Author Topic: Inugami  (Read 8282 times)

Offline Doxkid

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Inugami
« on: March 21, 2019, 09:48:20 PM »
Inspired by the mythical Inugami. A living curse wrought from a beast that has suffered greatly, the Inugami is the ‘natural’ progression of the Barghest Monster Class.
(click to show/hide)

Prerequisites:
Must possess a "Bite" Natural Attack
Must have been reduced to 1 HP or lower by "Slashing" damage.
---
HD: d8
LevelBABFortReflexWillSpecial
1st
+1
+2
+2
+2
Monstrous Enlightenment, Mark of the Damned, Bestial Butcher
2nd
+2
+3
+3
+3
Mortal Enlightenment, Forced Fate, Manslayer
3rd
+3
+3
+3
+3
Spiritual Enlightenment, Special Hex, Spirit Killer
4th
+4
+4
+4
+4
Dark Enlightenment, Fatalism, Fiend Hunter
5th
+5
+4
+4
+4
Immortal Enlightenment, Broken Samsara, Divinity Destroyer

Features
Proficiencies: An Inugami gains no additional proficiencies with weapons or armor.

Class skills (6+Int): Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disguise, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Each taken individually), Listen, Move Silently, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival, Tumble.
 
LVL 1:
Monstrous Enlightenment(EX): The Inugami type changes to Fey; do not recalculate Base Attack Bonus, Saves, or Skill Points. Inugami levels stack with the Inugami's Hit Dice, and with levels in other classes, when determining the DC and strength of Hit Dice based abilities and when determining the Caster Level of spells and spell-like abilities; abilities from the Inugami class do not receive this bonus. Inugami levels but do not grant an increase in Spells Known or Spells per Day.

Mark the Damned (SU): At-Will as Move Action an Inugami may project a  (5 * Inugami HD) foot cone of malicious intent. Enemies within this cone must make a Will save DC (10 + Inugami HD/2 + Cha bonus) or become Marked, granting the Inugami +1 Luck Bonus to all 'd20' rolls and Damage rolls against them; additional Damning Marks after the first stack to increase the bonus to rolls and refresh the Damning Mark's duration. A Damning Mark lasts (Inugami HD) Minutes and all Damning Marks on a target may be removed as one instance of a curse produced by the spell “Bestow Curse” cast by a Sorcerer of Inugami’s Hit Dice.

A Marked creature may make a new save against all of its Damning Marks as a Fullround Action. On a successful save all marks are removed.

Bestial Butcher(EX): The saliva of an Inugami carries a potent jinx and the Inugami makes good use of this power to wear down mighty opponents. When the Inugami successfully Bites an enemy the victim stops benefiting from all natural Hit Point restoration for 1 Minute; this includes but is not limited to Fast Healing, Regeneration, Resting for 8 Hours, and being the subject of a Heal check.

If the victim of Bestial Butcher is Marked or becomes Marked before the effect ends then the the victim halves any magical healing or supernatural effects they benefit from; nonnumeric effects, like regrowing a limb with a "Regeneration" spell, have a 50% chance of failing. Marked victims suffer the effect of Bestial Butcher until all Damning Marks are removed and then for 1 Minute afterwards.

The Inugami may also apply Bestial Butcher with a non-threatening lick or a kiss or any other action that would apply the Inugami’s saliva directly to a target; unless otherwise specified applying saliva this way is a Melee Touch Attack performed as a Fullround Action that provokes Attacks of Opportunity.

LVL 2:
Mortal’s Enlightenment(EX): The Inugami no longer needs to eat or drink, but may still benefit from doing so, and all of the Inugami’s movement speeds increase by 10 feet. The Inugami gains a further (Damning Marks * 5 feet) bonus to all movement speeds when tracking or directly pursuing a Marked victim.

Forced Fate(SU): The Inugami may now attempt to Mark a single target it can see as a Swift Action; As a Move Action the Inugami may attempt to Mark two targets; as a Standard Action the Inugami may attempt to Mark three targets. The Inugami may select the same target multiple times.

The each victim of Forced Fate must make a Will Save against Mark the Damned’s DC to resist gaining the Damning Marks the Inugami assigned to them; a victim targeted with multiple instances of Forced Fate in a single round only makes a single save to resist all Damning Marks that round.

Manslayer(EX): Damning Marks now last (Inugami's HD) Hours and reattempting the save against Damning Marks now requires One Minute of uninterrupted meditation.

The Inugami may now track a Marked target across any medium or terrain even if there is no evidence of the target’s passing; the Inugami may determine the current direction of a Marked target as if following a 'Trail' across Firm Ground, applying all modifiers to the Survival check DC as appropriate.

LVL 3:
Spiritual Enlightenment(EX): The Inugami no longer needs to Breathe and gains a Fly speed equal to twice its land speed with Poor Maneuverability. Should the Inugami already possess a fly speed the two flight abilities are combined; the Inugami uses the better Fly Speed +10 feet and the higher maneuverability +1 step.

Special Hex(SU): The Inugami may now change the effect of any of its spells, SLA, or Supernatural abilities to Mark the Damned instead of the normal effect. The ability uses the range, area, and other parameters of the original attack but replaces the original effect of the attack with Mark the Damned; should the Inugami have a feat or ability that would increase the DC of the original attack, this effect applies to the Mark the Damned DC when using Spirit Hex. A spell, SLA, or Supernatural ability used with Spirit Hex is expended as if used normally.

Enemies that fail a save against any of the Inugami’s spells, SLA, or Supernatural abilities now gain one Damning Mark; there is no save to avoid these Damning Marks, though the victim may attempt to remove their Damning Marks as usual.

Spirit Killer(EX): Damning Marks now last (Inugami's HD) Days and reattempting the save against Damning Marks now requires One Hour of uninterrupted meditation.

All methods of removing Damning Marks now only remove a single Damning Mark at a time.

LVL 4:
Dark Enlightenment(EX): The Inugami’s Attacks now deal 1 additional die of damage and Mark the Damned now applies 2 Damning Marks on a failed save.

Fatalism(SU): The Inugami may replace any Attack Action with a use of Mark the Damned.

The Inugami now applies a single Damning Mark to victims that are damaged by its attacks, supernatural abilities, spells, or SLA; there is no save to avoid these Damning Marks, though the victim may attempt to remove their Damning Marks as usual.

Fiend Hunter(EX): Damning Marks now last (Inugami's HD) Weeks and reattempting the save against Marks now requires One Day of uninterrupted meditation.

The Inugami may now track a Marked target across planes even if there is no evidence of the target’s passing; the Inugami may determine the current plane of a Marked target as if following the 'Trail' of the Mark across Hard Ground, applying non-environmental modifiers to the Survival check DC as appropriate.

Tracking a Marked target on the same plane now functions as if following a ‘Trail’ across Soft Ground

LVL 5:
Immortal Enlightenment(EX): The Inugami no longer suffers penalties for aging, reverses any penalties from aging it may have suffered already, and has no maximum age.

Broken Samsara(SU): When the Inugami successfully damages a Marked victim the Inugami regains (1d6 + Victim’s Marks) Hit Points. Other creatures that damage a Marked creature regain half this amount of Hit Points.

Creatures that die while Marked have a (Damning Marks * 2.5%) chance of being excluded from the cycle of rebirth. Check once upon the creature’s death; if this check results in Broken Samsara triggering then mortal magic attempting to revive the creature, interrogate the creature’s spirit, or capture the creature’s soul automatically fails. Only “Wish”, “Miracle”, “True Resurrection”, or similarly powerful effects can restore a Broken Samsara victim to life; roll against this chance for each instance of the revival effect to determine whether that attempt succeeds.

The Inugami always bypasses this chance of failure against creatures it has Marked.

Divinity Destroyer(EX): Damning Marks now last (Inugami's HD) Months and reattempting the save against Marks now requires One Week of uninterrupted meditation.

NPCs across any distance and on any plane must make a Will save DC (10 + Victim’s Damning Marks) the first time they interact with a Marked creature, or speak of a Marked creature by name, each day; failing this save lowers the NPC’s social attitude toward that Marked creature by one step.

--New feats:
(click to show/hide)
----- -----
Standard Social Attitudes
AttitudeTreatmentTypical Actions
Nemesis|Will give life to harm you|Will take suicidal action to harm you
Hostile|Will take risks to hurt you|Attack, interfere, berate, flee
Unfriendly|Wishes you ill|Mislead, gossip, avoid, watch suspiciously, insult
Indifferent|Doesn't much care|Socially expected interaction
Friendly|Wishes you well|Chat, advise, offer limited help, advocate
Helpful|Will take risks to help you|Protect, back up, heal, aid
Fanatical|Will give life to serve you|Fight to the death on your behalf
« Last Edit: October 26, 2024, 11:18:58 AM by Doxkid »

Offline oslecamo

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2019, 10:24:28 PM »
This one looks quite interesting. :plotting

Comments at first glance:
-Bab of +10 at first level. :p
-Such dispersed stat boosts don't do much good, in particular non-Cha mental increases that the class doesn't really care about. Also since you need to enter as somebody with a bite attack you probably didn't invest much in Cha, which makes it kinda hard to plan to enter this unless you're starting already at quite high level. So would suggest to allow to pick any mental stat score to use for the class and the mental stat boosts apply to the chosen mental score.
-Greedy Dog says "Upon Feeding on a creature" but "Feeding" isn't very clear. I assume it triggers when you bite someone, in which case it should probably say just that.
-The prerequisites seem too high for what this class is offering. Nevermind there's some quite powerful effects with plenty of potential in there that certainly make it worthy of being something so high level.

So looking quite good, both fluffy and powerful unique abilities and also pretty well organized. Certainly feeling tempted to build a nasty NPC or two out of this.

Offline Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2019, 11:24:18 PM »
This one looks quite interesting. :plotting

Comments at first glance:
-Bab of +10 at first level. :p
-Such dispersed stat boosts don't do much good, in particular non-Cha mental increases that the class doesn't really care about. Also since you need to enter as somebody with a bite attack you probably didn't invest much in Cha, which makes it kinda hard to plan to enter this unless you're starting already at quite high level. So would suggest to allow to pick any mental stat score to use for the class and the mental stat boosts apply to the chosen mental score.
-Greedy Dog says "Upon Feeding on a creature" but "Feeding" isn't very clear. I assume it triggers when you bite someone, in which case it should probably say just that.
-The prerequisites seem too high for what this class is offering. Nevermind there's some quite powerful effects with plenty of potential in there that certainly make it worthy of being something so high level.

So looking quite good, both fluffy and powerful unique abilities and also pretty well organized. Certainly feeling tempted to build a nasty NPC or two out of this.
Fixed the BAB problem.
The mental stats are evenly distributed to continue the Barghest's Stat progression; +1 STR and/or Cha each level seemed a bit much on a creature that can get out of hand should it be left to its own devices, so I spread the bonuses out a bit. It also gains a decent amount from this distribution because it desperately needs just about everything other than Int (which is still useful for the bonus to Spellcraft checks and the extra skill point)
--
Two problems came up while building this was that the class might be overloaded and that Marks can stack infinitely if the Inugami is patient enough to chase one person forever; any feelings on that?
« Last Edit: March 21, 2019, 11:27:30 PM by Doxkid »

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2019, 11:43:25 PM »
Hm, what do you think should fill the levels between Barghest and this, though? A lot of the PrCs in this subforum chain seamlessly.

Offline Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2019, 12:08:02 AM »
Hm, what do you think should fill the levels between Barghest and this, though? A lot of the PrCs in this subforum chain seamlessly.

Fiend of Possession would work although it's capstone abilities are a little redundant. Ur priest works very well since it'll allow for [10 Ur Priest] levels and [10 Barghest/Greater Bargest/Inugami] levels, but it requires 6 Ur Priest levels to enter Inugami and that means you finish the class at level 16; the class is already a bit of a late bloomer, so I'm not sure how I feel about finishing even later than usual even if it's only by one character level.

I was a bit concerned that it would be too powerful when compared to other level 10 creatures, but if there is consensus that it would not be problematic I'll relax the entry requirements. How about: "Will/Fort save +4" (to match what the Barghest+Greater Barghest gets) and a lower number of Hit Die?
« Last Edit: March 31, 2019, 12:43:53 PM by Doxkid »

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2019, 12:13:38 AM »
If you intend this to be a barghest PrC and not a vague canine PrC, may as well just require Greater Barghest?

Offline Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2019, 12:21:13 AM »
If you intend this to be a barghest PrC and not a vague canine PrC, may as well just require Greater Barghest?
Canines are the natural preference but the lore also allows Weasels, Foxes, Mice, Chimera and a few other creatures to transform into an Inugami as well, so I thought I should just leave the class open to just about any beast that managed to get decent Will+Fort saves. Besides that there's only one ability that directly relates to Barghest (Greedy Dog triggering of killing a target or Feeding as a Barghest).

Greedy Dog itself might need a rework since the current writing is ambiguous enough for some people to benefit from it twice and I'm not sure if I want that to be viable: Kill something to trigger the ability, then Barghest-Feed on the corpse to trigger the ability again.

Offline ~Corvus~

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2019, 09:13:04 AM »
Indeed, the loophole with Greedy Dog should be fixed. May I recommend:

"Upon killing a creature (or Feeding on, should the Inugami be a Barghest, whichever comes first) the Inugami may make a number of dispel checks   (rolling 1d20+HD vs 11 + the spell’s caster level) against up to its Cha Mod of beneficial Spells/SLA and beneficial Supernatural effects with a duration the creature had active at the moment of its demise to claim the effects for itself"

---
Edit: Clarify ability boosts: Are they +X & Y each level? If so, list as +X and +y. Are they +x OR Y each level? If so, make the need for a choice clearer.

---
Edit: Mark of the Damned needs some clarity. I recommend the following:

"Any NPCs interacting with a Marked target must make a Will save DC (10+Inugami Level) the first time EACH DAY they interact with, speak of, or otherwise acknowledge the bearer of the Mark; failing this save lowers the subject’s attitude toward that bearer of Mark by one step. Family members of Marked beings automatically succeed on this save for this mark."
« Last Edit: March 22, 2019, 06:44:49 PM by ~Corvus~ »
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.

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Offline Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #8 on: March 22, 2019, 07:50:24 PM »
Greedy Dog has been adjusted.
Ability scores have been clarified.
Mark of the Damned has been adjusted.
Standard Social Attitudes have been listed.

Offline ~Corvus~

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2019, 04:55:57 PM »
I just realized that Kodokou Curse would benefit from some clarity:
" An Inugami may activate Marks of the Damned within Long Range as swift action, removing a number of Marks from a target to curse that Mark bearer with the Kodokou Curse for an equal number of rounds."
(addition emphasized)
This way, we're clear about what curse may be applied...However, if any curse may be applied then that, too, should be stated.
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 Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #10 on: March 24, 2019, 08:31:27 PM »
Fixed as per your suggestion.
--
Question: Should I rework the Greater Barghest Feat to allow for slow Plane traversing?
« Last Edit: March 24, 2019, 08:34:04 PM by Doxkid »

Offline oslecamo

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #11 on: March 24, 2019, 10:39:53 PM »
Think it's pretty fine as it is now so added to the index, really good job here.

A custom Inugami feat for planar travel would be nice too (in particular since not that good to be able to track others accross planes if you can't actually follow).


Offline Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #12 on: March 31, 2019, 12:40:02 PM »
New feat:
Plane Walker
Prerequisites: Survival 12 ranks
Benefit: By spending one hour searching for hidden rifts between the realms you may make a survival check DC (25) to attempt to cross over to another plane. If you are in pursuit of a creature, or have a target arrival point in mind, you arrive within [1d20] miles of that target creature/location; otherwise you arrive in, or near, a relatively safe location.

When travelling in a group you may spend one hour per party member to transport them with yourself when you use this feat; this requires a single Survival check DC (25 +1 per person being transported). Alternately you may spend a single hour to transport the group with a Survival Check DC [35].

An Inugami gains a benefit of +1 per concurrent Mark on the target plane when making the survival check to use Plane Walker.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2019, 10:01:29 PM by Doxkid »

Offline Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2019, 10:31:18 PM »
Inugami has been adjusted to better fit the idea of a juvenile monster serving as a 'familiar' to an evil mage until it grows into its own.

Adjustments:
(click to show/hide)


Earlier I was asked what a classes Barghest would normally take after taking 4 levels of Barghest and 1 level of Greater Barghest, but before reaching level 10 so it could start taking the old Inugami class; it didn't qualify for anything useful, after all, and it didn't have much available to specialize in yet.

The original answer was a bit odd. The new answer is now Inugami.

After finishing the class they have a bit more survivability to work with and have enough HD and skill ranks to qualify for most routes of progression. Mage Inugami might take Divine Spellcasting classes like Cleric or Ur Priest; Warriors who prefer a single special weapon might take Kensai or Legacy champion; Stealthy Inugami might favor Assassin or Spellthief or even something like Telflammar Shadowlord or Hellbreaker; ascetic Inugami would favor Monk, Swordsage, or similar classes.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2019, 02:36:13 PM by Doxkid »

Offline oslecamo

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #14 on: May 13, 2019, 04:06:22 AM »
Most of those updates look good, but why remove the bite prerequisite? In particular since Devil Bite is kinda useless whitout a bite.

Also since you mention Swordsage and are giving CL boosts, may as well be granting out IL boost too if you ask me.

Offline Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #15 on: May 13, 2019, 08:50:55 PM »
The Bite attack I trimmed off to open this up for more creatures but I think you might be right about it being good to have; something needs to mark that this is for bestial creatures and not a Level 5 Human Cleric who decided against progressing his spellcasting for some reason. I'll pop the Bite requirement back on.

Initiating, along with all of the many other demi-casting options, isn't something supported by most monster classes and the Barghest made no mention of it so I'll leave it out as well. I could, in theory, state that this progresses just about anything as per Human Paragon and Legacy Champion, or specifically state that this progresses Spellcaster level, Initiator level, Vestiges, and truenaming...but I'll leave that as a something a player should just request DM permission for.

At most I can state here that I approve of Inugami being used to progress the "Caster Level" equivalent of most non-casting classes.

Offline oslecamo

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #16 on: May 22, 2019, 04:59:45 AM »
Fair enough.

Offline ~Corvus~

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #17 on: July 03, 2019, 09:48:18 PM »
I dont see any reason this can justifiably be a 5 HD PrC. As a 10-HD monster this would be overpowered as hell. Its virtually unkillable and with Kodokou Curse it can level a city in a weeks' time. It is Purple Man revenge status here, but at such a low level its nuts. So what gives?

It has all good saves, BaB, 6+Int skills and Stat boosts. It has incredible power through its abilities. Its d8 HD is practically a joke, as once it can resurrect itself (at no cost mind you) its gonna take a long-ranged assault (wizard/caster) or a Wish/Miracle to end.

I strongly recommend:
10HD minimum requirement.

No stat boosts - doesn't need.

IF YOU MUST, make its DCs 10+ 1/2 HD + CHA. This will account for a modest increase in power later on, but will make its later entry more palatable.
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.

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Offline Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #18 on: July 04, 2019, 03:58:58 PM »
Alright, in light of the rampant problems with this iteration of the class Inugami is currently under construction again. I'll have a revamped version online in a few days.

Offline Doxkid

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Re: Inugami
« Reply #19 on: July 13, 2019, 12:12:32 AM »
The revamp is done! Less powerful but more consistent and fair to play with/against.