Author Topic: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)  (Read 7978 times)

Offline TraceChaos

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
  • I've turned into a monster.
    • View Profile
Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« on: March 06, 2015, 10:17:11 PM »
SYMBIONT OOZE


   
"Quote of Some Kind by a member of the class!"
-name of quote origin, race and class name optional

A general description of whatever the class is!

MAKING A Symbiont Ooze
Short description of play style.
Abilities:
Starting Gold: As Paladin.
Starting Age: As Sorcerer.

Class Skills
The Symbiont Ooze chooses Eight (8) skills as class skills, plus Acrobatics (Balance, Jump, and Tumble),  Stealth (Hide and Move Silently), and Perception (Spot, Listen, and Search)
Skill Points at each Level: 4+int modifier
Hit Dice: d10


Level
Base
Attack Bonus
Fort
Save
Ref
Save
Will
Save

Special
1st+0+0+0+0Symbiont Body, Symbiotic Fusion
2nd+1+0+0+0Natural Weapons: Bite, +1 strength
3rd+2+1+1+1Mental Resonance
4th+3+1+1+1Dense Body, Claws, +1 strength
5th+3+1+1+1Physical Harmony
6th+4+2+2+2Constituent Matter Generation, +1 strength
7th+5+2+2+2Racial Mimicry, Tentacle
8th+6/1+2+2+2Regeneration, +1 strength
9th+6/1+3+3+3Copycat Ooze, Tentacle
10th+7/2+3+3+3Mental Growth, +1 strength
11th+8/+3+3+3+3Binding Ooze
12th+9/+4+4+4+4Mimic Weapons, +1 strength
13th+9/+4+4+4+4Sticky Goo
14th+10/+5+4+4+4- +1 strength
15th+11/+6/+1+5+5+5-
16th+12/+7/+2+5+5+5- +1 strength
17th+12/+7/+2+5+5+5-
18th+13/+8/+3+6+6+6- +1 strength
19th+14/+9/+4+6+6+6-
20th+15/+10/+5+6+6+6- +1 strength
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A Symbiont Ooze is proficient only with simple and natural weapons, and no armor or shields.

Symbiont Body: Symbiont Oozes lose their original racial traits and gain the Ooze type, with modified benefits. the Symbiont ooze is a medium ooze with a base land speed of 30 feet. It is not mindless, and is thus not immune to mind-affecting effects, but it does gain a +4 to saves against such things. It is blind, but has Blindsight out to 5ft/2 HD (Minimum 5ft)
They gain a Natural Armor bonus equal to 1 + their Con Modifier (Minimum 1)
They gain a chance to negate critical hits and sneak attacks/precision damage equal 10% times their class level, totaling to complete immunity at level ten as a Symbiont Ooze.
They also gain several traditional Ooze Immunities, notably Immunity to sleep effects, paralysis, and polymorph, but not stunning or poison.

Symbiotic Fusion (Ex): As a Full Round Action the Symbiont Ooze may latch onto a creature of its size or smaller and fuse onto them. Unwilling creatures get to make an opposed Will Save versus a Will Save from the Symbiont Ooze. If willing, the constituent creatures can trade who fully controls the shared body as a free action once per round. If unwilling, the Symbiont is in full control if it wins the opposed Will Save contest. If the Symbiont loses the opposed will save contest the fusion is unsuccessful and the Symbiont is Dazed for 1d4 rounds and in a square adjacent to the creature. The victim of a forced fusion is allowed an extra save once every 24 hours for six days (For a total of seven saves), at no penalty or bonus to the save.
While fused, the Symbiont and its host share their memories and may use any skills either of them posses with the better modifiers of either character.
If the Symbiont and any given host are fused for more than a week the Symbiont Ooze gains access to any important facts about the host.
While fused, the gestalt creature is very similar to a psionic fusion, able to be switched between which is the 'dominant' mind at any given time and using the better of all physical ability scores, the better saves, the better Base Attack Bonus, and possessing all skills and natural weapons of both creatures. The mental ability scores are those of the current dominant mind, however, and HP is calculated as if the creature were a gestalt of the two.

Ability Score Increases: Starting at second level and every two levels thereafter, the Symbiont Ooze gains a +1 increase to strength, for a total of +10 at 20th level.

Natural Weapons: At second level the Symbiont Ooze gains a primary Bite attack dealing 1d6+strength damage.
At fourth level they gain a pair of primary claw attacks dealing 1d4+strength modifier damage.
At seventh and then again at ninth level, they gain a single secondary tentacle attack dealing 1d4+1/2 strength modifier.
These natural weapons are shared with any host that the symbiont is fused onto.

Mental resonance: The Symbiont Ooze learns to, at third level, 'resonate' with any host that it takes, willing or not. It constantly has Detect Thoughts on its host, which 're casts' ever minute if the host chooses to resist, granting a stacking +2 to the save and stopping after four successful saves. This allows for the symbiont to shape to the hosts needs and desires without verbal commands. Once the save has been failed the symbiont remains aware of the hosts thoughts until it chooses not to be, or for twenty-four hours, whichever comes first. This functions even if the host is immune to mind-affecting effects, though in such a case the host gets a +4 bonus to the save.

As long as the host willingly failed the save, the Symbiont Ooze automatically gives the benefits of Detect Thoughts to its host on it, and may choose to do so anyway if the host did not willingly fail its save.

After seven consecutive days of the host having failed (willingly or not) the save,  the symbiont gains knowledge of the entire history of the host - at least as far as the host is aware.

Dense Body: At fourth level, the Symbiont Ooze gains DR/- equal to 1/4 their HD, which is shared with any host they are fused with.

Physical Harmony: The Symbiont Ooze learns to harmonize its physical matter with its hosts body - it can now grant a +2 untyped bonus to any physical attribute that it and its host both possess. This boost may only be applied to one attribute at a time, and the creature ceases to benefit from it if the Symbiont Ooze separates from them.

Every four HD after fourth, this bonus increases by +2, to a max of +6.
Every four Class Levels after, the Symbiont gains the ability to grant an additional bonus, two points lower than the previous, to another ability score which must be separate from the other boosted ability score. For example, an eighth-level symbiont ooze could grant a +4 bonus to strength, and a +2 bonus to dexterity, and a twelfth level symbiont ooze could grant +6 to strength, +4 to dexterity, and +2 to health.

Constituent Matter Generation: At sixth level, the Symbiont Ooze may use a standard action to generate more of its constituent matter and grow in size, or grow as part of the action used to take a host. This allows it to latch onto a host of any size at or below Colossal, and to increase the size of the gestalt creature when on a host by up to one size (To a maximum of Colossal).

Racial Mimicry: The Symbiont ooze may copy the race of its hosts, to a degree. IT may gain two supernatural or Extraordinary, or simply natural, abilities from each host that it spends a week fused to, though it may only have a total of its HD in such abilities, and 1/2 its HD in stored races. This allows the ooze and any host that it is currently fused to to count as the creature type and subtype of the copied races when beneficial.

Regeneration: At eighth level the Symbiont Ooze gains Regeneration equal to 1/4 HD, bypassed by two damage types or alignments - discuss what two things bypass the regeneration with your GM. You regrow lost portions of your mass in (6-regeneration number)d4 days
This regeneration is shared with your host when fused, though it cannot regrow limbs lost before you fused with them, it can regrow ones lost during your fusion with them as long as you do not end the fusion before the regeneration is complete.

Copycat Ooze: As of ninth level the mind-probing of the Symbiont Ooze has grown more potent. It may, on any host that it has spent over a week fused with and that has failed the save for Mental Resonance seven times, choose to copy a number of non-spellcasting class features that he host possesses. It may only have a number of copied class abilities equal to 1/3 HD. Any copied class features that scale with HD or class level function as if the Symbiont Ooze were 1/3 its own HD for purposes of the copied ability.

Mental Growth: At level ten the Symbiont learns to grow from time spent with superior-minded hosts - for every two days spent fused to a host with intelligence higher than its own , its intelligence increases by one point up to the point that its intelligence matches its host.

Binding Ooze: the Symbiont may, at this level, generate a Web spell-like ability once per day per three HD, or create a large amount (50ft per 3 HD) of 'rope' from its constituent matter, one end of which may be made sticky so that it can be used similarly to a grappling hook.

Mimic Weapons: At twelfth level the Symbiont learns to mimic manufactured weapons - it gains the ability to make any of its natural weapons deal any combination of Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage. It may also transform its limbs into ranged 'weapons' with a range increment of 60 feet, dealing one point of damage to itself per shot fired from these ranged weapons which bypasses its regeneration and ignores its DR.

Sticky Goo: The symbiont ooze, as of level thirteen, gains a climb speed equal to its land speed, along with a +8 bonus to climb checks. This is because it is freakishly sticky, though only when it wants to be.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2015, 03:55:18 AM by TraceChaos »
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline TraceChaos

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
  • I've turned into a monster.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze
« Reply #1 on: March 07, 2015, 12:19:25 AM »
Reservation Post
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline TraceChaos

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
  • I've turned into a monster.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2015, 12:23:33 AM »
Annnnd I don't know how to give it a lot else.

I'm thinking some rope-generating abilities, Web as a spell-like a few times a day, a climb speed.

No ideas what levels to give them any of that though.

AT 20 I'm thinking it'll gain Blindisght equal to 1/4 its Blindsense range,w hich I MIGHT need to nerf.

So, thoughts, suggestions, and help would be greatly appreciated.

One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline ketaro

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 4243
  • I'm always new!
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2015, 01:33:21 AM »
This apparently is a template according to how the Oozified Body feature is worded, so 20 levels like likely 10 levels too much. Especially if you don't actually have enough ideas at the start to fill out that many levels. Not everything needs to be a 20 level base class to be good.

Also, it might need a Prerequisites section at the beginning if it is a template saying what requirements need to be met before taking it.

Offline TraceChaos

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
  • I've turned into a monster.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2015, 02:02:49 AM »
Fair point, I might knock away 10 levels then.

As for requirements - like most classes on this board, I want this to be enterable from level one, so any prereqs would be, y'know, purely fluff. At most it'd need something like an ooze or ooze-like creature being in your bloodline or like some simple magical ritual or somethin'.
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline ketaro

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 4243
  • I'm always new!
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2015, 04:10:42 AM »
Yes but this racial class feels very much more like a template class. In my opinion *shrugs*

If it was meant to be a 'base' monster class, then there wouldn't be any original racial traits to keep as it'd have it's own racial traits, being a race of its own. As well, because of the class/monster name being "Symbiont" Ooze, that definitely makes this out to be something that is acquired through some means accidental or on purpose.

The Oozified Body class feature and the Former Shape class feature and the Symbiotic Fusion class feature basically back that up with how you worded them.

In fact, reading over it some more, Oozified Body sounds like it's benefits aren't actually meant for the Symbiont Ooze, but rather those benefits are granted to whoever the Ooze uses it's Symbiotic Fusion ability on.

So I'd move all the Oozified Body stuff into Symbiotic Fusion, with the Body stuff being what is granted to the host you Fuse to.
And then you're left open with making a new Ooze Body racial trait that applies only to the Symbiont Ooze. And now you have a monster class built to start at 1st level and we can build on from there. Maybe even adding on more levels after 10 if any awesome inspiration strikes. But not every monster class needs to be 20 levels long, and most aren't~ :)

Offline TraceChaos

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
  • I've turned into a monster.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2015, 02:26:54 PM »
Well, no. You're not takingt his class to be a character who GAINS the symbiont. THis class is designed to reflect playing AS the symbiont that rides bodies.  Keeping the original racials was acutgally to reflect how the symbiont / symbiote from spider-man kept its first hosts powers.
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline ketaro

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 4243
  • I'm always new!
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2015, 06:14:37 PM »
Yeah that's what I said. Half way through my previous post.
I kind of turned around and stopped thinking about it as a template and started thinking about it as a base class.

Offline TraceChaos

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
  • I've turned into a monster.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2015, 07:00:58 PM »
Hrm. Maybe I should make it so that it gives racial abilities and can store one racial set at a time or something? or just scrap the 'original racials' altogether because that's a bit borked and just make it venom/carnage themed a bit more, notably in giving it free web-like powers and a free climb speed.

What levels would it be good to give it a climb speed and a webbing sort of deal for like a grappling hook or something?

Also, in reference to Oozified body - the ooze itself I was wanting to not just automatically be immune to crits and sneak attacks because I wanted it to be a bit more balanced anda blet o have full BaB since the things its based on are total frontline fighters.
« Last Edit: March 07, 2015, 07:07:35 PM by TraceChaos »
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline Threadnaught

  • Full Member
  • **
  • Posts: 190
  • 1% good ideas 99% crap.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2015, 09:15:37 PM »
Hrm. Maybe I should make it so that it gives racial abilities and can store one racial set at a time or something? or just scrap the 'original racials' altogether because that's a bit borked and just make it venom/carnage themed a bit more, notably in giving it free web-like powers and a free climb speed.

Indeed, I can't find the D&D creature, so I'm assuming Marvel is your main source material here.


I'd say can store one or more set of Racial Traits to apply to a host, and at later levels it could gain the ability to mimic and progress certain Class Features at a slower rate. Maybe up to 3 Class Features at 1/2HD, or up to 5 at 1/3HD.


The Size and HD of the host may need to be taken into account for infesting a host. The MM Tarrasque could still roll a natural 1 against a Symbiont's natural 20, I know the odds of the Tarrasque losing is 4.95%, but it's still there.



Constituent Matter Generation has no duration.

Physical Harmony doesn't state that it's a bonus, not least what type of bonus. Is it just a flat boost to the host's base attributes? Can it be used to create a Pun Pun of sorts?
« Last Edit: March 09, 2015, 12:32:22 PM by Threadnaught »

Offline TraceChaos

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
  • I've turned into a monster.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2015, 11:55:45 PM »
Hrm. Maybe I should make it so that it gives racial abilities and can store one racial set at a time or something? or just scrap the 'original racials' altogether because that's a bit borked and just make it venom/carnage themed a bit more, notably in giving it free web-like powers and a free climb speed.

Indeed, I can't find the D&D creature, so I'm assuming Marvel is your main source material here.


I'd say can store one or more set of Racial Traits to apply to a host, and at later levels it could gain the ability to mimic and progress certain Class Features at a slower rate. Maybe up to 3 Class Features at 1/2HD, or up to 5 at 1/3HD.


The Size and HD of the host may need to be taken into account for infesting a host. The MM Tarrasque could still roll a natural 1 against a Symbiont's natural 20, I know the odds of the Tarrasque losing is 4.95%, but it's still there.



Constituent Matter Generation has no duration.

Physical Harmony does state that it's a bonus, not least what type of bonus. Is it just a flat boost to the host's base attributes? Can it be used to create a Pun Pun of sorts?
Constituent Matter Generation is not meant to have a time limit - or not a combat-meaningful one anyway. Just basically growing bigger.

Physical Harmony is meant to be ablet o apply a single +2 at a time, which must be moved or removed to be applied elsewhere.
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline Threadnaught

  • Full Member
  • **
  • Posts: 190
  • 1% good ideas 99% crap.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #11 on: March 09, 2015, 02:33:15 PM »
Constituent Matter Generation is not meant to have a time limit - or not a combat-meaningful one anyway. Just basically growing bigger.

Anyhow, growing bigger does grant bonuses in Combat, such as Reach and if DM permits, Size modifiers to  Strength and Constitution. Having no time limit, or limitations in general means there's no reason to ever walk around as a medium creature unless you need to keep a low profile. It's not super powerful, considering how Enlarge Person can be Permanencied at 9th level, but

Quote
Physical Harmony is meant to be ablet o apply a single +2 at a time, which must be moved or removed to be applied elsewhere.

So it's a Bonus? That much would be clearer, is it were mentioned as being a Bonus much earlier in the text.

Offline TraceChaos

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
  • I've turned into a monster.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #12 on: August 19, 2015, 03:35:18 AM »
Sorry for probably-necromancy, but I got inspired to try this again. Worked through the first few levels. Would still appreciate help, but I've got a more-solid idea of what I wanna do with it this time around. Though if I fail to do anything with it for too long I might request that this thread be deleted.
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline oslecamo

  • Honorary Mod
  • *****
  • Posts: 10080
  • Creating monsters for my Realm of Darkness
    • View Profile
    • Oslecamo's Custom Library (my homebrew)
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #13 on: August 26, 2015, 05:33:48 PM »
The fusion needs a range. You need to be adjacent or in their space or can you "jump" at anything within sight?

Racial Mimicry makes this the ultimate cohort, because it has no cap of how high level of abilities you can copy. Have a ooze buddy learn the tricks of your fellow party members and then grant yourself the best.

Also, spellcasting can be argued to be an Ex ability, just saying.

I would strongly suggest to limit this class to making the host better rather than collecting abilities.

While it is bonded, who takes the damage when they're hit?

Also if you're out of ideas, you can always just reduce the number of levels. Seriously, Web at 11th level? That's a 2nd level spell. Climbing speed at 13th level??? That's a 2nd level spell that can also be replicated by a basic skill. You could probably cram the whole package in 10th levels right now.

Offline SteelWarrior

  • Lurker
  • *
  • Posts: 3
  • I'm new!
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #14 on: November 16, 2015, 02:13:00 AM »
Was thinking you might suggest vulnerability so sonic damage? as a bypass to the DR.
Makes sense since I have watched several spiderman episodes where they used it against a symbiont.

Offline ~Corvus~

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 86
  • My Greed has spread here too =D
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #15 on: December 17, 2015, 03:22:44 PM »
There are a number of reasons to make this class 10 levels, max. I'm going to make some suggestions for clarity.

Quote
Symbiont Body: They gain a chance to negate critical hits and sneak attacks/precision damage equal 10% times their class level, totaling to complete immunity at level ten as a Symbiont Ooze.
To avoid any possible confusion, why not just stop the race at level 10 so this ability becomes 100% and stops there?

Quote
Symbiotic Fusion (Ex): If the Symbiont loses the opposed will save contest the fusion is unsuccessful and the Symbiont is Dazed for 1d4 rounds and in a square adjacent to the creature.
This needs clarity. Does the ooze get dragged adjacent to the failed host, or does he teleport there, or...??

Quote
Mental resonance: The Symbiont Ooze learns to, at third level, 'resonate' with any host that it takes, willing or not. It constantly has Detect Thoughts on its host, which 're casts' ever minute if the host chooses to resist, granting a stacking +2 to the save and stopping after four successful saves.
I presume you mean The Will save DC of the Detect Thoughts effect. This is important, especially because you allow the symbiont to take control of a creature that is immune to effects. The +4 to will saves to mind-affecting immunes only lasts for 2 rounds, right?

Quote
Physical Harmony: [...] Every four HD after fourth, this bonus increases by +2, to a max of +6.
Every four Class Levels after, the Symbiont gains the ability to grant an additional bonus, two points lower than the previous, to another ability score which must be separate from the other boosted ability score.
Technically, the Symbiont Ooze only needs to have 5 racial class levels and then it will get the rest even by taking another class. I recommend wording it "At level 8, this bonuses increases by +2, and it increases again at 12 HD and 16 HD to a maximum of +6." I presume you also meant "Every 4 Hit Dice after level 8, the Symbiont gains..."

Be careful with Regeneration. As worded in the DMG, Regeneration makes you treat all damage not your lethal types as Nonlethal damage on top of everything else.

Quote
Mental Growth: At level ten the Symbiont learns to grow from time spent with superior-minded hosts - for every two days spent fused to a host with intelligence higher than its own , its intelligence increases by one point up to the point that its intelligence matches its host.
Is this permanent? You don't tell us, and if it is, that's abusively powerful. Can the symbiont grant its host intelligence as well? Does the Symbiont lose the intelligence bonus after not being fused to its host, and if so, is there a rate of decay or is it instantly lost?

Quote
Binding Ooze: the Symbiont may, at this level, generate a Web spell-like ability once per day per three HD, or create a large amount (50ft per 3 HD) of 'rope' from its constituent matter, one end of which may be made sticky so that it can be used similarly to a grappling hook.
Have you seen Web?

Quote
Mimic Weapons: At twelfth level the Symbiont learns to mimic manufactured weapons - it gains the ability to make any of its natural weapons deal any combination of Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage. It may also transform its limbs into ranged 'weapons' with a range increment of 60 feet, dealing one point of damage to itself per shot fired from these ranged weapons which bypasses its regeneration and ignores its DR.
I'd put this at the level 10 capstone. Heck, it's really only like a +1 enchantment, and it's super cool. I'd bring this WAY down in level if it were me. Having a Bite that does only 1 type of damage (instead of BPS) would be amazing.

Quote
Sticky Goo: The symbiont ooze, as of level thirteen, gains a climb speed equal to its land speed, along with a +8 bonus to climb checks. This is because it is freakishly sticky, though only when it wants to be.
Hey look, Spider Climb! You don't need this so late.
Quote from: HuskyBoi
I just need a minute to appreciate the words 'goliath lamp-post sneak attack'. That's a thing of beauty, right there.

Greedling avatar by Ceika from Giantitp.

Offline TraceChaos

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
  • I've turned into a monster.
    • View Profile
Re: Symbiont Ooze (WIP, Help greatly appreciated)
« Reply #16 on: May 27, 2016, 03:22:17 AM »
After literal months of being unable to log in, I'm here to try a crack at this again... though I actually intend to try my hand at something actually based on a monster first.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/oozes/tear-of-burning-flame

But yeah! I'm... uh... back, apparently! Whoops.
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.