special request half fiend using Bo9S, trying to get it down to LA +2. [Archive] - Wizards Community

special request half fiend using Bo9S, trying to get it down to LA +2. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Nadaka
05-01-07, 01:17 AM This is a custom modified half fiend template built at the request of a player. I am looking for advice to reduce its LA to +2. I am using sanity rules similar to call of cthulu and would like to keep the flavor of corruption inherent in using the templates stronger abilities. Any suggestions? Comments? etc?

The Storm Wolf. The storm wolf is a powerful fiend that embodies darkness chaos and destruction. Its form is an incarporeal shifting black cloud in the shape of a wolf, occasionally wracked by arcs of lightning. This fiend and many like it have been bound within the husk of a human form by arcane magic. It was built to be a superior soldier capable of defeating a far darker evil. While powerful, they ultimatey proved to difficult to control as the human hosts eventually slipped into madness as th beast within takes over.

Appearance: Unlike a typical half fiend this one looks largely like a normal human with a few bestial features. Over time however the host may become more and more corrupted by the beast within, causing physical deformities.

The PC in question wears a cold iron mask covering part of her face, covering a dark and malignant void.

A half-fiend uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Speed: +10ft movement rate
Natural Armor: +1
Attack: A half-fiend has two claw attacks, and the claws are the primary natural weapon. If the base creature can use weapons, the half-fiend retains this ability. A half-fiend fighting without weapons uses a claw when making an attack action. When it has a weapon, it usually uses the weapon instead.
Full Attack: A half-fiend fighting without weapons uses both claws when making a full attack. If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack. If it has a hand free, it uses a claw as an additional natural secondary attack.
Damage: Half-fiends have bite and claw attacks. If the base creature does not have these attack forms, use the damage values in the table below. Otherwise,

use the values below or the base creature’s damage values, whichever are greater.

Size Claw Damage
Fine —
Diminutive 1
Tiny 1d2
Small 1d3
Medium 1d4
Large 1d6
Huge 1d8
Gargantuan 2d6
Colossal 3d6

Special Attacks: A half-fiend retains all the special attacks of the base creature and gains the following special attack.
-Smite Outsider (Su): Once per day the creature can make a normal melee attack to deal extra damage equal to its HD (maximum of +20) against an outsider.
-Mountain Hammer once per encounter

Special Qualities: A half-fiend has all the special qualities of the base creature, plus the following special qualities.
—Darkvision out to 60 feet.
—Immunity to poison.
—Resistance to acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, and fire 10.
—Damage reduction: 5/magic (if HD 11 or less) or 10/magic (if HD 12 or more).
—A half-fiend’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
—Spell resistance equal to creature’s HD + 10 (maximum 35).
-Jump DCs for movement are reduced by -20, this improves to -30 at 5 hit dice, and -40 at 9 hit dice. She is always considered to be making a running jump, even when jumping from a standing position.
-Hearing the Air: a Stormwolf half fiend with 8 or more hit dice gains hearing the air as a bonus stance. This can not be used in conjunction with another stance unless you have the ability to use multiple stances.

-scent
-sudden leap once per encounter
-shocking blade(su) once per encounter (as burning blade maneuver with electricity damage).
-can spend 1 sanity as a swift action to recover a maneuver.
-can spend 1d3 sanity as a swift action to recover smite.

Spell Like abilities
Darkness 3/day

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Dex +4, Con +4, Wis +2
Skills: A half-fiend gains skill points as an outsider and has skill points equal to (8 + Int modifier) x (HD + 3). Do not include Hit Dice from class

levels in this calculation—the half-fiend gains outsider skill points only for its racial Hit Dice, and gains the normal amount of skill points for its class levels. Treat skills from the base creature’s list as class skills, and other skills as cross-class.
Alignment: Always evil (any).
Level Adjustment: +2

EDIT: removed spider climb, switched Hearing the air from an always on class ability to a bonus stance gained only at later levels. Removed the ability to emulate manuevers through the use of sanity.
okaynowa
05-01-07, 01:28 PM This is a custom modified half fiend template built at the request of a player. I am looking for advice to reduce its LA to +2.My first suggestion would be to reduce the number of special qualities this template possesses.

For starters, the Sudden Leap, Jump, and Leaping Dragon qualities all boost the character's Jump checks. That's a bit redundant, and overkill, and redundant.

The Jump bonuses obviously synergize with the natural claws and the ability to spend Sanity on Tiger Claw maneuvers. The character would be foolish not to specialize in that school.

This template also offers immunity to poison, several energy resistances, damage reduction, Spell Resistance, and a boost to every ability score that improves saving throws. Add in darkvision, scent, and blindsense, and this character has no weaknesses worth mentioning.

It will be difficult to challenge a character with all these superpowers. Limiting the template to a handful of non-synergizing abilities would go a long way towards reducing the Level Adjustment. For example:

1 sensory improvement
1 energy resistance
1 special maneuver-related enhancement

Something that simple wouldn't have to have an LA at all. Let the rest of those powers come back as racial feats and racial substitution levels/prestige class levels.

Merely a suggestion. Cheers!
Nadaka
05-01-07, 05:38 PM I removed spiderclimb, and changed it so that hearing the air isn't gained till higher levels and counts as an actual stance.

Note that the jumping abilities are intended to replace the flight that the original half-fiend recieved. I had not anticipated the interaction with tiger claw maneuvers. Instead of providing a bonus to all jump checks, I will instead reduce the save DC for movement related jumps. This will achieve the desired mobility without giving a combat bonus whe using tiger claw maneuvers.

I also removed the sanity based use of maneuvers. They would only be situationally balanced in a campaign with a great deal of sanity loss and little chance of recovery. Or perhaps I should limit the ability to mimic some manuevers at a sanity cost to a small number of times per day?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nadaka 05-01-07, 01:17 AM	This is a custom modified half fiend template built at the request of a player. I am looking for advice to reduce its LA to +2. I am using sanity rules similar to call of cthulu and would like to keep the flavor of corruption inherent in using the templates stronger abilities. Any suggestions? Comments? etc? The Storm Wolf. The storm wolf is a powerful fiend that embodies darkness chaos and destruction. Its form is an incarporeal shifting black cloud in the shape of a wolf, occasionally wracked by arcs of lightning. This fiend and many like it have been bound within the husk of a human form by arcane magic. It was built to be a superior soldier capable of defeating a far darker evil. While powerful, they ultimatey proved to difficult to control as the human hosts eventually slipped into madness as th beast within takes over. Appearance: Unlike a typical half fiend this one looks largely like a normal human with a few bestial features. Over time however the host may become more and more corrupted by the beast within, causing physical deformities. The PC in question wears a cold iron mask covering part of her face, covering a dark and malignant void. A half-fiend uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here. Speed: +10ft movement rate Natural Armor: +1 Attack: A half-fiend has two claw attacks, and the claws are the primary natural weapon. If the base creature can use weapons, the half-fiend retains this ability. A half-fiend fighting without weapons uses a claw when making an attack action. When it has a weapon, it usually uses the weapon instead. Full Attack: A half-fiend fighting without weapons uses both claws when making a full attack. If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack. If it has a hand free, it uses a claw as an additional natural secondary attack. Damage: Half-fiends have bite and claw attacks. If the base creature does not have these attack forms, use the damage values in the table below. Otherwise, use the values below or the base creature’s damage values, whichever are greater. Size Claw Damage Fine — Diminutive 1 Tiny 1d2 Small 1d3 Medium 1d4 Large 1d6 Huge 1d8 Gargantuan 2d6 Colossal 3d6 Special Attacks: A half-fiend retains all the special attacks of the base creature and gains the following special attack. -Smite Outsider (Su): Once per day the creature can make a normal melee attack to deal extra damage equal to its HD (maximum of +20) against an outsider. -Mountain Hammer once per encounter Special Qualities: A half-fiend has all the special qualities of the base creature, plus the following special qualities. —Darkvision out to 60 feet. —Immunity to poison. —Resistance to acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, and fire 10. —Damage reduction: 5/magic (if HD 11 or less) or 10/magic (if HD 12 or more). —A half-fiend’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. —Spell resistance equal to creature’s HD + 10 (maximum 35). -Jump DCs for movement are reduced by -20, this improves to -30 at 5 hit dice, and -40 at 9 hit dice. She is always considered to be making a running jump, even when jumping from a standing position. -Hearing the Air: a Stormwolf half fiend with 8 or more hit dice gains hearing the air as a bonus stance. This can not be used in conjunction with another stance unless you have the ability to use multiple stances. -scent -sudden leap once per encounter -shocking blade(su) once per encounter (as burning blade maneuver with electricity damage). -can spend 1 sanity as a swift action to recover a maneuver. -can spend 1d3 sanity as a swift action to recover smite. Spell Like abilities Darkness 3/day Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Dex +4, Con +4, Wis +2 Skills: A half-fiend gains skill points as an outsider and has skill points equal to (8 + Int modifier) x (HD + 3). Do not include Hit Dice from class levels in this calculation—the half-fiend gains outsider skill points only for its racial Hit Dice, and gains the normal amount of skill points for its class levels. Treat skills from the base creature’s list as class skills, and other skills as cross-class. Alignment: Always evil (any). Level Adjustment: +2 EDIT: removed spider climb, switched Hearing the air from an always on class ability to a bonus stance gained only at later levels. Removed the ability to emulate manuevers through the use of sanity.
okaynowa 05-01-07, 01:28 PM	This is a custom modified half fiend template built at the request of a player. I am looking for advice to reduce its LA to +2.My first suggestion would be to reduce the number of special qualities this template possesses. For starters, the Sudden Leap, Jump, and Leaping Dragon qualities all boost the character's Jump checks. That's a bit redundant, and overkill, and redundant. The Jump bonuses obviously synergize with the natural claws and the ability to spend Sanity on Tiger Claw maneuvers. The character would be foolish not to specialize in that school. This template also offers immunity to poison, several energy resistances, damage reduction, Spell Resistance, and a boost to every ability score that improves saving throws. Add in darkvision, scent, and blindsense, and this character has no weaknesses worth mentioning. It will be difficult to challenge a character with all these superpowers. Limiting the template to a handful of non-synergizing abilities would go a long way towards reducing the Level Adjustment. For example: 1 sensory improvement 1 energy resistance 1 special maneuver-related enhancement Something that simple wouldn't have to have an LA at all. Let the rest of those powers come back as racial feats and racial substitution levels/prestige class levels. Merely a suggestion. Cheers!
Nadaka 05-01-07, 05:38 PM	I removed spiderclimb, and changed it so that hearing the air isn't gained till higher levels and counts as an actual stance. Note that the jumping abilities are intended to replace the flight that the original half-fiend recieved. I had not anticipated the interaction with tiger claw maneuvers. Instead of providing a bonus to all jump checks, I will instead reduce the save DC for movement related jumps. This will achieve the desired mobility without giving a combat bonus whe using tiger claw maneuvers. I also removed the sanity based use of maneuvers. They would only be situationally balanced in a campaign with a great deal of sanity loss and little chance of recovery. Or perhaps I should limit the ability to mimic some manuevers at a sanity cost to a small number of times per day?