Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kage_no_Neko 12-13-06, 11:05 PM	My favorite character from the game Soul Caliber is and has always been Isabella Valentine. It wasn't just that she was the best looking character (IMO) but that she had the coolest weapon, the Ivy Blade. I worked on creating a weapon ability to match the Ivy Blade and that eventually resolved into the stretching weapon ability (and later after I picked up [I]Magic of Incarnum, the striking bracelets soulmeld). After creating the first iteration of the stretching ability I began working on this PrC to focus on the unique strengths of such weapons. Background aside, here is the caveat. Though it was not intended from the start this class is built around the abilities and unique characteristics you find in only one weapon in the PHB, the spiked chain; though it was designed with the idea of a one-handed stretching sword in mind. I have tried to rework the extravagances of the spiked chain with my chain weapons thread, but I know this will not be able to please everybody. So while reviewing this thread if your complaint is that it is built around the spiked chain or similar weapons, please do not post as that is understood from the beginning. >>> *** <<< Chain Blade Adherent "As my vengeance flows, so does my blade." --- Kayla Gianna, chain blade adherent Adherents are masters of the exotic flowing weapons known as chain blades. While many warriors believe their weapons are extensions of their bodies, moving and striking as they will; they are merely fools who have never seen the deadly grace and beauty that is a chain blade adherent in combat. As she moves, a chain blade adherent's weapons flow and twist, seeming to move in patterns and ways that are as fearsome and beautiful as the adherent herself. A chain blade adherent is a study of form and grace, movement and flow. As the adherent moves she is surrounded by an ever shifting veil created by her weapons. Early on the adherent learns to keep her weapons in constant motion, confusing and beguiling her enemies. Quickly chain blade adherents learn to control their weapons with the subtlest of motions, causing the weapons to twist and turn in ways that seem to defy logic and the very laws of motion themselves. As she advances, she learns to use the unique properties of her weapons to her advantage, ensnaring her foes and providing enhanced defenses for herself. BECOMING A CHAIN BLADE ADHERENT Chain blade adherents are not an organized group so much as a followers on the path of a single weapon. Some fight for causes, others for power, and still others just to prove their ability to themselves; but all adherents fight so they can learn to better attune to their weapons. At some point, nearly all warriors find themselves in a position to view the remarkable abilities provided by a chain blade weapon. Those few that realize the potential of chain blade weapons and choose to dedicate themselves to mastering them become chain blade adherents. A chain blade is a reach weapon; but unlike normal reach weapons, chain blades always have the ability to strike targets anywhere within the reach of their weapons. Examples of weapons which qualify include the spiked chain, the kusari-gama and kwanga (both originally from Oriental Adventures, all of which are put together in my chain weapons re-write), as well as any weapon with the stretching weapon mystic ability. In addition, any meldshaper using a melee weapon with the striking bracelets soulmeld bound to her hand chakra qualifies as using a chain blade weapon. Once a potential adherent finds herself in possession of a chain blade weapon, she must dedicate herself to mastering the intricacies of the weapon. This is not done through any sort of formal training or rigid discipline, but through constant effort to gain a sense of how her body flows, how the world flows, and how the weapon is only an extension of that flow. Each chain blade adherent develops her own style, unique to her and her weapons. Entry Requirements Alignment: Any nonlawful. Base Attack Bonus: +4. Skills: Balance 5 ranks, Bluff 5 ranks, Perform (dance) 5 ranks, Sense Motive 5 ranks Feats: Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (any chain blade weapon) Special: Races that have racial proficiency with a chain blade exotic weapon are considered to have the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat for the purpose of meeting the requirements for this class. If the race only has familiarity (instead of exotic, the weapon is treated as martial), the character meets the Exotic Weapon Proficiency requirement only if they are proficient with martial weapons. Chain Blade Adherent - Hit Dice: d8 Level BAB Fort Refl Will Special ----- --- ---- ---- ---- ------- 1st +1 +2 +2 +0 Dancer's grace, shearing winds, sweeping strike, twisting blow 2nd +2 +3 +3 +0 Cutting slash +1d8, distracting allure +1 3rd +3 +3 +3 +1 Blade shround, one beat ahead, warding halo 4th +4 +4 +4 +1 Cutting slash +2d8, distracting allure +2 5th +5 +4 +4 +1 Blade tempest, entwining coil 6th +6 +5 +5 +2 Cutting slash +3d8, distracting allure +3 7th +7 +5 +5 +2 Dance of fate, spellbinding halo 8th +8 +6 +6 +2 Cutting slash +4d8, distracting allure +4, flensing slash 9th +9 +6 +6 +3 Deadly cyclone, vorpal winds 10th +10 +7 +7 +3 Cutting slash +5d8, distracting allure +5, web of mortality Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Bluff, Craft, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Iaijutsu Focus:v:, Jump, Listen, Perform, Profession, Sense Motive, Spot, and Tumble. :v:Iajutsu focus is a skill introduced in Oriental Adventures, if you do not have that book just ignore the skill. Note that using a reach weapon in an iajutsu duel is a dishonorable act if it is not declared, and may be seen as such even if both members of the duel agree to its use. CLASS FEATURES As a chain blade adherent you focus on perfecting your form with your weapon. As you advance you gain not only effective combat abilities, but improved defenses as well. Remember that as much of what you do is about style as combat; you are the leaf in the hurricane, delicate yet able to kill with but a small hole, not the falling boulder that smashes all before it. All of the following are class features of the chain blade adherent prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Chain blade adherents are proficient with all chain blade weapons. They gain no new proficiencies with armor or shields, and due to their requirements for mobility lose all benefits of this class (except one beat ahead and dance of fate) when wearing any armor heavier than light, carrying a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load. Dancer's Grace (Ex): Your graceful movements aid you in distracting and beguiling your foes. As a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity you may include sinuous and distracting movements as part of your actions each round; you make a Perform (dance) check, the result of the check divided by 5 (round down) is added as a grace bonus for all attempts to feint, trip, or disarm made in this round. At the DM's option this bonus may be usable in other Charisma based checks. Shearing Winds: Mastery over the chain blade weapons makes them easier for you to use. You treat one-handed chain blade weapons as light weapons for all purposes where using them as a light weapon is beneficial, including fighting with two weapons. Sweeping Strike (Ex): The sweeping blows of your weapons makes it easy for you to tumble your foes. You are treated as having the improved trip feat when using your chain blade weapons to trip a foe. If you already have the improved trip feat, or later gain it, then instead you add an additional +2 bonus to the opposed strength check (this stacks with the bonus from improved trip) when using a chain blade weapon to trip your opponent. Twisting Blow (Ex): With your subtle moves and dancing blade you find it easy to catch your opponent unaware. When using a chain blade weapon as part of a feint attack, you are treated as having the improved feint feat. If you already have the improved feint feat, or later gain it, then instead you add a +4 bonus to your Bluff checks to feint your opponent when using a chain blade weapon. Cutting Slash (Su): You connection with your chain blades grows, allowing you to shift the very form of your weapons so that when you wrap them around a foe and pull away you deal additional slashing damage. As a standard action you can make a single attack roll against a foe with your weapon; if you hit you deal normal damage plus 1d8 slashing damage. This damage increases every even level (2d8 at 4th, 3d8 at 6th, etcetera) and is not precision damage so it will affect even creatures immune to critical hits. This action provokes attacks of opportunity from every foe who threatens you except the target of your cutting slash. Distracting Allure: Your poise now serves to make you even more beguiling. Add +1 to all Perform checks, and all Bluff checks to feint in combat (and other Charisma based checks at the DM's option). This bonus increases every other level (+2 at 4th, +3 at 6th, etcetera). Blade Shroud (Ex): The constant twisting and turning motions of your weapons now helps to protect you from attacks. You gain a shield bonus to your AC equal to 1/3 your chain blade adherent level (round down). This shield bonus does not stack with any other shield bonuses you may have and only applies when you are not flat-footed or immobile and you have your chain blade weapon in your hand. The shield bonus does not apply to attacks of opportunity you provoke when making a cutting slash. One Beat Ahead (Ex): The entire multiverse moves to the beat of one grand song; with your connection to the dance you are able to stay one beat ahead of those who would harm you. This is treated in all ways like the rogue's uncanny dodge ability, including gaining improved uncanny dodge if chain blade adherent already had uncanny dodge from another class. Warding Halo (Ex): The circling motion of your chain blades offers you great protection against ranged attacks. While not flat-footed or immobile and holding your chain blade weapon, you are treated as having the deflect arrows feat. Unlike the normal deflect arrows feat, you can deflect one projectile each round per three chain blade adherent levels. This ability cannot be used to meet the prerequisites for any other ability or feat that requires the deflect arrows feat. Blade Tempest (Ex): Your dexterity with the chain blade now allows you to attack all your foes. You are treated as having the whirlwind attack feat (even if you do not meet all the prerequisites) when wielding a chain blade weapon. Entwining Coil (Ex): Twisting your chain blade allows you to strip your opponent of their weapon. When wielding your chain blade to disarm your opponent you are treated as having the improved disarm feat (you do not treat one-handed chain blade weapons as light weapons when attempting to disarm). If you already have, or later gain, the improved disarm feat you add an additional +2 to your opposed attack roll (this stacks with the bonus from improved disarm) when using a chain blade weapon to disarm your opponent. Dance of Fate (Ex): All of life is a dance to you, so you let the grace of the grand song guide you even when surrounded by your enemies. This ability is treated in all ways as the rogue's improved uncanny dodge ability, including level stacking for being flanked by a rogue. Spellbinding Halo (Su): The connection to your weapons is so great that you can now deflect even mystical attacks. As long as you are wielding a mystical weapon (magic, psionic, infused with incarnum, etcetera) you can use your warding halo ability to deflect mystical attacks (spells, powers, spell-like, or supernatural abilities, etcetera) targeting your character as long as they require an attack roll to hit. Flensing Slash: Your grace now allows you to devastate your foe without opening yourself to attacks. You no longer provoke attacks of opportunity when making a cutting slash. Deadly Cyclone (Su): The slicing wind of your attack now makes you even more deadly. When you perform a whirlwind attack with your chain blade weapon the threat range of your weapon doubles. This doubling stacks with all others such as that from the improved critical feat or the keen weapon ability (remember two doubles makes a triple). Vorpal Winds (Su): The intimate connection with your chain blade weapons now allows you to wound deeper than ever before. The critical multiplier of any chain blade you wield is treated as one higher. Web of Mortality (Ex): Your chain blades now move so fast, and your control is so exact, that when you dedicate yourself to defense you still strike those who would harm you. When performing a total defense action, any opponent that attacks you with a melee attack within the reach of your weapon opens themselves up to a retaliatory strike from you. This strike uses your full base attack bonus (with any applicable modifiers) and may be performed up to the number of times as you can normally perform attacks of opportunity in a round (but you may only retaliate against a single opponent once each round, irregardless of how many times they attack you). In addition you can now gain the benefit of the combat expertise feat when performing a total defense action. PLAYING A CHAIN BLADE ADHERENT You are unique. No one else around you understands what truly drives you. Others fight for causes or glory, but you see beyond all that to the truth that is the perfect form. The world is merely the stone you sharpen your edge on, and when you achieve perfection even the stone will part before your blade. The likelihood of you meeting someone else training to become a master of the chain blade is slim at best; so few understand the beauty that is your dance. The closest you are likely to find are monks, soulborn, and soulknives; each choosing to achieve perfection in their own mastery of the combat arts. The choice to become a chain blade adherent is not as simple as picking a weapon and going for it. Most people are never able to see the true potential that is a chain blade weapon. Each adherent had a situation occur in their life that lifted the veil over their eyes and allowed them to see the true potential of the weapon they would wield. Sometimes the situation arises out of desperation (e.g. randomly grabbing a weapon to defend a friend), others arise out of horror (seeing the devastation wrought by such a weapon on those around them), but however they are introduced to a chain blade an adherent is forever altered by that experience. Combat Your weapon of choice is your chain blade. You are a strong warrior and can fight well even without your signature weapon, but when you have your chain blade in hand let your foes beware. Against a single foe your cutting slash is devastating, but should be avoided in crowds atleast until 8th level. If you are surrounded, make use of the blade tempest ability for maximum effect. Never forget that your greatest strength is your ability to beguile your foe and strip them of their Dexterity bonus to AC, but do not be surprised when that does not make much difference to the thug in full plate. Lastly, once you reach 10th level do not hesitate to go into total defense, but watch out as after a few attacks the melee combatants facing you turn to easier foes while they wait for their magic users to pick you off. Advancement If you started out with a non-mystical background (such as a fighter/rogue, or a monk with a kusari-gama) you will most likely want to pick feats that allow you to enhance your already impressive combat abilities. Though rare, you also want to look for better chain blade weapons; even normal weapons with the stretching weapon mystic ability may be found if you look far enough. The latter are especially useful as they do not show any reaching ability until they are used, possibly giving you bonuses on your initial feint attempts. If you come from the meldshaper or soulknife side you want to focus on feats or abilities that enhance your weapons and mystic abilities. The nicest benefit for being a soulknife is never having to search for a better weapon as your mind blade is always improving, but having to give up two levels of your mind blade enhancement to gain the benefits of this class is not so much fun. Meldshapers have to give up their bind to the hand chakra and one of their soulmelds each day to gain the benefits of this class, but they do gain the benefit from the striking bracelets soulmeld and every point of essentia they invest into that soulmeld, and even better can extend the reach of their weapons with the more essentia they invest (but of course that takes it away from other things). For both these mystic classes there are trade offs for taking levels in this prestige class (not the least of which is not advancing in your mystic class). Resources Since each adherent follows their own path they can not rely on others of their calling to aid them in times of need. For this reason, if no other, most chain blade adherents attach themselves to other larger groups. Not only does this provide an effective resource base, but other warriors provide new challenges to train against and mystic characters provide ways for better weapons (and healing when the weapons fail). The adherent may not truly believe in the goals of the group they join, but most groups are more than willing to overlook this in a front line fighter of an adherent’s caliber (its not like they believe the red shirt will last long anyways).
Kage_no_Neko 12-25-06, 03:44 PM	:bump: Somebody has to have an opinion about this class (other than they do not like spiked chains and like weapons). How does it compare to the PrCs that have been coming out recently (BoNS and the like)? Is it too strong; not strong enough?
jaw4ever 12-25-06, 03:53 PM	From what I have seen it looks good. I've been wanting to put chain blades in D&D for a while and now, thanks to you I can. Merry Christmas
Kage_no_Neko 12-25-06, 03:59 PM	From what I have seen it looks good. I've been wanting to put chain blades in D&D for a while and now, thanks to you I can. Merry Christmas Thank you! And a Happy Holidays and a great New Year to you as well.
King_In_Yellow 01-07-07, 09:28 PM	Very nice. :D I am in a group with a "chain fighter" and will pass this on to them and the GM to see what they think. Have also read your "Chain Weapons" thread and will be posting there as well. King_In_Yellow
Kage_no_Neko 01-08-07, 12:46 PM	Very nice. :D I am in a group with a "chain fighter" and will pass this on to them and the GM to see what they think. Cool, once you have run for a bit please post again and tell me how it runs.
MaverickWolf 01-08-07, 01:33 PM	Just grabbing myself a subscription to all your chain-weapon topics here, as they're cool.
MaverickWolf 02-21-07, 10:25 AM	Well, just going through my subscriptions and decided this needs a :bump:
Kage_no_Neko 02-21-07, 12:50 PM	Well, just going through my subscriptions and decided this needs a :bump: Thanks
WinterPsionic 02-23-07, 06:54 PM	...If this is passing as balanced I need to seriously rethink the few classes I havee in the works... I was going to say this seems a bit class feature heavy but apparently it's just me...I guess I'm just to big a fan of the "simple" classes... Nice job though, as a big fan of the Lasher I can appreciate the work you've put in.
Kage_no_Neko 02-24-07, 03:54 PM	...If this is passing as balanced I need to seriously rethink the few classes I havee in the works... What do you think is unbalanced. It certainly does gain benefits at every level, but any class should. The main thing is that all the benefits of this class are thematically consistent (IMO) and the power levels of the class abilities do not seem inconsistent with other abilities of the same level. Take the Spellbinding Halo ability, while it allows you to deflect mystical attacks (such as spells or the like), the number you can deflect in a round is limited and the mystical attack must target your character. Since the earliest I was able to find a class combination allowing entry into this class was a fighter 2 / rogue or bard 3 build, that means that the earliest the Spellbinding Halo is available is 13th level. That means 7th level spells; how many of those actually require an attack roll, as opposed to being area, or save or die type effects? Useful, certainly. Overbalanced at 13th level, I don't really thinks so, but I am kind of biased :D.