Champion of Souls [Literally] [Archive] - Wizards Community

Champion of Souls [Literally] [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Wall
05-12-07, 10:19 AM Okay, so here's a weird one. It is an updated/streamlined version of the Light Enforcer I came up with a long while ago and absolutely hated; this one I like more. So please, all comments welcome, good or bad.

*Ahem*
Much like a sorcerer exploring his bloodline, Champions of the Soul have taken an interest in a cosmically larger heritage: the Bastion of Souls, the genesis of all living creatures. Their connection to this raging super-nova of life increases as their knowledge does, transforming the scholar into a true guardian of all that lives.

Prerequisites:
Skills: Knowledge (The Planes) 9 ranks OR Knowledge (Religion) 9 ranks
Special: Cannot have the ability to Rebuke Undead, cannot be of the Undead type

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1 +1 +2 +0 +2 Turn Undead, Unlock the Soul
2 +2 +3 +0 +3 Pure Soul, Surge of Life
3 +3 +3 +1 +3 Life Sense, Life Charge
4 +4 +4 +1 +4 Channel the Oversoul
5 +5 +4 +1 +4 Manifest the True Soul
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Jump, Knowledge (The planes), Knowledge (Religion), Spellcraft, Swim, and Tumble.

Turn Undead (Su): Levels of Champion of Souls stacks with any class that grants the ability to turn undead for determining your effective cleric level. If you do not have the ability to turn undead, you gain the ability to turn undead as a cleric of your Champion of Souls level. In either case, you do not need a holy/unholy symbol to use this ability.

Unlock the Soul (Su): A Champion of souls has a powerful connection to the Birthplace of Souls, and gains the ability to channel positive energy through her body, often manifesting visually as currents of energy or sudden body spasms. As a swift action, the Champion of souls may open the passage between her soul and the collective souls on the Positive energy plane. She gains 1 positive level (described below).
At the start of her next turn, the Champion of Souls gains another positive level, stacking with the positive level she gained when first activating this ability. On each subsequent round, the Champion of souls gains an additional positive level.
Channeling power straight from the Birthplace of Souls is risky business, however, and a Champion of souls cannot easily stop the energy once it begins flowing. The Champion must make a Fortitude save (DC15 + twice the number of positive levels the Champion currently has) to close the passage; doing so purges all the positive levels from the Champion and stops her from gaining any more until she activates the ability again.
If a Champion of souls gains a number of positive levels equal to ½ her Constitution score, she must make a Fortitude save (same DC as above) to purge the positive levels from her body. Success indicates that the levels are purged; if the save fails, the positive levels become too much for the Champion to bear. On the turn she fails the save, the Champion gains a +10 bonus on attack and damage rolls, a +20 foot bonus to all her speeds, and Damage Reduction 10/-. She may take actions as normal, if capable. On her initiative count on the next round, the Champion explodes terrifically, dealing 1d6 points of damage per HD to all creatures in a radius of 5 feet per HD. Her body is destroyed completely, as the Disintegrate spell, even if the Champion of souls is immune to disintegration effects.
Positive Levels: Positive levels bestow a number of benefits. A creature gains a +1 competence bonus on all skill checks and ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws, and gains one effective level or Hit Die (whenever level is used in a die roll or calculation) for each positive level. A spellcaster gains one spell slot of the highest level spells he can cast and (if applicable) one prepared spell of that level. These persist until the positive level goes away.

Pure Soul (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, the Champion of souls’ connection to the Birthplace of Souls deepens. As long as she possesses at least one positive level, the Champion of souls is immune to Ability Damage, Ability Drain, Death effects, and Negative Energy effects.

Surge of Life (Ex): Also at 2nd level, the spiritual power of the Champion of Souls begins to infuse her body with vitality. As long as she has at least one positive level, the Champion does not automatically fail a Fortitude save on a roll of 1.

Life Charge (Ex): At 3rd level, the Champion of souls uses her connection to the Positive energy plane to further enhance her physical form. For every positive level the Champion of souls possesses, she gains a +1 bonus to Strength and Dexterity.

Life Sense (Su): By 3rd level, the Champion of Souls has such a deep connection to the Positive Energy plane that she can sense the positive energy in other creatures. She gains blindsense out to 30 feet as long as she has at least one Positive level. This ability cannot detect undead or constructs.

Channel the Oversoul (Su): At 4th level, your connection to the Birthplace of souls becomes so strong that you gain a tangible connection to the other living souls around you. This allows you insight into the actions of the living creatures around you. You gain an Insight bonus to your AC equal to the number of Positive levels you currently have. You do not gain this bonus against attacks by Constructs or Undead.

Manifest the True Soul (Su): At 5th level, you have learned to entirely merge your immortal soul with your mortal body, creating a powerful symbiosis. As long as you have at least one Positive level, you are considered a creature of the Outsider type (do not recalculate Hit Points, Saves, or BAB). You gain Darkvision out to 60 feet. If you are killed while in this form, a True Resurrection, Wish, or Miracle spell is required to bring you back to life.
However, your new (if temporary) existence grants you great power, as pure positive energy radiates from your form. You may make a free turning check against any undead creatures that come within 5 feet of you without expending a Turn/Rebuke attempt. Additionally, the pure soul flowing through your form grants you Fast Healing 5.
Finally, if ever you fail your Fortitude save when you gain too many Positive levels (see Unlock the Soul, above), all the given bonuses double, and your explosion deals 1d8 points of damage per Hit Die.
Daidalos
05-12-07, 11:08 AM Okay, so here's a weird one. It is an updated/streamlined version of the Light Enforcer I came up with a long while ago and absolutely hated; this one I like more. So please, all comments welcome, good or bad.

*Ahem*
Much like a sorcerer exploring his bloodline, Champions of the Soul have taken an interest in a cosmically larger heritage: the Bastion of Souls, the genesis of all living creatures. Their connection to this raging super-nova of life increases as their knowledge does, transforming the scholar into a true guardian of all that lives.
Interesting. Bodes well.

Prerequisites:
Skills: Knowledge (The Planes) 9 ranks OR Knowledge (Religion) 9 ranks
Special: Cannot have the ability to Rebuke Undead, cannot be of the Undead type

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1 +1 +2 +2 +0 Turn Undead, Unlock the Soul
2 +2 +3 +3 +0 Pure Soul
3 +3 +3 +3 +1 Life Sense, Life Charge
4 +4 +4 +4 +1 Channel the Oversoul
5 +5 +4 +4 +1 Manifest the True Soul
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Jump, Knowledge (The planes), Knowledge (Religion), Spellcraft, Swim, and Tumble.

Why good reflex save? This class strikes me as a class that would have a good will save.

Turn Undead (Su): Levels of Champion of Souls stacks with any class that grants the ability to turn undead for determining your effective cleric level. If you do not have the ability to turn undead, you gain the ability to turn undead as a cleric of your Champion of Souls level. In either case, you do not need a holy/unholy symbol to use this ability.

Ok

Unlock the Soul (Su): A Champion of souls has a powerful connection to the Birthplace of Souls, and gains the ability to channel positive energy through her body, often manifesting visually as currents of energy or sudden body spasms. As a swift action, the Champion of souls may open the passage between her soul and the collective souls on the Positive energy plane. She gains 1 positive level (described below).
At the start of her next turn, the Champion of Souls gains another positive level, stacking with the positive level she gained when first activating this ability. On each subsequent round, the Champion of souls gains an additional positive level.
Channeling power straight from the Birthplace of Souls is risky business, however, and a Champion of souls cannot easily stop the energy once it begins flowing. The Champion must make a Fortitude save (DC15 + twice the number of positive levels the Champion currently has) to close the passage; doing so purges all the positive levels from the Champion and stops her from gaining any more until she activates the ability again.
If a Champion of souls gains a number of positive levels equal to ½ her Constitution score, she must make a Fortitude save (same DC as above) to purge the positive levels from her body. Success indicates that the levels are purged; if the save fails, the positive levels become too much for the Champion to bear. On the turn she fails the save, the Champion gains a +10 bonus on attack and damage rolls, a +20 foot bonus to all her speeds, and Damage Reduction 10/-. She may take actions as normal, if capable. On her initiative count on the next round, the Champion explodes terrifically, dealing 1d6 points of damage per HD to all creatures in a radius of 5 feet per HD. Her body is destroyed completely, as the Disintegrate spell, even if the Champion of souls is immune to disintegration effects.

Wicked. I especially like what happens when you fail with your saving throw.

Positive Levels: Positive levels bestow a number of benefits. A creature gains a +1 competence bonus on all skill checks and ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws, and gains one effective level or Hit Die (whenever level is used in a die roll or calculation) for each positive level. A spellcaster gains one spell slot of the highest level spells he can cast and (if applicable) one prepared spell of that level. These persist until the positive level goes away.
Ok. Are the hitpoints gained considered temporary hitpoints?

Pure Soul (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, the Champion of souls’ connection to the Birthplace of Souls deepens. As long as she possesses at least one positive level, the Champion of souls is immune to Ability Damage, Ability Drain, Death effects, and Negative Energy effects.
Ok

Life Charge (Ex): At 3rd level, the Champion of souls uses her connection to the Positive energy plane to further enhance her physical form. For every positive level the Champion of souls possesses, she gains a +1 bonus to Strength and Dexterity.
Ok

Life Sense (Su): By 3rd level, the Champion of Souls has such a deep connection to the Positive Energy plane that she can sense the positive energy in other creatures. She gains blindsense out to 30 feet as long as she has at least one Positive level. This ability cannot detect undead or constructs.
Ok

Channel the Oversoul (Su): At 4th level, your connection to the Birthplace of souls becomes so strong that you gain a tangible connection to the other living souls around you. This allows you insight into the actions of the living creatures around you. You gain an Insight bonus to your AC equal to the number of Positive levels you currently have. You do not gain this bonus against attacks by Constructs or Undead.
Ok

Manifest the True Soul (Su): At 5th level, you have learned to entirely merge your immortal soul with your mortal body, creating a powerful symbiosis. As long as you have at least one Positive level, you are considered a creature of the Outsider type (do not recalculate Hit Points, Saves, or BAB). You gain Darkvision out to 60 feet. If you are killed while in this form, a True Resurrection, Wish, or Miracle spell is required to bring you back to life.
However, your new (if temporary) existence grants you great power, as pure positive energy radiates from your form. You may make a free turning check against any undead creatures that come within 5 feet of you without expending a Turn/Rebuke attempt. Additionally, the pure soul flowing through your form grants you Fast Healing 5.
Finally, if ever you fail your Fortitude save when you gain too many Positive levels (see Unlock the Soul, above), all the given bonuses double, and your explosion deals 1d8 points of damage per Hit Die.

Me like.

Now, general comments. I like the concept very much. I also like the element of danger that is extricably intertwined with the class's most powerful, indeed only, unique ability.

What gives me pause, however, are the complications. It seems to me that every time you use Unlock the Soul, there are a hell of a lot of calculations that will have to be done (hit die, strength and dexterity and so on). Also, considering that many of those bonuses are tied to a variable (the number of positive levels), and that that variable changes over time, wouldn't it be very cumbersome to keep track of all those things?
Tuhljin
05-12-07, 03:37 PM Very interesting concept, but it seems far too easy to kill yourself. Sure, the bonuses are quite good, but the chance of dying is actually very high. Even if the character makes sure he has absurdly high Fortitude save, rolling a one is going to happen. Just to make it playable, I think you've got to lower the DC and make an exception to the rule that rolling a 1 always means failure; either that, or make it not so catastrophic to fail a single Fort save. Maybe if you fail one, you are instead granted a Concentration check or something to immediately cut off the connection to the plane, at which point you can't connect to it again for 24 hours or something. Now you might say that making it too easy to make the save (and/or skill check or whatever you might use) is bad because the bonuses from this class are so great - if that's true, then the bonuses will have to be reevaluated because superb bonuses can almost never justify guaranteed imminent character disintegration, no matter how great they are..

All that said, I really do like the class concept; I just think you shouldn't punish the unlucky rollers of 1s so harshly and the Fort DC itself might be too high - at least, it is if disintegration is the consequence of failure.
Wall
05-13-07, 10:31 AM Why good reflex save? This class strikes me as a class that would have a good will save.

It doesn't have a... oh, huh, so it does. Thanks for pointing that out, I'll edit it momentarily.

Ok. Are the hitpoints gained considered temporary hitpoints?

No.

Now, general comments. I like the concept very much. I also like the element of danger that is extricably intertwined with the class's most powerful, indeed only, unique ability.

What gives me pause, however, are the complications. It seems to me that every time you use Unlock the Soul, there are a hell of a lot of calculations that will have to be done (hit die, strength and dexterity and so on). Also, considering that many of those bonuses are tied to a variable (the number of positive levels), and that that variable changes over time, wouldn't it be very cumbersome to keep track of all those things?

I suppose it would take a lot of paperwork... can you suggest anything that would help remedy that?

Very interesting concept, but it seems far too easy to kill yourself. Sure, the bonuses are quite good, but the chance of dying is actually very high. Even if the character makes sure he has absurdly high Fortitude save, rolling a one is going to happen. Just to make it playable, I think you've got to lower the DC and make an exception to the rule that rolling a 1 always means failure; either that, or make it not so catastrophic to fail a single Fort save. Maybe if you fail one, you are instead granted a Concentration check or something to immediately cut off the connection to the plane, at which point you can't connect to it again for 24 hours or something. Now you might say that making it too easy to make the save (and/or skill check or whatever you might use) is bad because the bonuses from this class are so great - if that's true, then the bonuses will have to be reevaluated because superb bonuses can almost never justify guaranteed imminent character disintegration, no matter how great they are..

All that said, I really do like the class concept; I just think you shouldn't punish the unlucky rollers of 1s so harshly and the Fort DC itself might be too high - at least, it is if disintegration is the consequence of failure.

You make some very good points there; this is why I like bringing these things to the board. I will make sure to remedy the "Natural-1-Instant-Failure" Situation. What if I granted a class feature at about, oh, second? that would make it so that you do not fail a Fortitude save on a roll of 1 in any situation? You'd still have 1 level of great danger, but then the class feature is just useful in general.

Now, about the save. The DC looks ridiculous, I know. But the class A) a good Fort save, and B) gains a +1 bonus on saves per Positive level. But still, that's 15 + 1 per round that you use the ability. However, I'm going to assume you took that into account and that the DC is still too high. So should the base DC be lowered to 10?

Or, perhaps, the DC could stay the same, and something else would happen. Maybe the overflow of life happens over a longer time, and the character enters an uncontrollable frenzy with increasing bonuses. Each round of the frenzy, the character gains the chance to make another Fort save to purge the levels. Once the period of Frenzy is over, the character gains one final Fort save before BOOM.

A second option might be this: if you reach a number of Positive levels equal to 1/2 your Con score, you must make a Fortitude save. If you succeed, the Positive levels are purged with no penalty. If you fail, you purge the Positive levels, but you gain a number of Negative levels equal to the number of Positive levels you had. If you gain a number of Negative levels equaling or exceeding your HD, then the bonuses/death happen.

Thank you both for commenting!
Wall
05-21-07, 07:07 PM First and last bump.

Please?
neilthrun
05-21-07, 08:22 PM This class could be deadly with the final strike feat from savage species. Now all you would need is an easy way to resurrect yourself. Contingent true res or something.
Paradox_of_Life
10-01-07, 09:20 PM Wouldn't a construct (such as warforged --> Juggernaut) be able to bypass it?
bkdubs123
10-02-07, 12:07 AM The concept is very nice. The unlock the soul ability is strange in its drawback, however.

Everything else about the class looks nice, so I'll suggest, after reading the posts that you go with a gradual frenzy rather than a single round deathfest.

If you fail against the positive level overload you enter a state of frenzy lasting a number of rounds equal to the number of positive levels you have. Each round you lose a positive level and have to make an increasingly difficult save. At the end of the frenzy you go KABOOM! Now that frenzy might be a tad too long, and the particulars about how it works would have to be worked out (I'm thinking a mindless killfest sort of Frenzied Berserker thing, but that's just me), but it would work a lot better than the current save or YOU die class feature.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Wall 05-12-07, 10:19 AM	Okay, so here's a weird one. It is an updated/streamlined version of the Light Enforcer I came up with a long while ago and absolutely hated; this one I like more. So please, all comments welcome, good or bad. Ahem Much like a sorcerer exploring his bloodline, Champions of the Soul have taken an interest in a cosmically larger heritage: the Bastion of Souls, the genesis of all living creatures. Their connection to this raging super-nova of life increases as their knowledge does, transforming the scholar into a true guardian of all that lives. Prerequisites: Skills: Knowledge (The Planes) 9 ranks OR Knowledge (Religion) 9 ranks Special: Cannot have the ability to Rebuke Undead, cannot be of the Undead type Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1 +1 +2 +0 +2 Turn Undead, Unlock the Soul 2 +2 +3 +0 +3 Pure Soul, Surge of Life 3 +3 +3 +1 +3 Life Sense, Life Charge 4 +4 +4 +1 +4 Channel the Oversoul 5 +5 +4 +1 +4 Manifest the True Soul Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Jump, Knowledge (The planes), Knowledge (Religion), Spellcraft, Swim, and Tumble. Turn Undead (Su): Levels of Champion of Souls stacks with any class that grants the ability to turn undead for determining your effective cleric level. If you do not have the ability to turn undead, you gain the ability to turn undead as a cleric of your Champion of Souls level. In either case, you do not need a holy/unholy symbol to use this ability. Unlock the Soul (Su): A Champion of souls has a powerful connection to the Birthplace of Souls, and gains the ability to channel positive energy through her body, often manifesting visually as currents of energy or sudden body spasms. As a swift action, the Champion of souls may open the passage between her soul and the collective souls on the Positive energy plane. She gains 1 positive level (described below). At the start of her next turn, the Champion of Souls gains another positive level, stacking with the positive level she gained when first activating this ability. On each subsequent round, the Champion of souls gains an additional positive level. Channeling power straight from the Birthplace of Souls is risky business, however, and a Champion of souls cannot easily stop the energy once it begins flowing. The Champion must make a Fortitude save (DC15 + twice the number of positive levels the Champion currently has) to close the passage; doing so purges all the positive levels from the Champion and stops her from gaining any more until she activates the ability again. If a Champion of souls gains a number of positive levels equal to ½ her Constitution score, she must make a Fortitude save (same DC as above) to purge the positive levels from her body. Success indicates that the levels are purged; if the save fails, the positive levels become too much for the Champion to bear. On the turn she fails the save, the Champion gains a +10 bonus on attack and damage rolls, a +20 foot bonus to all her speeds, and Damage Reduction 10/-. She may take actions as normal, if capable. On her initiative count on the next round, the Champion explodes terrifically, dealing 1d6 points of damage per HD to all creatures in a radius of 5 feet per HD. Her body is destroyed completely, as the Disintegrate spell, even if the Champion of souls is immune to disintegration effects. Positive Levels: Positive levels bestow a number of benefits. A creature gains a +1 competence bonus on all skill checks and ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws, and gains one effective level or Hit Die (whenever level is used in a die roll or calculation) for each positive level. A spellcaster gains one spell slot of the highest level spells he can cast and (if applicable) one prepared spell of that level. These persist until the positive level goes away. Pure Soul (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, the Champion of souls’ connection to the Birthplace of Souls deepens. As long as she possesses at least one positive level, the Champion of souls is immune to Ability Damage, Ability Drain, Death effects, and Negative Energy effects. Surge of Life (Ex): Also at 2nd level, the spiritual power of the Champion of Souls begins to infuse her body with vitality. As long as she has at least one positive level, the Champion does not automatically fail a Fortitude save on a roll of 1. Life Charge (Ex): At 3rd level, the Champion of souls uses her connection to the Positive energy plane to further enhance her physical form. For every positive level the Champion of souls possesses, she gains a +1 bonus to Strength and Dexterity. Life Sense (Su): By 3rd level, the Champion of Souls has such a deep connection to the Positive Energy plane that she can sense the positive energy in other creatures. She gains blindsense out to 30 feet as long as she has at least one Positive level. This ability cannot detect undead or constructs. Channel the Oversoul (Su): At 4th level, your connection to the Birthplace of souls becomes so strong that you gain a tangible connection to the other living souls around you. This allows you insight into the actions of the living creatures around you. You gain an Insight bonus to your AC equal to the number of Positive levels you currently have. You do not gain this bonus against attacks by Constructs or Undead. Manifest the True Soul (Su): At 5th level, you have learned to entirely merge your immortal soul with your mortal body, creating a powerful symbiosis. As long as you have at least one Positive level, you are considered a creature of the Outsider type (do not recalculate Hit Points, Saves, or BAB). You gain Darkvision out to 60 feet. If you are killed while in this form, a True Resurrection, Wish, or Miracle spell is required to bring you back to life. However, your new (if temporary) existence grants you great power, as pure positive energy radiates from your form. You may make a free turning check against any undead creatures that come within 5 feet of you without expending a Turn/Rebuke attempt. Additionally, the pure soul flowing through your form grants you Fast Healing 5. Finally, if ever you fail your Fortitude save when you gain too many Positive levels (see Unlock the Soul, above), all the given bonuses double, and your explosion deals 1d8 points of damage per Hit Die.
Daidalos 05-12-07, 11:08 AM	Okay, so here's a weird one. It is an updated/streamlined version of the Light Enforcer I came up with a long while ago and absolutely hated; this one I like more. So please, all comments welcome, good or bad. Ahem Much like a sorcerer exploring his bloodline, Champions of the Soul have taken an interest in a cosmically larger heritage: the Bastion of Souls, the genesis of all living creatures. Their connection to this raging super-nova of life increases as their knowledge does, transforming the scholar into a true guardian of all that lives. Interesting. Bodes well. Prerequisites: Skills: Knowledge (The Planes) 9 ranks OR Knowledge (Religion) 9 ranks Special: Cannot have the ability to Rebuke Undead, cannot be of the Undead type Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1 +1 +2 +2 +0 Turn Undead, Unlock the Soul 2 +2 +3 +3 +0 Pure Soul 3 +3 +3 +3 +1 Life Sense, Life Charge 4 +4 +4 +4 +1 Channel the Oversoul 5 +5 +4 +4 +1 Manifest the True Soul Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Jump, Knowledge (The planes), Knowledge (Religion), Spellcraft, Swim, and Tumble. Why good reflex save? This class strikes me as a class that would have a good will save. Turn Undead (Su): Levels of Champion of Souls stacks with any class that grants the ability to turn undead for determining your effective cleric level. If you do not have the ability to turn undead, you gain the ability to turn undead as a cleric of your Champion of Souls level. In either case, you do not need a holy/unholy symbol to use this ability. Ok Unlock the Soul (Su): A Champion of souls has a powerful connection to the Birthplace of Souls, and gains the ability to channel positive energy through her body, often manifesting visually as currents of energy or sudden body spasms. As a swift action, the Champion of souls may open the passage between her soul and the collective souls on the Positive energy plane. She gains 1 positive level (described below). At the start of her next turn, the Champion of Souls gains another positive level, stacking with the positive level she gained when first activating this ability. On each subsequent round, the Champion of souls gains an additional positive level. Channeling power straight from the Birthplace of Souls is risky business, however, and a Champion of souls cannot easily stop the energy once it begins flowing. The Champion must make a Fortitude save (DC15 + twice the number of positive levels the Champion currently has) to close the passage; doing so purges all the positive levels from the Champion and stops her from gaining any more until she activates the ability again. If a Champion of souls gains a number of positive levels equal to ½ her Constitution score, she must make a Fortitude save (same DC as above) to purge the positive levels from her body. Success indicates that the levels are purged; if the save fails, the positive levels become too much for the Champion to bear. On the turn she fails the save, the Champion gains a +10 bonus on attack and damage rolls, a +20 foot bonus to all her speeds, and Damage Reduction 10/-. She may take actions as normal, if capable. On her initiative count on the next round, the Champion explodes terrifically, dealing 1d6 points of damage per HD to all creatures in a radius of 5 feet per HD. Her body is destroyed completely, as the Disintegrate spell, even if the Champion of souls is immune to disintegration effects. Wicked. I especially like what happens when you fail with your saving throw. Positive Levels: Positive levels bestow a number of benefits. A creature gains a +1 competence bonus on all skill checks and ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws, and gains one effective level or Hit Die (whenever level is used in a die roll or calculation) for each positive level. A spellcaster gains one spell slot of the highest level spells he can cast and (if applicable) one prepared spell of that level. These persist until the positive level goes away. Ok. Are the hitpoints gained considered temporary hitpoints? Pure Soul (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, the Champion of souls’ connection to the Birthplace of Souls deepens. As long as she possesses at least one positive level, the Champion of souls is immune to Ability Damage, Ability Drain, Death effects, and Negative Energy effects. Ok Life Charge (Ex): At 3rd level, the Champion of souls uses her connection to the Positive energy plane to further enhance her physical form. For every positive level the Champion of souls possesses, she gains a +1 bonus to Strength and Dexterity. Ok Life Sense (Su): By 3rd level, the Champion of Souls has such a deep connection to the Positive Energy plane that she can sense the positive energy in other creatures. She gains blindsense out to 30 feet as long as she has at least one Positive level. This ability cannot detect undead or constructs. Ok Channel the Oversoul (Su): At 4th level, your connection to the Birthplace of souls becomes so strong that you gain a tangible connection to the other living souls around you. This allows you insight into the actions of the living creatures around you. You gain an Insight bonus to your AC equal to the number of Positive levels you currently have. You do not gain this bonus against attacks by Constructs or Undead. Ok Manifest the True Soul (Su): At 5th level, you have learned to entirely merge your immortal soul with your mortal body, creating a powerful symbiosis. As long as you have at least one Positive level, you are considered a creature of the Outsider type (do not recalculate Hit Points, Saves, or BAB). You gain Darkvision out to 60 feet. If you are killed while in this form, a True Resurrection, Wish, or Miracle spell is required to bring you back to life. However, your new (if temporary) existence grants you great power, as pure positive energy radiates from your form. You may make a free turning check against any undead creatures that come within 5 feet of you without expending a Turn/Rebuke attempt. Additionally, the pure soul flowing through your form grants you Fast Healing 5. Finally, if ever you fail your Fortitude save when you gain too many Positive levels (see Unlock the Soul, above), all the given bonuses double, and your explosion deals 1d8 points of damage per Hit Die. Me like. Now, general comments. I like the concept very much. I also like the element of danger that is extricably intertwined with the class's most powerful, indeed only, unique ability. What gives me pause, however, are the complications. It seems to me that every time you use Unlock the Soul, there are a hell of a lot of calculations that will have to be done (hit die, strength and dexterity and so on). Also, considering that many of those bonuses are tied to a variable (the number of positive levels), and that that variable changes over time, wouldn't it be very cumbersome to keep track of all those things?
Tuhljin 05-12-07, 03:37 PM	Very interesting concept, but it seems far too easy to kill yourself. Sure, the bonuses are quite good, but the chance of dying is actually very high. Even if the character makes sure he has absurdly high Fortitude save, rolling a one is going to happen. Just to make it playable, I think you've got to lower the DC and make an exception to the rule that rolling a 1 always means failure; either that, or make it not so catastrophic to fail a single Fort save. Maybe if you fail one, you are instead granted a Concentration check or something to immediately cut off the connection to the plane, at which point you can't connect to it again for 24 hours or something. Now you might say that making it too easy to make the save (and/or skill check or whatever you might use) is bad because the bonuses from this class are so great - if that's true, then the bonuses will have to be reevaluated because superb bonuses can almost never justify guaranteed imminent character disintegration, no matter how great they are.. All that said, I really do like the class concept; I just think you shouldn't punish the unlucky rollers of 1s so harshly and the Fort DC itself might be too high - at least, it is if disintegration is the consequence of failure.
Wall 05-13-07, 10:31 AM	Why good reflex save? This class strikes me as a class that would have a good will save. It doesn't have a... oh, huh, so it does. Thanks for pointing that out, I'll edit it momentarily. Ok. Are the hitpoints gained considered temporary hitpoints? No. Now, general comments. I like the concept very much. I also like the element of danger that is extricably intertwined with the class's most powerful, indeed only, unique ability. What gives me pause, however, are the complications. It seems to me that every time you use Unlock the Soul, there are a hell of a lot of calculations that will have to be done (hit die, strength and dexterity and so on). Also, considering that many of those bonuses are tied to a variable (the number of positive levels), and that that variable changes over time, wouldn't it be very cumbersome to keep track of all those things? I suppose it would take a lot of paperwork... can you suggest anything that would help remedy that? Very interesting concept, but it seems far too easy to kill yourself. Sure, the bonuses are quite good, but the chance of dying is actually very high. Even if the character makes sure he has absurdly high Fortitude save, rolling a one is going to happen. Just to make it playable, I think you've got to lower the DC and make an exception to the rule that rolling a 1 always means failure; either that, or make it not so catastrophic to fail a single Fort save. Maybe if you fail one, you are instead granted a Concentration check or something to immediately cut off the connection to the plane, at which point you can't connect to it again for 24 hours or something. Now you might say that making it too easy to make the save (and/or skill check or whatever you might use) is bad because the bonuses from this class are so great - if that's true, then the bonuses will have to be reevaluated because superb bonuses can almost never justify guaranteed imminent character disintegration, no matter how great they are.. All that said, I really do like the class concept; I just think you shouldn't punish the unlucky rollers of 1s so harshly and the Fort DC itself might be too high - at least, it is if disintegration is the consequence of failure. You make some very good points there; this is why I like bringing these things to the board. I will make sure to remedy the "Natural-1-Instant-Failure" Situation. What if I granted a class feature at about, oh, second? that would make it so that you do not fail a Fortitude save on a roll of 1 in any situation? You'd still have 1 level of great danger, but then the class feature is just useful in general. Now, about the save. The DC looks ridiculous, I know. But the class A) a good Fort save, and B) gains a +1 bonus on saves per Positive level. But still, that's 15 + 1 per round that you use the ability. However, I'm going to assume you took that into account and that the DC is still too high. So should the base DC be lowered to 10? Or, perhaps, the DC could stay the same, and something else would happen. Maybe the overflow of life happens over a longer time, and the character enters an uncontrollable frenzy with increasing bonuses. Each round of the frenzy, the character gains the chance to make another Fort save to purge the levels. Once the period of Frenzy is over, the character gains one final Fort save before BOOM. A second option might be this: if you reach a number of Positive levels equal to 1/2 your Con score, you must make a Fortitude save. If you succeed, the Positive levels are purged with no penalty. If you fail, you purge the Positive levels, but you gain a number of Negative levels equal to the number of Positive levels you had. If you gain a number of Negative levels equaling or exceeding your HD, then the bonuses/death happen. Thank you both for commenting!
Wall 05-21-07, 07:07 PM	First and last bump. Please?
neilthrun 05-21-07, 08:22 PM	This class could be deadly with the final strike feat from savage species. Now all you would need is an easy way to resurrect yourself. Contingent true res or something.
Paradox_of_Life 10-01-07, 09:20 PM	Wouldn't a construct (such as warforged --> Juggernaut) be able to bypass it?
bkdubs123 10-02-07, 12:07 AM	The concept is very nice. The unlock the soul ability is strange in its drawback, however. Everything else about the class looks nice, so I'll suggest, after reading the posts that you go with a gradual frenzy rather than a single round deathfest. If you fail against the positive level overload you enter a state of frenzy lasting a number of rounds equal to the number of positive levels you have. Each round you lose a positive level and have to make an increasingly difficult save. At the end of the frenzy you go KABOOM! Now that frenzy might be a tad too long, and the particulars about how it works would have to be worked out (I'm thinking a mindless killfest sort of Frenzied Berserker thing, but that's just me), but it would work a lot better than the current save or YOU die class feature.