Prestige class: The Ripper [Archive] - Wizards Community

Prestige class: The Ripper [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Rakmakallan
03-02-07, 01:24 PM This is my first official attempt to make a prc. Posted here is the 10 level progression(a 5 level also exists but is abit overpowered). I've tried to balance it by applying " weakening-mitigating factors" , though the judgement is up to you. I would like to thank in advance all those who shall comment and offer me advice on this. The prc was inspired by Jack, the lunatic murderer who spread terror in the streets of the late 19th century London. I believe you will find many similarities to the Foe Hunter( Masters of the Wild) but I tried ti give a different flavor ti this one.
Note: Sorry for my English. I'm no native speaker.
Note 2: I have a version that is TOTALLY EVIL but it would have been exiled in the mature forums in no time.

The ripper

The clocktower has just struck midnight. A lone figure walks hastily through the city's cobblestone streets casting brief glances in the shadows around him. And then his cry cracks the night silence, for all he manages to see is the flash of a knife as his blood spurts on the ground and his face obscuring all vision. A dark figure now stands over his corpse draped in black garments like a graveyard-roaming raven. Raising his head, the street lantern illuminates his face revealing a pair of insane eyes and wicked sneer. He turns around, cloak waving in the nightbreeze and walks away his maniac laughter echoing in the alleys like a choir of tormented souls. The next morning amidst the nosy bystanders that observe the murder scene is a young man, member of the city's elite. Only he is aware of the Reign of Terror at hand. He is the demented soul, insanity incarnate, the son of madness. He is the Ripper...

Requirements
To become a ripper, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Skills: Bluff,Hide,Move silently,Disguise( 8 ranks each)
Feats: Stealthy
Special: Must kill 5 members of his future hated creature type in one night

Class features

LvL Bab Fort Ref Will Special
1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Hate,Night prowl
2 +1 +0 +3 +3 Innocent bystander
3 +2 +1 +3 +3 Dark alleys
4 +3 +1 +4 +4 Bloodscent
5 +3 +1 +4 +4 Bloodlust
6 +4 +2 +5 +5 Bloodjoy
7 +5 +2 +5 +5 Bloodbath
8 +6 +2 +6 +6 Bloodshed
9 +6 +3 +6 +6 Paranoia
10 +7 +3 +7 +7 Reign of Terror,
Death attack

Hate(Ex): The ripper is in fact an insane murderer bent on the annihilation of a specofic kind of creature. He chooses one creature type( from the bane weapon quality table) to be his hated enemy. Against such creatures he gains a +2 in attack and damage rolls.

Night prowl: It is said that blanket of night hides evil. For the ripper this is true as his abilities are only usable at night.

Innocent bystander(Ex): In his everyday life the ripper looks as a perfectly normal and upstanding member of his society. He gains a +4 bonus in bluff checks to convince anyone he is not a murderer.

Dark alleys(Ex): By walking about at night the ripper becomes adept in seeing in reduced light conditions. He gains low-light vision (or superior low-light vision if he already had low-light vision).

Bloodscent(Ex):By regularly hunting his hated enemies, upon reaching 4th level, the ripper can sense them by smelling their blood. He gains the scent ability but it detects only hated enemies.

Bloodlust(Ex): With the passing of time, the ripper grows more insane and at 5th level upon seeing a hated enemy he feels compelled to hunt him down. During an encounter with one or more hated enemies he gains the benefits of the Endurance and Run feats and a +10 ft. adjustment to his base land speed(in order to chase him)

Bloodjoy(Ex):Blood, the secret symbol of life. And for the ripper it is an invigorating surge of energy. If he kills a hated enemy at any given night, he gets a +2 morale bonus in attack and damage rolls the next night{This can be made a +2 in attacks saves and checks if you prefer}

Bloodbath(Ex): 1/day a 7th level ripper can soak his hands in blood with a devastating chain of blows. He deals an automatic hit and can make up to 3 extra attacks at 1 given round.

Bloodshed(Ex):At 8th level the ripper is able to deal devastating blows that bleed unceasingly. Whenever he scores a critical hit against a hated enemy the wound bleeds for 1/4 his ripper level at each following round. This can be stopped with a successful Heal check(DC= 15+ ripper level) or the use of a healing spell if the caster succeeds at a caster level check(DC the same as the Heal check)

Paranoia(Sanity's eclipse)(Ex):At 9th level the ripper reaches the zenith of his madness, his mind becoming totally uncontrollable. He suffers a permanent -4 panalty in Wisdom(Wisdom cannot drop below 3 as a result of this ability) but a +4 in Charisma and becomes immune to mind-affecting effects(even during the day).

Death attack: Identical to the assassin's death attack but only usable against hated enemies at night.

Reign of terror(Ex): At the peak of his power the ripper establishes a reign of terror in any community he commits at least 5 murders. This lasts for as long the ripper lives there and for 1 month thereafter. Any hated enemy who sees him is automatically shaken and must succeed in a Will save( DC= 20+ripper level) or become panicked. By killing such a panicked opponent the ripper gains a +1{or +2 ?} morale bonus in any one ability score during the next night as the terror of his victims brings him joy beyond imagining)
Rakmakallan
03-02-07, 05:15 PM :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump:
Leress
03-02-07, 06:34 PM The ripper

The clocktower has just struck midnight. A lone figure walks hastily through the city's cobblestone streets casting brief glances in the shadows around him. And then his cry cracks the night silence, for all he manages to see is the flash of a knife as his blood spurts on the ground and his face obscuring all vision. A dark figure now stands over his corpse draped in black garments like a graveyard-roaming raven. Raising his head, the street lantern illuminates his face revealing a pair of insane eyes and wicked sneer. He turns around, cloak waving in the nightbreeze and walks away his maniac laughter echoing in the alleys like a choir of tormented souls. The next morning amidst the nosy bystanders that observe the murder scene is a young man, member of the city's elite. Only he is aware of the Reign of Terror at hand. He is the demented soul, insanity incarnate, the son of madness. He is the Ripper...

I will keep this in mind

Requirements
To become a ripper, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Skills: Bluff,Hide,Move silently,Disguise( 8 ranks each)
Feats: Stealthy
Special: Must kill 5 members of his future hated creature type in one night

Okay

Class features

LvL Bab Fort Ref Will Special
1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Hate,Night prowl
2 +1 +0 +3 +3 Innocent bystander
3 +2 +1 +3 +3 Dark alleys
4 +3 +1 +4 +4 Bloodscent
5 +3 +1 +4 +4 Bloodlust
6 +4 +2 +5 +5 Bloodjoy
7 +5 +2 +5 +5 Bloodbath
8 +6 +2 +6 +6 Bloodshed
9 +6 +3 +6 +6 Paranoia
10 +7 +3 +7 +7 Reign of Terror,
Death attack
Okay let's look closer

Hate(Ex): The ripper is in fact an insane murderer bent on the annihilation of a specofic kind of creature. He chooses one creature type( from the bane weapon quality table) to be his hated enemy. Against such creatures he gains a +2 in attack and damage rolls but suffers a -1 penalty in all other attack and damage rolls.
why am I all of the sudden worse at attacking everything else?? It's nice that I deal more damage to my foe, but then you punch in the junk for trying to hit anything else

Night prowl: It is said that blanket of night hides evil. For the ripper this is true as his abilities are only usable at night.
Oh that is just wrong, I'm not a lycantrope why am I getting penalized as one? I just suddenly lose my powers after the sun comes up.

Innocent bystander(Ex): In his everyday life the ripper looks as a perfectly normal and upstanding member of his society. He gains a +4 bonus in bluff checks to convince anyone he is not a murderer.
This bonus is so situational that it most likely won't even come up.

Dark alleys(Ex): By walking about at night the ripper becomes adept in seeing in reduced light conditions. He gains low-light vision (or superior low-light vision if he already had low-light vision), though the sun hampers his eyesight. As a result, he gets light sensitivity (as a drow).
Here is another one of those abilities that kicks me in the junk. You can see better at night but now it get worse for me in the daytime? Is this one of the abilities of the class? If that is the case wouldn't the penalty go away in the daytime?

Bloodscent(Ex):By regularly hunting his hated enemies, upon reaching 4th level, the ripper can sense them by smelling their blood. This is usable 3/day and functions as detect evil only that it detects the ripper's hated enemies.
If you are going to make a scent ability make it like scent. As it is this is a Spell-like ability since it functions like a spell.

Bloodlust(Ex): With the passing of time, the ripper grows more insane and at 5th level upon seeing a hated enemy he feels compelled to hunt him down. During an encounter with one or more hated enemies he gains the benefits of the Endurance and Run feats. However, in an 1 on 1 encounter with such an enemy he must make a Will save (DC=10+ripper level) to avoid attacking him immediately.
This entire ability is bogus. At 5th level (ECL 11) Endurance and Run are practical throw away feats. In a 1 on 1 encounter why would the Ripper want to stop attacking his foe?

Bloodjoy(Ex):Blood, the secret symbol of life. And for the ripper it is an invigorating surge of energy. If he kills a hated enemy at any given night, he gets a +2 morale bonus in attack and damage rolls the next night{This can be made a +2 in attacks saves and checks if you prefer}
Wait so I don't get the bonus immediately, I have to wait until the next night to get the bonuses?

Bloodbath(Ex): 1/day a 7th level ripper can soak his hands in blood with a devastating chain of blows. He deals an automatic hit and can make up to 2 extra attacks at 1 given round.

Bloodshed(Ex):At 8th level the ripper is able to deal devastating blows that bleed unceasingly. Whenever he scores a critical hit against a hated enemy the wound bleeds for 1/4 his ripper level at each following round. This can be stopped with a successful Heal check(DC= 10+ ripper level) or the use of a healing spell.
[/quote]At 8th level (ECL 14) the heal check is pretty easy to make. You might as well just get a wounding sword.

Paranoia(Sanity's eclipse)(Ex):At 9th level the ripper reaches the zenith of his madness, his mind becoming totally uncontrollable. He suffers a permanent -4 panalty in Wisdom(Wisdom cannot drop below 3 as a result of this ability) but becomes immune to mind-affecting effects(even during the day).
I am already paying for this ability by taking class levels why are you adding more?

Death attack: Identical to the assassin's death attack but only usable against hated enemies at night.
ehh

Reign of terror(Ex): At the peak of his power the ripper establishes a reign of terror in any community he commits at least 5 murders. This lasts for as long the ripper lives there and for 1 month thereafter. Any hated enemy who sees him is automatically shaken and must succeed in a Will save( DC= 10+ripper level) or become panicked. By killing such a panicked opponent the ripper gains a +1{or +2 ?} morale bonus in any one ability score during the next night as the terror of his victims brings him joy beyond imagining)
Okay, At 10th level (ECL 16) at DC of 20 is real easy to pass. Also at this level enemies that are shaken will still most likely to hit you. It also has that non immediate effect again.

What are the class skill to this class
How many Skillpoints do they get per level
What are the weapon are armor proficiencies of the class

There is a lot of work to be done with class.
Rakmakallan
03-03-07, 02:55 AM The point was to take fighting a specific kind of creature to the extrme but it all turned out to be underpowered, didn't it? The prc works to a great extent for city campaigns. I will make changes nevertheless.

Concerning the other stuff you said, I'm sorry but it slipped my mind. So, here you go:
Weapon-armor proficiencies: No new weapon or armor proficiencies
Class skills: Blance,Bluff,Climb,Disguise,Escape artist,Gather Information,Hide,Intimidate,Jump,Listen, Move silently, Search,Spot,Tumble, (Survival for the Track feat?)
Skill points at each level:8+Int modifier

By the way, losing the bonuses etc. reflects the shadowy aspect of the prc. Do you believe I will have to empower him somewhere else?
Rakmakallan
03-03-07, 06:45 AM :bump: Changes made. Any other suggestions??? :bump:
WhiteGandalf
03-03-07, 05:10 PM Strong enough prc. I have no complain.
smeagol_lied
03-04-07, 09:32 AM I say if he's going to take -4 to wis he should get +4 to cha for madness, aswell as the immunity to mind-affecting abilities.
Rakmakallan
03-04-07, 09:41 AM Yep. Why not? Changes made.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Rakmakallan 03-02-07, 01:24 PM	This is my first official attempt to make a prc. Posted here is the 10 level progression(a 5 level also exists but is abit overpowered). I've tried to balance it by applying " weakening-mitigating factors" , though the judgement is up to you. I would like to thank in advance all those who shall comment and offer me advice on this. The prc was inspired by Jack, the lunatic murderer who spread terror in the streets of the late 19th century London. I believe you will find many similarities to the Foe Hunter( Masters of the Wild) but I tried ti give a different flavor ti this one. Note: Sorry for my English. I'm no native speaker. Note 2: I have a version that is TOTALLY EVIL but it would have been exiled in the mature forums in no time. The ripper The clocktower has just struck midnight. A lone figure walks hastily through the city's cobblestone streets casting brief glances in the shadows around him. And then his cry cracks the night silence, for all he manages to see is the flash of a knife as his blood spurts on the ground and his face obscuring all vision. A dark figure now stands over his corpse draped in black garments like a graveyard-roaming raven. Raising his head, the street lantern illuminates his face revealing a pair of insane eyes and wicked sneer. He turns around, cloak waving in the nightbreeze and walks away his maniac laughter echoing in the alleys like a choir of tormented souls. The next morning amidst the nosy bystanders that observe the murder scene is a young man, member of the city's elite. Only he is aware of the Reign of Terror at hand. He is the demented soul, insanity incarnate, the son of madness. He is the Ripper... Requirements To become a ripper, a character must fulfill all the following criteria: Alignment: Chaotic Evil Skills: Bluff,Hide,Move silently,Disguise( 8 ranks each) Feats: Stealthy Special: Must kill 5 members of his future hated creature type in one night Class features LvL Bab Fort Ref Will Special 1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Hate,Night prowl 2 +1 +0 +3 +3 Innocent bystander 3 +2 +1 +3 +3 Dark alleys 4 +3 +1 +4 +4 Bloodscent 5 +3 +1 +4 +4 Bloodlust 6 +4 +2 +5 +5 Bloodjoy 7 +5 +2 +5 +5 Bloodbath 8 +6 +2 +6 +6 Bloodshed 9 +6 +3 +6 +6 Paranoia 10 +7 +3 +7 +7 Reign of Terror, Death attack Hate(Ex): The ripper is in fact an insane murderer bent on the annihilation of a specofic kind of creature. He chooses one creature type( from the bane weapon quality table) to be his hated enemy. Against such creatures he gains a +2 in attack and damage rolls. Night prowl: It is said that blanket of night hides evil. For the ripper this is true as his abilities are only usable at night. Innocent bystander(Ex): In his everyday life the ripper looks as a perfectly normal and upstanding member of his society. He gains a +4 bonus in bluff checks to convince anyone he is not a murderer. Dark alleys(Ex): By walking about at night the ripper becomes adept in seeing in reduced light conditions. He gains low-light vision (or superior low-light vision if he already had low-light vision). Bloodscent(Ex):By regularly hunting his hated enemies, upon reaching 4th level, the ripper can sense them by smelling their blood. He gains the scent ability but it detects only hated enemies. Bloodlust(Ex): With the passing of time, the ripper grows more insane and at 5th level upon seeing a hated enemy he feels compelled to hunt him down. During an encounter with one or more hated enemies he gains the benefits of the Endurance and Run feats and a +10 ft. adjustment to his base land speed(in order to chase him) Bloodjoy(Ex):Blood, the secret symbol of life. And for the ripper it is an invigorating surge of energy. If he kills a hated enemy at any given night, he gets a +2 morale bonus in attack and damage rolls the next night{This can be made a +2 in attacks saves and checks if you prefer} Bloodbath(Ex): 1/day a 7th level ripper can soak his hands in blood with a devastating chain of blows. He deals an automatic hit and can make up to 3 extra attacks at 1 given round. Bloodshed(Ex):At 8th level the ripper is able to deal devastating blows that bleed unceasingly. Whenever he scores a critical hit against a hated enemy the wound bleeds for 1/4 his ripper level at each following round. This can be stopped with a successful Heal check(DC= 15+ ripper level) or the use of a healing spell if the caster succeeds at a caster level check(DC the same as the Heal check) Paranoia(Sanity's eclipse)(Ex):At 9th level the ripper reaches the zenith of his madness, his mind becoming totally uncontrollable. He suffers a permanent -4 panalty in Wisdom(Wisdom cannot drop below 3 as a result of this ability) but a +4 in Charisma and becomes immune to mind-affecting effects(even during the day). Death attack: Identical to the assassin's death attack but only usable against hated enemies at night. Reign of terror(Ex): At the peak of his power the ripper establishes a reign of terror in any community he commits at least 5 murders. This lasts for as long the ripper lives there and for 1 month thereafter. Any hated enemy who sees him is automatically shaken and must succeed in a Will save( DC= 20+ripper level) or become panicked. By killing such a panicked opponent the ripper gains a +1{or +2 ?} morale bonus in any one ability score during the next night as the terror of his victims brings him joy beyond imagining)
Rakmakallan 03-02-07, 05:15 PM	:bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump:
Leress 03-02-07, 06:34 PM	The ripper The clocktower has just struck midnight. A lone figure walks hastily through the city's cobblestone streets casting brief glances in the shadows around him. And then his cry cracks the night silence, for all he manages to see is the flash of a knife as his blood spurts on the ground and his face obscuring all vision. A dark figure now stands over his corpse draped in black garments like a graveyard-roaming raven. Raising his head, the street lantern illuminates his face revealing a pair of insane eyes and wicked sneer. He turns around, cloak waving in the nightbreeze and walks away his maniac laughter echoing in the alleys like a choir of tormented souls. The next morning amidst the nosy bystanders that observe the murder scene is a young man, member of the city's elite. Only he is aware of the Reign of Terror at hand. He is the demented soul, insanity incarnate, the son of madness. He is the Ripper... I will keep this in mind Requirements To become a ripper, a character must fulfill all the following criteria: Alignment: Chaotic Evil Skills: Bluff,Hide,Move silently,Disguise( 8 ranks each) Feats: Stealthy Special: Must kill 5 members of his future hated creature type in one night Okay Class features LvL Bab Fort Ref Will Special 1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Hate,Night prowl 2 +1 +0 +3 +3 Innocent bystander 3 +2 +1 +3 +3 Dark alleys 4 +3 +1 +4 +4 Bloodscent 5 +3 +1 +4 +4 Bloodlust 6 +4 +2 +5 +5 Bloodjoy 7 +5 +2 +5 +5 Bloodbath 8 +6 +2 +6 +6 Bloodshed 9 +6 +3 +6 +6 Paranoia 10 +7 +3 +7 +7 Reign of Terror, Death attack Okay let's look closer Hate(Ex): The ripper is in fact an insane murderer bent on the annihilation of a specofic kind of creature. He chooses one creature type( from the bane weapon quality table) to be his hated enemy. Against such creatures he gains a +2 in attack and damage rolls but suffers a -1 penalty in all other attack and damage rolls. why am I all of the sudden worse at attacking everything else?? It's nice that I deal more damage to my foe, but then you punch in the junk for trying to hit anything else Night prowl: It is said that blanket of night hides evil. For the ripper this is true as his abilities are only usable at night. Oh that is just wrong, I'm not a lycantrope why am I getting penalized as one? I just suddenly lose my powers after the sun comes up. Innocent bystander(Ex): In his everyday life the ripper looks as a perfectly normal and upstanding member of his society. He gains a +4 bonus in bluff checks to convince anyone he is not a murderer. This bonus is so situational that it most likely won't even come up. Dark alleys(Ex): By walking about at night the ripper becomes adept in seeing in reduced light conditions. He gains low-light vision (or superior low-light vision if he already had low-light vision), though the sun hampers his eyesight. As a result, he gets light sensitivity (as a drow). Here is another one of those abilities that kicks me in the junk. You can see better at night but now it get worse for me in the daytime? Is this one of the abilities of the class? If that is the case wouldn't the penalty go away in the daytime? Bloodscent(Ex):By regularly hunting his hated enemies, upon reaching 4th level, the ripper can sense them by smelling their blood. This is usable 3/day and functions as detect evil only that it detects the ripper's hated enemies. If you are going to make a scent ability make it like scent. As it is this is a Spell-like ability since it functions like a spell. Bloodlust(Ex): With the passing of time, the ripper grows more insane and at 5th level upon seeing a hated enemy he feels compelled to hunt him down. During an encounter with one or more hated enemies he gains the benefits of the Endurance and Run feats. However, in an 1 on 1 encounter with such an enemy he must make a Will save (DC=10+ripper level) to avoid attacking him immediately. This entire ability is bogus. At 5th level (ECL 11) Endurance and Run are practical throw away feats. In a 1 on 1 encounter why would the Ripper want to stop attacking his foe? Bloodjoy(Ex):Blood, the secret symbol of life. And for the ripper it is an invigorating surge of energy. If he kills a hated enemy at any given night, he gets a +2 morale bonus in attack and damage rolls the next night{This can be made a +2 in attacks saves and checks if you prefer} Wait so I don't get the bonus immediately, I have to wait until the next night to get the bonuses? Bloodbath(Ex): 1/day a 7th level ripper can soak his hands in blood with a devastating chain of blows. He deals an automatic hit and can make up to 2 extra attacks at 1 given round. Bloodshed(Ex):At 8th level the ripper is able to deal devastating blows that bleed unceasingly. Whenever he scores a critical hit against a hated enemy the wound bleeds for 1/4 his ripper level at each following round. This can be stopped with a successful Heal check(DC= 10+ ripper level) or the use of a healing spell. [/quote]At 8th level (ECL 14) the heal check is pretty easy to make. You might as well just get a wounding sword. Paranoia(Sanity's eclipse)(Ex):At 9th level the ripper reaches the zenith of his madness, his mind becoming totally uncontrollable. He suffers a permanent -4 panalty in Wisdom(Wisdom cannot drop below 3 as a result of this ability) but becomes immune to mind-affecting effects(even during the day). I am already paying for this ability by taking class levels why are you adding more? Death attack: Identical to the assassin's death attack but only usable against hated enemies at night. ehh Reign of terror(Ex): At the peak of his power the ripper establishes a reign of terror in any community he commits at least 5 murders. This lasts for as long the ripper lives there and for 1 month thereafter. Any hated enemy who sees him is automatically shaken and must succeed in a Will save( DC= 10+ripper level) or become panicked. By killing such a panicked opponent the ripper gains a +1{or +2 ?} morale bonus in any one ability score during the next night as the terror of his victims brings him joy beyond imagining) Okay, At 10th level (ECL 16) at DC of 20 is real easy to pass. Also at this level enemies that are shaken will still most likely to hit you. It also has that non immediate effect again. What are the class skill to this class How many Skillpoints do they get per level What are the weapon are armor proficiencies of the class There is a lot of work to be done with class.
Rakmakallan 03-03-07, 02:55 AM	The point was to take fighting a specific kind of creature to the extrme but it all turned out to be underpowered, didn't it? The prc works to a great extent for city campaigns. I will make changes nevertheless. Concerning the other stuff you said, I'm sorry but it slipped my mind. So, here you go: Weapon-armor proficiencies: No new weapon or armor proficiencies Class skills: Blance,Bluff,Climb,Disguise,Escape artist,Gather Information,Hide,Intimidate,Jump,Listen, Move silently, Search,Spot,Tumble, (Survival for the Track feat?) Skill points at each level:8+Int modifier By the way, losing the bonuses etc. reflects the shadowy aspect of the prc. Do you believe I will have to empower him somewhere else?
Rakmakallan 03-03-07, 06:45 AM	:bump: Changes made. Any other suggestions??? :bump:
WhiteGandalf 03-03-07, 05:10 PM	Strong enough prc. I have no complain.
smeagol_lied 03-04-07, 09:32 AM	I say if he's going to take -4 to wis he should get +4 to cha for madness, aswell as the immunity to mind-affecting abilities.
Rakmakallan 03-04-07, 09:41 AM	Yep. Why not? Changes made.