Post/Author/DateTime	Post
SmiloDan 01-19-08, 01:14 PM	This new Power Sigil and six Illumian Words are to benefit psionic illumians (the new race introduced in "Races of Destiny." Phren ("psyche") +1 bonus power point. At second level, this increases to +2 bonus power points. Illumian words (Su). Phrenaesh The illumian can use her Strength score to determine the number of bonus power points she gains for a high ability score, instead of the normal ability score used by her class to determine this feature. If she has more than one psionic manifesting class, she may use her Strength score in place of any or all of the ability scores used by those classes for this purpose. Phrenhoon Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point and heal a number of hit points equal to her Constitution bonus. Krauphren Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point and gain a +2 bonus to her caster level for 1 round. Phrennaen Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point to take 10 on a skill check, even if it is not normally allowed. Phrenuur The illumian can use her Dexterity score to determine the number of bonus power points she gains for a high ability score, instead of the normal ability score used by her class to determine this feature. If she has more than one psionic manifesting class, she may use her Dexterity score in place of any or all of the ability scores used by those classes for this purpose. Phrenvaul Twice per day, the illumian can expend a spell slot and gain a number of power points equal to the level of the spell slot. Does this seem balanced? I also considered the following: Phrennaen Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point to take 20 on a skill check, even if it is not normally allowed. Taking 20 on this skill check does not take any additional time to complete it. Phrenvaul Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point and add +2 to her equivalent Cleric level for the purposes of Rebuking or Turning Undead.
VorpalBunny 01-19-08, 04:17 PM	Phrennaen Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point to take 20 on a skill check, even if it is not normally allowed. Taking 20 on this skill check does not take any additional time to complete it. Problem: with this is you have 2nd level characters making masterwork exotic weapons and armor with out any trouble (and incredibly fast). This is only a minor thing (probably), but I thought I'd toss it out there. VB :)
Norr 01-19-08, 06:01 PM	Frankly, I think these are good words and well thought through (except the take 20 version of phrennaen, but I guess you know that already :)). Most of these give a nice but minor bonus to multiclass characters, which they should. I can also see certain single class characters benefiting from some of these, like an Illuman Psychic warrior greatly benefiting from either Phrenaesh or Phrenuur (focusing on strength or dexterity, respectively) since Psywars only need 16 Wis to get their full compliment of powers. This is okay though, since Psywars are normally lacking in the power points department and could do with some more. I also think this is true for War minds and Fists of Zuoken. Krauphren is a boon to every Cerebremancer out there and so is Phrenvaul. I could also see anyone picking up Phrennaen, especially skill monkeys like rouges and scouts (they get 2 pp from the word to power their abilities, fits like a glove). Phrenvaul, Undead turning style, could also be very interesting even (or especially) for a for a nonpsionic cleric (or dread necromancer) since it means they can destroy/control undead one HD higher than usual. Phrenhoon is pretty crappy though, but can be a lifesaver if your in the negatives and still conscious. In conclusion, I would use these with little to no modifications, though I would have a hard time deciding which Phrenvaul to use. Arguably, since the Vaul word deals primarily with charisma it should relate to turning, but a sorcerer/[manifester] would have a broad choice of spell slots to burn for emergency PP. But frankly, if I made an illumian dread necromancer it would stand between the Turning Phrenvaul (controlling slightly better undead ahead of time) or Naenhoon (Divine metamagic on arcane spells without using a feat? Yum!) Of course, if I had it my way Phrenhoon would have the effect Phrenvaul have now (spell slot to PP conversion) and Phrenvaul would be the undead turning boost. The logic behind it is that undead turning is tied to charisma (and get a boost from vaul) while spell slot conversion could have something to do with wisdom (which is tied to the Hoon-word). Again a boon for Psychic warriors or maybe some class from Complete Psionic. And... I guess that's it. If you get this far I congratulate you for not falling asleep. Heres a cookie :cookie:
SmiloDan 01-20-08, 02:10 AM	Squirrels ate my phone lines too! Maybe Phrenhoon can be "spend 1 pp and regain a number of hit points equal to double your Con bonus?" Don't you hate it when the wrong Belushi dies?
Eikre 01-20-08, 02:43 AM	The bonus of two power points is probably immaterial for much of an Illumnian's career. On the other hand, Vaul only works on caster levels. I vote that Phren should, instead of granting spare power points, grant a +1 increase in Manifester level, up to the illumnian's Character Level, changing to +2 at level two. He'll get a few petty bonus power points for the trouble, anyway. (Interestingly, the Phren sigil, as it stands, allows an Illumnian to enter War Mind without spending a feat or class level to get it. That's not incredible, though, as there are plenty of other races that can already do that.)
Norr 01-20-08, 10:21 AM	Maybe Phrenhoon can be "spend 1 pp and regain a number of hit points equal to double your Con bonus?" That's about equal to the monks wholeness of body ability, except it goes off constitution instead of wisdom and works twice a day. Some people might mumble about that, but wholeness of body sucks anyway so meh. It's a good change I think. Also, @ Eikre: Your argument makes sense, since that's what the Krau sigil does. However, this would mean the Illumian would have to have a level in a psionic class to get the pp needed to power his/her abilities. Arguably that's the same functionality as Krau, but of Kraus' 5 words only two need the expenditure of spell slots, while 3 (or 4) of the Prhen words need pp to work, though that could be remedied somewhat by taking the wild talent feat (but then there still wouldn't be any extra pp from Phren unless he/she took a psionic lvl). Still, I see your point, since Krau increase caster level, Phren might inrease manifester level in the same way and Illumian sigils and words should primarily benefit multiclass characters. I could go either way, but I prefer the extra pp mainly because it is a boon to nonpsionic Illumians as well and, of course, psionics is different. ;)
Norr 01-20-08, 10:45 AM	Squirrels ate my phone lines too! Yeah, and it's a cause for both irritation and joy, since it proves beyond doubt they are pawns of 13. Don't you hate it when the wrong Belushi dies? Yes. It is... unfortunate.
SmiloDan 01-20-08, 11:39 AM	That's about equal to the monks wholeness of body ability, except it goes off constitution instead of wisdom and works twice a day. Some people might mumble about that, but wholeness of body sucks anyway so meh. It's a good change I think. Also, @ Eikre: Your argument makes sense, since that's what the Krau sigil does. However, this would mean the Illumian would have to have a level in a psionic class to get the pp needed to power his/her abilities. Arguably that's the same functionality as Krau, but of Kraus' 5 words only two need the expenditure of spell slots, while 3 (or 4) of the Prhen words need pp to work, though that could be remedied somewhat by taking the wild talent feat (but then there still wouldn't be any extra pp from Phren unless he/she took a psionic lvl). Still, I see your point, since Krau increase caster level, Phren might inrease manifester level in the same way and Illumian sigils and words should primarily benefit multiclass characters. I could go either way, but I prefer the extra pp mainly because it is a boon to nonpsionic Illumians as well and, of course, psionics is different. ;) I personally think Wholeness of Body should heal a number of hit points equal to the monk's monk level x his Wisdom bonus (minimum +1). Maybe they'll fix that in 4th Edition, especially since it looks like every character gets some kind of self-healing ability. I figure that the magic/psionics transparency rules would allow krau to increase manifester level in the same way it increases caster level. I always figured that manifester level was just a fancy way of saying caster level. But to be honest, I ran my first ever psionic NPCs last night. Probably won't do that again in this campaign (the PCs are swashbuckling "privateers.")
Norr 01-20-08, 02:51 PM	Dude, the only "swashbuckling 'privateers'" I know of are the FF crew. They eat psionics for dinner (though maybe that's why there won't be any more psi in your campain...)
SmiloDan 01-21-08, 01:35 AM	Who's the FF crew? We got a large party of privateers: male Halfling Swashbuckler 3/Rogue 3/Invisible Blade/Whisperknife female Aquatic Elf Druid male Goliath Monk "male" 1/2 Drow Bard/Swashbuckler male Human Swashbuckler/Duskblade/Fortune's Friend female 1/2 Elf Beguiler female Raptoran Evoker male Human Ranger/Scout archer the bard and duskblade are also twins. Theirs was a complicated childhood...
Eikre 01-21-08, 07:56 AM	Arguably that's the same functionality as Krau, but of Kraus' 5 words only two need the expenditure of spell slots, while 3 (or 4) of the Prhen words need pp to work, though that could be remedied somewhat by taking the wild talent feat (but then there still wouldn't be any extra pp from Phren unless he/she took a psionic lvl) Power Words are explicitly intended to benefit Illumnians based on their selection of class, and preferably, multi-class. Besides, it's not just Krau that's tied to a class feature. If I recall, Turning attempts, unarmed attacks, and sneak attack are all prerequisites to benefiting from other words. There are no Psions who will choose Phren expecting it's usefulness to last their careers. However, there are plenty of Rogues who want Up The Walls, and who will take Phren instead of the normal courses of action. My contention is this: Illumnian sigils consistently require skill or training to be used effectively. Phren, however, is not used primarily to build on skill; Phren is used as the foundation. I don't assert that you're doing it wrong. I advise that you're breaking the mission statement as it's outlined in the metagame sidebars.
Norr 01-21-08, 08:20 AM	@ Eikre: Yes, that was one of my concerns with Phren +pp versus Phren + manifester lvl. Your point illustrates exactly what a sigil/word should do. It's just that I was slightly unwilling to give up the awesome utility of extra pp for 'free' for an otherwise nonpsionic character. But, yes, you are right. The Phren sigil should give extra manifester level in the same way as Krau gives extra caster level (KrauPhren: even more yummy for cerebremancers ;)). @ SmiloDan: The Forgotten Freedom was originally an Ebberon thread posting rules for all things 'the worst party in ebberon is forbidden from doing', it then evolved into a roleplaying thread. They are now on their third thread and been moved to the Play by Post forums. It's a bit hard to explain exactly what they are about, but the third thread have a nice intro for fresh mea... new players. You can find their slightly out-of-date wiki (with links to all threads) here: http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Forgotten_Freedom:Main_Page
SmiloDan 01-21-08, 11:11 AM	Eikre's made some excellent points. If we make phren be +1 manifester level, not exceeding character level, then it's relatively easy to convert the Illumian words to the following: Illumian words (Su). Phrenaesh: The illumian can use her Strength score to determine the number of bonus power points she gains for a high ability score, instead of the normal ability score used by her class to determine this feature. If she has more than one psionic manifesting class, she may use her Strength score in place of any or all of the ability scores used by those classes for this purpose. Phrenhoon: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point and heal a number of hit points equal to double her Constitution bonus. Krauphren: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point and gain a +2 bonus to her caster level for 1 round. Phrennaen: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point to take 10 on a skill check, even if it is not normally allowed. Phrenuur: The illumian can use her Dexterity score to determine the number of bonus power points she gains for a high ability score, instead of the normal ability score used by her class to determine this feature. If she has more than one psionic manifesting class, she may use her Dexterity score in place of any or all of the ability scores used by those classes for this purpose. Phrenvaul: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian can spend 1 power point and add +2 to her equivalent Cleric level for the purposes of Rebuking or Turning Undead. Actually, we don't have to change them at all. We can assume they take a psionic class and multiclass with a non-psionic class to gain these benefits. Or take the Wild Talent feat.
Norr 01-21-08, 01:59 PM	Actually, we don't have to change them at all. We can assume they take a psionic class and multiclass with a non-psionic class to gain these benefits. Or take the Wild Talent feat. You're right, the wild talent feat (or better yet, the Hidden talent feat) is adequate to power these words if its use is otherwise nonpsionic, although the for the full benefit one must have at least one level in a manifesting class, as it should be with illumian words and sigils. This way, a fighter can take a level of psion and get 1st lvl powers, a manifester level of 3 and his Strength bonus to pp (Phrenaesh). This is really the essence of what what illumian words are. Great job.
SmiloDan 01-22-08, 01:27 AM	Now someone has to make up Illumian words for incarnum, truespeaking, binding, shadowcasting, and martial adeptry. I made that last word up me-self, I did! Seriously, truespeaking seems to totally fit the flavor of illumians.
Norr 01-25-08, 06:41 PM	Since you mentioned a truespeaking Illumian word, I have been thinking, and come up with a few rough suggestions. If you started up another thread somewhere on this topic, just say the word. Veru (truth): Your effective truespeaker level is considered one higher for the purpose of calculating save DCs. This ability may not increase your effective truespeaker level above your character level. At character level 2 this bonus increase to +2. This word is based off the similar Krau and Phren. However, effective truespeaker level only increase save DC (+1DC/2lvls) and checks to overcome spell resistance. I believe this is balanced because unlike a spellcaster his effective truespeaker level doesn't increase damage dice, and unlike a manifester it doesn't increase PP available or PP spending limit. I am aware thet Krauveru will increase this further, since all utterances are spell-like abilities. This might be a problem. Or maybe not, since it's still limited by the illumians character level. This would mean the illumian need to be something like truespeaker 2/wizard 4 for Krauveru to have its full effect. :w: Aeshveru: Twice per day, the illumian may attempt a truespeak check in place of a strength check. :w: Alternative Aeshveru: The illumian may use her strength bonus instead of her charisma bonus to calculate the DCs for her utterances. (likely overpowered, but wth. Maybe impose a 2/day restriction on this one) :w: Hoonveru: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian may expend a turn or rebuke undead attempts to aid in truespeaking. Every turn/rebuke undead attempt expended adds a +2 bonus to the illumians truespeak check. :w: Alternative Hoonveru: Twice per day the illumian may attempt a truespeak check instead of a constitution check. :w: Krauveru: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian may expend a spell slot to apply a 'meta-utterance' feat to an utterance without increasing the truespeak check. To do this, the illumian must sacrifice a spell slot of a level equal to ½ the DC increase the utterance would otherwise have had (rounding down). For example: Exhibit A wants to target Exhibit B (CR7) with an enlarged utterance, the DC is 34 (normally 29). To avoid having to increase the truespeak check DC by 5, Exhibit A sacrifices a 2nd level spell slot and barely makes the truespeak check. Note that this will not work with quickened utterances, as they would require a 10-level spell slot. :w: Verunaen: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian may make a truespeaking check equal to 20+2*spell/power level to add +2 to the DC of a spell/power. :w: Uurveru: The illumian may add her dexterity bonus to truespeak checks instead of her intelligence bonus. :w: Vaulveru: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian may attempt a truespeak check against any creature (at same DC as an utterance from the lexicon of the evolving mind would have). If this check succeeds, she may add a a bonus to her turning checks and turning damage rolls against that creature equal to the number with which her check exceeded the DC. She also gets ½ this bonus to attacks and damage rolls when making a smite attack. This benefit lasts until the beginning of her next round. :w: Alternative Vaulveru: Twice per day the illumian may attempt a truespeak check instead of a diplomacy, bluff or intimidate check. (You may now officially kick the bard out of the party) :w: Phrenveru: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian may pay one power point to add +2 to the DC of one of her utterances. Truespeaking-themed illumian words are tough, since truespeaking is based on skill checks which can be made over and over again, it's not an exhaustable resource like spells or PP. The truespeaker also lack class abilities other than truespeaking to play with, so there's only so many concepts to explore here.
SmiloDan 01-26-08, 11:07 PM	Wow, that's pretty awesome. Seems nice and balanced, but with great flavor. Maybe combine the two Vaulveru words so it replaces a Charisma check or Charisma-based skill check. That way it can also influence UMD, Perform, Turn Undead, etc. (I use the alternate Charisma check based form of Turn Undead....it's easier and you don't need to check a table).
Norr 01-27-08, 02:01 PM	How about this? :w: Vaulveru: Twice per day, as a swift action, the illumian may truespeak to augment her charismatic presence. The illumian makes a truespeak check, the result being the illumians effective charisma score for the next charisma-based check she attempts before the beginning of her next round. For turning, this applies to both turning checks and turning damage rolls, as turning is a single action. For smiting, the effective charisma score applies to both attack rolls and damage rolls for the same reason as turning attempts. Example: A is a truespeaking illumian Paladin who smites, turns and talks her way through life. She is level 5, has charisma 12, int 12, the 'truespeak training feat' and max ranks in her chosen skills (8). 1) She wants to turn a group of undead beasties (2HD each), but is unsure she can cope with their high numbers. She makes a truespeak check 1d20 + 12 (8 ranks +1 int) and rolls an average 11, making her effective charisma 20 for her next charisma-based action. Her turning damage roll is 2d6+2lvl+5truespeak+2vaul, averaging at 16 rather than the 13 she would normally have. She destroys two additional undead in this round. 2) There are still one undead left, which doesn't seem to react to her turning attempts. She decides to smite the vile creature, adding her charisma to her attack roll. Again she makes a truespeak check, averaging on 20. Instead of the +3 to attack roll she would have had (1 cha + 2 vaul) she instead gains +7 (5 truespeak + 2 vaul) and +5 to damage courtesy of her paladin levels. She hits and destroys the creature outright. 3) Night falls, and A sets up camp. The next morning she heads into town to get her reward for clearing out the undead menace. The guard captain offers her 40 gold for her trouble, but she does not agree. Unsure is she will be able to convince the captain, she makes a truespeak check, this time going slightly above average, 13, making her effective charisma 22 for a bonus of +6 and then +8 with her vaul sigil. she adds this to her diplomacy skill (8) for a total of 16. Rolling average (11+16=27) she ups the captains disposition from indifferent to friendly. He agrees to pay her 30 gold and donate 30 gold to her church. I think this more or less covers it.
SmiloDan 01-28-08, 03:04 AM	Nice!!!! What an awesome example. Now onto a Binder Illumian word....
Norr 02-14-08, 10:48 AM	:w: New sigil - Ligo (to bind): Your effective binder level is considered one higher for the purpose of binder level checks and improving Vestige Supernatural abilities. It does not give access to higher level vestiges or increase Vestige Supernatural ability save DCs. This ability may not increase your effective binder level above your character level. At character level 2 this bonus increase to +2. I've been unable/unwilling to take a bite of the binder for awhile, mostly because of work. I felt some of these are a bit uninspired (I mean, they're supposed to be cool as well as helpful in new and interesting ways), but it's a start. Concerning the Ligo sigil: Increasing effecective binder level increases the level of vestiges available for binding, the binder check to make a good pact, the DCs for Vestige Supernatural abilities and certain properties of the Vestige Supernatural abilities themselves such as damage. The question is if it is okay for a multiclass binder to retain all these benefits. Lets compare: +2 caster level gives you increased damage/range/duration. +2 manifester level gives you increased range/duration and lets you spend more PP for augmenting powers. +2 truespeker level increase save DCs only. +2 binder level gives you access to higher level vestiges, bonus to binder checks to make a good pact, +1 to DCs, and improve Vestige Supernatural abilities like caster level improves spells. This seem imbalanced to me. So the Ligo sigil does not give access to higher-level vestiges and does not improve Supernatural ability DCs. New words: Binders are a mechanically simple class, with few but useful class features. This makes it a bit hard to create diverse ilumian words that are interesting as well as useful (kind of like the Truespeaker). :w: Aeshligo: You may use yor strength bonus instead of your charisma bonus when making a binding check. :w: Hoonligo: Twice per day you may expend a turn or rebuke attempt as a swift action to add a +2 bonus to the DC of your supernatural abilities for one round. :w: Krauligo: Once per day, you may cast a spell as if it was a supernatural ability. The level of the spell may not exceed ½ your effective binder level. If this ability is used, the spell slot is expended as normal. However the spell gains the following benefits (on account of being considered a supernatural power): No verbal or somatic component, no material component, not subject to spell resistance, does not provoke an attack of opportunity, not subject to dispelling and no spell failure from armor. Spells cast with this ability retain their casting time. This ability cannot be used to cast spells with a 'permanent' duration or with a costly material component (see the Eschew Materials feat). :w: Ligonaen: Twice per day, you may expend a spell slot as a swift action to reset the 'timer' for one of your supernatural abilities. The spell slot must be of the same level as the bound vestige that granted you the ability or higher. Example: You are 10th level and make a pact with Malphas to use his invisibility. You then attack an enemy and loose your invisibility and cannot reinstate it for 5 rounds. You expend a 2nd level spell slot as a swift action to reset the timer and make yourself invisible again as a move action. Example: You have a pact Acererak and use his paralyzing ability, you succeed. However, the next round you are again in melee with another enemy. You expend a 5th level spell slot as a swift action and paralyze your new enemy as well. :w: Uurligo: You may use your Dexterity bonus instead of your Charisma bonus to calculate the DCs for your supernatural abilities. :w: Alternate Uurligo: Twice per day as a swift action you may reassign a number of your pact augmentation abilities equal to 1/5th your character level (rounding down). Example: A 10th level binder/2 rouge have spent all his PAAs on cold resistance and ventures into a white dragons lair, only to discover it's actually an albino red dragon when a wave of fire comes out of its mouth. Burnt, but not out, the binder changes two of his three pact augmentations to fire resistance the second round, and the third to fire resistance on the third round (using up his two uses for the day). The binder has adapted and gained an edge, but is still in for a hard fight. :w: Ligovaul: Twice per day, you may perform a supernatural melee smite attack as a standard action. You add your charisma bonus to the attack roll and, if your attack hits and deals damage, the target is also exposed to one of your offensive vestige powers. You may declare the specific power after you have confirmed the hit and dealt damage. If the attack hits, the supernatural ability is used up and will (usually) not be available for 5 rounds (Example: Acereraks paralyzing touch will be unavailable for 5 rounds after being used in a Supernatural Smite, but Focalors lightning strike can normally be used once/round, so you wont have to wait to use it again). Only powers that are touch attacks, ranged touch attacks or 'affects a single target' can be used with this ability. If you have the ability to make ranged smite attacks (Elf paladin sub-level), you may also use Supernatural smite as either a melee or ranged attack at your whim, provided you have the weaponry. Example: A 12th level Binder have a pact with Haures and Haagenti. While locked in combat with a fighter, he sees a rouge sneaking up behind him for a flanking position. He smacks the fighter with a Supernatural smite, adding +5 to his attack (+3 from his 16 charisma and +2 from his Vaul sigil) and hits. He decides to inflict Haagenti's Confusing Touch with his smite, and the fighter fails his will save. The binder must now wait 5 rounds until he can use Confusing Touch again. With the fighter distracted the binder now turns toward the rouge and uses his Supernatural Smite again, only this time its coupled with Haures Phantasmal Killer power. The binder hits and the rouge dies on the spot. The fighter will be confused for three more rounds, making him easier to deal with. This also works with Acereraks Paralyzing touch, Chupoclops Poison Bite (smite must be with bite attack), Andromalius Jesters Mirth and Andras Sow Discord, to name a few. I know he could just have used a touch attack to confuse the fighter, but the point of example is to demonstrate the use. Also, he did damage the fighter in addition to confusing him, which he wouldn't have been able to do with just the confusing touch. Personally, I wouldn't have used the smite with either of these abilities. I might have to redesign the smite atack to be useful more often, since melee attacks are generally inferior to touch attacks in melee if you can only attack once every round anyway. :w: Phrenligo: Twice per day, as a swift action, you may expend 1 power point to add +2 to the DC of one of your supernatural abilities for one round. :w: Ligoveru: Help me with this one. Gimme a cool suggestion (not the spell) and I'll see if I can stat it up. Truespeak check to increase DC seems so... bland.
SmiloDan 02-14-08, 11:38 AM	Ligoveru: Help me with this one. Gimme a cool suggestion (not the spell) and I'll see if I can stat it up. Truespeak check to increase DC seems so... bland. How about this: Veruligo: Twice per day, the binder can make a True Speak check instead of a binding check to see if a binding is a good pact or not.
Norr 02-14-08, 02:32 PM	:doh: Why didn't I think of that, it's so obvious now that you point it out. I mean, that's essentially what truespeak is for! Good thinking.
SmiloDan 02-14-08, 11:23 PM	Yeah, it's not flashy, but it's utilitarian and fits the flavor of both systems.