Author Topic: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime  (Read 308685 times)

Offline Arz

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #540 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.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #541 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.

Offline Amechra

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #542 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.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2014, 06:15:41 PM by Amechra »
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Offline Jackinthegreen

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #543 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.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2014, 09:20:12 PM by Jackinthegreen »

Offline sirpercival

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #544 on: September 06, 2014, 10:16:42 PM »
Let's make a subforum; we can have Warpsoul & Green Man moved there.
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Offline Amechra

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #545 on: September 06, 2014, 10:52:08 PM »
And I can make feats!

Many feats!

More feats than you can handle.
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Offline Jackinthegreen

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #546 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.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #547 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?

Offline sirpercival

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #548 on: September 07, 2014, 06:12:37 PM »
I've requested a subforum for the incarnum stuff.
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Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #549 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.

Offline 123456789blaaa

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #550 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?
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Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #551 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.
  • The creature has 5 fewer hit points. This affects both the creature's maximum and remaining hit points. Thus, when a creature gains a negative level, it loses 5 hit points, and it regains them when the negative levels is removed.
  • The creature suffers a -1 penalty on all attack rolls and saving throws.
  • The creature suffers a -1 penalty on all skill and ability checks, including initiative checks.
  • The creature suffers a -1 penalty to its effective level for level-dependent effects. This does not cause the creature to lose feats or abilities, but they will function as though the creature was a lower level. Likewise, the creature becomes more vulnerable to level-dependent abilities such as the cloudkill spell. This does not, however, affect the creature's level for the purpose of determining anything related to experience points (such as xp gained from an encounter or required to gain a new level).
Additionally, various special abilities and subsystems have additional interactions with negative levels.
  • If the creature is a spellcaster, it loses access to its highest-level prepared spell or unused spell slot. If the creature has multiple spells or slots of the highest level, determine which one is lost randomly. If the creature regains some of its spells or spell slots, which spell or slot is lost may change. The lost spell or slot is regained when the negative level is removed.
  • If the creature is a manifester, it loses power points equal to its manifester level before applying the negative level's reduction. If the creature has multiple manifester levels, apply each one in sequence when calculating the total amount of lost power points. For example, a 5th-level Psion with 3 negative levels would lose 5 pp for the first one, 4 pp for the second, and 3 pp for the third, for a total of 12 pp lost. Lost power points are regained when the negative level is removed.
  • If the creature has any essentia, it loses 1 point of essentia. Lost essentia is regained when the negative level is removed.

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.

« Last Edit: March 08, 2016, 06:47:14 PM by Garryl »

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #552 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.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 01:36:57 AM by Garryl »

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #553 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.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #554 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.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #555 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, 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.

Offline linklord231

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #556 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). 
I'm not arguing, I'm explaining why I'm right.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #557 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.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #558 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.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #559 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.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2016, 11:11:35 PM by Garryl »