granted a substantial defensive benefit) or pierce 2 (if the immunity is completely negated).

Below are some examples of effects that can be altered and simplified due to the changes above.

Piercing Cold [Metamagic]
Prerequisites: None
Benefits: You can only apply this metamagic feat to spells with the cold descriptor. Piercing cold spells are so horribly cold that they are capable of damaging creatures normally unharmed by or resistant to cold. Piercing cold spells gain pierce cold 1. Creatures with the fire subtype who are damaged by a piercing cold spell take double normal damage instead of the usual +50%. A piercing cold spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.

Truedeath Crystal, Greater: As the lesser crystal, and attacks with the weapon gain critical pierce 2 against undead.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 05, 2013, 03:58:48 PM
Intuitive Learner

Prerquesites: Wisdom 13

Benefit: You may use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Intelligence modifier to calculate the number of skill points you have.

Special: This feat may only be taken at 1st level.



Zen Archery modification (or make into another feat called Improved Zen Archery or something)

You may use your Wisdom score in place of your Dexterity score for the prerequisites to feats such as Improved Precise Shot and Rapid Shot.

(full list would take a long time to figure out)


And finally: Allow an option for a Dragonfire Adept to treat its breath weapon like an Eldritch Blast: Ranged touch attack against a single opponent.  May not apply another breath effect though.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 07, 2013, 05:18:42 AM
Non-magical arms and armor

Craft Exceptional Arms and Armor [Item Creation]
Prerequisites: Craft (any) 8 ranks.
Benefits: You can create any exceptional weapon, armor, or shield whose prerequisites you meet. Enhancing a weapon, suit of armor, or shield takes one day for each 1,000 gp in the price of its exceptional features. To enhance a weapon, suit of armor, or shield, you must spend 1/25 of its features’ total price in XP and use up raw materials costing one-half of this total price.

The weapon, armor, or shield to be enhanced must be a masterwork item that you provide. Its cost is not included in the above cost.

You can also mend a broken exceptional weapon, suit of armor, or shield if it is one that you could make. Doing so costs half the XP, half the raw materials, and half the time it would take to craft that item in the first place.

In addition, you can craft masterwork weapons in armor in the same amount of time that it would take you to craft regular items. As long as the Craft DC (including increased DCs for accelerated crafting) is at least as high as the masterwork component's normal DC (usually 20), you do not have to craft the masterwork component separately, instead automatically completing it as soon as the rest of the item's construction is complete.
Special: A fighter can select this feat as a fighter bonus feat



Exceptional Weapons
Exceptional weapons have great power due to their flawless construction. In many ways, they function just like magic items. However, their properties are entirely mundane and are not suppressed by dispel magic, anti-magic field and similar effects, nor are they at risk of being destroyed by mage's disjunction and similar effects. An item can have both exceptional and magical properties at the same time. Exceptional weapons do not, in and of themselves, have a caster level or magical aura (although exceptional weapons that are also magically enchanted have such auras in accordance with their enchantments). Detect magic and similar effects do not, therefore, note exceptional weapons as anything special, but any character with martial training (a Base Attack Bonus of +1 or greater) can tell at a glance that an exceptional weapon is more than just masterwork. An identify spell and similar effects can determine the properties an exceptional weapon possesses, just like with magical weapons.

Just like with magical weapons, exceptional weapons can have an enhancement bonus to its attack and damage rolls. Adding an enhancement bonus requires the Craft Exceptional Arms and Armor feat and a number of ranks in the relevant Craft skill of at least 3 + 3 times the final enhancement bonus. The magical and exceptional components of a weapon's enhancement bonus stack to determine both the benefit and the final cost. Due to their permanence, the market price of an exceptional weapon is 500g higher than an equivalent magic weapon for each point of its exceptional enhancement bonus and equivalent enhancement bonus of exceptional properties (this increased cost does not count enhancement bonuses from magical enchantments). For example, a +1 exceptional longbow would cost 2900g instead of the 2400g that a +1 magical longbow would cost. A battleaxe with a +2 enhancement bonus resulting from its exceptional construction and that was further enchanted with a magical +1 enhancement bonus and the flaming property would have a final market price of 33310g (1000g more than a magical +3 flaming battleaxe's 32310g). It would function as +3 flaming battleaxe under normal circumstances and as a +2 battleaxe even in an anti-magic field.

Exceptional weapons can be reforged to improve and add additional properties to them even after construction. This functions just like further enchanting an existing magic item.

Exceptional Weapon Properties
(click to show/hide)



Exceptional Armor
See exceptional weapons, and just substitute armor in place of weapons. Increased cost is only 250g per +1.

Exceptional Armor Properties
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on April 07, 2013, 11:26:46 AM
Zen Archery modification (or make into another feat called Improved Zen Archery or something)

You may use your Wisdom score in place of your Dexterity score for the prerequisites to feats such as Improved Precise Shot and Rapid Shot.

(full list would take a long time to figure out)

This has actually been done.

Found at the bottom of this post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174415).

Quote
Zen Archery

Prerequisite
Wis 13, BAB +1.

Benefit
You can use your Wisdom modifier instead of your Dexterity modifier when making a ranged attack roll.

Special
You may use your Wisdom score rather than your Dexterity score to qualify for feats related to ranged combat (but not two-weapon fighting). You may not use this feat on attacks with two weapons.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 08, 2013, 04:33:32 PM
Fixing the Gunslinger

Gunslinger (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/gunslinger)
Firearms (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/firearms)

1: Firearms are simple weapons, not exotic weapons. Characters being introduced to them for the first time might not be proficient (same with any new weapon), but it's easy enough to learn the basics. More importantly, with the rest of these changes, firearms are roughly equivalent mechanically to crossbows.
2: Remove the part where you make touch attacks in the first range increment. Like all projectile weapons, the max range increment is 10, not 5.
3: Any character can clear a misfire's broken condition as a standard action, not just Gunslingers.
4: Misfires are instead like confirming a crit. When you roll a natural 1 on the attack roll, you roll again to confirm. If the confirmation roll would indicate a miss, it's a misfire, otherwise it's just a miss. The firearms that currently have misfire ranges above 1 instead give a penalty on the confirm roll (-2 per misfire range beyond 1). DMs are strongly encouraged to ignore misfires entirely in less gritty campaigns, when dealing with newer players, or when the game is getting bogged down by rolling and things to keep track of already.
5: Siege firearms are just really big firearms. Most siege firearms are just weapons sized for creatures one or more size categories larger than the ones they're intended to be used for. To compensate and make them usable, they have stands and wheels and whatnot that let them be aimed and fired accurately by smaller creatures. But I'm not covering them here.
6: Drop the price of all firearms and ammo listed there by a factor of 20. That looks, at a glance, to give reasonable prices except for the cost per shot (see below).
7: Bullets are 2 cp apiece. Black powder is 7 cp per shot. Paper cartridges are 1 cp apiece. Total price per shot is 0.1g (or, in layman's terms, negligible for any adventurer). Yes, you are assumed to be using cartridges. Not using cartridges is like using random stones with a sling.
8: Kegs contain 300 shots, not 100, so that they cost 21g (and thus don't have massive explosions for too too cheap).
9: Paper cartridges don't increase the misfire range.

Okay, that should mostly be it for PF's firearms rules. Gonna tackle siege weapons elsewhere (if I ever do). Now, to the Gunslinger itself.



...

The Gunslinger
I like the grit subsystem in principle, just not the specific implementation. A flat Wis mod grit points doesn't sit right with me. Likewise, I'm not fully keen on the recovery method. One option is to make it sort of like the Factotum's inspiration points.
(Please stop me before I make the Gunslinger into a Factotum ACF (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204698)...)
(... with Iron Rain and what else for Martial Dilettante?)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 11, 2013, 02:47:27 PM
A psychic impression for Darksiders

The Horsemen
6th-level impression
Look up the names of those 4 legendary enhancements from Darksiders 1. They can be ability names for each of the 4 abilities the impression grants.
Powers: Form of Doom, Recall Apocalypse
Not a clue what the personality or the requirements would be.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 15, 2013, 04:18:24 PM
Divine Expertise

Prerequisites: Turn or Rebuke Undead ability

Benefit:  As part of a skill check, you may expend a use of your turn or rebuke undead ability to gain a +2 sacred (if you channel positive energy) or profane (if you channel negative energy) bonus on that check.  For every 4 character levels above 4th, you gain an additional +1 on the skill check, up to a maximum of +6 at level 20.

Speaking of Turn Undead, give it to Healers.  Even if it's just to fuel Divine feats, it'd still be worthwhile to give them some flexibility to actually do their job.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: TravelLog on April 15, 2013, 04:46:13 PM
Netherese Arcanist class

Picks a path to specialize in. Can learn all spells of that path. Secondary specialization only gets spells of up to 7th level. Tertiary specialization up to 5th. All other up to third. In exchange, has quasi domain slots, more spells per day, unique and powerful feats and the ability to create spells. Doesn't learn spells, but instead learns descriptors. So rather than scorching ray and fireball, he might have an Offensive Fire Spell that he can modify as desired and alter its level according to its effects.

Paths:
Biomancy: All healing spells, the Inflict line, Harm, all things undead. Any direct manipulation of life force falls under this focus.

Geomancy: Meld into X, most blasting spells including Disintegrate, all weather spells, stone tell, Xorn movement, etc. Any manipulation of natural forces falls under this focus.

Idomancy: Body of Iron, Gelid Blood, Polymorph, Transmute X to Y, Flesh to X, etc. Any manipulation of form or physical make-up falls under this focus.

Chronomancy: Haste, Slow, Celerity, Dimension Door, Teleport, Refusal, Forcecage, Repulsion, etc. Any manipulation of space or time falls under this focus.

Neuromancy: Illusions, Charm, Dominate, Glibness, Modify Memory, etc. Any manipulation of the senses or of the mind falls under this focus.

Vanomancy: Friendly Fire, Assay Spell Resistance, Etherealness, Break Enchantment, most Power Words, Protection from X, Guards and Wards, Silence, etc. Any dissolution of component parts or negation falls under this focus.

Ontomancy: Fabricate, the Creation line, Summoning spells including Gate, Arcane Eye, Magic Missile, Black Tentacles, etc. Any spell that brings something into existence or allows it to manifest on the Material Plane falls under this category.

I probably will need help on this one.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 16, 2013, 06:15:26 PM
Axani and Cansin (Dragon 297) racial sub levels for Incarnate.  And since it's on my mind, I might as well make them.  Once I've researched the class and races a bit better.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 23, 2013, 12:08:52 AM
Steel Fist discipline, for some of your shield-fighting needs. Also blends in a little general defensive/offensive mixtures.

Discipline Skill: Endurance (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13775.0)
Discipline Weapons: Armor Spikes, gauntlet, shield bash, slam, spiked gauntlet, unarmed strike


1 - Pavise Master (Stance): Halve the ACP of your shield, make shield bashes with any shield (bucklers count as light shield, tower shields count as heavy shield but two-handed and one size larger for damage), and negate the attack roll penalty of tower shields. You don't lose your shield bonus to AC when making shield bash attacks.
1 - Shield Punch (Strike): Make a shield bash attack with +1d6 damage. You don't lose your shield bonus to AC.
1 - Iron Shell (Counter): Gain +2 on a single save. You also get Evasion (in any armor). Requires a shield.
2 - Withstand (Counter): Gain DR 5/- until your next turn.
3 - Impenetrable Barrier (Stance): Your space blocks line of effect. Effects still have line of effect to you.
4 - Shield Slam (Strike): Make a shield bash attack with +5d6 damage. You don't lose your shield bonus to AC. If you hit, make a free trip attempt (no AoO, no touch needed, no counter-trip on failure) with a bonus on the Strength check equal to the shield bonus to AC.
5 - Armored to the Teeth (Stance): Add your armor bonus to AC to all weapon damage rolls.
5 - Mithral Shell (Counter): Gain +4 on a single save. You also get Evasion (in any armor) and Mettle. Requires a shield.
7 - Shield Crush (Strike): Make a shield bash attack with +12d6 damage. You don't lose your shield bonus to AC. If you hit, make a free grapple attempt (no AoO, no touch needed) with a bonus on the grapple check equal to the shield bonus to AC. Treat this as though you had started the grapple with the Improved Grab ability for your shield bash. If you succeed, you can choose to lose the use of your shield instead of being grappled, as though you had taken a -20 penalty on your grapple check.
8 - Adamantine Shell (Counter): Gain +6 on a single save. You also get Improved Evasion (in any armor) and Improved Mettle. Requires a shield.
8 - Armored Reflection (Stance): Gain SR 5 + your IL + your shield bonus to AC. When a spell fails to penetrate your SR, you can reflect it as an immediate action, as though with spell turning. No limit on the number of spell levels, can reflect touch spells, and the spell always drains away harmlessly if you and the caster are both warded, but otherwise all normal limitations of spell turning apply.


(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 23, 2013, 08:49:54 PM
A feat to use one's Con mod instead of Str to figure out the character's carrying capacity.



And preliminary Axani and Cansin Incarnate subs.  I still need to work on them and get feedback, but here's the rough idea:

Cansin Incarnate Substitution Levels: Must be CN; add Bluff and Sense Motive to class skills; 4 skill points per level
1st level: A Cansin may use her Charisma modifier in place of her Wisdom modifier to determine the DC of her Soulmelds.
3rd level: Incarnum Radiance (During IR, gain ability to Dimension Door as SLA, but with only a range of 50 feet.  Leave behind Major Image like Warlock invocation.)
7th level: Gain Spring Attack (without the need to meet prerequisites) as long as a soulmeld is bound to the feet chakra.  Replaces Share Radiance ability.


Axani Incarnate Substitution Levels:  Must be LN; d8 hitdice; Add Diplomacy and Intimidate to class skills
1st level: Use Wisdom instead of Constitution to determine number of soulmelds able to be shaped?
3rd: Incarnum Radiance (Swift action to demoralize opponent while IR is up?)
7th: Radiant Denial: An Axani Incarnate may choose to impair his opponents instead of sharing his Incarnum Radiance with them.  This effect is a -1 to AC and all saves of desired opponents within 30 feet of the Incarnate.  The Incarnate must choose whether to active this ability or to share his Incarnum Radiance as normal when he activates his Incarnum Radiance ability.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 24, 2013, 02:54:32 AM
What if carrying capacity, instead of using the current exponential growth formula from Strength, was instead something simpler? And possibly also taking Constitution into account, too, because it seems like it should be involved.

Carrying capacity = Strength score times Constitution score, in pounds. Creatures without a Constitution score use 10 or their Strength score, whichever is higher. Size and other things can have their usual effects. House rules wherein you just ignore weight and carrying capacity still apply.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 24, 2013, 08:24:09 PM
Contemplative addition, assuming PrC's don't advance certain domain features:

Contemplative levels count as Cleric levels for the purpose of determining any effect of the character's domains.  For example, a cleric 10/Contemplative 5 with the Travel domain could have the granted power of the Travel domain active for 15 rounds per day.  This applies both to any domains the character had before becoming a Contemplative as well as any domains gained through the Contemplative class.

And yes, the current carrying capacity calculation is curiously complex.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 25, 2013, 02:07:30 PM
Idea for something that could be used by someone:

An X of at least Y level may make a touch attack, and cripple a person's chakra.

If they hit, that chakra is considered to have a soulmeld bound to it for all intents and purposes, ?taking precedent over any pre-existing soulmeld bound to that chakra?, until Z condition occurs.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 25, 2013, 04:27:17 PM
Idea for something that could be used by someone:

An X of at least Y level may make a touch attack, and cripple a person's chakra.

If they hit, that chakra is considered to have a soulmeld bound to it for all intents and purposes, ?taking precedent over any pre-existing soulmeld bound to that chakra?, until Z condition occurs.

See the Chakra Targeting (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=243.20;msg=71708) deed.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 01, 2013, 10:09:48 AM
Idea for simplifying ASF?

When casting a spell subject to ASF (ie: arcane and with somatic components while wearing armor or a shield), you must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + the spell's level, or 2x the spell's level if you want to use the version of Concentration with meaningful DCs) or lose the spell. Armor check penalty applies to this check.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 02, 2013, 01:41:26 PM
Rework ninja and maybe monk to work off Incarnum instead.  Ki energy = soul energy in a sense.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 05, 2013, 12:56:28 AM
Pinpoint Aim feat
Requires Precise Shot
When making a ranged attack, you can ignore your size modifier to attack rolls (if negative) and your target's size modifier to AC (if positive).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on May 05, 2013, 01:55:52 AM
Pinpoint Aim feat
Requires Precise Shot
When making a ranged attack, you can ignore your size modifier to attack rolls (if negative) and your target's size modifier to AC (if positive).

Ooh, I like this!  Do you mind if I take it for Sniper?  (And if so, should if be a class feature or Trick Shot?)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 05, 2013, 02:22:12 AM
Pinpoint Aim feat
Requires Precise Shot
When making a ranged attack, you can ignore your size modifier to attack rolls (if negative) and your target's size modifier to AC (if positive).

Ooh, I like this!  Do you mind if I take it for Sniper?  (And if so, should if be a class feature or Trick Shot?)

Sure, that's what this thread's for.
Making it a feat is probably better than a trick shot. Trick shots look to be primarily active things, whereas this is rather passive. Plus, it's good for it to be available for other larger characters than just Snipers to let them be competent ranged attacks (getting larger usually imposes Dex penalties on top of the size penalties).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on May 05, 2013, 06:47:53 AM
Pinpoint Aim feat
Requires Precise Shot
When making a ranged attack, you can ignore your size modifier to attack rolls (if negative) and your target's size modifier to AC (if positive).

Ooh, I like this!  Do you mind if I take it for Sniper?  (And if so, should if be a class feature or Trick Shot?)

Sure, that's what this thread's for.
Making it a feat is probably better than a trick shot. Trick shots look to be primarily active things, whereas this is rather passive. Plus, it's good for it to be available for other larger characters than just Snipers to let them be competent ranged attacks (getting larger usually imposes Dex penalties on top of the size penalties).

Makes sense.  I'll stick it in the feats section (attributing it to you, of course).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 07, 2013, 04:46:37 PM
Spells are considered to be of a level equal to the level of the spell slot they're cast from. Metamagic feats (and similar effects, including rods and metamagic SLA feats) alter the spell level along with the level of the spell slot required.

Heighten Spell no longer exists. Its function has been baked in to the new spell level rules.

Sanctum Spell is just a +/-1 DC modifier, rather than a spell level adjustment.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 08, 2013, 01:15:50 PM
Arcane Preparation revamp: Spell Preparation

Requirements: Able to spontaneously cast arcane or divine spells.

Benefits: Mostly the same as the original, but it works with divine spells too.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 08, 2013, 01:42:32 PM
Alacrity bonus

Basically, it's the same as a Dodge bonus, but it doesn't stack with other alacrity bonuses. Also, none of that confusing text about only existing as an AC bonus, despite Haste applying it to Reflex saves, too.

Haste and similar effects provide an Alacrity bonus instead of their existing Dodge (and untyped) bonuses. Haste, for example, now gives a +1 Alacrity bonus to attack rolls, AC, and Reflex saves.
Haste, the Speed weapon property, and similar effects grant a +1 Alacrity bonus to the number of attacks you can make as part of a full attack.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 18, 2013, 03:26:24 PM
Spot/Listen

Normally, you have a -1 penalty for every 10 feet away you are. That scales up pretty fast for anything not right in your face. It also doesn't quite jive with how size categories handle Hide bonuses (-1 size, which is 1/2 the height, gives +4 on Hide). So how about every time you double the distance away, the penalty increases by 4? It needs a slightly different formula for really close things to establish a baseline penalty.

DistanceListen or Spot penalty
10'-1
20'-2
35'-3
50'-4
60'-5
70'-6
85'-7
100'-8
x2-4
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on May 19, 2013, 06:34:08 AM
Hmm, more effective no doubt, but also slower to implement...you can't just eyeball up a penalty on the fly.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Bauglir on May 21, 2013, 12:36:32 AM
MtG style spellcaster. You have the 5 colors of mana, which you need to spend in order to cast spells. You have 2 different sources of mana, a mana pool and a mana reserve. Your reserve is a fixed supply whose size increases as you level and gets a bonus from a high ability score, and it's full at the start of each encounter. It doesn't otherwise refill. You need to perform some daily ritual (the standard base class for the system would have a "Mana Lotus" that they need to meditate on) in order to get your reserve to function. You can also tap into the natural flow of mana to fill your mana pool, which is empty at the start of each encounter, and empties at the beginning of each of your turns. After your mana pool empties, you gain one mana of the appropriate color for each land you have tapped (note that this system uses "tap" in a slightly different way than MtG, and is more analogous to just having it on the battlefield). You tap lands as a swift action requiring a "magus level check" or something analogous to caster level, whose DC starts out at 5 and increases by 4 for each land you currently have tapped (numbers pulled straight out of the deepest regions of my digestive tract). Add in a list of special effects for existing magical locations that gives them special effects in lieu of colored mana when you tap them, and require the mage to have visited these magical locations.

You can't spend more mana in a single turn than a number called your mana capacity (which will be table-based, but equal to 1/2 your level rounded down). As your level increases, you get more efficient (for instance, tapping a land becomes a 1/round free action). The standard base class will have a Crusader-style spell access mechanic. Main-phase spells are standard actions, instants are immediate.

This is stupid, but I had to get it written down. However, I don't have time to actually write the real homebrew, so if somebody else wants to, please.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on May 21, 2013, 12:42:18 AM
There is always this:
http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=351.0

But that doesnt quite hit all the ideas in your post.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on May 22, 2013, 02:23:43 PM
(adopted from an old rpg game) Demigod character class - a person who, through divine intervention, great destiny, heritage or perhaps enlightened madness acquires a spark of divinity - basically, a guy who wants to become a god and has so much faith in himself he can grant himself spells.

HP D8
2 good saves (will + one of choice)
choice between better BAB and more skill points.
a choice of class skills depending on intended "portfolio"
No multiclassing - following the path to godhood takes undivided dedication.


features;
probably turning
wisdom-based spellcasting - a bit of healing, but mostly spells for influencing groups of people, buffs and biblical shock and awe.
social abilities synergising with leadership and party face role

more weird stuff to make up for no prcs:
an ability to attempt actual miracles (very hard and terribly risky at first - not only is it the ultimate test of your faith in yourself, but you risk one of the real gods smiting you)
at higher levels, a retinue of summonable outsiders is "born" out of the demigod's power.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Raineh Daze on May 22, 2013, 02:59:05 PM
I would have thought Charisma for becoming a god out of sheer willpower and determination, not Wisdom. :huh
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on May 22, 2013, 03:57:56 PM
well, power of personality comes from charisma, willpower comes from wisdom. As it is, he is using both. Wouldn't he be too powerful when SAD?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Raineh Daze on May 22, 2013, 04:12:00 PM
I was looking at Sorcerers for the CHA thing. And bards. Also loads of monster SLA's.

Take away turning and add in something else? Don't see why divine = obsession with undead. @_@
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 31, 2013, 10:50:27 PM
Inspired Tricks:

Requirement: Factotum

Benefit: Basically spend an inspiration point to spontaneously perform a skill trick.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on June 02, 2013, 04:57:04 PM
Abilities for a familiar to help his master focus magical energy (not to the point slaymate does, but enough to make it worthwile to have one without additional feat investment)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 06, 2013, 11:01:02 PM
Variant death and dying.

Under this variant, you do not die at -10 hp, fall unconscious at negative hp, and so on.

While at 0 or fewer hit points, you are disabled. While disabled, you are staggered and any standard or move action you take deals 1 damage to you.
Whenever you take lethal damage that reduces you to a negative hit point total, make a Fortitude save with a DC equal to 10 + your negative hp. If you succeed, you begin bleeding, but remain conscious (if you were conscious before). If you fail, you begin bleeding and fall unconscious until your hit points increase to 0 or greater. If you fail by 11 or more, you die.

While your nonlethal damage equals or exceeds your current hit points, you are staggered.
Whenever you take damage such that your total nonlethal damage exceeds your hit point total, make a Fortitude save with a DC equal to 10 + the difference. If you succeed, you remain conscious (if you were conscious before). If you fail, you fall unconscious until your hit points equal or exceed your nonlethal damage.

If you are reduced to negative hit points and have nonlethal damage on top of that, make only a single saving throw and compare it against both the lethal and nonlethal DCs.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 26, 2013, 01:25:41 AM
Barbed Bracers:

Whenever you succeed on a grapple check to deal damage, these bracers deal an extra 1d6 piercing and slashing damage, and the contribution to damage from your Strength modifier increases to 1.5x your strength mod instead of the normal 1x for unarmed strike damage.


Maybe add these into a set or something that consists of gloves, bracers, and a belt.  The belt would prevent being pinned unless the opponent successfully held you for two (maybe three) consecutive rounds.  The gloves would allow for a constrict attack perhaps.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 08, 2013, 01:36:09 AM
Accurate attacks, but fewer of them?

When you make a full attack, you can give up one or more of your attacks. You can divide up the total Base Attack Bonus that the lost attacks would have been made at to improve the attacks you still make. For every 1 point of BAB spent, you can gain a +1 bonus on the BAB of one of the attacks you still make, to a maximum of your full normal BAB. For every 2 points of BAB spent, you can gain a +1 bonus on the BAB of one of the attacks you still make, to a maximum of 1.5 times your full normal BAB.

For example, if you have a BAB of +12 (attacks at +12/+7/+2), you could give up your attack at +2 to attack at +13/+7 or at +12/+9, or you could give up your attack at +7 to attack at +15/+3, or you could give up your attacks at +7 and +2 to make a single attack at +16.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 22, 2013, 07:42:34 PM
Addition to the multiclass feats like Swift Hunter: You do not do suffer experience penalties for multiclassing with these classes.

Just in case there's someone who is okay with houseruling a bit but for some odd reason thinks the multiclass experience penalties are worthwhile.   :rolleyes

Edit:  Minor Swashbuckler tweak: Change Grace's boost to Ref saves to be a Dodge bonus (a la Haste), and let the Dodge class feature actually count as the Dodge feat for prerequisites.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 23, 2013, 04:03:14 PM
Some sort of conditional movement boost...

Basically, you get a bit of extra movement in each of your move actions that you don't have control over.

For example, a Barbarian feat could, as a "charge into battle" thing, give you an extra 10' of movement while raging that must be used to move towards a given target.

In other words, a Barbarian with a base land speed of 40' would effectively have a 50' land speed while closing with their target, but would effectively only have a 30' move speed while trying to move away from the guy.

Ends up making your movement kinda tear-shaped.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 25, 2013, 11:13:07 AM
Metamagic Reserve feat:

Benefit:  Choose one Metamagic feat and one Reserve feat that you have.  Your Reserve feat now benefits from the Metamagic feat if the spell you use to power the Reserve feat is also modified by the Metamagic feat.

Assessment: It needs to have some exceptions of course (Born of the Three Thunders comes to mind), and I think it's probably best if the Reserve feat uses the spell's unmodified spell level instead of the higher Metamagic level to determine its power.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jurai on July 29, 2013, 01:38:19 AM
Elite template, Diablo style.
Note: I'm going to be using the term "level" here a lot. It's not HD, but probably will be based on CR instead, or used in a variant where all the monsters are rebalanced to have HD ~equal to their CRs.

(click to show/hide)

What, no love for the Lightning Enchanted Multiple Shots 30-headed half-Time Dragon Paragon Tarrasque?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Xhosant on July 29, 2013, 08:25:42 AM
The guy with the intrusive power source. To go the cliche way: meet Joe, half-demon, suffering split personality between demon and mortal, suppressing his demonic alias Eoj. When Joe taps into his heritage for power (or when he should but doesn't, or when he's mildly inconvenienced) Eoj gets a chance to evict him, so to speak.

Things get out of hand because: a) there's truckloads of different concepts on that premise, and we need a scaffold covering them all, b) some cases may be forced upon the player (Bob really shouldn't have used the cursed artifact, even if he seeked it out on his own), so a simple PrC won't cut it. We need something scaling off of HD, decidedly not-class-y, powerful but not overpowered despite the last 2 points.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 29, 2013, 04:28:06 PM
A campaign setting where psionics is spookity evil; the main rule-change is that the psionic classes will be done away with, taking two Psionic feats changes your alignment to Evil, and power points/psionic focus don't auto-recharge.

Instead, you get 'em back by being a horrible person; I'm thinking that anything that would make you gain Depravity or Corruption would give you back a similar number of power points.

A change to Hidden Talent to fit this campaign setting:

Hidden Talent [General]
The voices in your head have really been pushing you to do horrible things lately. It is quite a nuisance.
Benefit: You gain a pool of 2 power points, as well as knowledge of a 1st level Psionic power. Your manifester level is equal to the lower of your character level and the number of [Psionic] feats, and you gain bonus power points based off of your Charisma.
Special: For all purposes except for qualifying for it, Hidden Talent is a [Psionic] feat.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 29, 2013, 04:39:28 PM
Better wording: Make it actually be a Psionic feat, except that you need not be psionic to select it. Fewer words and clearer, more obvious effects.

Hidden Talent [Psionic]
The voices in your head have really been pushing you to do horrible things lately. It is quite a nuisance.
Benefit: You gain a pool of 2 power points, as well as knowledge of a 1st level Psionic power. Your manifester level is equal to the lower of your character level and the number of [Psionic] feats, and you gain bonus power points based off of your Charisma.
Special: Unlike other psionic feats, you need not be psionic to select Hidden Talent.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 29, 2013, 05:02:12 PM
I thought of doing that, then thought that the exception would be weird. Oh well, looks better.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 29, 2013, 05:33:21 PM
I thought of doing that, then thought that the exception would be weird. Oh well, looks better.

Which is weirder? And doesn't have a double negative?
A is like B except for this one thing.
X is like Y, except for everything but this one thing.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on July 29, 2013, 09:32:23 PM
The voices in your head have really been pushing you to do horrible things lately. It is quite a nuisance. And you've been listening.

FTFY
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 30, 2013, 07:20:32 AM
They make pretty music.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on July 30, 2013, 11:12:42 AM
They make pretty music.
Mine don't  :(
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on August 03, 2013, 06:14:36 PM
Spellforged Warrior (Warforged Wizard Substitution Levels)

Gish Archetype for Warforged
:
Trade Scribe Scroll for the ability to treat your body as a spellbook
Trade your Familiar to ignore spell failure in composite plating (of all kinds)
Trade your bonus feats to burn spell slots for permanent buffs (Cast a Mage Armor on yourself, it becomes a permanent part of you, taking up the slot indefinitely. One spell per bonus feat lost.)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: 123456789blaaa on August 06, 2013, 12:47:17 AM
It's pretty obvious that the half-fiend and half-farspawn templates are counterparts to one another right? Well I was looking at the variant half-fiend article and bemoaning how you couldn't really apply it to the half-farspawn since a "farspawn" group was never partially standardized like the fiends were.

Then I realized that all you have to do is look at the article and look at the half-farspawn template while comparing both. Doing this should allow you to figure out which things are common to all "farspawn". Most fiends are extremely different from each other anyways except for those things that were standardized across them. All you have to do is create a far-realmy monster (or take an existing one) and just slap on the standardized traits. Voila! You have a Farspawn! Then you'll be able to apply the variant half-fiend article to the half-farspawn template.

Did any of the above make sense? I'm pretty tired right now.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 15, 2013, 09:49:50 PM
Random thought:  For the lowbie-casters like ranger and paladin, a way to get certain specific spells to always be spontaneously castable would help greatly.  Either make it equal to the number of spell slots, or perhaps use the "spells known" progression of the hexblade to determine how many spells of each level a ranger or paladin can choose to always be spontaneously castable.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on August 15, 2013, 09:55:44 PM
Random thought:  For the lowbie-casters like ranger and paladin, a way to get certain specific spells to always be spontaneously castable would help greatly.  Either make it equal to the number of spell slots, or perhaps use the "spells known" progression of the hexblade to determine how many spells of each level a ranger or paladin can choose to always be spontaneously castable.
Hell... just let them cast like a duskblade. Of course, that brings with it a crapton of book keeping, if you want to optimize it...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 15, 2013, 10:02:05 PM
Random thought:  For the lowbie-casters like ranger and paladin, a way to get certain specific spells to always be spontaneously castable would help greatly.  Either make it equal to the number of spell slots, or perhaps use the "spells known" progression of the hexblade to determine how many spells of each level a ranger or paladin can choose to always be spontaneously castable.
Hell... just let them cast like a duskblade. Of course, that brings with it a crapton of book keeping, if you want to optimize it...

Cast like a duskblade how, specifically?  Get 0 and 5th level spells and a huge bunch of slots, then select their spells but be able to cast the few spells known spontaneously?  Or just the spell selection and casting?

The idea was meant to be less powerful than simply giving them any sort of duskblade casting.  They simply have Favored Spells, which will ease the burden of choosing spells a bit since it allows them to prep for odd things, but if that odd thing doesn't happen for whatever reason then the spell slot can still be used for something else that the character would definitely go for.

Though I do agree the duskblade progression would be wonderful for paladins, rangers, and hexblades.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on August 16, 2013, 12:11:40 AM
Though I do agree the duskblade progression would be wonderful for paladins, rangers, and hexblades.
aka sirp's houserules
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on August 16, 2013, 08:42:31 AM
Random thought:  For the lowbie-casters like ranger and paladin, a way to get certain specific spells to always be spontaneously castable would help greatly.  Either make it equal to the number of spell slots, or perhaps use the "spells known" progression of the hexblade to determine how many spells of each level a ranger or paladin can choose to always be spontaneously castable.
Hell... just let them cast like a duskblade. Of course, that brings with it a crapton of book keeping, if you want to optimize it...

Cast like a duskblade how, specifically?  Get 0 and 5th level spells and a huge bunch of slots, then select their spells but be able to cast the few spells known spontaneously?  Or just the spell selection and casting?
Can't duskblades spontaneously cast anything from their spell list? Or is that just beguilders, dread necros, and warmages? Anyway, I meant let them spontaneously cast from their entire spell list, but using their "normal" spell slots (as listed in the PHB).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Agita on August 16, 2013, 03:51:01 PM
Random thought:  For the lowbie-casters like ranger and paladin, a way to get certain specific spells to always be spontaneously castable would help greatly.  Either make it equal to the number of spell slots, or perhaps use the "spells known" progression of the hexblade to determine how many spells of each level a ranger or paladin can choose to always be spontaneously castable.
Hell... just let them cast like a duskblade. Of course, that brings with it a crapton of book keeping, if you want to optimize it...
Cast like a duskblade how, specifically?  Get 0 and 5th level spells and a huge bunch of slots, then select their spells but be able to cast the few spells known spontaneously?  Or just the spell selection and casting?
Can't duskblades spontaneously cast anything from their spell list? Or is that just beguilders, dread necros, and warmages? Anyway, I meant let them spontaneously cast from their entire spell list, but using their "normal" spell slots (as listed in the PHB).
Duskblades get spells known like everyone else. The full list casters are just Beguiler, Dread Necromancer, and Warmage.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 22, 2013, 08:50:58 PM
Though I do agree the duskblade progression would be wonderful for paladins, rangers, and hexblades.
aka sirp's houserules

Yup (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=4149.msg57492#msg57492).

Random thought: Some knight/paladin double-progression PrC.  Its neutral or evil counterpart would be hexblade/knight.

More stuff:  Perhaps start a series called "Class redesign by committee" where the design failings of the T5 and T6 classes could be gone over, and then we as a forum can put together revisions of them that actually get to at least T4.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 22, 2013, 09:35:54 PM
Spell Critical: Your damaging spells have a critical save threat range of 1. (Whenever a subject fails a saving throw against a damaging spell you cast by rolling a natural 1 on the die, it must make a confirmation saving throw. If the second save fails, the subject takes double damage from the spell.)

Improved Spell Critical: Requires Spell Critical, CL 8th. Double the critical save threat range of your spells of the chosen school.

Power Spell Critical: Requires Spell Critical, Spell Focus (chosen school), CL 4th. Add +4 to the save DC of your spells of the chosen school for the purpose of confirmation saving throws.

Vorpal Spell [Metamagic]: Requires Spell Critical. Whenever a subject fails a saving throw against a damaging spell you cast by rolling a natural 1 on the die, it must make a confirmation saving throw. If the second save fails, the subject's head is removed from its body. Even if your spell critical save threat range is larger than 1, Vorpal Spell only triggers on a natural 1. A Vorpal spell takes up a spell slot 5 levels higher than normal.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 27, 2013, 02:15:42 AM
Spell Ablation: A defense against magical effects. Anything that ignores SR also ignores Spell Ablation (SA). Rather than sometimes completely negating spell effects like SR, SA reduces its effects, not entirely dissimilar to the difference between AC and DR. Whenever a creature with SA would be affected by a spell with any level-dependent variables as part of its effect, the spell's effective caster level is reduced by the creature's SA when determining those effects. The spell is not negated if this would reduce the effective caster level to less than the normal minimum required to cast the spell. However, if this would reduce the spell's effective caster level to less than 0, the spell is negated as though it had failed to bypass the creature's SR.

Range, area, number of targets, HD of creatures affected, and other factors that determine which creatures are affected are not influenced by SA, only the actual potency of the effect applied to those that are. Duration is affected only for spells that apply their effects individually to each of their subjects (or to their sole subject, in the case of single-target spells).

If a spell would affect multiple creatures, one or more of whom have SA, determine the effects of SA's caster level reduction for each creature independently.

If a creature has both SR and SA, the reduction in effective caster level does not apply to the caster level check to bypass SR. The two magical defenses apply independently of each other.

Multiple sources of SA do not stack. Use only the highest one.

A creature with SA who willingly accepts a spell can choose not to apply SA to that spell.

... not sure how to word how Spell Ablation affects powers. Something to do with reducing the effective amount of augmentation, but how, exactly? Probably capping it at the newly reduced effective manifester level and determining the effects accordingly, or something like that.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 28, 2013, 10:16:18 PM
Money is power variant

Instead of using experience points to level up, players gain levels whenever their wealth reaches the next level's total on the Wealth By Level tables.

Experience points are still accumulated and can be spent as normal. Might want to reduce xp rewards a fair bit, though.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on August 29, 2013, 12:06:11 AM
Wasn't that how it worked back in older editions?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 29, 2013, 01:49:38 AM
IIRC, in older editions, treasure gain was an experience source in and of itself, in addition to killing enemies.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on August 29, 2013, 09:51:52 AM
IIRC, in older editions, treasure gain was an experience source in and of itself, in addition to killing enemies.
It used to be; one of the Court-Reviews that was done recently revealed Lamentations of the Flame Princess borrows the mechanic, as well.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on September 05, 2013, 09:08:34 AM
How's this look?

Unsummon I
Conjuration
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: Up to five creatures totaling no more than 2 HD
Duration: 1 round per level (see text)
Saving Throw: Will Negates (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell causes a target to vanish for a duration of one round per caster level. If the target fails it’s will save, it ceases to exist during this period: it can take no actions, cannot be targeted or affected by any spells or other effects, and experiences no time passing.

When the duration ends, the target reappears into the same space it previously occupied. If this would cause it to appear inside a solid object, it instead is shunted to the nearest empty space (determine randomly if necessary).

When cast on a summoned or called creature, instead of it’s normal effect, this spell returns the target to its plane of origin.


(click to show/hide)

Exorcist [General]

Prerequisites: Divine caster level 1st

Benefit: Choose one divine spellcasting class. You may treat Unsummon spells as belonging to that class’s spell list. If you have spells known or a spellbook, you may add one Unsummon spell (of no higher level than the highest level spell you can cast) to it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on September 05, 2013, 09:18:33 AM
Psionics does this as Time Hop and Mass Time Hop (with different fluff), which I like better. I don't like long chains of spells which basically do the same thing. This kind of design screws over spellcasters who only have a limited number of spells known. I'd rather condense them into one (or two) spell/power which scales (as is commonly done in psionics). I wish the core SNA/SM spells were designed like this, but I guess that would really require a different set of basic mechanics where the spells are cast from progressively higher level spell slots to get higher level effects (summons).

So I guess here is my idea: redesign the basic summoning mechanics so that all summoning spells are 1st level spells, but give progressively higher effects if cast using higher level spellslots. :D This could be done just with a well written "patch" to allow 1st level summoning spells to be used in this way (if cast in a 2nd level slot, produces the effects of the equivalent 2nd level spell, etc).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on September 05, 2013, 10:36:56 AM
Good point.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 28, 2013, 03:18:06 PM
Skill Trick: Battle Charge

Benefit: Your charge does not provoke attacks of opportunity for moving out of or into an opponent's threatened area or square.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on September 28, 2013, 04:48:29 PM
WIP on some dual-progressions. Which should I finish first? TRANSPARENTHIEF (Lurk/Spellthief), DREAD COLLEGIAN (Duskblade/Advanced Learning Class), or CHAKRA MEDITANT (Manifester/Meldshaper with Psychic Meditation (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040827b) special flavor). All in editorial stage.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on September 28, 2013, 07:39:20 PM
WIP on some dual-progressions. Which should I finish first? TRANSPARENTHIEF (Lurk/Spellthief), DREAD COLLEGIAN (Duskblade/Advanced Learning Class), or CHAKRA MEDITANT (Manifester/Meldshaper with Psychic Meditation (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040827b) special flavor). All in editorial stage.
I'd like to see the Chakra Meditant, personally.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 30, 2013, 03:18:28 AM
Leylines

Leylines are currents of magical and natural energies that flow through the world. They do not appear to the normal senses, and only those specifically trained to sense them can detect leylines without magical or technological aid. Leylines are a part of the world, rather than a separate construct. They shift and flow in accordance with changes in the world and the planes, and artificial influences upon them can in turn affect reality.

Leylines come in multiple grades. More local leylines are weaker and more volatile, but are easier to tap into. Larger, world-spanning leylines carry more power but are also more stable and harder to influence.
(click to show/hide)

Leylines come in different types. Characters and creatures that are adept at using the power of leylines can tap into specific leylines available in the area around them in order to draw upon their power. Leylines usually do not have any particular influence except when being tapped.
(click to show/hide)

TODO: Random leyline tables.
TODO: Leyline-using magic system.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on October 20, 2013, 11:07:13 PM
Feat: Extra Domain Slot

Prerequisites: Must have domain slots either through cleric advancement or similar class features, able to cast 2nd level spells including from a domain.

Benefit: You have an extra domain slot you may prepare domain spells in.  The level for this domain slot is one less than your maximum spell level.  For example, a 5th level cleric would get an extra domain slot for 2nd level spells since his maximum spell level is 3rd.  Upon becoming 7th level and thus able to cast 4th level spells, the domain spell slot moves up to be a 3rd level domain spell slot.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 06, 2013, 12:58:16 PM
Feat: Extended Charge

Prereq: Run feat
Benefit: Once per encounter you may move up to four times your normal speed when making a charge instead of double. If you're limited to a single action, you may move double your normal speed on a charge instead of your normal speed.  If you already have the ability to make a charge at a greater speed than four times your normal speed, you instead add double your normal speed onto your existing maximum charge speed.  For example, a 16th level Streetfighter barbarian (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) who could normally charge at four times his normal speed may move up to six times his normal speed instead.  He is still limited to double his normal move speed if he's only able to take a single action per round.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 08, 2013, 09:58:09 PM
Feat:

Alternate Progression

Benefit: If you have taken an alternate class feature and have a feat, Prestige Class, or other ability that is based on and progresses the class feature replaced with an alternate, you may progress the alternate class feature instead provided it is appropriate.

For example, a swashbuckler that took the Arcane Stunt alternate class feature and then this feat could use the Daring Outlaw feat to progress the Arcane Stunt class feature instead of the Grace class feature that it replaces.

Or just make it a house rule.  *shrug*
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on November 08, 2013, 10:57:26 PM
Feat:

Alternate Progression

Benefit: If you have taken an alternate class feature and have a feat, Prestige Class, or other ability that is based on and progresses the class feature replaced with an alternate, you may progress the alternate class feature instead provided it is appropriate.

For example, a swashbuckler that took the Arcane Stunt alternate class feature and then this feat could use the Daring Outlaw feat to progress the Arcane Stunt class feature instead of the Grace class feature that it replaces.

Or just make it a house rule.  *shrug*

Yeah, it should be a houserule. Having to take a feat to do that would be super crappy.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 09, 2013, 05:18:18 PM
Yeah, it should be a houserule. Having to take a feat to do that would be super crappy.

I agree it should be a houserule, but having it be a feat might open it up to some DMs who... Think otherwise.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on November 09, 2013, 10:03:38 PM
Yeah, it should be a houserule. Having to take a feat to do that would be super crappy.

I agree it should be a houserule, but having it be a feat might open it up to some DMs who... Think otherwise.

If a DM is open to using a homebrewed feat for such a thing, you would think they'd be open to houseruling it instead...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 14, 2013, 05:32:59 PM
Ancestral Knowledge (http://dndtools.eu/feats/races-of-stone--82/ancestral-knowledge--69/) tweak: May also be taken by rilkans.  The accumulated knowledge of the rilkan race infuses their very souls and gives them intuitive knowledge.

Or just give Rilkans the option to use Wis instead of Int for their Knowledge checks.  They could certainly use some sort of boost.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on November 15, 2013, 01:30:42 PM
Ancestral Knowledge (http://dndtools.eu/feats/races-of-stone--82/ancestral-knowledge--69/) tweak: May also be taken by rilkans.  The accumulated knowledge of the rilkan race infuses their very souls and gives them intuitive knowledge.

Or just give Rilkans the option to use Wis instead of Int for their Knowledge checks.  They could certainly use some sort of boost.
Hmm... are there any easy ways to optimize wisdom checks? I know there are some for charisma checks...

And could you still apply Collector of Stories to this? If this could be optimized a bit, it could be a great feat.

Edit: I'll make a thread/post about this in the min/max section, as it is more appropriate there.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 15, 2013, 06:50:24 PM
Some sort of feat (including tactical) based on Improved Overrun (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#improvedOverrun).  I'd probably start with the ability to get rid of the AoO and/or make a single weapon attack against the overrun opponent.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on November 16, 2013, 04:08:15 PM
I think you are talking Valenar Trample (http://dndtools.eu/feats/players-guide-to-eberron--13/valenar-trample--3045/) or total rewrite of the overrun rules.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: SolEiji on November 17, 2013, 01:11:49 AM
Spell Ablation: A defense against magical effects. Anything that ignores SR also ignores Spell Ablation (SA). Rather than sometimes completely negating spell effects like SR, SA reduces its effects, not entirely dissimilar to the difference between AC and DR. Whenever a creature with SA would be affected by a spell with any level-dependent variables as part of its effect, the spell's effective caster level is reduced by the creature's SA when determining those effects. The spell is not negated if this would reduce the effective caster level to less than the normal minimum required to cast the spell. However, if this would reduce the spell's effective caster level to less than 0, the spell is negated as though it had failed to bypass the creature's SR.

Range, area, number of targets, HD of creatures affected, and other factors that determine which creatures are affected are not influenced by SA, only the actual potency of the effect applied to those that are. Duration is affected only for spells that apply their effects individually to each of their subjects (or to their sole subject, in the case of single-target spells).

If a spell would affect multiple creatures, one or more of whom have SA, determine the effects of SA's caster level reduction for each creature independently.

If a creature has both SR and SA, the reduction in effective caster level does not apply to the caster level check to bypass SR. The two magical defenses apply independently of each other.

Multiple sources of SA do not stack. Use only the highest one.

A creature with SA who willingly accepts a spell can choose not to apply SA to that spell.

... not sure how to word how Spell Ablation affects powers. Something to do with reducing the effective amount of augmentation, but how, exactly? Probably capping it at the newly reduced effective manifester level and determining the effects accordingly, or something like that.

Oh hey, we hiveminded.  I have made Spell Dampening. (http://dndwiki.com/wiki/Spell_Dampening_(3.5e_Creature_Ability))
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 18, 2013, 03:03:41 PM
Advanced Wild Shape

Prereqs: Knowledge (nature) + 12 or more, wild shape, and some other stuff.

Benefits: You may take the form of an animal that has had its HD advanced using the Improving Monsters (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm) rules, including ability adjustments for size increases.  The normal limits on size and HD apply.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 20, 2013, 03:08:38 PM
Weapon damage alternate rule:

If a weapon does 2d6 damage or some multiple of that, you may substitute 1d12 for it instead.  The tradeoff this allows is allowing the weapon to be more likely to roll a larger number, but at the cost of being more likely to roll lower numbers too.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 25, 2013, 03:22:52 PM
A slightly less generic human?

Darklight Humans
(click to show/hide)




Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 26, 2013, 06:34:18 PM
Divine Unease

A counterpart to ASF for those divine spellcasting classes that are not supposed to wear heavy armor due to oaths or whatnot (Druids and their metal-phobia, but also Healers and their prohibition from heavier armor). Rather than completely shutting down your spellcasting (and possibly related class features) due to using armor prohibited by your oath, you suffer a stacking penalty for 24 hours, similar to Binders who make bad pacts and don't follow their vestiges' influences. The idea being that if the need is great, whatever divine power is granting you your magic will allow you to bend your less-important, primarily-ceremonial oaths (don't wear armor) in order to ensure the success of more important goals. But you might feel guilty about it or your deity doesn't exactly want you to get in the habit of doing so. Whatever.

Whenever you cast a divine spell while wearing prohibited armor (including prohibited shields), the spell takes effect normally, but you suffer from divine unease. After resolving the casting of the spell and its immediate effects, you suffer a -1 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks, and you suffer a like penalty to your divine caster level, which may prevent you from casting higher-level spells. Your divine unease penalty stacks with each spell, up to the maximum divine unease penalty of your prohibited armor. Casting a divine spell while wearing prohibited armor less than your current divine unease penalty does not lower your penalty, it simply does not increase it. Maximum divine unease of armor and shields worn stack with each other, just like armor check penalty. Divine unease remains until the next time that you regain your divine spells for the day, minimum 8 hours after casting the last spell that caused divine unease (even if it did not increase your divine unease penalty). If you do not regain your divine spells at a specific time each day, divine unease instead lasts for 24 hours after casting the last spell that caused divine unease (even if it did not increase your divine unease penalty).

Some class features granted by divine spellcasting classes are also affected by divine unease. Actively using such class features also causes and prolongs divine unease, just like casting divine spells. Class features that are always active or that activate on their own, independent of your volition, do not cause divine unease, but you may still lose access to them with sufficient divine unease (see below). Your divine unease penalty applies to your effective class level for the purpose of class features affected by divine unease, which may reduce the potency or remaining daily uses of such abilities. If this reduces your effective class level to less than the level at which such a class feature was gained, you lose the use of that class feature entirely. The loss of class features due to divine unease does not further disqualify you from other feats or prestige classes you may have taken, although it may make some of them difficult or impossible to use.

If some of your armor or shields worn are prohibited by your oaths but others are not, only the prohibited pieces contribute to your maximum divine unease. For example, a Druid wearing hide armor who picks up a metal buckler to defend herself would only count the maximum divine unease of -2 for the shield.

Light ArmorMaximum Divine Unease
Padded-2
Leather-3
Studded Leather-4
Chain Shirt-5
Medium ArmorMaximum Divine Unease
Hide-4
Scale Mail-5
Chainmail-6
Breastplate-6
Heavy ArmorMaximum Divine Unease
Splint Mail-7
Banded Mail-7
Half-plate-8
Full Plate-10
ShieldsMaximum Divine Unease
Buckler-2
Light Shield-2
Heavy Shield-3
Tower Shield-5
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 27, 2013, 11:05:28 PM
Bloodied Death Throes [General]
Prerequisites: Con 15, Death Throes ability
Benefits: Your death throes ability does not only trigger when you die. When you are reduced to less than one-half of your maximum hit points, your death throes occur, just as if you had died. You and your equipment are not damaged, destroyed, or otherwise affected by your own death throes when they occur in this way. If your death throes would cause your body or parts of it to disappear, disintegrate, or otherwise be destroyed, your body remains intact. Any other gross alterations to your body, such as turning to stone, still take effect but revert at the start of your next turn. Once your death throes have been triggered in this way, they cannot occur again in the same way until you are healed to your maximum hit points, or for 24 hours, whichever comes first. Your death throes still occur normally when you die.
   A single damage source or other hit point reduction can only trigger your death throes once. For example, if a single damage source kills you while you were above one-half of your maximum hit points, your death throes would occur only once (rather than for both one-half hit points and for death).
   As long as you are still alive and conscious, you may suppress your death throes if you so choose.

Improved Bloodied Death Throes [General]
Prerequisites: Con 17, Bloodied Death Throes, Death Throes ability
Benefits: Your death throes ability triggers when reduced below two-thirds of your maximum hit points and again when reduced below one-third of your maximum hit points, in addition to when you die. This replaces the trigger at one-half your maximum hit points from Bloodied Death Throws, but otherwise functions the same way.



Trying to get the right wording, but it's coming out a bit complex. The idea is that your death throes trigger at 50% and at death instead of only at death. Once you trigger at 50%, you can't trigger again at 50% until you heal to full, but you can still trigger at death. The improved version changes it to trigger at 33% and 66% instead of 50%, and you still need to be healed to full again to trigger at the same threshold, but the 66% trigger doesn't lock out the 33% trigger.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 29, 2013, 11:14:19 PM
Change to the Mindspy class:

Prerequisites:
Spells: Ability to cast the detect thoughts spell, use detect thoughts as a spell-like ability, or use detect thoughts as a supernatural ability.

Normally it's just as a spell or SLA.  Why add Su?  To allow dopplegangers (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/doppelganger.htm) and changelings with the Cabinet Trickster PrC to enter.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: SolEiji on December 01, 2013, 04:48:16 AM
Death Throes Stuff

I really like these.

*Tempts you to post them to his wiki*
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 01, 2013, 11:48:26 AM
Death Throes Stuff

I really like these.

*Tempts you to post them to his wiki*

*Gives blanket perimission to port anything of mine from this thread onto his wiki, under the condition that it be attributed and linked back to the original, possibly with the disclaimer that the version here may be a newer version.*
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 01, 2013, 03:54:44 PM
Lightspawn
Small Elemental (=Subtypes=)
Hit Dice:7d8+14 (45 hp)
Initiative:+2
Speed:30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class:18 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple:+5/+3
Attack:Slam +8 melee (1d6+3)
Full Attack:Slam +8 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach:5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:--
Special Qualities:Death Throes, Power Infusion
Saves:Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +6
Abilities:Str 14, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 11
Skills:=Racial class skills and modifiers=
Feats:Bloodied Death Throes, ..., ...
Environment:Positive Energy Plane
Organization:Pack (3-5), Swarm (10-50)
Challenge Rating:5
Treasure:None
Alignment:TN
Advancement:6-9 (Small); 10-14 (Medium); 15-21 (Large)
Level Adjustment:--
Death Throes (Su): When a Lightspawn dies, it released a burst of positive energy. Living creatures within 30 feet gain temporary hit points equal to the Lightspawn's normal maximum hit points. These temporary hit points stack with temporary hit points from other sources that a creature already has at the time of the death throes and they last for 1 minute or until lost. A creature can attempt a Fortitude save (DC 16) to negate this harmless effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.
   A Lightspawn's death throes also occur when it is reduced to less than 50% of its maximum hit points due to its Bloodied Death Throes feat. The Lightspawn is not affected by its own death throes in this way.
Inner Fire (Su): A Lightspawn gains a +1 bonus on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, and skill checks for every 10 temporary hit points it has.
Positive Energy Affinity (Ex): Lightspawns are not at risk of exploding when their temporary hit points exceed their normal maximum hit points when on a positive-dominant plane, although the temporary hit points they would gain from being on such a plane stop accumulating at the Lightspawn's normal maximum hit points. In addition, cure spells and other healing effects that result from positive energy can heal a Lightspawn beyond its normal maximum hit points. Any excess healing is converted to temporary hit points, which last for 1 minute or until lost.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: SolEiji on December 01, 2013, 08:12:52 PM
*Gives blanket perimission to port anything of mine from this thread onto his wiki, under the condition that it be attributed and linked back to the original, possibly with the disclaimer that the version here may be a newer version.*

Bloodied Death Throes (http://dndwiki.com/wiki/Bloodied_Death_Throes_(3.5e_Feat))
Improved Bloodied Death Throes (http://dndwiki.com/wiki/Improved_Bloodied_Death_Throes_(3.5e_Feat))

Appreciated!

Time to drop one of my own...

Unique Planar Binding/Gate monsters: I've already made one, Crying Owl (http://dndwiki.com/wiki/Crying_Owl_(3.5e_Monster)).  The idea is a series of outsider monsters intended to be summoned through binding, ally, and gate spells with new and unique pre-requisites and quirks about summoning them into service.  Some will want things other than gold, some won't work in certain circumstances, and some may get angry given certain behaviors.  Good for increasing a story's fluff as well, and making the creatures seem more than "generic succubus" or "standard solar".
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 06, 2013, 08:53:41 PM
I just found this when reading the Great Wheel homebrew and I don't want to lose it.

At the very least Miracle should cost XP to replicate a spell just like Wish does.

Perhaps yes, although I think the current 5000xp cost is too prohibitive. It's a full encounter's worth of xp (before dividing it among the party).

Perhaps something like the following:
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 08, 2013, 05:00:26 PM
Shadow's Cloak

This enchanted cloak is woven from black silk. It feels nearly weightless, yet never seems to billow in the wind. Shadow's Cloaks were designed to be used by Shadows, Wraiths, and other incorporeal undead. They are semi-solid to both corporeal and incorporeal creatures, much like Ghost Touch weapons. While worn, the cloak confers a +2 Deflection bonus to AC, or increases the wearer's existing Deflection bonus granted by being incorporeal by 2 (other sources of Deflection bonuses are not improved). The wearer is also protected from any detrimental effects of exposure to sunlight or bright light. Finally, an incorporeal wearer can use the cloak to manipulate physical objects as though with a Strength score of 3, and can cause the cloak to become fully incorporeal while passing through physical objects (or when physical objects would pass through them, such as a swinging sword).

CL 15th, Transmutation; Craft Wondrous Item, mage hand, Ghostform; Market Value 22,000gp
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on December 08, 2013, 09:41:48 PM
I just found this when reading the Great Wheel homebrew and I don't want to lose it.

At the very least Miracle should cost XP to replicate a spell just like Wish does.

Perhaps yes, although I think the current 5000xp cost is too prohibitive. It's a full encounter's worth of xp (before dividing it among the party).

Perhaps something like the following:
(click to show/hide)
A bit like the Frank and K revision to Wish (http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/Tome_of_Fiends_(3.5e_Sourcebook)/Optional_Rules#No_Wishing_for_More_Wishes.21), but you totally removed all of the stuff about wishing for wealth, which is a simpler way to deal with it than their "Wish Economy".
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 09, 2013, 01:14:54 AM
Well, you know, KISS and all that. The idea was to remove the open-ended broken parts in the first place. Plus, I never got around to writing up clauses for item creation (which would be along the lines of craft it normally but nigh-instantaneously) and a few other Miracle/Wish clauses like reviving the dead (Wish is supposed to bring back bodies as well as duplicating Resurrection, even though it's a non-Sor/Wiz spell above 6th level) and possibly inherent bonuses (but they should probably be just from those Manuals/Tomes). That would be something like this.
Speaking of wishing for wealth and the means by which it comes about, new rule regarding SLAs, SUs, and similar abilities. They DON'T remove all components, just verbal, somatic, focus (and divine focus), and relatively cheap material (<5gp) components. Expensive material components are replaced by experience costs at a rate of 1 xp per 5 gp of the spell's normal material component, in addition to the spell's normal experience cost, if any. Other components, such corruption and sacrifice components, remain unchanged.
   As a DM, you may need to know how much experience a creature or NPC has available to spend on its spell-like and supernatural abilities. Creatures and NPCs encountered with supernatural and spell-like abilities can usually be considered to have at least 300 xp per CR or ECL, approximately as much experience as is granted for defeating an equal-level creature.

Genies, Effrit, and certain other creatures with the ability to grant wishes for other creatures don't pay the xp cost of the wishes they grant themselves. The character that requests the wish must pay it. If the wisher does not have enough experience points remaining, he gains a negative level and is docked a number of experience points equal to the deficit. Subsequent experience points earned by the wisher are applied to this deficit first before being granted to the character. The negative level remains until the experience deficit has been paid back, and cannot otherwise be removed by any means, even by immunities, epic magic, or divine intervention (and yes, that includes Iron Heart Surge). The negative levels from multiple granted wishes stack, but never cause the character to die, nor can they reduce the character's maximum hit points to less than 1. Negative levels from other sources can still kill the character.

I wouldn't add in the proposed Miracle/Wish clauses for item creation without using the other proposed rule here about changing SLAs/SUs to not ignore XP components. That being said, they're written so that you don't get a free item even if you do ignore the XP costs, you just get to craft it instantly (and possibly without prerequisites).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 09, 2013, 01:27:29 AM
Wizard Spell Knowledge Rules
... because the current ones aren't good enough.

In order to cast a spell, a Wizard must first have memorized it. In order to memorize a spell, a Wizard must both know the spell and have it written in a spellbook that she can reference.

Learning A Spell
In order to learn a spell, a Wizard must have access to a written copy of the spell. This can be a scroll, within a spellbook (her own or another Wizard's), ancient instructions scrawled on a dungeon wall, or similar magical writings. The Wizard must reference the writing over the course of an 8 hour learning period. Learning a spell is nondestructive. It does not damage or consume the original writings, even when a single-use spell completion item, such as a scroll, is used as the reference. At the end of this period, the Wizard must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the spell's level + 2 for each significant alteration from the base spell; see below). On a success, the Wizard learns the spell. On a failure, the Wizard does not, and cannot attempt to learn the spell again from the same writing until she gains a new rank of Spellcraft. However, should she find new magical writings detailing the same spell, she may attempt to learn from them as long as they are not essentially the same text (such as the same spell found in multiple copies of another Wizard's spellbook, or multiple scrolls of the same spell scribed by the same spellcaster).

Magical writings enhanced or altered from a base Wizard spell (such as a scroll of Heightened Maximized Chill Touch, or a scroll of Greater Dispel Magic scribed at the Bard's spell level of 5, or a divine scroll of Endure Elements) count as only the base spell for the purpose of learning them. Even if the spell's effective spell level is altered, the Spellcraft DC is calculated as per the base spell. However, for each significant alteration, the DC to learn the base spell from the writing is increased by 2. Each metamagic feat applied, the usage of a divine scroll instead of an arcane scroll, and the usage of a spell scribed from a spell list wherein the base spell is found at a different spell level from the learning Wizard's spell list, count as a different significant alteration. A spell scribed from a different spell list but at the same spell level as it is found on the learning Wizard's spell list (for example, the Light spell is a cantrip for both Wizards and Bards) does not count as a significant alteration and does not increase the Spellcraft DC to learn the spell.

A Wizard can only learn spells on her Wizard spell list, and cannot learn spells of a banned school. Spells of a similar nature, such as Bard spells and the few Sorcerer spells not available to Wizards also, cannot be learned. Spells transcribed by other Wizards that are not on the learning Wizard's spell list (such as those gained through feats that add to a character's spell list) also cannot be learned unless the learner finds a way to add them to her Wizard spell list.


Scribing a Spell
A Wizard can copy a spell into written form suitable for memorization. This can be from memory (ie: a memorized spell), but is most often performed from a reference text...

... er, remind me to finish this. Not much change to copying from the core rules, but I think I had some things planned when I started this that I forgot.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 13, 2013, 08:33:33 PM
Oversized Multi-weapon Fighting

Benefit: Basically just like Oversized TWF except it applies to MWF instead.


Addition to skills:

If you have at least 5 ranks in a skill, you may treat your roll as anything lower if doing so is advantageous to you.  For example, if you rolled a 20 on a jump check but doing so would take you further than you want to go (such as falling into a pit), you may elect to treat it as a 15 instead, for example.


Kensai (CW 49) prerequisite change:

Replace Ride rank requirements with any of Bluff, Gather Information, or Intimidate ranks instead.  The prestige class has no features regarding mounts and neither does its theme, thus the skill is inappropriate.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 01, 2014, 08:21:41 PM
Complete Adventurer has several exotic weapons that are basically improved versions of regular weapons.  It also says said weapons can be treated as the lesser weapon only for certain feats.  Personally, I'd just say treat the exotic weapon as its non-exotic counterpart for all effects.

Random thing: The Duelist PrC needs some sort of Uncanny Dodge, otherwise its AC bonuses are even more easily ignored than normal.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 08, 2014, 11:50:05 PM
Fluff modification to Spirit Shaman:

Might want some way to interact with incarnum better since souls and spirits have enough of an overlap to be interesting.  Or perhaps add some stuff to incarnum to allow for animal-based soulmelds instead of the alignment- and magical beast-focused ones.  Maybe start with the spirit shaman's animal guide list for soulmelds?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 17, 2014, 04:48:45 PM
Additional Warlock invocation: Detect Thoughts.  A little bit just for the sneakiness of it and such, but also a bit to get into the Mindspy (http://dndtools.eu/classes/mindspy/) class very easily.

Speaking of the mindspy, it maybe needs a boost in the form of boosting the DC of Detect Thoughts, progressing casting by 2 over the 5 levels, speeding up the cast action of Detect Thoughts, or something like that.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on January 22, 2014, 07:22:40 PM
Fluff modification to Spirit Shaman:

Might want some way to interact with incarnum better since souls and spirits have enough of an overlap to be interesting.  Or perhaps add some stuff to incarnum to allow for animal-based soulmelds instead of the alignment- and magical beast-focused ones.  Maybe start with the spirit shaman's animal guide list for soulmelds?
This sparked an idea for 3 feats and 8+ soulmelds that I'm now fleshing out.

Ancestral Acolyte = Pertaining to necrocarnum soulmelds and a minor spirit bonus.
Elemental Acolyte = Pertaining to air, earth, fire, and water soulmelds and a minor elemental bonus.
Seasonal Acolyte = Pertaining to autumn, spring, summer, and winter soulmelds and a minor faerie bonus.

Not especially pleased with that last but it seemed the best theme for the fey.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on January 23, 2014, 02:39:31 PM
Not thinking this is a good idea. Posting anyway, though.
Battlefield Medicine
(click to show/hide)

Uncontrollable Knowledge
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on January 24, 2014, 02:47:05 AM
Not thinking this is a good idea. Posting anyway, though.
Battlefield Medicine
(click to show/hide)

Uncontrollable Knowledge
(click to show/hide)
I would really give Uncontrollable Knowledge a save.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on January 25, 2014, 11:09:17 AM
It implicitly needs a touch attack, right? I should probably make that more clear, though. Think the save's necessary as well?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on January 26, 2014, 02:12:51 AM
It implicitly needs a touch attack, right? I should probably make that more clear, though. Think the save's necessary as well?
Hm. I somehow missed the touch attack.

Yeah, that works then. Plus, you're able to use the spell normally (as long as it's your highest-level), which is nice.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on January 27, 2014, 11:58:01 AM
Not thinking this is a good idea. Posting anyway, though.
Battlefield Medicine
(click to show/hide)

Uncontrollable Knowledge
(click to show/hide)
Skill ranks would be more natural than BAB for healing I think.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on January 27, 2014, 12:14:52 PM
The augment of UK looks like a great way to crack the action economy in half. Your thrall/ally can cause you to throw out a bunch of self-targetting powers all at once, without even using an action? Awesome!  :D

Edit: Whoops... missed the "random" part... Still might work for some builds which focus exclusively on buffing (ardents, psiwarriors, etc).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on January 28, 2014, 10:13:35 AM
Not thinking this is a good idea. Posting anyway, though.
Battlefield Medicine
(click to show/hide)

Uncontrollable Knowledge
(click to show/hide)
Skill ranks would be more natural than BAB for healing I think.
True. It originally was intended to be one of a few feats to use BAB for something other then attack so as to give fighter types more versatility; the BAB use is a relic of that, mainly. Shall I edit?

The augment of UK looks like a great way to crack the action economy in half. Your thrall/ally can cause you to throw out a bunch of self-targetting powers all at once, without even using an action? Awesome!  :D

Edit: Whoops... missed the "random" part... Still might work for some builds which focus exclusively on buffing (ardents, psiwarriors, etc).
Hah. That never occurred to me. Make the augment cost a bit high, maybe?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 28, 2014, 05:52:49 PM
Fluff modification to Spirit Shaman:

Might want some way to interact with incarnum better since souls and spirits have enough of an overlap to be interesting.  Or perhaps add some stuff to incarnum to allow for animal-based soulmelds instead of the alignment- and magical beast-focused ones.  Maybe start with the spirit shaman's animal guide list for soulmelds?
This sparked an idea for 3 feats and 8+ soulmelds that I'm now fleshing out.

Ancestral Acolyte = Pertaining to necrocarnum soulmelds and a minor spirit bonus.
Elemental Acolyte = Pertaining to air, earth, fire, and water soulmelds and a minor elemental bonus.
Seasonal Acolyte = Pertaining to autumn, spring, summer, and winter soulmelds and a minor faerie bonus.

Not especially pleased with that last but it seemed the best theme for the fey.

If or when you get that fleshed out, would you be posting a response here?  I'm rather curious about it.

Original purpose for posting again in this thread:  We need more creatures with Slight Build, which looks like it was originally introduced at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a  My first thought is some sort of elf given their Con hit and all.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: veekie on January 29, 2014, 12:37:44 PM
Not thinking this is a good idea. Posting anyway, though.
Battlefield Medicine
(click to show/hide)

Uncontrollable Knowledge
(click to show/hide)
Skill ranks would be more natural than BAB for healing I think.
True. It originally was intended to be one of a few feats to use BAB for something other then attack so as to give fighter types more versatility; the BAB use is a relic of that, mainly. Shall I edit?
Probably a good idea.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 29, 2014, 02:02:54 PM
Dragonfire Adept additions and clarifications:

Your breath weapon has a cooldown of 0 rounds.  (Thus allowing use of metabreath feats.)

A Dragonfire Adept's bonus language options include Draconic.


Warforged Scout change:  Has 30 foot base speed.  Slow scouts suck.


Armorless Ardent:  Easy change would just be remove all armor and shield profs and give Monk's AC bonus and Fast Movement.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 08, 2014, 02:40:54 PM
I wonder if the Taint rules in HoH could be modified to work for Phazon corruption from the Metroid Prime series.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 10, 2014, 11:26:21 AM
Ascetic Warrior:

Multiclass fighter/monk feat.

Fighter and monk levels stack for purposes of unarmed strike damage and AC bonus progression.  Fighter levels count as 1/2 monk levels for number of Stunning Fist attempts.  Monk levels count as fighter levels for purposes of gaining Fighter only feats.


Barbarian ACF option:  Crafty hunter (trade rage and indomitable will for favored enemy and archery style as ranger) should have the option of using the TWF style, or any ranger style like those found in Dragon 326.

Elf druid sub level start:  Like ranger sub level, allow an Elven Hound as an animal companion.  No idea on what to do for the rest.

Working on a paladin version of the mystic ranger alternate class in Dragon 336.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 02, 2014, 04:42:28 PM
I had forgotten about this until Amechra linked it in another thread. I'm transferring it here so I don't lose it.

Using arcane magic corrupts the spellcaster. Divine magic, being filtered through and controlled by the gods, does not carry this risk.

You accumulate arcane corruption. Initially, your arcane corruption begins at 0. Casting arcane spells  and using arcane spell completion items (including in the creation of magic items) causes arcane corruption. Whenever you cast an arcane spell, you gain arcane corruption equal to the spell's level. Using an arcane spell completion item causes half spell's level in arcane corruption, rounded up. More powerful spellcasters, having greater control of their powers, can mitigate this somewhat. For every 3 levels of the highest level spell you can cast, the amount of arcane corruption you gain from employing an arcane spell is reduced by 1 (minimum 0).

Arcane corruption can never drop below 0. Any time it would be reduced below 0, it is instead reduced to 0. There are two ways to remove arcane corruption. The first is time. For every 24 hours spent without casting any arcane spells or using any arcane spell completion items (even ones that do not cause any corruption), you lose 1 point of arcane corruption. The other method is divine magic. A restoration spell removes 1 point of arcane corruption from a subject who has not cast any arcane spells or used any arcane spell completion items within the past 24 hours. A greater restoration spell removes 3 points of arcane corruption from a subject who has not cast any arcane spells or used any arcane spell completion items within the past 24 hours, or 1 point from one who has. Only when these spells are cast as divine spells do they remove arcane corruption; spells cast as or emulated by arcane spells cannot remove arcane corruption.

Small amounts of arcane corruption are tolerable. Your arcane corruption threshold is equal to your character level + your Wisdom modifier + your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). As long as you have less arcane corruption than that, you suffer no penalties at all. For each multiple of your threshold, you suffer a cumulative -2 penalty on Concentration checks, to a maximum penalty of -10. At greater multiples of your threshold, you suffer additional penalties, as indicated below. Effects listed in the "Special" column are cumulative (you suffer the effects of all lower arcane corruption threshold multiples as well as your current multiple).

Threshold MultipleConcentration PenaltySpecial
0-0--
1-2Hostility
2-4Consumption
3-6Partial Insanity
4-8Compulsion
5-10Insanity

Hostility: Once your arcane corruption reaches or exceeds your threshold, animals can feel your corruption. Creatures of animal intelligence (1 or 2) and mindless vermin naturally shy away from you. Their initial attitudes when meeting you are always Unfriendly or worse. Even those that know you and are used to your presence will never have an attitude better than Indifferent. Even intelligent creatures can sense your corruption, and while they may not be able to tell what exactly repulses them from you, they are aware of it on at least an unconscious level. Creatures with intelligence 3 or greater whose initial attitudes towards you would be Indifferent are instead Unfriendly, those with initial attitudes of Friendly are instead Indifferent, and those with initial attitudes of Helpful are instead only Friendly.

Consumption: Once your arcane corruption reaches or exceeds twice your threshold, you become physiologically addicted to arcane magic. Each day that you do not cast any arcane spells or use any arcane spell completion items, you must make a Fortitude save (DC 15 + 1 per day since employing arcane magic) or suffer 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. This nonlethal damage cannot be healed until you use arcane magic or until your arcane corruption drops to less than your threshold.

Partial Insanity: Once your arcane corruption reaches or exceeds three times your threshold, a mild form of insanity begins to take hold of your mind. This frequently manifests itself as megalomania, but other conditions are possible. At this degree of corruption, the insanity is manageable, and is never debilitating. However, it cannot be treated until your arcane corruption is reduced below your threshold.

Compulsion: Once your arcane corruption reaches or exceeds four times your threshold, the use of arcane magic becomes an addictive craving. Each day that you do not cast any arcane spells or use any arcane spell completion items, you must make a Will save (DC 15 + 2 per day since employing arcane magic) or be compelled to cast an arcane spell or use an arcane spell completion item. If you are unable to do so, you suffer 2 points of Wisdom damage. This Wisdom damage cannot be healed until you use arcane magic or until your arcane corruption drops to less than your threshold.

Insanity: Once a character's arcane corruption reaches or exceeds five times her threshold, it controls her. She becomes fully insane (depending on how this insanity manifests itself, this may not be entirely debilitating to the character). The character becomes an NPC under the control of the DM. This insanity can never be fully cured, even if the character's arcane corruption is completely purged.



For example, Archmage Solberg is a 14th-level Wizard, with an Intelligence of 20, a Wisdom of 12, and a Charisma of 14. His arcane corruption threshold is 17 (14 + 1 + 2). Due to his mastery of the arcane arts (being able to cast 7th-level spells), Solberg can cast 0th-, 1st-, and 2nd-level spells without risk of corruption. For higher levels spells, he gains arcane corruption equal to the spell's level minus 2. As such, he can safely demonstrate the magic that he teaches his apprentices in his tower, although his teachings are still filled with warnings about the danger involved for less experienced mages.

When an orcish raiding party threatens a nearby village, the archmage is called forth to defend it. Unleashing his awesome power, Solberg drives the orcs away. In the process he casts 3 3rd-level spells, 2 4th-level spells, 2 6th-level spells, a 7th-level spell, and an assortment of his 2nd-level and lower spells. In the process he gains 20 points of arcane corruption (3x1 + 2x2 + 2x4 + 1x5). Being the cautious and experienced archmage that he is, Solberg made sure to purge himself of arcane corruption thoroughly after his previous adventures, so these 20 points are all he has. Since he has now exceeded his arcane corruption threshold, his thoughts feel mildly fuzzy (a -2 penalty on Concentration checks). As Solberg now radiates a subtle aura of corruption, he does not receive the hero's welcome he expected. The town mayor is thankful for Solberg's efforts, but politely cuts their meeting short (Friendly instead of Helpful). Most of the townfolk give the mage a brief nod, but little more (Indifferent instead of Friendly). The village priest, who has always distrusted arcane magic, goes as far as picking an argument with the mage when they pass in the street (Unfriendly instead of Indifferent). Even Solberg's apprentices seem distant in their lessons later in the day. However, after a four days' rest, during which Solberg avoids any spellcasting in his lessons, the archmage's corruption drops to 16, less than his threshold of 17, and good cheer returns to the tower.

And now to expand on this a bit.

Arcane Purge
Prerequisites: Con 13, Wis 13, ability to cast 2nd-level or higher arcane spells
Benefits: Once per day, with 1 minute of concentration and focus, you can purge yourself of arcane corruption you have recently accrued. You immediately lose half of all arcane corruption you have gained in the last 24 hours, to a maximum of your arcane corruption threshold. Doing so is physically draining, and you take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage for every point of arcane corruption you shed in this way, plus a number of points of lethal damage equal to your arcane corruption threshold multiple (before applying this reduction) per point of corruption shed.

Arcane Tolerance
Prerequisites: Cha 13, ability to cast 2nd-level or higher arcane spells
Benefits: You gain a +2 bonus to your arcane corruption threshold. In addition, treat your arcane corruption threshold multiple as 1 lower than it actually is when determining the penalties and other detrimental effects of arcane corruption.
Special: You can select this feat multiple times. Its effects stack.

Impure Implements
Prerequisites: Cha 15, Use Magic Device 8 ranks
Benefits: You can draw upon your arcane corruption to produce more powerful magical effects from scrolls and other spell completion items. You add a bonus to the caster level of any spell completion items you use to cast arcane spells equal to your arcane corruption threshold multiple, maximum +5. However, you are more susceptible than others to the effects of arcane corruption. Treat the arcane spells you cast using spell completion items as 2 levels higher when determining the amount of arcane corruption you gain from casting them.

Impure Magic
Prerequisites: Cha 15, ability to cast 3rd-level or higher arcane spells
Benefits: You can draw upon your arcane corruption to produce more powerful magical effects. You gain a bonus to your caster level when casting arcane spells equal to your arcane corruption threshold multiple, maximum +5. However, you are more susceptible than other trained spellcasters to the effects of arcane corruption. Treat the arcane spells you cast as 1 level higher when determining the amount of arcane corruption you gain from casting them.

Purified Spell [Metamagic]
Benefits: You can modify your arcane spells to produce less arcane corruption than normal. A purified spell uses a spell slot one or more levels higher than normal. For every additional level of the spell slot used, the purified spell produces one less point of arcane corruption than normal.


Other considerations:
- "Arcane corruption threshold multiple" is very clunky. Maybe change it to an arcane corruption level, which is defined as your arcane corruption value divided by your arcane corruption threshold, rounded down? Mechanically identical, just a better way of defining it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 04, 2014, 05:06:20 PM
Solberg in the tower?  Been playing Exile or Avernum have you?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 04, 2014, 05:18:48 PM
Wait...

If I had a base Corruption Tolerance of 15, and I took Arcane Tolerance 3 times, my Corruption Tolerance would be 21. In addition, I don't suffer any ill effects until I hit 84 corruption, right? I would only go crazy upon hitting 168 Corruption.

However, if I had 63 Corruption, and used Impure Magic, I'd get a +3 bonus to my CL?

Because if that's so... I wanna play a spellcaster in E6 with Impure Magic and 10+ copies of Corruption Tolerance. I mean, +10 to my CL without any penalties? Nice.

EDIT: Would you believe I skipped over the maximums? I skipped over the maximums.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 04, 2014, 06:15:32 PM
Solberg in the tower?  Been playing Exile or Avernum have you?

I had just gone through Avernum 4 and 6 when I wrote this originally. So, yes. One of these days I have to go back and finish 5, too.

Wait...

If I had a base Corruption Tolerance of 15, and I took Arcane Tolerance 3 times, my Corruption Tolerance would be 21. In addition, I don't suffer any ill effects until I hit 84 corruption, right? I would only go crazy upon hitting 168 Corruption.

However, if I had 63 Corruption, and used Impure Magic, I'd get a +3 bonus to my CL?

Because if that's so... I wanna play a spellcaster in E6 with Impure Magic and 10+ copies of Corruption Tolerance. I mean, +10 to my CL without any penalties? Nice.

EDIT: Would you believe I skipped over the maximums? I skipped over the maximums.

It's 6 feats to get +5 CL. Seems reasonable given that +1 CL is worth about 1 feat (see reserve feats, and I think E6 even has a feat that specifically grants +1 CL). Plus you're playing in a system where you can't just cast spells nearly as freely to do it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 11, 2014, 04:40:45 PM
Spaceships (to go with some of my other brew maybe sometime). Just a concept thing at the moment.

Subsystems do things. They're usually energy receptacles.

Taxation
Things tax the subsystems that they are involved with. A ship carrying lots of cargo taxes its engines, Firing weapon modules taxes the weapon subsystem, etc.
Each subsystem has a taxation threshold that affects how badly it can be taxed before it fails.
- Threshold N (where N>=2): N taxations of a given level are count as one taxation of the next higher level.
- Threshold 1: As a threshold 2 subsystem, but each taxation counts as 1 level higher.
- Threshold 0: As a threshold 2 subsystem, but each taxation counts as 2 levels higher. As a result, anything more than a single light taxation is overwhelming.

Taxations come in multiple (enumerated) levels. Only the highest level counts when determining penalties and other effects on the subsystem.
- 1: Light. Standard operating levels. No penalties.
- 2: Moderate. Higher operating levels, but still within expected parameters. Some subsystems may not work as efficiently (see the subsystem's description).
- 3: Heavy. The limit of acceptable operating levels. Most subsystems will not work as efficiently (see the subsystem's description).
- 4: Overwhelming. A subsystem that is overwhelmingly taxed fails safely. It simply stops working, but no real damage is done and the subsystem can reinstate its normal functions once the stresses on it are lessened. Life support may be unable to supply fresh oxygen as fast as it is being consumed, or engines may just shut down. The subsystem is disabled for as long as it is overwhelmingly taxed, and for 1 round thereafter. Nondestructive taxations never increase beyond overwhelming.
- 5: Critical. A subsystem that is critically taxed fails destructively. Not only does it cease functioning, but it will require repairs to work again even after the taxations are lessened or removed. Taxations never increase beyond critical.

Some example subsystems and taxations
(click to show/hide)


Sample ship: The Kestrel
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on April 11, 2014, 05:54:24 PM
Just make sure you have adequate representation
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 19, 2014, 07:00:08 PM
Tactical Soldier (MH 22) changes:

Sense Motive 2 ranks or Constant Guardian (http://dndtools.eu/feats/drow-of-the-underdark--93/constant-guardian--3328/) feat.

Interpose is usable 1/encounter at level 3, 2/encounter at 6th, and 3/encounter at 9th.
Reciprocal Strike is usable 2/encounter.


Crusader feats:

Strengthened Resolve:
Prerequisites: Steely Resolve 10
Benefit: Your Steely Resolve delayed damage pool is increased by 5.

Indomitable Resolve:
Prerequisites: Steely Resolve 15
Benefit: Once per encounter as an immediate action, you may delay the effect of a single attack, spell, or ability used against you.  The damage or effect does not take hold until the end of your next turn.  If the effect causes damage, it cannot be put into your Steely Resolve delayed damage pool.


Shield Specialization (http://dndtools.eu/feats/players-handbook-ii--80/shield-specialization--2594/) change: Add exotic shields such as Extreme and Rider's (Both from Races of Stone) to the list of eligible shields.


Knight change: Shield Block is just a straight up +1 to AC for all shields instead of against a single opponent like dodge.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 19, 2014, 08:19:16 PM
What if we kept Shield Block the way it is... and made it count as Dodge for all intents and purposes?

So anything that is contingent on your Dodge target is instead contingent on your Shield Block target, with higher levels boosting it further?

Elusive Target would be great for a Knight if it was built like that.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 19, 2014, 08:24:02 PM
That'd also be useful, yes.

Speaking of dodge, one of the things I'd be doing for swashbucklers is having its dodge class feature count as the dodge feat.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 20, 2014, 01:03:45 AM
There's no need for Strengthened Resolve to have a limit on your Steely Resolve's max pool size. There's no need to make it a dead feat in epic levels.

Indomitable Resolve should say that whatever you delay does not then get reabsorbed by your delayed damage pool next turn when it takes effect. Not that putting off some damage for two rounds is necessarily OP or anything, just that it results in a slightly unintuitive interaction if it works that way and should be clarified either way.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 20, 2014, 01:07:12 PM
Good points on both of those.  I hadn't considered epic play.

Might as well edit this idea in:

Need some sort of 1h adjacent + reach exotic weapon that can be used 2h for 1.5x strength to damage unlike the spinning sword in Secrets of Sarlona.  First thought was some sort of bludgeoning weapon like an extended flail or even morningstar on a chain mostly since there's no adjacent + reach weapon I know of that is bludgeoning.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on April 21, 2014, 10:17:45 AM
Good points on both of those.  I hadn't considered epic play.

Might as well edit this idea in:

Need some sort of 1h adjacent + reach exotic weapon that can be used 2h for 1.5x strength to damage unlike the spinning sword in Secrets of Sarlona.  First thought was some sort of bludgeoning weapon like an extended flail or even morningstar on a chain mostly since there's no adjacent + reach weapon I know of that is bludgeoning.
Try the Meteor Hammer, from Dragon 319 (page 73); it's an exotic two-handed 15' (long reach) weapon that deals bludgeoning damage and can attack all squares within its range.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 21, 2014, 11:58:21 AM
Ah yes, that one.  And the rope dart.  I keep forgetting about those.  However, both are two-handed weapons so it's not quite what I'm looking for.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on April 21, 2014, 12:16:39 PM
Ah yes, that one.  And the rope dart.  I keep forgetting about those.  However, both are two-handed weapons so it's not quite what I'm looking for.
Ah, yeah, I missed the "one handed" requirement, just was looking at 2h for 1.5 STR to damage.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 29, 2014, 11:38:07 PM
A little boost for ranged weapon users.


Precision damage is limited to 1 range increment or a distance based on your size category, whichever is larger.
Size CategoryPrecision Range
Fine or smaller5 ft.
Diminuitive10 ft.
Tiny20 ft.
Small30 ft.
Medium30 ft.
Large60 ft.
Huge90 ft.
Gargantuan120 ft.
Colossal180 ft.
+2 size categoriesx2
This assumes that you are using a ranged weapon appropriately sized for you. Not sure on what exactly it would be for over/undersized weapons. Probably would treat yourself as one size category smaller for every category smaller that your ranged weapon is sized than is appropriate. Larger weapons would probably be the same. Might be some difference regarding thrown, projectile, and siege weapons.


Aim: As a standard action, designate a target. You can treat your next ranged attack, if it is made against that target and before you move, as 1 range increment closer (minimum 0 range increments away) for the purpose of all effects dependent on the number of range increments away your target is (such as range increment penalties to your attack roll, whether your target is within range of your weapon, and whether or not you can deal precision damage). Aiming multiple times before a single attack provides no additional benefit.
   If your Base Attack Bonus is +6 or higher, you can make a single ranged attack against that target as part of this action.


Feats
(click to show/hide)

Note: Rays and spells usually don't have range increments, just ranges, so most of the features offered here don't do much for them. You can still aim them, but you don't get much benefit without feats that add extra effects, like Called Shot or Sniper's +10 on crit confirm rolls. Precision damage still works, but only with the base range limit based on size.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on April 30, 2014, 10:18:50 AM
I think I'd rather see the precision damage ranged based on the size of the target, rather than the attacker, since it should be easier to aim for a giant's heart than a mouse's. :P In fact, maybe just make it based on the difference in size between the target and attacker. I like the idea of small creatures being better at sneak attacking bigger ones, rather than vice-versa.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 30, 2014, 05:31:17 PM
Random thing that just occurred to me, and hopefully has occurred to others before: Devoted Spirit has Intimidate as its keyed skill but none of the maneuvers or stances make use of that.  The closest is Daunting Strike (http://dndtools.eu/spells/tome-of-battle-the-book-of-nine-swords--88/daunting-strike--3599/).  Some way to actually count a strike as a demoralization would be welcome.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 01, 2014, 12:40:53 PM
All spellcasters are spontaneous.

Retrieved Spells
Some spontaneous spellcasters use a system of retrieved spells. A spellcaster can reselect some or all of her retrieved spells at the beginning of the day when she refreshes her expended spell slots. Thereafter, until she changes her retrieved spells, she can cast those spells spontaneously. Retrieved spells must be selected from the spells that the spellcaster knows. If the spellcaster loses knowledge of a retrieved spell, she loses the ability to use it as a retrieved spell, although it still counts against the number of spells she can retrieve at a time until she changes it. A spellcaster can choose to retrieve less than her full allotment of retrieved spells, although there is no benefit in and of itself for doing so.

Cleric
A cleric retrieves her spells through meditation and prayer. Since she knows all spells on her class spell list, she can freely select from among them. In addition, a cleric can select and retrieve a single spell of each spell level she can retrieve from the domains she has access to.

Wizard
A wizard must both know a spell and have an accessible recording of it in a form suitable for study and retrieval in order to retrieve the spell. Usually, this takes the form of arcane writings in the wizard's personal spellbook, but some wizards inscribe them on other media, even as tattoos on the wizard's own body. A wizard can use arcane writings made by other wizards to retrieve spells she knows, but such writings usually use different shorthands and thus must be decoded first (a use of the Spellcraft skill).

A wizard can retrieve spells at other times than when refreshing her spell slots. With 15 minutes of meditation and study, a wizard can retrieve any number of spells, up to her normal limit of retrieved spells. Unlike with retrieving spells when refreshing spell slots, she cannot replace or remove already-retrieved spells in this way, only add in new ones to fill the slots she had left empty.

Assassins, Bards, and Sorcerers
These classes do not use retrieved spells. They select which spells to cast directly from their spells known.

ACFs and Variants
(click to show/hide)

Spells Retrieved Tables
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 01, 2014, 09:31:36 PM
Basing that a bit on the spirit shaman I'm guessing?  Will you keep the metamagic retrieval rules for that, or do something different?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 01, 2014, 10:20:38 PM
I wasn't planning on addressing it either way. I'm not 100% clear myself on how the Spirit Shaman's version of spell retrieval works with metamagic.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 01, 2014, 11:02:38 PM
I think I'd rather see the precision damage ranged based on the size of the target, rather than the attacker, since it should be easier to aim for a giant's heart than a mouse's. :P In fact, maybe just make it based on the difference in size between the target and attacker. I like the idea of small creatures being better at sneak attacking bigger ones, rather than vice-versa.

Smaller creatures are implicitly better at it due to size-based attack, AC, and Dex bonuses/penalties. You don't need a heavy hit to do your full SA damage, 1d2-4 works just as well as 6d6+34 (and your +5d6 or whatever is a relatively greater amount for the former than the latter). All you need to do is hit, something that smaller creatures are more likely to do than larger ones (assuming an equal BAB, weapon enhancement, etc.). In theory, anyways. I'm not setting out to rewrite how much natural armor and hit dice larger creatures get at any given CR right here. Although...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 01, 2014, 11:20:47 PM
I wasn't planning on addressing it either way. I'm not 100% clear myself on how the Spirit Shaman's version of spell retrieval works with metamagic.

In their case they treat a metamagic version of a spell as a different spell entirely for the purposes of retrieval.  So, as the book says, they could retrieve a regular level Flame Strike as one of their spells retrieved for the day and use 4th level spell slots, but an Empowered Flame Strike would be a different spell retrieved and the spirit shaman would use 6th level spell slots to cast it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 08, 2014, 04:31:19 PM
Primal Challenge (Ex): Bellowing forth a wordless primal howl, you invoke one of the basest instincts in your foes, that of fight or flight. Each enemy within 300 feet that can hear your roar must make a Will save. On a success, the creature is unaffected and can continue fighting normally. On a failure, you make an Intimidate check against that creature, opposed by a modified level check, as normal. If you win the Intimidate check, the creature is frightened. If you lose the Intimidate check, the creature can continue fighting, but it is compelled to perceive you as the greatest immediate danger and will correspondingly direct its attacks against you in preference to other foes. The creature is not forced to ignore your allies or other dangers that pose a threat to it, nor is it forced to even engage you directly. However, the creature must either seek to engage you (attacking you where possible, and focusing on others only when they make it impossible to do so), or seek to retreat from combat with you, focusing on others only when they impede the creature's escape (selfless creatures may sometimes also engage other creatures that impede the escape of their allies as well as themselves, but they are not required to do so). Both effects last for 1d4 rounds.

This is a sonic, mind-affecting, fear, enchantment (compulsion) effect. Creatures immune to fear automatically win the opposed Intimidate check, but are otherwise fully affected by this ability. Because this ability taps into a creature's basic instincts rather than its higher thoughts, living mindless creatures are not automatically immune to it as a mind-affecting ability. Non-living mindless creatures and mindless living creatures that are immune to mind-affecting effects through another source are still unaffected.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 16, 2014, 02:47:46 AM
I was reading through some of the earlier posts in this thread, and it got me to thinking about a setting where everyone is living magic. I've got one race for Illusion (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=243.80;msg=90886) and the start of one race for Universal or maybe Divination (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=243.40;msg=73412). Only 7 5 to go... (See the listing of player races, below, for links.)

Ideas...

The apocalypse came and went. Magic ran rampant, destroying the civilizations of humans, orcs, dwarves, goblins, elves, and more. Magic is what rose from the ashes. Living and sentient, filling the gaps left behind. Now feral humans skulk in caves, and the elves have retreated to their once-forested swamps. Dwarves hide themselves beneath the earth. The once-great dragons live in catatonic slumber within their lairs. The once-great mages of ages past wreak havoc across the lands, seeking to enslave magic once again.

Elementals roam the wilds. Living spells are pets and beasts of burden.

Player Races
(click to show/hide)

Non-Player Races
(click to show/hide)

Deities
(click to show/hide)

Classes
(click to show/hide)

Magic and Other Subsystems
(click to show/hide)

Death and the Afterlife
(click to show/hide)

Locations and Societies
(click to show/hide)

Mechanical Changes (House Rules)
(click to show/hide)

Recommended Homebrew
(click to show/hide)

Notes
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 17, 2014, 11:28:43 PM
Savage Bard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantSavageBard) addition: Gain Handle Animal as a class skill.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: trundlebot on May 18, 2014, 01:26:30 AM
I was reading through some of the earlier posts in this thread, and it got me to thinking about a setting where everyone is living magic. I've got one race for Illusion (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=243.80;msg=90886) and the start of one race for Universal or maybe Divination (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=243.40;msg=73412). Only 7 to go...

Ideas...

The apocalypse came and went. Magic ran rampant, destroying the civilizations of humans, orcs, dwarves, goblins, elves, and more. Magic is what rose from the ashes. Living and sentient, filling the gaps left behind. Now feral humans skulk in caves, and the elves have retreated to their once-forested swamps. Dwarves hide themselves beneath the earth. The once-great dragons live in catatonic slumber within their lairs. The once-great mages of ages past wreak havoc across the lands, seeking to enslave magic once again.

Elementals roam the wilds. Living spells are pets and beasts of burden.

Player races:
(click to show/hide)

Non-Player Races:
(click to show/hide)

Deities:
(click to show/hide)

Classes:
(click to show/hide)

Very well thought out so far! I would play the living crap out of this.
Would be swordsage sorcerer :D
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 18, 2014, 07:21:36 PM
Mortare race, necromancy made flesh (sort of)

Mortare souls inhabit the flesh of other races' dead. Reproduction involves creating a new, infant Mortare soul and coaxing it into a body. Mortare only inhabit roughly humanoid bodies. However, as the soul is responsible for providing motive force to the flesh, rather than bones and muscles, a Mortare's physical competencies may vary drastically from those of the corpse when it was alive. Over time, the physical characteristics of the flesh a Mortare inhabits shift to match the Mortare's true self's appearance. A Mortare child born into an adult body shrinks over the course of several years to become more childlike, until it eventually begins growing back into adulthood. Similarly, a mature Mortare who was revived into a new body will find its physical characteristics shift over the course of a month or two to match how it was before.

(TODO: Feat chain to... do something necromantic as an SLA. What's iconic, other than negative energy, raising skeletons and zombies, and causing fear?)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 18, 2014, 09:54:23 PM
Erg race, living incarnations of evocation's magical energy

(Description)
Ergs appear as glowing spheres of energy with four pseudopods extending from the center. These pseudopods, too, are made of the same energy. Fire Ergs appear as balls of crackling golden flames. Cold Ergs appear as orbs of deep blue ice. (TODO: Electricity = yellow lightning, Acid = green globule, Sonic = greyish waves bouncing about the sphere shape, Force = Opaque purple sphere).
Ergs are genderless.

(TODO: Monk-like PrC. Lets you change your energy type and do other mystical stuff.)



Erg Feats
(click to show/hide)



Notes
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 20, 2014, 01:12:45 PM
Completed: Dragon Shaman (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13687.0;msg=236209) is part of the Aura Classes (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13687) project

Dragon Shaman base class
A remake of the original Dragon Shaman with some fancy new aura features that build Touch of Vitality's healing pool.


Table: The Dragon Shaman                 Hit Die: d10
        Base
        Attack       Fort  Ref   Will
Level   Bonus        Save  Save  Save    Special
1       +0           +2    +0    +2      Breath Weapon, Draconic Vitality, Minor Aura, Totem Dragon
2       +1           +3    +0    +3      Draconic Aura +1
3       +2           +3    +1    +3      Dilate Aura (90 feet), Draconic Adaptation
4       +3           +4    +1    +4      Draconic Resolve
5       +3           +4    +1    +4      Scales +2
6       +4           +5    +2    +5      Draconic Aura +2
7       +5           +5    +2    +5      Dilate Aura (120 feet)
8       +6/+1        +6    +2    +6     
9       +6/+1        +6    +3    +6      Totem Immunity
10      +7/+2        +7    +3    +7      Scales +3, Draconic Aura +3
11      +8/+3        +7    +3    +7      Dilate Aura (150 feet)
12      +9/+4        +8    +4    +8     
13      +9/+4        +8    +4    +8      Share Draconic Adaptation
14      +10/+5       +9    +4    +9      Commune with Dragon Spirit, Draconic Aura +4
15      +11/+6/+1    +9    +5    +9      Scales +4
16      +12/+7/+2    +10   +5    +10     Dilate Aura (180 feet)
17      +12/+7/+2    +10   +5    +10     
18      +13/+8/+3    +11   +6    +11     Draconic Aura +5
19      +14/+9/+4    +11   +6    +11     
20      +15/+10/+5   +12   +6    +12     Aura Mastery, Scales +5


                   Minor   Draconic
        Draconic   Auras   Auras
Level   Vitality   Known   Known
1       10         2       --
2       20         3       3
3       30         4       3
4       40         4       3
5       50         5       4
6       70         5       4
7       90         6       4
8       110        6       4
9       130        7       5
10      150        7       5
11      180        8       5
12      210        8       5
13      240        9       5
14      270        9       6
15      300        10      6
16      340        10      6
17      380        11      6
18      420        11      6
19      460        12      6
20      500        12      7


Languages: As a dragon shaman, you learn to speak Draconic. This does not count against the number of bonus languages you can learn due to a high Intelligence score.

Draconic Vitality: Gain a pool of points akin to PP that can be spent on various effects. Pool size = ~4x Psychic Warrior PP + 2x level x Cha mod. Counts as Touch of Vitality's healing pool for effects and options that use that.

Breath Weapon (Su): Starts at level 1, 1d6 + 1d6/2 levels, usable once/round. Energy type determined by dragon totem. Usable as both line or cone, independent of totem (as per DFA). Can add up to 1d6/2 levels (rounded up) more damage at the cost of 3 DV per extra die.

Auras (Su): As a Dragon Shaman, you can channel the mighty powers of dragonkind to project auras that grant you and nearby allies special benefits. You can learn to produce different effects, or auras, over the course of your career. You may project one minor aura and (starting at 2nd level) one draconic aura at a time. If you possess the ability to project auras from multiple sources, the number of auras of any given type that you can project at once does not stack. For instance, a Dragon Shaman 2/Marshal 2 would be able to project both a major aura and a draconic aura at the same time, but only a single minor aura.

Activating an aura is a swift action. The aura remains in effect until you use a free action to dismiss it or you activate another aura of the same kind (mantle or minor). You can have an aura active continually; thus, an aura can be in effect at the start of a combat encounter even before you take your first turn.

As a Dragon Shaman, activating an aura is a purely mental action. Unless otherwise noted, your auras affect all allies within 60 feet (including yourself) with line of effect to you. Unlike the auras of Marshals and Divine Minds, allies need not have an Intelligence score to gain the bonus (mindless creatures can benefit from your Dragon Shaman auras as much as intelligent creatures). Your aura is dismissed if you become unconscious or are slain, but otherwise it remains in effect even if you are incapable of acting.

Some auras affect your enemies instead of, or in addition to, your allies. Unless otherwise stated, the save DC of your aura is equal to 10 + 1/2 your level + your Charisma modifier.

All modifiers granted by a your auras are morale bonuses (or penalties) that do not stack with each other. These morale bonuses and penalties still affect targets immune to mind-affecting effects that are otherwise subject to your aura. This ability otherwise functions as and counts as the Marshal's Auras ability.

(click to show/hide)

Totem Dragon: Largely the same as original. Since the skill list will be expanded, some skills will already be class skills. You get Skill Focus in those skills for free. Probably going to remove or lessen the alignment restriction.
Totem DragonAcceptable AlignmentFocused SkillsBreath Weapon Energy Type
BlackNE, CE, CNHide, Move Silently, SwimAcid
BlueNE, LE, LNBluff, Hide, SpellcraftElectricity
BrassNG, CG, CNBluff, Gather Information, SurvivalFire
BronzeNG, LG, LNDisguise, Survival, SwimElectricity
CopperNG, CG, CNBluff, Hide, JumpAcid
GoldNG, LG, LNDisguise, Heal, SwimFire
GreenNE, LE, LNBluff, Hide, Move SilentlyAcid
RedNE, CE, CNAppraise, Bluff, JumpFire
SilverNG, LG, LNBluff, Disguise, JumpCold
WhiteNE, CE, CNHide, Move Silently, SwimCold

Draconic Adaptation (Ex/Su): 3rd level. Same as original for the most part. The at-will SLAs will be changed to continuously functioning Su abilities that do essentially the same thing as the spells did when you want to take advantage of them. At 13th level, any ally affected by your draconic auras also gains the effects of your draconic adaptation.

Draconic Resolve (Ex): 4th level. As original (immune to sleep/paralysis and dragon frightful presence).

Scales (Ex): As DFA, but delayed a couple levels (still much better than original). +2 natural armor at level 5, +1 more every 5 levels thereafter. If you already have natural armor, it's a bonus to your existing natural armor instead.

Dilate Aura: Aura range increases with levels. Exact value to be determined.

Totem Immunity (Ex): Beginning at 9th level, you become immune to your dragon totem's associated energy type. Some totems do grant a different benefit instead of immunity to an energy type, as noted in their descriptions.

Commune with Dragon Spirit (Sp): At 14th level, you gain the ability to contact your dragon totem directly to ask questions of it. This is the equivalent of casting a commune spell, except that it has no material component, focus, or XP cost and allows only one question per three class levels. After using this ability, you cannot use it again for seven days.
(Unchanged from original.)

Aura Mastery (Su): Beginning at 20th level, once per day as a swift action, you can project up to 5 additional draconic auras at once (for a total of 6) for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1 round). You can change which draconic auras you are projecting and activate new ones as part of this action.

Bonus Feats: Gain bonus feats from a specific list with things like breath effects, extra draconic aura and other aura modifications, Touch of Vitality, and dragon wings. Exact levels TTBD.

(click to show/hide)

Feats
(click to show/hide)

TODO: VennDygrem's Dragon Shaman (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=3452.0) has a good skill list and a good rewrite of the Totem Dragon ability and alignment restrictions (or lack thereof).
TODO: Draconic Ideals (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6529.0) may have much to offer. I don't want to use the system as a whole, just to reference the various dragon types and their breath damages and resistances, mostly.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 30, 2014, 10:49:29 PM
Multiweapon Stability:

Prerequisites: Two-Weapon Fighting (or multi-weapon fighting), four or more hands, str 13

Benefit: When wielding two or more weapons in two hands each, such as a thri-kreen wielding two greatswords between its four hands, you take penalties for fighting with two weapons as if you were wielding a light weapon in your off hand (see page 160 of the Player's Handbook).

Normal: A creature with Two-Weapon Fighting wielding two two-handed weapons using four hands takes a penalty of -4 on attack rolls for both primary and off-hand attacks due to the off-hand weapon not being light.


They really ought to change the wording from "primary hand" and "off hand" to "primary weapon" and "secondary weapon" like it is for natural attacks.

Speaking of natural attacks though...


Strengthened Multiattack:

Prerequisites: Three or more natural attacks, Multiattack

Benefit: Your secondary natural attacks add your full strength bonus to damage rolls instead of the normal 1/2 strength for secondary natural attacks.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 05, 2014, 12:51:22 AM
Dvaigur, living divinations

Medium
+2 Wis, -2 Cha
+2 on all knowledge, spot, listen, sense motive, search, and gather information checks. Also applies to survival checks to avoid getting lost.

Fleeting Knowledge (Ex): Bardic Knowledge as a Bard of 1/2 their character level. Dvaigur with levels in classes that grant Bardic Knowledge and similar abilities can instead add 1/2 their levels in other classes as well as those that are normally added to the check when using such abilities.

Countersight (Su): Always benefiting from the effects of the lesser countersight spell, CL = your level (+1 due to racial bonus w/ divinations). (See my Weaponizing Divination thread for the spell.) A feat will upgrade this to countersight.

Divination Sight: Dvaigur eyesight uses a combination of light and natural divination. Anything that is fully protected from detection from divinations (such as a mind blanked creature) appears blurry and indistinct, giving it concealment relative to the Dvaigur. Any sort of non-complete protection that can simply be bypassed by a sufficiently powerful caster (such as nondetection) appears slightly fuzzy, but not enough to significantly hamper visual detection. Protections that cause divinations to register incorrect information, rather than none at all (such as magic aura or the disguise option of the aura alteration power, but not visual illusions like screen that simply register to divinations as the visual illusion they present) appear clearly, but with visual distortions (such as color shifting, afterimages, auras, etc.).

Sensor Awareness: A Dvaigur never needs to make a spot check to notice a scrying sensor within this range.

Divination Affinity: +1 CL w/ divinations and an additional +5% chance to get an accurate answer with divinations (cannot increase chance of a correct answer to >95%).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 08, 2014, 01:35:26 AM
Improved Eyesight rules

For every 5 ranks you have in the Spot skill, you treat light sources that produce shadowy illumination as shedding it 5 feet further than they actually do when determining what you can see. Treat light sources that produce only bright illumination as shedding shadowy illumination only as far as the bright illumination.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 14, 2014, 04:28:58 PM
Bonus cantrip slots.

Reduce the printed number of 0th-level (cantrip/orison) spell slots per day that all printed spellcasting progressions that gain bonus spell slots for a high ability score have by 1 slot. Instead, everybody adds their full spellcasting ability modifier as bonus 0th-level spell slots.

Alternatively, make them at-will. But this is to fix a different issue, that all higher level spells get bonus slots from a high ability score, but your Sorcerer with 80 billion Charisma still only has 6 cantrip slots.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 20, 2014, 03:20:29 AM
Dragonheart Kobold
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 20, 2014, 03:27:40 PM
Summon Living Spell
These are additions to the standard Summon Monster list. However, there's also enough to use these lists for a whole new set of spells specifically for summoning living spells.

SM1 (CR <1)
Living Acid Splash (CL 1st)
Living Flare (CL 1st)
Living Ray of Frost (CL 1st)

SM2 (CR 1)
Living Bane (CL 1st)
Living Faerie Fire (CL 1st)
Living Hypnotism (CL 1st)
Living Sleep (CL 1st)

SM3 (CR 2-3)
Living Burning Hands (CL 2nd)
Living Color Spray (CL 2nd)
Living Entangle (CL 3rd)
Living Ray of Enfeeblement (CL 3rd)

SM4 (CR 3-4)
Living Acid Arrow (CL 3rd)
Living Glitterdust (CL 3rd)
Living Scorching Ray (CL 4th)
Living Silence (CL 3rd)
Living Sound Burst (CL 3rd)
Living Web (CL 4th)

SM5 (CR 5-6)
Living Deep Slumber (CL 5th)
Living Dispel Magic (CL 6th)
Living Fireball (CL 5th)
Living Lightning Bolt (CL 5th)
Living Ray of Exhaustion (CL 6th)
Living Searing Light (CL 7th)
Living Stinking Cloud (CL 5th)

SM6 (CR 6-7)
Living Chaos Hammer (CL 8th)
Living Crushing Despair (CL 9th)
Living Dimensional Anchor (CL 8th)
Living Enervation (CL 7th)
Living Fear (CL 7th)
Living Holy Smite (CL 8th)
Living Ice Storm (CL 8th)
Living Order's Wrath (CL 8th)
Living Resilient Sphere (CL 7th)
Living Shout (CL 8th)
Living Unholy Blight (CL 8th)

SM7 (CR 7-9)
Living Cloudkill (CL 9th)
Living Cone of Cold (CL 9th)
Living Dispel Magic (CL 10th)
Living Flame Strike (CL 9th)
Living Mind Fog (CL 9th)
Living Symbol of Pain (CL 9th)
Living Symbol of Sleep (CL 9th)

SM8 (CR 9-11)
Living Blade Barrier (CL 11th)
Living Disintegrate (CL 11th)
Living Greater Dispel Magic (CL 11th)
Living Freezing Sphere (CL 11th)
Living Repulsion (CL 11th)
Living Symbol of Fear (CL 11th)
Living Symbol of Persuasion (CL 11th)

SM9 (CR 11-13)
Living Blasphemy (CL 13th)
Living Delayed Blast Fireball (CL 13th)
Living Dictum (CL 13th)
Living Firestorm (CL 13th)
Living Holy Word (CL 13th)
Living Prismatic Spray (CL 13th)
Living Reverse Gravity (CL 13th)
Living Symbol of Weakness (CL 13th)
Living Symbol of Stunning (CL 13th)
Living Sunbeam (CL 13th)
Living Waves of Exhaustion (CL 13th)
Living Word of Chaos (CL 13th)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 04, 2014, 10:22:03 PM
Incomplete: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=17186.0

Gears of War: Tome of Battle for Constructs
(click to show/hide)

Clockwork Warrior: Martial adept base class. Readied maneuvers are in a specific order. Only the first few are granted, the rest are withheld. As each one is initiated or otherwise expended, the next one on the list granted (up to 1/round).
(click to show/hide)

Look at Maug components/grafts and Warforged components for names and ideas.

Crushing Juggernaut
(click to show/hide)

Mechanus Hand
(click to show/hide)

Shifting Steel
(click to show/hide)

Variant Nimblewrights (MM2) with martial maneuvers.
(click to show/hide)

Metal Soldier
(click to show/hide)

Golden Soldier
(click to show/hide)

Golden Crown - Major artifact
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Agita on August 05, 2014, 05:35:21 AM
Gears of War: Tome of Battle for Constructs
When I read this, I expected the rest of the post to be about homebrew named after videogames.
Alas.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on August 05, 2014, 06:43:12 AM
Gears of War: Tome of Battle for Constructs

Clockwork Warrior: Martial adept base class. Readied maneuvers are in a specific order. Only the first few are granted, the rest are withheld. As each one is initiated or otherwise expended, the next one on the list granted (up to 1/round).
Awesome.

Quote
Mechanus Hand: Martial discipline. Impenetrable defenses and debilitating, immobilizing attacks.

Shifting Steel: Martial discipline. Flurries of strikes with weapons of all sorts. Many strikes are full-round actions that give enhanced full attacks.

Crushing Juggernaut: Martial discipline. Bowl over your foes with superior size and strength.
I am reminded of Adamant Soul, Golem Heart, and Domestic Tarrasque...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 05, 2014, 02:26:26 PM
Gears of War: Tome of Battle for Constructs
When I read this, I expected the rest of the post to be about homebrew named after videogames.
Alas.

Sorry. Although that was where I got the name.

Gears of War: Tome of Battle for Constructs

Clockwork Warrior: Martial adept base class. Readied maneuvers are in a specific order. Only the first few are granted, the rest are withheld. As each one is initiated or otherwise expended, the next one on the list granted (up to 1/round).
Awesome.

Quote
Mechanus Hand: Martial discipline. Impenetrable defenses and debilitating, immobilizing attacks.

Shifting Steel: Martial discipline. Flurries of strikes with weapons of all sorts. Many strikes are full-round actions that give enhanced full attacks.

Crushing Juggernaut: Martial discipline. Bowl over your foes with superior size and strength.
I am reminded of Adamant Soul, Golem Heart, and Domestic Tarrasque...

I'll have to take a look at them, although I have no plans for shield-based defenses in Mechanus Hand, and Shifting Steel is more Nimblewright and less plodding golem.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 11, 2014, 12:47:03 AM
Soldier base class

Full BAB, good Fort, d10 HD, yadda yadda martial stuff.
Gains a few fighter bonus feats.
Knows a number of tactics. Tactics provide benefits under specific conditions, often requiring your allies to help out, although not always.
(click to show/hide)
Gains commands as a Marshal (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13687), although at a slightly slower progression.
Weapon Aptitude as a Warblade (switch weapon-specific feats, take fighter feats at level - 2).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on August 12, 2014, 10:39:57 AM
Monk prestige class build around bonus feats related to stunning fist and comboing them.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 14, 2014, 02:33:08 AM
Like the Manual of Puissant Skill at Arms and friends (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/magicItems/artifacts.htm) (although cleaving a bit closer to psionics' Sutra of Tranquil Thought (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/psionicArtifacts.htm#sutraofTranquilThought)), here's a "free character level" minor artifact for ToB.

Tome of Battle (Minor Artifact)
Caster Level: 19th
Aura: Strong Divination
Activation: See text
Weight: 3 lb.
These tomes are greatly prized by martial adepts. Each one describes the history and practices of a single martial discipline. Simply skimming it from cover to cover grants the reader the ability to make Martial Lore checks to identify maneuvers and stances and the capabilities of martial adepts as though she had ranks in the skill equal to her character level + 5. This enhanced knowledge fades over time, and if the character does not reference the tome for at least a full week, her insight is lost and her abilities return to normal. This benefit only applies to the discipline described in the tome read, not to any other martial disciplines.

A martial adept who knows any maneuvers or stances from the tome's discipline and who takes the time and effort to thoroughly study the tome learns much more. If the character spends one week reading through the tome and practicing the techniques described inside, she gains experience points sufficient to place her halfway into the next level of experience and permanently gains the knowledge of a single martial martial maneuver that she qualifies for from the tome's martial discipline. A maneuver gained this way functions just like a bonus maneuver known gained from a prestige class. Once so studied, the book vanishes, reappearing somewhere far away. The same character can never benefit from reading a similar tome a second time, nor from reading a Tome of Battle describing a different martial discipline.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 14, 2014, 10:24:19 PM
Perfect Sense of Self [General]
Benefits: You have an absolutely perfect sense of what yourself is. Anything that is not you is instantly recognizable. This grants you the following benefits:
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 21, 2014, 02:12:30 PM
Decking
Decking is linking your mind to a virtual reality representation of a computer system or network known as cyberspace. Decking is more visceral and intuitive than blandly typing away at a computer terminal, yet is no less potent as a method of breaking computer security. It does carry greater dangers, however. The neural link works both ways, so viruses (and some questionably-legal security programs) can fight back against the decker himself, rather than just the computer a hacker uses. Some such programs can hijack the link to knock out or paralyze the decker until real-world authorities can arrive, or even induce psychosomatic feedback that can wound or kill.

Jacking In
... (WIP)
Usually need a port on the system to be hacked, as any significant latency (~1/4 second or higher) makes the fine control needed for hacking difficult if not impossible.

A jacked in decker is helpless. The decker does not use his or her senses and can take no actions. If attacked, treat as unconscious (denied Dex to AC, Dex = 0, etc.). Still allowed saving throws, but, again, unconscious (Dex = 0, no Evasion/Mettle, etc.). You are still aware of your body's status, so you can tell if you are being harmed.

Jacking in takes 1 round, provokes an AoO, and requires a Concentration check if damaged. When you jack in, your avatar appears at the cyberspace location of an open port (usually the one you connected to). Your avatar always appears at full health and with no conditions, magical auras, other other effects affecting it regardless of its status the last time you jacked in, as it is an entirely new creature. It might even have a different truename.

Jacking Out
... (WIP)
Jacking out (leaving cyberspace and returning senses to reality) takes 1 round, provokes an AoO, and requires a Concentration check if damaged. Once jacked out, the decker's avatar ceases to exist and the decker's senses and motor control return to his or her body. Normally, jacking out can be done anywhere at any time. If the system or the decker's avatar is locked down, it may also require returning the avatar to the cyberspace representation of an open port in order to jack out.

When you jack out, anything you brought with you when you jacked in (such as equipment your avatar had that was dropped or left behind, or severed body parts form your avatar, etc.) also disappear, even if they aren't with your avatar.

Note: Your avatar takes the actions to jack out, so if your avatar can't act, you can't jack out.

Some special attacks and abilities in cyberspace may lock an avatar down. A locked down avatar can function normally in cyberspace, but the avatar's decker cannot simply jack out. Any attempt to jack out when not at an open port automatically fails. Some abilities that lock down an avatar also cause intense feedback to the decker if the avatar is destroyed. Locked down avatars are not ejected by planar travel; deckers are not jacked out, and programs remain where they are.

Sometimes an entire system can be locked down. Everything in the cyberspace of a locked down system or a virtual machine within it is considered locked down.

Avatars
In cyberspace, everything is represented as an avatar. A decker's avatar allow him to visualize a computer system and interact with it intuitively, with the decking software he uses translating the decker's natural thoughts and bodily actions into meaningful computer actions. The avatar of a security program or virus represents its presence and influence in the computer system.

Each avatar has its own statistics and abilities, just like a normal creature. A decker's avatar has the same statistics and equipment as the decker has in reality, although most magical abilities do not function (see below), while any of the decker's cyberspace abilities are only usable by his avatar. Limited uses of any of your abilities all come from you; your avatar does not have a separate set of abilities. Magical charged and consumable items, should they be usable, are likewise consumed in reality when employed in cyberspace.

(In other words, this is a really complicated way of saying that you can use D&D combat rules to do fancy computer hacking instead of just rolling a ton of Computer Use checks over and over.)

Combat
Combat in cyberspace functions just like normal combat. One round in cyberspace corresponds to one round in the physical world, although particularly fast or slow systems can sometimes run at a different rate, similar to a plane with a different flowing time trait.

Damage to an avatar does not normally cause any negative effects to the decker it represents. However, some special attacks can cause feedback.

A decker whose avatar has been destroyed is immediately jacked out and takes 1d4 points of nonlethal damage and is dazed for 1 round.

Magic
Cyberspace is not reality, so magic does not have any real effect there. Supernatural abilities and magic items simply do not function, as though within an anti-magic field or dead magic zone. Most other magical abilities are similarly nonfunctional. Any sort of magical item or ability that can function under such circumstances (such as grafts and the magic of deities) are either powerful enough to impose themselves into the virtual reality of cyberspace, or inherent enough that standard decking software can translate the magical impulses into practical cyberspace effects.

Attempting to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability normally has no effect; the spell slot or usage of the ability is consumed, but it has no effect in reality and no translation of its effects occur into cyberspace. Characters who employ magical decking software (such as Spellforce v1.2) or feats (such as Cyberspace Magic) can produce effects comparable to the normal magical effects of spells within cyberspace.

Note: While these types of special effects most commonly come from spells, they can come from other sources (even extraordinary abilities, which function normally in cyberspace). Regardless of the source, be it spells or maneuvers or anything else, they all function as described here.

Calling: Spells that call creatures from other planes do not function. They can, however, be used to call avatars that are elsewhere in the cyberspace of the computer system or of a connected computer system's cyberspace, subject to the normal limitations of the spell.

Creation: When spells create creatures and objects in cyberspace, they are linked to the avatar that created them. When the avatar leaves cyberspace, its creations cease to exist as they are garbage collected. One round after an avatar leaves, anything created by its most recently cast creation spell from which anything still remains ceases to exist. Each round thereafter, the effects of the next such spell ceases to exist, continuing until nothing created remains.

Mind-Affecting Effects: Mind-affecting magic that affects a decker's avatar also feeds back and affects the decker him or herself. Mind-affecting magic that affects a decker does not, however, translate onto his or her avatar (the link is unidirectional).

Planar Travel: Planar travel doesn't work normally in cyberspace. An avatar that undergoes any sort of plane shifting effect, with a few exceptions, is ejected from cyberspace. Deckers are jacked out, and programs disappear, returning to their initialization locations 1 round later.

Ethereal travel in cyberspace works almost exactly like etherealness in the physical world, wherein avatars and cyberspace objects are shifted to a different, coexistent computing layer that interacts with normal cyberspace just like the Ethereal plane interacts with the material world.

Spells that create demiplanes and pocket dimensions function almost normally. They create a virtual machine on the computer that the area of cyberspace represents. Time within the virtual machine flows at half the rate as outside it, regardless of the time traits that the demiplane would normally have.

Summoning: Summoning spells summon avatars representing the creatures they would normally summon. These avatars have the same statistics as the creatures they represent. For practical purposes, summoning spells function normally in cyberspace.

Teleportation: Teleportation involving momentary planar travel (usually through the Astral Plane) just moves an avatar directly to another location, without going to another plane.

Cybernetics
When you jack in, your avatar has the same active modules, socket attachments, and energy allocations as you do.

As modules and cybernetic items are computers, you can use their processing power to aid your efforts in cyberspace. Modules, energy, and other cybernetic abilities and items, even supernatural abilities that affect your activating abilities, function normally in cyberspace.

(WIP) Since modules and cybernetic items are computers, they can be decked and hacked, too (although it's usually rather impractical). There might be rules for this. The security for a given module is probably something like an encounter with EL equal to the module's effective activator level to resist dispelling minus 4. Defeating the security allows a decker to deactivate the module.

Pact Binding
Your avatar is bound to the same vestiges that you are and is subject to the same penalties for acting contrary to a vestige's influence as you are, and any penalties it accrues apply to you as well.

Pacts cannot be made in cyberspace.

Most vestige abilities are supernatural or spell-like, and thus cannot be employed in cyberspace without the appropriate feat or magical decking software.

Truename Magic
Utterances are spell-like abilities, and act like them. Consequently, they have no effect when used in cyberspace without the appropriate feat or magical decking software. Avatars and cyberspace locations have truenames just like real creatures do.

If you know your own truename, you know the truename of your avatar, but the truename of an avatar is not the same as that of the decker it represents, with the exception of cyberspace entities and other creatures that are their avatars within cyberspace.

You can use the Computer Use skill to research the truename of cyberspace entities, avatars, and cyberspace locations.

Researching the truename of an avatar or cyberspace location requires no expensive materials and takes only 1 minute per check. However, as the truenames of avatars are assigned by the system on which they come into existence, you must have access to that computer system to perform your research. This special form of truename research and assignment does not apply to creatures that are their own avatars, as they exist independently of the computers and thus have truenames defined by the universe itself like any other creature.

Other Magical Abilities
Incarnum: When you jack in, your avatar has the same shaped soulmelds, chakra binds, and essentia allocations as you do. They're still suppressed like any other supernatural ability unless you have the appropriate feat or magical decking software.
Invocations: Invocations are spell-like abilities, and act like them. Consequently, they have no effect when used in cyberspace without the appropriate feat or magical decking software.
Maneuvers: Most maneuvers are extraordinary abilities, and thus function normally in cyberspace. Those that are supernatural abilities are unusable in cyberspace without the appropriate feat or magical decking software.
Psionics: See magic. Powers and psi-like abilities interact with cyberspace just like spells and spell-like abilities.
Shadowcasting: With respect to being usable in cyberspace, mysteries (including fundamentals) always count as arcane spells, regardless of whether they are arcane spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities.

Cyberspace Abilities (Cy)
Some creatures have special abilities that only function in cyberspace. Within cyberspace, these abilities function normally, but they have no effect at all outside of cyberspace. Within cyberspace, cyberspace abilities function just like extraordinary abilities.

System Traits
Much like planes, computer systems can have traits that influence how the avatars within their cyberspace can function.

Overclocked/Underclocked: Particularly fast or slow systems may function faster or slower than in the real world. Time passes faster in an overclocked system, resulting in more than 1 round passing in cyberspace for every round in reality. Similarly, time passes slower in an underclocked system, resulting in more than 1 round passing in reality for every round in cyberspace. This is comparable to the flowing time trait of planes.

Firewalled: A firewalled system makes it difficult for outside programs to access the system. Any attempt to jack into the system requires a DC 20 Will save or else fail, although a decker can try again on his or her next turn. Even once jacked in, a decker's avatar suffers a -2 circumstance penalty on all ability checks and skill checks while in the system's cyberspace. Some systems have whitelists of authorized individuals. Such users are not impeded by the system's firewall.

Degraded: Damaged systems may have trouble functioning optimally. Avatars native to the system suffer a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.

Teardown: Systems that are in the process of shutting down or rebooting are difficult to jack in to. Some deckers do so in order to access the system at a time when security measures are disabled and connection logs may not be recorded, allowing them to potentially get in and out completely undetected. Avatars in teardown cyberspace take 3d10 points of damage each round. Once the system finishes shutting down, all avatars are destroyed. A decker whose avatar is destroyed in teardown cyberspace must make a DC 25 Fortitude save or gain 1d4 negative levels from the mental backlash. Demiplane, pocket dimension, summoning, and calling abilities do not work in a system in teardown, even with the appropriate abilities or magical software to allow spells in cyberspace.

Equipment
Decking requires some specialized equipment. A basic VR helmet is the minimum to get into cyberspace, but better technology gives a better experience and greater control over your avatar.
(click to show/hide)

Software
Also purchased as equipment. Software influences how your abilities interact with cyberspace. Some software can allow you to split your attention between your body and your avatar, or cushion the backlash that decking can cause. Magical software can allow you to translate your magical abilities into cyberspace, imposing magical effects upon the representation of the computer system.
(click to show/hide)

Feats
Cyberspace Magic: Your magical abilities and items function in cyberspace. Within cyberspace, your avatar can make use of all of your supernatural abilities, and your spells and spell-like abilities function when cast into cyberspace. Your magical equipment is not suppressed in cyberspace.

Special Abilities
The following special abilities are common to several creatures.
Cyberspace Entry (Cy): This creature does not create a distinct avatar when it jacks in. Instead, it bodily enters cyberspace, ceasing to exist in reality and becoming its own avatar with the same status that it had in the physical world. Anything that happens to a cyberspace entity within cyberspace continues into reality once it jacks out, even death or destruction. However, a cyberspace entity can use all of its abilities normally within cyberspace, even supernatural abilities and spells, just like in reality. Cyberspace entities need no special equipment to jack in, merely a physical connection to an appropriate port, or a wireless connection if the creature has the Wireless Communication ability. A cyberspace entity is always considered locked down within cyberspace (it can only jack out at an open port), but when it jacks out, it can do so at any connected location in the real world, its body simply appearing there (or in the nearest passable location) in the same state as it was in cyberspace.

Subtypes
Cyberspace Entity: Cyberspace entities can exist entirely within cyberspace. Creatures with this subtype have the Cyberspace Entry ability, as described above.

Creatures and Monsters
Rezbits: As described in PoC, except that they also have the cyberspace entity subtype.

New Spells
(click to show/hide)


Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on August 21, 2014, 02:26:19 PM
what is this for? if you say magipunk i will be happy
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 21, 2014, 02:47:49 PM
what is this for? if you say magipunk i will be happy

Power of Cybernetics, which, as a component of Magipunk, means that I can say that this is for Magipunk.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on August 21, 2014, 03:00:24 PM
what is this for? if you say magipunk i will be happy

Power of Cybernetics, which, as a component of Magipunk, means that I can say that this is for Magipunk.

I'm glad to see you're still working on it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 21, 2014, 03:16:02 PM
what is this for? if you say magipunk i will be happy

Power of Cybernetics, which, as a component of Magipunk, means that I can say that this is for Magipunk.

I'm glad to see you're still working on it.

I haven't done much lately, but I think about it every so often. When Amechra linked to my half-finished mecha rules a few days ago, it set me off on a bit of a brainstorm.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 21, 2014, 03:42:26 PM
Cyberspace martial discipline.
Skill: Computer Use (duh)

Most maneuvers will work in reality, but have a special effect when used in cyberspace, like causing feedback to the decker when used against an avatar. A lot of maneuvers will be based on translating decking concepts to reality, like a strike that deals a bit of nonlethal and dazes for a round (like having your avatar destroyed), or a maneuver that creates a wall of fire that requires a Will save for enemies to pass through, etc. Many of these maneuvers are supernatural in reality, but become cyberspace abilities when used in cyberspace.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 21, 2014, 05:55:38 PM
Okay, I think that's all I have about decking for now. I think the core mechanics and concepts are pretty solid. Is anything missing?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on August 21, 2014, 10:27:11 PM
But how will it help the Terror Squid?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 21, 2014, 11:26:05 PM
But how will it help the Terror Squid?

Um, you can pilot your terror squid in cyberspace? I dunno, hack an enemy robot and ride your squid around in its CPU?

Speaking of the squid, thanks for supporting my work. You've obviously looked into the mecha rules a lot more recently than I have, and I don't really remember how I left them. Are they in a usable state? Are there any rules missing that are keeping the squid from being as terrorizing as it could be?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on August 22, 2014, 01:04:47 AM
There aren't rules for carrying passengers. Otherwise, they are pretty usable; not as great as they'll be when you're actually done, but I don't feel any holes in them.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 22, 2014, 02:05:58 AM
There aren't rules for carrying passengers. Otherwise, they are pretty usable; not as great as they'll be when you're actually done, but I don't feel any holes in them.

Cockpits, compartments, and interior space (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6817.msg160333#msg160333). That should solve the issue. As a Gargantuan creature, the Terror Squid should probably have a Huge cockpit or a Large cockpit and a Large cargo space, or something like that.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 23, 2014, 01:56:37 AM
Universal Engine major artifact and adventure site
The universal engine has power over all of reality. When supplied with enough energy, legends say that it can rewrite the entirety of the multiverse.

The universal engine is a massive structure. It exists within, and fills the entirety of, an enourmously large demiplane hidden within the Astral Plane. The boundaries of the demiplane are blocked from all planar travel, even deific powers, but a single physical connection exists somewhere within the Astral Plane. Once inside the universal engine, teleportation that normally functions by instantaneously whisking a traveller through a transitive plane still functions, although no planar travel is involved; the traveller simply appears directly at the destination.

At the core of the engine lies a great chamber where it can be accessed as an energy receptacle; every creature within the core has access to it. Any number of creatures can allocate energy to the engine at once. The engine has an infinite energy capacity, so there is no limit to the amount of energy that can be allocated to it. As long as a creature has any energy allocated to the engine, it retains access to the engine as an energy receptacle no matter where it travels within the engine's structure, although the creature loses access should it leave the engine (and its demiplane) entirely.

Once energy is allocated to the engine, it begins to reactivate. The creature with the most allocated energy can influence its functions; there is a special chamber, far from the core but within a finite distance, from which the character can control the engine. If multiple creatures are tied for the greatest amount of allocated energy, an opposed activator level check determines which creature has control each round.

Activate/Deactivate Defenses: As a standard action, the controller can activate or deactivate some of the engine's internal defense systems. The controller decides which creatures the defenses consider to be friendly or hostile, which can be defined using any senses available to the defenses. The engine can have a maximum of 1 HD of defenses active at a time for each point of energy allocated to it. If energy is deallocated, some of the defenses may be deactivated as well.

The engine's internal defenses are creatures of all sorts, although frequently constructs. The engine can be used to create more creatures to serve as its defenses using its Alter Reality power to produce an epic spell with the Conjure, Fortify, and Life seeds.

Planar Genesis: The engine can create a new demiplane on the Astral Plane, as per the genesis spell. The location and traits of the demiplane are decided by the engine's controller at the beginning of the process. This process takes 1 hour. The controller must maintain control of the engine and the engine must have at least 100 energy allocated to it throughout the entire process. Starting the process takes 1 minute for the controller.

Alter Reality: The engine can produce the effects of any epic spell or epic power that the controller can conceive of, even if it does not exist. The effect can target anywhere within the engine itself or anywhere within the Astral Plane. This process takes the same amount of time as casting or manifesting the epic effect. The controller must maintain control of the engine and the engine must have at least 100 energy allocated to it throughout the entire process, plus an amount of energy equal to 10 times the epic spell or power's Spellcraft or Psicraft DC without including any mitigating factors. Starting the process takes 1 minute for the controller.

Ascension: The engine can turn the controller into a deity. The controller gains a Divine Rank of 1. This has no effect on creatures that are already deities. This process takes 1 day. The controller must maintain control of the engine and the engine must have at least 2500 energy allocated to it throughout the entire process. Starting the process takes 1 minute for the controller.

Planar Creation: The engine can create a new plane entirely. This can be a material plane, an inner plane, or an outer plane. The traits of the plane, along with its connections to the transitive planes, are decided by the engine's controller at the beginning of the process. This process takes 1 week. The controller must maintain control of the engine and the engine must have at least 10000 energy allocated to it throughout the entire process. Starting the process takes 1 minute for the controller.

Planar Destruction: The engine can destroy a plane utterly. The plane to be destroyed is decided by the engine's controller at the beginning of the process. The engine can destroy any material plane, inner plane, outer plane or demiplane, but it cannot destroy transitive planes (Astral, Ethereal, Shadow). This process takes 1 week, during which time passes at the same rate on the engine's demiplane as on the plane being destroyed. Once the process has started, the chosen plane begins to fall apart. The controller must maintain control of the engine and the engine must have at least 10000 energy allocated to it throughout the entire process. Starting the process takes 1 minute for the controller. The universal engine cannot destroy itself.

Day   Happenings
1   Light begins to fade. Stars appear to wink out, and the sun and moon seem to produce less light. All light sources have their radius of illumination reduced by 1/2. Daylight produces only shadowy illumination, not bright illumination.
2   Natural disasters begin to strike, primarily earthquakes.
3   Water begins to disappear. Lakes dry up, and seas and oceans lower. Creatures need to drink twice as much as normal.
4   Natural light disappears. The sun (and any remaining stars) ceases shining, and the sky grows cold. The moon, too, is dark. The temperature decreases by one band this day and each day afterwards.
5   Living creatures begin to die. All animals, vermin, and magical beasts take 1d6 points of damage per hour.
6   Living creatures continue to die. All living creatures take 1d6 points of damage per hour (not just animals, vermin, and magical beasts).
7   Everything stops. The entirety of the plane is halted as per the temporal stasis spell at the beginning of this day, and the previous days' disasters stop getting worse (no more damage is dealt, no more earthquakes, water levels stay as they are, etc.). Creatures entering the plane after the beginning of the day are unaffected. At the end of the seventh day, anything still on the plane, even artifacts and deities, along with the plane itself, ceases to exist. Even souls are utterly annihilated, preventing resurrection by any means, even deific powers or those of the universal engine itself.

These effects are cumulative and continue onto later days.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on August 25, 2014, 07:07:15 PM
A rewrite that does justice to animals and their (ex) abilities
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 25, 2014, 10:15:03 PM
I wrote this to get some ideas for abstract combat within mechas, but it should work well enough for abstract combat within any constrained abstract environment where individual rooms aren't too huge. Assuming that it's actually functional, of course. I ripped it off in like 10 minutes.

Combat in Mechas is unlikely to use a standard grid, as the interiors are intentionally abstracted in order to simplify things. When you build a mecha, you should be slapping the cool parts together, not making a blueprint filled with all of the minutiae that will probably never be relevant. If you have a grid and a floorplan, more power to you. If you don't, here are some guidelines for abstracted tactical combat.

Compartments: Compartments are the rooms within a mecha. Assume that each compartment is a roughly a cube. Decide which compartments are connected to which, and whether or not they're connected to the outside of the mecha. Not all compartments need to be connected on the interior (some may only be accessible from outside only). Don't worry if the result makes no physical sense and would look like an Escher painting.

Hatches: Hatches are the doors between compartments. If two compartments are connected, they connect through a hatch.

Movement between compartments: Moving from one compartment to another connected compartment takes movement equal to the average of the two compartments' spaces, rounded up to the nearest 5 feet.

Combat between compartments: A character can be "at" a hatch, "near" a hatch, or "away" from a hatch. 1/8 of the characters that can fit in the compartment (rounded up) can be at either side of a hatch at a time, up to 1/2 of the characters that can actually fit in the compartment (rounded down) are away from the hatch, and everyone else is near the hatch. For example, in a Huge cargo space with Medium creatures in it, you could have up to 1 of them at the hatch, 1 near the hatch, and 2 away from the hatch. You can fit up to twice as much in each position, but such creatures are squeezing. Now, as for attacking between compartments, that depends on where the attacker and defender are on their relative sides.

AttackerDefenderMeleeCover
AtAtAdjacentNone
AtNearReachNone
AtAwayNoCover
NearAtReachNone
NearNearNoNone
NearAwayNoCover
AwayAtNoCover
AwayNearNoCover
AwayAwayNoTotal Cover

Melee: Adjacent means that both characters are adjacent (within 5 feet of each other). Reach means that characters are 10 feet away or further. Don't sweat the details, just go with the folks who have longer than normal reach being able to attack in melee. I might get to actual rules about how far it counts depending on the compartment sizes later.

In short, if you're away from the hatch, you have cover unless your opponent is also away, in which case it's total cover. At and at can melee with each other, at and near need reach weapons to melee, and near and near can't melee, period (DM might allow it if someone's go ungodly reach, but big reach usually would require being too big to fit in the compartment in the first place). If everyone's got big reach or is using ranged weapons, then being at or near the hatch makes no difference except to decide who is up front and thus gives soft cover to everyone else.

You can change where you're at with respect to one hatch with a 5-foot step, or with respect to all hatches as a move action.

If you're at a hatch, you can step through it, become at the hatch in the other compartment, as a 5-foot step. Anything else is a move action. If you're moving through multiple compartments at once, see the rules above about moving between compartments.

If there's more than one hatch, you can't be away from more than half of them, but otherwise anything goes.

Combat within compartments: If the combat is constrained to a single compartment, assume that everyone is in melee with each other. Flanking occurs when one side outnumbers the other by more than 2:1 (so 3 vs. 1, 5 vs. 2, 7 vs. 3, etc.). Effects that summon a creature to flank (Burning Ember, DW1 boost) don't guarantee that flanking is possible, but the extra body helps everyone on your side to flank everyone on the other side.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: samnemath on August 29, 2014, 03:52:29 AM
Has anyone tried to combine binder, chameleon with incarnum?

Tribe of One (https://www.goodreads.com/series/42497-dark-sun-tribe-of-one)

Multiple personalities instead of Vestiges
Powers come online the more points are invested in the personality
The personality with most points becomes dominant and gives a major ability similar to focuses in chameleon (spellcasting, or maneuvers for example)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 03, 2014, 01:04:58 AM
Complete: Part of Cheap Magic Items (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=17298.0).

Weapon Crystal of Empowerment
A crystal of empowerment grants an enhancement bonus to the weapon it is attached to (+1 for least, +3 for lesser, and +5 for greater). The enhancement bonus granted by the crystal does not allow the crystal itself to remain attached to the weapon in and of itself; a lesser crystal of empowerment that somehow becomes attached to a non-magical weapon with the Magic Weapon spell affecting it (+1 enhancement bonus) does not continue to grant it the +3 enhancement bonus once the Magic Weapon spell wears off and the weapon reverts to having less than the necessary +1 enhancement bonus with which to use a lesser weapon crystal.
Cost: 2000 gp (least), 10000 gp (lesser), 32000 gp (greater)



Armor Crystal of Empowerment
A crystal of empowerment grants an enhancement bonus to the armor it is attached to (+1 for least, +3 for lesser, and +5 for greater). The enhancement bonus granted by the crystal does not allow the crystal itself to remain attached to the armor in and of itself; a lesser crystal of empowerment that somehow becomes attached to a non-magical suit of armor with the Magic Vestment spell affecting it (+1 enhancement bonus) does not continue to grant it the +3 enhancement bonus once the Magic Vestment spell wears off and the armor reverts to having less than the necessary +1 enhancement bonus with which to use a lesser armor crystal.
Cost: 1000 gp (least), 5000 gp (lesser), 16000 gp (greater)



Shield Crystal of Empowerment
A crystal of empowerment grants an enhancement bonus to the shield it is attached to (+1 for least, +3 for lesser, and +5 for greater). The enhancement bonus granted by the crystal does not allow the crystal itself to remain attached to the shield in and of itself; a lesser crystal of empowerment that somehow becomes attached to a non-magical shield with the Magic Vestment spell affecting it (+1 enhancement bonus) does not continue to grant it the +3 enhancement bonus once the Magic Vestment spell wears off and the shield reverts to having less than the necessary +1 enhancement bonus with which to use a lesser shield crystal.
Cost: 1000 gp (least), 5000 gp (lesser), 16000 gp (greater)



2/4/2016: Adjusted prices to match the difference between the minimum enhancement bonus to use the crystal (0/+1/+3) and the final effective enhancement bonus, rather than being the cost of the final alone. So lessers went from 9k/18k to 5k/10k, and greaters went from 25k/50k to 16k/32k.
3/9/2014: First posted.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on September 03, 2014, 03:04:53 AM
Ooh, Weapon Crystal support! Love it!

Prime 'brewed a +1 enhancement that lets you apply up to 3 Weapon Crystals to the same weapon. This would go great with that.

I also had an idea (justifying my presence here):

All +1 Weapon Qualities as Weapon Crystals.

Base the power level off the Crystal of Return.

An example of this would be:

Ki Focus Stone
This roughly hewn stone looks vaguely like a caricature of a meditating monk.
Least: The weapon the stone is attached to is considered to be a special Monk weapon for you and you alone.
Lesser: The stone serves as a channel for your ki, allowing you to use your special ki attacks through the weapon as if they were unarmed attacks. These attacks include the monk’s stunning attack, ki strike, and quivering palm, as well as the Stunning Fist feat.
Greater: The weapon the stone is attached to deals its normal damage, or your unarmed strike damage, whichever is higher.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: linklord231 on September 03, 2014, 03:12:31 AM
Multiclassing feats in the vein of Swift Hunter or Daring Outlaw, but for Incarnum-users. 
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 03, 2014, 09:03:40 AM
Complete: Part of Cheap Magic Items (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=17298.0) (except the Spellforge Crystal).

Incarnum Weapon Crystal
This crystal glows with a strong blue light.
Incarnum weapon crystals invest essentia into the weapon to which they are attached. When attached to a weapon created through a soulmeld (such as the Incarnum Weapon soulemld), they invest the essentia directly into the soulmeld instead. You can invest essentia in the same receptacle as the crystal, subject to the receptacle's essentia capacity.
Least: The crystal invests 1 essentia.
Lesser: The crystal invests 2 essentia.
Greater: The crystal invests 3 essentia.


Essentia Battery Weapon Crystal
Essentia battery weapon crystals function just like incarnum weapon crystals, except that they function on a more temporary basis. Once activated (a free action), the essentia battery invests its essentia for 1 minute, after which it becomes burned out and useless.


Spellforge Crystal
A spellforge crystal can be enchanted as if it were a masterwork weapon. When attached to a weapon temporarily created, called, or summoned by a spell, power, supernatural ability, or other magical effect, the weapon gains the crystal's properties. Properties that could not be applied to the weapon (such a Keen on a bludgeoning weapon) do not apply. If the weapon already has an enhancement bonus or other properties that the crystal grants, the crystal's properties do not stack with them. Spellforge crystals can be attached to weapons regardless of whether they are masterwork or not.

Any abilities that have a limited number of uses or charges are tracked across the crystal and all weapons that the abilities are transferred to. Any transferred abilities and enhancement bonuses do not stack with existing enchantments that the created weapon already possesses. Any transferred abilities that would not normally be applicable to a created weapon that they are transferred to have no effect. No one weapon can ever benefit from more than one set of enchantments granted by a spellforge crystal or a similar item at any given time.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 06, 2014, 01:35:35 AM
Thought back to my Spirit Shaman and Incarnum stuff and realized I should perhaps just make a bunch of animalistic soulmelds and have them be an alternative list of soulmelds for the totemist instead of magical beast ones?  And then have totemist substitution levels for shifters or something.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 06, 2014, 03:05:40 AM
I've been trying to convert some of D20 Modern/Future's decompression rules (http://spellbooksoftware.com/d20mrsd/futureenv.html#decomp) into D&D wind speeds (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/weather.htm#winds). Unfortunately, I don't know what's actually appropriate. Using the effects that D20 Modern gives and guesstimating wind speed from that is kinda okay, but it gets into super-hurricane wind speeds once you get to Large breaches (5-foot square) to model it around what size creatures are blown away by winds. Trying to get wind speeds by calculating the actual flow rate from the breach area vs. air evacuation time gives utterly nonsensical values. Large is the slowest at 4.5 mph, Medium and Colossal are both 18.2 mph, Small actually matches up almost nicely to Windstorm speeds with 56.8 mph, all the way down to a Fine breach's utterly nonsensical ~5500 mph wind (that's around Mach 7).

Here's what I have so far. Decompression times have yet to be adjusted, I'm just working on wind speeds for now. I've changed the names of the breach sizes down a category so that they roughly match up with the space of an equally-sized creature, rather than having the same size as a creature one category smaller. Also, I'm not strictly following the D&D wind speed statistics, as the DC jumps too much between Hurricane and Tornado, and a couple of the larger size categories tend to get lumped together sometimes.

Part of the problem, though, is that I have no good idea of how fast the air speed actually should be when you suddenly get that sudden 1 atmosphere to vacuum transition, and I don't remember enough of my physics and linear systems courses (especially this late at night) to guesstimate it.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on September 06, 2014, 08:11:05 AM
Thought back to my Spirit Shaman and Incarnum stuff and realized I should perhaps just make a bunch of animalistic soulmelds and have them be an alternative list of soulmelds for the totemist instead of magical beast ones?  And then have totemist substitution levels for shifters or something.
Well, let's see. We have incarnum classes (w/ dedicated soulmelds) for Magical Beast, Plant, and Aberration. We need a bunch more if we're going to run the gamut, which would actually be kind of fun to consolidate.

Maybe make an incarnum barbarian? Like, even more so than totemist? I dunno. I feel like if you're going to make a bunch of animal soulmelds you have to make it into a separate class. I'd be happy to help...

Now this has me thinking...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on September 06, 2014, 01:44:33 PM
Thought back to my Spirit Shaman and Incarnum stuff and realized I should perhaps just make a bunch of animalistic soulmelds and have them be an alternative list of soulmelds for the totemist instead of magical beast ones?  And then have totemist substitution levels for shifters or something.
Well, let's see. We have incarnum classes (w/ dedicated soulmelds) for Magical Beast, Plant, and Aberration. We need a bunch more if we're going to run the gamut, which would actually be kind of fun to consolidate.
I've been stymied by this idea myself. I tried working it as 3 access feats, one of which was basically a redesign of Necrocarnum Acolyte. The fey section wrote itself but I got blocked when coming upon ideas for elemental melds.

Should I post a tentative?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on September 06, 2014, 02:01:05 PM
Thought back to my Spirit Shaman and Incarnum stuff and realized I should perhaps just make a bunch of animalistic soulmelds and have them be an alternative list of soulmelds for the totemist instead of magical beast ones?  And then have totemist substitution levels for shifters or something.
Well, let's see. We have incarnum classes (w/ dedicated soulmelds) for Magical Beast, Plant, and Aberration. We need a bunch more if we're going to run the gamut, which would actually be kind of fun to consolidate.
I've been stymied by this idea myself. I tried working it as 3 access feats, one of which was basically a redesign of Necrocarnum Acolyte. The fey section wrote itself but I got blocked when coming upon ideas for elemental melds.

Should I post a tentative?
I mean, absolutely, but personally I feel like having distinct classes for the various creature types is a more interesting idea than access feats... just my 2cp.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on September 06, 2014, 03:01:18 PM
Thought back to my Spirit Shaman and Incarnum stuff and realized I should perhaps just make a bunch of animalistic soulmelds and have them be an alternative list of soulmelds for the totemist instead of magical beast ones?  And then have totemist substitution levels for shifters or something.
Well, let's see. We have incarnum classes (w/ dedicated soulmelds) for Magical Beast, Plant, and Aberration. We need a bunch more if we're going to run the gamut, which would actually be kind of fun to consolidate.
I've been stymied by this idea myself. I tried working it as 3 access feats, one of which was basically a redesign of Necrocarnum Acolyte. The fey section wrote itself but I got blocked when coming upon ideas for elemental melds.

Should I post a tentative?
I mean, absolutely, but personally I feel like having distinct classes for the various creature types is a more interesting idea than access feats... just my 2cp.
It certainly can be, but the original classes didn't get any real support either. I try to shy from something that big. Let me dig out the file and edit for monday.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 06, 2014, 03:10:40 PM
Thought back to my Spirit Shaman and Incarnum stuff and realized I should perhaps just make a bunch of animalistic soulmelds and have them be an alternative list of soulmelds for the totemist instead of magical beast ones?  And then have totemist substitution levels for shifters or something.
Well, let's see. We have incarnum classes (w/ dedicated soulmelds) for Magical Beast, Plant, and Aberration. We need a bunch more if we're going to run the gamut, which would actually be kind of fun to consolidate.
I've been stymied by this idea myself. I tried working it as 3 access feats, one of which was basically a redesign of Necrocarnum Acolyte. The fey section wrote itself but I got blocked when coming upon ideas for elemental melds.

Should I post a tentative?
I mean, absolutely, but personally I feel like having distinct classes for the various creature types is a more interesting idea than access feats... just my 2cp.

Different classes would be cool. The big things are getting that completely different list of soulmelds and a few supporting class features. The totemist itself barely has anything to sell the magical beast theme other than the soulmeld list (wild empathy, +saves vs. totem bind's creature), so it's nice to see more fleshed out classes.

Regarding outsiders, I think the Incarnate does a decent job of filling that theme. It doesn't do specific outsiders too much, but between the alignment focus and the good number of its melds that have planar themes, I feel like it gets the point across.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on September 06, 2014, 06:06:56 PM
I actually think a Fey one would be pretty neat.

I mean, there aren't that many Fey, but pretty much all of them are extremely distinct (compare a Murderjack, Glitterhaunt, Siabrie, and Dryad, for example).

How many monsters do you need (I've always been a bit sketchy on that); because if there aren't enough first-party Fey, then I know of plenty of homebrew ones. But I'm pretty sure there are more Fey than Plant creatures.

EDIT: And Fey are pretty wide thematically.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 06, 2014, 09:14:22 PM
Sounds like the project needs its own thread, at the very least.

Or we might make a new subforum and have each type of creature with enough support for a full set of soulmelds and effects.  "Expanded incarnum project" or something.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on September 06, 2014, 10:16:42 PM
Let's make a subforum; we can have Warpsoul & Green Man moved there.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on September 06, 2014, 10:52:08 PM
And I can make feats!

Many feats!

More feats than you can handle.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 07, 2014, 05:40:44 PM
And I'll just constantly churn out half-started ideas and some starting basis for them, as well as references and crap?  Like with the animal soulmelds there's the spirit shaman guides, but there's also all those barbarian ACFs.  There are also several alternate animal companions in Dragon Mag as well as some new animals like the riding bird (AKA chocobo).  And WotC archives do still have full searchable databases for carious creatures.  http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/monsters&tablefilter=animal for example.

Random thought: There needs to be a dragonblood subtype creature that also has incarnum ties.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Raineh Daze on September 07, 2014, 05:41:30 PM
I have really got to finish off that Netheril stuff. Can't really run a 3.5 game where the rules only cover the Wizards, can I?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on September 07, 2014, 06:12:37 PM
I've requested a subforum for the incarnum stuff.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 11, 2014, 09:46:41 PM
Objectbane weapon property
Price: +1 bonus
An objectbane weapon excels at attacking objects. Against objects, its effective enhancement bonus is +2 better than its normal enhancement bonus. It deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against the object. These benefits apply on disarm attempts as well as sunder attempts and direct attacks, although the additional damage is not relevant when disarming. Bows, crossbows, and slings so crafted bestow the objectbane quality upon their ammunition.

Objectbane piercing weapons can be used to sunder.

The damage from an objectbane ranged weapon is not halved when attacking an object.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: 123456789blaaa on September 25, 2014, 04:08:22 AM
I've requested a subforum for the incarnum stuff.

Given that the subforum seems to be taking a while, do you mind if I give some of my thoughts here?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 25, 2014, 07:18:44 PM
Negative Levels redefined
Negative levels are the loss of life energy, vitality, inherent power, and so forth. It is not a buildup of negative energy or interfering magics. It is a pure lack of something. While different abilities that cause negative levels may apply differently for living, nonliving, and undead creatures, the negative levels themselves function identically regardless of what sort of creature has them.

Each negative level has the following effects on the creature that has it. The effects of multiple negative levels stack.
Additionally, various special abilities and subsystems have additional interactions with negative levels.

Except where noted, any effects of the negative levels are removed when the negative level is. (But it's usually spelled out so that it's crystal clear.)

A creature with at least as many negative levels as its hit dice dies (or is destroyed, in the case on nonliving creatures). At that point, there is simply nothing left of the energies that tie the creature to its existence, be it the energies that bind soul to body or the animating energies that provide sentience and motive force to an undead or construct.

Energy Drain
Energy drain is a supernatural ability possessed by many undead creatures. It allows them to cause negative levels with a successful melee attack with an unarmed strike or natural weapon, although simply touching the creature is usually not enough. Some creatures can also use their energy drain abilities through manufactured weapon attacks and ranged attacks. On a critical hit, the number of negative levels caused by energy drain is multiplied by the weapon's critical multiplier (usually x2 for natural weapons).

Most forms of energy drain also siphon off some of the lost life energy to bolster the draining creature. Such abilities grant the draining creature 5 temporary hit points for each negative levels it causes. Temporary hit points from energy drain stack with each other (although like all temporary hit points, they do not stack with those of other abilities), and they last for up to 1 hour.

A creature that dies as the result of an attack to which energy drain applies (whether due to the damage of the attack, the draining of the creature's last level, or the hit points lost due to gaining the negative level) rises as a free-willed wight the next night. Many undead creatures have the ability to create specific sorts of spawn instead of free-willed wights. If the energy drain ability does not apply (for example, if the creature is immune to energy drain or the attack form is not one with which the energy drain ability applies), the creature does not rise as a wight or as spawn; it is simply dead.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 26, 2014, 12:55:28 AM
Social Combat notes
Social combat is an abstraction of the process of argument, debate, and negotiation. It's for folks you're generally friendly (or at least not interested in brutally killing like the murder hobos you adventurers probably are) with but with whom you have a disagreement. Social combat ends not in death but in one side generally agreeing to the terms or requests of the other side, usually at some sort of middle ground, closer to one side or another depending on how effective each side of the social combat was at wearing down the other. A skilled negotiator arguing against a merely competent one will likely turn the terms of the resulting contract somewhat in his or her favor, while a silver-tongued bard might convince an uneducated peasant off the street to trade a cow for some "magic" beans. While social combat is generally described here in the context of two parties going head to head with each other in negotiation, it can just as easily represent two sides of a case being argued before a third party using the same mechanics.

Dissolving Into Violence: It's worth noting that social combat is not the endpoint of conflict. That would be actual conflict. A party on trial, seeing the judge's favor turning against them, can still demand trial by combat, or force the issue by drawing swords regardless. Generally, once physical combat has begun, social combat is impossible; violence usually becomes the last recourse. Social combat can only begin again once all parties are willing to, at least momentarily, stop trying to stab each other.

Note: These are just some really basic notes so far. The general idea is to have the basic framework of D&D combat that everyone's generally familiar with (except grappling which everyone seems to have trouble with) upon which the same sort of tactical options, resource management, and character choices can be built.

Basics and Ability Scores
- Int mod for offensive (like Str): Your modifier on argumentation (attack) rolls and {social damage} rolls.
- Wis mod for defense (like Dex): Your modifier on Will saves (opposes Intimidate), for the Sense Motive skill (opposes Bluff), and for your Stubbornness Class (AC equivalent, opposes argumentation rolls).
- Cha mod for general goodies (like Con): Your modifier on {social hp} per level, for the Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Intimidate checks.

Skills
Skills enhance your options, but do not replace the meat of social combat.

Bluff (feint): Distracts your opponent from the real issue, leaving them flabbergasted (Wisdom denied to Stubbornness Class) against your next argument. Just like feinting in combat, except with base argumentation bonus instead of base attack bonus.
Concentration: Resists interruptions.
Diplomacy (disarm): A Diplomacy check opposed by your opponent's argumentation check finds an apparently satisfactory solution to their currently wielded argument, disarming them of it. A disarmed argument is dropped. The thread of a dropped argument can be picked up again, but doing so provokes a point of order.
Gather Info (trip): A Gather Information check opposed by your opponent's argumentation or Sense Motive check (whichever is better) goads them into revealing more information than they care to, leaving them exposed. An exposed character suffers a -4 penalty to his or her Stubbornness Class. An exposed character can recover as a move action, but doing so provokes a point of order.
Intimidate (demoralize): Demoralize your opponent, rendering them shaken for 1 round (-2 on all the usual stuff, plus also argumentation rolls). Exactly the same as normal demoralization, but without the need to threaten in melee combat.
Knowledge: A high Knowledge check allows you to recognize creatures and their common tactics.
Sense Motive: Resists Bluff and Gather Info.

Terminology
Point of Order (PoO): Attack of opportunity
Stubbornness Class (SC): Armor Class
Exposed: Prone
Flabbergasted: Flatfooted
Base Argumentation Bonus (BAB): Base Attack Bonus
Argumentation roll: Attack roll
{social damage}: Damage (TODO: Needs a name)
{social hp}: Hit points (TODO: Needs a name)
Argument: Weapon

Classes
I don't know if existing classes should have social combat features added to them, or if a new set of social classes should be designed to be taken alongside existing combat classes, gestalt-like. Probably some combination of the two, where all classes just give you some basic stats and you get some basic social combat abilities by level sorta like feats, with a few extra goodies by class.

Barbarian: d8 hp, +3/4 BAB
Rage: Not compatible with social combat. See dissolving into violence.
Will of Strength (Ex): Beginning at xth level, you can use your Strength modifier in place of your Intelligence modifier for argumentation and {social damage} rolls.
Stoic (Ex): Beginning at xth level, you can use your Constitution modifier in place of your Charisma modifier for {social hp}.

Bard: d12 hp, full BAB
Most bardic music abilities are compatible with social combat.

Cleric: d10 hp, +3/4 BAB

Druid: d8 hp, +1/2 BAB
Empathy (Ex): Beginning at xth level, you can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Intelligence modifier for argumentation rolls.

Fighter: d8 hp, +1/2 BAB
Stoic (Ex): Beginning at xth level, you can use your Constitution modifier in place of your Charisma modifier for {social hp}.

Monk: d12 hp, +3/4 BAB
Empathy (Ex): Beginning at xth level, you can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Intelligence modifier for argumentation rolls.

Paladin: d10 hp, full BAB
Justification (Ex): Beginning at xth level, you can use your Charisma modifier in place of your Intelligence modifier for {social damage} rolls.

Ranger: d8 hp, +1/2 BAB
Empathy (Ex): Beginning at xth level, you can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Intelligence modifier for argumentation rolls.

Rogue: d8 hp, full BAB
Uncanny Recovery: Beginning at xth level, you retain your Wisdom bonus to SC (if any) even if your are flabbergasted or are blindsided by an unexpected argument. However, you still lose your Wisdom bonus to SC if {immobilized}.
Fallacious Debating: (Sneak attack for social combat. +1d6 {social damage} per odd level when opponent is denied Wis to SC.)

Sorcerer: d6 hp, +3/4 BAB

Wizard: d6 hp, +1/2 BAB
... You've got full prepared spellcasting. What more do you want? Just charm the sucker and be done with it.

Conditions
Fascinate: Fascinated creatures also suffer a -4 penalty to their SC.
Shaken: Shaken creatures also suffer a -2 penalty on argumentation rolls.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 26, 2014, 12:58:21 AM
Looming Presence [General]
Prerequisites: Intimidate 4 ranks
Benefits: You can attempt to demoralize any opponent within 100 feet, even if they cannot see you.
Normal: You can only attempt to demoralize an opponent that you threaten in melee combat and who can see you.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 26, 2014, 11:30:14 AM
Aid another: Instead of a fixed DC 10, the DC is equal to the check modifier of the character being aided (or the character's AC - 10 when using aid another for an AC bonus). For every 5 points by which you succeed, the bonus granted increases by a further +1. You can't use aid another to aid an aid another attempt.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 04, 2014, 12:38:55 AM
Magic Items with Tradeoffs: Not Quite Cursed

Berserker's Weapon: A refined version of the cursed Berserking Sword, a Berserker's Weapon throws the wielder into a slightly more controlled rage. The first time in each encounter that the wielder of a Berserker's Weapon uses it to attack an enemy, she enters a rage, as per the Barbarian class feature, which she cannot voluntarily leave while any enemies are apparent. The wielder becomes enraged before resolving the attack, so the bonuses to her Strength score apply when determining its effects. If the wielder is already enraged due to her own class features (not due to another magic item or the rage spell), the benefits of that rage instead increase as per the Berserker Spirit ability of an Apprentice Barbarian (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1132.msg7954#msg7954), but the wielder cannot voluntarily end the rage while any enemies are apparent. +2 bonus.

Cloak of the Pyre: As a swift action, the wearer can cause the cloak to burst into flame, setting the wearer and any adjacent creatures and flammable unattended objects on fire. The cloak itself (although not the wearer or the rest of her equipment) is immune to fire.

Deep Sea Armor: This suit of armor is inlaid with coral. Light always seems to play upon it as though the armor were underwater. While wearing it, the wearer's attacks, along with any attacks made against the wearer, are resolved as though they were made underwater.

Tome of True Lies: Three times per day, the user can ask two questions. The book answers them as per a divination spell. The answer to one of the questions has a 90% chance of being accurate (and is otherwise misinformation), while the answer to the other is always misinformation. Determine which question has a chance of a correct answer randomly.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: linklord231 on October 04, 2014, 03:05:49 PM
A rewrite to the Sacred Vow and Vow of X line of feats to make them better, and expand them to cover Neutral and Evil alignments.

Oathspeaker
You have sworn an oath before the cosmic forces.
Benefit: You gain a +2 competence bonus to Sense Motive checks.
Special: You may gain this feat as a bonus feat at any time by solemnly swearing an oath before a representative of your alignment or a religious icon significant to you.
Special: If you willfully and deliberately break your oath, you immediately and irrevocably lose the benefit of this feat and of any feat that has this as a prerequisite.  You may never regain those feats, but you may Retrain them to something else. 

Oath of Service
Requires Oathspeaker
Benefit: You have sworn your life to service to some greater power, either mortal or divine.  While acting on the orders of your liege, you are immune to attempts at possession or mental control, as if by Protection from Evil.  If you have at least 10 Hit Dice, this protection instead acts as Mind Blank. 
Special: To fulfill your oath, you must obey the lawful orders of the power you are sworn to.  You instinctively know what those orders are, and whether or not disobeying a given order will cause you to break your oath. 

Oath of Vengeance
Requires Oathspeaker
Benefit: As an immediate action, you can swear an Oath of Vengeance against a foe who has wronged you.  Attacks against the target of your Oath of Vengeance are made with a +2 bonus, and deal 1d8 bonus damage per 3 character levels you possess (minimum +1d8), and spells cast at your target have their save DC increased by 1.  Against all other opponents, your attacks are made at a -2 penalty and your spell save DC is decreased by 1.  Your oath lasts until your target is dead (or thoroughly humiliated, as appropriate), and you may only have one Oath of Vengeance active at a time. 
*I need to work on this so that you're not penalized for swearing an Oath against the Big Bad or other recurring villain, and write a way for you to break your vow*

Oath of Purity
requires Oathspeaker
You have forsworn the vices of the flesh - drugs, alcohol, sex, and so on - to focus on your goals. 
Benefit: As long as you keep your oath, you are immune to poisons and petrification. 
Special: To uphold your vow, you must refrain from intoxicating, stimulating, depressant, or hallucinogenic substances, including alcohol, caffeine,
and other drugs, and from sexual activity (keep it PG-13). 
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 06, 2014, 10:22:28 AM
Minor Shades: Sor/Wiz 1. As Shades, but only 20% real and only duplicates 0th-level spells.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 09, 2014, 05:11:56 PM
ToB by school, not by maneuver.

You don't know individual maneuvers as a martial adept. Instead, at 1st level, you select one or more martial disciplines, depending on class. You know all maneuvers and stances of those disciplines, subject to your IL's maneuver level limit.

Swordsage: 3 disciplines @ 1st, +1 at 8th and 16th levels.
Crusader: 2 disciplines @ 1st, +1 at 12th level.
Warblade: 2 disciplines @ 1st, +1 at 12th level.

Martial Study/Stance work normally.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 15, 2014, 10:30:26 PM
Demolition skill - Str-based skill for breaking things (to replace the flat Str check to break an object). Synergy for 5 ranks in Disable Device and vice-versa. It would need some extra things you can do with it in order to be worth building as a fully-fledged skill. Maybe a skill check to be able to ignore some/all of an object's hardness when you attack/sunder it?

Edit: Completed (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=17111.0).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: linklord231 on October 16, 2014, 03:00:24 AM
Demolition skill - Str-based skill for breaking things (to replace the flat Str check to break an object). Synergy for 5 ranks in Disable Device and vice-versa. It would need some extra things you can do with it in order to be worth building as a fully-fledged skill. Maybe a skill check to be able to ignore some/all of an object's hardness when you attack/sunder it?

Ooh I like this.  Could also do a synergy bonus from Knowledge (architecture and engineering) when using the skill large-scale, such as for taking down a building or causing a cave in. 
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Leviathan on October 19, 2014, 09:18:12 PM
Separate each race's traits into an "inheritance" and an "upbringing". The inheritance consists of those traits that are inherited in the biological sense; the upbringing is those traits that come from growing up in a particular culture. Try to balance the inheritances against each other, and to balance the upbringings against each other.

During character creation, instead of picking a race, you pick an inheritance and an upbringing, which can be from different races (or from the same race if you want to be boring). Want to play an orc raised by elves? The orc inheritance gives you an orc's strength; the elf upbringing gives you an elf's love of nature. Want to play a human raised by a wolf (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_and_Remus)? Combine human inheritance with a wolf's upbringing! (Wolf upbringing not included. Some assembly required.)

This is similar to backgrounds (from all over the place) or starting occupations (from d20 Modern), but upbringings reflect immersion in a culture instead of specific training or life experiences.

Optional rule - Gone native: If you spend too much time with a culture not your own, you lose your old upbringing but gain the one from your new culture.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 19, 2014, 10:37:16 PM
This kinda what you're talking about (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10068.msg357822#msg357822)?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Leviathan on October 19, 2014, 10:56:14 PM
Pretty much. I'm not surprised that someone else thought of it before I did.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 20, 2014, 05:34:19 PM
A couple more spells to add onto weaponizing divination. I'm afraid that these are a fair bit less creative than the original set, though.

Inverted Foresight: Subject's senses are overwritten by those of a few moments into the past. Always flat-footed, -2 insight penalty on attack rolls, AC, skill checks, and ability checks. Treats all targets as having concealment. Subject cannot perceive communication from others during its turn. Counters/dispels Foresight.

Blinding Arcane Sight: Subject can see magical auras a little too brightly. Subject is dazzled. Treats all targets with any magical auras as having concealment, or total concealment for overwhelming auras. Counters/dispels Arcane Sight.

Confuse Languages: Subject cannot understand any languages; anything the subject hears or reads is translated into an unknown language or hopelessly garbled. Can still speak known languages. Counters/dispels Comprehend Languages.

Babble: Subject cannot understand any languages; anything the subject says, hears, reads, or writes is translated into an unknown language or hopelessly garbled. Counters/dispels Tongues.

Misguidance: Subject suffers a -1 competence penalty on all attack rolls, saves, and skill checks. Counters/dispels Guidance.

False Strike: Subject suffers a -20 insight penalty on next attack roll within 1 round. Counters/dispels True Strike.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on October 20, 2014, 06:34:29 PM
Can I suggest "Hindsight" instead of Inverted Foresight, and Babble instead of Garbled Tongues?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 20, 2014, 09:08:09 PM
Can I suggest "Hindsight" instead of Inverted Foresight, and Babble instead of Garbled Tongues?

Hindsight is already the name of a spell. Otherwise I'd have called it that.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on October 20, 2014, 10:45:13 PM
Can I suggest "Hindsight" instead of Inverted Foresight, and Babble instead of Garbled Tongues?

Hindsight is already the name of a spell. Otherwise I'd have called it that.
... Huh. That's a good spell, too.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on October 21, 2014, 08:07:22 AM
so basically, you give your target a lag?  :cool
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 21, 2014, 09:39:54 PM
Sudden Strike revision.

As Sneak Attack, except that instead of triggering on flanking/denied Dex, it triggers when your target is denied Dex OR treats you as having concealment.

(click to show/hide)


Advantages:
- Can be triggered by as little as a blur spell.
- Not stopped by Uncanny Dodge while invisible.
- Ignores Improved Uncanny Dodge and other sources of flanking immunity.

Disadvantages:
- Shut down by blindsight.
- A little harder to set up without terrain or magical abilities. But ninjas do have magical hiding abilities so yay.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on October 21, 2014, 10:04:51 PM
+1 for that idea Garryl!

And my own idea:  Been watching Jackie Chan Adventures.  Now I'm pondering a Chi Wizard class variant like Uncle...  But wondering if it's not already in place well enough with the Wizard class itself?  Eh, I dunno.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 31, 2014, 12:57:10 AM
Just found these in the old brilliant gameologists (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10068.0) version of this thread. I'm just shifting over some of the ones that I might want to work on.

The Priest, a divine spellcasting base class who calls down the wrath of divinity.
More of a blasting/BFC spell list than a protective, buffing one. It will have a greater similarity to the Druid list than the Cleric list in that regard.



Simple Weapons, light armor, no shields
d6 HD, 2+Int skill points
Charisma-based prepared spellcasting, with a limited ability to spontaneously cast from domains

Spellcasting: As Cleric. Use Charisma instead of Wisdom as casting stat (ie: bonus spells, max level, save DCs).

Domains: Gain two domains at 1st level. Effective Cleric level equal to Priest level (for all domains, stacks with actual Cleric level). A Priest who is also a Cleric (or who later becomes one) does not gain additional domains, but her levels stack to determine their effects.

Spontaneous Domain: Can convert a prepared Priest spell into a domain spell of equal or lower level 3 + Wis mod times per day.

Bonus Domain: Gain a new domain at 5th level and at 15 level.

Domain Specialization: At 10th level, choose a domain. Add that domain's spells to your Priest spell list. In addition, the save DC of spells you cast found in this domain (whether in a domain slot or not) are increased by 1.

Domain Mastery: At 20th level, when applying metamagic to spells found in your specialized domain (whether in a domain slot or not), the final spell slot level adjustment is reduced by 1, to a minimum of +0.



Things I want in the spell list:
Divinely flavored blasting spells (fireball, lightning bolt, flame strike, sound burst, some custom spells below)
A few, minimal, healing spells (CMW @0, but higher levels heals are delayed; CLW might even be delayed until 2nd level)
Some buffing spells (the usual payload of stat boosters, Air Walk, and a few blessing/prayer things, but not the full Cleric dealie)
Some BFC spells (a lot from the Druid list, this class can do the whole nature manipulation thing, too)
Summoning spells (both Summon Monster and Summon Nature's Ally, plus Planar Ally and the like)



Invoke Plague [Metamagic]
Prerequisites: Ability to cast a spell with the Plague descriptor
Benefit: You can apply this metamagic feat to spells with the Plague descriptor. The exact effect and cost depends on the spell in question. Regardless of the specific spell, and invoked plague is considered a powerful curse instead of a normal spell, preventing it from being dispelled by dispel magic and similar effects, but requires a break enchantment or similar effect to remove. A simple remove curse is not sufficient to end an invoked plague. Invoke Plague has no effect on spells without the Plague descriptor.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 31, 2014, 01:50:14 AM
New spells:
1

2
Plague of Blood - Enemies bleed, their wounds cannot be healed for a short time.

3
An Eye for an Eye - Subject gains all conditions and negative levels you are currently suffering from, lasting for the spell's duration or until removed. You may choose to gain certain conditions for 1 round as part of casting this spell, based on your caster level.
Divine Peal - Bolt of lightning deals electricity damage in a 30' tall, 5' wide vertical line (see Call Lightning), then deals sonic damage in an area around the impact.
Plague of Darkness - Darkness envelops an area, but you can your allies can see through it normally.

4
Plague of Famine - Enemies are fatigued and suffer nonlethal damage each round from starvation.

5
Glorious Horn of the Archons [Good, Lawful] - Nearby allies gain morale bonuses. Nearby enemies suffer sonic damage and may be stunned and deafened.
Penance - Target is dazed under the weight of its sins and regrets (real, imagined, or implied by the caster), or weakened if it passes the save.
Plague of Hail - Icy storm strikes enemmies in an area for cold and bludgeoning damage and impedes movement. Allies are unaffected.

6
Sword of Angelic Wrath [Good] - Enemies in a line are damaged, may be nauseated if evil.
Hellfire Fury [Evil] - Your body turns into hellfire, granting you some aspects of incoporeality and burning nearby creatures.
Plague of Lice - Enemies are damaged by swarms that follow them and may be sickened or nauseated.

7
Inevitable Order [Lawful] - Take 11 on all d20 rolls, nearby opponents' rolls are treated as taking 10 regardless of the actual roll. Each round, the number you take increases by 1 and the number your opponents take decreases by 1. Lasts 9 rounds.

8
Prismatic Frog [Chaotic] - Create a prismatic creature of chaos resembling a giant frog made from prismatic energy. Its attacks emulate the effects of a Prismatic Spray.

9
Invoke the Blood War [Evil] - Opponents split into two groups that see each other as mortal enemies. If an affected subject is slain, a demon or devil is summoned for the spell's duration to fight in its place.
Plague of Death - Multiple enemies die instantly.



Divine Peal
Evocation [Electricity, Sonic]
Level: Priest 3
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Area: 30 ft. long, 5 ft. wide vertical stroke of lightning; 10 ft. radius spread
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half; Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance: Yes

Calling out to your deity, you bring down its divine wrath.

A 30 foot long, 5 foot wide vertical column of lightning strikes the point you designate, dealing 3d6 points of electricity damage to each creature it passes through. Then, a clap of thunder sounds forth from the bolt's endpoint, dealing 1d8 points of sonic damage per three caster levels (maximum 5d8) to all creatures in a 10 foot radius spread. A successful Reflex saves halves both. Creatures within the area of both the thunder and the lightning must also make a Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round.

Similar to the call lightning spell, the bolt of lighting instead deals 3d10 points of damage outdoors in a stormy area. The sonic damage remains the same.



Invoke the Blood War
Conjuration (Summoning)/Enchantment (Compulsion) [Evil, Mind-Affecting]
Level: Priest 9, Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: 30-ft.-radius burst
Effect: Two summoned evil outsiders
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

Calling upon the malign essence of the Blood War, the eternal conflict between the Baatezu and Tanar'ri of the lower planes, you taint your foes, forcing them to enact it in miniature.

This spell has several effects. First, each creature in the area is tainted with the essence of either the Baatezu or the Tanar'ri. A successful saving throw does not protect against this effect, although immunity or spell resistance does. Lawful outsiders are automatically Baatezu, and chaotic outsiders are automatically Tanar'ri, but other creatures (and outsiders that are both lawful and chaotic somehow) each have a 50% chance of being tainted with Baatezu or Tanar'ri essence. Affected creatures radiate an aura of evil and of law (Baatezu) or chaos (Tanar'ri) in addition to those of their normal alignments; the strength of these auras is as an outsider with Hit Dice equal to your caster level.

Second, each creature that failed its saving throw is filled with the irrational hatred that suffuses the participants of the Blood War. Those tainted with Baatezu essence see each other as allies and the Tanar'ri as hated enemies to be destroyed at all costs, and vice-versa for those tainted with Tanar'ri essence. Both groups will fight each other to the death to the best of their abilities, unleashing their most powerful spells and attacks. Tactics employed will be brutal and reckless, with minimal concern for defense or self-preservation as long as the enemy is slain or injured. The power of this spell is such that these temporary allegiances override any allegiances that affected creatures would otherwise have, even those imposed by magical bonds; a druid and her animal companion may well turn on each other in brutal combat, for example. Creatures that are without Baatezu or Tanar'ri essence will be ignored except when they attempt to interfere with the conflict.

Third, the spell summons a pair of evil outsiders, one Baatezu and one Tanar'ri, into the area to help seed the battle. The summoned Baatezu is an Ice Devil (Gelugon), while the summoned Tanar'ri is a Glabrezu advanced to 14 HD.

Finally, as the Blood War is infinite and eternal, so is this lesser conflict. One round after any combatant with Baatezu or Tanar'ri essence dies or is destroyed (regardless of whether the creature was compelled to fight), a new outsider is summoned to the creature's space to fight in its place. This summoning occurs even if the affected creatures have moved out of the spell's original area. These summoned outsiders are likewise affected by the power of this spell. The outsider summoned depends on the slain creature's Hit Dice.

Slain Creature Hit DiceBaatezu SummonedTanar'ri Summoned
1 or lessLemureDretch
2-3Bearded Devil (Barbazu)Howler
4-5Chain Devil (Kyton)Succubus
6-7ErinyesVrock
8-9Bone Devil (Osyluth)Hezrou
10-11Barbed Devil (Hamatula)Bebilith
12-13Ice Devil (Gelugon)Glabrezu advanced to 14 HD
14-15Horned Devil (Cornugon) advanced to 16 HDNalfeshnee advanced to 16 HD
16-17Pit FiendBalor
18 or higher1 Ice Devil (Gelugon) and 2 Imps1 Glabrezu advanced to 14 HD and 2 Quasits

Material Component: Blood from a demon, blood from a devil, 100 gp of silver ingots, 100 gp of cold iron ingots.



Penance
Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Priest 5
Components: V, S, M, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: 1 round or 1 round/level (D); Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will partial
Spell Resistance: Yes

As you cast this spell, the target's mind is filled with the understanding of all of its sins and regrets, whether real, imagined, or implied by you. On a successful saving throw, the subject is only mildly distracted, staggering it for 1 round. On a failed save, the subject is dazed, consumed in self-reflection. Each subsequent round, it must make an additional Will save. On a success, the subject gains confidence in itself and becomes less swayed by your influence, shifting its attitude towards you by one degree towards hostile. On a failure, your morality influences the subject's impression of its own life, shifting its attitude towards you by one degree towards fanatic. If its attitude towards you is already fanatic, the subject's alignment immediately shifts to your alignment, as per the redemption or temptation version of an atonement spell. When the spell ends or is dismissed, the shift in alignment (if any) remains indefeinitely. The creature's attitude towards you slowly returns to normal at a rate of one degree per round. A creature whose alignment was changed this way treats its normal attitude towards you and your allies as no worse than indifferent.

Penance counters, is countered by, dispels, and is dispelled by atonement. A break enchantment or similar effect can revert the forcible alignment change this spell causes.

Material Component: Burning incense.



Plague of Blood
Transmutation [Plague]
Level: Priest 2
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 100 ft.
Area: 100 ft. radius burst centered on your position
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance: No

Every creature within the area that possesses blood must make a Fortitude save or begin bleeding profusely, losing 2 hit points per round due to blood loss. Creatures with the aquatic or water subtypes are particularly vulnerable to this spell's effects and suffer a -2 penalty on their saves.

Regardless of success or failure of their save, creatures within the area find that their wounds refuse to close. Healing spells, skills, and other measures cannot stop the bleeding wounds the subjects may have (whether from this spell or from other sources), and subjects cannot be stabilized. Healing spells, skills, and other such measures still have all of their other normal effects.

At your discretion, you can have this spell affect only your enemies, only creatures of a specific race, only creatures of a specific nationality, or only creatures belonging to a specific group or organization known to you, chosen when you cast it.

This spell also turns normal water in the area (excluding alchemical substances, such as holy water) into a reddish liquid with the taste and consistency of human blood. Water-breathing creatures cannot breathe the affected liquid. Any living creature that attempts to drink the water is sickened for 1 round (but is otherwise uninjured), and any creature immersed in the water is sickened and begins to bleed (as described above) for as long as it remains immersed. Rapidly flowing water that leaves this spell's area retains its color and odor, but becomes diluted and retains none of its other properties. This affects even creatures that you have designated for this spell not to affect.

You can apply the Invoke Plague metamagic feat to this spell. If you do, its casting time becomes 1 hour, its duration becomes 24 hours, and it affects all bodies of water in a 2 mile per level radius, except those that you indicate. As an invoked plague, this spell does not directly affect creatures, although the transmuted liquid still affects creatures that drink it or are immersed in it. The spell slot of an invoked Plague of Blood is 2 levels higher than normal, and it costs 500 xp to cast.



Plague of Famine
Transmutation [Plague]
Level: Priest 4
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 100 ft.
Area: 100 ft. radius burst centered on your position
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance: No

Every creature within the area that needs to eat must make a Fortitude save or suffer intense hunger pangs. Affected subjects are fatigued and suffer 1d6 points of nonlethal damage, as though from starvation. As with normal starvation, this nonlethal damage cannot be healed through any means until the subject gets food and the fatigue lasts until the nonlethal damage is removed. Subjects who do not eat are at risk of starvation during subsequent days, as though they had gone 3 days without food. Regardless of the success or failure of their saving throws, creatures within the area find themselves unable to consume food or water for the duration of the spell. Food and water provide no nourishment, and eaten or drunk alchemical and magical items (such as potions) have no effect. At your discretion, you can have this spell affect only your enemies, only creatures of a specific race, only creatures of a specific nationality, or only creatures belonging to a specific group or organization known to you, chosen when you cast it.

This spell also destroys normal solid foods in the area, turning harvested food into ash and causing unharvested crops to shrivel and blacken (the plant itself is not harmed, only the edible parts of it). Even covered, refrigerated, or otherwise protected foodstuffs are affected in this way. Still-living livestock are not destroyed in this way, but any food harvested from them within the spell's area rapidly decays. Food in the possession of creatures unaffected by this spell is likewise protected.

You can apply the Invoke Plague metamagic feat to this spell. If you do, its casting time becomes 1 hour, its duration becomes 24 hours, and it affects all crops, harvested livestock, and stores of food in a 2 mile per level radius, except those that you indicate. As an invoked plague, this spell does not immediately cause affected creatures to starve or be unable to consume food or water, instead causing the hunger of the first 3 days of starvation over the course of a single day. Creatures that are already starving are not further affected. The spell slot of an invoked Plague of Famine is 2 levels higher than normal, and it costs 1000 xp to cast.



Prismatic Frog
Evocation [Chaotic, Force]
Level: Priest 8, Warmage 8
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: One multi-hued frog-like force
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: See text
Spell Resistance: Yes

A multi-hued frog-like magical force appears before you. It croaks a discordant tone as it hops towards your foes.

A giant frog made of pure force springs into existence and attacks opponents as you direct it. The magical force takes the shape of a Medium-sized toad. It strikes the opponent you designate, starting with one attack in the round the spell is cast and continuing each round thereafter on your turn. It uses your base attack bonus (possibly allowing it multiple attacks per round in subsequent rounds) plus your ability modifier that controls this spell's save DC as its attack bonus. Each hit affects the target as if it were subject to a prismatic spray spell. The frog strikes as a spell, not as a weapon, so, for example, it can damage creatures that have damage reduction. As a force effect, it can strike incorporeal creatures without the normal miss chance associated with incorporeality. The frog always strikes from your direction. It does not get a flanking bonus or help a combatant get one. Your feats or combat actions do not affect the weapon. If the frog goes beyond the spell range, if it goes out of your sight, or if you are not directing it, the frog returns to you and hovers.

Each round after the first, you can use a move action to redirect the frog to a new target. If you do not, the frog continues to attack the previous round’s target. On any round that the frog switches targets, it gets one attack. Subsequent rounds of attacking that target allow the frog to make multiple attacks if your base attack bonus would allow it to.

A prismatic frog cannot be attacked or harmed by physical attacks, but it can be dismantled color by color as per a prismatic wall. Colors that have been removed from the frog have no effect if it rolls for their effect on a hit. A prismatic frog’s AC against touch attacks is 10.

If an attacked creature has spell resistance, you make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against that spell resistance the each time the prismatic frog strikes it in order to determine whether or not that prismatic attack affects it.



Sword of Angelic Wrath
Evocation [Good, Light]
Level: Priest 6
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 120 feet
Area: 120-ft. line
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Reflex half; Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

A massive blade formed entirely of pearly radiance appears in your hands. Swinging it overhead, you bring it crashing down as a wave of light emanates outwards.

This spell deals 1d6 points of damage per caster level, maximum 20d6, to all enemies in the area. Creatures that you do not consider enemies (or that you would not consider enemies if you were aware of their presence) are entirely unaffected. Each creature that fails its Reflex saving throw is dazzled and, if it is evil, must make an additional Will save or be nauseated.

Sword of angelic wrath counters or dispels any darkness spell of equal or lower spell level.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 03, 2014, 02:50:23 AM
To add on to my aura classes, a spontaneous arcane spellcaster (6th level spells, like the Divine Mind and Paladin). Primary aura type is arcane auras, which almost universally provide penalties to nearby foes. Possible additional effect whenever you cast a spell of a specific school associated with the aura? Or is that too much bookkeeping?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 03, 2014, 06:51:12 PM
Master Specialist has the abilities for certain magic schools and it's not considered too much bookkeeping.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 03, 2014, 07:37:34 PM
Some ideas for the arcane auras. Just the concepts so far, not exact number or balance or anything.

Arcane Auras
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 04, 2014, 12:21:52 AM
Warlock addons:

Much like sorcerers gain their energies from many different sources, so too are warlocks empowered by different forces.

Basically choose from a "bloodline" of sorts upon taking the warlock class.  Each bloodline has its own preferred invocations (and there would be a lot of new ones based upon different arcane sources like fey, alignment-based outsiders, dragons, etc)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on November 04, 2014, 05:30:28 PM
Deception: Enemies suffer a 5%/aura bonus miss chance on attacks, as per concealment. Cast an Illusion spell and enemies within the aura lose special senses for 1 round.
I really like this one; it's a particularly unusual sort of effect, yet not unbalanced.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 05, 2014, 04:10:15 PM
More thoughts on the class that I scribbled during a meeting.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 05, 2014, 04:19:07 PM
Variant xp expenditure rules

Spending xp does not interfere with gaining levels. The amount of xp you need to level up still counts xp you've spend crafting items and casting spells and whatnot. So you still go to level 2 at 1000 xp even if you've crafted a bunch of scrolls and only have 900 xp left to spend.

Under this variant, 1 xp is about equal to 1 gp, instead of 5:1 for spellcasting services and 12.5:1 for item creation.
Magic item creation: xp cost is equal to half of market value in gp (just like the raw materials cost)
Spellcasting: Multiply all xp components by x5.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 07, 2014, 12:05:07 AM
Feats for races with SLAs


Studied Racial Arcana: Spell-like abilities gained from your race use your Intelligence score to determine if you can cast them and what their DCs are, if any.  This feat may only be taken at 1st level.

Special: This feat applies only to the base creature's spell-like abilities and not to any gained through templates, class levels, and so on.


Intuitive Racial Arcana: Spell-like abilities gained from your race use your Wisdom score to determine if you can cast them and what their DCs are, if any.  This feat may only be taken at 1st level.

Special: This feat applies only to the base creature's spell-like abilities and not to any gained through templates, class levels, and so on.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 11, 2014, 02:48:51 PM
Dirty Brawling [General]
Prerequisites: BAB +1, Improved Unarmed Strike
Benefits: You can use any part of your body (fists, feet, elbows, knees, head butt, shoulder tackle, etc.) to make an unarmed strike. In addition, you can make an unarmed strike as a secondary natural attack. This allows you to make an extra unarmed strike (at your BAB -5 and adding 1/2 Str to damage) as part of a full attack, among other benefits. You can make unarmed strike natural attacks alongside and without interfering with your ability to make unarmed strike attacks as though wielding a manufactured weapon. For example, if your Base Attack Bonus were +12, you could make 3 normal unarmed strikes (at +12, +7, and +2) and a special secondary natural attack unarmed strike (at +7) as part of a full attack.

Your unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.
Special: You can select this feat up to 4 times. Each time beyond the first, the BAB requirement is +5 higher and you gain one additional secondary natural attack unarmed strike.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 12, 2014, 11:11:38 AM
Explosive Spells

Detonation Charge: Scribes a rune on an object. You can discharge the spell within 1 min/level to explode the object and deal 1d6/level damage in an area.
Blast Wave: Deals 2d6 damage/3 levels to creatures near you, half fire, half bludgeoning. Any damaged creature is also pushed away from you 5 ft. for every 5 damage taken.
Kinetic Wave: Deals 1d6 damage/2 levels to creatures in a cone and bull rushes them as a Gargantuan create w/ Str equal to your CL+26. Creatures pushed into walls or other impassable spaces are dungeoncrashed for an extra 1d6 damage/2 levels.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 12, 2014, 12:17:40 PM
Damage Subtypes
In addition to damage types (piercing, slashing, fire, acid, etc.), damage can have subtypes. These subtypes modify how the damage interacts with various abilities and defenses. Any form of subtyped damage still has a normal damage type (for example, nonlethal cold damage). Subtyped damage can be dealt alongside normal damage of the same type, or even damage of the same type but with different subtypes or combinations of subtypes (for example, an attack that deals 7 cold damage, 2 nonlethal cold damage, 5 irresistible cold damage, and 1 nonlethal irresistible cold damage).

Nonlethal Damage
(Same as normal.)
- Nonlethal damage is a damage subtype.
- Nonlethal damage is not subtracted from the creature's hit points. Instead, it accumulates.
- A creature whose nonlethal damage total equals or exceeds its hit points is staggered.
- A creature whose nonlethal damage total exceeds its hit points is unconscious.
- A creature heal 1 point of nonlethal damage per hit die each hour.
- Healing spells remove an equal amount of nonlethal damage as the normal damage that they heal.

Irresistible Damage
- Irresistible damage is a damage subtype.
- Irresistible damage is not affected by damage reduction, hardness, resistances. Irresistible damage still counts against a target's damage reduction, hardness, and resistances when determining the amount remaining to apply to the rest of the attack. For example, an attack dealing 50 acid damage and 5 irresistible acid damage to a creature with acid resistance 20 would ultimately deal 40 points of damage; the 5 irresistible acid damage would apply and also count against the acid resistance, and the 50 normal acid damage would be reduced by the remaining 15 points of acid resistance.
- Irresistible damage is not affected by damage immunities. Complete immunities to the effect as a whole (for example, immunity to mind-affecting effects) can still negate irresistible damage.
- Creatures that are normally healed by a given type of damage are neither healed nor harmed by irresistible damage of that type.

Unstoppable Damage
- Unstoppable damage is a damage subtype.
- Unstoppable damage works like irresistible damage except as follows.
- Creatures that are normally healed by a given type of damage are still harmed by unstoppable damage of that type.
- Unstoppable damage ignores regeneration and other effects that convert damage into nonlethal damage.
- Unstoppable damage ignores temporary hit points. Any unstoppable damage taken applies directly to a creature's normal hit points.
- Unstoppable damage ignores effects that prevent, negate, transfer, or absorb hit point damage, such as the shield other spell or the Energy Shield ability (Power of Cybernetics).

Normal Damage
- Not an actual damage subtype, just a convenient and unambiguous way to indicate that the damage has no subtypes.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on November 15, 2014, 04:17:32 PM
More Armor and Weapon crystals:

- "Angelkiller Crystal": Fiendslayer Crystal, except swap every reference from Good to Evil and vice-versa.
- "Weedkiller Crystal": Demolition/Truedeath Crystal equivalent for Plants.
- Phoenix Ash Threat: Rewrite it so the Greater crystal isn't weaker than the Fiery Assault Greater Crystal. Maybe throw in an Acid/Cold equivalent as well.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 20, 2014, 04:11:25 PM
Actions and Reactions

Actions
The action types are full-round (or full-turn if you've read one of my prior ideas in this thread), standard, move, swift, and free. (Immediate actions are replaced by swift reactions under this rule change.) During your turn, you can take 1 full-round action, 1 standard action and 1 move action, or 2 move actions, plus any number of free actions (within reason) and 1 swift action.

You can only take an action during your turn, and only when no other actions or events are being resolved (that is, you cannot take an action to interrupt or respond to another action or event).

Reactions
Reactions are just like actions, except that you can take them outside of your turn. Performing a reaction can be either in response to another action or event (in which case the reaction takes place just before, like a readied action), or at a specific time when no actions or events are taking place. Like actions, reactions have types and can be of any action type. Each ability that uses a reaction to activate it specifies the reaction type taken.

When you take a reaction outside of your turn, it counts against the actions you can take in your next turn as an action of the same type. You can take no more reactions of a given type than you have actions still available for your next turn. For example, if you were to take a move reaction, you would still be able to take a standard reaction or move reaction before your turn, but not a full-round reaction as you cannot normally take both a move action and a full-round action during your turn. If you subsequently were to become dazed, you would be unable to take any reactions as you would not have any actions at all available during your upcoming turn.

If you take a reaction during your turn, it counts against the actions you can take during that same turn. It does not interfere with your next turn's actions or with other reactions taken after your turn ends.

Existing Rule Changes
- Anything that refers to an immediate action now refers to a swift reaction.
- The Anticipatory Strike power lets you take any action or actions as reactions as part of manifesting it.
- The Celerity line of spells don't give you an extra action, but instead let you take an action of the appropriate type as a reaction. Bypassing the daze effect consequently just lets you take your remaining actions during your turn. Goodbye action abuse.
- Talking is a free reaction.
- Any other actions that can be taken outside your turn are reactions.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 25, 2014, 02:48:48 PM
Magic Tools

Like magic weapons and armor, but for skill-boosting tools.
- Tool must be masterwork.
- Grants an enhancement bonus on skill checks for the tool's skill (although since mwk tools give a circumstance bonus, it stacks, unlike with the enhancement bonus of mwk weapons).
- Maximum +20 raw enhancement bonus, or +40 effective bonus.
- Cost is 100 gp * effective enhancement bonus squared (maxes out at 160k gp for a +40 tool).

Infallible (+4): Reroll any skill check where you roll 10 or less. Only rerolls once. Does not apply when taking 10.
Focused (+4): Reduce the time to take 20 to only 5x normal.
Greater Focused (+12): Reduce the time to take 20 to only 2x normal. Can take 10 while distracted or threatened.
Assisting (+4): Aid another 1/round as a swift action. Recipient gains tool's enhancement bonus if aid another is successful.
Novice's (+4): Allows skill to be used untrained.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 25, 2014, 05:39:25 PM
Alignment Points

- 4 types: Good, Evil, Lawful, Chaotic
- Your effective alignment on each axis is whichever you have the most of by a wide margin. If you have at least twice as many alignment points in one direction (for example, 200+ Good with 100 Evil), you count as that alignment. If the two are close (neither is 2x as large as the other), you count as neutral on that axis.
- A starting character has 100 points to divide along each axis.
- Taking levels in various classes adds alignment points at each class level.
Barbarian: +5 Chaotic
Bard: +2 Chaotic
Cleric: +5 towards deity's alignment on each axis (or +5 on both ends for a neutral axis).
Druid: +2 Chaotic, +2 Evil, +2 Good, +2 Lawful
Paladin: +10 Good, +5 Lawful
- Actions that are associated with one alignment or another (the kind of stuff that would, with persistent action, eventually lead to alignment shift) grants points towards that alignment.
- Actions that are strongly associated with one alignment or another (the kind of stuff that would rather rapidly lead to alignment shift) also removes points from the opposing alignment.
- Spells and effects like Atonement don't instantly change alignment. They just add some number of points one way or another.

The goal of this variant rule set is to...
- Provide a number to go with this, because who doesn't love numbers complicating otherwise simple mechanics. Go go computer gameification!
- Providing a more tangible means for DMs to give feedback on how they feel players' characters are acting.
- Force DMs not to suddenly declare the change of player alignment out of the blue (whether seemingly out of the blue or because the DM is a jerk).
- Represent the weight of experience. Folks that have lived longer lives will have accumulated more alignment points and would thus be harder to influence away from their principles, while younger, less experienced individuals would be more likely to shift about as they discover themselves.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 28, 2014, 10:26:33 AM
Mirror Mastery [General]
Prerequisites: Ability to cast mirror image or produce a similar effect.
Benefits: Your mirror images have Armor Class equal to your own. Special senses, barring those that specifically defeat illusions (such as true seeing), sense your mirror images just like you.
Normal: Mirror images from the mirror image spell have AC 10 + your size modifier + your Dex modifier.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 28, 2014, 02:28:52 PM
Variant - Skip to the good stuff

Under this variant, whenever you gain a level in a base class, choose a level up to your effective character level (yes, including LA) that you haven't already chosen for that class. You gain all of the increased benefits that that class grants at that level. This does not grant you any benefits of that class from a lower level. For example, a Fighter 2 who took a level of Rogue could choose to gain the features of a 1st level Rogue (Trapfinding, Sneak Attack +1d6, and +2 to Reflex saves), of a 2nd level Rogue (Evasion, +1 BAB, and +1 to Reflex saves), or  of a 3rd level Rogue (Sneak Attack +1d6, Trap Sense +1, +1 BAB, and +1 to Fortitude and Will saves).

Proficiencies are granted to any member of a class, regardless of which level is selected.

For class features that scale with class level, you only gain the increase granted at a given level when you select that level. If you don't yet have the class feature that is improving, you gain the class feature, but only at the strength of the increase. For example, a multiclassed Wizard who choose the 4th level of Wizard to gain would acquire a spellbook with only 2 spells in it (the two learned for free for gaining a new level of Wizard after 1st) and would have a 1 1st-level spell slot and 1 2nd-level spell slot (plus bonuses for a high Intelligence score) as those are the additional spell slots a single-classed Wizard would newly gain at 4th level. The multiclassed Wizard's caster level would only be 1st, not 4th, and he would not gain a familiar, as the familiar's benefits only improve at odd-numbered class levels.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 05, 2014, 10:58:53 AM
Unliving subtype, like living construct for undead. There are several different homebrewed equivalents for this. I know that F&K's Tome has one (split with Dark Minded as well), SirP's got something for Lifetorn race (and a similar Bloodsap subtype for plants), etc.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Pity Crit on December 07, 2014, 05:02:52 PM
1. Minimum roll rules for rogue skill checks and initiative. E.g. your minimum d20 result on skills and initiative is 1 plus your rogue levels.

2. Minimum roll rules for fighter and monk melee attacks. This doesn't scale as well, so I would think their level divided by 2 might work.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 07, 2014, 05:43:33 PM
Allow the kusari-gama as a Shadow Hand weapon.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on December 07, 2014, 06:21:06 PM
Infrastructure Magic Locations/Magic Architecture, but Soulmelds.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 09, 2014, 04:28:50 PM
Adaptable Grip:

Feat, class ability, could even be a weapon enhancement, whatever.

Benefit:  Reduce the attack roll penalties for using an improperly-sized weapon by 2.  For example, a Medium character with this ability could wield a Large morningstar in two hands with no penalty instead of the usual -2.

Might also want an ability that allows for improperly-sized reach weapons to still benefit the character wielding them based on the character's size.  For example, a Medium character wielding a Small spiked chain could still get the benefits of reach and adjacent.  As per the Rules Compendium page 151, wielding a reach weapon that's intended for a character smaller than the wielder means it does not grant reach, thus the Small spiked chain example wouldn't work.

Speaking of that, a reach weapon meant for a Tiny creature ought to allow it to threaten the area in adjacent squares.  As per the size rules at http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/movementPositionAndDistance.htm#bigandLittleCreaturesInCombat, Tiny and smaller creatures don't threaten the area around them and must move into an opponent's square to attack it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 16, 2014, 03:00:06 PM
Astral Snare
Abjuration
Level: Sor/Wiz 7
Duration: 1 day/level (D)
Save: None
SR: No

This spell creates a magical trap that ensnares teleporting travelers. When you cast it, designate a location on another plane (other than the Astral Plane). Any attempt at teleportation to or directly through that location is at risk of being caught in the snare.

The snare covers an area up to a {distance} radius around the chosen location. Any teleportation effect passing through the area is halted in the middle of its effect, leaving the travelers stranded on the Astral Plane in the general area in which this spell was cast. A successful caster level check (DC 11 + your CL) allows a teleportation effect to bypass the snare. Additionally, you can specify a password or define certain criteria of teleporters that the snare selects for or ignores (such as by race, name, alignment, number of travelers, and so forth). If any of the travelers within a given teleportation effect match the snare's criteria, the snare tries to catch all of the travelers.

In order to select a location to ensnare travelers, either you must have a strong, personal connection to the location (for example, your home or your place of birth), you must possess an object closely tied to the location (for example, a stone from a building's foundation), or it must be the last place you were at before entering the Astral Plane. For each of these beyond the first, the DC to bypass the snare increases by 5.

Teleportation effects that do not go through the Astral Plane are not caught by this spell. Non-teleportation travel (such as shadow walk or astral caravan) is also unimpeded. Certain particularly powerful effects, such as the transport travelers option of the wish spell, are also capable of ignoring this spell.

This spell can only be cast on the Astral Plane. It has no effect within other planes.

Astral snare can be found and disarmed as a magical trap, both at the chosen location and at the place of casting on the Astral Plane.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 16, 2014, 03:13:34 PM
Greater Revivify: 7th level, as revivify except that it works as resurrection instead of raise dead, can affect subjects dead up to 1 minute instead of 1 round, and costs 2500 gp instead of 500 gp.

True Revivify: 9th level, as revivify except that it works as true resurrection instead of raise dead, can affect subjects dead up to 1 hour instead of 1 round, and costs 12500 gp instead of 500 gp.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 21, 2014, 08:53:36 PM
Intimidating Toughness.

Requires dwarf.  Might be a feat, racial ACF, whatever.

Benefit:  Use Con mod instead of Cha for all Intimidate checks.

You're so tough the enemy is scared of you.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 28, 2014, 07:18:22 AM
Allow Improved Buckler Defense (http://dndtools.pw/feats/complete-warrior--61/improved-buckler-defense--1449/) to work for wielding a two-handed weapon as well.  As written it's only for TWF.

But at least it's better than Two Weapon Defense and the rest of that line, though that's not saying much.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on December 28, 2014, 01:56:08 PM
Whoops, pls delete
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 31, 2014, 04:14:02 PM
Abjurant Champion has an official listed variant allowing for psionic use.  The only two powers I've found so far that boost shield or armor AC are Force Screen and Inertial Armor.

Both are psychokinesis.  Hey, instead of abjuration let's boost psychokinesis powers!  And while we're at it rename the variant to be Kinetic Champion.  Extend and Swift kinetics, and then for the Arcane Boost equivalent just have the character expend PP equal to whatever's needed for a power of that level (so 5 PP for a 3rd level power) and then get the insight bonuses that way.

Trade Knowledge (arcana) for knowledge (psionics), spellcraft for psicraft, Combat Casting for Combat Manifesting, and the spellcasting reqs for the ability to manifest 1st level powers, including at least one psychokinesis power and this thing's done.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on January 05, 2015, 06:37:20 PM
Working on a meldshaping class based on turning artifacts into soulmelds. Some questions which might help in dev:

1) Incartifact-(ol/otum/um), which is best?

2) When possible, should I retool old melds with an original bind location?

3) Anyone have a good list of artifacts with complete descriptions?

4) Should the class have all armor and/or martial weapons?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on January 05, 2015, 06:56:44 PM
I hope you'll be toning them down some; a few of the Major Artifacts are just outright crazy (20th level Paladin spellcasting? Don't mind if I do!)

1) Incartifactorum is what you should go for.

2) To be honest, you can leave them on the old Binds; sirpercival is the only guy I know crazy enough to come up with a fully unique list of Soulmelds for his classes.

3) Sadly, no.

4) Maybe? What do you see their party role being?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 11, 2015, 05:54:49 AM
Name a new feat Bulldozer and have it chain off Improved Overrun like Shock Trooper chains from Improved Bull Rush.

Maybe make it possible to continue the overrun and get more opponents?  Allow it on a charge too.  Get a weapon attack off against the enemy?  Either that or gain a stomp or some sort of similar attack to also use.

Huh, the http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/vicious-stomp-combat feat in PF might be something to look at with regards to trips and overruns.


Slight Battle Jump rework:

Not a regional feat anymore.  Can make a normal melee attack for double damage, or make any special attack normally made in place of a melee attack such as bull rush, trip, grapple, overrun, et al.  Treat yourself as one size larger than usual (wording used to allow for Powerful build stacking) for the purposes of the first attack (including special attacks) used against the creature jumped upon.


Additional feat for Warforged:

Adamantine Conditioning

Prereqs:  Adamantine Body, BAB +3

Benefits:  Your adamantine plating hinders you less as you continue to train.  Your Max Dex Bonus increases by 1, your Armor Check Penalty decreases by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and the penalty to your base speed decreases by 5 to be 25 feet if your speed is normally 30 feet.  Other base land speeds are adjusted accordingly.


And nuts, there's only a table for the usual speed reduction from armor and not a way to assess different ones.  Looks like I have a table to write up based upon http://www.d20srd.org/srd/carryingCapacity.htm

I'll edit in the table shortly.  Already got the 10's done, but the 5's are a bit annoying.  5's are added in to account for the Dash feat.  I've turned this into a mini index (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=15253.0).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Armor Mobility   
Unarmored/light   20253035404550556065707580859095100
5/6         1520253035404045505560657070758085
2/3 (standard)   1515202530353540404550505555606570
1/2 (mountain/gear)   1015152020252530303535404045455050
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 13, 2015, 01:23:54 PM
Wild Aura [General]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, ability to project an aura, aura bonus +2.
Benefits: The power of your auras fluctuate. Each round at the beginning of your turn, roll a die and use the result to determine the modifier you apply to your aura bonus. The die you roll depends on your normal aura bonus, before applying this modifier.
Normal BonusModifier
+1 or less+0
+2+1d4-2
+3+1d6-3
+4+1d8-4
+5 or higher+2d6-6
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 15, 2015, 08:18:48 AM
Versatile Slam (feat)

Prerequisites:  Warforged, or other creature with a natural slam attack and sturdy enough limbs.  Str 15+ perhaps?

Benefit:  You have learned to make your slam attack with almost any part of your body.  You may make slam attacks even if you are wielding weapons in both hands or would otherwise be unable to make a slam due to your hands being occupied.


Vicious Stomp (feat rework)

Prerequisites:  Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike or melee primary natural attack option.

Benefit:  Whenever an opponent falls prone within reach of your unarmed strike or melee natural attack range, that opponent provokes an attack of opportunity from you.  This attack must be either an unarmed strike or a natural attack.


Improved Unarmed Strike clarification:

Characters with BAB +4 or better who are not monks gain the ability to make unarmed strikes with other reasonable parts of the body besides fists such as elbows, knees, and feet.  Unarmed strikes made as offhand attacks still suffer the normal damage penalty for two-weapon fighting.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 19, 2015, 07:23:33 PM
Surprise Elemental.  Because it's the element of...  Oh forget it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on January 19, 2015, 07:38:49 PM
Surprise Elemental.  Because it's the element of...  Oh forget it.
:lol :clap

Definitely needs HiPS as well as a really high initiative modifier. Maybe base it on the Invisible Stalker?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on January 21, 2015, 03:05:06 AM
Surprise Elemental.  Because it's the element of...  Oh forget it.
:lol :clap

Definitely needs HiPS as well as a really high initiative modifier. Maybe base it on the Invisible Stalker?

Alternatively the dire turtle ability or the one from that drow only PRC nobody
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 22, 2015, 03:17:41 PM
Surprise Elemental.  Because it's the element of...  Oh forget it.
:lol :clap

Definitely needs HiPS as well as a really high initiative modifier. Maybe base it on the Invisible Stalker?

Alternatively the dire turtle ability or the one from that drow only PRC nobody

Littha, were you going to finish that sentence?

As for the abilities, I can definitely see it having those.



New stuff:  Soulknife+incarnum PrC.  If it's meant for straight incarnate then one likely feat req would be Align Mind Blade.  Or just make it based off the psywar Call Weapon ACF.  Basing it off the original soulknife would require some reworking but making it better while still balanced isn't exactly hard to do.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on January 23, 2015, 03:22:02 PM
...ever takes



Honestly I don't know how I managed to miss that...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 24, 2015, 05:02:03 AM
Dread Fang of Lolth for its 10th level ability I assume?

Heh, the class is kinda shitty now that I see it for the first time.  Both in fluff and in mechanics.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on January 24, 2015, 02:43:05 PM
Dread Fang of Lolth for its 10th level ability I assume?

Heh, the class is kinda shitty now that I see it for the first time.  Both in fluff and in mechanics.

That would be the one. Its pretty awful barring that one ability.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on January 24, 2015, 08:53:40 PM
Surprise Elemental.  Because it's the element of...  Oh forget it.
+1  :clap
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 26, 2015, 06:26:43 AM
Surprise Elemental.  Because it's the element of...  Oh forget it.
+1  :clap

 :D  Thanks!
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 29, 2015, 02:07:16 AM
Teleportation

- Accuracy determined by a Spellcraft check.
- Various other modifiers based on sight, beacon/circle at destination, circle at origin, knowledge of site, etc.
- Teleport spell still exists, allows teleportation without the feat. Distance is limited by the Spellcraft check, not by your CL.
- Greater Teleport grants a +CL bonus on the Spellcraft check and allows you to take 10.
- Plane Shift uses these new mechanics. It allows for planar teleportation.
- Wish's transport travelers option automatically succeeds on the check. Still ignores local conditions (ex: Dimension Lock, dead magic zone).
- Check DCs are still a first draft.

Use only the best modifier for sight and familiarity.

Sight of DestinationSpellcraft Modifier
Never seen-10
Pinpointed at least once-5
Indirectly seen at least once-5
Directly seen at least once+0
Pinpointed through inferior senses (such as blindsense or scent)+5
Visible indirectly (such as through scrying or via a mirror)+5
Within line of sight (including sight-equivalent senses)+10

FamiliaritySpellcraft Modifier
Destination does not actually exist-201
Secondhand (you have heard of the destination)-10
Firsthand (you have visited before)+0
Nearby (within the same structure or local area as origin)+5
Familiar (you have visited three or more times)+5
1. If the destination does not actually exist, successful teleportation is impossible. Use the DC only to determine the effects of failure. On a success, no teleportation occurs and the would-be teleporter becomes aware that the destination does not exist.

ConnectionSpellcraft Modifier
Likeness or picture of destination+2
Object from destination+4
Cartographer’s map of destination+10
Created or studied teleportation beacon at destination+10

TeleportationSpellcraft DC
Origin has a teleportation circle, destination has a teleportation beacon25
Destination has a teleportation beacon30
Origin has a teleportation circle40
No beacon or circle45
Per 100 miles distance (same plane)+1
Destination is warded against teleportation (dimension lock, forbiddance, a dead magic zone, etc.)+101
Destination on another, coterminous plane+102
Destination on another, non-coterminous plane+202
1. On a success, the teleportation arrives in the general vicinity of the edge of the ward, outside of it.
2. If the destination is on another plane, successful teleportation is impossible without appropriate magic (such as the Planar Teleporter feat or the plane shift spell). Without this, use the DC only to determine the effects of failure. On a success, no teleportation occurs and the would-be teleporter becomes aware that the destination is on another plane. Ignore the DC modifier for distance.

On a successful Spellcraft check, you arrive at the desired location. If you know exactly where you wish to arrive, you arrive in that space, or the nearest unoccupied space if you cannot fit, otherwise you arrive in the general vicinity of the destination.

If you fail by 4 or less, the teleportation fails with no ill effect.

If you fail by 5 to 9, you arrive in an area that's visually or thematically similar to the desired destination.

If you fail by 10 or more, you suffer a mishap. You take 1d10 points of damage and must make a new Spellcraft check with a cumulative +2 bonus. On subsequent checks, you suffer additional damage each time you roll a mishap. This continues until you either succeed on the check or fail by 9 or less. Use the result of the final check to determine if and where you ultimately teleport.

You cannot take 10 on a Spellcraft check made to teleport, except with abilities that specifically allow you to (such as the greater teleport spell).



Teleporter [Ritual]
Prerequisite: Caster level 1st, Spellcraft 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 8 ranks.
Benefit: You gain access to rituals based on your ranks in Knowledge (the planes).


Planar Teleporter [Ritual]
Prerequisite: Caster level 1st, Spellcraft 12 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 12 ranks, Teleporter.
Benefit: You can use the teleport ritual of the Teleporter feat to travel to other planes.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 29, 2015, 02:31:24 AM
Change to the UA variant monk styles (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#monkVariantFightingStyles): The skill given a bonus to is a class skill for the monk if it wasn't already.  For example, the Overwhelming Attack monk gains Intimidate as a class skill.

Some other changes are probably needed to make them thematically and mechanically more interesting.  The Passive Way monk ought to be able to add his Wisdom bonus to Bluff checks made for feinting in combat and/or use Wis in place of Cha for it.  I was just thinking about having Wis on top of Bluff to help make up for feinting having to also factor in the opponent's BAB.


A new spell:

Feral Weapon


Level:    Clr 1, Drd 1, Rgr 1, Sor/Wiz 1 (or maybe 2nd?)
Components:    V, S, DF
Casting Time:    1 standard action
Range:    Touch
Target:    Creature touched
Duration:    1 min./level
Saving Throw:    Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance:    Yes

The affected creature can use the base weapon damage of one of its natural weapons (including unarmed strike) in place of the base damage for a manufactured weapon it is wielding.


Cobalt Guardian PrC:

Uses Cobalt Expertise (http://dndtools.pw/feats/magic-of-incarnum--74/cobalt-expertise--372/) and Cobalt Power (http://dndtools.pw/feats/magic-of-incarnum--74/cobalt-power--373/) plus some other stuff perhaps to control the battlefield.


Dextrous Expertise ability/feat/whatever

Basically like the Arcane Duelist's Dextrous Attack ability, except that you decrease your damage by an amount no greater than your BAB and you increase your AC by that amount.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 03, 2015, 04:46:07 PM
Combat Supremacy (or whatever other name is alright)

Prerequisites:  Fighter level 8+?

Benefit:  Choose two feats that reduce your attack bonus and give a benefit (such as Power Attack and Combat Expertise).  You gain the benefits of both feats while only suffering the attack penalty for one of them.

For example, a character with +5 BAB could subtract 5 from their attack bonus to gain both +10 damage with a 2-handed weapon through Power Attack and gain a +5 dodge bonus to Armor Class from Combat Expertise.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on February 03, 2015, 11:40:10 PM
A Paladin-type class built off a Scout-type chassis.

Would get some ceremonial magic stuff that wouldn't be level based - stuff like performing last rites so that a body can't be raised as Undead, marking the corpse of an evil creature so that everyone else knows the creature was evil, letting people you preach at change alignment, etcetera.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 04, 2015, 01:27:59 AM
To run with your idea a bit, Amechra. Albeit in a different way than you intended.

New skill: Ceremony (Wis)
This skill allows you to perform various rituals and ceremonies, some of which have minor magical power.
You suffer a -2 penalty on Ceremony checks with respect to the rituals and followers of deities, religions, and ideals other than your own.
You suffer a -5 penalty on Ceremony checks with respect to the rituals and followers of deities, religions, and ideals opposed to your own.

Mundane Ceremony: You know how to and can perform a variety of non-magical ceremonies. These include, but are not limited to, marriages, last rites, and leading religious services. You can also use this skill to generate income as per the Perform skill.

Mark Lair of the Enemy (DC 15): You can mark a site to inform members of your faith that the creatures there are enemies of the faith. For members of other faiths, a DC 15 Knowledge (religion) DC check is required to recognize the meaning of this marking. This is often used to mark the graves of heretics.

Consecrate Dead (Su, DC 15): You can consecrate the remains of a dead creature. Any attempt to raise it as an undead creature must succeed on a DC 10 level check or else have no effect. For every 3 points by which you exceed the skill check DC, the DC of this level check increases by 2. Consecrating the dead takes 1 hour per body.

Temptation or Redemption (Su, DC 25): You can aid a willing creature in changing its alignment, as per the Temptation or Redemption option of the atonement spell. This takes 1 week.

... and that's it for me. Dealing with even this little concreteness of religion in a game rules context makes me uncomfortable.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 12, 2015, 04:41:46 PM
Make a PrC for adepts like Sublime Chord is for Bards.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 23, 2015, 10:58:40 PM
Tactical raging

At higher levels, and even at low-mid levels with the Extra Rage feat and other options, a standard Barbarian has more than enough rages to enter one in every encounter during the day. The only penalties are the loss of skills that the Barbarian wasn't investing in anyways and a minor AC penalty that matters less and less as attack bonuses become greater and alternative attack forms that don't target AC (or attack touch AC) become more common. So why not rage all the time?

Under this variant, rages have unlimited uses. Not per day, not per encounter, just at will, with a few exceptions. Instead, the Barbarian gets a number of different rage variations, each of which have certain limitations, situations in which the Barbarian can be forcibly removed from his or her raging state.

Once your rage ends, you become fatigued for some time. You cannot enter a rage again until after that duration has elapsed, even if you are immune to fatigue or the condition is removed prematurely.

A Barbarian knows one type of rage at level 1 and gains a new type known every 4th level. The Extra Rage feat grants knowledge of 2 new types of rage. Anything else that gives an extra rage per day instead gives an equal number of rages known.

Rage still lasts for up to 3 + Con mod rounds, unless you are knocked out of it early. I'm not addressing, yet, what happens as rage improves at higher levels (greater/mighty rage and indomitable will).

Skill restrictions refers to the standard limitations on what skills you can use in a rage. Not all types of rage retain them.

Battle Rage
Restrictions: None.
Effects: +4 Str, +4 Con, +2 Will saves, -2 AC, skill restrictions.
Limitation: Rage ends if you do not attack an opponent nor are attacked by an opponent for 1 round.
Aftereffects: When your rage ends, you are fatigued for 2 rounds.

Berserker Strength
Restrictions: You cannot call upon your Berserker Strength while you have more than half your maximum hit points.
Effects: +4 Str, +2 Will saves, DR 2/-, fast healing 1, skill restrictions.
Limitation: Rage ends if your hit points rise to greater than half your maximum.
Aftereffects: When your rage ends, you are fatigued for 5 rounds.

Deathless Frenzy
Restrictions: You cannot enter a Deathless Frenzy while you have more than one quarter your maximum hit points.
Effects: +8 Str, +2 Will saves, -2 AC, extra attack on full attack (all at -2), skill restrictions. You are not disabled/dying from hp or 0 or less, nor are you staggered/unconscious from nonlethal damage equal to or greater than your hp. Add 1/4 your maximum hit points to your actual hit points to determine whether or not you are dead.
Limitation: Rage ends if your hit points rise to greater than half your maximum.
Aftereffects: When your rage ends, you are fatigued for 5 rounds and exhausted for 2 rounds.

Duelist's Frenzy
Restrictions: You cannot enter a Duelist's Frenzy while flanked.
Effects: +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Will saves. Choose a single opponent you are aware of when you enter the rage. You deal +1d4 damage on all melee attacks against that opponent.
Limitation: Rage ends if you are attacked by a flanking opponent other than your chosen opponent.
Aftereffects: When your rage ends, you are fatigued for 2 rounds.

Furious Bulwark
Restrictions: None.
Effects: +4 Con, +2 Will saves, DR 5/-.
Limitation: Rage ends if you move more than 5 feet during any round.
Aftereffects: When your rage ends, you are fatigued for 2 rounds.

Short Fuse
Restrictions: None.
Effects: +2 Str, +2 Con, +1 Will saves, -2 AC, skill restrictions.
Limitation: Rage ends after 3 rounds, regardless of the remaining duration.
Aftereffects: When your rage ends, you are fatigued for 2 rounds.

Superstitious Rage
Restrictions: You cannot enter a Superstitious Rage while subject to fear (shaken, frightened, panicked, or cowering).
Effects: +4 Str, +2 on saves vs. spells and supernatural abilities, -2 AC, skill restrictions.
Limitation: Rage ends when you fail a save against or allow yourself to be willingly affected by a spell or supernatural ability, excluding those you use on yourself.
Aftereffects: When your rage ends, you are fatigued for 1 round. If your rage ended as a result of a spell or supernatural ability, you are also shaken for 3 rounds.

Whirling Frenzy
Restrictions: You cannot enter a Whirling Frenzy while prone, entangled, or immobilized.
Effects: +4 Str, +2 dodge to Ref saves, +2 dodge to AC, extra attack on full attack (all at -2), skill restrictions.
Limitation: Rage ends when you fall prone or fail to move at least 5 feet during your turn.
Aftereffects: When your rage ends, you are fatigued for 2 rounds.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 23, 2015, 11:11:16 PM
Nothing about Ferocity from the Cityscape web enhancement or Resilient Rage from Dragon 330?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 25, 2015, 02:25:13 AM
I forgot about ferocity, and I'm not familiar with resilient rage.

Thoughts about higher levels... At 11th level, you can choose two types of rage when raging. The effects stack, and the limitations of either can still remove the whole rage. The durations of the fatigue from the aftereffects stack. At 20th level, this improves to 3 types of rage at once.

Frenzied Berserker PrC: Requires knowledge of the Deathless Frenzy rage. Grants the ability to use Deathless Frenzy at higher hp (up to any amount of hp less than your maximum at 10th level) and increases the effects and the bonus to your effective hit points to avoid dying.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 27, 2015, 05:31:45 AM
Resilient Rage: Instead of normal rage bonuses, gain +4 to Dexterity, +2 to Constitution, +2 to Will Saves, and damage reduction 1/-.  This temporary damage reduction stacks with the permanent damage reduction the implacable gains at higher levels.
At 11th level, the bonuses increase to +6 Dexterity, +6 Constitution, and DR 2/-.  At 20th level the bonuses improve to +8 Dexterity, +8 Constitution, and DR 3/-.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 10, 2015, 03:34:26 AM
Various construct grafts for the legs.  Mostly to replace said legs and enough of the pelvis to attach the grafts.  Different variations can be spiderlike and give a climb speed; heavy and give a bonus against trips, bull rushes, etc.; get a faster base land speed; and so on.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 08, 2015, 09:24:27 PM
Mongrelfolk have seven component races in their ancestry:  Dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling, human, orc, and...  Goblin.  Clearly there's some interbreeding going on besides half-elves and half-orcs.  I'm contemplating something along the lines of Races of Consequence, but only working with half-races since the quarter ones in RoC would bring the total number too high.  Though I suppose starting with a half-goblin and doing the full RoC treatment would work as well.

And there's also Races of Ansalon to look at for comparing things like gnome/human and such.

Edit:  Huh, RoA has half-goblins.  It's a start.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Keldar on June 12, 2015, 09:07:15 AM
How to make 1/4 races: Feats. First level only.  Want a mongrel (not folk)?  Play a human, take two.
1/4 Elf: You gain low light vision and +1 bonus to listen.
1/4 Orc:  You gain Darkvision 20 feet and fetching tusks.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 13, 2015, 07:58:36 PM
Standardizing saving throws. I mean, more than they already are.

Every effect has one of the following Save lines:

Type I: No save
Type II: Yes (Save Partial)
Type III: Yes (Save Negates)
Type IV: Effect Partial (Save Negates)
Type V: Automatically Fails

Willing creatures may treat any effect as if it was Type I.
Evasion treats the Save line for an effect with a Reflex save as if it were one step highter. Improved Evasion improves it by another step.

Same story for Mettle.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 25, 2015, 10:02:49 PM
Feat or other ability that lets an ally make an AoO against an enemy that is forced to make a Reflex save.  Maybe just on a failed save or something.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on September 01, 2015, 11:18:09 AM
Make a PrC for adepts like Sublime Chord is for Bards.

This sounds like it would be a very fun class to make. Might take a stab at it myself.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 06, 2015, 01:15:52 AM
Just some thoughts on those spells that affect humanoids specifically. Why should it specifically be easier to affect humanoids with magic than any other type? How about instead affecting creatures of your type? So giants can charm, dominate, and size-change other giants, etc.

Sympathetic Friendship (Sor/Wiz 1, Bard 1, etc.): As Charm Person, but affects your creature type.
Sympathetic Paralysis (Sor/Wiz 3, Cleric 2, etc.): As Hold Person, but affects your creature type.
Sympathetic Domination (Sor/Wiz 5, Bard 4, etc.): As Dominate Person, but affects your creature type.
Sympathetic Growth (Sor/Wiz 1, Strength 1, etc.): As Enlarge Person, but affects your creature type.
Sympathetic Reduction (Sor/Wiz 1, etc.): As Reduce Person, but affects your creature type.
Sympathetic Daze (Sor/Wiz 0, Bard 0, etc.): As Daze, but affects your creature type.

Since we're mucking about with creature types being important for spells, here's another thought.

Sympathetic Conversion (Sor/Wiz 4, etc.): For the purpose of spells and abilities, your creature type becomes that of the touched creature for 1 hour/level. Does not affect your traits and features resulting from type. You still count as your actual type for meeting prerequisites and for any other purposes.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 09, 2015, 07:13:25 PM
Make a PrC for adepts like Sublime Chord is for Bards.

This sounds like it would be a very fun class to make. Might take a stab at it myself.

Aside from getting 9th level spells, it would also need some sort of spice that thematically goes along with the adept's repertoire.  Something building on the familiar for sure since that's the adept's only class feature, plus some other things based on how adepts aren't as studied as clerics.  Maybe more spontaneity in spells or something, plus some access to certain normally arcane spells as divine ones.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on September 09, 2015, 08:12:02 PM
Make a PrC for adepts like Sublime Chord is for Bards.

This sounds like it would be a very fun class to make. Might take a stab at it myself.

Aside from getting 9th level spells, it would also need some sort of spice that thematically goes along with the adept's repertoire.  Something building on the familiar for sure since that's the adept's only class feature, plus some other things based on how adepts aren't as studied as clerics.  Maybe more spontaneity in spells or something, plus some access to certain normally arcane spells as divine ones.

So... I might have interpreted "adept" as "martial adept", resulting in this guy (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16302.0).

I do have a few ideas around the arcane side of the adept though, which is basically cribbing from the spell learning class feature of the Beguiler and allowing the adept to spontaneously cast those. As well as maybe grabbing a few abilities from the Bonded Summoner for the familiar.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on September 10, 2015, 01:50:08 AM
A tune-up to the Rilken and Skarn, and a "Paragon Class" called the Mishtai Reclaimer that both races can take.

Some notes:

The Mishtai Reclaimer would have two components; first, each subrace would have its own Paragon Class, and completing that would allow them to take Mishtai Reclaimer itself. I'm kinda waffling about whether or not they should get proper meldshaping - I kinda want them to have a unique Soulmeld list drawing imagery more from Grafts than items.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on September 12, 2015, 08:03:37 PM
Play with the Hierarchy of Ability Types a bit.

The Hierarchy is:

Natural: Passive, cannot be Countered, Dispelled, or Suppressed.
Extraordinary: Active or Passive, cannot be Countered, Dispelled, or Suppressed.
Supernatural: Active or Passive, cannot be Countered or Dispelled.
Spell-Like: Active, cannot be Countered.
Spells: Active.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on September 17, 2015, 11:55:00 PM
A 5-level PrC that gives you pieces of the Incorporeal subtype as class features. Each piece should be active, so you can toggle your miss chance or whatever.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on September 19, 2015, 08:18:50 AM
A 5-level PrC that gives you pieces of the Incorporeal subtype as class features. Each piece should be active, so you can toggle your miss chance or whatever.

Psion Uncarnate isn't quite what you're looking for?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on September 19, 2015, 12:21:46 PM
A 5-level PrC that gives you pieces of the Incorporeal subtype as class features. Each piece should be active, so you can toggle your miss chance or whatever.

Psion Uncarnate isn't quite what you're looking for?

Of course not.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on September 19, 2015, 12:53:16 PM
Of course not.

Given that, I'm assuming you mean a five level class that gets a permanent ability to swap in and out of incorporeal and doesn't really rely on magic at all? So more for rogues/shadow focused people?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: oslecamo on September 19, 2015, 01:10:04 PM
Just some thoughts on those spells that affect humanoids specifically. Why should it specifically be easier to affect humanoids with magic than any other type?

Because humanoids are literally the weakest creature type in D&D. Your average dog can take on a trained geared up warrior. Horses get triple attacks by default while humanoid warriors struggle to make two. Cats tear up commoners. Humanoid inferiority extends to magic besides physical confrotation.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on September 22, 2015, 12:48:27 PM
Of course not.

Given that, I'm assuming you mean a five level class that gets a permanent ability to swap in and out of incorporeal and doesn't really rely on magic at all? So more for rogues/shadow focused people?

Kinda. You could say that I just want to have Tejina in D&D. Is that so wrong?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on September 24, 2015, 04:03:27 PM
Some sort of Martial character that revolves around stances and combo attacks.

Something along the line of 5 separate stances, each one granting access to a set of manuvers that in turn force you into the next stance in the chain.

1st stance (level 1)
9 manuvers (one at each spell level)
2nd stance (level 4)
8 manuvers
3rd Stance (level 8)
7 manuvers
4th stance (level 12)
6 Manuvers
5th stance (level 16)
5 Manuvers

And a final set of of manuvers that can be used at any time, reset you to the first stance and have exponential effects depending on the number of attacks in your combo. Combo finishers

1st stance > 1st manuver > puts you in 2nd stance > 2nd manuver...

Stance resets once combat ends.
Obviously the higher level (progression wise) stances and manuvers should be quite powerful because you have to progress through several others to reach them. I am thinking significantly more powerful than normal manuvers, especially the later ones. A combo finisher after going through 5 stances worth of manuvers should be basically backbreaking to a level relevant threat.

I am thinking a monk type aesthetic... Unarmored bonuses and unarmed damage. Should know every stance and maneuver in the class but no others.


Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on September 24, 2015, 05:20:36 PM
@Littha - Where do counters and boosts fall in the chain?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on September 24, 2015, 07:23:48 PM
@Littha - Where do counters and boosts fall in the chain?

Not really thought of it but I suppose a boost could be a progression maneuver or a combo finisher.
Counters are more difficult. I guess you could have them in the progression but it would be pretty weird trying to trigger them...

my major problem with this idea is the sheer amount of time and dedication it would require to write all those maneuvers. I have a bad habit of starting projects and never finishing them because I set the scope too high.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on September 25, 2015, 10:20:42 PM
1. Minimum roll rules for rogue skill checks and initiative. E.g. your minimum d20 result on skills and initiative is 1 plus your rogue levels.

*yoink (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16391.msg288110#msg288110)*

I've credited you at the bottom of the class.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on September 26, 2015, 01:54:57 PM
@ Litha

How about danseuse for some bard cross?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on September 29, 2015, 03:18:01 AM
@ Litha

How about danseuse for some bard cross?

Not keen on the idea, I was going for some sort of ascetic monk type. Not capoeira.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on September 30, 2015, 11:47:20 AM
Trying to think of a way to smash the Blighter, Talontar Blightlord, Walker in the Wastes, and one or two other classes into an anti-druid class that doesn't suck and isn't undead reliant. If there are other anti-life classes out there, I take suggestions. :)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on September 30, 2015, 04:07:03 PM
Trying to think of a way to smash the Blighter, Talontar Blightlord, Walker in the Wastes, and one or two other classes into an anti-druid class that doesn't suck and isn't undead reliant. If there are other anti-life classes out there, I take suggestions. :)

I'm on it! (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16472.msg289333#msg289333)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on September 30, 2015, 04:52:52 PM
Trying to think of a way to smash the Blighter, Talontar Blightlord, Walker in the Wastes, and one or two other classes into an anti-druid class that doesn't suck and isn't undead reliant. If there are other anti-life classes out there, I take suggestions. :)

I'm on it! (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16472.msg289333#msg289333)

Ah, I should have been clearer - was looking for a base class.

Now that I'm thinking about it more, 9th level divine casting with a limited list (Blighter list + a bunch of material from Sandstorm and the SpC, probably), defiles like a Dark Sun caster, bringing desert and desiccation where there was once verdant life. Abilities probably borrowed from Defiler (Dark Sun), Blighter, Walker in the Wastes, Sand Shaper as primaries.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Arz on September 30, 2015, 05:59:44 PM
@ Litha

How about danseuse for some bard cross?

Not keen on the idea, I was going for some sort of ascetic monk type. Not capoeira.

Was thinking silat or even some animal kungfu which have dance-like motions. But whatever...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 01, 2015, 02:05:49 PM
Trying to think of a way to smash the Blighter, Talontar Blightlord, Walker in the Wastes, and one or two other classes into an anti-druid class that doesn't suck and isn't undead reliant. If there are other anti-life classes out there, I take suggestions. :)

Decided to take up my own challenge - Walker in the Wastes (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16478.0).

Thematically, the Walker in the Wastes is an anti-druid, a character that wants to see the verdant life of the forest, jungles, and plains reduced to nothing more than the chill deserts of snow and ice or burning wastes of sun-scorched earth. To that end, most of his class abilities are centred around either desiccation, defiling, or making the landscape inhospitable. Classes that sacrificed themselves/inspired this guy are the Walker in the Wastes, Blighter, Sand Shaper, Dark Sun Defiler, Arch-Defiler, and Leech. Sandstorm and Frostburn are very necessary books to use the class.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on October 01, 2015, 06:15:06 PM
Trying to think of a way to smash the Blighter, Talontar Blightlord, Walker in the Wastes, and one or two other classes into an anti-druid class that doesn't suck and isn't undead reliant. If there are other anti-life classes out there, I take suggestions. :)

Decided to take up my own challenge - Walker in the Wastes (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16478.0).

Thematically, the Walker in the Wastes is an anti-druid, a character that wants to see the verdant life of the forest, jungles, and plains reduced to nothing more than the chill deserts of snow and ice or burning wastes of sun-scorched earth. To that end, most of his class abilities are centred around either desiccation, defiling, or making the landscape inhospitable. Classes that sacrificed themselves/inspired this guy are the Walker in the Wastes, Blighter, Sand Shaper, Dark Sun Defiler, Arch-Defiler, and Leech. Sandstorm and Frostburn are very necessary books to use the class.
The only odd thing is that it's actually a worse caster when in that environment it worships... :P And I know that's because of the whole defiling mechanic and consuming life to power it, but you'd think a Walker in the Wastes would be at an advantage in them.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 01, 2015, 06:23:42 PM
The only odd thing is that it's actually a worse caster when in that environment it worships... :P And I know that's because of the whole defiling mechanic and consuming life to power it, but you'd think a Walker in the Wastes would be at an advantage in them.

This is true, but it's a minor sacrifice he's willing to undergo to turn the whole world into the Sea of Silt. Which is still my favourite spot in any D&D campaign setting.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: linklord231 on October 01, 2015, 09:49:58 PM
The way Defiling works basically turns Walker in the Wastes into an NPC class, because it's so difficult to use, especially  in confined spaces. Take the case of a normal humanoid with a 30' move speed: If he casts a 6th level spell, he can't cast anything next round because he has to double move to get out of the radius of his Defilement.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 01, 2015, 11:00:23 PM
The way Defiling works basically turns Walker in the Wastes into an NPC class, because it's so difficult to use, especially  in confined spaces. Take the case of a normal humanoid with a 30' move speed: If he casts a 6th level spell, he can't cast anything next round because he has to double move to get out of the radius of his Defilement.

On the other hand, the Walker qualifies for Natural Spell, and can easily pick a shape with enough movement. Cheetah or any flying options come to mind. Likewise, casting a 5th level spell is an option. Or using the vast array of magical options that grant movement enhancements. Finally, he can start combat by summoning something, then turning into a Dustform Dire Bear and punching the opponent in the head until it falls over. That choice always seems to work well for Druids I've played as/with.

The fact that his casting is somewhat harder to use efficiently than the overpowered Tier 1 classes certainly doesn't put the Walker anywhere near NPC level. At worst, he's low Tier 2, because he's a Druid with an equal or better chassis and a worse spell selection/casting method.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on October 02, 2015, 03:09:37 PM
The way Defiling works basically turns Walker in the Wastes into an NPC class, because it's so difficult to use, especially  in confined spaces. Take the case of a normal humanoid with a 30' move speed: If he casts a 6th level spell, he can't cast anything next round because he has to double move to get out of the radius of his Defilement.

On the other hand, the Walker qualifies for Natural Spell, and can easily pick a shape with enough movement. Cheetah or any flying options come to mind. Likewise, casting a 5th level spell is an option. Or using the vast array of magical options that grant movement enhancements. Finally, he can start combat by summoning something, then turning into a Dustform Dire Bear and punching the opponent in the head until it falls over. That choice always seems to work well for Druids I've played as/with.

The fact that his casting is somewhat harder to use efficiently than the overpowered Tier 1 classes certainly doesn't put the Walker anywhere near NPC level. At worst, he's low Tier 2, because he's a Druid with an equal or better chassis and a worse spell selection/casting method.
Was there a rule that he can't cast without defiling? If so, I missed it. Just sorta assumed a Defiled area counted as the Waste / a -2 CL area.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 02, 2015, 03:33:31 PM
Was there a rule that he can't cast without defiling? If so, I missed it. Just sorta assumed a Defiled area counted as the Waste / a -2 CL area.

Going to try and move the Walker in the Wastes discussion to the thread. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16478.0) So, reply is over thataway.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on October 08, 2015, 11:48:09 PM
Prismatic elementalist spontaneous caster:

Sorcerer spells per day progression. Knows all chromatic and Prismatic spells by default. Every new spell level learn all spells of one elemental subtype. No other spells from any sources. Gains free substitution and eventual Admixture, along with  the elemental reserve feats for each element they unlock.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on October 08, 2015, 11:59:05 PM
Grimdark rules for horror campaigns (supernatural stuff optional!)

Sliding scale of jadedness: Similar to taint except more of a resistance. The more jaded you become, the harder it is to become jaded any further and the worse your social skills get. Eventually becoming a mute sociopath with a default rating of "hostile" or "unfriendly"

New rules for Leadership: Instead of attracting followers and cohorts, you attract X npc-classed mundane characters who follow you based on your success at keeping people alive and your jadedness score. Your cohorts are just as jaded as you are.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on October 09, 2015, 01:28:38 AM
Have you been reading Unknown Armies?  :P
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on October 09, 2015, 03:29:21 PM
Have you been reading Unknown Armies?  :P

Nope, totally spontaneous.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on October 09, 2015, 05:43:54 PM
Have you been reading Unknown Armies?  :P

Nope, totally spontaneous.

Then check out Unknown Armies -  the Sanity system kinda works like that. Kinda. It splits types of trauma into five different types (Helplessness, Isolation, Self, Unnatural, and Violence), and gives each two scales:

HARDENED: Goes from 0 to 10. You are immune to Stress checks of that type that are equal to or below that rating. If your HARDENED scales add up to 35, or you have a 10 in two of them... you're a sociopath!

FAILED: Goes from 0 to 5. There's no initial side effect... but getting a 5 in a FAILED score means you automatically fail Stress checks of that type that you aren't immune to. Oh, and the first time it happens, you suffer a mental breakdown.

Succeeding on a Stress check increases that HARDENED score by 1. Failing makes you go into fight or flight mode, and you increase that FAILED score by 1.

Stress checks scale from 1 (don't run into anyone you know all day) to 10 (spend a month in a sensory deprivation chamber).


It could be converted over to D&D for a jadedness system, probably... Here (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?163963-Debug-my-UA-Madness-Meter-D20-conversion)'s someone's attempt to stick it into d20 Modern.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 13, 2015, 08:08:16 AM
A class that copies enemies, making illusionary copies of them as his main abilities, and using lesser illusions as his at wills. But the illusionary copies are much weaker and have lesser abilities. Class features would grant special attacks, qualities, etc. Not sure if its a magic system or a class.

Alternately, summoning shadow clones of various monsters to have them use their powers to aid the character. Something like a cross between a Binder, Shadowcaster, and Summoner. But that they could never be more than shadows, and so their effects were always weak/short/crippled, and that as the class/system progressed, what the character gained instead was more of them, more shadows that could act on his behalf, do his bidding, etc.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 13, 2015, 04:02:30 PM
A class that copies enemies, making illusionary copies of them as his main abilities, and using lesser illusions as his at wills. But the illusionary copies are much weaker and have lesser abilities. Class features would grant special attacks, qualities, etc. Not sure if its a magic system or a class.

Alternately, summoning shadow clones of various monsters to have them use their powers to aid the character. Something like a cross between a Binder, Shadowcaster, and Summoner. But that they could never be more than shadows, and so their effects were always weak/short/crippled, and that as the class/system progressed, what the character gained instead was more of them, more shadows that could act on his behalf, do his bidding, etc.

I started, very briefly, writing up some basic rules text around the idea mentioned above (here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16544.0)), but I'm already unsure of the direction to go in. I want things being real/not real and shadow creatures to be part of the core, but I'm not sure what to surround that with, for two reasons - I don't want the rest of the system to be a rehash of Mysteries, and I don't want to be too close to arcane magic in feel.

So, here's an alternate set up idea:

Three sets of abilities (a little like ToB) - "stances" are your summoned creatures, mostly permanent but not very real and kind of weak. "Boosts" are exactly that, boosting your summoned creatures and making them more real or giving them different abilities. "counters/strikes" are abilities that attack enemies, making them less real, fading bits and pieces of them away.

Which would mean coming up with a fading mechanic, something that can manage real/unreal more than just the % mark and account for being able to do things like fading only certain parts of something, or using it to counter spells, etc. Thoughts?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on October 13, 2015, 06:31:24 PM
A class that copies enemies, making illusionary copies of them as his main abilities, and using lesser illusions as his at wills. But the illusionary copies are much weaker and have lesser abilities. Class features would grant special attacks, qualities, etc. Not sure if its a magic system or a class.

Alternately, summoning shadow clones of various monsters to have them use their powers to aid the character. Something like a cross between a Binder, Shadowcaster, and Summoner. But that they could never be more than shadows, and so their effects were always weak/short/crippled, and that as the class/system progressed, what the character gained instead was more of them, more shadows that could act on his behalf, do his bidding, etc.

I started, very briefly, writing up some basic rules text around the idea mentioned above (here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16544.0)), but I'm already unsure of the direction to go in. I want things being real/not real and shadow creatures to be part of the core, but I'm not sure what to surround that with, for two reasons - I don't want the rest of the system to be a rehash of Mysteries, and I don't want to be too close to arcane magic in feel.

So, here's an alternate set up idea:

Three sets of abilities (a little like ToB) - "stances" are your summoned creatures, mostly permanent but not very real and kind of weak. "Boosts" are exactly that, boosting your summoned creatures and making them more real or giving them different abilities. "counters/strikes" are abilities that attack enemies, making them less real, fading bits and pieces of them away.

Which would mean coming up with a fading mechanic, something that can manage real/unreal more than just the % mark and account for being able to do things like fading only certain parts of something, or using it to counter spells, etc. Thoughts?
Seems very interesting. Could use fading parts of something to apply conditions (entangled and nauseated come to mind first). Real and unreal other than the percentage... no idea with that, though.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 13, 2015, 09:27:31 PM
Seems very interesting. Could use fading parts of something to apply conditions (entangled and nauseated come to mind first). Real and unreal other than the percentage... no idea with that, though.

Could do something like an ability score penalty, as if you were only fading someone's legs, for instance. "Faded life" is energy drain. What other conditions (aside from Entangled/Sickened/Nauseated) do you see fitting the idea? On the flip side, there is making something more real, which one of the bard's abilities basically is (Inspire Greatness is positive level gain, effectively).

The big thing (for me) is still trying to figure out a mechanic to use - I've already got ToB casting (Chronomancy), and I'm not coming up with a compelling idea that I like. I sort of want to try a stacking mechanic, where a caster can spend more actions to increase or alter (metamagic) his individual spells. Maybe that's how the boosts come online - via being extra action riders on top of main spells. 1 Increase (see below) means move -> standard, standard -> full round, etc.

Could also have some effects that make creatures/other things less real in return for "spin-off" effects.

With the slightly different idea now being mentioned, here's several new sample "spells":
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on October 14, 2015, 03:10:05 AM
Seems very interesting. Could use fading parts of something to apply conditions (entangled and nauseated come to mind first). Real and unreal other than the percentage... no idea with that, though.

Could do something like an ability score penalty, as if you were only fading someone's legs, for instance. "Faded life" is energy drain. What other conditions (aside from Entangled/Sickened/Nauseated) do you see fitting the idea? On the flip side, there is making something more real, which one of the bard's abilities basically is (Inspire Greatness is positive level gain, effectively).

The big thing (for me) is still trying to figure out a mechanic to use - I've already got ToB casting (Chronomancy), and I'm not coming up with a compelling idea that I like. I sort of want to try a stacking mechanic, where a caster can spend more actions to increase or alter (metamagic) his individual spells. Maybe that's how the boosts come online - via being extra action riders on top of main spells. 1 Increase (see below) means move -> standard, standard -> full round, etc.

Could also have some effects that make creatures/other things less real in return for "spin-off" effects.

With the slightly different idea now being mentioned, here's several new sample "spells":
(click to show/hide)

Other conditions I could see applying: fascinated / dazed (fading mind), slowed (fading time/speed), or possibly shaken / frightened / panicked (fading coherence? fading willpower?)

Maybe look into ShadowcastingToM? It's an interesting system, and might work with things becoming more real the more proficient you are with them, or something to that effect.

I'm not sure about making things less real for spin-off effects; it seems like it would just be your Chronomancy class re-skinned (the one that uses durations to do the same thing).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on October 14, 2015, 07:13:24 AM
A class that copies enemies, making illusionary copies of them as his main abilities, and using lesser illusions as his at wills. But the illusionary copies are much weaker and have lesser abilities. Class features would grant special attacks, qualities, etc. Not sure if its a magic system or a class.

Alternately, summoning shadow clones of various monsters to have them use their powers to aid the character. Something like a cross between a Binder, Shadowcaster, and Summoner. But that they could never be more than shadows, and so their effects were always weak/short/crippled, and that as the class/system progressed, what the character gained instead was more of them, more shadows that could act on his behalf, do his bidding, etc.

I started, very briefly, writing up some basic rules text around the idea mentioned above (here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16544.0)), but I'm already unsure of the direction to go in. I want things being real/not real and shadow creatures to be part of the core, but I'm not sure what to surround that with, for two reasons - I don't want the rest of the system to be a rehash of Mysteries, and I don't want to be too close to arcane magic in feel.

So, here's an alternate set up idea:

Three sets of abilities (a little like ToB) - "stances" are your summoned creatures, mostly permanent but not very real and kind of weak. "Boosts" are exactly that, boosting your summoned creatures and making them more real or giving them different abilities. "counters/strikes" are abilities that attack enemies, making them less real, fading bits and pieces of them away.

Which would mean coming up with a fading mechanic, something that can manage real/unreal more than just the % mark and account for being able to do things like fading only certain parts of something, or using it to counter spells, etc. Thoughts?
Seems very interesting. Could use fading parts of something to apply conditions (entangled and nauseated come to mind first). Real and unreal other than the percentage... no idea with that, though.

This sounds like the Mesmer from Guild wars... Which is awesome because it was the most interesting class in both the first game and the sequel.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 14, 2015, 08:27:32 AM
Other conditions I could see applying: fascinated / dazed (fading mind), slowed (fading time/speed), or possibly shaken / frightened / panicked (fading coherence? fading willpower?)

Maybe look into ShadowcastingToM? It's an interesting system, and might work with things becoming more real the more proficient you are with them, or something to that effect.

I'm not sure about making things less real for spin-off effects; it seems like it would just be your Chronomancy class re-skinned (the one that uses durations to do the same thing).

I've used ToM extensively - that system is part of my problem, because I don't want to walk all over it, but it's also a little too close to arcane magic for my tastes (hell, it counts as it for prereqs sometimes).

The status effects look good, so thanks there :D

It does have a moderate amount of overlap with Chrono there, but I think heading down a much more illusion/enchantment/shadow end of things could keep them far enough apart. Like having a counter that turns a spell illusionary, with riders that make the spell more illusionary, not less (effectively weakening it).

This sounds like the Mesmer from Guild wars... Which is awesome because it was the most interesting class in both the first game and the sequel.

I've never actually played Guild Wars - is there a place I should start looking to hunt down its abilities as inspiration?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on October 14, 2015, 09:12:18 AM
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Mesmer

The guild wars 1 mesmer mostly revolved around single target disabling effects. Counterspells, Illusion spells and spells that drain their targets mana (along with some other strangeness.)

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mesmer
Guild wars 2 mesmers have illusionary and phantasmal duplicates. Phantasms deal damage but are easy to tell apart from the mesmer, Illusions are perfect copies and there are ways to swap places with them.
They can also shatter their illusions for various effects.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on October 14, 2015, 02:58:39 PM
It does have a moderate amount of overlap with Chrono there, but I think heading down a much more illusion/enchantment/shadow end of things could keep them far enough apart. Like having a counter that turns a spell illusionary, with riders that make the spell more illusionary, not less (effectively weakening it).
Oooh. Now that's a good idea - affecting the reality of other spells or attacks (or even having some sort of AC-shred by making natural armor / normal armor unreal). Definitely separates it by way of having it affect others instead of your own parts. Perhaps a class feature that allows them to modify the reality of spells that affect them (so they could have their healing be X% more real, or the enemies' Shades spell be X% less real)? That, combined with a "counterspell" that turns something into a shadow conjuration-esque effect would be a powerful defensive ability, but one that was action-intensive and only worked against single-target, direct-effect spells.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 14, 2015, 03:02:57 PM
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Mesmer

The guild wars 1 mesmer mostly revolved around single target disabling effects. Counterspells, Illusion spells and spells that drain their targets mana (along with some other strangeness.)

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mesmer
Guild wars 2 mesmers have illusionary and phantasmal duplicates. Phantasms deal damage but are easy to tell apart from the mesmer, Illusions are perfect copies and there are ways to swap places with them.
They can also shatter their illusions for various effects.

I like the ideas presented here - there's a lot that I could borrow/muck about with. Especially if I expand the phantasms from just creatures to other objects (and terrain) as well...

Shadow storms, illusionary walls, etc.

Oooh. Now that's a good idea - affecting the reality of other spells or attacks (or even having some sort of AC-shred by making natural armor / normal armor unreal). Definitely separates it by way of having it affect others instead of your own parts. Perhaps a class feature that allows them to modify the reality of spells that affect them (so they could have their healing be X% more real, or the enemies' Shades spell be X% less real)? That, combined with a "counterspell" that turns something into a shadow conjuration-esque effect would be a powerful defensive ability, but one that was action-intensive and only worked against single-target, direct-effect spells.

I was thinking of having the counterspells be immediate action moves, like that spin-off mentioned a post or two above. As a player, you can either split a partner's spell for a lesser effect on two enemies, or grab a spell from a BBEG and toss it back into his face, while reducing the one hitting you.

At this point, I think I have enough material to have another go at the base mechanics...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 14, 2015, 07:43:50 PM
At this point, I think I have enough material to have another go at the base mechanics...

Round Two (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16544.0). I'm still not 100% sure of how I want to approach this, but I'm much happier.

I already know a lot of the initial class features are going to be things like "thresholds are now 10% more or less real, as desired." & "You may now apply a single +1 increase without increasing the action cost of a threshold". There's also a ton of easy to make options for thresholds (spells), if anyone wants to just dive in on tossing those together.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Gazzien on October 14, 2015, 08:03:18 PM
Unsure of where to put stuff, so it's going in here. Nitpick: I'm assuming that Armor of Unreality is actually reducing natural armor by its reality percentage.

Opening the Door
Prerequisite: Threshold capacity 3
Benefit: All of your thresholds (shadows, gaps, and phantasms) are 10% more real.

Multiple Portals
Prerequisite: Threshold capacity 3
Benefit: Whenever you cast a single-target threshold with a reality percentage, you may instead apply it to as many targets within range as you wish, dividing the reality percentage equally among all targets, rounding down to the nearest 5%.
Example: [Name], a [Threshold User], is confronting a trio of trolls. They are [Threshold Casting] armour of unreality, using Multiple Portals to target all three trolls. Each of them has their natural armor reduced by 50%/3 = 15%.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on October 14, 2015, 08:21:29 PM
Unsure of where to put stuff, so it's going in here.

Best place is here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16545.0), so we don't completely clog the thread with material for this.

Quote
Nitpick: I'm assuming that Armor of Unreality is actually reducing natural armor by its reality percentage.

Nope, to. Although given that makes the math work backwards from the other thresholds described so far, I'll think about changing it around.

Quote
Multiple Portals
Level: Gap 3
Casting Time: No increase
Effects: Gap thresholds

Whenever you bring into being a single-target gap with a reality percentage, you may instead apply it to as many targets within range as you wish, dividing the reality percentage as you choose among all targets, rounding down to the nearest 5% in each case. Otherwise, apply the gap normally.
Example: Umachys brings Armour of Unreality into being, targeting three trolls. He decides to reduce one troll's natural armour by 30%, and the other two by 10% each. Each troll gets a save at the normal DC to resist.

Tweaked the above so it would fit with the ideas I've got in mind - basically that Shadows, Gaps, and Phantasms are separate abilities, and a given boost only applies to a single one of the types. Otherwise, I definitely like the idea. It presents the player with a really interesting choice - smaller effects on a number of targets, or just beating up a single monster.

On another note, do I add in some kind of idea where creatures that are affected by reality (both shadow summons and creatures hit by a gap) gain concealment equal to the % they are unreal?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on October 19, 2015, 05:29:44 PM
The Iron Ghost: Like the Swiftblade, but with Blink instead of Haste.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on November 08, 2015, 09:50:45 PM
The Iron Ghost: Like the Swiftblade, but with Blink instead of Haste.

Here, have some abilities:

- Evasion, Improved Evasion
- Concealment
- When entering melee range of an enemy, your next strike treats them as flatfooted. 1 per combat per target.
- Ignore one AoO per move (by timing your blink as you move)
- Ignore difficult terrain when moving
- Gear can be treated as Material/Ethereal in whatever combination, whenever beneficial. (similar language to other "can be in multiple conflicting states" effects like jotunbrud)
- Capstone: Continuous Wraithstrike
 
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on November 19, 2015, 12:10:24 PM
A line of weapon enchantments especially for monsters.

So far:
Heartstealer
A favorite of Succubi who dont want to get their claws dirty, a Heartstealer weapon transmits the power of a spell like ability into whoever is struck.
When wielded by a creature with the spell like ability to cast Charm Person, Charm Monster, Dominate Person, Dominate Monster or Suggestion this weapon uses the ability on anyone struck (or shot)
Each time an opponent is struck the wielder chooses whether or not to use their ability (and which ability if they have several) and one use is consumed. (no uses for at will abilities). The struck creature suffers the effect of the spell at the same caster level as usual but with a -4 penalty to the save DC.
Moderate Enchantment; CL 6, Craft Magic arms and armor, Suggestion, May only be crafted by a creature with one of the spell like abilities listed.
Price: +1 Enchantment

Sanguine
Usually used by the more aristocratic of vampires, this enchantment grants the ability to pass the power of a special drain attack through its blade.
When wielded by a creature with a special attack that allows them to drain their opponents (A Vampire's Blood Drain or a Succubi's Energy Drain for example) this enchantment applies the effects of that ability each time an enemy is struck. This ability bypasses the requirement to grapple an opponent to use these abilities (if any)
The save DC of the ability (if any) is unchanged and any bonus from grappling an opponent is ignored.
Strong Necromancy; CL 8, Craft Magic arms and armor, Vampiric Touch
Price: +2 Enchantment

Not sure about the wording on the latter. I want it to work for some creatures (Vampires, Succubi, maybe lamia) but not others (Shadows, Wraiths .etc) generally not for creatures that can already apply their drain through an attack.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 21, 2015, 02:28:50 PM
Making weapon damage types and shield use matter a bit more.

Masterwork and magic armor and shields give DR while in use. The magnitude of the DR is based on the base armor/shield bonus of the item in question (excluding the enhancement bonus, if any). Non-magical masterwork is half the base armor/shield bonus (rounded down, as usual), magic is the base armor/shield bonus times the item's enhancement bonus. Non-magical, non-masterwork armor and shields don't give DR. DR from a shield or armor's material (such as adamantine) stacks with the DR it provides.

Armor gives DR bypassed by one or more damage types.
- Light armor: DR/piercing or slashing
   - Chain shirt: DR/bludgeoning or piercing
- Medium armor: DR/piercing
   - Hide armor: DR/slashing
   - Breastplate: DR/bludgeoning
- Heavy armor: DR/bludgeoning

Shields give DR/-. Does not stack with DR from armor.

Numbers undoubtedly require adjustment.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on November 21, 2015, 04:36:36 PM
Two things: first, like the idea, although certain armours like an exotic/exotic combination would allow soaking 15 DR in a lot of situations, which would need to be accounted for.

Second, welcome back! :D
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on November 22, 2015, 09:19:05 AM
Making weapon damage types and shield use matter a bit more.

Masterwork and magic armor and shields give DR while in use. The magnitude of the DR is based on the base armor/shield bonus of the item in question (excluding the enhancement bonus, if any). Non-magical masterwork is half the base armor/shield bonus (rounded down, as usual), magic is the base armor/shield bonus times the item's enhancement bonus. Non-magical, non-masterwork armor and shields don't give DR. DR from a shield or armor's material (such as adamantine) stacks with the DR it provides.

Armor gives DR bypassed by one or more damage types.
- Light armor: DR/piercing or slashing
   - Chain shirt: DR/bludgeoning or piercing
- Medium armor: DR/piercing
   - Hide armor: DR/slashing
   - Breastplate: DR/bludgeoning
- Heavy armor: DR/bludgeoning

Shields give DR/-. Does not stack with DR from armor.

Numbers undoubtedly require adjustment.

Only problem I can see at the moment is the shields not stacking. Might be difficult to implement from a balance perspective but to me at least anything that makes sword and board better is a good thing. I don't think I have ever seen anyone use sword and board in 3.5...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on November 22, 2015, 10:52:35 AM
Ah, I missed the not stacking the first time around. That just makes shields worthless like they already are, because you're going to have DR from armour, so might as well ignore the shield and go two handed again. Only if the shield gives something important and extra is carrying one worthwhile, which I think the extra DR would qualify as. Or at least be interesting enough to consider.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Samwise on November 22, 2015, 06:13:40 PM
Making weapon damage types and shield use matter a bit more.

I've been working on that.
But it is heavily simulationist/historical and I'm not sure how interesting or functional it would be.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on November 23, 2015, 03:56:35 PM
Did this thing a while back. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=323.0)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Samwise on November 27, 2015, 06:33:52 PM
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Pet Rock Edition

Trapper (which can be found in AD&D, the Tome of Horror Revised, and Paizo stuff) - functions like an Alien queen, sitting around laying eggs which hatch into different forms:

Guards and Cavern Hunters
Ropers - shapes itself like a stalagmite and controls the others
Lurkers - shaped like a trapper but floats on the ceiling, animal intelligence
Darkmantles and Piercers - animal intelligence creatures that shape themselves like stalactites

Spies
Cloakers - highly intelligent, smaller versions of lurkers that can disguise themselves as cloaks, they supervise the
Mimics - disguise themselves as furniture

Replacements
Doppelgangers - the "ultimate" form, able to "replace" humanoids

This is a whole group of critters sharing the shtick of having leathery that they can control to disguise themselves as stone, wood, or leather, needing only a tweak on doppelgangers to give them the ability to fully infiltrate, plus some alignment shifts to make them all malign.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on December 05, 2015, 02:01:58 PM
Probably never finish it but this:
http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16826.0

I don't think I know enough about Binder to set the abilities correctly...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on December 11, 2015, 05:37:20 PM
Turn Undead as a Skill: This seems like a pretty obvious thing to me:
• Faith (Charisma) is a class skill for any class that gets or advances Turn Undead.
• You can use Faith in place of Heal when dealing with other believers. Faith is treated as magic for the purposes of stuff like healing Mummy Rot.
• You can use Faith in place of Intimidate; using Faith ignores the immunity to Fear due to type. However, you can only use Faith to demoralize against enemies of your deity (undead for Pelor, for example), and you can only use Faith to adjust someone's attitude if they are also a follower of your deity.
• Divine Feats, Domain Feats, and other things that require that you spend Turn Undead uses instead require a DC 10 + (5 * Uses Needed) Faith check.
• Use the table of modifiers for Bluff; however, rather than being based off of how unbelievable your lie is, it's instead based off of how much your deity approves of what you're doing. In other words, your staunch faith helps you more when you're on a mission from god rather than when you're on the way to the corner store.
• Anything that would require the Atonement spell to remove or resolve can be dealt with through a DC 20 Faith check. The recipient still needs to be sincere about the whole thing, and the above modifiers do apply.
• You can "fall from grace" - if you do something really offensive to your deity (like killing one of their Clerics or doing the exact opposite of their teachings), you can't use Faith until you atone.

--------------------------------------

Under this shift, a couple changes become obvious:
• Any Domain or class feature that lets you Turn something now just expands what you can use Faith to intimidate. For example, the Fire domain would let you demoralize [Water] creatures and adjust the attitude of [Fire] creatures, regardless of whether or not such creatures follow your deity.
• Nightsticks? Out the window.
• Replace Turn/Rebuke Undead with Skill Focus (Faith) as a bonus feat; use Skill Focus (Faith) as a replacement for stuff that required Turn/Rebuke Undead.
• Stuff that gives you Greater Turning instead gives you Skill Mastery (Faith) - in other words, the Sun Domain will let you take 10 with Faith checks, as would the Deathless Domain.
• You could totally replace Smite Evil with (essentially) the ability to use Faith in place of Iaijutsu Focus... but only against stuff it would normally let you Smite (rather than Flat-Footed creatures, and forgoing the need to have just drawn the weapon.)
• Similarly, I could see Divine Health being replaced with the ability to use Faith in place of Autohypnosis. Maybe restrict the memorize function to memorizing scripture and prayer, and let you treat diseases as poisons for the purposes of Tolerate Poison?

Heck, there might be a Paladin fix in here somewhere.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on December 12, 2015, 08:48:35 AM
The only problem you might have is the number of +Skill items and classes out there boosting it to hell and back. Then you get infinite Divine feats.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Dr_emperor on December 12, 2015, 09:32:57 AM
After I'm happy with giant soulmelds.  I'm planning on working on a blue crystal chameleon.  The less poetic more descriptive name might be caste incarnate.  Either way it will be designed with humanoid themes.  Instead of each race getting a soulmeld based off of them though they'll be a soulmeld list for each caste to help emulate a class structure.   So far I have 6 castes and that is all I want.  The class will get bonuses for each soulmeld shaped having it bound will let it count as two.  Bonuses will be given at 2, 3, 6, 9 soulmelds shaped/bound.

Nobles, (for inspiration I'm going to look up a few famous emperors and their hobbies).  Binding aristocrat soulmelds will give aura's like martial.

Mages (Inspiration Jedi/sith for soulmelds.)  I have no clue what to do for shaping them.

Priests: (famous saints/heretics/witches.)  Again no clue.

Peasants: (disney damsels, famous theives)  At 2 save to recognize as a threat sanctuary effect at 9 unfair sanctuary.

Merchants: (no clue) free exendable items maybe

Soldiers: (soldiers) DR at 2 at six adds to base attack

class will have 1/2 base attack bonus, 8 skill points per level and all skills.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on December 12, 2015, 08:51:21 PM
The only problem you might have is the number of +Skill items and classes out there boosting it to hell and back. Then you get infinite Divine feats.

Most of them aren't that strong - the only real problems are Divine Metamagic (why am I not surprised?) and Divine Spell-Turning (similar reasoning).

As for the general massive bonuses... yeah. I've been thinking that Item Familiar in particular needs a tweak.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on December 17, 2015, 09:51:10 PM
Something something Lorecalls for all of the skills.

Yes, Balancing, Healing, and Listening Lorecalls aren't enough.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 02, 2016, 03:26:03 PM
Lurk quick fix

6+Int skill points, add Search and Disable Device to the list.

Add Trapfinding at 1st level.

Psionic Sneak Attack:
- Follows the Psychic Rogue sneak attack progression (+1d6, +1d6/3 levels after 1st or something along those lines).
- Doesn't require psionic focus.
- Whenever you land a sneak attack, you can attempt to gain psionic focus.

Lurk Augments:
- Activated as a free action instead of swift, but you can only have one augment charged up at once (using a new augment overwrites the last if you still haven't attacked).
- Can spend your psionic focus instead of a daily use.
- At 10th and 18th level (when you get to activate 2 or 3 augments at once), you get to charge up 2 or 3 augments at once and you can spend your psionic focus instead of 2 or 3 daily uses if you spend them at the same time.
- Save DC is 10 + 1/2 Lurk level + Int mod. This replaces the part where you'd have to spend tons of PP to boost the save DCs of your augments with dinky saves (10 + Int + 1/2 PP spent).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 03, 2016, 09:24:21 PM
Garryl, those changes would be perfect!  +1 for you.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Krika on January 06, 2016, 12:16:10 AM
First idea: A Factotum-like class that uses it's own special Martial Discipline that has one of each type of maneuver for each skill - so for Appraise, there'd be one Stance, one Counter, one Strike (and maybe one Rush if using that homebrew addition), for Survival there'd be another set, etc. You'd need at least 1 Rank in a skill to select their maneuvers, and there'd be a class feature that lets you gain a rank or two in a skill outside of your normal skill progression every couple levels so you can expand your available maneuvers without needing to sacrifice the progression on the skills that you want to keep maxed.

Second: Making "vestiges" that are closer to embodiments of what are normally Domains, so instead of gaining their powers from worshipping gods, clerics (reflavored Binder, or maybe another class) gain powers by binding some discrete element of the world to them - a Healing vestige, or a Knowledge one, say. The original idea involved assembling all the regular Domain powers, improved powers, devotion powers, and such to crib together powersets based off of them, but who knows how'd it actually work out.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Eldritch_Lord on January 06, 2016, 06:45:59 PM
Second: Making "vestiges" that are closer to embodiments of what are normally Domains, so instead of gaining their powers from worshipping gods, clerics (reflavored Binder, or maybe another class) gain powers by binding some discrete element of the world to them - a Healing vestige, or a Knowledge one, say. The original idea involved assembling all the regular Domain powers, improved powers, devotion powers, and such to crib together powersets based off of them, but who knows how'd it actually work out.

So, something like this (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=D20r:Druid), but with ability bundles closer to the domains from this (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=D20r:Cleric)?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on January 06, 2016, 08:24:22 PM
Second: Making "vestiges" that are closer to embodiments of what are normally Domains, so instead of gaining their powers from worshipping gods, clerics (reflavored Binder, or maybe another class) gain powers by binding some discrete element of the world to them - a Healing vestige, or a Knowledge one, say. The original idea involved assembling all the regular Domain powers, improved powers, devotion powers, and such to crib together powersets based off of them, but who knows how'd it actually work out.

You know, I've been giving vague thoughts to an Arcane version of this - you bind Transmutation or Conjuration, say, and you get access to some powers. You'd need to layer them in tiers or whatever, though...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Krika on January 10, 2016, 01:10:27 PM
You know, I've been giving vague thoughts to an Arcane version of this - you bind Transmutation or Conjuration, say, and you get access to some powers. You'd need to layer them in tiers or whatever, though...

So, something like this (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=D20r:Druid), but with ability bundles closer to the domains from this (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=D20r:Cleric)?

Yeah, something like those? The trick would be adjusting them so that they work without needing to be specific Vestige levels - I'm thinking the abilities get boosted the more you beat the binding check by. Maybe a Healing "vestige" has an ability that lets you heal someone every five turns for 1d6 + Binder level, plus 1d6 more for every 5 points by which you beat the binding check? Would that work, you think?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 10, 2016, 03:12:34 PM
Additional special psionic tattoos:
- Generator: Links to a capacitor. The capacitor automatically recovers an additional 2 PP/day, no increase to the PP sapped from you. Multiple generators can link to the same capacitor.
- Solar Psionic Panel: 1/day, grants you 1 extra PP after the tattoo is exposed to sunlight for at least 1 hour.
- Hydro-Psionic Dam: 1/day, grants you 1 extra PP after the tattoo is exposed to running water for at least 1 hour.
- Electro-Psionic Converter: 1/day, reduces the damage you take from electricity by up to 5 and grants you that much extra PP. 5 slots.
- Induction Coils: Transfers 1 PP/round to you from any psionic creature you grapple.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on January 11, 2016, 05:39:08 PM
Untie Binding from class levels:

• Replace Binder level with your ECL.

• You can't perform a ritual without researching the seal - an appropriate Knowledge check with a DC equal to the Binding DC is a good idea.

• Cribbing from Nobilis 2e's Alchemy (or Pokemon  :D), you can bind any Vestige - but there are side effects. Binding a Vestige that's too many levels higher than you can risk the Pact turning into possession. A Vestige that's one level too high is always a bad Pact, two levels higher means that the once-per-five-rounds ability is lost for the Pact when you break Influence, three levels higher makes you count as a summoned creature for the purposes of Protection or Magic Circle effects, etc.

So sure, go ahead and bind the psychic remnants of a long-lost being - just don't expect to be in charge.

I might tear this (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=243.msg224528#msg224528) apart for ideas.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 13, 2016, 12:30:14 AM
The basic rules for an RNG-free Forum Emblem-esque game.
- No RNG. Every action is deterministic.
- Hit chance is a damage multiplier, rather than a chance to hit or miss.
- Critical hits use an "entropy" system, like Path of Exile's Evade mechanics. Each hit that can crit adds the crit chance to your "focus", and if that puts your focus at 100% or above, subtract 100% and the attack is a crit.
- Debuffs and negative conditions and stuff (like Sleep) were "balanced" around the idea that they don't always apply. Instead, something like...
   - Has three levels of effect; strong, normal, and weak.
   - Effect's potency level depends on effect's base power, user's Str (physical or enchanted) or Mag (magical or kinetic), recipient's Lck, and recipient's Def (physical or kinetic) or Res (magical or enchanted).
   - Weak: Reduced effect if source's Pwr + user's Str/Mag is less than (recipient's Lck + recipient's Def/Res) * 0.75.
   - Normal: Standard effect if source's Pwr + user's Str/Mag is within +/-25% of recipient's Lck + recipient's Def/Res.
   - Strong: Greater effect if source's Pwr + user's Str/Mag is greater than (recipient's Lck + recipient's Def/Res) * 1.25.
- The random level ups becoming a fixed growth is fairly trivial. Heck, even one of the actual Fire Emblem video games had a mode like that.
- Need to do something about all of the skills that have random trigger chances. They can't all run on an entropy system.

(click to show/hide)

Edit: Eh, this is far, far more in the way of changes than is necessary, and probably more than is desirable. I'm spoilering the excessive change ideas and just putting the RNG-less basics on top.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 16, 2016, 12:46:50 AM
Dragon Pact Warlock Variant
- Pick from the list of Dragon Shaman totem dragons (this one (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13687.msg236209#msg236209), not the dinky original one). Can change totems as Dragon Shaman.
- Alignment must be within 1 step of totem dragon's (as Dragon Shaman).
- The Ex-Dragon Shaman section applies if you lose your appropriate alignment. You lose Eldritch Blast and the other dragon totem-based abilities this variant gives.
- Eldritch Blast is not untyped. Instead, it deals damage as per the totem's breath weapon damage type.
- Gain DR/magic instead of DR/cold iron.
- At 3rd level, gain Draconic Resolve.
- At 8th level, gain Draconic Adaptation for your totem instead of Fiendish Resilience.
- At 13th level, gain Totem Immunity for your totem's energy type.
- At 18th level... gain something, I dunno off hand.
- The first invocation of each grade (the ones you get at 1st, 6th, 11th, and 16th) are from the Dragonfire Adept invocation list instead of the Warlock list. The rest is as normal.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: RobbyPants on February 05, 2016, 08:12:06 AM
Dragon Pact Warlock Variant
- Pick from the list of Dragon Shaman totem dragons (this one (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13687.msg236209#msg236209), not the dinky original one). Can change totems as Dragon Shaman.
- Alignment must be within 1 stem of totem dragon's (as Dragon Shaman).
- The Ex-Dragon Shaman section applies if you lose your appropriate alignment. You lose Eldritch Blast and the other dragon totem-based abilities this variant gives.
- Eldritch Blast is not untyped. Instead, it deals damage as per the totem's breath weapon damage type.
- Gain DR/magic instead of DR/cold iron.
- At 3rd level, gain Draconic Resolve.
- At 8th level, gain Draconic Adaptation for your totem instead of Fiendish Resilience.
- At 13th level, gain Totem Immunity for your totem's energy type.
- At 18th level... gain something, I dunno off hand.
- The first invocation of each grade (the ones you get at 1st, 6th, 11th, and 16th) are from the Dragonfire Adept invocation list instead of the Warlock list. The rest is as normal.
I like this, because I always liked the idea of the dragon shaman, but it was just so lackluster.

Level 18 is tough, because anything iconic the class should be granting should be stuff you already have. Perhaps the ability to use an invocation (or maybe just Eldritch Blast) as a swift action 3/day? Frightful Presence could be an option, but I'm not sure it would really do much at that point.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on February 05, 2016, 11:40:42 AM
I like this, because I always liked the idea of the dragon shaman, but it was just so lackluster.

Level 18 is tough, because anything iconic the class should be granting should be stuff you already have. Perhaps the ability to use an invocation (or maybe just Eldritch Blast) as a swift action 3/day? Frightful Presence could be an option, but I'm not sure it would really do much at that point.

Why not have somewhere the ability to count the EB as a breath weapon, so you get access to all those fun little breath weapon feats?

And if you want to go all out cheesy fun, Alter Self/Shapechange/Polymorph into a Dragon of your totem type at 18. At that level, the spell Shapechange is already online, so you're not overwhelming with level inappropriate shenanigans.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on February 16, 2016, 02:38:02 AM
Cribbing off FFG Star Wars, I wanna use the Force Dice for divine magic.

A quick summary:
• Force dice are d12s with black and white dots instead of numbers. White dots are "Light Side" points, and black dots are "Dark Side" points.
• Rolling a 1 gives you two black dots. A 2-7 is one black dot. 8-9 are one white dot. 10-12 are two white dots.
• By default, you can only spend white dots on force powers - however, you can "flip" black dots into white dots at a personal cost.

The obvious idea is that white dots reflect divine intercession, while black dots reflect drawing the energies from your own faith. So...
• Divine casters have some sort of internal "force of personality" - maybe a pool of Charisma + half level points?
• That force of personality is used to flip over divine dice so you can actually use the ones that roll low.
• Divine casters start with one die; they get an extra one every X levels. As they increase in level, their deity notices them more, and is more willing to lend a hand. Maybe use the same progression as Essentia limit?
• Long-term buffs reduce the number of dice they get to roll while they're active, with especially potent buffs "costing" more dice.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 16, 2016, 07:34:12 PM
Working with bone...



Reference: Bone equipment in DMG, page 144.

Bone material:
- Hardness 6
- HP 10/inch of thickness
- Weapons: -2 penalty on attack and damage rolls (minimum 1 damage).
- Armor: No chainmail (or presumably chain shirt and similar chain link armor). No mention of shields.
- Cost: ???
- Weight: ???


New feats:
- Bonesmithing:
   - Requires IL 1st, Craft 4 ranks, a Restless Bones (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=5843.0) maneuver.
   - Suffer no penalties for attacking with bone weapons (no -2 penalty on attack/damage rolls).
   - Improved non-magical crafting with bone. Can craft any sort of metal weapon/armor from bone (even chainmail).
- Master Bonesmithing [Item Creation]:
   - Requires Bonesmithing, IL 5th, Craft 8 ranks, a Restless Bones (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=5843.0) maneuver.
   - As Craft Magic Arms and Armor, but only for items made of bone. You can craft magic arms and armor made of bone as though you had a CL equal to your IL, and you can act as though you met the spell requirements of any spell whose level is less than or equal to the highest level Restless Bones maneuver you know and can initiate.
   - Can use this in place of Craft Magic Arms and Armor as a prerequisite, and use IL in place of CL and max Restless Bones maneuver level known/usable in place of knowledge/ability to cast spells of that level, but anything using it as a prerequisite only functions with respect to items made of bone and works with IL/Restless Bones maneuvers instead of CL/spell prerequisites like this feat does (unless you qualify for it normally).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Eldritch_Lord on February 18, 2016, 04:25:12 AM
Cribbing off FFG Star Wars, I wanna use the Force Dice for divine magic.
[...]
• Rolling a 1 gives you two black dots. A 2-7 is one black dot. 8-9 are one white dot. 10-12 are two white dots.
• By default, you can only spend white dots on force powers - however, you can "flip" black dots into white dots at a personal cost.
[...]
• Divine casters start with one die; they get an extra one every X levels. [...] Maybe use the same progression as Essentia limit?

Not knowing anything about FFG Force powers or how they're costed, I'm assuming spells will cost white dots equal to their level.  I'm also assuming that you're using the usual spell level progression, that you want a reasonable ≥50% chance for divine casters to be able to cast their more powerful spells without spending faith points to flip black dots, and that faith points are the only limitation on spells (no spell slots, in other words) so you don't want their highest-level spells to be too reliable.

In that case, I'd actually suggest giving casters one starting die plus one die each time they get access to a new spell level.  Here are the odds for getting at least N white dots when rolling N+1 dice for spells up to 5th level:

N% Chance
166.0%
263.1%
349.7%
445.5%
538.5%

The trend continues downward from there.  You'll definitely need to put some personal oomph into higher-level spells regardless, but it's not too bad; at 9th level, for instance, you have a 58.0% chance of needing to spend at most 1 faith point to cast a 5th level spell or a 74.3% chance for needing at most 2 points, reasonable given a pool of 4+Cha points.

Conversely, here's the odds for getting enough dots to cast the highest level spell you can cast assuming 1 starting die plus dice equal to the essentia progression, up to level 17:

LevelMax Spell LevelDice% Chance
11st266.0%
21st266.0%
32nd246.5%
42nd246.5%
53rd214.6%
63rd332.8%
74th317.7%
84th317.7%
95th34.7%
105th34.7%
116th31.6%
126th46.1%
137th41.4%
147th41.4%
158th40.4%
168th40.4%
179th4N/A

As you can see, the odds get bad enough with too few dice that it basically degenerates into a point-based system past level 4-6 or so, plus you have the weird jumps in probability whenever you gain a die without going up a spell level.

Heck, if you're going to make buffs cost dice, I'd give them one die per class level; at 6th level, assuming they haven't spent any dice yet, that gives them a whopping 74.4% chance to fire off a 3rd level spell without spending any of their 1+Cha faith points, and they can allocate up to 2 dice before dropping below the 50% mark.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 18, 2016, 11:09:12 AM
Channelers (name WIP)
- Hybrid sort of class, able to do both support spellcaster stuff and direct offensive stuff.
- Two resources.
   - The first is a large pool that fuels short-duration defensive and support abilities. The energy doesn't just go away, though. It comes back in a different form.
   - The second is a smaller pool that decays rapidly after being filled and fuels offensive and self-buffing abilities. It's only charged up when the defensive/support effects expire (gains are proportional to the resources spent).
- Can dismiss "spells" as a free action? Or maybe leave the short-duration onesl on a fixed duration rather than the usual 1 round/level scaling?

Example effects (calling the resources white and black chi for now). Assume that 1 chi is about equal to 2 PP and you can cast/augment like powers do, spending up to 1/2 your level (rounded up) at once.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on February 19, 2016, 12:51:36 AM
Cribbing off FFG Star Wars, I wanna use the Force Dice for divine magic.
[...]
• Rolling a 1 gives you two black dots. A 2-7 is one black dot. 8-9 are one white dot. 10-12 are two white dots.
• By default, you can only spend white dots on force powers - however, you can "flip" black dots into white dots at a personal cost.
[...]
• Divine casters start with one die; they get an extra one every X levels. [...] Maybe use the same progression as Essentia limit?

Not knowing anything about FFG Force powers or how they're costed, I'm assuming spells will cost white dots equal to their level.  I'm also assuming that you're using the usual spell level progression, that you want a reasonable ≥50% chance for divine casters to be able to cast their more powerful spells without spending faith points to flip black dots, and that faith points are the only limitation on spells (no spell slots, in other words) so you don't want their highest-level spells to be too reliable.

Here's a fan-made handout that lays out the Force Power trees. (http://beggingforxp.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/StarWars-FaD-TalentTree-Color-v2.pdf)

As for how they work... imagine if you had to buy the augmentations for individual Psionic Powers separately. In exchange, you can buy a given Augmentation multiple times - and their effects stack.

It works surprisingly well, except for the fact that the Move tree interacts strangely with the range and size rules (if I recall correctly, someone who buys all of the Move talents and rolls 7 points could pull a Star Destroyer out of orbit, which is... pretty out of line compared to the other powers.)

So I was visualizing something kinda similar:

1. Each divine power takes the form of a "tree" of base powers and upgrades. I'm imagining that there'd be a few "basic" trees and the rest would be domain-based.

2. Upgrades tend to require that you spend extra white points on them.

3. Upgrades can be grabbed again if they show up in the tree multiple times - doing so just stacks the upgrade's effect on itself (so an upgrade that increases range by 10ft would increase it by 20ft instead if you bought it twice).

4. I'm thinking that white points in excess of what you want to use are dispersed as displays of divine power - if there's a stealth tree, one of the earlier upgrades would pretty much just be a point sink to prevent sudden heavenly choirs from giving away your position.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Eldritch_Lord on February 19, 2016, 03:46:41 AM
Here's a fan-made handout that lays out the Force Power trees. (http://beggingforxp.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/StarWars-FaD-TalentTree-Color-v2.pdf)

As for how they work... imagine if you had to buy the augmentations for individual Psionic Powers separately. In exchange, you can buy a given Augmentation multiple times - and their effects stack.

It works surprisingly well, except for the fact that the Move tree interacts strangely with the range and size rules (if I recall correctly, someone who buys all of the Move talents and rolls 7 points could pull a Star Destroyer out of orbit, which is... pretty out of line compared to the other powers.)

So I was visualizing something kinda similar:

So you're not just talking about replacing the divine casting system with this Force system and leaving spells as-is, you want to replace everything.  Okay, that works too.

It looks like the powers have 11 upgrades on average, split into certain predefined categories and bought with XP.  How are you planning to handle that?  A caster gets X upgrades per level to spend on different trees, or has some sort of points to spend on upgrades, or...?

If we assume that each upgrade either requires one additional white dot or commits one die to activate its effect, and that you want to keep trees of roughly the same size, one option for advancement would be getting 1 upgrade to each of X trees at each even level (so you can max out trees, or close to it, by 20th level) and gaining 1 die at each odd level, or something similar; instead of costing more XP, more powerful upgrades would still cost 1 upgrade "slot" but simply require a higher level to choose.

Quote
1. Each divine power takes the form of a "tree" of base powers and upgrades. I'm imagining that there'd be a few "basic" trees and the rest would be domain-based.

Hmm.  Off the top of my head, I'd have four basic trees:
...of which an individual cleric starts with the basic power of three, so you can differentiate a support cleric (no Channeling) from a cloistered cleric (no Blessing) from a "standard" cleric (no Insight).  Then have 9 "domains" as follows, with an individual cleric starting with the basic power of one of them.
That gives you a fairly well-rounded list while staying well within the cleric theme, and it gives you around the same number of trees to write up as F&D has.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 24, 2016, 05:36:26 PM
New area variation: Cloud

A cloud continuously affects its area like an emanation (as opposed to choosing who or what is affected immediately on casting and staying with them no matter where they move like a burst or a spread), but it flows around corners like a spread (as opposed to straight line of effect like a burst or emanation).

For obvious reasons, the cloud spells (Fog Cloud, Obscuring Mist, Stinking Cloud, etc.) would be clouds instead of emanations.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on February 24, 2016, 06:13:05 PM
New area variation: Cloud

A cloud continuously affects its area like an emanation (as opposed to choosing who or what is affected immediately on casting and staying with them no matter where they move like a burst or a spread), but it flows around corners like a spread (as opposed to straight line of effect like a burst or emanation).

For obvious reasons, the cloud spells (Fog Cloud, Obscuring Mist, Stinking Cloud, etc.) would be clouds instead of emanations.

So, I did this for Spell Seeds, but I also had it based on Obscuring Mist, so it looked like this:

Fog: The spell creates a fog 5 ft. in radius per two caster levels and 20 ft. high. Creatures passing through the fog are affected by its effects. Unless altered, treat a fog spell as Obscuring Mist. Point cost: +4 if a Reflex save, +5 for Fortitude, Will or none.

Would yours pull in the vision/movement limiting, or just be a type of area?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 24, 2016, 06:27:05 PM
Just defining a type of area. Anything the spell does to block sight or whatever is its own business and is part of the spell's effect.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 06, 2016, 11:28:54 PM
Note: Completed at http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=18074.

(click to show/hide)

Phantom Battlefield martial discipline
Phantom Battlefield was created by a bunch of illusionists who were totally jelly of their Jade Phoenix Mage buddies and decided to be productive about it.

Discipline Access
Swordsages can train in the ways of Phantom Battlefield. They can select it in place of one of their optional disciplines, allowing them to learn and use its maneuvers. Like all martial disciplines, any character can dabble in its techniques with the Martial Study and Martial Stance feats.

Discipline Key Skill: Disguise

Discipline Favored Weapons: ...

Sidebar: Mirror Images
(click to show/hide)

Maneuvers by Level
(click to show/hide)

Maneuver Descriptions
(click to show/hide)



Shadow illusion martial discipline
(Split off the shadow image half of the mirror image discipline.)

Possible names?

Discipline Skill: Forgery
Discipline Weapons: ...
Discipline Access: Swordsage (choice)


Sidebar: Shadow Images
(click to show/hide)

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on March 07, 2016, 08:10:03 PM
I like this idea, but how do you see the mirror images working?

For ex, Phantom Dodge: if it's in response to an attack, what does the mirror image do? The monster has already targeted you because the image didn't exist at the time of the attack being started. Whereas I can see how the later one works - you leave a mirror image and step out of the way of the attack, so the attack strikes the image.

For those that say "until image is destroyed", is that an indefinite period or limited to the usual 1 round of ToB strikes?

On another note, I would raid all of the class features of the Arcane Duelist (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030224a), since it seems to fit with this discipline perfectly. Flurry of Blades is basically a 9th level strike.

A rush is?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 07, 2016, 08:27:38 PM
I like this idea, but how do you see the mirror images working?

General idea is that mirror images are like the mirror image spell, except for the partly real ones, which are also crossed with shadow conjuration.

Quote
For ex, Phantom Dodge: if it's in response to an attack, what does the mirror image do? The monster has already targeted you because the image didn't exist at the time of the attack being started. Whereas I can see how the later one works - you leave a mirror image and step out of the way of the attack, so the attack strikes the image.

Intent was that the attacker would randomly determine whether it's attacking you or the image. It gets a little funky once you potentially have other mirror images that it already randomly determined it wasn't attacking. That said, it's intended to be essentially a 50% miss chance (unless special senses or true seeing can just negate it), so just picking you or the new image randomly (regardless of how many other images you may already have) is just fine.

Quote
For those that say "until image is destroyed", is that an indefinite period or limited to the usual 1 round of ToB strikes?

That's for if the image gets struck and destroyed before the maneuver runs out. Ex: With Illusive Stride, the image and invisibility last until your next turn, but if the image is destroyed before then, you are revealed immediately.

Quote
On another note, I would raid all of the class features of the Arcane Duelist (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030224a), since it seems to fit with this discipline perfectly. Flurry of Blades is basically a 9th level strike.

Ooh, nice!

Quote
A rush is?

Rushes (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1191) are move action maneuvers. The idea caught some actual traction among parts of the homebrew community after I presented it. I've seen rushes used in the martial disciplines of at least half a dozen other brewers.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 07, 2016, 10:33:51 PM
Martial Discipline Access

When you gain your first level in a martial adept class or prestige class, you select which martial disciplines you can learn from through your training in that class. Each class has a number of disciplines available to all members that are inherently tied to the class's identity, plus a number of freely chosen disciplines from among a list.

Crusader: Devoted Spirit, White Raven, and any 1 of Stone Dragon.
Warblade: Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw, and any 2 of Diamond Mind and White Raven.
Swordsage: Desert Wind, Diamond Mind, Shadow Hand, and any 3 of Setting Sun, Stone Dragon, and Tiger Claw.

Bloodclaw Master: Tiger Claw.
Deepstone Sentinel: Stone Dragon.
Eternal Blade: Devoted Spirit, Diamond Mind, and any 2 of Iron Heart or White Raven.
Jade Phoenix Mage: Desert Wind and any 1 of Devoted Spirit.
Master of Nine: Any 6 disciplines from which you know at least 1 maneuver, and any 3 disciplines.
Ruby Knight Vindicator: Devoted Spirit, Shadow Hand, and any 2 of Stone Dragon or White Raven.
Shadow Sun Ninja: Setting Sun and Shadow Hand.

Martial DisciplineKey SkillSave DCsCrusaderSwordsageWarblade
Desert WindTumbleWisdomNoYesNo
Devoted SpiritIntimidateCharismaYesNoNo
Diamond MindConcentrationStrengthNoYesChoice
Iron HeartBalanceStrengthNoNoYes
Setting SunSense MotiveStrength/DexterityNoChoiceNo
Shadow HandHideWisdomNoYesNo
Stone DragonBalanceStrengthChoiceChoiceYes
Tiger ClawJumpStrengthNoChoiceYes
White RavenDiplomacyN/A (but it would probably be Charisma if any maneuvers allowed a save)YesNoChoice

... but wait, this changes nothing, doesn't it?

Correct! Nothing has changed! However, this is a framework for adding new, homebrew martial disciplines to existing classes (including PrCs).

(Also, some fun facts about saves for maneuver. White Raven is the only discipline with no maneuvers that require a saving throw. Setting Sun has two maneuvers with saves; one using Dex, the other using Str. Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, and Tiger Claw both have one maneuver each with a special save DC; Devoted Spirit's uses your damage roll, Iron Heart's is an attack roll, while Tiger Claw's is a Jump check.)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on March 09, 2016, 08:50:24 AM
Illusion martial discipline

Given you're up to 22 maneuvers, it looks like you're all but ready to turn them into a fully fleshed out discipline. Got an idea for the usual tactical feat for the discipline?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 12, 2016, 11:31:11 PM
Illusion martial discipline

Given you're up to 22 maneuvers, it looks like you're all but ready to turn them into a fully fleshed out discipline. Got an idea for the usual tactical feat for the discipline?

Down to 19 now. I'm splitting off the maneuvers that make shadow illusions into their own thing, at least for the time being. I may incorporate them back in later if there's not enough.

Not a clue about any tactical feat. Besides, if I'm doing tactical feats, I have a 3 discipline backlog in Tomb of Battle. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 18, 2016, 01:36:05 AM
Detect Ongoing Effects
Divination
Level 0 for all the spellcasters that I can't be bothered to type out even though it's less text than this, so bah humbug!

Detects ongoing effects that are still operational, much like Detect Magic does for magic. Picks up any effect with a non-instantaneous duration that hasn't ended, such as spells, a Barbarian's rage, magic items (treat them as if they had a permanent duration, unless they're explicitly temporary), etc. Concentration duration effects pick up as however long they'd last after concentration ends.

Picks up the remaining duration in a band:
Fading: 1 round or less
Short: 1 round to 1 minute
Medium: 1 minute to 1 hour
Long: 1 hour to 1 day
Very Long: 1 day or more
Permanent: Permanent duration
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Bronzebeard on March 20, 2016, 08:19:35 AM
switch the bonus to trained in a skill to penalty in untrained skill - however, instead of a flat numerical, pick the lowest out of two rolls (2 x d20 and pick lowest).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 01, 2016, 01:34:58 AM
I've just been reading through Better Angels, and one thing struck me.

OK, so Angel Hosts in Better Angels are massively powerful as long as they don't break the Angelic Code of Conduct. To be more specific, they get two traits: Angelic Perfection, and Angelic Beauty +3.

Breaking the Code removes Angelic Perfection; code breaking after that reduces your bonus from Angelic Beauty by 1. Hitting 0 kills the angel. You can rebuild the Angelic Beauty bonus through virtuous acts, but you can never regain Angelic Perfection.

Totally make a Paladin fix that incorporates a progressive fall. Do it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 05, 2016, 08:29:55 PM
Since I'm on an ORE kick, I've been drooling over the one-roll character creation for REIGN, where you can generate a pretty solid character by rolling 11d10 and looking up some tables. Each die gives you 5pts worth of stuff, so you get a 55pt character any way you cut it.

So I've been thinking about how you'd apply this kind of thing to D&D...

Here's an overview of how it works. (https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Reign/Random_Characters)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 09, 2016, 04:01:07 AM
Iajutsu Focus-related martial school.

A lot of maneuvers allow and/or require you to draw and/or sheathe your weapon as part of them.
Many of the weapon draw strikes also make your target flat-footed so Iajutsu focus applies. Their damage will be a little less than normal, since they assume you've been keeping up with Iajutsu Focus ranks to boost the attack.

Level 3 - Invisible Butterfly Cut: Strike - Draw your weapon, attack, then sheathe it again. Target is flat-footed. Target doesn't take the damage until 1 minute later, or until it next takes damage, whichever comes first. Requires a Spot check (DC = your Iajutsu Focus check) to notice that you've even made an attack.

Level 4-6 - Duel of Blades: Counter - Draw a sheathed weapon and replace AC with an Iajutsu Focus check against an attack. If this makes the attack miss, your first attack before the end of your turn deals bonus damage according to your Iajutsu Focus check and treats your target as flat-footed if you direct it against your attacker and use the weapon you drew (doesn't apply if you attack someone else first, doesn't stack with another Iajutsu Focus check).

Level 1 - Idle Hands: Stance - Draw and sheathe weapons as a free action.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on April 09, 2016, 01:13:30 PM
What about the martial school replaces the skill entirely?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 09, 2016, 10:54:43 PM
Spells for everyone!

Namely, you have up to Int Mod spells "in memory" like a Wizard, Cha mod spells known as a Sorcerer, and Wisdom spells prayed for like a Cleric. You have a maximum spell limit equal to your highest mental modifier, and a number of spells per day equal to your second highest mental ability score.

Replace spellcasting classes with stuff that interacts with this new system.



OK, this has some problems with it; I think the way to solve them is to give each mental ability score something magical it's good at.

Like, for example:

Charisma gives you some quick 'n' cheap spells.
Wisdom focuses on expensive but strong spells.
Intelligence sacrifices power for flavor speed for power.

EDIT: New thought - you just pick two at character creation and base it off of those. One and done.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 18, 2016, 07:19:50 PM
Smoother scaling for weapons:

• The minimum damage you deal before DR is 1 (this is already part of the rules, but hey, let's bring it up.)
• The absolute weakest weapon deals 0 damage (in other words, it deals damage equal to your Strength modifier.) This only happens in ridiculous situations (like trying to figure out damage for a pixie's knife, or whatever.)
• The minimum you are likely to see is 1d4.
• Each upgrade to size or harmfulness increases that die by one step, to a maximum of 1d8.
• An increase past that adds 1d6 to the weapon's damage, and resets the die to 1d4.

So:

1d4+0d6:  1 min,  2.5 avg, 4.0 max
1d6+0d6:  1 min,  3.5 avg, 6.0 max
1d8+0d6:  1 min,  4.5 avg, 8.0 max
1d4+1d6:  2 min,  6.0 avg, 10.0 max
1d6+1d6:  2 min,  7.0 avg, 12.0 max
1d8+1d6:  2 min,  8.0 avg, 14.0 max
1d4+2d6:  3 min,  9.5 avg, 16.0 max
1d6+2d6:  3 min, 10.5 avg, 18.0 max

One idea for handling weapon scaling based off size is adding/removing d6s. So maybe Colossal creatures aren't actually tougher than smaller creatures, it's just that most mortals are losing 4d6 off their weapons and the Colossal creature has +4d6 damage.

Hmm... this is making me think that maybe altering size categories so they don't massively alter your ability scores might be an idea...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 18, 2016, 08:43:56 PM
It would be easier to go up to 1d10 or 1d12, with the minimum side of the scaling being 1d6 or 1d8. I just find that d4s are the hardest normal die to roll (they always hop off the table or something, and they never feel right in my hand). Also, how were you planning to handle the higher end of command damage die sizes (1d10, 1d12, 2d6, 2d8)? They don't all match average damages neatly with the standard progression you wrote out there.

If you wanted to add in some more changes to size scaling, I'd be in favor. You mentioned ability scores, but you could also adjust things like the bonus to rolls for Hide checks, on Strength checks for breaking down doors, and for trip, grapple, and the other special combat maneuvers. PF probably went too far in dropping it to +1 per size category, but +2 or +3 would probably be right.

I'd also be interested in adjusting the other exponential effects of size while you're at it. Instead of doubling space every 2 categories, if it was a flat +5' per size category above Medium. Similarly, adjusting the attack and AC modifiers to a fixed +1 per size category.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 18, 2016, 09:35:11 PM
I'd translate them into this system, rather than dealing with them - if you're going to do something, do it whole hog.

You could go with 1d4-1d6-1d8-1d10, then reset to d6 and add 1d6, if you don't like d4s. That gives you a similarly smooth progression (I didn't go with it because using the d4 once and never again doesn't feel aesthetically pleasing).



For size categories, I just whipped up the following:

[Size Diff] is how many size categories larger/smaller than you your opponent is.

• You deal [Size Diff]d6 bonus weapon damage vs. smaller opponents, but suffer a -2*[Size Diff-1] penalty to attack rolls against them. You get a +2*[Size Diff] bonus on all Strength-based checks made against smaller creatures.
• You get a +2*[Size Diff] bonus to your attack rolls against larger opponents, but lose [Size Diff-1] dice of weapon damage against them. d6s are always lost first. You get a +2*[Size Diff] bonus on all Dexterity-based checks made against larger creatures.
• Treat objects as "creatures" of a similar size - rather than gaining bonuses to certain checks, however, they apply that bonus as a penalty to such rolls made against them.

So...

An Ogre attacks a human. The Ogre deals +1d6 damage to the human, but the human gets a +2 bonus on attack rolls against the Ogre.
That same Ogre wants to smash a door sized for humans - it gets a +2 bonus to the roll. If it tried to pick the lock, it would suffer a -2 penalty instead.



Maybe something like...

Code: [Select]
Fine:       2½'x2½'x1¼' space, 0ft reach, x1/16 weight and carrying capacity
Diminutive: 2½'x2½'x2½' space, 0ft reach, x1/8 weight and carrying capacity
Tiny:       5'x2½'x2½' space, 0ft reach, x1/4 weight and carrying capacity
Small:      5'x5'x2½' space, 5ft reach, x1/2 weight and carrying capacity
Medium:     5'x5'x5' space, 5ft reach, x1 weight and carrying capacity
Large:      10'x5'x5' space, 5ft reach, x2 weight and carrying capacity
Huge:       10'x10'x5' space, 10ft reach, x4 weight and carrying capacity
Gargantuan: 10'x10'x10' space, 10ft reach, x8 weight and carrying capacity
Colossal:   20'x10'x10' space, 10ft reach, x16 weight and carrying capacity



Numbers and such could stand for tweaking - I like the neat symmetry of "+1d6 damage and +2 Strength checks per size category, and a -2 to hit per category past the first" for large creatures, and "+2 to hit and Dexterity checks per size category, and lose a die of damage per category past the first" for small creatures.

And a general rule of thumb for the table above: each size increase doubles your weight, carrying capacity, and the shortest side of your space. Your reach is just the "middle" dimension of your space, rounded down.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 18, 2016, 10:11:25 PM
Alternate idea:

Fold all of those feats that have effects based off of relative size into the base system.

Yes, this does mean you can just grab really small creatures or smack them hard enough to send them flying.



Unrelated:

I wonder if you could bake special attacks into the rules a bit better. I mean, you could probably fold, say, charging, overruns, and bull rushes into one thing. Or tripping and grappling.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 19, 2016, 12:17:55 AM
• You deal [Size Diff]d6 bonus weapon damage vs. smaller opponents, but suffer a -2*[Size Diff-1] penalty to attack rolls against them. You get a +2*[Size Diff] bonus on all Strength-based checks made against smaller creatures.
• You get a +2*[Size Diff] bonus to your attack rolls against larger opponents, but lose [Size Diff-1] dice of weapon damage against them. d6s are always lost first. You get a +2*[Size Diff] bonus on all Dexterity-based checks made against larger creatures.
• Treat objects as "creatures" of a similar size - rather than gaining bonuses to certain checks, however, they apply that bonus as a penalty to such rolls made against them.

So...

An Ogre attacks a human. The Ogre deals +1d6 damage to the human, but the human gets a +2 bonus on attack rolls against the Ogre.
That same Ogre wants to smash a door sized for humans - it gets a +2 bonus to the roll. If it tried to pick the lock, it would suffer a -2 penalty instead.

Don't do this. You're already adjusting damage for larger and smaller creatures once (twice if size increases still increase Strength). Don't add in yet another type of size-based damage scaling that's also dynamic.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 19, 2016, 12:28:58 AM
Size doesn't increase Strength with this hack. And that damage bonus replaces the normal scaling due to size.

So a Large club would deal 2d6 damage; a Huge club would deal 3d6, and so on.



Basically, the idea is to throw away as many of the static bonuses for size as possible, and handle everything in a relative sense.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 24, 2016, 07:48:09 PM
Rewriting Born of the Three Thunders so it actually takes into account using it on more than just Lighting Bolt. Seriously, even Call Lightning in core is confusing with it, and other spells outside of core, or even in core once you consider that Energy Substitution not only exists but is a prerequisite, can be even worse. Also, do prepared casters get to add it on the fly? The wording leans that way, and it's the way it's frequently interpreted, but it's contrary to how every other metamagic feat works and it's not perfectly clear.

Born of the Three Thunders [Metamagic]
Prerequisites: Energy Substitution (electricity), Knowledge (nature) 4 ranks
Benefits: Half of any electricity or sonic damage dealt by a three thunders spell is dealt as electricity damage, with the other half dealt as sonic damage. The spell gains both the electricity and sonic descriptors.

In addition, the spell concludes with a mighty thunderclap as it strikes. Each creature takes any electricity or sonic damage from the spell immediately as it is cast is stunned for 1 round unless it succeeds on a Fortitude save. A creature that is stunned this way is also knocked prone unless it succeeds on a Reflex save. Both saves are against the spell, and thus use the spell's normal save DC (even if the spell doesn't normally allow a save against its effects).

Channeling the three thunders is costly, though. You are dazed for 1 round after casting a three thunders spell.

You can apply this metamagic feat to any spell with either the electricity or sonic descriptors that deals electricity or sonic damage. A three thunders spell uses a spell slot of the spell's normal level.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on April 25, 2016, 12:23:53 AM
Random idea:

Replace the Sorcerer's Spells Known table with the Wizard's spells per day. The wizard can now have a maximum of X spells of each level recorded, where X is determined by looking at the Sorcerer's spells per day.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 27, 2016, 01:41:38 AM
Concept: A martial discipline whose maneuvers have passive effects while readied. Some are a bit weaker than normal but give small passive bonuses as long as you have them readied and unexpended. Others are stronger than normal, but penalize you until you recover them.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on April 29, 2016, 06:38:18 AM
Concept: A martial discipline whose maneuvers have passive effects while readied. Some are a bit weaker than normal but give small passive bonuses as long as you have them readied and unexpended. Others are stronger than normal, but penalize you until you recover them.

I was trying to do something similar at one point by having my maneuvers trigger stance changes into stances that you couldn't activate normally.

It also had those stances as prerequisites for further maneuvers for a sort of combo chain idea.

Tangent:
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on May 03, 2016, 12:48:16 AM
Modular Ultimate Magus

Basically, a bunch of ACFs that let you use Ultimate Magus as a Theurge for any two casting classes.

Maybe expand it to 15 levels, too, so you can get to 20th level as X 3/Y 2/Ultimate Magus 15.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 11, 2016, 05:06:29 PM
Elementals for the four nuclear forces:
- Gravity: Slowing aura, can do like an air elemental's whirlwind transformation, turning into a cylinder of reversed gravity.
- Electromagnetism: Pushes/pulls opponents away/towards it. Bonuses against opponents wearing ferrous armor, and against attacks with ferrous weapons.
- Strong: Explosions and disintegration. Atoms stop holding together in whatever it hits. Maybe even something like the Chaos Beast's Corporeal Instability as the effect spreads through the opponent's body.
- Weak: Transmutation. Changes the flavor of quarks, changes the substance/materials of what it attacks and of its environment.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 12, 2016, 12:48:59 AM
Because Arcane Consumption is a cringe-worthy feat.

Sudden Heighten Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisite: Any metamagic feat.
Benefit: Once per day, you can apply the effect of the Heighten Spell feat to any spell you cast, increasing it's effective spell level by 4, without increasing the level of the spell's slot or specially preparing it ahead of time. You can still use Empower Spell normally if you have it. This does not count as the ability to cast higher levels spells for the purpose of meeting prerequisites and other options.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Bronzebeard on May 24, 2016, 10:33:50 AM
combat feats (or class abilities) for barbarians and berzerkers, that trigger when based on the damage taken or damage dished out respectively.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 26, 2016, 06:04:10 PM
Additional uses for skills.

Tumble: Avoid attacks of opportunity from forced movement.
DC: 25 + 2/enemy after the first + 1/5 feet forcibly moved. Modifiers and restrictions for suboptimal surfaces apply.

Use Rope: When disarming with a whip, spiked chain, or similar weapon, pull the disarmed object into your space.
DC: Result of opponent's attack roll to resist your disarm attempt.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 30, 2016, 03:48:01 PM
Precognitive Jaunt
Conjuration (teleportation)/Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz ???
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 minute/level or until discharged
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

This spell combines a constant divination that looks ahead a moment into your future for any harm that may befall you, plus a repeated conjuration that teleports you slightly out of the way of oncoming attacks. You gain a +1 insight bonus to your Armor Class and on all saving throws, as the divination warns you of incoming attacks, and a +2 competence bonus to your Armor Class and on Reflex saves as you are shunted away from them (for a total +3 bonus to AC and Reflex saves, and +1 to Fort and Will saves).

Additionally, when you cast this spell, you can specify a single criterion that will discharge the spell, ending its effects in order to teleport you entirely out of harm's way. This criterion must only involve observable effects of an attack (for example, an area spell or an acid effect) or its effects on you (for example, paralyzing you or killing you). If you would be subject to such an attack, this spell discharges to teleport you up to 30 feet out of danger. If you were subject to an area attack, the spell attempts to teleport you to just outside the nearest edge of its area. If you were subject to an individually-targeted attack, it attempts to teleport you out of range or to outside your attacker's line of effect, whichever is closer. This will never attempt to teleport you into an environment that is obviously even more dangerous (such as under lava or inside a solid object).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 02, 2016, 02:30:34 AM
Fighter rewrite
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 02, 2016, 02:46:29 AM
Cleric rewrite

Some ideas for dogmas:
Note: All dogmas have a bit from every category, even if I'm not spelling it out for every single one.

Hmm... Might wind up separating out the spontaneous casting bit from the dogma selection, or removing it entirely. If it stays, maybe tie it to your domain choices instead? Either spontaneously casting from all of your domains, or more likely just one "prime" domain.

Nyeh. I've lost sight of my original goal of having a pared down spell list that forms the core of what you can expect from a Cleric with further customization to bring some of the rest back (but not all of it). Dogmas and domains are doing the same thing, expanding your spell list and giving you a bonus ability.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on June 02, 2016, 05:58:36 AM
If you want the lazy way around dogmas, can make their spell list all the spells granted by domains under their deities portfolio. Somewhere I've got a class or two that does that. It cuts out all the splat book abuse in one go, which is nice.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Quillwraith on June 02, 2016, 10:12:23 AM
Precognitive Jaunt
Conjuration (teleportation)/Divination
Do multi-school spells exist? I don't remember having seen any, though it does make sense for something like this to be div/conj.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on June 02, 2016, 10:15:28 AM
They do. They were introduced late in 3.5s life, just can't remember what book.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: phaedrusxy on June 02, 2016, 10:34:09 AM
They do. They were introduced late in 3.5s life, just can't remember what book.
It was either PHB2 or DMG2, I think the former. Kelgore's Grave Mist is the one that comes to mind, but I know there were more.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on June 02, 2016, 05:04:24 PM
If you want the lazy way around dogmas, can make their spell list all the spells granted by domains under their deities portfolio. Somewhere I've got a class or two that does that. It cuts out all the splat book abuse in one go, which is nice.

Domain cleric (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=12824.msg220957#msg220957). My lazy ass fix to cleric spell lists. Hope it gives you some ideas, Garryl :)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 02, 2016, 06:30:27 PM
If you want the lazy way around dogmas, can make their spell list all the spells granted by domains under their deities portfolio. Somewhere I've got a class or two that does that. It cuts out all the splat book abuse in one go, which is nice.

Domain cleric (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=12824.msg220957#msg220957). My lazy ass fix to cleric spell lists. Hope it gives you some ideas, Garryl :)

I'm kinda trying for only a part of that. Yes to the idea of paring down the do-everything nature of the Cleric spell list, but not to the extreme that restricting it to just domains would be. The thought process behind having different dogmas was to give a solid baseline spell list for whatever theme you would focus on (but not all themes at the same time), with the domains expanding it a bit. For a hypothetical example, a Cleric with the wrath dogma (lots of blasty and crowd control spells) might snag the Luck and Knowledge domains for a bit of buffing and out of combat utility. The domains spells should wind up more like a Beguiler or Warmage's Advanced Learning, adding a few spells you're looking for to fill out what your core list is lacking, rather than defining your spellcasting ability or being a secondary concern compared to the domain power (as is frequently the case with the PHB Cleric and its single domain spell slot per level).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Samwise on June 02, 2016, 10:09:41 PM
I've been thinking along similar lines of stressing the domains more.
Say splitting the difference - half the spells from domains, and half free choice, with fewer domains and free choices available for higher spell levels.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on June 04, 2016, 04:35:03 PM
A prestige class inspired by the Overlord manga - a necromancer optimised towards save or die effects.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on June 04, 2016, 04:48:36 PM
If you want the lazy way around dogmas, can make their spell list all the spells granted by domains under their deities portfolio. Somewhere I've got a class or two that does that. It cuts out all the splat book abuse in one go, which is nice.

Domain cleric (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=12824.msg220957#msg220957). My lazy ass fix to cleric spell lists. Hope it gives you some ideas, Garryl :)

I'm kinda trying for only a part of that. Yes to the idea of paring down the do-everything nature of the Cleric spell list, but not to the extreme that restricting it to just domains would be. The thought process behind having different dogmas was to give a solid baseline spell list for whatever theme you would focus on (but not all themes at the same time), with the domains expanding it a bit. For a hypothetical example, a Cleric with the wrath dogma (lots of blasty and crowd control spells) might snag the Luck and Knowledge domains for a bit of buffing and out of combat utility. The domains spells should wind up more like a Beguiler or Warmage's Advanced Learning, adding a few spells you're looking for to fill out what your core list is lacking, rather than defining your spellcasting ability or being a secondary concern compared to the domain power (as is frequently the case with the PHB Cleric and its single domain spell slot per level).

The only way to shortcut that that I can think of at the moment would be letting Clerics have as their spell list all cleric spells that belong to a certain descriptor or subschool. And you'd need to eyeball that so there isn't one or two stupidly powerful ones (Conjuration subschools, I'm looking in your direction). An example would be a Cleric who natively knows all Healing subschool spells + whatever domains they have.

Otherwise, you're basically back to the 2E idea of Spheres, and those would require a lot of work to get settled in right.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Bronzebeard on June 08, 2016, 06:08:51 AM
...

These two looks suspiciously very similar to what I'm doing.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 08, 2016, 03:23:58 PM
Rogue rewrite
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 19, 2016, 02:34:53 AM
More flaws
- Exposed: Critical hits against you are automatically confirmed. Opponents do not automatically miss you on a natural 1.
- Susceptible: Whenever you take 1 or more points of damage, the damage you take is increased by 2.
- Untrainable: The maximum ranks you can place in any skill is halved (2 + 1/2 levels after 1st for class skills, 1 + 1/4 levels after 1st for cross-class skills). You receive 1 fewer skill point at each level (4 fewer at 1st-level). This can reduce the number of skill points you receive to 0. You can never buy ranks in trained only skills. Eh, some combination of those.
- Sleeper Agent: You have been brainwashed or magically programmed. When someone says a specific phrase (a standard action), you are dazed while they give you commands (like the Suggestion spell, except not magical and no save), or for up to 1 minute if no commands are given. The bonus feat is part of the mental programming, so it can't be something overtly physical, like Warforged Body feats, and you lose it if you somehow get deprogrammed. Note: Blatantly ripped off of that homebrew Command Word flaw for constructs that's basically the same thing.
- Shattered Soul: Something sort of like the Shadar-Kai's Shadow Curse (Fiend Folio 150). Whenever you fail a saving throw against an effect that would render you stunned, dazed, or staggered, or when you fall unconscious (except for sleeping normally), you gain a negative level (DC 15 to avoid permanent level loss if not removed).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 20, 2016, 02:32:26 AM
Ranger rewrite
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 24, 2016, 11:34:07 PM
Master of Masks addition:

Can progress a psionic or incarnum class instead of a spellcasting class.  The Mask Specialist ability can also work on Incarnum soulmeld masks.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on June 24, 2016, 11:55:59 PM
Master of Masks addition:

Can progress a psionic or incarnum class instead of a spellcasting class.  The Mask Specialist ability can also work on Incarnum soulmeld masks.

Master of Masks needs to be rewritten to be good in general.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on June 25, 2016, 11:15:59 PM
Gift of the Spider Queen-style feats for Gnomes and other races that get three-ish SLAs.

For example, Gnomes would get something based off of:

• Dancing Lights + Ghost Sound
• Dancing Lights + Speak with Animals
• Speak with Animals + Ghost Sound
• All three

Combine with some feats that let you sacrifice those SLA uses for something else, and we're cooking with gas.



I might also do something for those feats in Complete Arcane that give you three 1/day SLAs.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 27, 2016, 08:04:28 PM
Possible redesign to standardize how true dragons are handled and make it a bit easier to estimate them instead of consulting a unique table for each type plus another set of things shared between all of them. This would also include a standardization of a lot of the important things that are slightly different between different types, such as when they start their sorcerer spellcasting.

Each true dragon type has a basic stat block describing the dragon as a wyrmling. This also includes any type-specific abilities that it gains at higher age categories, like the various SLAs that most get. So, this covers things like:
- Breath weapon
- SLAs
- Special domains they can choose spells from

Each age category has a set of adjustments that it applies that are the same for every true dragon (sort of like half-way between a template and a PrC). This covers things like:
- Ability score increases
- Size category increases
- CR and LA changes
- Sorcerer spellcasting
- DR/magic
- SR
- Frightful presence
- Natural weapons

Edit: Better idea. Basic stat block for each age category of dragon with all the things that are the same (sort of like Astral Constructs), then treat each type of dragon as a template that's applied to the true dragon base (with all the differences and even more fun stuff than just "one option from menu B"). Basically, this is switching which of the dragon type and the age category is considered the base creature and which is considered the template for the way I originally jotted this idea down.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: oslecamo on June 27, 2016, 10:25:48 PM
Reducing the iconic mosnters to palette swaps of the same cookie cutter is boring as hell.

I much prefer rules where dragons are truly diversified.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 27, 2016, 10:54:54 PM
It's mostly about standardizing the parts that are large quantities of numbers that are subtly different from each other. It would be nice to be able to tell roughly what you're getting when you talk about a dragon of age category X in terms of overall power level and pure statistics. There's still plenty of room for the basic dragon to be different and for dragon-specific features to scale up and grow more different with age, still enabling each dragon type to have its own distinct flavor and specialties.

I'm not trying to say dragons should be all the same. I'm just trying to have a sort of presentation that separates out the parts that are actually unique and doesn't try to mix them in with the things that are the same for everyone.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: littha on June 28, 2016, 05:38:16 AM
It's mostly about standardizing the parts that are large quantities of numbers that are subtly different from each other. It would be nice to be able to tell roughly what you're getting when you talk about a dragon of age category X in terms of overall power level and pure statistics. There's still plenty of room for the basic dragon to be different and for dragon-specific features to scale up and grow more different with age, still enabling each dragon type to have its own distinct flavor and specialties.

I'm not trying to say dragons should be all the same. I'm just trying to have a sort of presentation that separates out the parts that are actually unique and doesn't try to mix them in with the things that are the same for everyone.

One thing I thought of for this idea is an expanded range of age categories with each racial type getting a +/- on where they start but they all cap at great wyrm.

That you have a unified lookup table for your dragons whilst maintaining the differences in power between variations.

Say the table has 20 sets of stats on it, dragons have 12 age categories. Have wyrmling white dragons start at set 1 and advance to set 12 and wyrmling gold dragons start at set 3 or 4 and advance. If it is designed with enough space you can even fit the Epic dragons on the table.

That said, it would only be useful for basic stat blocks. Size, ability scores etc. Each type of dragon would need to exist as a weird kind of template.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: linklord231 on June 28, 2016, 12:15:40 PM
So you'd start with something like "Adult Dragon" and then apply (for lack of a better term) templates to differentiate between a White and Red dragon?  I like the idea, but I'm afraid it might be too little, too late.  The biggest reason people I've played with have given me for not including more dragons in their games is that it's too much work to make one.  This would alleviate that somewhat, but you'd still have to choose spells and feats, which is where most of the work was anyway.  Still, it would help make everything else easier, which can only be a good thing.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on June 28, 2016, 12:28:07 PM
So you'd start with something like "Adult Dragon" and then apply (for lack of a better term) templates to differentiate between a White and Red dragon?  I like the idea, but I'm afraid it might be too little, too late.  The biggest reason people I've played with have given me for not including more dragons in their games is that it's too much work to make one.  This would alleviate that somewhat, but you'd still have to choose spells and feats, which is where most of the work was anyway.  Still, it would help make everything else easier, which can only be a good thing.

Go with Invocations instead of spells.

Best part? Dragonfire Adept gets a power boost.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on June 29, 2016, 06:15:55 AM
Athasian/Wasteland Bard -

This means taking a normal bard, stripping out spellcasting, and fitting in poisons and assassin type abilities to replace them.

New class abilities:

Probably needs more, but that's a start for ideas.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 30, 2016, 01:52:48 AM
Rigging
Shadowrun Returns-esque rigging/drone control. Note that this is for combat drones designed to be manually operated. It also covers brain-driven vehicles, but for those it's probably not as interesting.
- Controlling a drone requires some degree of concentration. Not as much as casting a spell, for instance, but not a negligible amount either. You have to spend an action each round (see below), and you need to make a Concentration check if you're damaged or otherwise distracted.
- Directly connecting to a drone is a standard action. Maintaining the connection is a move action each round. This allows you to see through the drone's senses and to directly control its actions. Otherwise, the drone follows its fairly simple programming, which lets it follow very simple commands (follow, go there, stay here, etc.), although combat is beyond it.
- Directly connecting to a drone requires some sort of mind-to-machine connection, be it a datajack, a neural mesh, the psychic interface power, or something else.
- A drone under your direct control acts immediately after your turn (sort of like White Raven Tactics).
- A drone you are controlling benefits from some of your abilities and statistics. It adds your Intelligence modifier on its attack rolls and saving throws, to its Armor Class, and on most skill checks (possibly in place of its own scores, depending on balance). It uses your base attack bonus, base saves, and skill ranks if they're higher than its own, sort of like familiars.
- More complicated (and powerful) drones require a minimum number of ranks in the Drone Control skill to use effectively.
- The Rigger class is focused on drone use and combat. Benefits include better drone combat abilities, the ability to rig into/control multiple drones at once, and maybe a customized, personal-built drone (sort of like the PF Summoner's Eidolon).

Drone Control (Int; Trained Only)
- Drone Control skill checks allow you to perform special tricks with drones, to defend drones you're controlling from hacking and disruption, and to seize direct control of other computer-controlled mechanisms not normally designed for that sort of thing.
- It also covers brain-driven vehicles, but for those it's just like the Ride/Drive/Pilot skills for the most part.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 05, 2016, 04:29:34 PM
Slight change to the way AoEs centered on creatures determine their area. Whenever an area effect (burst, emanation, etc.) determines its area from a creature, its area extends from each corner of each space the creature occupies, instead of only a single corner of its space. Thus, for example, a colossal dragon casting antimagic field would affect its entire space and every square within 10 feet of it, instead of failing to even cover the entirety of the creature itself.

Also, speaking of 10-foot radius effects, might also want to round up and include their corners (change them into squares rather than circles) like the special rule for 10-foot reach.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on July 05, 2016, 05:12:13 PM
That rule change makes sense from a logical perspective, I'm for it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Kerrus on July 05, 2016, 06:33:53 PM
  • Not sure what to do with Favored Enemy. Probably going to remove it. It always kinda felt to me like you needed metagame knowledge of what enemy types are common to make it work at all, and even then it still wasn't too great
My take on it would be to enhance favoured enemy, and then make it a variable/prepared thing. So like, much like the Warblade or the Swordsage- at the beginning of the day you sit down and prepare for what kind of hunting you're expecting to do that day. This is mainly fluff supported so shit like particular fletching for your arrows, particular types of arrows- blunt headed arrows for skeletons, slashing arrows for zombies. Particular adjustments to your clothing-

Basically make favoured enemy an adjustable suite of tools a Ranger has that he can use to improve his ability to fight a specific type of enemy each day. So he gets bonuses on skills vs that enemy, maybe a bonus on attacks, definitely a bonus on damage, and as he levels up and 'favoured enemy' improves, he'd get two things:

More uses of the '1day pick', representing improving his repetoire and his ability to swap out his preparations on the fly, maybe up to three or four times per day.

And: Rider abilities that add onto attacks or actions vs favoured enemy. Stuff like a tangental dodge bonus vs the enemy, or damage reduction vs their attacks, or extra damage of [type] or whatever.

For the sneak attack, honestly I'd approach it from another angle, giving them a choice of Skirmish or the sniper shot thing, where they get bonus dice if they haven't moved. I wouldn't lock it into a fighting style or anything, so you could have zippy bow rangers and hidey TWF ambushers if you wanted.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 06, 2016, 01:14:14 AM
Grey Smite [General]
Prerequisite: Smite ability.
Benefit: You can use your smite abilities that normally affect only some creatures (such as a Paladin's Smite Good) against any creature. If you smite a creature that would normally be a valid target, you gain an additional +1 bonus on your attack roll and an additional +2 bonus on your damage roll.



Smiting Fervor [General]
Prerequisite: Cha 13, ability to enter a rage, frenzy, or similar state, smite ability.
Benefit: While you are in a rage, frenzy, or similar state, you gain a bonus on your weapon damage rolls equal to your Charisma bonus. This only applies against creatures your smite ability applies against can use your smite against using an attack form you can smite with. Smite abilities that affect all creatures regardless (such as the granted power of the Destruction domain) do not count towards this ability. For example, a Paladin with Smite Good would deal extra damage to evil-aligned creatures with melee attacks only.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 06, 2016, 02:43:04 AM
  • Not sure what to do with Favored Enemy. Probably going to remove it. It always kinda felt to me like you needed metagame knowledge of what enemy types are common to make it work at all, and even then it still wasn't too great
My take on it would be to enhance favoured enemy, and then make it a variable/prepared thing. So like, much like the Warblade or the Swordsage- at the beginning of the day you sit down and prepare for what kind of hunting you're expecting to do that day. This is mainly fluff supported so shit like particular fletching for your arrows, particular types of arrows- blunt headed arrows for skeletons, slashing arrows for zombies. Particular adjustments to your clothing-

Basically make favoured enemy an adjustable suite of tools a Ranger has that he can use to improve his ability to fight a specific type of enemy each day. So he gets bonuses on skills vs that enemy, maybe a bonus on attacks, definitely a bonus on damage, and as he levels up and 'favoured enemy' improves, he'd get two things:

More uses of the '1day pick', representing improving his repetoire and his ability to swap out his preparations on the fly, maybe up to three or four times per day.

And: Rider abilities that add onto attacks or actions vs favoured enemy. Stuff like a tangental dodge bonus vs the enemy, or damage reduction vs their attacks, or extra damage of [type] or whatever.

For the sneak attack, honestly I'd approach it from another angle, giving them a choice of Skirmish or the sniper shot thing, where they get bonus dice if they haven't moved. I wouldn't lock it into a fighting style or anything, so you could have zippy bow rangers and hidey TWF ambushers if you wanted.

One suggestion I've seen a lot is to have Favored Enemy give you general bonuses. Like "I hunt dragons, so I pick stuff that counters flying creatures, Natural Armor, and stuff with breath weapons."

That way, if you suddenly face stuff that isn't dragons, you can at least do something.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: RedWarlock on July 06, 2016, 01:47:29 PM
One suggestion I've seen a lot is to have Favored Enemy give you general bonuses. Like "I hunt dragons, so I pick stuff that counters flying creatures, Natural Armor, and stuff with breath weapons."

That way, if you suddenly face stuff that isn't dragons, you can at least do something.
Ooh, I like that. In theory that was where the archetype split was going with the 5e ranger, broadening into general types, but they kind of lost that.

I could see it even as a configurable set of boosts based on the chosen opponent-type's qualities. Improved levels allow you to select more boosts to use at a time. (Kind of like the PF Hunter's animal focus, a switchable boost, except here it's always-on, so maybe only switchable per-day or with a non-combat 10-min-rest-type period?)

*grabs*
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 22, 2016, 03:17:37 PM
Shield Blocking
When you wield a shield, you can move to more actively block with it. The basic shield bonus to your AC represents attempts to simply deflect attacks away from you, or to interfere with the attacker's strike so they never get a chance for a solid hit in the first place.

The number of times per round you can attempt to block is limited. You can't just block everything.
- Shield block attempts come from the same pool as attacks of opportunity. Your basic character can attempt to block one attack per round or make one attack of opportunity.
- Combat Reflexes allows you to make additional AoOs equal to your Dex mod, or that many extra shield blocks, or any combination in between.

Blocking is not guaranteed
- To block an attack, you make shield block roll, which is a special attack roll with your shield: 1d20 + your Dexterity modifier + your shield's block bonus + your Base Attack Bonus + any other modifiers that apply to your attack rolls.
- Until more fully-developed rules get made, use the shield's base/normal shield bonus for its block bonus, except bucklers which are +0.
- A magic shield adds its enhancement bonus to this roll. A masterwork shield provides a +1 enhancement bonus.
- If you are fighting defensively or using Combat Expertise, you add the AC bonus to your roll rather than subtracting the attack roll penalty. Likewise, if you are performing a total defense, you add the AC bonus to your roll.
- You use the result of your shield block roll in place of your Armor Class (like with Wall of Blades) to determine if you block successfully.

A successful shield block means that you're taking the attack on your shield. You don't get hit (although the impact may still be jarring enough to injure you), and your shield takes the full force of the blow.
- On a successful shield block, your shield is hit, rather than you, much like with a sunder attempt. Your attacker is not actually attempting to sunder your shield (they're not lining up their strike specifically to break your shield), so sunder-specific abilities and effects do not apply for them. Any effects of the attack apply to your shield, rather than you (since it was your shield that was hit, not you).
- A blocked attack is still jarring. You take nonlethal damage equal to half the damage negated by the shield's hardness, and lethal damage equal to half of the damage absorbed by the shield's hit points. Any damage in excess of the shield's hit points applies fully to you. Other effects of the attack, however, are still negated against you, even if the shield had but a single hit point.

You can't block if your shield is out of position, or if the attack would otherwise bypass it.
- Any time you would not apply your shield bonus to AC (against touch attacks, after making a shield slam attack without Improved Shield Slam, etc.), you can't attempt to shield block.
- You can't attempt to shield block when you would be unable to make attacks of opportunity (ex: if you are flat-footed and don't have the Combat Reflexes feat).

Feats:
- Dodge: Dodge bonus to AC also applies to block rolls.
- Improved Shield Block: Negates the nonlethal damage from damage blocked by shield's hardness and makes the rest of the damage blocked by the shield nonlethal. Grants +2 on block rolls.
- Shield Riposte: Requires Improved Shield Block and Improved Shield Bash. When you block an attack and your shield isn't destroyed, you can make a shield bash attack using that shield against your attacker.
- Two-Weapon Block: Requires Two-Weapon Fighting and Two-Weapon Defense. While wielding two weapons and gaining the shield bonus from Two-Weapon Defense, you can use them to shield block. Somehow. The details are not important. (Mechanics to be filled in later.)
- Shield Evasion: See Amechra.
What if shields "upgraded" Evasion, in addition to giving an AC bonus?

Shield, but no Evasion: Make a Reflex save as if you had Evasion, but the Shield takes the damage on a successful save.
Shield, with Evasion: Make a Reflex save as if you had Improved Evasion, but the shield takes the damage too on a failed save.
Shield, with Improved Evasion: Your shield takes the damage on a failed Reflex save instead of you.

Items:
- Ghost Touch (shield property): Since the shield bonus applies against incorporeal touch attacks, the shield can be used to block incorporeal touch attacks.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 22, 2016, 03:48:19 PM
Merciful Crystal
Weapon crystal
Least (500 gp): Weapon can deal nonlethal damage with no penalty.
Lesser (3000 gp): As least, plus an extra 1d6 nonlethal damage when dealing nonlethal damage. Does not stack with the Merciful weapon ability.
Greater (6000 gp): As lesser, plus a critical hit causes subject to suffer a -2 penalty on attack rolls for 1 round.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 24, 2016, 12:21:54 AM
The Cold-Iron Knight, a PrC for the Knight that's focused around being a nuisance for casters. Progresses Knight's Challenge and Vigilant Defender, and gives out anti-caster upgrades of both of them, like "you can't cast spells at me when I challenge you" and "add my class level + my Knight level to all checks you make to cast defensively".
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 24, 2016, 12:51:38 AM
Make a Dragon version of Astral Construct, then make a base class that's focused around it, with all the different True Dragon types being the equivalent of Ectopic Form feats.

Not sure if breath weapon and frightful presence should be default features of the "construct"...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 24, 2016, 12:54:36 AM
Make a Dragon version of Astral Construct, then make a base class that's focused around it, with all the different True Dragon types being the equivalent of Ectopic Form feats.

Not sure if breath weapon and frightful presence should be default features of the "construct"...

I think one of Sirpercival's Ethos of the Wyrm classes did that.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on July 24, 2016, 01:02:00 AM
Make a Dragon version of Astral Construct, then make a base class that's focused around it, with all the different True Dragon types being the equivalent of Ectopic Form feats.

Not sure if breath weapon and frightful presence should be default features of the "construct"...

I think one of Sirpercival's Ethos of the Wyrm classes did that.

I just checked, and the Scaleshaper does do that as an incidental thing. Gives me an idea, though.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 27, 2016, 02:54:51 PM
Allow the normally Kalashtar-only feats Path of Shadows (https://dndtools.net/feats/races-of-eberron--10/path-of-shadows--2123/) and Dancing with Shadows (https://dndtools.net/feats/races-of-eberron--10/dancing-with-shadows--503/) to also work with Drow or other dexterous and/or shadowy races.  Also change Path of Shadows to work with SLAs and PLAs since those also use Concentration checks to cast defensively.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Bronzebeard on July 28, 2016, 05:24:37 PM
If, instead of the current Initiative system, you do the following:

Rolling d20 for initiative.
The lowest number starts the combat, going from lowest number to highest.
Each player declare his action. No more then 1 standard, 1 move and 1 minor action.
Every action will take a certain 'cost' by number. e.g. 10 cost for standard sword swing. And will be added to initiative to a new number.
Every action is resolved when the projected new initiative is reached.

When all involved pass a certain milestone they can all be reduced for a lower number (like, all characters have initiative higher then 20, then deduct 20 from all initiative).

-------------------------------------

The reasoning for this is a better 'react' mechanics: no more a multitude of immediate/swift etc.
Instead, if a wizard casts a spell and it will take him 15 points then I could throw an axe and it will take me only 5 points and it will be resolved before the spellcasting ends.

-------------------------------------
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 29, 2016, 04:48:25 PM
Some ideas for another system.

- Philosophy of die rolls. You should only be rolling a die when you are actively doing something (and then only if it's something with a random component to its success or degree of success). Defenses should always be "passive", with only the attacker making any rolls, unless you're doing something special to actively defend, such as a special parry or performing a counterspell or something like that beyond the basic and assumed dodging and blocking in combat.

Armor
- PDD: Protect, Dodge, Deflect. These are the three main things that define armor.
- Protect reduces the damage you take from most hits.
- Dodge influences your ability to just get out of the way of attacks, preventing them from dealing any damage at all. Heavier armor has lower dodge, and may even have penalties to it.
- Deflect influences your ability to redirect the force of attacks against you, halving the damage they deal to you before applying damage reduction from the armor's protect value. Heavier armor has higher deflect.
- Shields generally add to protect and deflect.
(click to show/hide)

Weapons
- Weapons deal damage. Smaller weapons deal less damage, while larger, heavier weapons deal higher damage.
- Weapons provide an accuracy bonus. When attacking with a weapon, you add its accuracy bonus to your attack roll. Smaller weapons are more accurate, while larger, heavier weapons are less accurate.
- Most weapons have additional effects that influence how they work in combat. For example, bludgeoning weapons usually ignore half of the target's damage reduction (such as from their armor's protect value), and heavy weapons usually gain an additional bonus when determining whether they're deflected into a glancing hit or not.

Attacks
- When you attack, you roll to hit. Add all of your bonuses together with the result of a d20. Compare that result to your target's defense score (which includes dexterity, dodge from armor, cover bonuses, and other factors that prevent them from being hit entirely). You hit if you equal or exceed that number.
- If you hit, also compare your attack roll to your target's deflection score (their defense score plus their armor's deflect modifier and any other factors that reduce the severity of a hit but don't negate it completely). If your roll is less than that number, it's just a glancing hit.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: linklord231 on September 29, 2016, 01:11:10 AM
Yet Another Druid Replacement:

d8 Hit Die, 3/4 BAB, 4 skill points per level
Sorcerer casting off the Druid list, probably Wisdom based. 
Use the PHB2 Shapeshifter variant, without the stupid "No Natural Spell" limitation.
No Animal Companion (Rangers get full animal companion).
Alternate class feature:  Trade Shapeshifting for Animal Companion.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 16, 2016, 01:00:19 AM
Actually, if you do something like that except actually enforced in the rules, then aside from the auxiliaries, you don't actually need to have techniques completely replace the tags by default, instead only overwriting whichever tag category they grant a tag to. Tags might only get cleared if you use a technique that specifically removes them (like a big finisher). Um, hmm... I'm getting conceptual ideas for a system like that that also leverages the multiple attacks per round that high BAB characters get into a sort of build-your-own-combo system (within the span of a full attack). That would require at least 4 independent tag categories, rather than 2. Don't need to worry about extra attacks, since the maximum potency (and required tags) is limited based on the strongest techniques you know, so you don't get anything super extra, just building up to another smaller combo, or to make a more powerful parry available with a full powered finisher.

Note: Names are highly subject to change.
Note: Rules text for states is kinda sketchy so far, mostly off-the-top-of-my-head stuff that hasn't been through a polish pass yet.
Note: For a given complexity tier, assaults typically require one fewer states than the tier (0-3), parries the same as the tier (1-4), and finishers one more than the tier (2-5). Exceptions exist, typically with assaults that use the same number of states as the tier (1-4).
Note: Assaults typically add one state. They may also change some of the states in categories they already require to use.
Note: Parries typically change states in categories they require to use, but rarely add or remove states.
Note: Haven't decided how you learn them. Most likely class-based, like almost everything (plus some feats for a bit of outside access).

Can be in no more than one state at a time for each category. If you would be put into another state, you lose the prior state of that category. If you would be put into multiple states within the same category at once, you choose which one you remain in. It is possible to not be in any state for a given category.
You begin each encounter in no state for each category.

Complexity: Each technique has a complexity, which indicates how hard it is to learn and use, and how powerful it is. Higher complexity techniques require more states to use.
Techniques: Techniques are the abilities of this subsystem. Techniques can be used at will as long as you meet their state requirements.

A technique's save DC is 10 + 1/2 your Base Attack Bonus + an ability modifier. For assaults and finishers, you use the modifier that you add to your attack roll with the weapon you are using (usually Strength for melee attacks, or Dexterity for ranged attacks). For other techniques (forms and parries), you use your Dexterity modifier.

Forms
(click to show/hide)

Assaults
(click to show/hide)

Finishers
(click to show/hide)

Parries
(click to show/hide)

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on November 16, 2016, 10:28:52 AM
Hey Garryl, are you aware the SirP is already running with a tag based maneuver system? (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6390.0)

Edit: Yes, I see that you are.   :blush
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on November 18, 2016, 10:46:21 PM
Something something Truenamer fix based off BCKW Combinator Logic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B,_C,_K,_W_system).

Maybe:

- You have X syllables you can use. They do a single thing.
- By default, you speak a syllable and then a truename. It does (thing) to the target designated by the truename.
- You can chain syllables - if the next syllable isn't a truename, it modifies it a-la metamagic.
- Truename words are mostly set in stone - if you know [Fire][Water], you use it as [Fire][Water][truename], and that's it.
- Truenames are valid syllables.
- There are, however, four special syllables:
- - *B*: Takes the next three syllables, applies the second one to the third, and then applies the first one to that.
- - *C*: Takes the next three syllables and swaps the last two.
- - *W*: Takes the next two syllables and doubles the second one.
- - *K*: Takes the next two syllables and drops the second one.

Maybe an example will help (let's use the [Fire][Water] word):

1) Using [Fire][Water][Steve] will do [Fire+Water] to Steve. He gets hit by a dart of a boiling water or something.
2) [*B*][Fire][Water][Steve] will do [Fire] to [Water+Steve]. Maybe he gets a bonus to Dexterity before getting smacked with fire damage?
3) [*C*][Fire][Water][Steve] will do [Fire+Steve] to [Water]. Steve gets hit by fire, and then gets knocked prone?
4) [*W*][Fire][Water][Steve] will do [Fire+Water+Water] to Steve. Probably like #1.
5) [*K*][Fire][Water][Steve] will do [Fire] to Steve. Just straight fire damage.

=---=

The real question is how to get something playable out of this idea... You know, that won't require too much of an information overload.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Amechra on November 22, 2016, 09:44:45 PM
OK, a more standard one:

I've posted in the past about my idea of a world where "standard spell access" is limited to 1st level spells and lower. I've recently been reading Burning Wheel, and one of the things I rather liked about it is that it has penalties for learning spells "wrong".

Basically, it goes:

1) Spend a few months (Burning Wheel is a game that assumes a good deal of downtime) studying a spell - at the end you roll. You still get to learn the spell if you fail the roll within a few points - it just makes the spell harder to cast.

2) You practice casting it for a while.

3) You go back to the drawing board and fix your understanding of the spell. This gives you another roll - it removes the "harder to cast", but makes the spell take longer to cast if you fail by a little.

=---=

Basic houserule:

1) Swap prepared and spontaneous spellcasting in terms of metamagic increasing casting time.

2) All Wizards get the benefits of Elder Giant Magic - whenever they cast spells that they don't have Spell Mastery for, they have to use it for at least one round if they are able to.

3) Whenever a Wizard prepares a spell from a scroll or an other Wizard's spellbook, they can't apply metamagic to it, and increase the casting time as if they had done so. Also, scribing a spell from a book without the owner's help increases the spell's level by one, which can be bought off with something like the Dweomercrafter's dweomercrafts (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=5148.0).

4) Wizards can get around the metamagic casting time increase by scribing the metamagic'd spell into their spellbook. Treat this like learning an entirely new spell of that level - metamagic reducers do count, but only if they're passive.

5) Oh, yeah - Scribe Scroll is banned unless you have it as a class feature.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 03, 2017, 05:40:56 PM
Demihumans as genetically modified humans for a sci-fi campaign setting.

If you were running a sci-fi game using the core of the D&D rules, and not doing it like Shadowrun where magic just mutates humans into the demihuman races, but you don't want elves and gnomes and such to be aliens or whatever, I was thinking that it might be neat for them to be different genetically engineered patterns of humans. I'm also including some mechanical changes (nothing major, and no nerfs) to fit with the fluff I'm giving them.

Humans
(click to show/hide)

Dwarves
(click to show/hide)

Elves
(click to show/hide)

Halflings
(click to show/hide)

Half-Orc
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on January 03, 2017, 07:34:57 PM
Dragonborn are modded for hard vacuum. Large internal air bladders so that they can go a long time without breathing, a hard carapace to retain structural integrity, wings for solar sailing and maneuvering.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 07, 2017, 06:11:17 PM
Differentiating The Effects Of Size From Racial Ability Score Modifiers
Smaller creatures have low Str and Con, but high Dex, while larger creatures have crappy Dex and sometimes absurd levels of Str and Con. Normal D&D rules scale up (or down) Str, Dex, and Con with size. Now, they also adjust a large number of other factors alongside these that the three ability scores also usually impact in and of themselves (attack rolls, AC, weapon damage, Hide checks, combat maneuvers, etc.), which kind of means you get two different effective modifiers to the same thing from the same source for the same conceptual reason, but that's a whole other can of beans beyond the scope of what I'm working on here, so I digress.

Now, here's an issue. How much of Str, Dex, and Con come from a larger or smaller creature being inherently better in that regard (like an Orc, Elf, or Dwarf), and how much come from the creature just having more mass to throw around because of its raw size? How much of a creature's strength should be from race and how much should be from size?

Since this question involves normalizing for size, it also serves as an effective start to standardizing the influence of size-changing effects. There are numerous ways to change in that, unlike Polymorphing, provide modifiers to the creature's ability scores instead of setting them to a fixed value. Unfortunately, the actual numerical effects of these different methods rarely agree with one another. The Enlarge and Reduce Person spells give one set of adjustments and Righteous Might gives another. Size change from monster HD advancement and template application is variable, the modifiers depending on the starting and ending sizes. The Wu Jen spell Giant Size changes to a specific size, and gives a fixed set of modifiers depending only on the ending size, not the starting size, even providing the massive Strength boosts associated with size growth despite the fact that large enough casters may even be shrunk by the spell.

Modifiers By Size
After looking through the various spells that modify size in Core, the monster growth table, and peeking at a small sample of monsters at various sizes, and adjusting to curb some of the worse excesses of Str growth with size, I've come up with a table of Str, Dex, and Con adjustments by size. This is my quick and dirty evaluation of the amount of a creature's racial ability modifiers I am approximating to come from raw size alone, using a Medium creature as the baseline. The rest of the racial ability score adjustments are exactly that, coming from the race's natural inclinations to be better or worse than the norm. Note that the numbers still definitely need tweaking.

Size CategoryStrDexConNatural Armor
Fine-4+8+0+0
Diminutive-4+6+0+0
Tiny-4+4+0+0
Small-2+2+0+0
Medium+0+0+0+0
Large+4-2+2+0
Huge+8-4+4+1
Gargantuan+12-4+6+3
Colossal+16-4+8+6

(click to show/hide)

For example, a Minotaur is a Large creature with +8 Str, +0 Dex, and +4 Con racial adjustments normally. In order to break that down into which part is racial and which part is raw size, we have to remove the size components. According to the table above, we can expect its size to be giving it +4 Str, -2 Dex, and +2 Con. Taking that away from the total modifiers it has means that the Minotaur's actual racial modifiers are +4 Str, +2 Dex, and +2 Con, the rest coming from its size.

Similarly, we can look at a Gnome. At size Small, it normally gets -2 Str and +2 Con. This breaks down into -2 Dex and +2 Con racial adjustments, plus the -2 Str and +2 Dex from its size.

Note that none of what's been described so far actually changes anything. The final ability scores a creature has are exactly the same whether it's a single racial modifier or broken down into a combination of racial and size modifiers.

Size-Changing Effects
The only real mechanical changes this is good for is for standardizing size-changing effects. Currently, they're all over the place. With this, we can rewrite them all to remove any specific values. Enlarge Person no longer gives a fixed +2 Str and -2 Dex. Instead, like all size-changing effects, it just changes your size. The size change itself changes your ability scores, since you'll be using the modifiers for your new size in place of your old. Ditto for Reduce Person, Righteous Might, and Giant Size.

You may notice that this results in a pretty serious buff to Enlarge Person. This is true with the numbers posted above. As I said, it's a quick and dirty approximation. It definitely needs tweaking and adjustment.

Advancing Monsters By Size
The table I posted above, you may notice, is roughly half what the Table: Changes to Statistics by Size in the Monster Manual gives. I kinda figured that roughly half of what monsters were getting from advancing size categories was just bulking up, and half was from advancing to be noticeably stronger and tougher independent of size. Of course, the table still gives some absurdly large changes to Str, so it's you're choice whether you want to replace those adjustments with the table above or just assume that the other half of things is actual additions to the racial ability bonuses.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 28, 2017, 01:08:35 PM
When attempting to start a grapple against a larger opponent, normally you automatically lose an attempt to hold if the target is two or more size categories larger than you are. But I just watched some gameplay from Shadow of the Colossus, so that seems silly. So here's a new use for the Climb skill. I'm also tempted to write up some climbing rules to completely replace grappling against creatures 4+ size categories larger than you, but that's a bit more ambitious than I have the inspiration for at present.

Note that while this allows you to start a grapple without a successful grapple check, you don't get much benefit from it since your opponent isn't impeded, only you are. You still need to win a grapple check at some point to do much of anything in a grapple.

Climb (Str)

Grapple a larger opponent: When you attempt to grapple and hold a target that is two or more size categories larger than you, make a Climb check. You get a +4 bonus on this Climb check if you have four or more free hands, claws, or similar grasping limbs. You take a -4 penalty instead if you have less than two free hands.

The Climb DC is 15 + your target's Base Attack Bonus + your target's Strength modifier. If your target has significant amounts of hair, fur, loose clothing, or anything else on their body that can aid you in getting a solid grip, reduce the DC by 5. If your target is particularly slippery or otherwise difficult to hold on to, increase the DC by 5. If your target is amorphous, increase the DC by 10.

If you succeed on this Climb check, you do not automatically lose your attempt to hold. Additionally, even if you fail your Grapple check, you can still start a grapple and move into the target's space, although you do not deal your unarmed strike damage and only you, not your target, are considered grappling (similar to the Improved Grab ability).

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 02, 2017, 12:37:07 AM
Conjuring Feedback weapon special ability
Price: +1 bonus
Caster Level: 9th
Aura: Moderate abjuration
A successful attack with a conjuring feedback weapon against a summoned or called creature or object deals an additional +1d6 damage. Additionally, it deals 1d6 points of damage + the weapon's enhancement bonus to the summoner or caller of the creature or object.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, dismissal.

Conjuration Bane weapon special ability
Price: +1 bonus
Caster Level: 8th
Aura: Moderate abjuration
Conjuration bane functions as the bane special weapon ability. It activates against any summoned or called creature or object.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, dismissal.

Edit: Changed Banishment prereqs to Dismissal. I keep mixing up which one's which. For reference, Dismissal is the Clr 4, Sor/Wiz 5 spell, and Banishment is the Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 7 spell.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: linklord231 on March 02, 2017, 01:38:48 AM
Conjuring Feedback weapon special ability
Price: +1 bonus
Caster Level: 9th
Aura: Moderate abjuration
A successful attack with a conjuring feedback weapon against a summoned or called creature or object deals an additional +1d6 damage. Additionally, it deals 1d6 points of damage + the weapon's enhancement bonus to the summoner or caller of the creature or object.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, banishment.

Conjuration Bane weapon special ability
Price: +1 bonus
Caster Level: 8th
Aura: Moderate abjuration
Conjuration bane functions as the bane special weapon ability. It activates against any summoned or called creature or object.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, banishment.

Building off that, how about a Conjuration Disrupting enchantment, based off the Disruption (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm) enchantment?

Conjuration Disrupting weapon special ability
Price: +2 bonus
Caster Level: 14th
Aura: Strong Abjuration
A summoned or called creature or object struck by a Conjuration Disrupting weapon must make a Will save (DC 14) or be forcibly sent back to it's home plane, as per the dismissal spell.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, dismissal
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 03, 2017, 03:19:58 AM
Wizard-like spellcasting for Arhosa seedcasters:
- Need spellbooks to contain spells known. A spell takes 1 page per seed effect involved. Variations on a spell can fit 2 per page, as they only describe the changes needed from the base spell they're built on. If acquired separately, requires writings for the base spell to make sense of them.
- Start with 3 + Int mod spells in your book. Learn another 2 spells each level.
- Can learn spells from magical writings with a Spellcraft check.
- Spells can have any combination of arcane seeds. Can only learn spells you can cast.
- Can create variations on spells you know. Variations cannot change the spell type, seed effects, or targeting options, but otherwise can be altered as you like. Can even increase or decrease the spell's SP cost, adjusting the power of individual seeds, etc.
- Can prepare spells with 1 hour's rest. If preparing spells worth less than your full normal spell pool in SP, takes proportionately less time, minimum 15 minutes. Can prepare multiple times in the same day, as long as you have enough unreserved SP to prepare with.
- Preparing a spell reserves SP equal to the spell's casting cost. Cannot spend reserved SP except on the spell it's reserved for.
- If your reserved SP would be greater than you available SP (for example, if your SP is drained), you have to choose prepared spells to give up until your reservation drops enough or you run out of prepared spells with any SP reservation.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 08, 2017, 05:35:47 PM
Tough Guy base class

d6 HD
1/2 BAB
All poor saves
2+Int skill points

Proficiencies: Simple and martial weapons, light, medium, and heavy armor, shields (except tower shields).

Tough Stuff: At each class level, you gain 1 additional Hit Die. These extra Hit Dice are Tough Guy Hit Dice (d6 hp, 2+Int skill points from the Tough Guy skill list, etc.), although they do not count as Tough Guy class levels. These Hit Dice count in most ways as normal Hit Dice, granting you additional feats, bonus hit points from a high Constitution, and so forth. The bonus Hit Dice do not, however, count when determining the following:
Thus, for example, a 3rd-level Tough Guy would still be a CR 3 opponent, would have a maximum of 6 ranks in a class skill, would gain experience as a 3rd-level character, and would be unable to qualify for the Leadership feat (requiring Character Level 6), despite having 6 Hit Dice.

If your hit points gained for a level of Tough Guy are maximized (such as for being first Hit Die) or otherwise influenced, so too are your hit points gained from the bonus Hit Die granted by that class level.

Fudging the Saving Throw Numbers: You gain a +2 bonus on all saves at levels 1, 2, and 4. This decreases to +1 at levels 3, 6, 7, 8, and 10. This bonus is removed entirely at level 9 and at levels 11 and onward.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: linklord231 on March 16, 2017, 08:51:55 PM
The 2nd and 3rd levels of Human Paragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm) can also be used to advance Maneuvers, Binding, Meldshaping, Psionics, or whatever other subsystem you want besides regular Spellcasting. 
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 17, 2017, 02:38:10 PM
Crafting
Each item has five parameters that determine how hard it is to craft: cost, complexity, time, DC, and prerequisites.

To craft an item, you must make a number of successful Craft checks equal to the item's complexity. If you fail a Craft check, nothing bad happens, you just don't make any progress towards the item's completion with that check. However, once you fail a third Craft check, your attempt is a failure. All of your progress is lost (if you wish to try again, you must start over from 0 successes and failures) and 1/2 of the raw materials are ruined.

Accelerated Crafting
You can craft faster. For every -5 penalty you take on a Craft check, the time required for that check is halved. You can apply this repeatedly to a single check. For example, taking a -10 penalty would reduce the time required for the check to 1/4 normal. You can decide how fast to accelerate each check made to craft an item independently.

Tools
All crafts, except for the simplest of items, require artisan’s tools to give the best chance of success. If improvised tools are used, the check is made with a –2 circumstance penalty. On the other hand, masterwork artisan’s tools provide a +2 circumstance bonus on the check.

Crafting Mundane Items

Melee and Thrown Weapons

Bows and Crossbows

Ammunition (arrows and bolts)

Armor and Shields


Crafting Magic Items
Consider only the price and effects of a single magical property at a time.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 22, 2017, 05:56:44 PM
Full Casting [General]
Prerequisites: Caster level 6th.
Benefits: As a full-round action, you can cast two spells. Each such spell must have a casting time of 1 standard action. You cast the first spell at your full normal caster level, but the second spell at 5 less than your normal caster level. Note that the reduced caster level may limit the highest spell level you can cast.

Improved Full Casting [General]
Prerequisites: Caster level 11th, Full Casting.
Benefits: When you use Full Casting, you can cast a third spell. You cast the third spell at a caster level 10 lower than your normal caster level.

Greater Full Casting [General]
Prerequisites: Caster level 16th, Full Casting, Improved Full Casting.
Benefits: When you use Full Casting, you can cast a fourth spell. You cast the fourth spell at a caster level 15 lower than your normal caster level.

Broken as fuck? Why yes, thank you for noticing.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 23, 2017, 01:38:19 AM
Based on the Mantis race from FTL: Faster Than Light. I already have Engi, Lanius, and Zoltan as part of my Power of Cybernetics material. That just leaves the (unimaginatively named) Crystal, Rockmen, and Slug races.

Mantis race
Mantis are a warlike insectoid race. Their society places little value on individual lives, and makes extensive use of slave labor.

Due to their unusual shape and grasping limbs, Mantis require non-standard weapons and armor. Weapons made for Mantis use differ from normal weapons solely by how they are held (typically with an altered grip or hilt). They have the same market value as normal weapons (although they are typically sold at a greater price outside of Mantis lands due to their rarity). Non-Mantis using weapons designed for Mantis do not suffer any additional penalties once they have familiarized themselves with the altered grip. Mantis armor is designed for their quadrupedal form. It has a market value twice that of Medium armor designed for humanoids.

Mantis Racial Traits
Rock
- -2 Dex, +2 Con
- 20' Dwarf speed (not slowed by armor/encumbrance)
- Fire resist 5
- Nonflammable: Cannot catch fire, although equipment still can.
- +1 natural armor

Slug
- +2 Cha, -2 Wis
- 30' speed
- Telepathy 100 feet
- No legs. Stability and carrying as quadruped.

Crystal
- +2 Con, -2 Wis
- 25' Dwarf speed (not slowed by armor/encumbrance)
- SLA: 1/day Hold Portal
- Reduced suffocation? Gonna have to look up those rules again. Also drowning and inhaled poisons.
- +1 natural armor
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 22, 2017, 11:16:26 PM
A rewrite of Divine Metamagic.

Divine Metamagic [Divine]
You can channel energy into some of your divine spells to make them more powerful.
Prerequisite: Ability to turn undead or rebuke undead, any metamagic feat.
Benefit: When you take this feat, choose a metamagic feat that you have that increases the level of the spell slot the spell requires. This feat applies only to that metamagic feat. When you apply the chosen metamagic to a spell, you can choose to apply it in such a way that it does not increase the level of the required spell slot. Instead, as part of casting the spell or otherwise making use of it (such as losing the spell to spontaneously cast a cure or inflict spell), the caster must also spend on turn or rebuke undead attempt, plus an additional attempt for each level the metamagic would otherwise increase the spell slot's level. Failure to expend the required number of turning or rebuking attempts causes the spell to be lost to no effect.
Special: This feat may be taken multiple times. Each time you take this feat choose a different metamagic feat to which to apply it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 04, 2017, 10:53:59 AM
Simplified Initiative Tracking and Special Initiative Actions
This is a slightly simplified way of handling initiative. Basically, it drops the actual initiative count numbers and simplifies things to a pure order of actions. It's the way I ran combat with my tabletop group when I was DMing, albeit refined a bit. I still haven't figured out how to handle new creatures joining an encounter in the middle yet, unfortunately.

Once an encounter starts and initiative has been rolled, drop all actual initiative counts. Make a list of all combatants in the order they act, plus the special initiative marker indicating the start of the round. Whenever an effect with a duration is produced or anything else that requires tracking time from round to round happens within an encounter, add an initiative marker for it to the initiative list.

To actually run this, just make a list (actually a queue, for us computer science folks), starting with the start of round and continuing with all combatants in order. Start from the top of the list. Whenever a creature comes up, it takes its turn, then cross it off and write its name at the bottom of the list. Likewise, whenever a special initiative marker comes up, do whatever needs to be done for that event, then cross it off and rewrite it at the bottom of the list (unless it's an effect that's ended, in which case you don't need to keep tracking it).

Delay: When your delayed turn triggers, your place in the initiative order moves to immediately after the event that triggered it. If multiple creatures delay in response to the same event, make opposed initiative checks to determine the new order.

Ready: When your readied action triggers, your place in the initiative order moves to immediately before the event that triggered it. If multiple creatures ready in response to the same event, make opposed initiative checks to determine the new order.

Moment of Alacrity
Diamond Mind 6 (Boost)
You can improve your initiative count for the next round and all subsequent rounds. When you initiate this maneuver, your place in the initiative order for the subsequent and following rounds moves to immediately after the start of the round.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Raineh Daze on July 04, 2017, 12:54:47 PM
But what if I want stack-based initiative? :P
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on July 04, 2017, 12:57:55 PM
Has anyone actually considered going through this thread and pulling out all of the material that's actually finished? There's a lot of "Ideas I actually fleshed out but didn't stick in a separate thread" in here.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on July 04, 2017, 01:19:11 PM
Has anyone actually considered going through this thread and pulling out all of the material that's actually finished? There's a lot of "Ideas I actually fleshed out but didn't stick in a separate thread" in here.

The first post has an Index in it, though it's only of Garryl's stuff, and last updated 3 years ago.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on July 04, 2017, 01:41:29 PM
The first post has an Index in it, though it's only of Garryl's stuff, and last updated 3 years ago.

We can call that a "No", I think.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: FireInTheSky on July 04, 2017, 01:49:40 PM
The first post has an Index in it, though it's only of Garryl's stuff, and last updated 3 years ago.

We can call that a "No", I think.

 :P
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 04, 2017, 02:03:19 PM
Has anyone actually considered going through this thread and pulling out all of the material that's actually finished? There's a lot of "Ideas I actually fleshed out but didn't stick in a separate thread" in here.

I did that for most of my more complete ideas a while ago. The bigger things, like classes, have their own threads. Individual feats and whatnot I put in Microbrews. Again, though, that's just my own personal material.

I don't know about everyone else, but my finished-looking stuff here tends to come in two categories:
1) Ideas that I fleshed out and finished up over time, editing in the original space.
2) Ideas that were technically complete, but that I hadn't even looked at the balance of. Playable, but potentially broken.

The first post has an Index in it, though it's only of Garryl's stuff, and last updated 3 years ago.

One of the advantages of being the thread starter is that your post gets to start the thread.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nytemare3701 on July 04, 2017, 04:38:51 PM
The few things I fleshed out from other people's recommendations are in my extended sig. I'll probably be making another pass through here at some point for more inspiration.

That said, here's one: Salt in a lot of lores stops supernatural beings from passing. An ancient cataclysm/divine intervention causes a planet to have an atmospheric salt layer, and subsequently no ghosts or demonic influences. Falling stars herald the coming of evil in this world because (unknown to the people below) the salt barrier is temporarily broken and things slip through. Paladins are trained as quick response teams and the priests are astronomers who try to predict the coming evils.

Until one day, a meteor shower occurs and all hell breaks loose. The paladins can't respond to the overwhelming number of reports and the world as a whole is totally unprepared to deal with supernatural menaces (nobody but the paladins have holy/ghost touch weapons)

I'm pretty sure this is at LEAST one anime plot.

Twist: Salt desert where the last bastion of "humanity" is actually a mostly necropolitan city run by a benevolent(?) Dry Lich council.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 04, 2017, 07:57:35 PM
3-level prc, requires Swallow Whole or something similar. You swallow willing creatures and fuse with them, gaining their abilities until you spit them out.

Basically,

(click to show/hide)

plus

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Raineh Daze on July 04, 2017, 08:11:14 PM
Whatever the second one is.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 04, 2017, 10:32:18 PM
Whatever the second one is.
Did you read Worm?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Raineh Daze on July 04, 2017, 11:04:24 PM
No, but my concern was more how blurry it is :P
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 04, 2017, 11:51:00 PM
Whatever the second one is.
Did you read Worm?

Wait, that's supposed to be Noelle? I would not have guessed that. It looks more like something out of a 3rd-party Cthulhu book for d20 Modern.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Raineh Daze on July 04, 2017, 11:54:51 PM
Whatever the second one is.
Did you read Worm?

Wait, that's supposed to be Noelle? I would not have guessed that. It looks more like something out of a 3rd-party Cthulhu book for d20 Modern.


I thought it was a 2E MM picture.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 05, 2017, 07:28:19 AM
Whatever the second one is.
Did you read Worm?

Wait, that's supposed to be Noelle? I would not have guessed that. It looks more like something out of a 3rd-party Cthulhu book for d20 Modern.

Indeed.

I don't know why it turned out so blurry, honestly. I'll update the link.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: RedWarlock on July 05, 2017, 07:44:09 PM
The few things I fleshed out from other people's recommendations are in my extended sig. I'll probably be making another pass through here at some point for more inspiration.

That said, here's one: Salt in a lot of lores stops supernatural beings from passing. An ancient cataclysm/divine intervention causes a planet to have an atmospheric salt layer, and subsequently no ghosts or demonic influences. Falling stars herald the coming of evil in this world because (unknown to the people below) the salt barrier is temporarily broken and things slip through. Paladins are trained as quick response teams and the priests are astronomers who try to predict the coming evils.

Until one day, a meteor shower occurs and all hell breaks loose. The paladins can't respond to the overwhelming number of reports and the world as a whole is totally unprepared to deal with supernatural menaces (nobody but the paladins have holy/ghost touch weapons)

I'm pretty sure this is at LEAST one anime plot.

Twist: Salt desert where the last bastion of "humanity" is actually a mostly necropolitan city run by a benevolent(?) Dry Lich council.

Reminds me of Thread from Dragonriders of Pern. Sort of inverted in reasoning, but very similar concept.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: sirpercival on July 13, 2017, 06:22:46 AM
Memelord base class.

Possible CFs:

Rage Face - rage
Doge - animal companion
All your base are belong to us
Rickroll
one true god (capstone. become nick cage aka divine rank 0)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 14, 2017, 02:26:21 AM
Sometimes, an ability outside of one class or another lets you recover a maneuver. Usually, this has to have some sort of special text to account for crusaders who also need their maneuvers to be granted, not just readied and unexpended. I'm trying to figure out a good way of writing it. Most of the methods I've come up with in the past have felt a little clunky.

The best I have so far is: "If a recovered maneuver was withheld, it is also granted to you."
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 14, 2017, 10:32:54 PM
Note:: Completed at http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=19950.0.

Twilight Adept base class
In the time before the fall of the Temple of the Nine Swords, the House of the Fallen Sun was nothing more than an underworld information network. The organization's services, like those of many others, were purchased in service of the Shadow Tiger horde. After the horde's disastrous assault on the Temple of the Nine Swords, many of the martial adepts that fought within its ranks found themselves bereft of purpose. Turning to any sense of the familiar, some of them found themselves in the employ of the very groups that they had purchased the services of just months prior, including the House of the Fallen Sun. The information network was more than willing to bring these skilled assassins, infiltrators, and warriors under its sway. Over time, these martial adepts adapted the techniques they had learned under the tutelage of Reshar and his students to better suit their new activities. These new twilight adepts combined their knowledge of the nine martial disciplines with the mundane and magical techniques employed by other agents of the House.

Martial adept rogue/ninja/beguiler-type.
Has access to Diamond Mind, Setting Sun, Shadow Hand, Revealing Light (new), Phantom Battlefield (new (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=18074)), and Unnamed Shadow Illusion Discipline (new (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=243.msg301725#msg301725)).
Leads conceptually in to the twilight mystic PrC (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=4806).
d6 HD, 3/4 BAB, good Ref and Will saves, 8+Int skill points/level.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 16, 2017, 06:12:22 PM
Note: Completed at http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=18074.

(click to show/hide)

Phantom Battlefield martial discipline
In the time before the fall of the Temple of the Nine Swords, the House of the Fallen Sun was nothing more than an underworld information network. The organization's services, like those of many others, were purchased in service of the Shadow Tiger horde. After the horde's disastrous assault on the Temple of the Nine Swords, many of the martial adepts that fought within its ranks found themselves bereft of purpose. Turning to any sense of the familiar, some of them found themselves in the employ of the very groups that they had purchased the services of just months prior, including the House of the Fallen Sun. The information network was more than willing to bring these skilled assassins, infiltrators, and warriors under its sway. Over time, these martial adepts adapted the techniques they had learned under the tutelage of Reshar and his students to better suit their new activities. These new twilight adepts combined their knowledge of the nine martial disciplines with the mundane and magical techniques employed by other agents of the House.

Among the many results of this merger of disciplines was the Phantom Battlefield martial discipline. It combines the illusory magics of beguilers and illusionists with the stealth and deception of Shadow Hand and Setting Sun.

Discipline Access
Twilight adepts have access to Phantom Battlefield, allowing them to learn and use its maneuvers. Swordsages can train in the ways of Phantom Battlefield by selecting it in place of one of the Desert Wind, Diamond Mind, Stone Dragon, or Tiger Claw disciplines, allowing them to learn and use its maneuvers instead. Like all martial disciplines, any character can dabble in Phantom Battlefield's techniques with the Martial Study and Martial Stance feats.

Discipline Key Skill: Disguise

Discipline Favored Weapons: Dagger, kukri, rapier, unarmed strike, ...

Sidebar: Mirror Images and Projected Images
(click to show/hide)

Maneuvers by Level
(click to show/hide)

Maneuver Descriptions
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 18, 2017, 07:03:46 PM
Reactive Style [General]
Prerequisite: Adaptive Style.
Benefit: Once per encounter, you can use Adaptive Style to change your readied maneuvers as a free action. You can only use this ability if you haven't yet initiated or expended any maneuvers.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on July 19, 2017, 07:02:54 PM
1-Incarnum crafter class that does crafting by turning Soulmelds into permanent magical items, own Soulmeld list being heavy on magic item duplication and overlapping effects, some Construct abilities. By duplication, referring to duplication of common/basic magic item effects. By overlapping effects, referring to Soulmelds effecting items and categories of Soulmeld effect, with Bindings creating items and effects to apply. More spell/item creation method than typical Soulmeld setup.

2-Undead-based Incarnum class that can focus on Necrocarnum Undead or Natural Attack through gameplay choices outside of build resources, likely multiple new types of Necrocarnum Undead included in class thread. Central mechanic of increased Essentia supply at cost of lowered Con and additional Essentia having reduced effect with normal Soulmelds, Natural Attack focus reliant on Con-reducing extra Essentia. Gradual increase in Undead traits throughout leveling.

3-Work out design philosophy for Soulmeld patters based on creature type, use as guide for Incarnum classes of each creature type. Design to allow for compartmentalizing of effects, use competing slots to avert inherently imbalanced combinations. Keep in mind above crafter's heavy overlapping of effects, rely on correcting critique to ensure compartmentalizing properly results in conflicting Chakra use. Retain balance attempts of conflicting slot use due to existence of Split Chakra.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on October 26, 2017, 05:35:49 PM
Soulknife feat:

Mind Dagger Subtlety
Prereqs:
Mind Daggers (see http://therafimrpg.wikidot.com/mind-daggers)
Flick of the Wrist (Complete Warrior, Races of the Wild)
BAB+X (somewhere 8 to 11)
Quick Draw feat

Benefit: Your training with mind daggers has allowed you to freely form and unform them as you attack, allowing you to catch your enemies by surprise.  You may form your mind dagger as many times per round as you have attacks available and at any time, including as you are attacking.  Forming a mind dagger more than once in a round no longer accrues the enhancement bonus penalty from Mind Daggers.  Forming a mind dagger while attacking counts as drawing a hidden weapon for the purposes of effects such as Flick of the Wrist and Iaijutsu Focus.  You may also unform your mind dagger at any time.



Probably needs the wording cleaned up like usual on my first cut homebrew feats.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on October 26, 2017, 08:43:20 PM
Shiba Protector in Oriental Adventures can be refluffed into Clan Protector, with the requirement that the clan you belong to has sworn some sort of oath or allegiance to another clan.  Also works for tribes, maybe organizations, etc.

Aside from the fluff redo, the things I'd change about it are:

Aid Shugenja changed to Aid Cleric, or whichever spellcaster type the given clans prefer.  Could stand to be made 1/encounter instead of limited per day.
One With Nothing changed to once per encounter instead of three times a day.
Diamond Soul should allow the Protector to be affected by beneficial spells cast by members of the clan they serve to ignore their SR.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on October 26, 2017, 09:14:09 PM
4. Apparatus of the Crab based mecha system, using the action economy as fuel. FML, that takes way too long, but I want it, because it can model realistic vehicles.

5. An implementation of a race with highly-atypical sexual dimorphism(socialogical/magical, instead of biological) using a race entry, a bloodline and racial substitution levels.

6. Conversion of featureless classes, like Fighter and Wizard, into classes that lean on class-external things, like feats and spells, but rely on features, with AFCs replacing infamous flat upgrade PRCs.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Eldritch_Lord on October 27, 2017, 01:58:44 PM
4. Apparatus of the Crab based mecha system, using the action economy as fuel. FML, that takes way too long, but I want it, because it can model realistic vehicles.

If you want to expand upon the apparatus of the crab/apparatus of Kwalish, you might want to take a look at the Artificer of Kwalish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=13931934&postcount=18) homebrew PrC over on GitP for inspiration (or just a laugh).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on October 28, 2017, 03:43:59 PM
A chess-themed martial discipline based around battlefield positioning, with things like a 'castling move' counter to pull an ally behind you and take his place, or a "checkmate" that forces the target to make a 5' move as an immediate action, and allows you to hit for massive damage if he can't use it to get out of your reach.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on October 30, 2017, 11:04:01 PM
7. Bloodborne-based blood magic themed Martial Discipline, with available weapons including firearms and throwing daggers. Mostly because of justifying Con to damage three times over...

8. Bloodborne-based transforming weapons, using the transformation attack of Trick Weapons as an excuse to shove in Maneuvers on items. Mix with 7 for Bloodtinge weapons and HP as ammo.

9. "Mental item" system to provide a variety of things, themed after Caryll Runes from Bloodborne, using Truenaming as a medium. Yes, Truenaming item crafting by way of memorized phrases.

---

Edited in quote:
A chess-themed martial discipline based around battlefield positioning, with things like a 'castling move' counter to pull an ally behind you and take his place, or a "checkmate" that forces the target to make a 5' move as an immediate action, and allows you to hit for massive damage if he can't use it to get out of your reach.
Hmm... "Bishop's Gambit" Boost that lets you Charge and land the attack against an enemy on a diagonal of your actual path? "King's Call" Counter to take a 5' step and give an ally a Move Action to intercept the attack?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 06, 2017, 11:57:31 PM
En Passant: A charging enemy that is not attacking you provokes an AoO from you when it moves into one of your threatened squares instead of when leaving. And/or if an enemy is charging an ally you may make use an immediate action to take a 5 foot step to intercept the charge.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on November 08, 2017, 06:34:57 PM
En Passant: A charging enemy that is not attacking you provokes an AoO from you when it moves into one of your threatened squares instead of when leaving. And/or if an enemy is charging an ally you may make use an immediate action to take a 5 foot step to intercept the charge.

Knight's pincer move: You can make a move action, turning as you like, ignoring attacks of opportunity from one opponent, as long as you end your move flanking him.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Braininthejar on November 08, 2017, 06:44:05 PM
Bishop's blindside: (strike) Make a charge action. Your damage is doubled for the first strike (so, no accounting for pounce effects)
During the charge, you ignore attacks of opportunity - and if you pass through threatened squares of at least two opponents, your target will be caught flat-footed against this charge, as you suddenly emerge from between his allies.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 25, 2018, 03:31:26 AM
Order of the Serene Mind:

An affiliation that focuses on the Wisdom stat with emphasis on spellcasters, psionics, and so on.  Increasing one's affiliation score in it grants them bonus appropriate feats or feat-equivalent effects keyed towards Wisdom provided they otherwise qualify.  Alternately, the affiliation can make entering a Prestige Class easier by lowering or removing certain requirements.

A feat-equivalent effect might be something like the Shifter Ranger sub level where wisdom replaces charisma for Wild Empathy checks.  Switching one or several skill checks that rely on Int over to Wis instead is also fitting a la Ancestral Knowledge.  Treating your Wisdom as X higher for certain purposes like spells is another option.


Perhaps have affiliations for each of the stats.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 02, 2018, 11:55:12 PM
Premise:  Things attacking other things will use the appendage that's closest to whatever they're attacking.  Humanoids attacking other humanoids will tend to use their arms.  A humanoid attacking a tiny or smaller spider will tend to stomp instead.

Enter flying creatures.  Hitting something on the ground.  Why are they using handheld weapons when stuff attached to the feet or legs would likely end up better like the spider example?

To-do homebrew:  Lots of weapons meant specifically for flying creatures (mainly humanoids) to attack ground creatures.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 31, 2018, 11:28:29 PM
Premise: A more active spellcastery system. Not quite at-will, but not encounter resources like ToB/Spellshapers. Rapid casting, with multiple spellcasts per round, and different spells leading into each other.

Mechanics:
- Cast a spell for each attack in a full attack. Levels in these classes either are or count as full BaB for spellcasts as part of a full attack.
- Cantrip-level spells as a swift action.
- Conditional immediate action spells commonly available.
- All spells are at will.
- Most spells generate "charges", which are spent to empower other spells or to be able to cast certain more powerful spell. Spells are of equivalent level equal to the number of charges spent to cast them.
- Some special types of charges can be generated only by more powerful spells that spend other charges. These can be used to cast particularly potent spells or to empower normal spells in special ways.
- Spellcasters can only hold on to a limited number of charges based on level. Normal charges can be maintained and generated out of combat. Special charges dissipate if unused and can only be generated under certain conditions. Typically, a spellcaster can have up to 1 charge per caster level, but no more than 1 of each type of charge per odd-numbered level.

Example spells:
- Channel Flame (cantrip): Swift action. For 1 round, any time a creature hits you with a melee attack, you deal 2 fire damage to them. You generate 1 flame charge.
- Channel Frost (cantrip): Swift action. You gain DR 2/- for 1 round. You generate 1 frost charge.
- Ice Shard (basic): Ranged touch attack deals 2d6 cold damage. You generate 1 frost charge.
- Ice Spear (basic): Spend 2 frost charges to cast this spell. Ranged touch attack deals 4d6 cold damage. If the target is more than 30' away, this is a ranged attack, not a ranged touch attack, but the critical threat range is quadrupled (to 17-20). You generate 3 frost charges. Empower: If you spend an ice charge, Ice Spear automatically threatens and confirms a critical hit if it hits at distances greater than 30'.
- Frost Nova (basic): Deal 1d6 cold damage to all creatures other than yourself within a 10' radius burst (Reflex half). Empower: For every 1 frost charge you spend, increase the damage by 1d6. For every 2 frost charges spent this way, increase the radius by 5'.
- Consume Heat (basic): Spend 4 frost charges to cast. Deals 5d6 cold damage to a creature and causes them to be exhausted for 1 round. A successful Fort save halves the damage and negates the exhaustion. You generate 2 flame charges. Empower: For every 2 additional frost charges you spend, increase the damage dealt by 2d6, the duration of the exhaustion by 1 round, and the number of flame charges generated by 1.
- Pillar of Frost (basic): Spend 5 frost charges to cast. Creates a pillar of ice in a 5' radius column up to 30' tall. Creatures within the column are allowed a Reflex save to move into the nearest open space adjacent to the pillar without provoking an attack of opportunity, rather than be pushed up by the pillar. If the pillar pushes a creature into the ceiling or otherwise crushes it, the creature takes 6d6 points of bludgeoning damage, is pushed into a space adjacent to the pillar (without provoking an attack of opportunity), takes falling damage appropriate to the height at the top of the pillar, and falls prone when it lands. The pillar lasts for 3 rounds before melting and disappearing. Empower: For every 1 additional frost charge you spend, increase the maximum height of the pillar by 10', and the damage it deals to creatures it crushes by 1d6. If you spend 2 ice charges, huge size and smaller creatures crushed by the pillar are not pushed away, but are instead grappled and pinned by it. Treat the pillar as a huge creature with a Strength score of 26 and a Base Attack Bonus equal to your caster level (for a total grapple bonus of 20 + your caster level). Creatures pinned this way take 2d6 points of bludgeoning and 1d6 points of cold damage each round they remain grappled.
- Thermal Balance (counter): Immediate action. Choose fire or cold. Spend any number of flame or frost charges. Until your next turn, gain cold resistance 5 for each flame charge spent (if you chose cold), or fire resistance 5 for each frost charge spent (if you chose fire). For every 5 damage prevented this way, gain a frost charge (if you chose cold) or a flame charge (if you chose fire), up to a maximum of the number of charges you spent.
- Implosive Burst (basic): Spend 3 flame charges to cast. Deals 5d6 fire damage in a 10' radius burst (Reflex half).  You generate 1 plasma charge. Empower: For every 1 additional flame charge you spend, increase the damage dealt by 2d6. For every 3 additional flame charges spent this way, increase the radius by 5' and you generate 1 additional plasma charge.
- Pyrrhic Defeat (counter): Immediate action. Cast this spell when you are hit by a damaging attack. Spend any number of flame charges. Reduce the damage you take form the attack by 1d6 per flame charge spent, up to a maximum of the amount of hit points you would otherwise lose from the attack's damage. You release a burst of flame in a 10' radius around you, dealing that much fire damage to all other creatures in the area. Your attacker receives no saving throw, but other creatures are allowed a Reflex save to halve the damage.
- Ice Barrier (advanced): Immediate action. Spend 2 ice charges to cast. Choose a physical (bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing) or energy (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic) damage type. You are immune to that type of damage until your next turn. Empower: For every 2 additional ice charges you spend, choose an additional damage type to become immune to.
- Channel Plasma (advanced): Swift action. Spend 2 plasma charges to cast. You gain an additional move action. Empower: If you spend 5 plasma charges instead, you instead gain an additional standard action. If you spend 8 plasma charges instead, you instead gain an additional full-round action.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on November 01, 2018, 12:15:03 AM
Iiinteresting.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on November 01, 2018, 07:06:15 AM
This I want to see fleshed out...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: SorO_Lost on November 01, 2018, 10:32:43 AM
Premise: A more active spellcastery system. Not quite at-will, but not encounter resources like ToB/Spellshapers. Rapid casting, with multiple spellcasts per round, and different spells leading into each other.
There are a few official options for stuff this but none like your Homebrew goes on to do.

You could adept the idea of the system using a single ACF.
Evocationist
Prerequisite: Sorcerer 1st.
Benefit: You use the Spellpoint System out of Unearthed Arcana and casting any non-Evocation Spell costs twice as many spell points. However when ever you deal damage to an enemy during a combat encounter using a cantrip you gain your 1/4 your spellcasting level in spell points. After the 10th level, you can also generate spell points off of 1st level spells.
A step up from there could be generating unique charges & cherry picking Spells (like electric loop) per Descriptors which prevents picking fights to spam other Spells which is how I'd probably do it. While the full Monty is as you purposed but requires the most effort to write and limits you to exactly what's wrote and a single author's ideas of how magic should work instead of drawing off D&D's supplements (this can be a good or bad thing depending on the player/DM wants).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: RedWarlock on November 01, 2018, 10:52:35 PM
I've got a concept for a similar system I was planning to build into my personal heartbreaker. My inspiration was the magic-charges system that WoW uses for the Mage class recently. Simpler spells build up charges while dealing incidental-but-useful damage (often to secondary minions), while a finisher detonation spell expends those charges to greater effect as more charges have built up. The simpler spells are either low cost or at-will, while the charges expire when out of combat, meaning the mage can't store them for an early blast. No alpha-striking, and it gives the tanky melee guys something to do, keeping the enemies off the mage while he builds charges.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 01, 2018, 11:02:49 PM
Any idea for a decent name for this system? I'm just using spellcastery for now as a placeholder.

Some ideas for schools of spellcastery:

Eternal Pyre
- Basic charges: flame. Advanced charges: plasma.
- Fire-based spellcastery. Direct damage, area denial (fire walls, burning ground, etc.), retributive damage, and phoenix-themed effects (flame-based recovery, flight, etc.).

Glacial Road
- Basic charges: frost. Advanced charges: ice.
- Cold-based spellcastery. Crowd control, area-based combos (created icy ground, use it to enhance later spells), damage mitigation.

Crashing Tempest
- Basic charges: shock. Advanced charges: lightning.
- Electricity-based spellcastery. Multi-target non-area damage, speed and teleportation, stun and paralysis.

Consuming Presence
- Basic charges: corrosion. Advanced charges: consumption.
- Acid-based spellcastery. Debuffing defenses, anti-construct, anti-object, damage over time.

Clarion Tone
- Basic charges: corrosion. Advanced charges: consumption.
- Sonic-based spellcastery. Sound manipulation, morale-based buffs and debuffs, fear, sound-based detection.

Unyielding Reality
- Basic charges: force. Advanced charges: power.
- Force-based spellcastery. Auto-hit effects, bypassing defenses, unbreakable barriers, anti-incorporeal/ethereal.

Boundless Fury
- Basic charges: rage. Advanced charges: frenzy.
- Offensive combat-based spellcastery. Self-buffs, melee attacks, offense at the cost of defense, protection from mental effects, temporary removal of disabling effects.

Guardian's Edge
- Basic charges: protection. Advanced charges: endurance.
- Defensive combat-based spellcastery. Self-buffs, melee attacks, ally buffs, disrupting enemy attacks, prevention of harm.

Certain Will
- Basic charges: aligned . Advanced charges: chaos, evil, good, law.
- Alignment-based spellcastery. Variable-alignment effects, alignment-specific protection and attacks, anti-outsider, mental protection, area wards.

Bloody Tears
- Basic charges: blood. Advanced charges: siphoning.
- Health-based spellcastery. Sacrifice health for effects, stealing health, poison and disease, debilitation.

Bestial Wrath
- Basic charges: shift. Advanced charges: transformation.
- Transformation-based spellcastery. Natural attacks, polymorph, more stuff when I think of it, although polymorph is pretty versatile as-is.



Preliminary ideas for the more spellcastery of the spellcastery classes.

Magician
- 1/2 BAB, full BAB if only using spellcastery as part of a full attack.
- Access to the more magical schools of spellcastery.
- Specializes in a school of spellcastery. Basic charges from the school (flame, frost, etc.) don't count against your maximum charges limit (still limited to 1/2 level of any given charge type), and at higher levels you get to start each encounter with one or more advanced charges from the school (plasma, ice, etc.).
- Also gets to cast a small selection of Sor/Wiz spells on a per-day basis.



On a side note, this idea was conceptually inspired by Sypha Belnades (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ixd8sC09nc)'s combat casting style in the recently released season 2 of Castlevania. If you haven't watched it yet, do. It's not just a good adaptation of a video game, it's damn good television, period.

The mechanics also draw inspiration from Path Of Exile's charge system and Slay The Spire's Defect class.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: TheGeometer on November 02, 2018, 03:14:10 PM
Why do none of the schools share charge types other than Consuming Presence and Clarion Tone? I actually think it would lend a really cool element to the system if a lot of effects resulted in charges that a completely different school could use. That way, you'd benefit from constantly switching up which school you pull your next attack from. For example, you could have some ally-buffing effect that gives you flame charges (somehow - it would take a bit of fluff, calling it "Burning Determination" or whatever), so that you could follow it up with a powerful fire attack that uses up those charges.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on November 02, 2018, 05:34:46 PM
Why do none of the schools share charge types other than Consuming Presence and Clarion Tone? I actually think it would lend a really cool element to the system if a lot of effects resulted in charges that a completely different school could use. That way, you'd benefit from constantly switching up which school you pull your next attack from. For example, you could have some ally-buffing effect that gives you flame charges (somehow - it would take a bit of fluff, calling it "Burning Determination" or whatever), so that you could follow it up with a powerful fire attack that uses up those charges.

That's a typo. Clarion Tone was supposed to use different charges. What was intended, however, was a lot of spells like Consume Heat and Thermal Balance that use one school's charges but generate charges from another school exactly as you describe, plus a few like multicolored cards in MtG that use charges from multiple schools at once. Staying purely in one school's effects will build you up to the most powerful individual effects (make basic charges, spend basic for advanced charges, spend advanced charges for super stuff), but using cross-school effects should be more efficient across multiple casts, since you get back a lot of the charges that you put in, just in a different school's form.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Samwise on January 02, 2019, 09:11:04 PM
Since I poked my nose back with a comment about high level non-dungeon crawl play, I was inspired to write a rather cheeky alternative high level rulership set of rules. Henceforth:

APPENDIX N KINGDOM RULES

Every month that you rule a kingdom (or otherwise have a leadership position in politics, business, or other circumstance), roll on the following table:

D%      Event
01-50           Nothing happens.
51-90           Something good happens!
91-100           Something awesome happens!!!
101+                   Something horrible happens!!!!!


Nothing happens. Really, nothing of note happens. You are bored overseeing the bureaucracy of your kingdom. Add +10 to next month’s roll. This is cumulative until otherwise noted.

Something good happens! A good harvest, a trade agreement, or some other event that makes your people appreciate what a good ruler you are. Despite their appreciation, you are excessively bored overseeing the bureaucracy of your kingdom. Add +10 to next month’s roll. This is cumulative until otherwise noted.

Something awesome happens!!! You have a new heir, you expand your kingdom significantly, you find a source of new wealth, or some other great event that makes your people love you for being so great. Despite the parties and celebrations, you are overwhelmingly bored overseeing the bureaucracy of your kingdom. Add +10 to next month’s roll. This is cumulative until otherwise noted.

Something horrible happens!!!!! Invasion! Famine! Plague! Bankruptcy! Whatever it is, the fate of the kingdom hangs in the balance. Of course, you are supposed to be retired.
Roll a Will Save DC 10 + character level + the number of children or other heirs you have. You add +1 to your roll for every +10 you added to the random event roll. You also add +1 if you are middle-aged, +2 if you are old, or +3 if you are venerable, to your roll, because why should those miserable kids have all the fun!
If you fail, your spouse and advisors talk you into sending out some adventurers to take care of the problem for you. If you want, you can create 1st level PCs and the DM can run one of those intro adventures he has sitting around that he never ran before because he could never figure out how to fit it into a campaign. If you already have PCs that survived such an adventure, maybe he will let them do a slightly higher level adventure he has gathering dust somewhere. Either way, you are insanely bored overseeing the bureaucracy of your kingdom. Add +10 to next month’s roll. This is cumulative until otherwise noted.
If you succeed, your spouse and advisors fail to talk you out of getting your stuff out of storage and going on a rampage. Or maybe your spouse has been abducted and your advisors slaughtered, so there is no one to stop you from seeking revenge personally. Either way, you get to play a high level adventure. Woot! If you survive, reset all bonuses for the monthly random event roll to zero and go back to being bored overseeing the bureaucracy of your kingdom until you roll well enough to have another adventure.


And there it is.
Now you can have players rule kingdoms, run businesses, supervise guilds and schools, and all those other totally cool sounding but requiring egregiously complicated sub-systems that involve reams of book-keeping and custom spreadsheets to work, and go will full on Appendix N inspired playstyle options instead.
All it needs is someone to set up a couple of flavorful charts to define the specifics of what does or not happen at the various event levels, except the adventure one which requires customized charts for every individual campaign based on what the DM has available to run.

And yes, that is rather flippantly presented, it is also serious in that it reflects how most Appendix N books are. They start with a chapter (a paragraph or two for short stories) about how the hero is thoroughly bored and maybe getting out of shape with being in charge and then BAM! something happens and it is time to get medieval (or similar era) on someone.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 13, 2019, 12:17:07 AM
Facetaker
PrC for Changelings and the like, although probably also for anyone who can cast Alter Self.

Requires Bluff, Disguise.
Requires ability to physically change form into that of another creature. Can be through a racial ability, spellcasting, etc.

6+Int skills/level

Level
1 Stolen Faces (touch, 1 hour), Sneak Attack +1d6
2 Stolen Faces (1 day), Becoming the Mask (detection)
3 Bonus Feat
4 Stolen Faces (1 week), Sneak Attack +2d6
5 Stolen Faces (30 feet), Becoming the Mask (thoughts)
6 Stolen Faces (indefinite duration), Remembered Faces (1 face)
7 Bonus Feat, Sneak Attack +3d6
8 Remembered Faces (2 faces)
9 Becoming the Mask (truth)
10 Remembered Faces (3 faces), Forgotten Faces, Sneak Attack +4d6

Stolen Faces
- Can "steal" the face of one individual at a time.
- Using your Change/Alter Self ability/spell, you can transform into a near-perfect copy of an individual whose face you have stolen.
- You can always take 10 on Bluff and Disguise checks to appear and act like the individual you are transformed into.
- Can steal the face of any individual you have access to. Can steal the face of any living creature or animated non-living creature. If you have access to the remains of a dead or destroyed creature, you can also use them to steal its face, as long as the remains are fully intact.
- At 1st level, stealing a face requires contact (touch) and a standard action. At 5th level, can be done at a range of 30 feet with line of sight, but requires 3 rounds of observation and study.
- At 1st level, you can retain a stolen face for up to 1 hour. At 2nd level improves to 1 day, then at 4th level to 1 week, then at 6th level to indefinitely. As long as a face is stolen, you can transform into that individual; you don't need to stay in their form the whole time, and you don't lose the face if you transform away from that individual's form.

Becoming the Mask
- At 2nd level, while transformed into an individual whose face you have stolen, detection spells pick up the individual's alignment, creature type, etc. instead of your own.
- At 5th level, while transformed, even mind reading picks up surface thoughts consistent with the individual you are transformed into. You also become vaguely aware of what the individual's instinctive response to any situation you find yourself in would be. You further gain a +4 bonus on a Knowledge checks pertaining to anything that the individual knows extremely well, and can use Knowledge skills untrained for such purposes regardless of the DC.
- At 9th level, nothing short of a True Seeing spell or similarly powerful magic/effects automatically reveals your true form or identifies you as false. A successful Spot check against a DC equal to your Disguise check or a Sense Motive check opposed by your Bluff check are enough to raise suspicion, but neither alone are enough to convince someone that you aren't the individual whose face you have stolen; unless you act sufficiently suspiciously or out of character, only by succeeding on both skills against you or by corroborating with another character who is likewise made suspicious can a character truly be convinced that you are not the individual whose face you have stolen.

Remembered Faces
- Starting at 6th level, you can "remember" a stolen face. As a standard action, while not transformed into a stolen face, you can store that face.
- Also as a standard action, or as part of the action to store a stolen face, you can steal a remembered face.
- When you get access to this ability, you can remember one face at a time. This improves to 2 faces at 8th level and to 3 faces at 10th level.

Forgotten Faces
- At 10th level, while you are transformed into an individual whose face you have stolen, others become suspicious of them, not you. When a creature observes that individual, they must make a Will save (DC 10 + PrC level + your Cha mod). On a failure, they become suspicious of the individual, believing them to possibly be an impostor. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Sneak Attack
- Gain a Sneak Attack +1d6 at 1st level, and +1d6 every 3 levels thereafter.

Bonus Feats
- At 3rd and 7th levels, gain a bonus feat from the following list: Skill Focus (Bluff or Disguise), Deceitful, Negotiator, Spell Focus (Transmutation), Iron Will, Open Minded.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on June 13, 2019, 07:51:43 AM
That's pretty much a complete class there. And a good idea. I'd lean towards the Rogue benefits instead of casting, otherwise it's just really strong.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 01, 2019, 09:13:25 PM
Ideas for the Necromancy-magic-based race for the magic-based setting I was talking about 20-odd pages ago...


Feat ideas:

Also, more generally for the magic races, a school of magic ascendant feat for each (Necromancy Ascendant, Evocation Ascendant, etc.). Requires being a member of the associated magic race (these guys for Necromancy, Ergs for Evocation, etc.), a couple of the associated racial feats, Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus, and the ability to cast 5+ spells of the schools of 7th-level or higher. Grants knowledge of all spells of the school on your spell lists and on the Sor/Wiz list and the ability to cast them all spontaneously.

Edit: Forgot I already did a race for this Necromancy (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=243.msg235718#msg235718). Eh, more ideas never hurts.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 27, 2020, 01:12:05 AM
Favored Maneuver [General]
Prerequisite: Three martial maneuvers known.
Benefit: When you select this feat, choose a martial maneuver you know. You can initiate it once per encounter, in addition to your normal ability to initiate maneuvers. This extra usage allows you to initiate the maneuver if you have already expended it, if the maneuver is not granted to you, or even if you haven't readied it at all. This extra usage does not count against your normal limit of readied maneuvers, nor does it cause you to expend the maneuver if you have it readied and available normally, but neither can you recover it through normal means.
Special: When you learn a new maneuver as part of gaining a new level, you can change your previous selection of favored maneuver to the newly learned maneuver.
Special: If you lose knowledge of the chosen maneuver, you lose the benefit of this feat until you regain knowledge of the maneuver or you change your favored maneuver to one you know.

Note: Some balance comparisons for Favored Maneuver:
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Master of One PrC
- "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times", Bruce Lee
- Focuses on using one favored maneuver above all others.
- Requires Favored Maneuver, Martial Lore 10 ranks, 10 ranks in the skill for the Favored Maneuver's discipline's key skill.
- 5 levels. Full BaB. I haven't thought about saves, skills, HD, etc.
- Unlike other martial adepts, gain no additional maneuvers or stances known or maneuvers readied over the course of the PrC's levels. Still adds full IL.
- Additional extra uses of Favored Maneuver. Adds 1 use/encounter/level.
- Bonuses to effectiveness of your favored maneuver. Plus to attack rolls, damage rolls, save DCs, skill checks, etc.
- Spend extra uses of Favored Maneuver to do special things with it, like empowering bonus damage dice and variable numeric effects, initiating it in place of an attack of opportunity (for standard action strikes that involve making a single attack), repeating it against subsequent attacks/effects in the same round (for counters), applying it to nearby allies (for self-only boosts), etc.
- Take 10 on skills checks and/or automatically confirm crits with the Favored Maneuver.

Improved Favored Maneuver (Ex): You gain an additional use of your Favored Maneuver per encounter for each master of one level.

Focused Maneuver (Ex): You gain bonuses when performing your favored maneuver. The bonus is equal to your master of one level on all damage rolls and skill checks you make as part of your favored maneuver, and equal to half your master of one level, rounded up, on all attack rolls, saving throws, level checks you make and to the save DC of your favored maneuver.

Favored Metamanuver: At 2nd level, 4th level, and again at 5th level, choose a favored metamanuver to learn. When you initiate your favored maneuver, you can spend extra uses of Favored Maneuver to modify it with up to one favored metamaneuver you know.
Favored Mastery (Ex): Beginning at 5th level, you attain true mastery of your favored maneuver. You can take 10 on skill checks you make as part of the maneuver and you automatically confirm all crits you threaten with it.

Notes
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Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on April 27, 2020, 06:11:20 AM
I like these. Should flesh them out!

For favoured maneuver do you just never recover it and always get one use per encounter?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 27, 2020, 09:40:31 AM
I like these. Should flesh them out!

For favoured maneuver do you just never recover it and always get one use per encounter?

The extra use from the feat is once per encounter, but you can still ready the maneuver normally to use and recover it through your normal means. The two are separate, though, so you could, for example, initiate the maneuver normally, expending it, then initiate it the following round using Favored Maneuver, recover your maneuvers the third round, and then initiate the maneuver normally again the fourth round. Your extra use from Favored Maneuver would still be used, so you'd have to recover the maneuver again normally before using it a fourth time.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 27, 2020, 04:28:41 PM
Some sort of reverse warlock class.
- Divine-themed invocations.
- Blessed touch. At will touch-range healing (up to 1/2 max hp). Also deals nonlethal damage to enemies or straight up damages undead.
- Fortnate blessing invocations modify blessed touch with various effects, such as buffs, healing to full instead of 1/2, debuffs against enemies, etc.
- Blessed hand invocations modify blessed touch with range and area and other targeting options, including on that just channels it through each of your unarmed strikes as part of a full attack.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on April 29, 2020, 12:48:04 PM
Psionic Martial Adept class
- Recovery based around the Psychic Renewal feat (swift action + psi focus + 1PP/maneuver level to recover one maneuver).
- d8 HD, 3/4 BaB, good Will, 4 skills/level.
- Attempt to recover psionic focus after initiating a maneuver, 1/round. (See also Instant Clarity feat?)
- Diamond Mind, Desert Wind, Shadow Hand, White Raven, Stone Dragon
- Maybe add some Psychic Warrior powers up to 4th level, make it a gish in a can type of thing? Progression would be Paladin/Ranger-like (ML = 1/2 level, 1st level power at level 4, etc.).
- As level increase, gain temporary PP in combat usable only for Psychic Renewal. Maybe whenever you initiate a second maneuver since the start of your turn (ex: Boost + Strike, or Strike + Counter), gain PP equal to IL/4?
- Dominant Will: When you initiate or participate in a duel of wills, you can manifest a personal range power targeting only yourself with a manifesting time of 1 standard action or less. If both parties participated and you won, +2 ML and 2 free PP for the power.
- Improved Psychic Renewal: When you use Psychic Renewal, you can recover any number of expended maneuvers. You must spend PP equal to the total sum of their levels.

This would arguably have the best recovery of all martial adept classes, hopefully balanced by the fact that recovery is limited per day due to spending PP.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on April 29, 2020, 01:11:11 PM
Some sort of reverse warlock class.
- Divine-themed invocations.
- Blessed touch. At will touch-range healing (up to 1/2 max hp). Also deals nonlethal damage to enemies or straight up damages undead.
- Fortnate blessing invocations modify blessed touch with various effects, such as buffs, healing to full instead of 1/2, debuffs against enemies, etc.
- Blessed hand invocations modify blessed touch with range and area and other targeting options, including on that just channels it through each of your unarmed strikes as part of a full attack.
Here is an invoker class like that on OSR basis based on Japanese shrine maidens: https://schwarzwaldschrat.wordpress.com/2018/05/01/ganshu-miko-bringing-divine-invokers-to-chanbara/

It uses temp HP instead of actual healing, but it might provide some ideas to mine if you want to flesh that idea out.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 10, 2020, 11:36:13 AM
Combat Maneuver Focus
Benefits: You gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls, grapple checks, and ability checks made as part of the following: aid another to grant a bonus to an attack roll or to AC, bull rush, disarm, grapple, overrun, sunder, and trip.
Special: Combat Maneuver Focus can be used in place of Weapon Focus to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other special ability. If this substitution allows you to gain a benefit that normally applies to any weapon for which you have the Weapon Focus feat, it instead applies to attacks made to aid another to grant a bonus to an attack roll or to AC, bull rush, disarm, grapple, overrun, sunder, and trip.

Guardian's Resolve
Prerequisites: Steely resolve.
Benefits: Whenever an adjacent ally is attacked and takes damage, you can elect to protect that ally as a free action (even if it isn't your turn). Damage taken by your ally is added to your delayed damage pool, up to the pool's limit, with the remainder causing the ally to lose hit points as normal. This works just like adding damage to your delayed damage pool from an attack against you. Damage added to your delayed damage pool this way causes damage to you when your pool empties, as normal, not the ally to whom it was dealt.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on May 10, 2020, 03:33:28 PM
For Guardian's Resolve, whose resistances, saving throws, etc, apply? Is it a free action, immediate?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 10, 2020, 06:11:00 PM
For Guardian's Resolve, whose resistances, saving throws, etc, apply? Is it a free action, immediate?

The attack is fully resolved against the original target (AC, saves, DR, resistances, immunities, etc.), it's just that some of the hit point loss is diverted to the Crusader's delayed damage pool instead of the target's hit points.

No action to use, although I should add some clauses about consciousness and ability to act in there so you don't try to use it while unconscious or dead or something. Making it a free action (usable outside your turn) should do that, I think, without having to worry about a multitude of clauses.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on May 10, 2020, 06:41:06 PM
Not that it's necessary, but the WotC abilities of the same type have a Reflex save attached. Maquar Crusader and Warchief as examples.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 10, 2020, 11:29:17 PM
I wasn't familiar with those, but I looked them up. Warchief's ability is to deflect from the Warchief to an allied mook with a successful fixed DC save, so it's more like negating the attack, assuming the mooks are replaceable. Maquar Crusader has two similar abilities, one of which redirects the whole attack 100% of the time (no save or equivalent), and the other that negates the attack entirely with a save (like Wall of Blades, Baffling Defense, and Shield Counter) rather than redirecting it.

Now my interest is piqued. Are you familiar with any more examples of this sort of ability?

This feat has a different limitation, though, as the amount of damage diverted is limited by your delayed damage pool (which isn't that large and can be filled by attacks against you as well) instead of redirecting or negating it entirely. It's a bit more like the shield other spell in that regard, splitting damage between two characters instead of trying to focus it all onto the tankier of the two. I'm more worried that it might be too weak than too strong. At 1st level, it can redirect up to 5 damage per round, which is decent bodyguarding when players have 5-12 hp, but the scaling is very slow, adding only 1.25 more damage/level (5 points per 4 levels) for a single-classed Crusader. After the first few levels, I estimate it'll let you bodyguard for about 30% to 50% of what a level-appropriate foe can be expected to deal in one round to a single target. It's a little more interesting as a way to more reliably trigger Furious Counterstrike, though, if you're playing defensively enough that your enemies aren't reliably attacking you.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on May 11, 2020, 09:32:56 AM
Knight (base class) has Shield Ally. There might be more, but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

If you're worried about the feat being too weak, perhaps consider something like a free immediate action to burn a counter against the foe who attacked your ally? Obviously, a lot of the time this is actually dead (the foe isn't in melee range of the Crusader) so it's weaker than it looks.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 11, 2020, 10:38:42 AM
It's a little hard to evaluate. Defensively, it's less powerful than it looks at first glance. Offensively, it can give you quite a few plusses to attack and damage rolls with a Furious Counterstrike you might not otherwise get. On the other hand, if you're being attacked such that your delayed damage pool fills up before your allies get hit, it does nothing at all.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on May 11, 2020, 12:21:34 PM
There's also the issue that you have to stand next to an ally who's being attacked for the feat to do anything at all, and that somewhat precludes charge-style attacks, or the Crusader tanking by being out front and blocking the way/AoO style play. I think the feat could likely do with a mild bump.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 29, 2020, 02:16:08 AM
Development moved to PoC Work in Progress thread (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=3381.msg348079#msg348079).

Exo Gladiator base class
Cybernetic activator class. Focuses on modules that grant a variety of natural weapons. The fantasy for this class is lower tech than the others. Rather than sleek, hi-tech tools, these characters use rugged powered exoskeletons and grafted tech. Members of this class might have undergone procedures to make mechanized supersoldiers, been subjects of invasive technological experimentation, or allowed themselves to be "enhanced" to better provide bloodsport entertainment to the masses.

d10 HD
3/4 BaB
Good Fort and Ref saves
4+Int skill points/level
Skills: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Computer Use, Concentration, Craft, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (local), Listen, Perform (weapon drill), Profession, Spot, Swim, Tumble, and Use Rope.

Proficiencies: Simple weapons, light armor.
Activating: Similar progression to Energy Warrior. Has 1 fewer module active, which is counteracted by Exograft Module. (Reminder to self: module DCs are Con-based by default. This is good.)

TODO: Class table. Fill out levels with abilities as needed, and shift their levels a bit to avoid dead levels and overstuffed levels.
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Class skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Bluff, Climb, Computer Use, Concentration, Craft, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (local), Listen, Perform (weapon drill), Profession, Spot, Swim, Tumble, and Use Rope.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: As an exo gladiator, you are proficient with all simple weapons and with light armor.

Activating: An exo gladiator's primary ability is activating modules, which are drawn from the exo gladiator module list. You know and can activate any module from this list.

An exo gladiator can activate only a certain number of modules at once. Your base concurrent allotment is given on the table above.

At 1st level, you gain access to a pool of energy, which can be allocated to your active modules to increase their effects. If you already have a pool of energy, combine the two to determine the total amount of energy available. Your character level determines the maximum amount of energy that can be allocated to any given module at one time, as indicated on Table: Energy Capacity by Level.

As a swift action, you may reallocate your energy allocations amongst your active modules.

Socket Attachments: Beginning at 2nd level, you can attach active modules to the sockets that you have available. The number of socket attachments that you can have in effect at any one time depends on your level (see the Socket Attachments column in the table above). At 2nd level, you gain access to your Exograft socket (see below), allowing you to attach modules to it. Beginning at 5th level, you gain access to your Least sockets. At 9th level, you gain access to your Lesser sockets. At 14th level, you gain access to your Greater sockets. At 18th level, you gain access to your Core socket.

Armored Exograft: As an exo gladiator, you are bonded with an armored exoskeleton called an exograft. In most ways, an exograft functions as an ordinary suit of armor. However, it cannot be easily donned and doffed. In order to properly use an exograft, it must be surgically grafted to your body and wired into your nervous system. This is a difficult process that much be performed by a trained professional. This is similar to applying or removing a cybernetic graft; the procedure to attach or remove an exograft takes 8 hours and must be performed by a character with the Cybernetic Grafter feat or a similar ability. See the exograft description, below, for more details.

Several exo gladiator abilities rely on having an attached exograft. If your exograft is removed, you lose access to those abilities until such time as you attach a new one in its place.

If you are an exo gladiator at character creation, you can start with a masterwork sleek, light, medium, or heavy exograft associated with the module of your choice already attached. This exograft is free and does not count against your starting wealth as a first level character, although any further modifications to it must be paid for from your starting wealth. If you become an exo gladiator at a later level after beginning play, you must acquire and attach an exograft after you take your first level of exo gladiator in order to use your exo gladiator class features that rely on having an exograft.

Sidebar: Exografts
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Exograft Focus: You gain benefit of the Weapon Focus feat for natural weapons of the types granted by your exograft module. If your exograft module grants the benefits of the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, this also applies to unarmed strikes. If your exograft module only grants certain natural weapons while attached to a socket, you still gain the benefit of Weapon Focus with those natural weapons even if you can't yet access that socket.

You must have an attached exograft in order to use this ability. Without an attached exograft, you do not gain Weapon Focus with any natural weapons.

Exograft Module (IM): As an exo gladiator, the first skill you learn with regards to making use of your exograft is to activate its associated module. You can activate the module associated with your exograft as an integrated module using your normal activator level. As an integrated module, this does not count against the number of exo gladiator modules you can activate, and it cannot be suppressed or deactivated by abilities and effects that target individual modules (such as the dispel magic and disrupt modules spells).

In addition to its normal benefits, your exograft module grants your exograft an enhancement bonus equal to the amount of energy allocated to it.

You must have an attached exograft in order to use this ability. Without an attached exograft, the exograft module immediately deactivates.

Exograft Socket: At 2nd level, you gain access to a unique socket: the Exograft socket. This socket is not directly associated with any location on your body, although it has a strong connection to both your armored exograft and any natural weapons you may possess.

You grant a +1 enhancement bonus to the energy capacity of any energy receptacle attached to your Exograft socket. At 15th level, this bonus increases to +2.

You must have an attached exograft in order to use this ability. Without an attached exograft, you lose access to your exograft socket.

Protected Exograft (Ex): An exo gladiator's exografts are rugged devices, resistant to effects that would disrupt their function. At 4th level, your exograft, your exograft module, and any modules that are attached to your Exograft socket gain a resistance bonus equal to your Constitution modifier to their activator level to resist being suppressed. This ability counts as the protected modules ability for the purpose of feat prerequisites and other options. However, any such feats or options qualified for in this way only function with respect to your Exograft socket and the modules attached to it.

Rapidstrike (Ex): Beginning at 8th level, whenever you make a full attack in which you make one or more primary natural weapon attacks, you can make an additional attack with a primary natural weapon. You have a -5 penalty on your attack roll for this extra attack. You only get one extra attack this way, even if you attack with multiple primary natural weapons.

Expanded Exograft (Ex): Starting at 9th level, your exograft module does not count against the number of modules you can attach to your exograft socket. This allows you to have up to two modules attached to your exograft socket at once, as long as one of them is your exograft module.

Extra Exograft Attachment (Ex): Starting at 11th level, your exograft module can be attached to up to 2 sockets at once, granting the benefits for each. Each additional attachment this way counts against your total socket attachments, as normal.

Improved Rapidstrike (Ex): Beginning at 15th level, you can use rapidstrike to make a second extra attack. You have a -10 penalty on your attack roll for this second extra attack.

Shielded Exograft (Ex): Starting at 17th level, your exografts become so ruggedized as to even function inside an anti-magic field. You can attempt a DC 15 Will save each round to maintain the function of your exograft module and any active modules attached to your Exograft socket inside an anti-magic field, a dead magic zone, or a similar area wherein magic does not function. The save DC increases by +2 each round, and you may not make subsequent Will saves if you fail until your modules have been reactivated by leaving the field. Other magic items and supernatural abilities are still suppressed as normal.





Battle Talent: Gain battle talents like the dreadnought. Different list of talents available, though. Probably will be fewer talents gained then the dreadnought, since this class is supposed to gain more of its combat power from activating than the dreadnought does. Gain at 3rd, 7th, every 6 levels after.
- Armor Mastery (as dreadnought): Ignore armor speed penalties, -2 ACP
- Battle Charge (as dreadnought): Charge through difficult terrain and past allies
   - Cleaving Charge (as dreadnought): Charge again if your charge drops a foe
   - Dread Charge (as dreadnought): Demoralize foe while charging
   - Pounce (as dreadnought): Full attack at the end of a charge
- Bonus Feat (as dreadnought): Gain a bonus fighter or cybernetic feat
- Brutal Strike (as dreadnought): Add an extra +50% of Str to two-handed weapon damage
   - Brutal Critical (as dreadnought): Add Str to critical confirmation rolls
- Maintain Personal Equipment (as dreadnought): Bonuses to repair and upgrade your gear
   - Customize Personal Equipment (as dreadnought): Add cybernetic properties to your personal equipment
- Steeled In Battle (as dreadnought): Add Charisma bonus to Will saves
- Uncanny Dodge (as dreadnought): Gain Uncanny Dodge or Improved Uncanny Dodge
- ... and some new ones.
- Blooded Fury: Gain bonuses while you or your opponent are below half health.
- Brutal Display: Gain an extra attack against an opponent you drop. Cause other enemies to be shaken, frightened, or panicked based on the opponent's CR and final negative hit point total.
- Pit Fighting: Attack penalty and AC penalty against melee attacks for being prone reduced by 2. Attack with light and one-handed weapons while grappling and at no penalty. No AoO for picking up an object from the ground. Gain +2 on the relevant opposed checks for disarm, grapple, and trip.




Other ideas:
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Alternative Class Features
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Exo Gladiator Modules
- List of existing modules that look like they might fit. Will likely need to pare it down somewhat, and to go back and check if any others fit, especially if there are large holes in capabilities (ex: if everything is brute force combat-focused with no utility stuff at all).
- Make sure this isn't just the Dreadnought list minus the weapon modules.
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Natural Weapons from Modules
Sometimes, a module that grants natural weapons will specify if those are primary or secondary natural weapons. Most often, however, it won't. In this case, you can flexibly treat the natural weapon as primary or secondary. During a full attack, you can only treat one natural weapon (or pair of natural weapons, if they are granted as a pair, which may actually consist of more than two identical natural weapons) as your primary natural weapon, with the rest functioning as secondary natural weapons. If you already have a primary natural weapon from another source, if you attack with it, that is your primary natural weapon. Otherwise, you can freely choose which module-granted natural weapon is your primary natural weapon. If you perform any attacks from your Base Attack Bonus with a manufactured weapon, all natural weapons you attack with alongside it in the full attack are secondary natural weapons.

Unless otherwise specified, module-granted natural weapons used as secondary natural weapons add 1/2 your Strength modifier to damage rolls. Module-granted primary natural weapons add your full Strength modifier to damage rolls, or 1-1/2 times your Strength modifier if you use only a single primary natural weapon and no secondary natural weapons.

Module Ideas
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New Modules
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Note to self: Bring back the Bio-Mech Fuser (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=1433.0) (or at least its concept) as a PrC for this class.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on May 29, 2020, 12:56:31 PM
I will always approve of more activator material.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 29, 2020, 06:35:36 PM
While we're at it, an ACF for the Cyberneticist:

Dabbler
Some cyberneticists prefer to spread their knowledge farther, instead of focusing so heavily on their preferred technological fields.
Level: Cyberneticist 1
Replaces: You do not gain the technical knowledge ability.
Benefit: You gain an additional 2 skill points at each cyberneticist level (x4 at 1st level if you take cyberneticist at your first character level). Additionally, whenever you assign skill points to a cross-class skill when gaining a cyberneticist level, each rank costs only 1 skill point, rather than 2. The maximum number of ranks you can purchase in a cross-class skill remains the same. This does not affect the skill point cost to learn a language, learn a skill trick, or to otherwise spend skill points. If you multiclass, you still spend the normal number of skill points to purchase ranks of cross-class skills when taking levels of classes other than cyberneticist.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on May 29, 2020, 08:17:52 PM
Exocraft Gladiator having an Int sub focus is a little weird. Everything else seems okay so far.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 29, 2020, 11:19:18 PM
Agreed. The Int to AC bit was from an earlier draft that had more Int-based stuff (save DCs, specifically, before I remembered that they're Con-based by default in cybernetics), and I completely forgot that I switched Protected Exograft to Constitution already, to boot. Currently, I'm waffling between changing the the natural armor bonus to 1/2 Con mod and removing it entirely.

Right now, I'm having trouble figuring out what the class does other than have modules that give natural weapons. Probably want to delve a bit more into the fighting dirty angle? Also, I need to do some more research on how natural weapon builds work out to figure out what sort of effects should be available through the class.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on May 30, 2020, 02:06:19 AM
The main purpose of optimized natural weapon builds is making as many attacks as possible by stacking different natural weapons and/or increasing the natural weapon damage die as large as possible.

Toned down builds generally take those to a less extreme extent.

Edit: I know there are some natural weapon based homebrew classes running around, if I remember I'll dig for them this weekend.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on June 01, 2020, 10:38:08 AM
Saving something from Discord I want to revisit later:

Warmage with boom-boom spells as ToB maneuvers, now that could be a very timmy-friendly class that gets more oomph than Warlock without needing to ration its fireballs
Start spell progression with Bard 1, then delay it 1 further level from regular Warmage
Maneuvers could be refreshed by using cantrips, using PF mechanics for at-will cantrips
ToB Warmage/Warlock/Eldritch Theurge would be blaster warlock done right, especially if you give ET the feature that Eldritch Blasts also refresh your pseudo-spells
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 01, 2020, 10:59:33 AM
Per discussion in Discord:

Undead Berserker
Level: Barbarian 1st
Prerequisites: Must be undead.
Modifies: Rage.
Benefit: You adapt your rage ability and any further rage, frenzy, or similar states you gain the ability to enter through other sources to strengthen your connection to unlife. This manifests in the following ways:
These adjustments also apply to any ability you gain that is directly tied to your rage or rage-like state.
Special: This alternative class feature can also be applied to other classes that gain the ability to rage or enter a rage-like state.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 01, 2020, 11:07:09 AM
Saving something from Discord I want to revisit later:

Warmage with boom-boom spells as ToB maneuvers, now that could be a very timmy-friendly class that gets more oomph than Warlock without needing to ration its fireballs
Start spell progression with Bard 1, then delay it 1 further level from regular Warmage
Maneuvers could be refreshed by using cantrips, using PF mechanics for at-will cantrips
ToB Warmage/Warlock/Eldritch Theurge would be blaster warlock done right, especially if you give ET the feature that Eldritch Blasts also refresh your pseudo-spells

I made a psionic warblade (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=1058) some time back that you may be able to crib some mechanical ideas from. It was designed as a way to do the arcane swordsage adaptation idea in a hopefully not broken way. Sounds somewhat like what you've described.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on June 03, 2020, 04:30:23 AM
So, started back up on the Bloodborne Discipline, reminded that I was thinking of trying to shoehorn in some Beastblood and Great One stuff. In hindsight, I have a very different thought in mind for Great One stuff. New Truenaming Lexicons, using the flaws of Truenaming to emphasize that this is not meant for mere mortals, and offering a setup to reject your humanity and become an actually useful Truenamer in the process.

The problem is that I don't know how Truenaming works on any level, let alone the rather relevant matter of how it doesn't work, or if there even is a standard for added Lexicons.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 03, 2020, 09:40:32 AM
Truenamer gets specific numbers of known utterances from specific lexicons based on their level, and the different lexicons are fairly different beasts that work on entirely different scales, and to some extent have their own separate rules for use. It's sort of like how martial adepts get their maneuvers known, which are all per-encounter, active abilities, and they separately get some number of stances, which are at-will, passive effects, and the two are essentially independent of each other. Adding a new lexicon would be like adding martial quaggles, which are neither maneuvers nor stances, do something entirely different, and need to be learned separately. In addition to needing a new, incompatible mechanism to avoid fitting in with the existing lexicons, you'd also need a new class, ACF, feat chain, etc. to allow Truenamers to even use them.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 06, 2020, 01:00:25 AM
Huh. It's not that often that I run into the 60k character limit for a post when I'm still not finished with a brew idea. I'll probably have to split off the Exo Gladiator class from the new modules I'm trying to add alongside it.

On a related note, I seem to be making great progress on the Exo Gladiator modules. I've written out 8 of the 14 I currently have outlined. Also, I revamped the armored exograft ability and the rules for exografts around it to be a little more flexible using a bastard hybrid of the armor, graft, and warforged plating rules.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on June 06, 2020, 04:52:58 PM
Nice!

Now to find a place to play it once it's finished.....
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 06, 2020, 06:01:24 PM
Unfortunately, the class's completion is still a bit away. I have plenty of ideas for modules and the core mechanics of the class, so it's certainly in/adjacent to a preliminary playable/testable state, but I keep drawing blanks on all of those smaller, secondary abilities that support the flavor of the class and fill out what would otherwise be dead levels.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Nanshork on June 06, 2020, 06:14:18 PM
Well when you're ready for serious input let me know.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 13, 2020, 12:24:37 PM
Truespeaking class (using one of the many fixes to truespeaking's core mechanics to make it actually reasonable) that takes the words spoken with great significance and draws power out of them.

Has a number of utterance-type abilities, each based on an awesome quote from fiction.

"You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it."
Normal: Target loses hit points each round and cannot heal.
Reverse: Target is immune to all damage.

"All realities, all dimensions are open to me."
Normal: Summon a high-level evil outsider.
Reverse: Banish an extraplanar creature back to its home plane.

"Tremble mortals, and despair. Doom has come to your world."
Normal: Nearby enemies are shaken and nearby objects lost their hardness.
Reverse: Nearby allies are immune to fear and nearby objects have increased hardness.

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Normal: Designate a target. You gain bonuses on attacks against it. Heal a small amount of hit points when you hit it while you're below half health.
Reverse: Designate a target. It suffers penalties on attacks against you. Triggers a fear effect on it when you damage it and it's below half health.

"I reject your reality and substitute my own."
Normal: Wish.
Reverse: N/A.

"They were all true. Especially the lies."
Normal: Bonus on Bluff and Sense Motive checks.
Reverse: Suggestion.

"Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun."
Normal: Pew pew blasty damage.
Reverse: Protection from alignment.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 19, 2020, 01:11:57 AM
Enchanted Strikes [General]
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefits: Weapons you wield have a +2 enhancement bonus. This does not stack with their existing enhancement bonus (if any). This is a supernatural ability.

Improved Enchanted Strikes [General]
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +6, Enchanted Strikes.
Benefits: The enhancement bonus from Enchanted Strikes improves to +4.

Greater Enchanted Strikes [General]
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +12, Enchanted Strikes, Improved Enchanted Strikes.
Benefits: The enhancement bonus from Enchanted Strikes improves to +6.

Epic Enchanted Strikes [Epic, General]
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +21, Enchanted Strikes, Improved Enchanted Strikes, Greater Enchanted Strikes.
Benefits: The enhancement bonus from Enchanted Strikes improves to +10.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 19, 2020, 08:46:46 AM
Linguistics skill (Int; Trained Only)
- New skill. Replaces Speak Language.
- Learn a new language with each permanent rank you gain in the skill.
- Usable untrained for checks DC 10 or less.
- DC 10+: Speak or understand very basic phrases that you have memorized in an unknown language. This is rote memorization of phrases, rather than any real understanding of the language. DC increases for all but the most basic of phrases. Synergy with Autohypnosis.
- DC 20+: Communicate simple concepts to a speaker that doesn't share a language. See Voice of the People ability (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=13687) for concept but no auto-success for simple concepts (DC20) and +5 DC for more complex concepts. Same synergies (Diplomacy to make self understood, Sense Motive to understand).
- Grants synergy bonuses to Decipher Script, Bluff.

Decipher Script
- DC to decipher text in an unknown language decreases by 5 if you know a language that shares the alphabet of the unknown script.
- DC 10+: Read or write very basic phrases that you have memorized in an unknown language. This is rote memorization of phrases, rather than any real understanding of the language. DC increases for all but the most basic of phrases. Synergy with Autohypnosis.
- DC 20+: Infer and write simple concepts in a language you don't know. Higher DCs for anything beyond the simplest of concepts and phrases. DC +10 if you don't know any languages that share the alphabet of the language you're trying to write but you do have written reference material in that language that you understand some of. DC +20 if you don't know the alphabet and don't have any reference material.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 19, 2020, 09:25:35 PM
Craft Sublime Arms and Armor [Item Creation]
Prerequisite: Initiator level 5th, 4 martial maneuvers known.
Benefit: You can create any magic weapon, armor, or shield whose prerequisites you meet. Enhancing a weapon, suit of armor, or shield takes one day for each 1,000 gp in the price of its magic features. To enhance a weapon, suit of armor, or shield, you must spend 1/25 of its features’ total price in XP and use up raw materials costing one-half of this total price.

The weapon, armor, or shield to be enhanced must be a masterwork item that you provide. Its cost is not included in the above cost.

You can also mend a broken magic weapon, suit of armor, or shield if it is one that you could make. Doing so costs half the XP, half the raw materials, and half the time it would take to craft that item in the first place.

This feat allows you to craft magic weapons, armor, and shields using your initiator level in place of your caster level. Additionally, some magic item properties require the Craft Sublime Arms and Armor feat instead of the usual Craft Magic Arms and Armor, allowing you to craft them.



Sublime Weapon Properties
Some magic weapon properties require the Craft Sublime Arms and Armor feat instead of the usual Craft Magic Arms and Armor.

Note: The two weapon properties introduced in Tome of Battle (aptitude and martial discipline) can also be crafted with Craft Sublime Arms and Armor in place of the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat.

Table: Sublime Weapon Properties
PropertyBase Price Modifier
Brutal+1 bonus
Maneuver Storing+1 bonus
Implacable+2 bonus
Vanguard+1 bonus
1. Ranged weapons only



Brutal
Price: +1 bonus
Activator Level: 7th
Aura: Moderate transmutation
The wounds inflicted by a brutal weapon are always deeper than they should be. Any hit with a brutal weapon deals an additional 1d4 points of damage.
Prerequisites: Craft Sublime Arms and Armor, punishing stance.



Maneuver Storing
Price: +1 bonus
Activator Level: 12th
Aura: Strong evocation
A maneuver storing weapon allows a martial adept to store a single strike of up to 3rd level in the weapon. The weapon magically imparts to the wielder the name of the maneuver currently stored within it. Any character wielding the weapon can initiate that maneuver, using the initiator level with which it was stored, without requiring them to have it readied, nor expending it if they do have it readied and available to initiate normally.

As a standard action, a martial adept touching the weapon can expend a readied strike to place it in the weapon. The martial adept can then recover the maneuver as normal, even while it's still stored. The maneuver remains stored in the weapon until it is initiated or a new maneuver is stored in its place.
Prerequisites: Craft Sublime Arms and Armor, creator must have an initiator level of at least 12th.



Implacable
Price: +2 bonus
Activator Level: 10th
Aura: Moderate transmutation
Hits with an implacable weapon ignore all damage reduction.
Prerequisites: Craft Sublime Arms and Armor, foehammer or mountain hammer.



Vanguard
Price: +1 bonus
Activator Level: 7th
Aura: Moderate enchantment
When a vanguard weapon is used to attack as part of a charge, its enhancement bonus is 2 higher than normal.
Prerequisites: Craft Sublime Arms and Armor, battle leader's charge.



Sublime Armor Properties
Some magic armor and shield properties require the Craft Sublime Arms and Armor feat instead of the usual Craft Magic Arms and Armor.

- Maneuver Storing: Shields store counters, armor stores boosts.
- Unyielding: 3/day, make a Fort save to avoid having your hp drop below 1 (see Immortal Fortitude stance).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 22, 2020, 11:57:43 PM
Necrolyte base class
Necrocarnum-focused meldshaper.

Alignment: Any non-good.

Gains the Necrocarnum Acolyte feat that lets you shape necrocarnum melds (and gives +1 to the save DC of them) at first level.

Soulmeld list is almost entirely necrocarnum melds. Lots of soulmelds are focused on the powers of undead, similar to the totemist's focus on magical beasts.

Undead matching one of your shaped soulmelds react better. Mindless undead will ignore you unless they are provoked or they are under the command of another. Intelligent undead do not instinctively feel hatred, bloodlust, or other negative sentiments towards you (although they may still hate you for more rational reasons), and will generally have an initial attitude of indifferent upon first meeting you, rather than hostile or unfriendly. You gain a +4 bonus on Diplomacy checks for the purpose of influencing intelligent undead. Undead will still react normally (usually with hostility) to your allies, however.
- Note: Mostly for the undead-specific melds being introduced here, but also counts if you have totemist magical beast soulemlds shaped and you encounter an undeadified version of that.)
- Might just make this global, rather than tied to the specific soulmelds you have shaped.

Gets +1 and later +2 to essentia capacity of necrocarnum melds.

Some ability to necromance. The Necrocarnum Circlet's singular necrocarnum zombie isn't enough. Might be some kind of rebuking, might be some ability to animate dead/create undead separate from that. Some ideas:
- Animate dead as an SLA (no material components), but you need to invest 1 essentia per 10 HD of undead instead or something.
- Unshape a necrocarnum soulmeld to rebuke undead. If you unshape an undead meld, gain bonuses for rebuking that undead. (Could be bonuses to your turning level or doing a "greater rebuking" where anything you rebuke gets controlled instead.) (Soulmelds as Pokeballs?)



Note: Undead melds are necrocarnum.

(click to show/hide)

Allip's Words
Base: Immune to language-dependent effects.
Essentia: Bonus on saves vs. mind-affecting.
Brow: Standard action, nearby sane creatures must Will save or take no action for 1d4 rounds up to a maximum of the essentia invested. Once affected, a creature is immune to subsequent uses for 24 hours. Mind-affecting sonic compulsion.
Crown: Deal Wisdom damage when targeted by a mind-affecting effect.

Bodak's Eyes
Base: 50% chance to ignore gaze attacks, or 100% if averting your gaze.
Essentia: Bonus on Spot checks.
Brow: Standard action to gaze at a living creature. Fort save or stunned for 1d4 rounds or until attacked. If you have at least as much essentia invested as they have HD, they die instead.

Devourer's Grasp
Base: You can capture the soul of any creature you kill in melee. Can hold the soul for up to 24 hours. You can hold up to one soul at a time. Release the soul as a free action, or when the soulmeld is unshaped. While you have a captured soul, you can draw power from it as a free action, granting you 1 additional essentia for up to its HD in rounds. You can draw more than 1 essentia at a time from it, up to your essentia capacity with this soulmeld, but each additional essentia counts against the total number of rounds you can draw power from the soul. When the soul runs out of rounds of essentia, it is released.
Essentia: Bonus on saves against charms, compulsions, death effects, positive and negative energy, energy drain, and effects that influence your soul.
Hands: Use Spectral Hand at will while you have a captured soul. You don't lose (or regain) hit points. Spell acts like it has a permanent duration, but every 5 rounds counts as 1 round of drawn essentia from the captured soul.
Soul: You are immune to the following spells and effects while you have a captured soul: banishment, chaos hammer, confusion, crushing despair, detect thoughts, dispel evil, dominate person, fear, geas/quest, holy word, hypnotism, imprisonment, magic jar, maze, suggestion, trap the soul, or any form of charm or compulsion.

Ghoul Claws
Base: Gain a pair of weak claw attacks.
Essentia: Enhancement bonus for the claws.
Arms: If you hit a creature with both claws in the same round, it must Fort save or be stunned for 1 round. Elves are immune.

Ghast's Pallor
Base: Immune to disease.
Essentia: Bonus on Fort saves.
Hands: 1/round, when you hit a creature with a melee attack, infect it with Ghoul Fever (Fort negates, use soulmeld's save DC instead of disease's for initial save). If it's already infected, failed Fort save accelerates the disease, dealing 1d3 Con damage and 1d3 Dex damage.
Waist: Nearby living creatures are sickened (no save). Essentia increases the area.

Ghost Veil
Base: See into the ethereal plane. Also see incorporeal and ethereal creatures up to 5 feet into solid objects.
Essentia: Deflection bonus to AC, but penalty to weapon damage rolls against corporeal creatures, except with ghost touch, force, and positive/negative energy effects.
Crown: Also see invisible.
Heart: Choose a lesser ghost power (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040117a).
Shoulders: 10% chance +5%/essentia (max 50%) to ignore damage from corporeal sources, aside from ghost touch, force, and positive/negative energy effects (as though with a lesser form of incorporeality).

Lich's Might
Base: +1 enhancement to save DCs of your Necromancy spells
Essentia: Enhancement bonus to caster level checks vs. SR (all spells)
Waist: Gain DR 1/bludgeoning and magic and resistance 3 to cold and electricity per essentia invested
Soul: If you die, soulmeld coalesces into a physical phylactery that stores your life force. If it isn't destroyed, you reappear after 1d10 days.

Mohrg's Tongue
Base: No AoOs when starting a grapple. Gain +2 on grapple checks.
Essentia: Bonus on grapple checks.
Throat: Make melee touch attack as a standard action. Causes paralysis for 1 round on failed Fort save.

Mummy's Wrappings
Base: When a creature that attacks while it can see you, it must make a Will save or be shaken for 1 round. This can't stack with other fear effects and conditions. After rolling, a creature is not subject to this effect for 5 minutes. The shaken condition applies before resolving the attack. Mind-affecting fear effect.
Essentia: +1 round duration.
Arms: Any creature you damage with a melee attack becomes unaffected by magical healing for 1 minute. Any magical healing requires a caster level check (DC 5 + your meldshaper level + 2x essentia). If the check fails, the creature regains no hit points from the healing.
Brow: As a standard action, gaze at a shaken, frightened, or panicked creature. It must make a Will save or be cower for 1 round + 1 round/essentia, or until it's no longer shaken, frightened, or panicked. Mind-affecting fear effects.

Necrocarnum Zombie Infusion
Base: Attacks strike as though wielding a magic weapon. Gain DR 2/magic.
Essentia: Increase DR/magic by 2x essentia invested.
Heart: You gain an insight bonus to all your speeds. The value of this bonus equals +10 feet per point of essentia you have invested in this soulmeld. You also gain an insight bonus equal to twice the points of invested essentia on initiative checks.
Soul: You gain an insight bonus to your AC and on your saving throws. The value of this bonus equals the points of essentia you have invested in this soulmeld.

Nightshade's Presence
Base: Aura gives desecrate-like bonuses to nearby undead.
Essentia: Increase radius.
Throat: Summon undead creatures.
Heart: Improves aura to double-strength desecrate.

Shadow's Cloak
Base: Ghost touch.
Essentia: Bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks.
Shoulders: Become incorporeal while moving. (Limitation?)

Skeletal Ribcage
Base:
Essentia: Bonus to initiative.
Heart: Natural armor bonus.

Spectre ...
Base:
Essentia:

Vampire's Cowl
Base: Gain 2 temp hp when a creature within 30 ft. takes damage. Gain double that if it's from bleeding, or if it's hp loss from Constitution damage/drain or negative levels.
Essentia: Increases temp hp gained by 1/essentia (2 if it's bleeding, Con loss, or neg levels).
Brow: Standard action to gaze. Will save or charmed for 1 round/essentia.
Shoulders: Assume and revert from gaseous form at will. If you fall unconscious or become dying, you automatically stabilize and become gaseous.
Throat: Gain bite attack. Also deals Constitution damage equal to essentia invested on failed Fort save.

Wight ...
Base:
Essentia:

Wraith Boots
Base: Ignore difficult terrain. Can move through spaces occupied by enemies (as long as you don't end your movement there).
Essentia: Dodge bonus to AC against AoOs.
Feet: Enemies you move through must Will save or be shaken for 1 round.

Zombie's Flesh
Base: Immune to disease.
Essentia: +1 hp/level/essentia. Like the additional hit points granted by an increase to your Constitution score, these are not temporary hit points and are not lost first. As such, if essentia is removed from this soulmeld, you lose a commensurate number of hit points, possibly even killing you.
Hands: Gain a slam attack.
Heart: Gain DR 5/slashing.

Necrocarnum Bonds
Base: Share Pain with a willing creature, but one way (they take 50% of your damage). One creature at a time, ends if you're more than 10 feet apart for more than 1 round.
Essentia: +10 ft. max distance.
Arms: Can target an unwilling creature. Will negates.
Waist: If you have to make a save, use the higher of your modifiers for the save or the bonded creature's modifiers.

Note: Also refer to soulmelds in Sirp's Necrocarnate rework (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=6342.msg94867#msg94867).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on June 23, 2020, 12:14:51 PM
I'd love to see that Necrocarnum boy fleshed out. But there's probably a lot of melds to create before that's the case.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 30, 2020, 12:58:29 AM
Inspired by discussions about movement in 5th edition (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?614972-Movement-rethink) and the limitations thereof (and in turn-based D&D in general). These might be feats, these might be class features, these might just be basic changes to the rules. I'm just writing them as feats for simplicity.

Evasive Footwork [General]
Benefits: When an opponent that you did not threaten enters one of your threatened spaces, you can move 5 feet as an immediate action. Your movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity form that creature. This movement counts towards the total distance you can travel for any movement you might make during your next turn; you would be able to move 5 feet fewer if you charged or moved normally, and you would move no distance at all if you took a 5-foot step.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 01, 2020, 01:25:19 PM
House rule for crusaders so that they can use homebrew maneuvers that can be initiated while flat-footed (which normally denies you immediate action usage) or on an attack of opportunity (which Combat Reflexes enables while flat-footed). Instead of getting the initial maneuvers granted when the crusader takes their first action in an encounter, the maneuvers are granted to them at the start of the encounter (or when they join it, if they're not present for the start).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Elves on July 01, 2020, 02:30:23 PM
Good point. If not houseruling, exemption clause should be put in mv text.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 02, 2020, 10:27:36 AM
Those sorts of things would need both changes for crusaders to use them as intended:
1) Exemption clause in the counter itself so that you can spend the immediate action to initiate it while flat-footed. Necessary for the maneuver to be usable at all.
2) Change to crusader's initial granted maneuvers timing so that they have access to those pre-combat counters in time to use them before their first turn.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 02, 2020, 10:41:58 AM
Incarnum Graftshaper [General]
Prerequisites: Ability to bind a soulmeld to a lesser chakra, must have at least 2 grafts.
Benefits: You can shape and bind soulmelds to graft slots in which you have a graft as though they were chakras. This effectively allows you to have two soulmelds shaped and bound to the same chakra, or to maintain the use of magic items in a slot with a bound soulmeld.

When you shape a soulmeld to a graft slot, you choose which chakra it emulates. Each graft can emulate only specific chakras.

Soulmelds bound to graft slots suppress the properties of grafts in that slot aside from their most basic functions as limbs or body parts that you would normally have, similar to how soulmelds bound to chakras prevent you from benefiting from magic items worn on their associated body slot (this is an exception to the normal rule that grafts cannot be suppressed).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 13, 2020, 02:36:18 PM
Penetrating weapon (probably +2 bonus price):

Attacks with the weapon ignore the target's armor bonus to AC if it's less than or equal to 3 + the weapon's enhancement bonus. If the armor bonus is greater than that, it still applies fully, as normal. The same is true for natural armor bonus to AC.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 14, 2020, 06:51:53 PM
Sprinting skill (Con-based, ACP applies)
- Class skill for:
  - PHB: barbarian, monk, ranger
  - DMG: horizon walker, shadowdancer
  - XPH: elocater, psionic fist
  - ToB: swordsage
  - Other sources I don't have memorized/ready access to: ninja, scout

Dash: Make a check (DC 12) to add additional distance to your movement (other than 5-foot steps an equivalents).
- Success adds 5 ft. to the distance you can travel. If you succeed by 10 or more, you can add up to 5 more feet of movement distance per 10 points by which you succeeded.
- You also gain a +2 circumstance bonus on your next Jump check made during this movement for every 5 feet of distance you add. If you make multiple Sprint checks as part of the same action, they don't stack; only the highest bonus applies. If you make multiple Jump checks as part of the same movement, you only get the bonus from the Sprint checks made since the previous Jump check.
- If you fail by 5+, you lose 5 feet of movement distance per 5 points you failed by and you also require a followup Constitution check (or Endurance check if playing with that skill, too) at the same DC to avoid becoming fatigued for 1 minute.
- For every 5 feet of movement gained through dashing, increase the DC of future checks by 2 until you stop dashing for 1 minute.
- During movement, you can make up to one Sprint check for extra speed for each multiple of your speed you're allowed to move. Do one check at beginning of the movement and again after moving each multiple of your speed (excluding additional distance traveled through this skill and similar effects that increase the distance you can travel without affecting your speed).
- Anything that prevents you from running prevents you from this use of Sprint.

Speedy Cornering: Make a check to turn while moving in a straight line (ex: run, charge). The DC is 10 for up to a 30 degree turn, +5 to the DC per 15 additional degrees turn (DC 15 for a 45 degree turn, DC 20 for 60 degrees, DC 25 for 75 degrees, DC 30 for 90 degrees). If you succeed, you can make the turn while moving up to no more than your normal speed (this is a separate limit to the distance you can move in the round, independent of the distance you are actually allowed to move by the actions you take).
- For every 5 points by which you beat the DC, you can make the turn whiling moving up to one additional multiple of your speed.
  - Alternatively, +4 to DC for every extra multiple of your speed you want to move. Decide the speed beforehand instead of after rolling.
- If you fail, you can't make the turn. You must continue your movement by at least 5 feet, after which you can choose to stop moving or continue onward in your line.
- If you fail by 5+, you also require a followup Balance check or Reflex save at the same DC to avoid falling prone.
- While moving in a straight line (ex: run, charge), you can make one Sprint check per round for speedy cornering.
- Make the check at the point at which you turn.
- Can't use this as part of a charge if untrained. If you're trained in Sprint, you can use this as part of a charge, starting your movement in a straight line in the direction of your choice and turning such that you end your movement along a valid charge path from the point of your turn (10+ feet of movement in a straight line towards the target, attacking form the nearest space).
- Note: This also allows you to turn while moving with a clumsy, poor, or average maneuverability movement mode without spending extra movement to turn and/or at a higher turning rate than you'd normally be allowed.

Synergies:
- 5 ranks in Sprint grants you a +2 bonus on Constitution (Endurance) checks to continue running.
- 5 ranks in Balance gives you a +2 bonus on Sprint checks to corner at speed.



Math stuff:
- Average Joe +0 (10 Con, 0 ranks): 45% chance to gain 5 ft. speed, 35% chance to lose 5 ft. speed.
- Trained Sprinter +6 (14 Con, 4 ranks): 25% chance to gain 10 ft. speed, 50% chance to gain 5 ft. speed, 5% chance to lose 5 ft. speed.

I'm a little uncertain about this as an actual skill, as it does somewhat directly add to combat power (additional movement speed), albeit on one of those secondary statistics that doesn't come up directly too much. It doesn't help with direct, stand-up fights when combat numbers are all you care about, but that extra bit of maneuvering capability can be really strong in the right circumstances, along the lines of changing a turn where you only move to one where you can move and perform your attacks or cast spells. In the right circumstances it can be like an extra move action.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on July 15, 2020, 06:13:01 AM
Well, it has the obvious downside of being a skill, which is that it's abusable by serious min maxing to be significant free movement. And that it's one more skill designed for classes that already have far too many compared to their skill points.

It's something where the rules and intentions are good, but it might be better to make it a Strength check instead of a skill check, with the risk of fatigue being a Con check.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 15, 2020, 09:33:10 AM
Revised Half-Orc

Half-Orc Racial Traits
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 25, 2020, 08:45:47 PM
Soulborn as ToB/Incarnum hybrid class

HD: d10
Skills: 4 + Int
Alignment: Any non-neutral (LG, CG, LE, or CE)

Aura: Unchanged.
Smite Opposition: Unchanged.
Incanrum Defense: Similar, but different immunities (2nd level, immunity based on alignment. LG: fear; CG: Stun and paralysis. LE: Fatigue and exhaustion. CE: Sickened and nauseated.)
Bonus Feats: Probably removed.
Share Incarnum Defense: Unchanged.
Timeless Body: Unchanged.

Meldshaping: As original, but with much faster essentia progression, starting from level 1 or 2.

Maneuvers: Learn maneuvers at Warblade progression. As a full-round action, recover all expended maneuvers and divest any invested essentia from expended maneuvers recovered this way, returning it to your essentia pool.

Martial Meldshaping: When you gain a level in a PrC that can progress your Soulborn meldshaping, that level also counts full for Soulborn IL (even at levels where it doesn't progress meldshaping). Any martial adept PrC that counts full (instead of 1/2) towards your Soulborn IL also progresses your Soulborn meldshaper level (but not other meldshaping-related statistics, such as essentia and soulmelds) at each level, if it doesn't already.

Soul of the Blade: Starting at 2nd level, your martial stances and readied martial maneuvers are essentia receptacles. This allows you to invest essentia in them like you would a soulmeld. You gain the listed benefit, based on the type of maneuver, while you have any essentia invested in it. Some martial maneuvers provide additional benefits with invested essentia.

You cannot change the amount of essentia invested in an expended maneuver. It cannot be reinvested or removed until such time as you recover it.

As part of the action to initiate a maneuver or enter a martial stance, you can invest essentia into it. This essentia can come directly from your essentia pool or from other essentia receptacles whose investments you can modify, such as soulmelds and other unexpended maneuvers and stances.

----------------------------------------

Incarnum Martial Discipline
Key skill: Spellcraft
Discipline weapons: ...


1
Aligned Strike - Strike: Attack deals +1d4 damage and bypasses DR as though it had all non-neutral components of your alignment. If opponent has any alignment component opposed to at least one non-neutral component of your own alignment, bonus damage is +1d6 and you get a +2 bonus on your attack roll. If both are opposed, instead bonus damage is +1d8 and you get a +4 bonus on your attack roll. This also affects the bonus damage dice from Soul of the Blade due to essentia invested in this maneuver.
Incarnum Focus - Stance: Gain +2 insight on saves vs. spells and spell-like effects. If essentia is invested, also affects allies within 10 ft./essentia.
Incarnum Surge - Boost: As part of this maneuver, you can reallocate your essentia investments. Until the end of your turn, you have +1 essentia capacity and you gain 1 temporary point of essentia. For every point of essentia invested in this maneuver, you gain an additional 2 temporary points of essentia for the turn.

2
Bluesteel Defense - Counter: When attacked, make an opposed initiative check against your attacker. If you win, the attack misses. Gain +2/essentia invested on the initiative check. If you win the check, your initiative count moves up by 2/essentia in the following round (see Moment of Alacrity for wording).

3
Forge of Souls - Stance: Any weapon you wield any any armor or shield you wear gains a +1 enhancement bonus. This enhancement bonus increases by the amount of essentia invested in this stance.
Impulse Surge - Rush: Move up to your speed. No AoOs for movement and can move through occupied spaces. Gain a dodge bonus to AC equal to invested essentia for 1 round.
Open Soul Assault - Strike: Attack deals +4d4 damage. If it hits, the creature also takes penalty equal to the amount of invested essentia to AC and saves against the next soulmeld-produced effect you or your allies use against it before the end of your next turn.

4
Crystalized Will: Iron Heart Surge-type effect. Get a deflection bonus to AC and to saves vs. mind-affecting for 1 round equal to invested essentia. While unexpended, gain an insight bonus on saves vs. mind-affecting equal to invested essentia.
Enigmatic Moment - Boost: Become invisible and undetectable by special senses and Divination effects for 1 round. While any essentia is invested in this maneuver and it is unexpended, gain a Nondetection-type effect (DC 5 + IL + essentia invested).

5

6

7

8

9
Incarnate Strike - Strike: ...
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 30, 2020, 06:23:59 PM
Incarnum Attunement [Incarnum, Psionic]
Prerequisites: Con 13, Psychic Meditation, ability to bind a soulmeld to a chakra.
Benefits: You gain a +1 bonus to your meldshaper level for soulmelds shaped on chakras associated with one of your awakened psychic energy centers. While at least one of your psychic energy centers is activated, you also gain a +1 bonus to your essentia capacity for soulmelds bound to chakras associated with those psychic energy centers, and you gain 1 temporary point of essentia that can only be invested in soulmelds shaped on chakras associated with those psychic energy centers.

Psychic Energy CenterAssociated Chakras
CrownCrown
Third EyeBrow
ThroatThroat
HeartHeart
Solar (Plexus)Arms, Shoulders
BaseFeet, Waist
SacralHands, Soul

... maybe better as a permanent +1 essentia instead of playing around with a temporary point?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 03, 2020, 12:44:15 PM
Dazzled condition is underwhelming. Also, if you're somehow dazzled and blinded, despite the fact that dazzled is basically a lesser for of being unable to see, the penalties stack, which is just weird.

Dazzled: The creature is unable to see well because of overstimulation of the eyes. All opponents are considered to have concealment (20% miss chance) to the dazzled character. All checks that rely on vision (such as Search and Spot checks) are made with a -2 penalty. The effects of being dazzled do not stack with those of being blinded; only the stronger condition applies. Sightless creatures cannot become dazzled.

This might be making it a little too strong compared to how it's expected to be, making abilities that employ it a little too potent. A 20% miss chance stays relevant at high levels, and being concealment means that precision damage is disabled and hiding is possible (although a Bluff check would be needed to create a diversion, since presumably the creature you dazzled is aware of you at that point). Then again, the abilities that just dazzle are generally considered way on the weak side.

On the other hand, this buff to dazzled does significantly nerf races with light sensitivity and light blindness, which dazzles them within bright sunlight. Those tend to be on the weaker side already as player races (water orc excepted, and possibly also kobolds for the later material that is specifically for them and for Dragonwrought aging stuff), which means nerfing options that are already bad. I'd be inclined to let players using those races do something minor to negate the dazzling. I think there are some cheap nonmagical goggles in some book that negate daylight sensitivity's dazzling but keep just a small Spot penalty or something. Regardless, I'd also be inclined to price it similarly to a skill trick or a Barbarian's illiteracy, something that you can spend 2 skill points to remove.

For personal reference, a discussion covering light senstivity (https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/90303/dd-3-5e-drow-wizard-la-balance-and-survivability).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on August 03, 2020, 03:11:20 PM
I think there are some cheap nonmagical goggles in some book that negate daylight sensitivity's dazzling but keep just a small Spot penalty or something.
Sun Lenses, 10gp, Sandstorm p.101
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 04, 2020, 11:29:53 AM
Terminology clarification: attacking.

The term attack is used for two different things in D&D. First, the obvious, is performing an attack, usually involving an attack roll of some sort to see if you hit with your weapon or weapon-like effect. Second, performing any sort of hostile action, including making a weapon attack, casting an offensive spell, turning undead, etc. This is used a few times in a few places, but the only place I think it's actually defined is in the description of the invisibility (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/invisibility.htm) spell. I would like to change the second meaning to use a different, separate term. I'm leaning towards the term "assault," myself.

Assault: Sometimes, a spells or ability refers to assaulting a creature or performing an assault. Making an attack against a foe is an assault. An assault also includes any spell targeting a foe or whose area or effect includes a foe. (Exactly who is a foe depends on the assaulting and receiving characters' perceptions; if either considers the other an enemy or opponent, it is considered an assault.) Actions directed at unattended objects do not count as assaults, unless the character wishes them to. Causing harm indirectly is not an assault. Thus, an assault does not include summoning monsters and having them attack, cutting the ropes holding a rope bridge while enemies are on the bridge, remotely triggering traps, opening a portcullis to release attack dogs, and so forth. Spells such as bless that specifically affect allies but not foes are not assaults, even when they include foes in their area.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 05, 2020, 03:21:48 PM
Reactive Damage Reduction: Expressed as RDR x/<y. If you take more than y damage at a time, reduce the damage taken by x. This can't reduce it to less than y. Reactive damage reduction otherwise functions as and counts as damage reduction; reactive and regular DR don't stack, and damage sources that ignore or automatically bypass DR likewise ignore or bypass reactive DR.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Elves on August 07, 2020, 06:47:41 PM
Incarnum base class that uses offensive soulmelds, which are like normal soulmelds but occupy an enemy's body slot, debuffing or damaging them. Bind your offensive soulmelds at start of day, only one instance of each can be active at a time. Possibly, can also grant allies temporary access to beneficial melds from the extant list. Class theme: twist, shape, sculpt other peoples's souls. Evil creatures may suffer more from nasty offensive soulmelds, as you're bringing out and incarnating the wickedness within them, while there might be offensive melds that work best against good creatures by eg playing upon their inner mercy to prevent them from attacking.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Elves on August 15, 2020, 01:03:29 PM
"Runerunner"

Class that creates different effects by running in different patterns on the floor.

There's a list of shapes, and each shape has different effects. Each day, you choose which effect will apply today.

For example, a closed circle could create a wall of fire, a blast of fire within its circumference, or a blast of fire outside its circumference.

Starting at 5th or 6th level, you gain access to 3-dimensional patterns that can be drawn while flying in the air or by jumping or climbing.

Not sure whether it should be a base or prestige class.


To prevent it from just being speed is king, you would probably get a certain number of "rune points", either per-turn or in total. Whenever you leave a space, you can spend a rune point to make that space part of a rune. If it's per turn you would also have a total number of runes you can have active at 1 time.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on August 15, 2020, 04:58:43 PM
"Runerunner"

I'm not sure typical D&D combat environments are conducive to such a mechanic, but it certainly sounds intriguing and it would certainly encourage encounters that aren't 10x10 rooms with an orc. Desert Wind has a couple of maneuvers like that (Ring of Fire deals area damage in a circle you enclose, Salamander Charge makes a wall of fire in the spaces you move through) and I've seen and made a few homebrew abilities using effects on the spaces you move through. I'd be interested to see if there's something worth exploring in this concept.

I can see the basic thing being something like a full-round action to double move, placing runes in the spaces you move through as a free action, up to one rune per space and up to some number of runes based on your level. At the conclusion of your movement, if you placed runes in a pattern matching one of the effects you know, you can consume those runes to activate that effect (unconsumed runes dissipate harmlessly).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Elves on August 16, 2020, 03:55:14 AM
Maybe better for 4e where wider spaces are the norm? Cramped spaces could be accommodated by having weak effects for straight lines and right angles (or if using the rune points system, a checkerboard pattern, which would look like a dotted line if done in a corridor). There should also just be a class feature you can put your points into when you can't form any shapes to gain some consolation benefit.

Double move being standard play could be interesting.

Focused on the "Age of Warriors" content ATM but may do a quick demo for it.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on September 28, 2020, 12:14:57 PM
Living Spell Companion ACF
Classes: Druid 1, Ranger 4
Replaces: Animal Companion

Attract a living spell as a companion like you otherwise would an animal companion. This follows most of the same rules as an animal companion. An otherwise mindless living spell companion has an Intelligence score of 1 instead, so it gains feats and skills. You can handle your living spell companion using the Handle Animal skill and teach it tricks as though it were an animal. Attracting a living spell companion also requires expending a spell slot of the living spell's spell level or higher.

Living spell companions do not gain bonus animal HD based on your effective druid level. Instead, their caster level increases by that amount, increasing their statistics, such as HD, size, and SR, accordingly.

The improvement to the animal companion's natural armor bonus also applies to the living spell companion's deflection bonus to AC. The improvement to the animal companion's Strength and Dexterity scores also applies to the living spell companion's Charisma score.

You can only attract living spells of spells on your spell list from the class that grants this class feature, and only of the minimum caster level for their spell level. Initially, you can only attract living spells of spells up to 1st-level. For every 3 effective druid levels beyond 1st, you can accept a -3 penalty to your effective druid level for animal companion advancement to attract a living spell of one level higher, up to a maximum of 6th-level living spells at -15 to your effective druid level at 16th level or higher.

Additionally, if you have the animal affinity ability, you can use it to influence living spells, although you suffer a -4 penalty on your check to do so.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on December 28, 2020, 02:57:45 AM
Access to psionic powers more like what it was in 2e:

A psion starts out at 1st level with access only to powers of their chosen discipline, and gains access to additional disciplines as he or she advances. Access to a second discipline is at 2nd level, third at 6th, fourth at 10th, fifth at 14th, and sixth at 18th level. The powers list for each subtype of psion expands to include all powers falling into that discipline, from every psionic class.

A psion still has a maximum number of powers known and maximum level of power known as per the current table in XPH, and can't have more powers from a secondary discipline than the primary discipline. Probably even max out the level for the second, third, etc disciplines as max level of primary discipline minus one for the second discipline, minus two for the third, etc. Leading to, for example:

Nomad 20:
Psychoportation- maximum 9th level powers; access to the discipline gained at 1st class level
Clairsentience- max 8th level powers, access to the discipline gained at 2nd class level
Metacreativity- max 7th level powers, access to the discipline gained at 6th class level
etc


Or just expand the psion subtype power lists to include all powers not given in the general psion/wilder list.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on December 28, 2020, 05:17:28 PM
Sort of like Ardent/Divine Mind mantle powers, then, but with each discipline and every power on it rather than just 7-10 powers at a time? I'd be a little concerned about the lower max level cap on the later-granted disciplines, as you'd be forced to take lower-level powers in places of your high level powers from your main discipline. That sort of limitation would work better for a spellcaster who can learn spells of lower levels independently of their higher level spells known (whether it's like a Wizard who has no limit to spells known of any level or like a Sorcerer who keeps learning new lower-level spells alongside new spells known of their higher level spells).
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on December 29, 2020, 01:01:57 AM
Garryl- More or less, yes.

Really the purpose of the level cap would be to keep people from saying things like, "The only metacreativity power I want is True Creation, so I'll just select access to metacreativity at 18th level and not bother with any other metacreativity powers." That is, someone with no experience with a given discipline picks the most powerful powers that discipline has to offer. But thinking about it, yeah, that's unnecessary. No one would bat an eye at a wizard who took no necromancy spells until 17th level, when he picked up Energy Drain.

If I get around to implementing this in the home game I shall nix that restriction. Thanks for the feedback.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on March 06, 2021, 02:18:01 AM
Scalar Perception
Illusion/Transmutation spell? High-level maneuver? PrC class feature?

Choose a creature. You manipulate the link between perception and reality to interact with a distant creature as though it were much closer and much smaller than it actually is. While it is further away from you than your reach and there are no other creatures or objects visible to your in a direct line between you and the subject, you treat that creature as being in the space a distance away from you equal to your reach along a line to the subject. This allows you, for example, to make melee attacks against it regardless of distance, and affect it with short-range auras or spells, or even affect it with area attacks and effects that extend into that nearby space. Note that an attempt to grapple the subject normally will fail, as once you move into the space it seemingly occupies, it will still be further away, but an attempt to pull the creature into your space with Improved Grab will still succeed. Further, any interactions between you and the subject are made as though the creature were of a smaller size category than it actually is, based on its actual distance from you.

Subject's
Actual Distance
Subject's Actual Size
FineDiminutiveTinySmallMediumLargeHugeGargantuanColossal
> your reachFineDiminutiveTinySmallMediumLargeHugeGargantuan
> 2x your reachFineDiminutiveTinySmallMediumLargeHuge
> 4x your reachFineDiminutiveTinySmallMediumLarge
> 8x your reachFineDiminutiveTinySmallMedium
> 16x your reachFineDiminutiveTinySmall
> 32x your reachFineDiminutiveTiny
> 64x your reachFineDiminutive
> 128x your reachFine

This effect immediately ends if you lose sight of the subject for 1 round or if another creature or object remains visible to you within a direct line between you and the subject for 1 round.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on March 17, 2021, 12:11:20 AM
Weapon Master (3.0 Sword And Fist) Rework

Prerequisites- BAB +5, Dex 13, weapon focus, weapon specialization, combat reflexes; intimidate 4 ranks

Class basics- d10 HP, good BAB, poor fort, good reflex, poor will;

Class skills- balance (dex), climb (str), concentration (con), craft (wis), intimidate (cha), jump (str), listen (wis), sense motive (wis), spot (wis), tumble (dex); 2+ int modifier skill points per level

Special- The class abilities for the weapon master apply only to weapons for which you have both weapon focus and weapon specialization. Some abilities apply to a single type of weapon, even if you have weapon focus and weapon specialization for more than one.

Class Features

Ki Damage- At 1st level, once per day per weapon master level, you may choose to inflict maximum damage with your weapon instead of rolling dice. This applies only to the base die or dice for your weapon, and does not apply to additional damage dice (for example, from sneak attack). Flat bonuses (for example, a smite or power attack) apply normally. You must decide whether to use this ability before you roll for damage. This ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to 1+ your Wisdom modifier.

Increased Multiplier- At 2nd level, you gain the ability to increase the critical hit multiplier of your chosen weapon. For example, if your chosen weapon is the greataxe, you increase the critical hit damage multiplier from x3 to x4. You must decide whether to use this ability before you attack for the round. You may use this ability once per day for every two weapon master levels you possess (2/day at 4th, 3/day at 6th, etc). At 9th level, the critical hit multiplier increases by two steps (eg, from x2 to x4). This ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to 1+ your Wisdom modifier.

Superior Weapon Focus- At 3rd level you gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls with any weapon for which you have the feat weapon focus. This stacks with similar bonuses from the weapon focus feat chain (greater focus, melee weapon mastery, etc).

Superior Combat Reflexes- At 5th level, you use the sum of your dexterity and wisdom modifiers to determine the number of additional attacks of opportunity you may make per round.

Ki Critical- At 7th level, you gain Improved Critical as a bonus feat for one weapon. If you already have Improved Critical, then the critical hit range for your chosen weapon expands by +2. This stacks with the feat Improved Critical, but not with any other means of expanding a weapon’s critical threat range. Further, this ability is applied after Improved Critical. Thus a longsword’s threat range with both Improved Critical and Ki Critical would be 15-20 [(2x2) + 2], not 13-20 [(2+2) x 2]. If you have weapon focus and weapon specialization with more than one weapon, you must select which weapon to which Ki Critical will apply. This choice cannot be changed.

Ki Whirlwind- At 10th level, as a standard action, you may make two melee attacks at your maximum base attack bonus on each enemy you threaten. If you are using the Tome of Battle, this ability is replaced by a bonus feat: Martial Study: Adamantine Hurricane (ToB page 66). In that case, you do not need to meet the prerequisites for Adamantine Hurricane, but you must meet prerequisites for any other martial study or martial stance feats you may take. This bonus feat does not count toward the regular maximum of three martial study feats. Further, like a normal maneuver, Adamantine Hurricane can only be used once per encounter unless recovered. Ki Whirlwind, on the other hand, can be used any number of times per encounter.

>>>>>>>>>>>>
Notes

- The official version of Weapon Master had the following prerequisite feats: dodge, mobility, combat reflexes, combat expertise, whirlwind attack, weapon focus, Dex 13. The implicit prerequisites then included Int 13 and spring attack. So seven feats, which is pretty excessive for a feat tax, especially a mundane melee type. Given that the only class ability related to whirlwind attack in the original (Ki Whirlwind) is essentially duplicated by Mithril Tornado, it became a class feature, not an upgrade to a really expensive feat, and all the related prerequisites went away.

- I removed the skill knowledge (weaponry). I don't know if that was a skill in 3.0, but it isn't now. I added craft (cause weapons), and concentration (mostly for a dash of flavor, not cause there's anything related to it), as well as balance, climb, jump and tumble, also as much for flavor as anything else.

-A little bit of googling revealed that the guy who designed the class, when asked if the Ki Critical class feature would stack crit ranges in 3.5e, apparently he said, yes, it should, as an exception to the normal 3.5e rules <citation needed>.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 08, 2021, 05:31:12 PM
Rhythm-based combat.

Each character has an offensive and defensive beat and a tempo. Beat is a score which always stays in the range of 0-99, and tempo affects how much beat changes with every action. Larger numbers are not better or worse than small numbers. Beat cycles through this 100-point range, and the objective is to synchronize your offensive beat with your opponent's defensive beat for maximum effect.

When making an attack, subtract the defender's defensive beat from the attacker's offensive beat. If the result in negative, add 100 repeatedly until the result is 0 or higher. If the result is somehow 100 or higher, take only the 10s digits and below (ie: modulo 100). The result is thus always in the range of 0-99. This is called the attack's rhythm.

Add the rhythm to the attacker's accuracy and subtract the defender's avoidance. If the result is 0 or less, the attack misses and has no effect on the defender. If it's 1-50, the attack grazes and has a minimal or reduced effect. If it's 51-100, the attack hits and has its normal effect. If it's 101 or higher, the attack crits and has an enhanced effect.
- Side note: Original thought was that the  Rhythm + Acc - Avd would be a percentage multiplier to damage and might affect other effects in other ways, but that's too complicated for quick tabletop calculations.
- Number ranges might need adjustment. Rather than a hard 1-50, 51-100, and 101+, instead the defender might have a graze range (result <= graze range is a graze) and a crit threshold (result > crit threshold is a crit), or perhaps the attacker might have a crit factor (result > 100  - crit factor is a crit).

After resolving an attack, advance the attacker's offensive beat and the defender's defensive beat by their respective tempo scores. Do the same modulo 100 thing to the results to keep them in the range of 0-99.

Similarly, at the start of each character's turn, advance their offensive and defensive beats by their tempo score.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on May 30, 2021, 02:56:31 PM
Adapt the Quicken Spell-Like Ability (https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Quicken_Spell-Like_Ability) feat to use with standard action ToB maneuvers as a swift action. That would give standard action strikes longevity even after multiple attacks per full-attack become available.
- should be limited to relatively low-level maneuvers (can the table be adapated?)
- 3x/day use limit doesn't fit with the way ToB paces out resource use; should have a different limiter related to encounters, rather than per day
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on May 30, 2021, 03:04:53 PM
Adapt the Quicken Spell-Like Ability (https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Quicken_Spell-Like_Ability) feat to use with standard action ToB maneuvers as a swift action. That would give standard action strikes longevity even after multiple attacks per full-attack become available.
- should be limited to relatively low-level maneuvers (can the table be adapated?)
- 3x/day use limit doesn't fit with the way ToB paces out resource use; should have a different limiter related to encounters, rather than per day

Quicken Strike
Prerequisites: One or more strikes known, initiator level 10 or higher
Benefit: Choose one of the creature’s strikes, subject to the restrictions described below. The creature can use that ability as a quickened strike once per encounter. Using a quickened strike is a swift action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The creature can perform another action — including the use of another strike — in the same round that it uses a quickened strike. The creature may use only one quickened strike per round. The creature can only select a strike with a level less than or equal to half its initiator level (round down) – 4.

Like so?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on May 30, 2021, 03:19:25 PM
Alt take after Discord discussion:

Quicken Maneuver
[Fighter]
Prerequisites: 1+ maneuvers known, initiator level 6+
Benefit: When you initiate a maneuver taking up a standard action or move action, and of a level no higher than half your initiator level -2 (minimum of 1, maximum of 6), you can activate this feat to initiate this maneuver as a swift action instead. You can use this feat once per encounter. Using a quickened maneuver is a swift action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. You can perform another action - including the use of another maneuver - in the same round that you use a quickened maneuver. You may use only one quickened maneuver per round.
Special: You can acquire this feat multiple times, each time gaining one extra use of Quicken Maneuver per encounter.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on June 02, 2021, 12:28:35 PM
There is a lot of DR derived from class-levels that is scaling so slowly that it becomes useless (Barbarian, Sohei, Green Star Adept, likely many others).

Ablative Damage Reduction ACF
Level: [whenever you gain DR1 to DR5 from class levels, non-complete list of examples]
Replaces: You gain double(?) the DR your class level would normally grant you. However, every time you receive damage, the DR is reduced by 2(?) until it is down to DR0.
If your DR derived from class levels improves to DR6+, only the portion up to DR5 gets doubled, and your new minimum DR gets set to DR(regular DR from non-ACF class levels)-5. The math of this part obviously needs to be tweaked depending on the final numbers.

Any other DR you might possess from spells, templates or any other sources keeps working normally.

EDIT: Another way could be to increase DR by a flat +5, ablate by 2 each hit down to a minimum of improved DR -10 (minimum of 0). That math might work more smoothly.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on June 02, 2021, 02:39:32 PM
Needs to have a recovery method involved, and could probably be rendered as a full replacement by class level given the intent of having it scale DR to be useful. 10th level for DR 2 is still terrible. For wording on the current version, perhaps use "You gain twice the DR your class level would normally give you, to a maximum of DR 10/-"
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on June 02, 2021, 02:43:47 PM
For recovery, I was thinking "per encounter" in the Factotum sense.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on June 02, 2021, 11:01:08 PM
On an unrelated note, I've been thinking about furnishing the Psionic Artificer as a properly distinct class, which means needing counterparts to the actually-useful Homunculi. Fortunately, we have some Mind's Eye content to get started, including an unconverted 3.0 helper (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/pse/20020727b) and a PRC exclusive (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040925a).

As indicated by bringing those up, I'd go with the Power-shaped ectoplasmic creatures being the well-supported Homunculus counterpart, rather than alternate Psicrystals. The consequence of wording the updated Tether Hound and Astral Tasker (renamed Ectoplasmic Tasker) to benefit from existing Astral Construct support means including the benefits of Ectopic Form and Skin of the Construct, so any Menu A effects can be looted and they can all be turned into the suite of weird, so the Menu A effects need to stick to the power level of Astral Construct even with higher base Power levels, and they should match CR despite this.

Easy with a utility form like the Astral Taskers, since the whole point is versatility and being Ethereal is a ridiculously swingy mess, significantly more difficult with Tether Hounds as-written, but then their whole gimmick is being days/level guards to a days/level lockdown Power. Invert the relationship, having the Tether Hounds sustain Metacreativity effects, and one can justify a considerable surcharge. Make it hours/level duration instead to make it not demand an untenable surcharge, and throw in an Ecto Protection effect to help justify the low value of the minion.

So, to spit out the Powers in question without the suite of statblocks and menu items:

(click to show/hide)

---

The big question is how to balance the monsters, as they do need to stick to the CR schedule for Ectopic Form, and how far exactly the messing-with-functionality menu options should go. Such as where to put the Tether Hounds gaining the option to steal valid Tether targets and "digest" them for duration (which would make it technically playable entirely as the impermanent spell effect, 'specially with the days/level augment). The technical limit for the Tasker is 6th level, while the Tether Hound can reach 7th level. Given this, Menu B for the tasker would probably be 3rd-4th and C would be 5th+, while the Tether Hound could use the Astral Construct's functionality. Though notably, 10th level 19pp Astral Constructs don't exist, so actually filling the full PP scale isn't strictly necessary and thus the Taskers could be kept to 5th level at 15pp.

Both the Tasker and Tether Hound should be defensively focused, the former as a utility entity that shouldn't really be fighting in the first place and the latter as a keystone to keeping other things running for astonishing durations. But I'm not sure how this should break down, beyond the Tasker having some form of miss chance due to being non-solid and wanting the Tether Hound be Medium at baseline for the +20 HP. Probably have the Hound heavily focused on HP because it's expected to be underleveled, being ahead on size and RHD to the Astral Construct, but behind for Strength. Maybe give Evasion and scaling Dexterity to cut out AoE risk, leading to better Touch AC.

...Given the "uniqueness" of Arbalester, it's probably fitting to analogize with an entirely new Construct. For the sake of variety, based on throwing stuff instead of normal ranged weapons, and keeping the "made around weapon" effect, but copying it instead of some sort of Returning effect, so Special Materials don't apply. Being unintelligent isn't a big issue because thrown doesn't have that much feat support and it's going to have terrible BAB so requirements are unlikely, rely on Menus to force the matter with bonuses. Possibly double as a disposable Charger thanks to the requirements involved, just by genericizing the properties, balanced against decently-honed single-target damage Powers?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on June 04, 2021, 11:52:01 PM
So, thinking in terms of workload for a Psionic Artificer now, first leg is obviously finishing off the Homunculus counterpart suite, including rules for permanent construction that carry more Homunculi properties and Ectopic Forms with effects from the menus of the new creations. Rethinking things, the Arbalester substitute will definitely be a more firm alternative to Psychokinetic Weapon, having the duplication be Menu A for the benefit of both thrown and TWF characters.

Second leg would be creating more Psionic items and typical "Craft check for the body" Constructs to fill out things for them to make, particularly focusing on utility and quality of life properties. This would necessarily end up involving more new Powers for the missing effects, possibly focused on more "conduit" sets like the Stygian powers to justify true Psionic Golems. I'll be wanting to avoid printing any pure counterpart, which is at its most annoying with ability enhancements.

Third leg is working on Psicrystal shenanigans, including a framework for external construction independent of Psicrystal Affinity so the Psionic Artificer can use these, as well, instead of it being limited to a system of Psions and Psychic Warriors making themselves a solid combatant. Any Manifesting would definitely be separating PP recovery, powers available, and PP storage, to cut into buying your way to ridiculous amounts of burst damage and daily output.

Then the final leg is the Psionic Artificer itself, needing only cover Infusion-counterparts and the class features themselves, which both operate primarily as a find-and-replace exercise. Important to do this last because working out all the tools first allows asking some questions about how they fit together to avoid breaking things all over again.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on June 06, 2021, 05:32:50 PM
Okay, so, posting the basic "core" of the Taskers here in case something happens so I don't lose like four hours of work:

(click to show/hide)

Feel free to comment on the capabilities here, any derived stats missed, and the combat value relative to Astral Constructs (the 50% surcharge should keep it under control...), or the underlying ideas in the previous two posts. And also ideas on what feats to give the Tether Hounds by default, because I'm keeping them Intelligent... Might also make the weapon-user 2 Int for technical allowance of feats.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on June 19, 2021, 08:28:18 PM
https://jrients.blogspot.com/2010/11/consolation-prize-based-weapon.html

Consolation prizes: Add special effects to weapons that are triggered when you roll a nat 1 for damage.
- in 3.5 might need to be restricted to suboptimal weapons like greatclubs, or exotic weapons that are not worth learning normally
- special clause for 1/d2 weapons (e.g. through size) to avoid auto-effects
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on June 19, 2021, 09:02:34 PM
How does this work with weapons that roll multiple d4, which are going to roll a natural one every other attack?
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on June 19, 2021, 09:15:16 PM
Quick solution would be to only apply the effect when all dice come up as nat 1s, making them much rarer with multiple dice. 2d4 would be a 1/16 chance, 2d6 would be 1/36, 3d4 would be 1/80.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on June 22, 2021, 03:30:05 PM
Additional uses for Action Points (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/actionPoints.htm) in games in which the gods are an active force, like in Greek mythology, and represented through APs:
- gain a one-use magic item
- borrow a more expensive permanent magic item for 1 minute
- activate a Domain Feat
- gain a Domain power for 1 minute
- have a divine spell cast on you as a free action; selectable spell levels scale with HD
- as a full-round action, have a small chance to have a Miracle spell dropped (increase chance with monetary sacrifices and accepting a Geas to go on a dangerous quest)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 22, 2021, 08:25:26 PM
Duel of Titans
Prerequisites: Intimidate 4 ranks
Benefits: When you instigate a duel of wills (ToB p.29) or participate in one instigated against you, if you win the duel or if your opponent submits or ignores the challenge, your opponent and each other enemy within 20 feet of your opponent are shaken for 1 round. Unlike normal, this does not stack with other fear conditions. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your Intimidate ranks + your Cha modifier) negates this.

Volatile Blood
Prerequisites: Con 15, breath weapon or death throes ability that deals damage of an energy type
Benefits: Your blood is charged with energy. Whenever you receive a critical hit, your spilled blood erupts, dealing 1d6 damage, +1 per 2 HD, to all other creatures and unattended objects within 5 feet of you. A Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD +your Con mod) halves this damage. The damage dealt by this effect is of the same type as your breath weapon or death throes deals.

Additionally, when you take damage from bleeding wounds or from dying, the damage is of same type as your breath weapon or death throes deals.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 24, 2021, 11:23:30 AM
Saddle of Return
When worn by a special mount, an animal companion, or a similar creature specially bonded to another character, the saddle allows the mount's master to teleport to it. The master can activate the saddle as a standard action up to 3 times per day as long as she is within 100 feet of the mount. The master reappears mounted on the mount or in the nearest occupiable space to the mount.
Cost: ???
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on June 30, 2021, 11:04:05 PM
Enlarge Familiar
Transmutation
Level- hexblade 4, sorcerer/wizard 5
Component- V, S
Casting Time- 1 standard action
Range- Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft/level)
Target- Caster’s Familiar
Duration- 1 minute/level
Saving Throw- None
Spell Resistance- No

Your familiar doubles in size and to eight times its normal weight. This alterations changes your familiars size to the next largest category, with adjustment to your familiar’s statistics according to Table 4-2 in the Monster Manual (page 291), including extra hit points from increased constitution. Your familiar’s existing natural armor bonus increases by 2.

The spell also grants your familiar DR 10/magic and a +4 resistance bonus to saving throws.

If insufficient room is available for the desired growth, your familiar attains the maximum size possible for the existing space.

Multiple castings of this spell do not stack, and this spell does not stack with other methods of increasing or decreasing size.
>>>>>>>>>>>

Other options: make it reversible (ie, reduce your familiar a size category); allow the spell to scale and increase/decrease two size categories at CL 11 and higher. But then it needs a new name, which I can't think of right now.

Really this would be used with improved familiar (winter wolves and such), and I'm sure there would be some absurd abuse involving dragon familiars.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on August 13, 2021, 09:49:39 PM
Bard-speed caster advancement for half casters (ranger, paladin, hexblade, sohei, etc), without 0-level, 5th, or 6th level spells. Caster level advances either equal to class level or at the same rate as medium BAB.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on January 01, 2022, 03:34:20 PM
A method of nerfing full casters: 1% XP penalty per level taken in a full casting class.

But what about accelerated casting PrCs? OR 3/4 casters, like bards and duskblades?

How much will this be dampened by the increased XP gained from being lower level than the rest of the party?

Haven't actually run the numbers, cause doing it right probably involves calculus.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on January 01, 2022, 04:30:12 PM
A method of nerfing full casters: 1% XP penalty per level taken in a full casting class.

But what about accelerated casting PrCs? OR 3/4 casters, like bards and duskblades?

How much will this be dampened by the increased XP gained from being lower level than the rest of the party?

Haven't actually run the numbers, cause doing it right probably involves calculus.
This will result in a terrible mess in 3.5. The CR and ECL system don't work well with a party of disparate levels, unlike older editions where different advancement speeds for classes were a feature.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on January 02, 2022, 03:45:48 PM
Scratching out a good deal of the "minimum viable product" workload on Psionic Artifice as wholly magic-independent:

Metacreativity Constructs:
"Stygian Hound", referential to Tether Hound without actually being it. Stygian property being a Negative Energy rider on the Bite, alongside low AC but massive HP for its nominal CR. Point of the arrangement being specifically that it's usable in a fight despite being several CR lower than an Astral Construct of the same PP cost. Ultimate goal being that it tanks insofar as that works in 3.5, whether that be making sure someone stays level-drained, keeping effects from getting dispelled, or physically blocking the path to its master.

"Crystaline Armiger" being the Arbalester riff, with the weapon duplications. Thinking of its balance point as a Power being primarily in terms of sidegrading Psychokinetic Weapon, trading accuracy and "ideal" default movement for volume and speed of more standard movement modes. Weapon duplication-in-crystal as base feature, so that the menu can focus on further applications of the weapon in question. Definitely some utility-facing crystal formation in the menus, as well.

New Ectopic Forms would come in one "basic" one with no further prerequisites using the more "general" list of each new Construct, two requiring the Power focused on baseline features, and one requiring any other Ectopic Form pick for stuff that's mainly about composition. Definitely have text for handling it with Craft checks instead of hard feats for the long-term Homunculus-analog implementation, and that Boost Construct uses the "parent" Power's list for the added options.

An awkward consequence of how Ectopic Form operates is that since it is a substitution with them having discrete fixed statblocks, it'll take some reworks and careful attention to "properly" handle transparency of application. Definitely something to watch out for combinations in with the other-type addon, but also makes the feat more useful as it allows mixing the lists with Boost Construct, rather than being "stuck" with just one area.

As for the permanency mechanic, I'm thinking of it being based on separating out emotions, causing some Charisma drain on setup and some damage on loss, granting effects based on the emotion in question. Wilders trivially pass the creation process, while having the most sensitivity to the cost, yet also the most value from getting to have the minions without needing the Powers. The Psionic Artificer, meanwhile, has Use Psionic Device skill checks to make Charisma sensitive.

Craft Psionic Constructs:
"Blade Guardian" being a revamp of the Psi Guardian from this 2002 Psionic Bestiary article (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psb/20020823a) to fill the Shield Guardian's tank role. Construct makeable on the cheap, but has to be "paired" with a psionically-enhanced weapon with a specific defensive property in a process that add more cost to the weapon. Run off Empathic Transfer shenanigans of transferring health rather than Shield Guardian's damage split and fast healing, including life-stealing bonus damage as a property of the Construct, applied to both its own Slams and the weapon.

"Ferroplasm Golem", made from the unupdated special material from the 3.0 Psionics Handbook. Thinking of having it handle the other half of Shield Guardian, and the later Runic Guardian, by having it store Powers with a suite of Enhancement bonuses based on the current stockpile. Possibly dramatic escalation of Dexterity and move speed as it loses solidity, making it a tradeoff rather than strict debuff? Scale with HD so there's no need for a distinct upgrade to parallel the Runic Guardian, Power immunity "gap" being Power Leech.

"Sentira Golem", made from the "Powdered Crystal and Power of Emotion" material in Secrets of Sarlonia. Large size and Charisma based, fighting primarily with Psi-like Fear, Charm, and Rage effects as opposed to being a beatstick. Also unusually fast, making for a decent Grappler as backup against anything not a beatstick because it's a Large construct not actively bad at punching. Probably tack on a Schism effect to reference the Mithral Golem's bonus action. Power vulnerability being Ego Whip bypassing the Construct immunities.

"Blended Killer", an upgrade of the Psion Killer that the body alone demands either 8,000,000 GP, 1,600,000 XP spent in True Creation... Or Reality Revision, an existing Psion Killer, and 1,000 pounds of iron, because it's otherwise starting from a 4,000 pound mass of Blended Quartz, which costs 2,000 GP/pound. Additional requirements over Psion Killer are Mental Pinnacle, Dweomer of Transference, and Imbue with Spell Ability. Action proxy and battery for Cerebromancers in particular, especially those with Tenser's or Combat Transformation to full-BAB a HD-bloated Construct.

"Udrukar Golem", also known as "Mindsteel Golem", from the 500 gp/pound Divination-proofing metal in the 3e Arms and Equipment Guide. Tiny Construct weighing "merely" 50 pounds, dictating 25k GP for the body, and half the cost of the HD is five more pounds of Udrukar. Clean +3/HD bonus against Divination and Clairsentience effects and +1/HD bonus to Hide, Move Silently, and Slight of Hand checks, falling off with distance. More a slotless item than an actual combatant... Until you start applying upgrades to use the ridiculous stealth and Dexterity.

As for what the upgrades would be, there is of course leeching the Power-generated Construct option lists, but in addition to that I'd look at hit dice advancement as a sensible option, making the 5k/hd cost generally worthwhile as an expense to improve the Construct's "core features" you're willing to pay the massive up-front cost for. The other methods are then about making it worth that up-front cost over just spending it on more resources for Metacreativity minions.

Inanimate Psionic Items:

Stacked Psionatrix are a bit of a "waste", since they're 1/day on the extremely valuable neck slot, otherwise being a piddly +1 DC to a single Discipline. Give 1st and 4th level price points, explicitly state they're generally applicable, add a base that merges the charges into an isolated PP pool, then a few static effects with separate base or stacked versions, more expensive than the equivalent magic item, but cheaper than the equivalent set of magic items in exchange for very strictly two-at-a-time.

Psychoactive Skins are perfect for major but situational effects with constant components. Flight comes to mind as the main "sometimes" effect that's missing a Skin just for it, but there's a few different "playing with" methods to alter the action economy of them, as well as options for more novel mainstays than Proteus shapeshifting, like Psionic Focus enabling properties and one that loots the construct menus with a benefit if you apply the feat that does the same.

For the sake of slot versatility, there's also the matter of dealing with effects on other slots and at lower levels. Thinking bracers keyed to Telekinetic Thrust/Force that allow for sustained flight but take Concentration to do it, a ring that offers healing fueled by Psionic Focus with generalization into Take 10 Concentration checks in place of Psychoactive Skin of the Troll, while the secondary ability booster would be split between a Psychofeedback-based item for physical scores, while mental scores go into Psicrystals.

Psicrystal Shenanigans:

The mechanic I have in mind for Psicrystals as mental score improvement would be specifically relating it to their scaling Intelligence score, consequently involving switching which one it applies to. Two requires a significant overhead to have the Psicrystal itself get two mental scores. Definitely needs staged to be cheap enough to be worth considering over the +2s and even available early on to the higher end, though the peak cost would need to get silly because that'd be three +8s.

Biggest thing would be having the often-abusable feat access be something payed for, perhaps coming with automatically moving to d10s+1/2 master's Con for HP, being a major durability boost for most of the characters using Psicrystals. Pinning down a price point is weird because of the constraints of what a Psicrystal can do with feats normally, though I suppose having it able to take Psicrystal-improving feats would make it a lot more directly worthwhile to pay that cost.

In a general capacity, being able to pay to build feats into the Psicrystal would ease this, as Psions and Psychic Warriors can spend bonus feats instead of GP to do so. But paying the GP allows for prerequisite shenanigans, like getting the aforementioned mental score bonuses without Improved Psicrystal. Conversely, for characters who's feats are cheap like some PsyWar builds, they can get plenty of value without a single copper that has the extra benefit of coming free with replacement Psicrystals.

On the end of things for them to do, my main consideration is what one can make happen with very direct extensions of the underlying ability. Increased Strength by more widely applicable telekinesis than just personal movement, attacking by rushing sharp-edge first at enemies (Piercing or Slashing), and of course doing their Power interactions themselves rather than off their Master's actions like a Schism. Cognizance Crystal function sadly not included because that's part of a PRC's selling point, though other PP economy mechanics may apply.

(as often the case, may never get around to actually making any of this, but the more of the outline I post here the less I run in circles)
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 05, 2022, 12:11:51 AM
Jotting down some notes for a few more PoC items.

I have bionic eye/arm/leg grafts, which are all basic body part replacement grafts with minimal cost (both in gold and in stats) with minor upsides. How about ones for the other two graft slots (flesh, skin)?
- Bionic skin: Synthetic skin that is largely indistinguishable from real skin. Gives a small bonus to resist nonlethal damage (DR 2/lethal sort of thing), saves vs. contact poisons, and saves to put yourself out if you catch fire.
- Bionic heart: Your heart and parts of your circulatory system have been replaced. 50% chance instead of 10% to stabilize naturally each round when dying. Slight resistance to bleeding wounds.

Murder Nails (Arms)
- Implants retractable claws into your fingertips of one hand. Can be used as a natural attack (1d4 damage for Medium).
- You can retract the claws into your fingers, rendering them undetectable to an external inspection. It's DC 30 Search check to find them even with an armacomp sensor package or similar detection capabilities.
- Claws have an internal poison reservoir, allowing you to apply one dose of poison to them like a manufactured weapon. The poison remains secured while the claws are retracted, without risk of exposing you to it. You still have the usual 5% chance to poison yourself when applying the poison, though.
- You can have multiple Murder Nails, one for each hand. Multiple Murder Nails count as a single graft and you only pay the graft sacrifice once (see Leg Compartment graft for wording).

I can't believe I mentioned personal sensors in several gadget descriptions but never wrote them up.
- 50 gp, 1 lb.
- Masterwork Search tool (+2 circumstance on Search checks).
- A basic personal sensor is a hand-held device with a low-cost, general-purpose scanning suite and a readout display. It has very simple, limited functionality, but serves as a platform onto which more specialized sensor suites can be added.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 08, 2022, 05:21:09 PM
Boots of Blasting
Price: 11,200 gp
Body Slot: Feet
Caster Level: 7th
Aura: Moderate evocation
Activation: Use-activated (standard)
Weight: 3 lb.

These heavy leather boots are unremarkable at a glance aside from their metal-reinforced soles. Once per day, the wearer can stomp hard on the ground to release a fiery explosion, propelling her in a parabolic arc up to 50 feet horizontally and up to 30 feet vertically in the direction of her choice. Horizontal movement in this way must include at least 5 feet of vertical ascent and/or descent for every 10 feet of horizontal movement. The landing is uncontrolled, so the wearer may take falling damage based on the distance fallen from the peak of the arc unless she uses the Jump or Tumble skills or otherwise mitigates or protects herself from falling. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal, but the wearer can make Tumble checks to avoid them, as per normal movement, except without taking any penalties for moving faster than half speed.

While the fiery explosion does not harm the boots' wearer, it is still dangerous to those around her. This deals 5d6 points of fire damage to all other creatures and unattended objects within a 10-foot radius spread, centered on the corner of the wearer's space most directly opposite of the direction she is propelled. A Reflex save (DC 16) halves this damage. Like a fireball, the explosion sets fire to combustibles and damages objects in the area. It can melt metals with low melting points, such as lead, gold, copper, silver, and bronze. If the damage caused to an interposing barrier shatters or breaks through it, the explosion may continue beyond the barrier if the area permits; otherwise it stops at the barrier just as any other spell effect does.

Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, fireball.
Cost to create: 5,600 gp, 448 xp, 12 days.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 21, 2022, 01:47:36 PM
Martial Flexibility
Prerequisite: Must know at least one maneuver from three different disciplines.
Benefit: You can use your highest ability score modifier in place of the normal ability score modifier when determining the save DCs of your martial maneuvers and stances.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 23, 2022, 01:52:34 AM
PoE in D&D

----------------------------------------

Classes:
- 7 base classes (in theory).
   - Marauder: Heavy martial thaumaturge. Str/Con-based. Primarily red sockets.
   - Duelist: Nimble martial thaumaturge. Str/Dex-based. Mix of red and green sockets.
   - Ranger: Flexible mobile thaumaturge. Dex/Wis-based. Primarily green sockets.
   - Shadow: Skillful assassin thaumaturge. Dex/Int-based. Mix of green and blue sockets.
   - Witch: Dedicated spellcasting thaumaturge. Int/Cha-based. Primarily blue sockets.
   - Templar: Martial spellcasting thaumaturge. Str/Int-based. Mix of red and blue sockets.
   - Scion: Middle of the road thaumaturge. Str/Dex/Int-based. Even distribution of socket colors. Might get replaced by just asking you to multiclass between the other thaumaturge classes.
- 19 PrCs (in theory).


Armor-based characters get DR. Possibly some kind of special DR-like effect that stacks with normal DR and has higher magnitudes than typical, but can't reduce damage taken from an attack below 3/4 the original damage roll or something.
Evasion-based characters get dodge bonuses to AC.
ES-based characters get a variant of the Energy Shield mechanic I wrote for PoC.
(click to show/hide)

----------------------------------------

New spellcasting equivalent mechanic: Thaumaturgy

Thaumaturgy involves drawing power from specially prepared magic gems.

Will probably use the same sort of mana system that I wrote for the Mage. Will need to adjust the numbers, though.


Thaumaturgic gems:
- Gems are wondrous items.
- Thaumaturges gain a limited number of gems by levelling. The rest must be acquired from loot and purchase, similar to Wizards learning new spells.
- Gems have levels, similar to spell levels, from 1-9.
   - Note: Might change this to have gems be level 1-20 instead, so that the gem level aligns with thaumaturge/caster level, rather than spell level. Formulas will adjust accordingly.
   - Thaumaturges require a minimum thaumaturge level of gem level x2 - 1 to use a gem.
   - Thaumaturges require a minimum ability score of 10+gem level to use a gem. This is Str (red), Dex (green) or Int (blue).
      - Note: Might need to be able act as if the gems are lower level when you have an ability score penalty, since you're likely to keep all gems maxed where possible. Traditional spellcasters get cut off from their most powerful spells, not from spellcasting entirely, when they dip below what's needed for their highest level spells.
   - Gems level up when the thaumaturge using them levels up or completes a challenging encounter. A thaumaturge can't level a gem to higher than she can use.
      - When you gain a level, you can level up (increase the level by 1) any number of your socketed gems. This lets you keep gems up to your current level.
      - When you complete an encounter, you can level up any number of your gems with level less than 1/3 the encounter's CR. This lets you level up low-level gems that you've acquired as loot or purchase.
      - Levelling a gem is optional.
   - A gem's caster level is equal to its gem level x2 - 1, minimum 1.
   
- Gems have levels, similar to spell levels, from 1-20.
   - Thaumaturges require a minimum thaumaturge level of the gem's level to use a gem.
   - Thaumaturges require a minimum ability score of 10 + 1/2 gem's level to use a gem. This is Str (red), Dex (green) or Int (blue).
      - Note: Might need to be able act as if the gems are lower level when you have an ability score penalty, since you're likely to keep all gems maxed where possible. Traditional spellcasters get cut off from their most powerful spells, not from spellcasting entirely, when they dip below what's needed for their highest level spells.
   - Gems level up when the thaumaturge using them levels up or completes a challenging encounter. A thaumaturge can't level a gem to higher than she can use.
      - When you gain a level, you can level up (increase the level by 1) any number of your socketed gems. This lets you keep gems up to your current level.
      - When you complete an encounter, you can level up any number of your gems with level less than 1/3 the encounter's CR. This lets you level up low-level gems that you've acquired as loot or purchase.
      - Levelling a gem is optional.
   - A gem's caster level as a magic item is equal to its gem level.

Active gems:
- Can be linked to support gems.
- Can be used as an action to produce an effect, known as a "skill" (name may get changed down the line). These are normally supernatural abilities, but those with the Spell keyword are spell-like abilities instead.
- Effects scale with gem level.
- Have thaumaturgic keywords, which affect which support gems can modify them.
- In addition to the usual action-based activation times, active gems can have an activation action of "attack". These can be activated to modify or replace an attack that your would otherwise make as a standard action, as part of a full attack, or as a readied action. Some abilities may allow you to use these with AoOs, as well.
- Save DCs are 10 + 1/2 thaumaturge level + ability modifier. The ability modifier depends on the gem color: Strength for red gems, Dexterity for green gems, and Intelligence for blue gems.
- A few different major use cases:
   - Strike and Shot skills replace and modify a melee (Strike) or ranged (Shot) attack you could already make. Ex: Double Strike, Lightning Arrow.
   - Slam and Volley skills are actions to activate, but build on the effects of a melee (Slam) or ranged (Volley) attack with a weapon. Ex: Blast Rain, Tectonic Slam.
   - Spell-based skills are effects inherent to the skill.
- Damage scales with gem level:
   - Strikes/Shots typically add a small amount of damage, since they're added on top of your base weapon damage and they'll be multiplied by your number of attacks.
   - Slams/Volleys typically add a large amount of damage, similar to level-appropriate damage-only strikes.
   - Spells typically deal a solid, level-appropriate amount of damage.
   - Maybe do it like "thaumaturgic power". Active gems give power/level, damage-boosting support gems give a lesser amount of power/level, even less for things like Pierce that combine damage with secondary enhancements, and none for supports like Increased Area that are purely about the non-damaging effects. Each skill indicates how it converts power to extra damage (ex: +1d6 damage/3 power).
      - Added Lightning Damage and the like add power but also convert half the bonus damage from power to an energy type.
      - Could do a similar thing for other numerical scaling, such as aura effect/aura power.
      - Possible numbers?
         - Gems go from level 1 to level 20
         - Can have up to 5 supports
         - Base power: 20 + 5/level (25-120)
         - Support power: 10 + 2/level (12-50)
         - Total: 70 + 15/level (85-370)
         - Single target, 1/round: 1d6/10 power
         - AoE, 1/round: 1d8/15 power
         - Slam/Volley: +1d8/18 power
         - Strike/Shot: +1d6/25 power
         - Power scaling to be adjusted based on the skill in question.
   - Overall damage should scale to around 30d6 for a level 20, single-target, 6-link spell with pure damage supports.

Support gems:
- Can be linked to active gems.
- Affects all linked active gems with the requisite keywords.
- Provides improvements to linked active gems.
- Provides a wide variety of effects.

Gem links:
- Thaumaturge classes grant varying numbers of gem links. Each link consists of one or more connected gem sockets.
- Each gem socket has a color, either red, green, blue, or white.
- When outside of battle, a thaumaturge can change which of their gems are in which sockets.
- The maximum number of linked sockets of a given color is limited by your ability scores. (Maybe?)

Classes:
- Grants a number of sockets and links based on level. The number of sockets and links is the same for all classes. Multiclass thaumaturges have the sockets and links of their total thaumaturge class levels.
   - 1-link at lvl 1.
   - 2-link at lvl 3.
   - 3-link at lvl 6.
   - 4-link at lvl 9.
   - 5-link at lvl 12.
   - 6-link at lvl 15.
   - The table lists the number of sockets in each of up to 6 link groups.
   - Roughly 1.4 sockets/level, maxing out at 28 total sockets with 6/6/4/4/4/4 at level 20.
      Socket links by thaumaturge class level
      Lvl   1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   Ttl
      1   1   1   --   --   --   --   2
      2   1   1   1   1   --   --   4
      3   2   1   1   1   --   --   5
      4   2   2   2   --   --   --   6
      5   2   2   2   1   1   --   8
      6   3   2   2   2   --   --   9
      7   3   3   2   2   1   --   11
      8   3   3   3   3   --   --   12
      9   4   3   3   3   1   --   14
      10   4   4   3   3   2   --   16
      11   4   4   3   3   2   1   17
      12   5   4   3   3   2   1   18
      13   5   4   4   3   2   2   20
      14   5   5   4   3   3   2   22
      15   6   5   4   3   3   2   23
      16   6   5   4   4   3   2   24
      17   6   5   4   4   3   3   25
      18   6   6   4   4   3   3   26
      19   6   6   4   4   4   3   27
      20   6   6   4   4   4   4   28
- Grants a maximum number of sockets of each color, which can be assigned to the links freely. This number is typically slightly higher than the number of available sockets/links, so there's a bit of flexibility in the gem colors you can use. Multiclass thaumaturges add their color maximums from the different classes together.
   - Probably something like +1/1 level for pure color classes, +2/3 levels for mix color classes, and +1/3 levels for the off-color sockets. That way, all classes get +5 total socket colors/3 levels.

----------------------------------------

Example gems:

- Double Strike: Flurry of Blows-type extra attack on a full attack, or two attacks in a standard action.
- Heavy Strike: Melee attack deals extra damage, knockback, stagger.
- Spectral Throw: Throw a melee weapon, giving it a range increment. Retain hold of your weapon, releasing a spectral copy instead. Deals damage in a line. Returns to you at the beginning of your next turn, dealing damage in a line from the end of travel towards your current position. (Return length limited by maximum throw distance, so it might not reach you if you move further away. Also, return line is limited by barriers, so it might stop before reaching you.) Damage is 1/2 of a normal thrown attack.
- Burning Arrow: Ranged attack deals half its damage as fire. May set the target on fire with thaumaturgical flames, dealing additional fire damage per round.
- Glacial Hammer: Melee attack deals half its damage as cold. Spreads icy ground around the target's space.
- Viper Strike: Melee attack deals half its damage as acid. Leaves acid behind that deals additional acid damage per round. Poisons on the weapon use the skill's save DC instead of their own if higher.
- Fireball: Targets as a splash weapon (ranged touch attack), dealing damage in an area around its impact location. Direct hit causes Ref save vs. being set on fire.

- Chance to Bleed Support: Supported attack skill leaves a bleeding wound, dealing additional damage per round.
- Ruthless Support: Every 3rd use of supported melee attack skill in an encounter deals increased damage, has higher save DC, and can stagger on a failed Fort save. If the skill already causes stagger, upgrades the stagger to daze if the target fails a second save.
- Onslaught Support: Gain haste effect for a round or two when land a killing blow on an enemy with supported skill.
- Pierce Support: Supported projectile attack skill continues on in a line after striking the first target, attacking the next target in the line with a penalty on the attack roll.
- Elemental Proliferation Support: ... (May not work unless we convert PoE ailments to D&D.)
- Lesser Poison Support: Supported skill deals additional acid damage. Poisons applied with the skill have +2 to their save DC.
- Arcane Surge Support: Track the mana you spend on supported spell skill during the encounter. Once it reaches a certain limit, subsequent casts of it gain bonuses and you gain bonus mana regeneration rate.

- Melee Splash Support: Supported melee strike skill deals damage in an area around the target when it hits equal to 1/2 the damage the initial hit dealt. Reflex negates, DC is equal to the attack roll.
- Maim Support: Supported attack skill can cause struck targets to have -10-foot penalty to movement speed and -2 penalty to AC.
- Lifetap Support: Supported skills spend HP instead of MP. Supported skills deal extra damage while on low life.
- Combustion Support: Supported skills deal set on fire anyone that took fire damage from the initial hit (Ref negates). Creatures burning this way have -5 to fire resistance and have a higher DC to put themselves out for 3 rounds.
- Added Lightning Damage: Supported skills deal extra damage. Half of the damage from damage power is electricity damage.
- Added Cold Damage: Supported skills deal extra damage. Half of the damage from damage power is cold damage.
- Added Fire Damage: Supported skills deal extra damage. Half of the damage from damage power is fire damage.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on May 23, 2022, 06:43:56 PM
- Phrenic Creature/Half-Fey style template with SLAs scaling by HD, but elemental in nature
- Make elementals with that template a summoning option with Summon Monster / Summon Nature's Ally (maybe also Summon Elemental reserve feat?)
- Loose inspiration: Spirits of the Elements in Shadowrun 3rd, who have more options and flexibility than the straightforward clobberer elementals in D&D
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on May 31, 2022, 10:16:16 PM
Feats for alternative attribute usage.
Spidey Sense: Use Cha instead of Dex for initiative checks and instead of Wis for Spot, Listen, and Sense Motive checks.
Sweet Muscles: Use Str instead of Cha for Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Use Magic Device checks.
Quick Thinking: Use Dex instead of Int for Knowledge checks and instead of Wis for Survival checks.
Knowledge is Power: Use Int instead of Str for melee damage rolls.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 05, 2022, 01:00:22 PM
Fancy Feet (trait) - Reduces the penalty on Hide and Move Silently checks for moving at full speed by 2 (to -3) and on Balance and Tumble checks for moving at full speed by 5 (to -5), but you take those penalties even when you move at half speed or less.

Very Punchable (flaw) - Something about you instinctively makes people want to punch you in the face. The initial attitude of NPCs towards you is worsened. NPCs that would ordinarily have an initial attitude of friendly instead have an initial attitude of indifferent. NPCs that would ordinarily have an initial attitude of indifferent instead have an initial attitude for unfriendly. NPCs that would ordinarily have an initial attitude of unfriendly or hostile gain a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls against you during the first round of combat.

Emotionless (trait) - You are not subject to morale modifiers, regardless of whether they are bonuses or penalties. You suffer a -1 penalty on Bluff and Diplomacy checks.

Amoral (trait) - You are not subject to sacred or profane modifiers, regardless of whether they are bonuses or penalties. Spells and effects that have greater or lesser effect depending on your alignment on the moral axis (good, neutral, or evil) treat you as having the alignment with the least possible effect, regardless of your actual alignment.

Luckless (trait) - You are not subject to luck modifiers, regardless of whether they are bonuses or penalties. You suffer a -2 penalty on Profession (gambler) checks.

Confused Rage (trait) - Whenever you become confused, if you are not already in a rage, you enter a rage. This does not count against the limited uses of your rage abilities. If you do not have any rage abilities, this rage functions as a level 1 barbarian's rage except that the bonuses it grants you to your Strength and Constitution scores are only +2 and that the morale bonus to you Will saves is only +1. Your rages cannot end while you are confused and do not cause you to become fatigued or exhausted if they end as you cease to be confused. Whenever you are hit by an attack or fails a saving throw against a spell or effect while in a rage, you become confused for 2 rounds.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 05, 2022, 06:47:00 PM
Two-Weapon Offense
Prerequisites: Two-Weapon Fighting, Dex 15, BAB +1
Benefits: Reduce the attack roll penalty when fighting with two weapons by 1 (minimum of -0). You can add your full Str modifier instead of half to damage rolls with your off-hand weapon.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 15, 2022, 09:35:41 PM
Overhealed
Prerequisites: Base Fort save +3
Benefits: Whenever you receive healing, any hit points you would gain in excess of your normal maximum hit points are instead gained as temporary hit points. These temporary hit points last until lost. As normal for temporary hit points, these do not stack with each other or with other temporary hit points.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on June 15, 2022, 10:58:11 PM
Vacuuum Dragon
- Breath weapon is a cone of vacuum. Rips the air from the area, leaving an effect like sudden decompression (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=14595) for 1 round that pulls creatures towards the dragon, then magically maintains a vacuum in the area for 1 minute. Effective breach size and wind speed depends on the dragon's size category.
- Secondary breath weapon is a cone of stellar radiation (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=10157), causing acute radiation damage.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on June 22, 2022, 12:36:37 PM
Special Forces Commando (inspired by the Special Forces fighting style in the Streetfighter RPG)
ToB base class, Full BAB, Good Fort (good Ref?)

Maneuver recovery through Hide checks? (Cover and concealment is important to infantry combat, and commandos prefer to detect first and strike first from a hidden position)

Disciplines: Ex (not Su) maneuvers from Setting Sun, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw (and/or fitting homebrew?)

Class Feature: Gain Martial Study similar to Fighter Bonus feats and can take it more often than three times, also to buy Su maneuvers

Drawback: Special Forces Commando doesn't count as an initiator for access to higher maneuver levels, progression is halved as for non-initiator classes

The Special Forces fighting style seeks to incorporate and cherrypick simple but effective techniques from many different sources, at the cost of shallow understanding and mastery. Can also be used for similar martial arts philosophies like Jeet Kun Do, Krav Maga or Sambo.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 10, 2022, 06:20:14 PM
Frenzied Death Throes
Barbarian ACF
If you would fall unconscious or die due to having negative hit points or having nonlethal damage greater than your hit points, you instead enter a rage if you have any uses of the ability remaining, even if you have already entered a rage during this encounter. This functions as your normal rage, except as follows. You do not fall unconscious or die regardless of your hit points or nonlethal damage, although you are still staggered if your nonlethal damage is equal to or greater than your hit points (including if you have no nonlethal damage but have 0 or negative hit points), and you remain dying and continue to lose 1 hp per round if your hit points are negative. You act as though confused during this rage, attacking the last creature to attack you if you have been attacked and are able, or acting randomly otherwise. When this rage ends, you heal 2 hit points per character level (increasing to 3 with Greater Rage or 4 with Mighty Rage). You cannot voluntarily end this rage unless your hit points are 0 or greater and are equal to or greater than your nonlethal damage. If you would die or fall unconscious again while in this rage, you instead enter a new rage, spending an additional use of your rage ability and healing hit points.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 10, 2022, 11:01:41 PM
Breach Wave
Level 5-ish spell
Conjuration (teleportation)
The spell creates an unstable connection to another plane in a cone. This deals damage to creatures and objects in the area initially, then fills the cone's area with the chosen plane's planar traits for 1 round/level, overriding similar planar traits for the local plane. Only limited planar traits are transferred, and often weakened (so no time traits, and magic-modifying traits might have lesser effects or only apply to lower-level spells). The spell's descriptors and damage type change based on the chosen plane.

PlaneDescriptorsDamage TypeEnergy and Elemental TraitsAlignment TraitsMagic Traits
Prime MaterialNoneUntypedNoneMildly neutral-alignedNormal magic
EtherealNoneUntypedNoneMildly neutral-alignedNormal magic
AstralNoneUntypedNoneMildly neutral-alignedTimeless magic (lower-level spells expire at half their normal rate within the area)
ShadowDarknessUntypedNoneMildly neutral-alignedEnhanced magic (+10% shadow reality for lower-level spells), impeded magic (lower-level light spells require a Spellcraft check to be cast)
AirAirSlashingAir-dominantMildly neutral-alignedEnhanced magic (lower-level air spells are enlarged), impeded magic (lower-level earth spells require a Spellcraft check to be cast)
EarthEarthBludgeoningEarth-dominant (area is difficult terrain, rather than being filled with solid earth)Mildly neutral-alignedEnhanced magic (lower-level earth spells are extended), impeded magic (lower-level air spells require a Spellcraft check to be cast)
FireFireFireFire-dominant (area only deals 1d6 fire damage/round, 2d6 to water creatures)Mildly neutral-alignedEnhanced magic (lower-level fire spells are enlarged), impeded magic (lower-level water spells require a Spellcraft check to be cast)
WaterWaterBludgeoningWater-dominant (attacks and effects into the area are resolved as if underwater, area deals 1d6 damage/round to fire creatures)Mildly neutral-alignedEnhanced magic (lower-level water spells are extended), impeded magic (lower-level fire spells require a Spellcraft check to be cast)
TODO: Positive, negative, dream, outer planes.
Note: Despite suppressing magic traits, dead magic traits won't be suppressed because the spell can't affect that part of the plane to begin with.
Magic traits only apply to spells of lower level than this spell. Spells of equal or higher level use the local plane's normal magic traits.

Not sure if the spell should let the caster choose the plane or have it be determined randomly.

Also a higher-level version that deals more damage and allows more powerful traits through.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on July 16, 2022, 01:28:13 PM
Berserker

Barbarian-like rager.
Has more flexible rage benefits, inspired in part by PF's Rage Powers.

Rage Depth: Class feature that increases with level. This controls the magnitude of benefits you gain from raging, but also the penalties. Starts at +1, increases up to +5 or +6 by level 20.

Rage: You can enter a rage, a state of heightened emotion and aggression. There is no limit to the number of times you can enter a rage per day.

Rage Forms: Not all rages are equal. Different rage forms affect how you enter and maintain a rage, as well as what happens when you cease raging. Except where noted, your rage lasts for a number of rounds equal to your rage depth + your Con modifier, you can end a rage prematurely on your turn as a free action, and for 1 minute after the end of the rage, you cannot enter another rage.
- Instant Temper: You fly into a rage as a swift action on your turn. For 1 minute after the end of the rage, you are fatigued. You cannot enter a rage this way while fatigued or exhausted.
- Stoking Fury: You can fly into a rage as a swift action on your turn. During the first round of your rage, your rage depth is 2 less than normal (minimum 0). You can stoke your rage as a free action, increasing your rage depth by 2 for 1 round, but also reducing its remaining duration to 1 round.
- Battle Rush: You can fly into a rage as an immediate action whenever you hit an opponent with an attack or are hit by a damaging attack.
- Survival Instincts: You can fly into a rage as an immediate action as long as your hit points are less than or equal to half your maximum or whenever you receive a critical hit. Treat your rage depth as 2 less than normal for the purpose of rage drawbacks.

Rage Powers: At level 1, you gain 2 rage powers. Each rage power affects the benefits of your rage, granting you bonuses of various sorts.
- Flexible Rage: Costs 2 rage power options, but lets you select a rage option you qualify for each time you enter a rage, rather than only when you gain levels.
- Guarded Fury: You gain a dodge bonus to your Armor Class equal to your rage depth.
- Toughening Rage: While raging, you gain a bonus to your natural armor equal to your rage depth. If you do not already have natural armor, treat your existing natural armor bonus as +0.

- Pain Suppression: You gain a bonus to any damage reduction you may have equal twice to your rage depth. If you don't already have any DR/-, you gain DR 0/-, allowing you to apply this bonus to it.
- Indestructible Thews: Requires Pain Suppression. If you would take any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution damage while raging, reduce it by your rage depth. If you would suffer any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution drain, reduce it by half your rage depth. This can't reduce ability damage or drain to less than 0. This ability does not protect against ability damage or drain that you receive willingly or that you inflict upon yourself.

- Single-Minded Fury: Add your rage depth as a bonus on Fortitude and Will saves.
- Unyielding Mind: Requires Single-Minded Fury. If you would take any Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage while raging, reduce it by your rage depth. If you would suffer any Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma drain, reduce it by half your rage depth. This can't reduce ability damage or drain to less than 0. This ability does not protect against ability damage or drain that you receive willingly or that you inflict upon yourself.

- Adrenal Force: Add your rage depth as a bonus on melee and thrown weapon attack and damage rolls.
- Frenzied Strikes: Requires Adrenal Force. When you make a full attack, you can accept a -4 penalty on your attack rolls in order to make an additional attack at your full Base Attack Bonus. This penalty is reduced by your rage depth, to a minimum of -0. If your rage depth is 4 or greater, you can increase the penalty to -8 to instead make two extra attacks.
- Unyielding Might: Requires Adrenal Force. Add your rage depth as a bonus on a Strength, Strength-based, Constitution, and Constitution-based checks.

- Beastly Rage: While raging, you gain a pair of claw attacks (1d6). These natural weapons gain an enhancement bonus equal to your rage depth.
- Furious Maw: Requires Beastly Rage. While raging, you gain a bite attack (1d6). This natural weapon gains an enhancement bonus equal to your rage depth.
- Enraged Pounce: Requires Beastly Rage. When you charge while raging, you can make a full attack instead of a single attack. You cannot make more attacks this way than 1 + your rage depth.

- Adrenal Resilience: When you enter a rage, you gain temporary hit points equal to your rager level x your rage depth, which last for as long as the rage does. If your rage depth increases during the rage, you gain commensurately more temporary hit points. If your rage depth decreases during the rage, you lose a commensurate amount of temporary hit points from among those that remain from this ability, and take nonlethal damage equal to the difference if there are not enough temporary hit points to remove.
- Deathless Frenzy: Requires Adrenal Resilience. You gain a bonus on saves against necromancy and death effects equal to twice your rage depth. You gain a bonus equal to your rager level x your rage depth x 2 to your hit points. These hit points are not lost first like temporary hit points, and disappear when the rage ends.

- Arcane Defiance: You gain spell resistance equal to 5 + your rager level + twice your rage depth.
- Arcane Repudiation: Requires Arcane Defiance. Whenever you make a weapon attack while raging, before resolving the attack, you attempt to dispel up to one effect from either the target of your attack or from the space into which you are attacking. This functions like the area dispel mode of dispel magic, except that you use 1/2 your rager level + your rage depth in place of your caster level for the dispel check and that there is no maximum to your effective caster level for the dispel check's modifier.
- Arcane Denial: Requires Arcane Defiance. You are protected from spells with a level equal to or lower than your rage depth as per a globe of invulnerability.


Rage Drawbacks: Each rage has its own drawbacks, which last as long as you are in the rage.
- Impatience: While you are in a rage, your ability to think calmly and clearly is compromised, although not as badly as with a barbarian's rage. You suffer a penalty equal to twice your rage depth on all Charisma-, Dexterity-, and Intelligence-based skills (except for Balance, Escape Artist, Intimidate, and Ride), and on the Concentration skill. You require a successful DC 15 Concentration check to use any abilities that require patience or concentration, to cast spells or activate magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll), or to use the Combat Expertise feat, item creation feats, and metamagic feats. Make this check only once per round when you first attempt to perform such an activity. If you fail, you must choose to do something else with your action (you don't lose the action or waste the spell or item use, you simply cannot bring yourself to attempt such an action in the first place). Effects and abilities that would allow you to use these skills, abilities, and actions in a rage (which would normally disable them entirely) removes the penalties and need for a Concentration check from a rage.
- Reckless Defense: You suffer a penalty equal to your rage depth to your Armor Class.
- Tunnel Vision: You can make one fewer attack of opportunity per round per point of your rage depth. You suffer a penalty equal to your rage depth to your Armor Class against attacks of opportunity.
- Suggestible: You suffer a penalty on Will saves equal to your rage depth.
- Self-Destructive: You push your body beyond its limits while raging. Each round that you remain in a rage, you take damage equal to your rage depth.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on August 27, 2022, 07:00:59 AM
Two versions of Fharlanghn- focused diving caster prestige classes. The first is Seeker of the Misty Isle with the yuck elf removed, and the other is Horizon Walker with caster progression.

Eternal Wanderer of Fharlanghn

Requirements
Skills- knowledge- geography 4 ranks, survival 8 ranks
Spells- able to cast 2nd level divine spells
Special- must be inducted into the order by another member
Special- must worship Fharlanghn

Chassis- d8 HD, medium BAB, good Fort, good Ref, poor Will;
Skills- as existing SotMI

Class Features
(edit)- Weapon and Armor Proficiencies- Eternal Wanderers of Fharlanghn do not gain proficiency in any weapons or armor. Although they are not prohibited from wearing any particular weapons or armor, traditionally Eternal Wanderers do not wear armor heavier than light armor, and most often carry a quarterstaff as a weapon.
Spellcasting- advancement at all levels except 5 and 10
Extra domain- At 1st and 7th levels, you gain access to a domain of Fharlanghn's of your choice to which you do not already have access. You may instead trade access to this domain for the corresponding domain feat, provided you never exceed three domain feats total.
Fharlanghn's Perception: at 5th level, you gain a +3 racial bonus to diplomacy, listen, sense motive, and spot, or your existing racial bonus increases by 3.


---------------------------------


Horizon Walker of Fharlanghn

Requirements
Skills- knowledge- geography 8 ranks
Feats- endurance
Special- must worship Fharlanghn

Chassis- d8 HP, good BAB, good Fort, poor ref, poor will
Skills- as existing Horizon Walker

Class Features
Levels 1-5- terrain mastery, as normal
Levels 6-10- planar terrain mastery, as normal.
Spellcasting- except for levels 2 and 7, you gain spells known, spells per day, and caster level as if you gained a level in an existing divine spellcasting class. If you have no character class-derived spellcasting ability prior to entering this prestige class, you instead gain spellcasting advancement (but no other features) of a favored soul equal to your Horizon Walker of Fharlanghn spellcasting level. (IE, a non-caster 5/HWoF 10 has caster level and spells per day equal to a favored soul 8). Your spells known list is selected from the spell lists of the following domains: Celerity, Luck, Protection, Travel, Weather. You do not gain the domains themselves, and do not get their granted powers.

--------------------


Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Draco Dei on August 27, 2022, 11:10:48 AM
Your spells known list is selected from the spell lists of the following domains: Celerity, Luck, Protection, Travel, Weather. You do not gain the domains themselves, and do not get their granted powers.

--------------------
I am fairly certain one would run out of spells to pick even at 1st level for this... also, domains don't grant cantrips.

I realize this is just a sketch, but something to keep in mind when and if this gets developed.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on August 28, 2022, 04:02:33 PM
Oh yeah, cantrips. Derp. Thanks. I'll probably fix that by adding the clause "...from the base cleric spell list or..."

----------------
Here is an epic progression for the hexblade, cause the guy DM'ing us right now asked for a 30th-level character (with up to LA +6 for free), and I happen to be running a hexblade in our hiatus-from-Army-of-Characters-Against-the-Giants campaign. The only things that aren't direct extrapolations of pre-epic progressions are swift cast and the curse penalty. I settled on swift cast gaining a use/day every four levels, and the curse penalty at -2 per six levels, cause I surmise that's what it originally was before WotC got scared of a non-wizard having nice things imposing -6 penalties at 13th level and -8 at 19th level.

Epic Hexblade

21st- hexblade curse 6/day
22nd- swift cast 6/day
23rd- bonus epic feat
24th- aura of unluck 4/day
25th- hexblade curse 7/day; curse penalty to -8
26th- bonus epic feat, swift cast 7/day
27th
28th- aura of unluck 5/day
29th- hexblade curse 8/day, bonus epic feat
30th- swift cast 8/day

Notes and Comments
Additional uses of curse every four levels (21st, 25th, 29th, etc)
Additional use of swift cast every four levels (22nd, 26th, 30th, etc)
Epic bonus feats every three levels (23d, 26th, 29th, etc). These can be used to take non-epic feats, as normal.
Additional use of aura of unluck every four levels (24th, 28th, etc)
Curse penalty increases by -2 every six levels (-8 at 25th, -10 at 31st)
Spells known and spells per day don’t increase past 20th. Caster level increases as normal, ie, half hexblade level.

Hexblade Epic Bonus Feat list- armor skin, damage reduction, epic prowess, epic reputation, epic skill focus, epic spell penetration, epic toughness, epic weapon focus, familiar spell, fast healing, improved combat casting, improved spell capacity, penetrate damage reduction, permanent emanation, spell knowledge, spell stowaway, spell casting harrier, spontaneous spell; or new epic hexblade feats

New Epic Hexblade Feats- I'm sure most people will agree that these could easily be non-epic feats, but here they are.

Extra Aura of Unluck
Prereq- Aura of Unluck 3/day, Cha 20.
Benefit. You can use Aura of Unluck a number of additional times per day equal to three plus your Charisma modifier. Thus, a 24th level hexblade with Cha 20 could use Aura of Unluck 9/day.

Improved Aura of Unluck
Prereqs- Hexblade curse 5/day, hexblade dire curse, Aura of Unluck 3/day, Cha 20
Benefit. The miss chance from Aura of Unluck increases to 50%. Additionally, the duration increases to 1 round per hexblade level.

Widen Aura of Unluck. Prereqs- aura of unluck 3/day. Benefit. A number of creatures you select (up to your charisma modifier) gain the benefit of your aura of unluck so long as they are within 20' of you. They lose this protection if they move farther than 20' away, but regain it if they return to within 20' or less of you. Additionally, your familiar is protected by your aura of unluck whenever it is active, no matter how far apart you are. Your familiar does not count against the number of additional creatures protected by your aura.

Widen Hexblade Curse
Prereqs. Hexblade curse 5/day, dire hexblade curse, Cha 20
Benefit. You affect a number of targets with your hexblade curse up to a number equal to your charisma modifier. Each target must be within 60’ of you, and within 30’ of at least one other target. Each target gets its own saving throw.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on September 20, 2022, 05:32:21 PM
Because I have a weakness for hot garbage classes and trying to make them halfway decent, or at least entertaining, there I was, making a sohei 24/contemplative 6, for reasons described in the previous post. As Skyrock points out, sohei is self-contradictory, what with ki frenzy and iaijutsu focus being mutually exclusive, cause you "can't use any class skills" whilst ki frenzy-ing. But! Looking at the barbarian's rage description, there's a handful of skills that are exempted from those the barbarian can't use. And then looking at ki frenzy and iaijutsu focus, the first is "focusing your ki power", and the second is "gathering personal energy (ki)". Fluff-wise I would say the two don't contradict.

So what if we add the phrase "except iaijutsu focus" to the line of ki frenzy that says you can't use any class skills? We'll see how it goes. Maybe. If we ever get around to playing this 30th-level thing the DM wants to do.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Skyrock on September 20, 2022, 06:06:15 PM
Fluff-wise Ki-Frenzy and Iaijutsu Focus would not contradict at all - Iaijutsu Focus is all about action without thought. I think this would be one of the very basic must-have fixes if anyone were to rewrite the Sohei class.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on September 23, 2022, 02:36:46 PM
My personal preference for class re-writes is to recycle concepts that already exist (precedence and all that). Here goes; I made this up in an hour so.

Sohei Rebuild
Chassis- d10 hp, good BAB, good fort save, poor ref save, good will save.
Alignment- any lawful
Skills- balance, concentration, craft, diplomacy, heal, iaijutsu focus, jump, knowledge religion, knowledge nobility and royalty; sense motive, ride, swim, tumble; 2 skill points/level
Weapon and armor proficiencies- simple weapons, martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, shields

Class Progression
1st- ki frenzy, weapon focus*
2nd- improved unarmed strike* Bonus feat
3rd- mettle
4th- ki frenzy 2/day; 1st level spells
5th- strength of mind (immune to sleep and stun)
6th- swift cast 1/day
7th- DR 1/-
8th- Ki frenzy 3/day, 2nd level spells
9th- swift cast 2/day, frenzy casting 1/day
10th- DR 2/-
11th- greater frenzy, 3rd level spells
12th- Ki frenzy 4/day, swift cast 3/day
13th- DR 3/-
14th- frenzy casting 2/day
15th- swift cast 4/day
16th- DR 4/-, ki frenzy 5/day
17th- tireless frenzy
18th- swift cast 5/day
19th- DR 5/-, frenzy casting 3/day
20th- whirlwind frenzy, ki frenzy 6/day

Class Features

Ki Frenzy- The sohei deeply understands her own personal energies (her ki), and train to concentrate and clear their minds of all distractions. A sohei can exploit that knowledge to increase her own strength and speed. At 1st level, 1/day, she can enter a ki frenzy. This ki frenzy lasts for 3 rounds plus her constitution modifier, and during the frenzy she temporarily gains +2 bonus to Strength, +2 bonus to Dexterity, +10 bonus to speed, and can make a flurry of blows as a full attack, gaining an additional attack at her highest attack bonus, but suffering a -2 penalty to her attack rolls.

A ki frenzy requires intense focus to the exclusion of everything else; while in a frenzy the sohei is unable to cast spells or use spell trigger (wand), spell completion (scroll), and command word magic items (although see frenzy casting, below) or use skills or abilities that require patience or concentration. She can’t use any Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma-based skill (except iaijutsu focus) for the duration of the frenzy. She can use any feat she has except item creation feats and metamagic feats (again, see frenzy casting, below). The sohei may end her frenzy voluntarily. At the end of frenzy (voluntary or not), the sohei is fatigued (-2 Str and Dex, can’t run or charge) for the duration of the current encounter. Entering a frenzy takes no time, but a sohei can only enter a frenzy during her turn, not in response to someone else’s actions.

Ki frenzy counts as rage for the purposes of qualifying for feats and prestige classes, and can be improved through the use of magic items that improve rage.

The sohei can use ki frenzy one additional time per day at 4th, 8th, 12th levels, etc.

Improved Unarmed Strike Bonus feat- at 2nd level, the sohei gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. Or does he? Maybe he gets Skill Focus: Iaijutsu focus instead.

Mettle- If a sohei of 3rd level or higher makes a successful Fortitude or Will save that would normally reduce an effect, the effect is instead negated. Only those spells with a saving throw entry of “Will partial”, “Fort half” or similar entries can be negated through this ability.

Spells- Beginning at 4th level, the sohei can cast a small number of divine spells from the sohei spell list. Caster level is equal to one half sohei level (but see spell frenzy, below).

Strength of Mind- at 5th level, the sohei becomes immune to sleep and stunning.

Swift Cast- at 6th level, 1/day the sohei can cast one spell as a swift action, provided the original casting time was one round or less. She gains additional uses of this ability at 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th levels.

Damage Reduction- Gain DR 1/- at 7th, increases by 1 every three levels thereafter.

Frenzy Casting- At 9th level, the sohei gains the ability to cast spells while in a ki frenzy. The sohei uses her character level as her caster level while frenzy casting. The sohei must already be in a frenzy to use this ability (although she can enter a frenzy immediately prior to casting a spell). This ability is not a separate set of frenzies per day. For example, a 20th level sohei can use ki frenzy 6/day and frenzy casting 3/day. Thus, during any three of her six ki frenzies, she can frenzy cast her spells.

The sohei’s restriction against using metamagic feats while in a ki frenzy is lifted. The sohei can employ her swift cast ability while frenzy casting as well. The sohei gains additional uses of this ability at 14th and 19th levels.

11th- Greater Frenzy- The boost from ki frenzy increase to +4 Str, +4 Dex, +20 speed. The attack penalty decreases to -1.

17th- Tireless Frenzy- the sohei is no longer fatigued after a frenzy.

20th- Whirlwind Frenzy- The boosts from ki frenzy increase to +6 Str, +6 Dex, +30 speed, and the attack penalty is eliminated.


Notes
I removed heavy armor cause it doesn’t make sense in the context of boosting dexterity with ki frenzy; there’s no AC benefit…which is another of the contradictory things about the base sohei.

I’ll tinker with the spell list later; it’s my turn to DM this weekend.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on October 28, 2022, 01:23:28 AM
Metamorph base class
Shapeshifting brawler that mixes and matches between various shapeshifting abilities.

Doesn't transform into specific alternate forms. Instead, has a number of metamorphic aspects that can be applied, at first independently and later in combination with each other. Available metamorphic aspects must be prepared at the beginning of the day, but can be freely assumed and dismissed during the day. Metamorphic aspects have multiple types:
- Minor aspects: Cantrip-like metamorphosis. These have small effects, but are easy to use and combine with other aspects.
- Feature aspects: Limited metamorphosis. These are low-level aspects that shift some part of you, but still leave you largely as normal.
- Form aspects: Greater metamorphosis. These are mid-level aspects that change large amounts of your body at once, leaving little if any of your original form remaining.
- Essence aspects: Absolute metamorphosis. These are high-level aspects that transform not just your body but parts your your very being, up to and including your soul.

Each metamorphic aspect has one or more associated enhancements. You can assign focus among the enhancements of aspects that you have assumed to empower them. The higher your level, the more focus you have, and the more you can assign to any given enhancement. Focus can be reassigned as a swift action.

Example aspects:

Minor
- Razor claws: Grow a pair of claws, dealing 1d6 damage (medium). Enhancements: Enhanced attacks, improved grip.
- Loping stride: Gain an enhancement bonus to your movement speed (stacking with the speed boost enhancement). Enhancements: Speed boost, reflexive leap.
- Nocturnal adaptation: Gain low-light vision and need less sleep. Enhancements: Awareness, clear mind.
- Predatory instinct: Gain scent. As a swift action, identify which creature you can smell has the lowest HD, other than yourself and creatures you've been in the presence of for more than 1 hour. Enhancements: Ambush predator, awareness.

Feature
- Threshing maw: Gain a bite attack, dealing 1d8 damage (medium) and leaving a bleeding wound that deals additional damage each round until healed. Enhancements: Enhanced attacks, carnage, bloodthirst.
- Elongated grasp: Your limbs lengthen, increasing your reach. Enhancements: Improved grip, ..., ....
- Alchemical glands: Spit acid as a standard action. Enhancements: Acid resistance, acidic strikes, poison affinity.
- Bristling spines: Grow spines that damage creatures that hit you with unarmed or natural attacks. Also deals damage each round in a grapple. Enhancements: Thorns, enhanced armor, ...

Form
- Bestial mien: You sprout a thick coat of fur over layers of armored muscle, granting you a natural armor bonus to AC and bonuses to Strength and Constitution. Enhancements: Enhanced armor, brawn, ....
- Rising span: Feathers cover your body. Grow a pair of wings, granting you flight. Enhancements: ..., ..., ....
- Carapaced crasher: Grow a thick carapace of chitin. You gain a natural armor bonus to AC and a slam attack, and you can trample enemies. Enhancements: ..., ..., ....
- Eye of the beholder: Your eyes merge together into a single sensory organ, and you grow additional eye stalks. Gain all-around vision. As a standard action, you can attempt to suppress ongoing magic in a cone (like dispel magic, but the spells are only suppressed for a duration instead of being fully dispelled). Enhancements: Awareness, magic consumption, ....

Essence
- Heart of flame: Type changes to elemental. Gain the fire subtype, granting you immunity to fire and vulnerability to cold. Gain the burn ability (like a fire elemental). Enhancements: Fiery strikes, fire resistance, ..., ....
- Clockwork heart: Type changes to construct. Gain the living construct subtype. Gain limited access to Crushing Juggernaut maneuvers. Enhancements: ..., ..., ....
- Void self: Type changes to outsider. Become undetectable by divinations and most information-gathering abilities. Teleport short distances as a move action. Enhancements: ..., ..., ....
- Consuming mass: Type changes to ooze. Absorb creatures you kill as an immediate action to heal and temporarily gain some of their stats/abilities (a subset of what polymorph/shapechange could grant). Enhancements: ..., ..., ....
- Unchanging ideal: Your form cannot be altered except willingly. Immune to ability damage and drain. Enhancements: ..., ..., ....

Enhancements
- Enhanced attacks: Gain an enhancement bonus on natural weapon attacks.
- Speed boost: Gain an enhancement bonus to your movement speed.
- Improved grip: Gain a bonus on Climb and grapple checks.
- Reflexive leap: Gain a bonus on Reflex saves and Jump checks.
- Awareness: Gain a bonus on Spot, Listen, and initiative checks.
- Clear mind: Gain a bonus on Will saves and Sense Motive checks.
- Carnage: Gain a bonus on Intimidate checks. Critical hits and killing blows grant a free demoralize attempt against nearby enemies.
- Bloodthirst: Gain temporary hit points for 1 round based on the damage you deal with natural weapons.
- Thorns: Deal damage to creatures that hit you in melee with non-reach weapons.
- Enhanced armor: Gain an enhancement bonus to your natural armor bonus to AC.

- Ambush predator: Gain a bonus on Hide checks (but not Move Silently). Gain a bonus on damage rolls against creatures that are flanked or denied Dex to AC, with a greater bonus if they are also flat-footed.
- Poison affinity: Gain a bonus on saves against poison. Automatically succeed on saves against poisons' secondary damage if the save DC is low enough.

- Acid resistance: Gain resistance to acid damage.
- Cold resistance: Gain resistance to cold damage.
- Electricity resistance: Gain resistance to electricity damage.
- Fire resistance: Gain resistance to fire damage.
- Sonic resistance: Gain resistance to sonic damage.
- Acidic strikes: Deal additional acid damage with each natural attack. Critical hits also leave a layer of acid on the target that deals damage again 1 round later. Multiple critical hits do not stack; use only the highest damage value.
- Chilling strikes: Deal additional cold damage with each natural attack. Critical hits also reduce the target's movement speed for 1 round.
- Fiery strikes: Deal additional fire damage with each natural attack. Critical hits also set the target on fire, causing them to take 1d6 fire damage every round until they put it out. The save DC is based on the focus you have invested in this enhancement.
- Arcing strikes: Deal additional electricity damage with each natural attack. Critical hits arc electricity to one or more secondary targets, dealing a small amount of electricity damage to them.
- Shuddering strikes: Deal additional sonic damage with each natural attack. Critical hits cause the target to become shaken for 1 round if they are not already.
- Brawn: Gain an enhancement bonus to your Strength score.
- Magic consumption: Gain a bonus on dispel checks. Gain temporary HP when you dispel an ongoing spell.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Mechanics:
- At 1st level, you can have a single minor aspect and a single feature aspect assumed simultaneously. You can also assume a form aspect at 8th level and an essence aspect at 15th level.
- At higher levels, you can assume more minor aspects at once. Feature aspects will also allow up to 2 eventually, as will form aspects, although essence aspects will always be limited to just 1.
- Assuming or dismissing an aspect is a move action. You can dismiss an aspect and assume a new one in its place as a standard action.
- Focus is similar to essentia in incarnum or energy in PoC. It comes in similar quantities and works pretty much the same.

Feats and Abilities:
- Favored Enhancement: Gain access to a chosen enhancement as long as you are assuming at least one aspect, even if none of your aspects grant it. If at least one of them does, the chosen enhancement acts a though you had assigned 1 more focus to it than you actually have, which can exceed your normal focus limit.
- Reformation: Heal hit points whenever you assume an aspect, up to 50% of your max HP.
- Rapid Metamorphosis: Assume and/or dismiss multiple aspects at once as a full-round action.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: perovskite on December 21, 2023, 02:27:02 AM
Hopefully, this thread is exempt from normal anti-necromancy rules. It should be. (Or maybe I'm thinking of GitP's forum rules.)

I'm using a dungeon from Dragon Magazine issue 81 for Sephira and Co's next task. In one room it lists a "guardian familiar" from the 1e Fiend Folio as the resident monster for the room. I have been unable to find existing stats for a cat-shaped guardian familiar in 3.5e, so here they are:

Scout Guardian-
Tiny construct
HD 2d10 (11 hp)
Initiative- +2
Speed- 30 feet
Armor class- 18 (+2 size, +2 dex, +4 natural), touch 14, ff 12
Base attack/ grapple- +1/-11
Attack- claws +4* melee (d2-4)
Full attack- 2 claws +4 melee (d2-4) and bite -1 melee (d3-4)
Space/reach- 2.5’/0’
Special attacks- none
Special qualities- construct traits, DR 5/-, darkvision 60’, fast healing 1, find master, low light vision
Saves- fort +0, ref +2, will +0
Abilities- Str 3, Dex 15, Con -, Int -; Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills- none
Feats- none
Environment- any
Organization: solitary
Challenge rating: 4
Treasure: none
Alignment- neutral
Advancement- 3-4 HD (tiny); 5-6 HD (small)

Scout familiars are normally employed to conduct reconnaissance or to distract enemy spellcasters. Although from a distance they look like normal cats, up close (within 10’, presuming good lighting conditions), they are clearly constructs. Basic scout guardian familiars are the size of a large house cat and weigh about 12 pounds. As part of their construction they are covered with the hide of a cat, and so in passing may be mistaken for one.

Skills- cat guardian familiars have +4 racial bonuses on climb, hide (+8 in tall grass or heavy undergrowth, move silently; +8 racial bonus on jump checks, and +8 to disguise checks (only against spot checks to determine if the guardian familiar is a normal cat or not). They use their dexterity modifier for jump and climb checks. (yeah normally constructs don't have skill bonuses, got it.)

Combat-

As a familiar, the scout guardian’s BAB is normally that of its master. It uses its dexterity modifier to attack rolls instead of its strength.

Find master- no matter the distance, as long as it is on the same plane, the scout guardian can find its master.

Construct trait- as per the normal immunities and "is not subject to" lines.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Stratovarius on December 22, 2023, 07:40:21 AM
We don't have anti necromancy rules here. We're quite fond of the undead, in fact. Wrote a whole book about them.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on January 24, 2024, 02:33:51 AM
Spheromancer base class
"Hi! Lea! Bye!"

Spheromancers harness the inherent power of points, circles, spheres, and higher-dimensional hyper-spheres to defeat their foes. They conjure instant matter, a simple and easily-manipulated magical material, to produce weapons and armor in combat.

The Spheromancer is a Warlock-like class, focused more heavily on combat and less on magical utility.

HD: d8
BAB: Good (+1/level)
Saves: Poor Fort, Good Ref, Good Will
Skills: 4+Int/level

Circuits (Su): Circuits allow you to channel elemental energies to manipulate instant matter in different ways. Initially, you only have access to the neutral circuit. At levels 4, 7, 10, and 13, you can choose another circuit to gain access to. You can only have up to one circuit activate at a time, and you must have a circuit active to use most Spheromancer abilities. You can activate a new circuit (or deactivate your current circuit) as a swift action. Each circuit provides various benefits while active and is associated with a specific form of damage.
- Neutral: A balanced, general purpose circuit that does not excel in any particular field. Useful for dissipating excess circuit load. +2 bonus to maximum load with this circuit, and you dissipate 1 additional load per round from each of your circuits. Whenever you generate neutral circuit load while it is active, you also dissipate an equal amount from all of your other circuits. Damage: Untyped damage from a force effect.
- Cold: A defensive circuit that is effective at disrupting enemy attacks, but struggles to inflict great damage itself. +2 bonus to AC and all saves. Damage: Cold.
- Fire: An aggressive circuit that excels at inflicting injury upon foes, but does so recklessly with lesser regard to personal wellbeing. +2 bonus on attack rolls. Damage: Fire.
- Shock: A studious and contemplative circuit that provides a number of utility effects, but struggles with direct combat. +2 bonus on caster level checks and to save DCs of circuit abilities. Damage: Electricity.
- Wave: A strange and poorly understood circuit that generally just does its own thing (healing and HP manipulation) without any care for what everyone thinks it should do. +2 bonus to HP per Spheromancer level and +1 fast healing per 5 levels that can't bring you above 50% of max HP. Damage: Sonic.

Load: Spheromancer abilities generate load on your active circuit. Load for each circuit is tracked separately. You can safely generate load in a circuit up to your load limit. If your load for any circuit exceeds your load threshold, you enter a state of overload in that circuit. Overload does not clear until the overloaded circuit's load drops back all the way to 0. When you overload a circuit, immediately after resolving the action that caused it to become overloaded, you deactivate it and activate the neutral circuit (or remain with no circuit active, if you overloaded the neutral circuit). You cannot activate an overloaded circuit. Load in inactive circuits dissipates at a rate of 1 load per round. Load in a circuit can never be less than 0.
- Note: You never need to overload. It's just a cost that you can pay if you want to use abilities that would bring you over your load limit.

Instant Matter Armaments (Sp): You can conjure instant matter and shape it into one of the following forms. Conjuring instant matter generates 1 load, although various circuit abilities can modify this. Instant matter weapons deal damage of the type of your active circuit. You are proficient with all instant matter weapons you conjure, and they count as magical weapons for purposes such as bypassing damage reduction and striking incorporeal creatures. This spell-like ability does not provoke attacks of opportunity, has a caster level equal to your Spheromancer level, and an effective spell level equal to its load generation, to a maximum of 9th-level. Except where noted, you can use this ability only once per round and only during your turn.
Instant matter itself is a very weak material, having 1 hp and a hardness of 0. It dissipates into nothingness immediately when destroyed.
- Chakram: You form instant matter into a sharp circle. This functions as a light melee weapon, dealing a base damage of 1d8 for Medium size. You can conjure multiple chakrams during your turn as part of the same use of this ability. Conjured chakrams last for 1 round, allowing you to threaten nearby spaces and perform attacks of opportunity with them outside of your turn. Conjuring chakrams is a free action.
- Ball: You form instant matter into a dense point. This functions as a light thrown weapon with a range increment of 30 feet, dealing a base damage of 1d6 for medium. You can conjure multiple balls during your turn as part of the same use of this ability, allowing you to perform multiple attacks with them. Conjured balls last until the end of your turn. Conjuring balls is a free action.
- Orb: You form instant matter into a large sphere. This functions as a two-handed thrown weapon with a range increment of 100 feet, dealing a base damage of 2d6 for medium. Unlike other instant matter weapons, you can only conjure a single orb with each use of this ability. A conjured orb lasts until the end of your turn. Conjuring an orb is a full-round action, but you can make a single attack with the orb as part of conjuring it.
- Bubble: You form instant matter into a multi-layered hypersphere. This surrounds you in layers of ablative instant matter, providing protection against attacks. You gain the benefits of taking the total defense action, and you gain an energy shield with absorption equal to triple your Spheromancer level and recovery 1 for 1 round. Damage of your active circuit's type only removes HP equal to half the damage absorbed by the energy shield, rounded up (although it can still only block an amount equal to its remaining HP). Track the energy shield's remaining HP and its recovery even while this ability is not active; you passively accumulate instant matter in higher dimensions even when not using this ability, and conjuring it is actually only rotating it into covering your position in three-dimensional space. Conjuring a bubble is a full-round action.

Instant Matter Focus: You gain Weapon Focus with each weapon form of your instant matter armaments.

Instant Matter Enhancement: At 3rd level, your instant matter weapons gain a +1 enhancement bonus, increasing by 1 every 3 levels therefter, to a maximum of +6 at 18th level. Each time, your orb also deals an additional +1d6 damage, and the recovery of your bubble's energy shield increases by 1.

Circuit Abilities: At 1st level, 3rd level, and every 5 levels beyond 1st and 3rd, you learn a new circuit ability for each of your circuits. When you acquire a new circuit, you retroactively learn circuit abilities for that circuit from previous level. Most circuit abilities require you to have their circuit active to use them, and are suppressed otherwise. Some circuit abilities are marked as "free circuit" and can be used with any circuit (although not while you have no circuit active). Initially, you can only learn basic circuit abilities. From 6th-level onwards, you can learn advanced circuit abilities. From 11th-level onwards, you can learn expert circuit abilities. From 16th-level onwards, you can learn master circuit abilities.
- Note: Circuit abilities are sort of like invocations, except that they aren't fully at will. The active ones all generate load. The passive ones instead reduce your load limit with their circuit, or possibly all circuits for free circuit passives. Most of these are blast shape/essence type abilities that modify a usage of one or more of your instant matter armaments, but some are abilities usable on their own, and some are passive effects that are always in effect as long as you have their circuit active.

Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Garryl on February 19, 2024, 03:29:19 AM
Proxy Pact Warlock ACF
The multilevel marketing warlock variant

Lose invocations gained at 2nd, 8th, 13th, and 18th level.

Proxy Pact: At 2nd level, you can make temporary deals with other mortals on behalf of your patron. 1/day, you can perform a ritual taking 10 minutes with a willing participant that is not already a Warlock. For the rest of the day, that creature has a proxy pact. They count as being a Warlock for effects that depend on class, such as magic items that can only be used by members of a specific class. The subject's effective Warlock level is equal to your Warlock level - 1 or their character level, whichever is lower. The subject gains the Warlock's Eldritch Blast ability. Beginning at 8th level, they also gain the ability to use your Warlock Least invocations, lesser invocations at 13th level, and greater invocations at 18th level. The subject can use your Charisma score - 4 if that would be better than their own when determining the save DCs of invocations granted this way.

A creature that dies with an active proxy pact must make a Will save (DC 10 + your Warlock level) or be sent to your patron's afterlife instead of their normal afterlife. The creature can still be resurrected as normal.

Abilities granted by a proxy pact cannot be used to qualify for feats, prestige classes, or other permanent choices.
Title: Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
Post by: Versatility_Nut on February 19, 2024, 08:58:07 PM
You got the levels off on Invocations being granted, and I feel there needs to be a bit more tweaking to it to justify why you have this option since the class has always held inheritability of the powers. Personally, I'd go with this:

Faustian Warlock
Your power carries with it an especially strong link to Hell, allowing you to extend others a share of your power at the cost of sharing the perils of the bargain it came from.

Alignment: Any Lawful or Evil
Class skills: A faustian warlock adds Diplomacy to his list of class skills.

Extend Pact (Sp): A faustian warlock has the ability to connect others to the source of their magic. Starting at 2nd level, they may perform a ritual taking 10 minutes to establish a bond for one day that grants one willing creature an Eldritch Blast dealing one die less damage than the faustian warlock's own (minimum 1d6). They may have only one such bond active at a time plus one per five class levels beyond 1st, breaking the earliest if they establish one in excess of this.

Should the creature die while this bond is active, they must make a DC 12 Will save or gain the Hellbound special quality, as the Hellbred racial trait (see Fiendish Codex II, page 78). If this happens, the faustian warlock's alignment moves one step towards Evil, or one step towards Lawful if they are already Evil. If the faustian warlock is already Lawful Evil, they must make the same save with a -10 Profane penalty or gain the Hellbound special quality.

This replaces the Invocation learned at 2nd level.

Transfer Invocation (Sp): At 6th level, a faustian warlock may choose upon bonding to grant a recipient of their Extend Pact ability uses of their own Invocations. Each Invocation so granted may only be used five times that day, split as the faustian warlock chooses between himself and the recipient. The faustian warlock may provide one Invocation plus one-half the Warlock Invocations the recipient knows, of a caster level and grade available to a warlock of five levels lower than the faustian warlock plus the recipient's warlock caster level, to a maximum of the faustian warlock's. Every two effective spell levels of invocations transferred this way increases the save DC for receiving the Hellbound quality by one.

This replaces the Invocation learned at 6th level.

Insidious Proxy (Sp) At 11th level, a faustian warlock can contact the Devil their powers began with, or the successor to their position in the Infernal Hierarchy, to offer Pacts Insidious (see Fiendish Codex II page 24) with a total reward value up to one-third his class level on that Devil's behalf. The Devil must agree to the terms before the contract is available to be signed, but the faustian warlock offering remote and relatively subtle access can often allow him to argue for one additional point worth of rewards or the use of Obeisance where the devil would prefer Corruption. Each point of Corruption or Obeisance the recipient of Extend Pact has from these pacts increases the save DC for receiving the Hellbound quality by two.

This replaces the Invocation learned at 11th level.

Self-Sponsorship (Su) At 16th level, a faustian warlock can direct his efforts inwards, exerting a measure of ownership over his own soul and thus re-signing the pact with his name as the Devil responsible. Upon reaching this level, he may choose to simply decline any claim on the souls of recipients of Extend Pact, prepare gems as if confining them with Trap the Soul (release sends them to the appropriate afterlife), or allow them to be subject to Hell's practices in his name. In the first case, no Will save is made by himself or the recipient upon their death. In the second case, his Alignment no longer shifts upon death of recipients and the gem allows him to transfer invocations from the soul and drain it of properties for like rewards in Faustian Pacts. In the third case, he immediately becomes Lawful Evil, gains the Law and Evil subtypes, and becomes an Imp with his personality and faustian warlock levels retained upon his death.

This replaces the Invocation learned at 16th level.

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This actually functions as an MLM in the second Self-Sponsorship case on over-level Invocations and Eldritch Blast damage, as the value is strictly dependent on suckers paying to fund the gems to drain dead suckers to power the Pacts Insidious to lock in the Invocation sharing. If the intake of dying participants and wealth to pay for the gems to house them stops, then the benefits drop off a cliff like a proper MLM scheme.

It could just as well be implemented as Invocations with the Law-for-Hell variation being much more minor to nearly identical effect, mind you. Kinda how costing only Invocations works.