Hermit base class + Tao Disciplines: The Tao Unleashed!

[Anomander]

Yeah, definitely a Forbidden School if anything.

She could have made the artefact. Its power is certainly beyond normal magic items.
Either way, I'm just saying it isn't out of the question to make disciplines for magicians. The way spellcasting blends into tobhou, characters like Marisa and Patchouli could have one of their own.

[Raineh Daze]

I meant that the scroll isn't a Buddhist artefact, more Byakuren's personal thing. 

Patchouli? Is that meant to be a joke? She's the least physical person in Gensokyo.

[Anomander]

You'll notice some tobhou maneuvers are... very far from being physical.

Ah, didn't mean it was a 'Buddhism Artefact'. Just an artefact with ties to Buddhism practices. It does hold sutras.

[Raineh Daze]

I also notice that a vast number of them involve attack rolls, and no martial school is likely to originate from someone who effectively has a constitution of about 4 to 6. Patchouli is the very opposite of 'martial'.

[Concerned Ninja Citizen]

I also notice that a vast number of them involve attack rolls, and no martial school is likely to originate from someone who effectively has a constitution of about 4 to 6. Patchouli is the very opposite of 'martial'.

Lots of spells involve attack rolls too but that doesn't seem to stop frail wizardy types from casting them. Several of the schools in this project are only "martial" in the sense that they use a mechanic with that in its name (which is irrelevant from a fluff perspective since martial adepts dont call themselves martial adepts in game unless you're playing an OOTS campaign.)

[Anomander]

He knows. Its just playful argumentation. 
Speaking of which, the entire thing is based on spellcards and Patchouli may be frail but nothing stops her from creating a discipline of her own using her vast repertoire of knowledge, even if she herself can't use it. 

[Raineh Daze]

She knows. Its just playful argumentation. 

Nothing stops her aside from, you know, being the single worst person to go to for something like this. Come on, Patchouli's pretty much a straight Wizard.

[Anomander]

Agreed. That's why she's so amazing.
So much that half+ of the maneuvers in Marisa's possible discipline has probably been stolen from hers.

And this really belongs in the general discussion thread. 

[Raineh Daze]

If there is one thing that I dislike about the class, it's going to have to be the requirement I find another sourcebook in order to use it.

But hey, Yoshika cohort in the maneuvers/feats section. Hurrah!

Question: why, exactly, is the required second school the shinto one?

[Anomander]

You don't have to get the Miniature Handbook for information on the Marshal. WotC put it in an excerpt online.
Linkie

The Shinto school isn't the second required one anymore. It is one of the changes of the coming update.
It was originally for irony since Reimu's yin yang balls are a symbol of Taoism, and not Shinto, and was also meant to make it possible to get a class variant of the Hermit to get a Shinto priest/Miko. Then figured the main discipline could just be switched as part of the variant.

[Raineh Daze]

Could you possibly add that link to the class description rather than referring to a page in the book? XD

[oslecamo]

So much that half+ of the maneuvers in Marisa's possible discipline has probably been stolen from hers.

Blasphemy. Marisa's signature MASTER SPARK was stolen acquired from Yuka. From there alone developed into a good chunk of her other spells, like Double Spark, Magicannon, Final Spark, etc, etc.

More in particular, Patchoulli prefers elemental magic (fire, water, earth, metal, wood, wind), while Marisa is all about light/cosmos/love. The only spell Marisa regularly uses from Patchoulli is the non-directional laser.

Plus Alice also has been cannonically stated to offer magic books to Marisa in return for her cooperation, and the two go way back before Patchoulli ever showed up.

[Raineh Daze]

The remainder of Marisa's spells are either hers, or borrowed from anyone else she happens to run into (Orreries Sun is from Mima, by appearances). I suppose she might get a bit from regularly stealing from Patchouli's library. XD

'Go way back' = 'beat Alice up twice, then tied her up and borrowed her book', if I can remember the Mystic Square ending correctly. Then she somehow ended up as Marisa's neighbour. Probably after she got away from being Mima's maid... @_@

Actually one of the outcomes of the Mystic Square EX-Stage.

[oslecamo]

Alice is only Marisa's "neighbour" in the sense that nobody else lives in the forest of magic besides some silly fairies. It's the place of choice for magicians seeking isolation to advance their research, and it's said even most youkais fear entering it (there's a reason why Alice is her own stage's subboss in PCB). Unless you're Patchoulli and somehow got a rich brat to pay you a mansion hall, personal maid included.

Mima seems to have been Marisa's original magic teacher, altough she's gone independent since then.

But hey, Yoshika cohort in the maneuvers/feats section. Hurrah!

Where exactly? I see references to yian ji, but no actual crunch on what it refers to.

[Raineh Daze]

Loyal Undead
Prerequisites: Must know the Wicked Spirit “Trance” stance.
Benefit: Whenever you raise an undead minion with the Wicked Spirit “Trance” stance, it becomes a special cohort.
It is always one level behind you and must have at least one level of Zombie and as many Jiang Shi levels as possible. It otherwise has levels as you wish and gains a level whenever you level up, always remaining one level behind you.
Unlike a cohort, it does not come with its own equipment.
This Jiang Shi still obeys you with undying loyalty and can act normally even when you are not within the Wicked Spirit “Trance” stance. It is no longer vulnerable to having its Ofuda removed and can move away from you without restrictions.
You calculate its statistics as you would a normal cohort instead of basing them on yours but it gains a bonus number of hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier times its HD.
If you perish, it is still deanimated.

[Anomander]

I did the changes. I think the only thing I hadn't finished was the extra effect on Death Trance. Couldn't decide between faster attacks/more dmg and how I'd have that work so I gave it the ability to use an expended maneuver instead.

[oslecamo]

There's more than enough self-healing maneuvers out there to make that a "You don't die when you're killed" with just 2 levels.

Feats other than the new loyal undead haven't been reviewed either (and the first one is definetely too good).

And since I'm here I'll add that your cohort doesn't qualify for Monster of Legend simply because it doesn't even has a backstory, let alone meeting the prerequisite.

EDIT:Plus no to making it aged.

[Anomander]

Probably shouldn't details specific to a campaign here. Not the place, you have a campaign thread for that. I fully intend to have it get a backstory. Just busy with fully fleshing it out for the moment.

The Death Trance was changed in our previous discussions quite a while back to make it so you can't avoid death anymore. If you should die while in the negatives, you still die no matter what happens by the end of the round.

[hellfire014]

Saint Girl "Sun Goddess's Sacrifice"
Desire Drive (Strike)
Level: Hermit 8
Stance Link: Heaven Sign "Rainy Iwafune"
Initiation Action: Standard action
Range: 5 ft./IL
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Save: Will negates, DC 18+Wis

An immaterial lotus flower rises around the chosen creature, emptying its soul of all rage and selfish worldly desires. The creatures sees a glimpse of the great truths of existence and its alignment changes to Good.
It leaves all its valuable possessions to you as an offering to help you on your journey and leaves to become an humble disciple of Taoism. This is not a mind-affecting ability.
The subject retains whatever outlook, allegiances, and relationships it had before, as long as they do not conflict with its new alignment. If you are currently in a fight, the creature will aid you in combat, decided to help its spiritual saviour.
If the creature’s alignment is already good, the maneuver simply fails to affect it in any way.

For as long as you do not initiate another maneuver, Heaven Sign "Rainy Iwafune" allows you to cross the dimensions. You can sail into the Ethereal Plane or back into the Material Plane as a free action once per round.

If you Trance this maneuver, the touched creature is also affected by an Atonement spell effect. Nongood creatures aren’t affected but a creature converted with this maneuver is repentant enough.

Reread bolded. Now take a look at Sanctify the Wicked (Book of Exalted Deeds p.106). This is far superior to the spell. Not only does it work instantly, you get it earlier, it requires no sacrifice, and you get items out of it. It seems a bit too powerful, imo, even for Tobhou.

I like the rest of the maneuver though.

[Anomander]

I know about Sanctify the Wicked and was fully conscious of how similar it was to it.
Before deciding how I'd go with this maneuver, I compared it with Morality Undone, domination-like effects and other level 8 and lower tobhou maneuvers.
The goal was to make an "instant victory" effect against a single target on at a failed save effect and no effect on a successful one.
One that wouldn't grant a long term slave, make the initiator a murderer or make it sacrifice treasure.
It doesn't require a bunch of saves to avoid death or inflict partial effects, so I think its power balance feels right where I put it.
Potential changes that could be done if it is indeed too good for tobhou at that level is striking off the temporary ally and just take the target out of combat until its resolution or make the range shorter.

As for Sanctify the Wicked, it just really sucks. So hard you'd have to be really desperate to use it.
At least they made it a Sanctified spell so that anyone good aligned that has spellcasting can add it to his list in case that ever happens.