Post/Author/DateTime	Post
enygmatic_me 12-06-06, 11:45 AM	The rain made the night seem darker somehow. Wai could only see the outlines of the guards when the lightning lit up the sky. He took a couple of breaths to steady himself hoping that Lan was in place. Using the rain to his advantage Wai adjusted his position slightly and waited for the next flash of lightning. Wai did not have to wait long. As the bolt of lightning cut the sky Wai sent his Meteor Hammer swinging out at the unsuspecting guard. As it wrapped itself around his opponents neck Wai gave a quick pull toppling his opponent to the ground. Wai spent what felt like an eternity thwarting his opponents attempts to wriggle free but eventually his opponent stopped moving, his eyes eternally staring into the stormy night. Looking up Wai took notice that Lan had finished off the other guard and had finished hiding his body behind some bushes. Slowly the two entered in the large tent that was being used to hold what they had come for. No gaurds stood inside the tent to bar their way. Tied to the center post was a young woman in tattered clothes that once were the envy of her fathers court. Lan made quick work of the ropes binding Princess Meixiu's wrists. Silencing their ward with a gesture Wai and Lan escorted the Princess through the flaps of the tent and toward the edge of the camp. As the group approached where they had left their horses Lan cried out in alarm. A form had emerged from the dark and was quickly joined by five others. Jianyu showed no emotion as he drew he blade. His guard did not show the same composure as they prepared to battle. Wai instructed Lan to take the Princess and run as he turned to face this new threat. The Meteor Hammer began to swing and weave through the rain keeping his enemies from advancing. Soon the sounds of hooves could just be made out over the drumming of the rain. Knowing that his charge was now safe Wai turned his attention fully to getting himself out of this predicament. Prerequisites: Skills: Bluff 6 ranks, Sense Motive 6 ranks BAB: +4 Feats: Combat Expertise, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Meteor Hammer), Improved Feint Level BAB F R W Special 1st +1 +0 +2 +0 Practiced Defense, Improved Trip 2nd +2 +0 +3 +0 Strike From Nowhere, Improved Disarm 3rd +3 +0 +3 +0 Improvised Hammer, Long Arm 4th +4 +1 +4 +1 Spinning Top, Insightful Strike 5th +5 +1 +4 +1 Passing Meteor 6th +6 +2 +5 +2 Meteor Whirl 7th +7 +2 +5 +2 Crashing Meteors 8th +8 +3 +6 +3 Meteor Flash 9th +9 +3 +6 +3 Strangle 10th +10 +4 +7 +4 Meteor Storm HD: d8 Skill Points: 6+Int bonus Skills: Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge: Local (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Rope (Dex) Weapons and Armor: The Disciple gains no new weapon or armor proficiencies. Class Features: Practiced Defense (Ex): At 1st level the Disciple has learned to use the off-hand portion of the Meteor Hammer for defense. They gain a +1 Shield Bonus while wielding a Meteor Hammer. This bonus increases to +2 at 4th level and to +3 at 8th level. Improved Trip (Ex): At 1st level the Disciple gains the Improved Trip feat when fighting with the Meteor Hammer. If the Disciple already has Improved Trip they instead gain a +2 to Trip attempt rolls, including rolls to resist being tripped themselves. Strike from Nowhere (Ex): At 2nd level the Disciple has learned to keep the Meteor Hammer in motion, wrapping it around various parts of their body as they fight, only to send it hurling toward their enemy with a sudden flick of movement. This makes it harder for their enemies to predict where the next attack will come from. From this point forward the Disciple adds half their class level to Bluff checks made to feint in combat. At 5th level the Disciple may feint as a swift action while wielding a Meteor Hammer. Improved Disarm (Ex): At 2nd level the Disciple gains the Improved Disarm feat when fighting with the Meteor Hammer. If the Disciple already has Improved Disarm they instead gain a +2 to Disarm attempt rolls, including rolls to resist being disarmed themselves. Improvised Hammer (Ex): At 3rd level the Disciple gains the ability to fabricate a makeshift Meteor Hammer out of common items. As long as the Disciple can find a long enough cord and items to act as weight the Disciple can spend two rounds “constructing” a usable weapon, which requires a successful Craft (Weaponsmithing) against a DC of 15. Due to the unbalanced nature of such weapons the Disciple takes a -2 to attack while wielding an Improvised Meteor Hammer. Long Arm (Ex): At 3rd level the Disciple has increased their understanding of the versatile nature of the Meteor Hammer. This understanding allows them to use the Meteor Hammer as a grabbing instrument. By making a successful ranged touch attack against an AC 10, the Disciple may grab unattended objects. The Disciple may also use the Meteor Hammer to climb as if using a grappling hook in this manner. Spinning Top (Ex): Starting at 4th level, as a full attack action, the Disciple may make one attack against a target. The Disciple loses their shield bonus to AC for the remainder of the round in which they use this ability. If this attack hits, the Meteor Hammer wraps around the target allowing the Disciple to forcibly turn the target around disorienting them. The target is considered sickened for 1d4 rounds and must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Class Level + Strength Modifier), failure means the target is considered nauseated instead of sickened. Insightful Strike (Ex): At 4th level the Disciple has gained a new understanding of the capabilities of the Meteor Hammer. From this point forward the Disciple adds his intelligence modifier to damage (as well as his strength modifier) while wielding a Meteor Hammer. A creature immune to sneak attacks or critical attacks is also immune to this extra damage. Passing Meteor (Ex): At 5th level the Disciple has learned to use the flexible nature of the Meteor Hammer. By sacrificing the damaged gained from insightful strike for the remainder of the round the Disciple can negate the shield bonus to armor class of all adjacent targets they attack that round. Meteor Whirl (Ex): The Disciple has begun to fully understand the defensive capabilities of the Meteor Hammer. At 6th level the Disciple gains the Deflect Arrow feat when wielding the Meteor Hammer. Crashing Meteors (Ex): At 7th level the Disciple has learned how to defend themselves against multiple attackers. While wielding a Meteor Hammer the Disciple may no longer be flanked. Meteor Flash (Ex): At 8th level anytime the Disciple is attacked by the subject of his dodge feat he may make an attack against the subject. If this attack is successful the Disciple gains a further +2 to AC against the subject of his dodge for the remainder of the round. Using Meteor Flash counts against the Disciples attacks of opportunity for the round. Strangle (Ex): At 9th level the Disciple has learned to use the Meteor Hammer in a devastating manner. By making a single attack as a full round action the Disciple can cause the Meteor Hammer to become entangled around the targets neck, begins to suffocate. The target must make a constitution check (DC 10 + 1 for every previous check). Failure means the target falls unconscious (0 Hit Points), on the following round the target is dying (-1 Hit Point), in the third round the target dies. Targets that do require breathing are immune to this attack. Meteor Storm (Ex): At 10th level the Disciple gains the Whirlwind Attack feat while using the Meteor Hammer, even if he does not normally meet the prerequisites. Exotic Two Handed Melee Weapon Meteor Hammer - This weapon consists of a 10' length of chain with metal weights at each end. 45 GP Damage: Small 1d4, Damage: Medium 1d6, Critical x 3, Bludgeoning 10’ reach – unlike most reach weapons the Meteor Hammer may be used to attack any target within its reach (including adjacent targets) +2 Disarm Attempts May be used to make Trip Attacks. If the wielder is tripped in return during a trip attempt the wielder may choose to drop the Meteor Hammer instead. Counts as light for use with the Weapon Finesse feat 5 lbs Modifications Rope, Hemp -10 GP, -2 lbs: the chain of Meteor Hammer is replaced with hemp rope. Rope, Silk -5 GP, -3 lbs: the chain of the Meteor Hammer is replaced with silk rope. Fire Weights +15 GP, +0lbs: the weights are hollowed out to allow oil to be placed in within (taking a full round action). When the oil is lit (taking a standard action) the Meteor Hammer deals +2 fire damage. The oil lasts for 2d4 rounds before burning out completely. It is not suggested to have this modification with either of the rope modifications. I am still working on prerequisites.
King_In_Yellow 01-08-07, 01:30 AM	Like the idea and the flavor of the class, need to read over a couple of times before I comment on balance. Do have one question regarding the weapon. Was not sure what one was so I looked it up. The main reference I found stated that a meteor hammer has a weight at each end, which would make it similar to a chain lash (Savage Species) though not a double weapon. So does yours have one or two weights? Sorry if this seems a stupid question but apart from in the text of the Improvised Hammer ability there is no description of the weapon.
enygmatic_me 01-08-07, 01:51 AM	Like the idea and the flavor of the class, need to read over a couple of times before I comment on balance. Do have one question regarding the weapon. Was not sure what one was so I looked it up. The main reference I found stated that a meteor hammer has a weight at each end, which would make it similar to a chain lash (Savage Species) though not a double weapon. So does yours have one or two weights? Sorry if this seems a stupid question but apart from in the text of the Improvised Hammer ability there is no description of the weapon. Yes, there are weights at both ends. I will add a weapon description to clarify. Thanks for pointing that out.
King_In_Yellow 01-16-07, 08:28 AM	Me again, Been thinking about this class over the last few days, have also just watched Kill Bill v1 again :) , and a couple more things struck me. The class requires Combat Expertise and then states that the feats of Improved Disarm and Trip are gained even if the character would normally not qualify for the feat, which he must do to even take the class. On the same thread if I were working towards this class I would have already taken, if possible, one or both of those feats. Possibly a bonus to trip/disarm for those who have already bought them. Strike from Nowhere (Ex): At 2nd level the Disciple has learned to keep the Meteor Hammer in motion, wrapping it around various parts of their body as they fight, only to send it hurling toward their enemy with a sudden flick of movement. This makes it harder for their enemies to predict where the next attack will come from. From this point forward the Disciple adds half their class level to Bluff checks made to feint in combat. At 5th level the Disciple may feint as a swift action while wielding a Meteor Hammer. I like this ability a lot and was thinking that including Improved Feint into the requirements or as a bonus feat, with a similar bonus for those who already posses it, might be appropriate. Have also been thinking about the skill requirements but feel I’ve stuck my oar in enough for one post. ;)
enygmatic_me 01-16-07, 05:13 PM	Me again, Been thinking about this class over the last few days, have also just watched Kill Bill v1 again :) , and a couple more things struck me. The class requires Combat Expertise and then states that the feats of Improved Disarm and Trip are gained even if the character would normally not qualify for the feat, which he must do to even take the class. On the same thread if I were working towards this class I would have already taken, if possible, one or both of those feats. Possibly a bonus to trip/disarm for those who have already bought them. I like this ability a lot and was thinking that including Improved Feint into the requirements or as a bonus feat, with a similar bonus for those who already posses it, might be appropriate. Have also been thinking about the skill requirements but feel I’ve stuck my oar in enough for one post. ;) Good suggestions. I added bonuses to the Improved Trip and Disarm features for characters that already had the feats before gaining the class feature. Decided that Improved Feint made better sense as a Prerequisite then a class feature as Strike From nowhere already provides a better bonus then the feat would. I am considering making a minor change to the Strangle class feature so that the damage dealt is as if you had struck with a critical instead of standard damage on maybe Con damage. It is a 9th level ability that requires set-up to use, I feel the pay of should be better than a single hit.
draclrd88 01-17-07, 11:00 AM	looks fun, perhapse two weapon figting as a prerequisite
enygmatic_me 03-16-07, 10:13 PM	Increased shield bonus from Practiced Defense. Reworked Strangle. Added Bluff and Sense Motive prerequisites.