Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Karn Dragonsbane 01-27-07, 09:32 AM	Barnes 4th level character: Pantheon (warforged without constitution bonus) Ftr 2/ Rgr 2 2 feats for fighter, 2 feats for HD. 2 bonus feats (Track, Two-weapon fighting). Abilities: 25 point buy (sub-par character in a revive-less world of low equipment) Str 13-14 (5-6) pts 5-6 pts Dex 15 (must) (8 pts) 13-14 pts Con 14 (6 pts) 19-20 pts Int 10 (2 pts) 21-22 pts Wis 12 (4 pts) -2 25-26 pts Cha 8 -2 25-26 pts Okay, Str is left at 13. Feat selection must: Two-weapon fighting, Bonus Rgr2 Quick Draw, L1. Decided it should be instead the fact he always has them drawn, so it is a free slot for Close-Quarters Fighting. Weapon Finesse, Bonus Ftr1 Point Blank Shot, L3, found wanting and useless. L3 free for Lightning Reflexes. Multifire, canīt do (remove) Rapid fire, Bonus Ftr2, found wanting and useless. Ftr 2 free for Prone Attack. Weapon focus (autofire handgun), canīt do (remove) Track Bonus Rgr1 Skill selection, thus contains: 6 + Int modifier (0) = 6 skills, 5 ranks. Survival Spot Climb Jump Tumble Knowledge (latest) 2 + Int modifier (0) = 2 skills, 2 ranks. Swim x2, 4 ranks. Decided to substract 1 point of Climb and add it to Craft (robotics). Further customization: I decided not to add the Con bonus... pantheons are cannon fodder. Note, added one point to Dexterity (level 4). His armor resembles most closely a banded mail, but I think it should be more of a half-assed version, since it doesnīt cover the most important parts of his body (and since he loses some fighting styles in real banded mail). So Iīll treat it as a good-looking (i.e. masterwork) chain shirt, made of hard plastic (treat as... er... normal, since a mithral item wonīt do anything for him). His weapons are: Two energy kukris (since EVERYTHING in MMZ seems to be made of energy, thereīs no big deal... or game effect), and a two-handed energy machinegun which Iīll take from Call of Cthulhuīs stats for Israelīs Galil Rifle (anyway energy accomplishes nothing in MMZ, and the game has a certain desertic feel. Itīll make me smile, and it has a big amount of ammo. Besides the higher damage autofire rifles would make him seem more important than he is). Wild Empathy should be lost, because in MMZ there doesnīt seem to be any chance to avoid fighting. And the Living subtype... should be lost, as well as the points I added into Constitution. Mechaniloids ARE cannon fodder... and the bonus HP by size... well, they might reinforce the idea he *is* kind of a bit tough. Although, no. I wonīt take out the living subtype... the living subtype might mean the thing is alive, but I donīt use it like that. I think futuristic constructs should have the living subtype as well, because they DO have parts that are more important than others and thus canīt be immune to critical hits, they are mostly empty space and thus canīt have so many bonus hit points, and because they CAN be caused permanent damage to features not involving ability to withstand damage, since they have a certain tendency for their arms or weapons to fall off or get destroyed. They can be built with several different degrees of toughness which donīt influence their entire self as hit dice does, too, as only a constitution bonus can do. Besides, futuristic constructs DO get tired... they have a certain amount of energy. Having a cyber-elf is unstattable, except by statting the cyber-elf. And for the Favored Enemy... there are only a couple or so things you can hit here. Mechaniloids (cannon fodder), reploids (almost everyone), humans (whom you donīt need usually a favored enemy bonus to kill), animals (who are rather... scarce in MMZ campaigns), or "aliens" (i.e. everything else, such as dragons, undead, elementals, magical beasts). He has no means of learning how to kill aliens, so heīs down to three things. And since two of them arenīt necessary to specialize in order to beat, heīs down to only two. Mechaniloids, he is one, so heīll go for the reploids. But just "reploids"... no, wonīt do. Reploids come in two varieties: humanoids and animaloids. So letīs further split the animaloids, because itīs still too darn many a little amount of types... his favored enemies will be humanoid reploids. And then, in exchange for the stuff I took off him, Iīll give him Evasion in return. Now I need to add his Crosscut and Mule Kick moves. Crosscut would be a 2nd level multitarget arcane spell, most likely, and Prone Attack is exactly what Mule Kick does. Unfortunately, Prone Attack has Lightning Reflexes as a prerequisite... so letīs add the prerequisite, dannit! Rather, Crosscut should be a special attack. Yes, thatīs better. Now... letīs get down to business. Barnes Medium Construct (futuristic) Hit Dice: 2d6+2d10+8 (HD 4, HP 28) Initiative: +3 (dexterity) Speed: 30 ft. Armor Class: 17 (+3 dex, +4 chain shirt), touch 13, flat-footed 14. Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+5 Attack: Kukri +7 melee 1d4+1 18-20, slam +7 melee 1d4+1 melee, or machinegun +7 2d6 x3 200 ft. Full Attack: 2 kukris +5 melee 1d4+1 18-20, slam +7 melee 1d4+1 melee, or machinegun +7 2d6 x3 200 ft. Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Autofire, Energy Weapons, Crosscut, Close-Quarters Fighting. Special Qualities: Futuristic construct subtype, Evasion, Favored Enemy (reploids). Saves: Fort +8, Refl +8, Will +0. Abilities: Str 13, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6. Skills: Climb +5, Craft (robotics) +5, Jump +6, Knowledge (latest) +3, Spot +6, Survival +6, Swim +3, Tumble +8. Feats: Close-Quarters Fighting, Lightning Reflexes, Prone Attack, Quick Draw (B), Track (B), Two-weapon fighting (B), Weapon Finesse. Environment: Neo Arcadia, or scouting outside. Organization: Usually working alone, but he has no say on the matter. Challenge Rating: 4. Treasure: Masterwork plastic armor (chain shirt), two kukris and a rifle. Alignment: Not applicable... in other words, Lawful Neutral. Advancement: By Character Class. Level Adjustment: +0 This thing only barely clings to a reploidīs look, as he is most obviously a pantheon, judging from his blue undershirt and slim physique. Unlike other pantheons, though, this one has several layers of green armor over himself, and, whatīs most startling, a face with a lock-shaped beard. Autofire (Ex): Barnes carries an autofire weapon. His machinegun attacks may be those: +7 (single shot) consuming one bullet, or +1/+1/+1 (autofire) consuming seven bullets. Close-Quarters Fighting: Barnes gets automatically an attack of opportunity anytime something tries to grapple him, even if the grappler has a special ability that normally bypasses such features. If the grappler would have provoked an attack of opportunity normally and Barnes hits with the attack of opportunity, the grapple attempt automatically fails. If the grappler wouldnīt have provoked an attack of opportunity and Barnes hits, Barnes gains his damage roll as a bonus to resist the grapple. If Barnes doesnīt hit, the grapple starts normally. Crosscut (Su): Barnes has the ability to shoot out a storm of slashes from his kukris once every 1d4 rounds. The kukris take 1d4 rounds to reload, too, until which time they canīt be used; Barnes must rely on his natural slam attack and machinegun during that time. The slashes fly forward forward in a 30 ft. line, 5 ft. thick, dealing 2d6 slashing damage to everything within the area, Reflex DC 15 negates. The save DC is dexterity-based. Energy Weapons (Ex): Since Barnesī kukris arenīt composed of matter, theyīre very hard to target and destroy. Add 2 points to the kukrisī AC when determining attack rolls for sunder attempts. Determine disarm attempts normally. Also, Barnesī machinegun doesnīt need to be reloaded. It automatically has 100 bullets renewed each day. Evasion: If you donīt know what does it do, what are you doing here? Anyway. When subject to an effect that allows a reflex save for half damage, Barnes takes no damage on a sucessful save. Favored Enemy (Ex): Barnes has a +2 bonus on damage rolls, Bluff, Spot, Sense Motive, Listen and Survival checks that deal with humanoid reploids. Prone Attack: Barnes may attack from the prone position without penalty, and regain his feet as a free action if he hits. Feats: Barnes has Quick Draw as a bonus feat at 1st level, but only when using kukris. This represents the fact that his kukris fold into his forearms. *Skills: Barnes has a +4 racial bonus on Craft (robotics) checks. He may take 10 on such checks as well, and use the skill as if he was trained (he is). Futuristic Construct Subtype: Barnes, unlike medieval fantasy constructs, has a constitution score. Thus, he is subject to critical hits, ability drain, energy drain, fatigue, exhaustion, paralysis, hold, mind-affecting effects and stunning. Barnes is still immune to poison (except special futuristic poisons designed to melt his vitals or something), disease (except for technological stuff like ravaging nanobots), death effects, magical healing and necromancy. He may not heal damage on his own. Although he has something similar to a methabolism, the similarity has to end somewhere. Also, futuristic constructs eat or sleep, at their choice. However they are highly efficient with their mineral diet, and may choose to hibernate. Before hibernating, a futuristic construct states how long will he be hibernating. Hibernation lasts for the stated time, or until a sudden change in the surroundings happens (i.e. the environmentīs temperature rises to dangerous, or someone hits him with a stick), at which point he awakens. A futuristic constructīs ability scores all drop to 1 while hibernating, except Strength and Dexterity, which are reduced to 0, and Constitution and Intelligence, which become nonabilities (granting the construct extra endurance sometimes). Barnes can last a month without additional energy before having to face lack of energy (treat as starvation). When reduced to 0 hit points or less, a futuristic construct becomes disabled. While disabled, it stabilizes authomatically, but it does not recover hit points. It may still be healed as long as its hit points donīt reach -10. At the point where a futuristic constructīs hit points reach -10, it becomes destroyed. As it was never alive, it canīt be raised or resurrected, but it may be rebuilt with a sucessful craft check as any object, as long as it remains mostly intact. Complexity issues: Barnesī minimum Craft DC to repair is 15. His Craft DC to rebuild is 35. Raw materials to repair Barnes cost negligible as long as they arenīt torn from him, and materials to rebuild Barnes cost around 9.000 zenny (currency in Capcom games. 150 zenny might traslate to about 1 gp for purposes of game balance, if your DM is kind enough. Else, they can traslate to about 15.300 to 1). And now to what we came... I was poring over my stuff in freeform, and found a certain thingy-idea that just bugged me to the point where I statted another character, and found how the rules didnīt explain him very well. So I traslated this guy to D&D, and found I needed a custom subtype for him... Barnes, worth for six! (CR 4 against 1/2) Futuristic construct subtype: A futuristic construct is similar to a fantasy construct, except for some other qualities. -Futuristic constructs, since their construction is more complex than a solid block of a material embedded with mobility, do have a constitution score, as well as most associated strengths and weaknesses. -Futuristic constructs lose bonus hit points by size, and gain appropiate bonus hit points for a constitution score. -Futuristic constructs are subject to fatigue, exhaustion, ability and energy drain. They carry a certain amount of energy with themselves, as well as all its weaknesses, even if itīs not life energy. -Futuristic constructs are subject to critical hits and stunning. They have many critical components (although individual constructs may have spare vitals or fortification, thus being immune to criticals). -Futuristic constructs are subject to paralysis, since their motivators are perfectly targettable, and hold effects, since they have a mind to target. -Futuristic constructs are subject to mind-affecting effects (although a mindlessly created construct may have immunities as an individual). -Futuristic constructs stay immune to poison, disease, death effects, magical healing and necromancy. -Futuristic constructs may not heal damage on their own (although fast healing and such abilities apply normally). However they may be repaired with a sucessful Craft check, although there is a minimum DC to do any good. See below for the rebuild DC, but substract 15 from the DC due to the minor nature of the modifications. Note however that Craft is a trained only skill. -When reduced to 0 hit points or less, a futuristic construct is disabled. A disabled construct becomes stable, and is not destroyed until it reaches -10 hit points. -When reduced to -10 hit points, a futuristic construct is destroyed. -Futuristic constructs may not be raised nor resurrected as they were never alive, although if destroyed, they may be rebuilt. Rebuilding involves a Craft check of varying DC, typically lower for more specific constructs or larger (cannon fodder is designed to be lost, and smaller constructsī innards are harder to manipulate with proper care). However, by simply mashing it into dust (or extracting the central systems, or disintegrating it all), the constructīs reconstruction can be prevented short of a wish or miracle spell, or a time-based effect capable of recreating the digital contents of the constructīs mind before they were completely obliterated. SPECIAL? Unique Few in existence Nobody special SIZE Fine 36 38 40 Diminutive 34 36 38 Tiny 32 34 36 Small 30 32 34 Medium 28 30 32 Large 26 28 30 Huge 24 26 28 Gargantuan 22 24 26 Colossal 20 22 24 These tables assume technical knowledge which is rather advanced yet almost vox populi. The DM should assign higher DC for more alien technology, and lower DCs for creatures built with more technical knowledge. -Although not a hard-and-fast rule, most constructs have racial bonuses on Craft checks, representing their ability to understand their own bodies. -A futuristic construct does not sleep or breathe, but it eats, although in a strange fashion; they must derive their energy from somewhere. Albeit they do eat, their sustenance can be of any nature as decided during its construction; most likely, it is solar or mineral in nature. -Although no rule governs how long can a futuristic construct last without an energy input, they can choose to conserve energy by hibernating. To hibernate, a futuristic construct needs but a place with relative peace. The construct sets a certain time amount, and during said amount, its strength and dexterity scores fall to zero, its constitution/intelligence scores become nonabilities, its wisdom and charisma scores drop to 1, and it becomes blind and deaf. Until the predetermined time lapsus passes, or until the environment becomes harmful (i.e. getting hit with a stick, or being doused with acid, but not simply being carried away or slowly submerging in water), the construct requires no additional energy intake. Heck, this doesnīt convince me... Anyone got any better ideas, please?
obrysii 01-27-07, 09:43 AM	Maybe use the droid rules from Star Wars?