Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Traverse 06-22-07, 10:14 AM	http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/1790/beholdenye6.jpg This is my attempt at a high buff, strategy PrC with some unique abilities thrown in. This is also my first posted custom class, so... The beholden has a unique role. Few yet strong exposures to psionics have caused a growth in these strange powers that many other psionic characters would consider wrong or even dangerous. Beholden use their physical strengths to shape their powers, overcoming their foes with surprise and great force. Becoming a Beholden To qualify to become a beholden, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Base Attack Bonus: +5 Skills: Concentration 6 ranks. Feats: Wild Talent Special: Must have had a near death experience related to psionics. Potential beholden must not have a manifester level or be able to manifest powers. Game Rule Information Beholden have the following game statistics. Abilities: Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution can be the most important abilities for a beholden, depending upon her class choices. Alignment: Any. Hit Die: D8 Class Skills The beholden’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Jump (Str), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Search (Int), and Swim (Str). In addition, a beholden gains access to additional class skills based on her potential reality: Brocard (Eudemonism): Bluff (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Psicraft (Int). Kineticist (Autokinesis): Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), and Tumble (Dex). Crux (Modifoci): Autohypnosis (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Use Psionic Device (Cha). Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int modifier Level BAB Fort Reflex Will Special Powers Power Level 1st +1 0 0 2 Potential Reality 1 1st 2nd +2 0 0 3 Bonus Feat 2 1st 3rd +3 1 1 3 Psionic Meditation 3 1st 4th +4 1 1 4 Bonus Feat 4 2nd 5th +5 1 1 4 Meditative Movements 6 2nd 6th +6 2 2 5 Blurred Reality I 7 2nd 7th +7 2 2 5 Bonus Feat 8 3rd 8th +8 2 2 6 Blurred Reality II 9 3rd 9th +9 3 3 6 Bonus Feat 10 3rd 10th +10 3 3 7 Blurred Reality III 12 4th Class Features All of the following are class features of the beholden. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Beholden gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor. Power Points/Day: A beholden’s ability to manifest powers is limited by the power points she has available. Her base daily allotment of power points is dependent upon her chosen ability score(see Potential Reality ability description for the stat to be used for applying power points). She receives more power points if she has a high ability score. Her race may also provide bonus power points per day, as may certain class abilities, feats, and items. Unlike most psionic classes, a beholden's power points are gained in the same manner as their hit points, and are always in a state of flux. A beholden's maximum power points are equal to their (Bhdn Level)x(* Modifier), where '*' is one-half, rounded down, of their chosen ability score. In the case of a 1, count the modifier as a 1. Due to the way they receive their power points, a beholden also restores them in a different manner. For each hour of non-exertive activities (resting, walking, riding at normal speed) a beholden recovers 1/7 of their power pool, rounded down(see Appendix A for divisions below 7). If a beholden is fatigued, they only recover power points at half rate, and if exhausted they regain no PP at all until they rest. Only power points earned by the beholden's class progression are replenished in this manner; all points gained elsewhere are recovered in the standard way. Potential Reality: Not all psionic ability is granted by the mind. Every beholden must decide at 1st level which potential reality she is slave to. Choosing a reality provides a beholden with access to the class skills associated with that reality (see above), as well as which ability score a beholden applies to her powers and class abilities. The post a beholden assumes with her chosen reality also grants her the following psi-like abilities per day. Each ability gains an extra usage every three levels. These abilities can be augmented, though standard augmenting rules apply. These abilities can only be used when psionically focused. Eudemonism 1st: Mind Thrust 4th: Concussion Blast 7th: Crisis of Breath Autokinesis 1st: Skate 4th: Recall Agony 7th: Time Hop Modifoci 1st: Energy Ray 4th: Energy Missile 7th: Telekinetic Thrust Powers Known: A beholden chooses her powers from the psychic warrior power list. At 1st level, a beholden begins play knowing one beholden power of your choice. Each time she achieves a new level, she unlocks the knowledge of new powers. Choose the powers known from the beholden power list, or from the list of powers of your chosen reality. (Exception: The feats Expanded Knowledge and Epic Expanded Knowledge do allow a beholden to learn powers from the lists of other disciplines or even other classes.) A beholden can manifest any power that has a power point cost equal to or lower than her manifester level. The number of times a beholden can manifest powers in a day is limited only by her power points. A beholden simply knows her powers; they are ingrained in her mind. She does not need to prepare them (in the way that some spellcasters prepare their spells), though she must rest for a long time to regain all her spent power points. The Difficulty Class for saving throws against beholden powers is 10 + the power’s level + the beholden’s chosen ability modifier. Maximum Power Level Known: A beholden begins play with the ability to learn 1st-level powers. As she attains higher levels, a beholden may gain the ability to master more complex powers. To learn or manifest a power, a beholden must have a score in her chosen ability of at least 10 + the power’s level. Bonus Feat: At 2nd level, a beholden gains a bonus feat. The beholden gains an additional bonus feat at 4th, 7th, and 9th). Beholden can only take a fighter bonus feat or psionic feat. Psionic Meditation (Ex): A beholden gains Psionic Meditation as a bonus feat at 3th level even if she does not qualify for the feat. Meditative Movements (Ex): Due due to her constant meditative state a beholden can gain faster ease of thought than other psionic classes. Starting at 5th level the DC for gaining Psionic Focus is 10 instead of 20. Blurred Reality: On attaining 6th level the beholden gains a special ability based on her chosen reality. This ability improves at 8th level and again at 10th level. Eudemonism Combustive Metaethics (Ex): By focusing their strength, brocards can easily overpower even the most experienced foes. When activating this ability the beholden gains 2 virtual manifester levels and 2 extra levels worth of temporary power points. This ability lasts for a number of rounds equal the beholden's class level. Psionic focus is expended when this ability is finished, and can not be regained for 1d4 hours. Any extra temporary power points left when this ability is finished are lost. II: At 8th level you gain 4 virtual manifester levels and 4 levels of temporary power points. III: At 10th level you gain 8 virtual manifester levels and 8 levels of temporary power points. Autokinesis Subspace Activation (Ex): Autokineticists can move at a blinding speed, activating extra powers in the tears the cause with their movement. You can expend your psionic focus to use any known power in place of or as part of a move action. This ability cannot be used if you are fatigued. Using powers with this ability still provokes an Attack of Opportunity. II: At 8th level you can expend your psionic focus to use any power as a swift action. III: At 10th level this ability no longer provokes an Attack of Opportunity. Modifoci Realized Biocenter (Ex): Servants of this reality attain near-perfect level of perfect focus. While psionically focused crux gain a +1 insight bonus on attack rolls and saves. II: At 8th level the insight bonus from psionic focus improves to +2. In addition, a crux of this level can achieve psionic focus even without any power points. III: At 10th level the insight bonus from psionic focus improves to +3. A beholden of this reality has reached the peak of meditation, and now never loses psionic focus. If any condition causes the crux to lose focus, it is regained 1d4 rounds after recovering from the condition. One ability or feat that requires the beholden to expend their focus can be used per round, but does not expend focus. Potential Realities Eudemonism (STR): A beholden who chooses the reality of eudemonism is known as a brocard. She is the master of wills and control of other sentient creatures. A brocard destroy the mind as well as body of her enemies with ease. Autokinesis (DEX): A beholden who relies on the autokinesis reality is known as a autokineticist. Autokineticists use their own speed to make psionic rifts in space, moving themselves or their foes at a whim. Modifoci (CON): Beholden who give themselves to modifoci are known as crux. They are the epitome of defensive psionists, keeping their foes at bay with forceful blasts. Appendix A To be covered.
Chaos90 06-24-07, 02:54 PM	This prestige class seems pretty interesting, but there is one problem I have with it: Looking back on 3.0 psionics, being able to make your main ability score for manifesting a physical one was VERY powerful, especcially if you were making gish or something like that(also choosing con as the primary one made psions unusually good tanks for primary manifesters). So what I would recomend is making the prerequisites more specialized, and make it so that you have to be around level 10 or so(maybe 7-9). That way it balances out more without taking away from your original idea.
Traverse 06-24-07, 05:27 PM	I've tried to keep the points the beholden receives from it's ability score down, and I'd hoped that would limit it enough. I'd never read the 3.0 psionics book prior to making this PrC, but I was told that this style had been used before. And here I thought I was being original. :rolleyes: My tester character is level 11, and is in his first level of the class. Testing will obviously be slow as such, as he's part of a normal campaign, but it's the best I've got currently. He's a dwarven Crux, and his Con is 23 with the help of an amulet of health, but this still only gets him five power points to use with one power and his first psi-like ability. He came out of fighter, so he is indeed a tank. I wanted to include that Wild Talent was the only psionic feat or ability you could have prior to becoming a beholden, but I wasn't sure how to word it.
Chaos90 06-25-07, 01:48 AM	1. Don't be to worried about being original or not with this ability, as 3.0 never did it right anyway(thats why its not in 3.5). 2. I didn't really think of it like you can only enter this prestige class if you don't have other manifesting ability, that makes it a bit more reasonable, as you've got better ability score for manifesting, but not much to do with it as a trade-off. For specifically preventing manifesters from taking this prc though, maybe you could add something like this to the prerequisites: Special: A potential Beholden must not have a manifester level or be able to manifest powers. I can't remember if wild talent gives you pp and powers or just pp and ends up making you a psionic character, but I think adding that prerequisite will work if you add some fluff to back it up. 3. All in all, as long as you limit the pp they get and the powers they are able to learn to reasonable levels, it shouldnt be too bad(just be wary of players who jack up their con to the 30's and sit around all day laughing in full plate at the fighterswhy shooting rays at people).
Traverse 06-25-07, 02:07 AM	Nope, Wild Talent (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#wildTalent) doesn't give the ability to learn powers, only take psionic feats. I've added that sentence to the special requirements, thanks Chaos90. At beholden level 10 with a Con (or alternate stat) of 30 they'd have a base power point pool of 52, while a level 10 psychic warrior would 77 power points (if they managed to get a 30 Int, I think that could happen about as easily). I was thinking maybe I should also limit how they use a feat like Expanded Knowledge, but a ruling like that would feel so unwieldy. The fact that they can only access 4th level powers at level 15 or higher should be enough, I hope. I should include a stipulation with the psi-like powers that the beholden can't gain those powers by Expanded Knowledge. I'll do that in the morning.
Chaos90 06-25-07, 02:42 AM	Taking a second look at the class, I recomend this: dont bother on nerfing expanded knowlegde, b/c the most important powers for this type of character would be buff spells, which should already be on their list anyway. Also, the fact thatthey only get up to 4th level powers sort of nerfs the feat by itself anyway(I'm not syaing you should change the max power levels available though:P )