Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sorath 04-12-07, 09:51 PM	The attempt here was to revive the Specialty Priest of Kelemvor class from 2nd Edition. It was one of my most favorite characters and I have not seen a single prestige class that really covers it totally. Best I saw was parts of about 4 different ones (Hunter of the Dead, Sacred Purifier, Radiant Servant, Church Inquisitor), but not one that really struck me quite the same. Necrobanes are the bearers of the flame of purification to the undead and those who create them. They are the enemy of Necromancers and their undead minions. When the darkness of undeath creeps in on the light, it is the Necrobanes who beat it back under the gravestone from which it sprang, without mercy or fear of retribution. The Necrobanes fear nothing and there is no undead that has power to deter them from their purpose. Very often considered fanatics, they see themselves as resolute in their grim task and they do not expect people to understand their methods, but they know that the destruction of the undead and their necromantic masters is to the glory of the Sun Deities that they worship and the liberation of the innocent from certain damnation. Necromancers are in all senses viewed to be pure evil and are beyond rehabilitation and their sentence is to be immediate, without mercy, and their lifeless corpse is to be sanctified such that it can never be brought back to life or undeath. For the Necrobane, they are taught to revere life as it is a gift, aid the downtrodden and sick who cannot help themselves, heal when and who they can, but the destruction of the undead and their necromancer masters takes precedence above all since it is the number one threat to all of humanity, and they will take whatever means necessary in order to accomplish the goal. The concept of “The ends justify the means” is well accepted among the Necrobane order. They will forego all other benevolent deeds if there is an undead presence that must be eradicated. Other clerics and clergy can handle the mundane affairs, for the Necrobane knows his holy task as set forth by the Sun God he worships. Hit Die: d8 Requirements Alignment: Lawful Neutral Feats: Extra Turning, Improved Turning, Vampire Hunter Skills: Knowledge: Religion 8 ranks, Knowledge: Arcana 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks Patron Deity: Any deity with Sun in their portfolio. Special: Able to turn undead Spells: Able to cast 2nd level divine spells Class Skills The Necrobane’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int) Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier. Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Spells 1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Extra Greater Turning, Turn Undead, Bypass Damage Reduction (Weapon Type) - 2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Barrier to the Grave (+2) +1 Existing Divine Spellcasting 3rd +2 +3 +1 +3 Detect Undead +1 Existing Divine Spellcasting 4th +3 +4 +1 +4 Bypass Damage Reduction (Weapon Composition) +1 Existing Divine Spellcasting 5th +3 +4 +1 +4 Barrier to the Grave (+3) +1 Existing Divine Spellcasting 6th +4 +5 +2 +5 Sacred Strike +1 Existing Divine Spellcasting 7th +5 +5 +2 +5 Bypass Damage Reduction (Alignment) +1 Existing Divine Spellcasting 8th +6 +6 +2 +6 Barrier to the Grave (+4), Positive Energy Burst +1 Existing Divine Spellcasting 9th +6 +6 +3 +6 Bane of the Dead +1 Existing Divine Spellcasting 10th +7 +7 +3 +7 Bypass Damage Reduction (Inherent) +1 Existing Divine Spellcasting -=-=-=-=-=-=- Class Features All the following are Class Features of the Necrobane prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Necrobane is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all armor, and with all shields. Spells known / Spells per day A Necrobane gains spells known and / or spells per day at each level beyond first level just as if he increased in level in his previous divine spellcasting class, but does not gain any other class features associated with level advancement. If the Necrobane had more than 1 Divine class, he must choose which divine class to gain in spellcasting. Extra Greater Turning (Ex): A Necrobane can perform a greater turning (the granted ability of the sun domain) a number of times equal to 3 + Cha Bonus per day. Turn Undead (Sp): A Necrobane adds his class level to all other classes which grant the ability to turn undead for all purposes related to turning undead. Bypass Damage Reduction (Ex): The weapon of the Necrobane is fueled with the power of his deity and bypasses the damage reducing qualities of undead. At 1st level, a Necrobane ignores damage reduction granted to his undead enemies as related to the type of weapon damage and his weapon is considered magical, i.e. slashing/bludgeoning/magic/etc. At 4th level, a Necrobane ignores damage reduction granted to his undead enemies as related to the weapon composition, i.e. silver/adamantine/cold iron/etc. At 7th level, a Necrobane ignores damage reduction granted to his undead enemies as related to Alignment. At 10th level, a Necrobane ignores untyped damage reduction granted to his undead enemies, i.e. 10/-. Barrier to the Grave (Ex): At 2nd level, a Necrobane gains as an additional bonus on all saving throws against effects and spells used by the Undead or of the Necromancy School against him. This bonus begins at +2 and increases to +3 at 5th level, and +4 at 8th level. Detect Undead (Sp): At 3rd level, as a standard action, a Necrobane can use detect undead at will to a radius of 60’-0”. If the Necrobane concentrates for three rounds, he can determine the number of undead present. After an additional 3 rounds, he can determine the aura of power of the most powerful undead present. Sacred Strike (Su): At 6th level, a Necrobane who successfully strikes an undead in melee can spend a turning attempt as a free action to deal an extra 2d6 damage with that attack. He can deliver such sacred strikes any number of times per round, but no more than once per attack. If the Necrobane uses such an attempt against a non undead foe, that turning attempt is still lost. Positive Energy Burst (Su): At 7th level, a Necrobane as a standard action can create a positive energy burst which deals 10d6 points of damage to all undead within 50 feet of the character. Undead are allowed a Reflex save for half damage (DC equal to 10 + Necrobane class level + Cha Bonus). This Supernatural ability uses up 2 turning attempts. A Necrobane cannot use this ability if he has less than 2 turning attempts left for the day. Bane of the Dead (Sp): At 9th level, a Necrobane can, 3 times per day, invoke the ability to empower his melee attacks with the fury of his deity. The Necrobane’s weapon during the duration of this ability gains the Disruption quality and the DC for the effect is equal to 10 + Cha Bonus. The duration of this ability is equal to the Charisma bonus of the Necrobane. Thank you for any critiques you may have in advance.
Sorath 04-13-07, 02:03 PM	No comments at all? Good, bad, otherwise? (bump)
AngelLemmingThief 04-13-07, 05:15 PM	I like it (am I saying this to everyone... maybe I should find a class I don't like so people don't think I am just being nice to everyone, ho hum). Some comments: I would tart up the stat block, for a start, it is a bit wonky and makes the rest hard to follow. A few of your abilities are missing a Ex/Su/Sp tag. I know these are hard to figure out sometimes but it is worth sticking one on. Bypass damage reduction seems strong as a 2nd level ability. It is pretty absolute. I think your pre-reqs are strong enough no-one is going to dip but... maybe break it down into an ability that improves over the 10 levels. Maybe beat DR/type at 2nd level, and DR/alignment at 5th... something like that. I would be tempted to power up sacred strike, that may just be me tho. Maybe allow it to grant the Holy ability to a weapon for a (short) number of rounds. One last thing for now - Bane of the Dead. I personally don't like capstone abilities that can only be used once per day. You have to be at least 15th level to get the ability. I would be tempted to say 1+cha times per day, or even just make it a full-round-action to activate and make it unlimited (my current favourite solution to the worlds problems...).
Sorath 04-13-07, 10:18 PM	Interesting ideas. My current DM thought that the class was way overpowered, but I disagree. If you compare it to some of the PrC's out there, it really isnt. Thanks for the suggestions.
Karish 04-13-07, 10:22 PM	there is no undead that has power to deter them from their purpose ...Tell that to my level 20 Dread Necromancer and his legions. I'm sure they can help rectify the situation. But it is a good class. ^_^
teshen 04-14-07, 01:51 AM	Requirements Alignment: Lawful Neutral Feats: Extra Turning, Improved Turning, Vampire Hunter Skills: Knowledge: Religion 8 ranks, Knowledge: Arcana 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks Patron Deity: Any deity with Sun in their portfolio. Special: Able to turn undead Spells: Able to cast 2nd level divine spells Three feats for a straight cleric would be level 6 before they could enter... a multiclass could get in at level 6 or so if the feat Vampire Hunter has little or no prerequisites... so that sounds alright. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Necrobane is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all armor, and with all shields. At first, I thought this was too strong... then, the idiot in me gave way to thought. The only thing a straight cleric would get would is martial weapons which would give a little more possible damage, but really isn't that big a deal. A multiclass cleric probably took levels in a fighter type, so they'd already have most, if not all of that... so it's not a big deal. Spells known / Spells per day A Necrobane gains spells known and / or spells per day at each level beyond first level . . . One spell level for lots of fairly nifty abilities... maybe. But a cleric isn't losing anything else... the base attack is the same as a cleric, the saves are the same, the skill points are the same, the hit die is the same... they even continue their turning progression... this prc, if it isn't overpowered, is definitely on the high side of power... and with a cleric, that is saying something. I like the greater turning... it's one of those things that is not really that powerful, but it's loads of cool if it actually works... Detect Undead (Sp): A Necrobane can use detect undead at will at a range of 60’-0”. I like it, but what kind of action is this? Move? Standard? Something else? Is the range a radius or a cone? Bypass Damage Reduction (Ex): At 2nd level, a Necrobane ignores damage reduction granted to his undead enemies for all purposes. (Example: Skeletons are affected fully by edged weapons, Zombies affected fully by blunt weapons, Lich DR, etc.) The weapon of the Necrobane is fueled with the power of his deity and bypasses the damage reducing qualities of undead. I have to agree with AngelLemmingThief and take it a step further... this is not only strong for a second level ability, it feels just plain strong. I would suggest, again as Angel said, something that scales, like ignoring an amount of DR equal to PrC level or ignoring DR equal to your charisma mod + 1/2 your PrC level... or something... Divine Health (Ex): Fine. It seems a bit early, but I don't think disease is any more prevalent than poison... Immunity to Paralysis (Ex): At 4th level, a Necrobane gains immunity to paralysis from the undead and any necromantic spell cast against him. He can still be paralyzed by other means, but not by undead or any spell bearing the school of magic “Necromancy”. Niche and flavorful... with a good will and fort save, cleric types would be likely to save against these effects already. So, it's not too powerful. Bonus Domain: At 5th level, a Necrobane can select a 3rd domain from the his deities portfolio. Depending on the domain, this could be pretty powerful... but quite a few of the divine prcs grant this already so I'll not complain. :D Fear Immunity: At 5th level, a Necrobane is immune to fear effects from all sources.See my feelings on the immune to paralysis... Sacred Strike (Su): At 6th level, a Necrobane who successfully strikes an undead in melee can spend a turning attempt as a free action to deal an extra 2d6 damage with that attack. He can deliver such sacred strikes any number of times per round, but no more than once per attack. If the Necrobane uses such an attempt against a non undead foe, that turning attempt is still lost. Cool. And it gives you something to spend your turning on other than divine metamagic... I mean... it's good to have more options. :D Since your greater turnings are separate from your regular turnings, it does free up more turn undead uses, so this could be good for the undead fighing combat cleric... It's good, and has the capacity to use up lots of turning in a fight, so it's good. Positive Energy Burst (Su): At 7th level, a Necrobane as a standard action can create a positive energy burst which deals 10d6 points of damage to all undead within 100 feet of the character. Undead are allowed a Reflex save for half damage (DC equal to 10 + Necrobane class level + Cha Bonus). This Supernatural ability uses up 2 turning attempts. A Necrobane cannot use this ability if he has less than 2 turning attempts left for the day. This can be situationally strong, especially since your sacred strikes do 1/5 the damage against one opponent that you still have to make an attack roll against... I would a smaller radius or less damage... but again, this may balance against the fact that it's really only useful against undead... unless there are some evil outsiders I'm forgetting about. Spurn Death’s Touch (Ex): At 8th level, a Necrobane applies his wisdom bonus as an additional bonus on all saving throws against effects and spells used by the Undead or of the Necromancy School against him. This bonus stacks with the wisdom bonus already applied to the Will save. Sealed Life (Su): At 9th level, a Necrobane cannot lose levels due to energy drain effects. So by these points, you are more or less immune to any undead based ability... other than melee attack rolls. :D Actually, I'd say the spurn death's touch is really powerful to wisdom based casters... Bane of the Dead (Sp): At 10th level, a Necrobane can, 1 time per day, invoke the ability to empower his melee attacks with the fury of his deity. The Necrobane’s weapon during the duration of this ability gains the Disruption quality and the DC for the effect is equal to 15 + Cha Bonus. The duration of this ability is equal to the Charisma bonus of the Necrobane. The save may be a bit strong... with charisma being important to a turn undead cleric and the proper charisma boosting items, this can really get up there... I'd suggest something kind of weak, like 10 + PrC level... which is kind of silly to put it that way since this is a capping ability... and allow it to be used three times a day or so... Yes. I believe this PrC to be powerful, focused indeed, but powerful still... maybe rearrange it's undead immunities and save bonus to scale a little better... And yes, please consider formating the table a bit differently... but I like the class. It needs a little work, but this prc is a decent bit of work so far.
Sorath 04-14-07, 10:31 AM	Excellent suggestions. I will edit the above and see if I make the adjustments right.
teshen 04-16-07, 01:47 PM	So you've scaled the DR feature based on the type rather than the amount, removed the immunities and given it a minor growing bonus to saves vs. undead/necromancy and removed the bonus domain... It's still strong, but I think this works well and is much more balanced compared to the other draft. I guess my reservations are more about the cleric itself rather than your prc here. I think you've done a good job. :) I have one other question about the class... Do you think it still captures the feel you were going for from 2nd ed.?
Sorath 04-16-07, 01:54 PM	You know, I think it does. While he isn't immune to the effects, he is certainly resistant, which accomplishes that task. And there are feats he can take to become more immune (which of course weren't available in 2nd edition). The ability to overcome the damage reduction was one of the main features from 2nd edition, as well as the immunities to effects. Also, the turning damage was boosted in 2nd edition and that is accomplished by the extra greater turning, along with the domains available typically for the cleric class. All in all, I am very happy. As far as its power, yes, against undead, he is extremely powerful. His main power stems from the extra greater turning and by taking the Sun and Glory domains. He can destroy alot of undead with just that. But the others allow him to wade into combat with the undead masses and hold his own. As a normal cleric, he is probably 2 feats shorts as compared to them, since most clerics would not take Vampire Hunter and the Improved Turning feats unless they were in an undead heavy campaign. So I think that helps balance him as compared to other prestige classes. Thanks for all the help everyone.