Post/Author/DateTime	Post
BrutishCelt 05-09-07, 03:28 PM	Well, I've developed a fondness for the warlock base class, but I'm a bit dissapointed that the majority of the PrC support for it lay in the realm of caster-oriented classes. Well, I think that I may have rectified that problem by developing a variant of the Eldritch Knight prestige class tentatively dubbed the "Hellheart Knight." Please be kind whilst you tear it apart. I tried to make up for what I saw as the shortcomings of the Eldritch Knight PrC by giving the Hellheart 3 bonus fighter feats instead of just the one, and giving the Hellheart the Will progression of the warlock. I think that the 3 feats, instead of special abilities, allow the player to create a more versatile, personalized character without unbalancing the class. This supports the spirit of the individuality of the warlock class, in my opinion. Warlock Prestige Class: Hellheart Knight Markas swore as his greatsword shattered against the archmage’s shielding spell. The red-robed man cackled madly, hovering in the air above the man in dark armor. “Fool! Your pathetic steel is no match for my magic! Look now upon your death, warrior, and know the price of your folly! With the least of my spells I shall. . .GYAH!!” Pain masked the archmage’s features as his shielding spell fractured and lines of eldritch flame tore at his flesh, shattering his guardian enchantments and sending the mighty wizard crashing into the stone beneath him. Markas smiled grimly as he stood over the gasping archmage. “Fool, old man? You’re the fool for not knowing just who you’re dealing with. I’ll be taking the Scepter of Arkanor, now.” Eldritch power flickered around Markas’ eyes and hands, and the archmage knew fear. More than just a student of the sword, the hellheart knight trains his blood-borne powers and martial skills in order to become a versatile combatant, able to face mystical or martial challenges with equal skill. With greater physical prowess than the typical warlock, and with greater force of will than the typical warrior, the hellheart knight combines the strengths of both disciplines into a formidable whole. While every hellheart knight has levels in warlock, the typical entrant into the class has training as either a fighter or – amongst the more brutal races – as a barbarian. Urban-born warlocks may find the path of the swashbuckler more to their liking. Ranger-trained hellheart knights are rare, and paladin hellheart knights only exist if the paladin of freedom option is available. Requirements To qualify for the hellheart knight prestige class, a character must meet the following prerequisites: Weapon Proficiency: Must be proficient with all martial weapons. Invocations: Ability to use least invocations, including hideous blow Special: eldritch blast 3d6 Class Features Invocations: At second level, and each level thereafter, the hellheart knight gains new invocations known and an increase in caster level as if he had gained a level in an invocation-using class to which he belonged before adopting the prestige class. This includes his eldritch blast. The character does not, however, gain any other abilities [such as fiendish resilience or damage reduction]. Bonus Feat: At 1st, 5th, and 9th level, the hellheart knight gains a bonus feat. This feat may either be drawn from the bonus feats available to a fighter or the hellheart knight may select the Extra Invocation feat. The knight must still meet all prerequisites for the feats, however. Born for Battle: At 3rd level, the hellheart knight learns to cast his invocations effectively while wearing heavier armor. He now ignores the spell failure chance from Medium armor. Hellheart Wrath: At 2nd level, the hellheart knight learns to channel his eldritch blast into his melee attacks more adeptly. He gains the Hellheart Wrath ability, which allows him to use the full attack action to apply the effects of his hideous blow invocation to every melee attack made during that action. Damage Reduction: Bolstered by the eldritch energies flowing through his being, the hellheart knight's damage reduction continues to improve. His DR increases by 1 at 4th level and again at 8th level. Immaculate Invocation: Due to his extensive combat training, the hellheart knight has learned to summon his innate powers without leaving himself open to attack from melee opponents. At 2nd level he can choose a number of invocations equal to his Charisma bonus that he may cast without provoking attacks of opportunity. At 4th level and each even numbered level afterwards he can add another invocation to this list. The Hellheart Knight Hit Die: d8 Lvl BAB Fort Ref Will Special Invoking 1st +1 +2 +0 +2 Bonus Feat - 2nd +2 +3 +0 +3 Hellheart Wrath, Imm. Invoc +1 level of existing invoking class 3rd +3 +3 +1 +3 Born For Battle +1 level of existing invoking class 4th +4 +4 +1 +4 DR +1, Immaculate Invoke +1 level of existing invoking class 5th +5 +4 +1 +4 Bonus Feat +1 level of existing invoking class 6th +6 +5 +2 +5 Immaculate Invoke +1 level of existing invoking class 7th +7 +5 +2 +5 +1 level of existing invoking class 8th +8 +6 +2 +6 DR +1, Immaculate Invoke +1 level of existing invoking class 9th +9 +6 +3 +6 Bonus Feat +1 level of existing invoking class 10th +10 +7 +3 +7 Immaculate Invoke +1 level of existing invoking class Class Skills: Bluff [cha], Concentration [con], Craft [int], Handle Animal [cha], Intimidate [cha], Ride [dex], Sense Motive [wis], Spellcraft [int] Skill Points/ Level: 2 + Int modifier Well, there you have it. Take a minute and tell me what you think. I'd like to get a working model to try out in a planescape campaign so I can make a play for dominance of a layer or two of the Abyss. Mad props to Tuhljin for the secrets of the code! [Edit] Tweaked the class a bit more. Made Hellheart Wrath available at 2nd level, removed Born For Battle [Heavy]. Removed Steady Concentration, added ability to cast invocations without provoking AoOs, and added the option of selecting the Extra Invocation feat in addition to fighter bonus feats.
forsaken1111 05-09-07, 04:01 PM	Looks fine to me. The bonus feats might be a bit much, but the eldritch knight IS really damn boring.
Tuhljin 05-09-07, 05:05 PM	Here's your table. Click the "Quote" button and you can see the code for yourself and alter it as need be. The Hellheart Knight Hit Die: d8 Lvl BAB Fort Ref Will Special Invoking 1st +1 +2 +0 +2 Bonus Feat - 2nd +2 +3 +0 +3 +1 level of existing invoking class 3rd +3 +3 +1 +3 +1 level of existing invoking class 4th +4 +4 +1 +4 +1 level of existing invoking class 5th +5 +4 +1 +4 Bonus Feat +1 level of existing invoking class 6th +6 +5 +2 +5 +1 level of existing invoking class 7th +7 +5 +2 +5 +1 level of existing invoking class 8th +8 +6 +2 +6 +1 level of existing invoking class 9th +9 +6 +3 +6 Bonus Feat +1 level of existing invoking class 10th +10 +7 +3 +7 +1 level of existing invoking class
Khatoblepas 05-09-07, 07:38 PM	It's a little.. um... bland. It advances full BAB and Invocations - two things that are mostly mutually exclusive (Invocations generally do not have iterative attacks, apart from the Glaive. Is it even possible to just attack once with it?) This class is pretty weak, considering. It has very few class features and NO capstone ability! =o What about some abilities that lets it use invocations without provoking attacks of opportunity (up to Lesser, or Greater)? Or the ability to use Invocations in heavier armor! Or the ability to channel an invocation through a weapon, similar to channeling a spell through a sword? (Channeled Dispel Magic sword hackings ftw). Or if you don't like any of those, Warlocks never suffer from getting extra Invocations. Extra special, exclusive invocations available only to those who take this class.
BrutishCelt 05-09-07, 08:20 PM	Well, let's see how it looks with the addition of those abilities.
Flay Crimsonwind 05-09-07, 11:50 PM	Looks fine to me. Now finally a great way to make a warlock use hideous blow. But........ iono, but the capstone ability seems somewhat...... disappointing. I like it, but it's sort of anticlimactic.
MagnaSecuris 05-10-07, 12:25 AM	Weak. He can only use Hideous Blow with a full attack as a capstone ability? That's at level 16? 17? That's way too late for this to be effective. He's had multiple attacks for a long time. And why did you call this an invocation? It's a class ability. It needs no such description. Also, the Fighter-only feats aren't really missing out on anything. So Martial Training can be dropped. You've really only got a couple levels of abilities stretched over 10 levels of prc. Drop the heavy armor casting (leave it at medium), replace one bonus feat with a real class ability*, and compress it to five levels. *I would suggest that at level 2 he be able to follow a hideous blow with the rest of his full attack, then give Born For Battle at three. And I would make a list of invocations that no longer cause AoOs.
Khatoblepas 05-11-07, 07:44 AM	Yes! Much, much better. It's got potential! ^^ It still has no capstone ability, though...
Flay Crimsonwind 05-13-07, 03:08 AM	Meh, I like Imaculate invocation (labeled as imaculate invoke on the table, FYI), and I thinkthat the class has awesome potential. Definetly infinitely better than the first version. I'd actually like taking this class quite a bit as such: Warlock 6 / Fighter 1 / Hellfire Warlock 3 / Hellheart Knight 10 BaB +17, Invoke as lv 19, plus hellfire and great melee capability. Whilst it isn't too powerful in itself, it gives great potential to a more melee orientated warlock; I'm definetly interested in using this class sometime, thank you! I actually think that any form of capstone might overpower it a bit...... I like it. 9.5/10