Author Topic: Laser-Equipped Creature  (Read 5210 times)

Offline Krika

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Laser-Equipped Creature
« on: July 03, 2015, 03:41:16 PM »
Laser-Equipped Creature


Prerequisites:
-Must undergo surgery to implant themselves with a laser beam. This takes 24 hours (this includes rest time afterwards - the actual implantation only takes about 6 hours), and requires someone with either levels in the Artificer (or similar) class, or with the Craft Wondrous Item feat to perform the surgery, and 1500 GP for the materials to craft the implant.

HD: d6
LevelBabFortRefWillFeature
1+1+2+2 +0 Attached Laser
2+2+3+3 +0 Custom Rig
3+3+3+3 +1 Custom Rig, Laser Spam
Skills: 4+int modifier. The Laser-Equipped Creature's class skills are the same as the monster class used to qualify for this class. If they had more than one monster class before taking the first level in this class, they must pick one.

Proficiencies: The Laser-Equipped Creature gains no proficiencies

Features
Attached Laser (Sp): The Laser-Equipped Creature, as its name would imply, has a laser beam implanted into its body. This gives it the ability to make a ranged touch attack as a standard action with a range of 50 feet, that deals 1d6 fire damage plus another 1d6 for every three HD it has. They can use this as part of a full attack, but they can only use it once per round.

Custom Rig (Sp): Not satisfied with the basic laser apparatus, the Laser-Equipped Creature further customizes its implant. Select one of the following options. You cannot select an option more than once.

(click to show/hide)

Beam Spam (Sp): There is something beautiful about firing your laser at everything you can see. Once per day, you can as a Full Round Action make an attack against each enemy within range of your Attached Laser that you can see. This is an exception to the normal number of attacks per round that you can make with your Attached Laser. However, doing so strains your implant and you cannot use your Attached Laser for 1d4+1 rounds.

Comments:
(click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: July 18, 2015, 11:30:32 AM by Krika »

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2015, 06:09:54 PM »
You're going to have to beef this up. Three levels of bad skillpoints, BAB, and HP for a slow-firing ranged attack that scales weirdly? Not worth the trade. A 20HD character can... Deal 32 damage at best.

Also, I don't believe there's such a thing as an attack action

Offline Threadnaught

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2015, 08:43:55 PM »
Raineh Daze is absolutely correct, there are few legitimately interesting features, scaling sucks and the Customization options, and the availability of them is bad. Not enough here to make it worth it when any Breath  Weapon could be fluffed as a laser while granting mechanically superior benefits and more interesting choices..

Just thinking about lasers from everyone's favourite Japanese cartoon (..hnng, hnng, hnng, hnng, hnng, hnng, hnng, kamehameha! hnng hnng hnng..) and from the Justice League (I am what Darth Vader kept inviting Luke to, fear my Omega Beams!), I have a couple of ideas for you.


Laser that can make a flanking attack/Sneak Attack Laser.
Laser that bends, Ignore Concealment.
Microscopic Laser that doesn't hurt, but hinders. Ability Damage/Slow Laser.
Overcharged Laser, Laser that deals larger Dice in Damage for a longer recharge.
Targeting Laser, like Targeting Ray.


Attacks are Standard Actions.

Offline SolEiji

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2015, 08:50:50 PM »
Actually using "Attack Action" (which does exist) implies it could be full attacked.  That is, it's either a standard action or full attack action, depending on if you can full attack. 
Mudada.

Offline TraceChaos

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2015, 08:52:50 PM »
Attack actions are a thing - they're the 'actions' that make up a Full Attack. So 'an attack action usable only once per round' means that you can make a Full Attack with your laser and then proceed to make the other attacks normally.

This IS kinda... low-incentive. THeoretically good, but slow-firing, weird range, etc... it's ... in need of improvement.
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline TC X0 Lt 0X

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2015, 09:00:38 PM »
Thank god.

But ya it can definitely use a buff.
At the very least I feel like Laser Spam should have a round based cooldown for using your laser again instead of knocking it out of the encounter.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2015, 09:11:26 PM by TC X0 Lt 0X »
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A+

Offline Krika

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2015, 11:28:13 PM »
Alright, thanks for the advice. I tend to lean towards the low-power side when I do homebrew stuff, so this isn't exactly unexpected for me.

Changes made:
>BAB increased to full, Fortitude save is now good, more skill points.
>Changed the damage of the laser completely so it should hopefully scale a lot better now.
>Stronger Than You Expected altered a bit to comply with the new damage scaling since increasing the damage die just got a lot better.
>I Have A Second Mode now gives you more damage types, eventually giving you all of them.
>Dance For Me is overhauled a bit so that the multi-attacking is now no longer a limited resource, and has an additional effect for focus-firing.
>I Will Reach Out And Touch You is now much better, and has the original capstone I had envisioned in place - namely a range of "can you see it?".
>Burn for me is overhauled, and hopefully much better.
>Beam Spam given a breath-weapon-esque cooldown.

Alright, how much better is this?

Offline TraceChaos

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2015, 09:00:13 PM »
Looks a good deal better. Now my only real complaint is that it requires all levels of a monster class,s o dragons can't take it till way later, and that it stays 1/round even after having all three levels of it.
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2015, 09:05:38 PM »
I think a more normal scaling is 2n-1dX damage. So 1 die at 1HD, 2 dice at 3 HD, 3 at 5HD. d6/3 might be better balanced (damage scaling is all over the place), but even so, you're going to want to rewrite it a bit to reflect how damage progression in spells or sneak attack is given. Seems fair enough, given that it takes two whole levels to get bypassing the most common immunity (though I'd suggest swapping the benefits of levels 2 and three--two levels would get you a powerful beam-spam attack, three lets you circumvent fire restrictions; and once-a-full-attack-explosion would be fun for big attackers).

I also agree with not needing ALL levels. I want a laser T-Rex before I've finished T-Rexing, damn it. :P
 
« Last Edit: July 04, 2015, 09:31:39 PM by Raineh Daze »

Offline oslecamo

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #9 on: July 05, 2015, 08:31:03 AM »


Ahem...

I agree that needing to take all levels in another monster class is kinda evil.

The 2nd prerequisite has a redudant clause, since artificers get Craft Wondrous item by default.

Table says Custom Laser, text wall says Custom Rig.

And since we're at it, the 3rd level could allow you to pick another option from Custom Rig/Laser, otherwise all you get is a 1/day ability which is kinda lackluster.

Dance For Me could use a better wording in that you can use the laser more times in a fullattack, otherwise you can read that it allows infinite shots as a standard action at 20th level.




Offline Threadnaught

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2015, 11:35:04 AM »


Noice. :clap

The 2nd prerequisite has a redudant clause, since artificers get Craft Wondrous item by default.

It's not redundant. Either levels in the Artificer class, or with the Craft Wondrous Item feat.

Just because an Artificer could qualify for both parts of this prereq, doesn't mean the second one isn't beneficial as you don't have to be an Artificer to get Craft Wondrous Item. Additionally, levels in Artificer, doesn't specify how many levels, could be two, or one.

Offline Krika

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2015, 06:58:29 PM »
The 2nd prerequisite has a redudant clause, since artificers get Craft Wondrous item by default.

It's not redundant. Either levels in the Artificer class, or with the Craft Wondrous Item feat.

Just because an Artificer could qualify for both parts of this prereq, doesn't mean the second one isn't beneficial as you don't have to be an Artificer to get Craft Wondrous Item. Additionally, levels in Artificer, doesn't specify how many levels, could be two, or one.

Before I get into changes, this is the correct reading.

CHANGES:
>Added an (or similar) clause to the Artificer bit so that people with levels in other crafting-focused classes (such as prestige ones) could qualify, if the Artificer class specifically isn't allowed due to campaign restrictions, etc.
>Removed the "all levels" thing since everybody hates it and it wasn't something I put too much thought into putting in there.
>Table fixed
>Added Custom Rig to the 3rd level as well
>Hopefully cleaned up the damage wording for Attached Laser?

Would making Beam Spam a once per encounter thing instead of a daily break things? I've been considering it.

EDIT: Changed "level" references in the Custom Rig options to HD, for clarification. Added a clarification to Burn For Me regarding the potential of Force-damage Lasers suddenly setting things on fire. Clarified that Beam Spam is an exception to the normal number of attacks per round that you can use.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2015, 07:23:43 PM by Krika »

Offline Krika

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #12 on: July 18, 2015, 11:31:32 AM »
Added another ability to Custom Rig.

Is this good, is there anything more that needs to be changed?

Offline Threadnaught

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Re: Laser-Equipped Creature
« Reply #13 on: July 21, 2015, 07:20:58 PM »
Oh man, Star Wars: Empire at War is so unbalanced, but fun. The Forces of Corruption expansion is even more so, but I'm getting more off topic.
In FoC there's a Shield Leeching weapon that works as a beam, which only the Zann Consortium has access to on the best non-hero ship in the game only, and another weapon that uses actual lasers, if the other isn't close enough. First the Zann Consortium version, second the Imperial version.

Point Defence Laser System - Unique defence system that targets incoming enemy missiles (proton torpedoes and missiles) and destroys them.
Laser Defence System - Stops incoming missile based weaponry.

I prefer the Consortium name when activated (Point Defence System), but then again I have a strong bias toward the Consortium in game anyway, since they're the most powerful faction in the game.


Besides Psionic Artificer and Magewright, what Classes count as "similar" to the Artificer? Actually, do they count as "similar"?