The gist of the class is that it is basically three in one: the adamantine technomancer is a hearty defender; the mithral technomancer is a leader with a mix of ability, but overall favoring giving bonus to ranged characters; and the quicksilver technomancer is a striker who should eventually focus on quick movements, and yo-yoing in and out of the fray. So, without further ado, the technomancer.
Technomancer
“You have a sword? How quaint! Let me introduce you to my cannon.”
Class Features
Role: The technomancer’s role is determined by his choice of augmentation alloy. See Alloy Body.
Power Source: Arcane. You utilize heavy mechanical self-augmentation to channel your arcane powers and you depend upon gadgetry and machinery to achieve your ends.
Key Abilities: Intelligence, Strength, Charisma, Dexterity
Armor Proficiency: See Alloy Body.
Weapon Proficiency: Simple melee, military melee
Bonus to Defense: +2 Fortitude (Adamantine Body); +1 Fortitude, +1 Reflex (Mithral Body); +1 Reflex, +1 Will (Quicksilver Body)
Hit Points at 1st Level: 15 + Con score (Adamantine Body); 12 + Con score (Mithral Body, Quicksilver Body)
Hit Points per Level: 6 (Adamantine Body); 5 (Mithral Body, Quicksilver Body)
Healing Surges per Day: See Alloy Body.
Trained Skills: From the list below, choose four trained skills at 1st level.
[indent]Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Endurance (Con), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Streetwise (Wis)
Build Options: adamantine guardian, mithral sniper, quicksilver skirmisher
Class Features: Alloy Body, Energy Cannon, Integrated Weapon, Lock-on
[indent]A technomancer’s technology is his art, and his body is his masterpiece. Technomancers are ambitious, intelligent, and often either deranged or incredibly self-controlled self-tinkerers, craftsmen who have looked towards the whir of machinery rather than the pull of more raw arcane power. Technomancers are shunned most everywhere they go, and thus typically travel alone, often seeking rare gems known as shards, the arcane crystals that power their technological weaponry. Technomancers shun most forms of raw magic, finding the idea of channeling arcane energy from the universe through the un-adulterated self to be risky, unappealing, and imprecise.
As a technomancer, your weapons are integrated into your person, so you depend on the shards you find to gain magical effects.[/indent]
Technomancer Class Features
Alloy Body: A technomancer’s enhancements are made from a combination of several magical metals, utilized to channel arcane energies. The metal a technomancer chooses as the primary component in his augmentations radically alters the way in which he interacts with his powers and even his overall role on the battlefield.
[indent]Adamantine Body (defender): You gain the benefits and penalties of plate or scale armor. You may enchant this built-in armor with the enchant item ritual.
[indent]Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the cold and necrotic keywords and does cold and necrotic damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-on: Your lock-on ability gives you the ability to mark targets as an at-will minor action. You may only have one target marked at a time and any new mark you make supersedes the old mark. This mark lasts the entire encounter, until your target dies, or until you choose to mark another target, whichever comes first.[/indent]
Mithral Body (leader): You gain the benefits of scale armor, but take no speed or check penalties. You may enchant this built-in armor with the enchant item ritual.
[indent]Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the fire and radiant keywords and does fire and radiant damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-on: Once per encounter your lock-on ability give you a bonus to ranged attack rolls equal to your Charisma modifier.[/indent]
Quicksilver Body (striker): You gain the benefits of hide armor, but take no speed or check penalties. You may enchant this built-in armor with the enchant item ritual.
[indent]Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the fire and radiant keywords and does fire and radiant damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-on: Once per round, you can lock on to any target within your field of vision as a minor action. You can have multiple locks at once. You deal extra damage to a target to which you a locked on, +1d6 at Heroic tier, +2d6 at Paragon tier, and +3d6 at Epic tier.[/indent][/indent]
[u]Energy Cannon:[/u] Every technomancer has an energy cannon built into one arm. The cannon gives every technomancer the energy blast at-will power, as well as access to any power with the cannon keyword.
[u]Integrated Weapon:[/u] You gain an integrated weapon, which can have the stats of any one-handed or versatile melee weapon. Your integrated weapon can be swapped for another after an extended rest, and you cannot be disarmed. An integrated weapon gives you access to powers with the integrated keyword.
[u]Lock-on:[/u] Every technomancer has a locking mechanism of some kind, though its effect in combat is contingent on the technomancer’s augmentation alloy.
Also, the class has no fixed role, which is probably a bad idea... if you want a defender, striker and leader Technomancer, you should make 3 classes. Right now, either he can very easily do multiple roles, or he won't have any choice in his build since there aren't enough powers to vary his choices if he focusses on one role.
Some pointers:
* The class has 4 important abilities; that's too much. Drop it down so that he uses 2, depending on the build.
* Lock-on from the Defender should just Mark the target. First off; because a Defender should be able to do stuff with his Mark (don't see any yet; he could really use that) and second because this power will stack with an actual mark for massive penalties, which isn't really the way to go.
* Benefits with Scale/Chain armor without the penalties... does that mean he adds his Int/Dex mod to his AC? That would put him massively above any class, and is way overpowered. Otherwise; explain which penalties he does not take... and make sure he is still considered to wear heavy armor.
* The lock-on power for the leader is way too strong... adding your primary bonus to all attacks against the target? It should at least be an at-will that does it, not a side effect. Also, it doesn't list a duration, is it end-of-turn or end-of-encountr?
* The Striker lock-on doesn't list the extra damage it deals?
* The bonusses for your cannon are too high; a free +3 AC or attack at high level is too much.
* I don't really get what the Chain is supposed to do? Is it a basic attack or something?
I'll leave the powers for now... there's a lot of work to do on the class itself to make it feasible, I think.
I'd really advise you to pick one role for one class, it'll make your life a lot easier...
I can see you already know the code for Bold and [size=3]Size[/i]. I assume you know italics and underline (if not, I'm pretty sure you can figure them out in a hurry).
Something that would help (aside from a few more return keys) is the:
[indent]Indent function.[/indent]
[noparse][indent]Indent function.[/indent][/noparse]
It's great for listing things like
Alloy Body: A technomancer’s enhancements are made from a combination of several magical metals, utilized to channel arcane energies. The metal a technomancer chooses as the primary component in his augmentations radically alters the way in which he interacts with his powers and even his overall role on the battlefield.
Adamantine Body (defender): You gain the benefits and penalties of plate armor.
Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the cold and necrotic keywords and does cold and necrotic damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-On: Your lock-on ability puts a tracer mark on the opponent of your choice. The target takes a -2 to all attacks that don’t include you. This penalty increases to -3 at 21st level.
Mithral Body (leader): You gain the benefits of scale armor with no penalties.
Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the fire and radiant keywords and does fire and radiant damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-On: You lock-on ability singles out a single target against whom all of your allies gain a bonus to their attack rolls equal to your Intelligence mod.
Quicksilver Body (striker): You gain the benefits of chain armor with no penalties.
Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the cold and radiant keywords and does cold and radiant damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-On: Your lock-on ability singles out multiple targets against which you gain extra damage.
Alloy Body: A technomancer’s enhancements are made from a combination of several magical metals, utilized to channel arcane energies. The metal a technomancer chooses as the primary component in his augmentations radically alters the way in which he interacts with his powers and even his overall role on the battlefield.
[indent]Adamantine Body (defender): You gain the benefits and penalties of plate armor.
[INDENT]Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the cold and necrotic keywords and does cold and necrotic damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-On: Your lock-on ability puts a tracer mark on the opponent of your choice. The target takes a -2 to all attacks that don’t include you. This penalty increases to -3 at 21st level.[/INDENT]
Mithral Body (leader): You gain the benefits of scale armor with no penalties.
[INDENT]Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the fire and radiant keywords and does fire and radiant damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-On: You lock-on ability singles out a single target against whom all of your allies gain a bonus to their attack rolls equal to your Intelligence mod.[/INDENT]
Quicksilver Body (striker): You gain the benefits of chain armor with no penalties.
[INDENT]Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the cold and radiant keywords and does cold and radiant damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-On: Your lock-on ability singles out multiple targets against which you gain extra damage.[/indent][/INDENT]
Much clearer, much easier to ride, and much more organized.
“You have a sword? How quaint! Let me introduce you to my cannon!”
CLASS FEATURES:
Role: The role of the technomancer is determined largely by the composition of his augmentation alloy. See Alloy Body.
Power Source: Arcane. You utilize heavy mechanical self-augmentation to channel your arcane powers. You depend upon gadgetry and machinery to achieve your ends. Technology is your art, and you are your own masterpiece.
Key Abilities: Intelligence, Dexterity, Constitution, Strength
Armor Proficiency: See Alloy Body.
Weapon Proficiency: Simple melee, military melee
Implements: technomancer augmentations
Bonus to Defense: +1 AC, +1 Fortitude (Adamantine Body); +1 Fortitude, +1 Reflex (Mithral Body); +1 Reflex, +1 Will (Quicksilver Body)
Hit Points at 1st Level: 15 + Con score (Adamantine Body); 12 + Con score (Mithral Body, Quicksilver Body)
Hit Points per Level: 6 (Adamantine Body); 5 (Mithral Body, Quicksilver Body)
Healing Surges per Day: See Alloy Body.
Trained Skills: From the list below, choose four trained skills at 1st level.
Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Endurance (Con), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Streetwise (Wis)
Build Options: adamantine guardian, mithral sniper, quicksilver skirmisher
Class Features: Alloy Body, Energy Cannon, Integrated Weapon, Lock-on
[INDENT]A technomancer’s technology is his art, and his body is his own masterpiece. Technomancers are intelligent self-tinkerers, craftsmen who have looked towards the whir of machinery rather than the pull of more raw arcane power. Technomancers are shunned most everywhere they go, and thus typically travel alone, often seeking rare gems known as shards, the arcane crystals that power their technological weaponry. Technomancers shun most forms of raw magic, finding the idea of channeling arcane energy from the universe through the un-adulterated self to be risky, unappealing, and imprecise.
As a technomancer, your weapons are integrated into your person, so you depend on the shards you find to gain magical effects.[/INDENT]
Technomancer Class Features
Alloy Body: A technomancer’s enhancements are made from a combination of several magical metals, utilized to channel arcane energies. The metal a technomancer chooses as the primary component in his augmentations radically alters the way in which he interacts with his powers and even his overall role on the battlefield.
[INDENT]Adamantine Body (defender): You gain the benefits and penalties of plate armor.
[INDENT]Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the cold and necrotic keywords and does cold and necrotic damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-On: Your lock-on ability puts a tracer mark on the opponent of your choice. The target takes a -2 to all attacks that don’t include you. This penalty increases to -3 at 21st level.[/INDENT]
Mithral Body (leader): You gain the benefits of scale armor with no penalties.
[INDENT]Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the fire and radiant keywords and does fire and radiant damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-On: You lock-on ability singles out a single target against whom all of your allies gain a bonus to their attack rolls equal to your Intelligence mod.[/INDENT]
Quicksilver Body (striker): You gain the benefits of chain armor with no penalties.
[INDENT]Energy Cannon: Your energy blast attack gains the cold and radiant keywords and does cold and radiant damage, as do any attacks with the cannon keyword.
Lock-On: Your lock-on ability singles out multiple targets against which you gain extra damage.[/INDENT][/INDENT]
Energy Cannon: Every technomancer has an energy cannon built into one arm. The cannon gives every technomancer the energy blast at-will power, as well as access to any power with the cannon keyword. The cannon may either be affixed, or integrated.
[INDENT]Affixed Cannon: Your energy cannon is fixed to your arm and may not be stowed away. As such, your cannon arm never actually has a hand, but the advantages to this are that your weapon is more sturdily fixed to your arm and is always weapon-ready. You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls with your energy cannon, as well as a +1 to initiative. This bonus increases to +2 at 11th level and +3 at 21st level.
Integrated Cannon: Your energy cannon is integrated into a mechanical arm. You may “draw” your cannon as a minor action. You gain a +1 bonus to AC while your cannon is stowed away, able to use your arm to deflect blows without damaging any of the machinery inside. This bonus increases to +2 at 11th level and +3 at 21st level.[/INDENT]
Energy Cannon Attachment: Choose one of the following attachments to put on your energy cannon.
[indent]Chain: You may attach a chain to your energy cannon, allowing you to use powers with the chain keyword. The chain has a +2 proficiency bonus, a range of 5 squares, and does 1d6 damage. You are considered to be proficient with the chain.
Scope: You may attach, instead of a chain, a scope to your energy cannon. The scope gives you access to powers with the scope keyword, as well as the Prime Shot class feature.[/indent]
Integrated Weapon: At first level you choose either a blade or a blunt instrument as your integrated weapon. This weapon gives you access to any power with the integrated weapon keyword, as well as either the electrifying strike at-will power. Your integrated weapon may be drawn as a minor action.
[indent]Blade: This weapon behaves as a longsword and gives you access to powers with the blade keyword.
Blunt: This weapon behaves as a warhammer and gives you access to powers with the blunt keyword.[/indent]
Level 1 At-Will Spells
This is a class I'm writing on a request from one of my PCs. I saw three really cool niches for the flavor he was proposing to fill, but I was unsure I could conjure 29 levels of 3 different classes so similar in theme. I thought the idea of having the major features of the class so fluid at 1st level was appealing, if difficult to write. And again, this is a work in progress. More powers are coming, but I've just started working on this, so I only had up to level 1.
From looking over the class abilities, this class is hugely powerful. If you want this class to be balanced against the rest, you really need to tone it down.
Also, the class has no fixed role, which is probably a bad idea... if you want a defender, striker and leader Technomancer, you should make 3 classes. Right now, either he can very easily do multiple roles, or he won't have any choice in his build since there aren't enough powers to vary his choices if he focusses on one role.
My plan was, once I got more powers written, to start building contingent effects onto the powers. So the adamantine technomancer would gain mark-dependent abilities and stuff to make him sticky, the mithral technomancer would gain buffs for ranged allies, and the quicksilver technomancer would gain movement based stuff and/or extra damage. I recognize the difficulty balancing this, which is part of the reason I posted so early in class formation.
* The class has 4 important abilities; that's too much. Drop it down so that he uses 2, depending on the build.
Well, 5 if you really think about it. Alloy Body, which, as I have the class written out right now, is the heart and soul of what I’m trying to do; Lock-on, which is written into Alloy Body; Integrated Weapon; Energy Cannon, and Energy Cannon Attachments. I thought that IW wouldn’t be an issue because the Integrated Weapon amounts to fluff. There’s no real mechanical advantage to it. You still have to pay to enchant it and it forces the class into one of two weapons. Lock-on is part of the role-defining duties of Alloy Body.
That said, I like your idea of making the abilities build-dependent. Maybe only give the adamantine body the integrated weapon, remove the EC attachment, and give the other two builds the cannon? That would make the structure of the class somewhat parallel to that of the sorcerer, where you really only have one choice to make that gives you a lot of benefits. Or perhaps just drop the integrated weapon altogether? And I’m probably just going to drop the EC Attachments.
* Lock-on from the Defender should just Mark the target. First off; because a Defender should be able to do stuff with his Mark (don't see any yet; he could really use that) and second because this power will stack with an actual mark for massive penalties, which isn't really the way to go.
You're right here, I'll change that, and the mark will do things the further into writing powers I get.
* Benefits with Scale/Chain armor without the penalties... does that mean he adds his Int/Dex mod to his AC? That would put him massively above any class, and is way overpowered. Otherwise; explain which penalties he does not take... and make sure he is still considered to wear heavy armor.
No, only penalties to speed and skill checks are removed. I was trying to match the 3.x fluff of mithral being incredibly light and easy to wear. No Int of Dex mod to AC. He's still in heavy armor.
* The lock-on power for the leader is way too strong... adding your primary bonus to all attacks against the target? It should at least be an at-will that does it, not a side effect. Also, it doesn't list a duration, is it end-of-turn or end-of-encounter?
How would secondary stat to all ranged attacks on the target? I'm trying to fill the niche parallel to that of the warlord. And probably just end of turn, but with the ability to sustain minor.
* The Striker lock-on doesn't list the extra damage it deals?
Yes, I forgot to add that write-up. I was originally planning on building the extra damage into the powers, although I think now that I'm just going to give them extra damage on par with Warlock's Curse.
* The bonusses for your cannon are too high; a free +3 AC or attack at high level is too much.
How about a +1 at level 1, which increases to a +2 at level 16 or 21?
* I don't really get what the Chain is supposed to do? Is it a basic attack or something?
That was the idea. Then give some interesting options for tripping powers and some Scorpion syle “Get over here!” moves. I'm thinking I might just drop the attachments, which is going to force me to rewrite my powers. Hmm....
As for the Metroid games…yeah, that’s pretty accurate…that was especially the catalyst for adding the chain to the ECA list.
And thank you for the formatting advice. I was cringing at the impossible-to-read format I had, but I didn’t know how to indent of use the deck…thanks. I’ll update the class in a little bit.
Ask him exactly what he wants, and build just that, and no more. You are now getting into a very difficult project, of which probably no more then 1/3d will be used.
Once you get used to the class he's played, you can fill it out with a few more powers, and then you'll have your first Technomancer class.
Designing everything from the get-go isn't really the way to go I think...
As for your comments;
I was referring to these four:
Key Abilities: Intelligence, Dexterity, Constitution, Strength
You should really drop 2 of them, depending on build. Right now attacks are made with a lot of different abilities.
I'd just drop the difference between Affixed and Integrated Cannon altogether; just make it fluff. It doesn't add much to the flavor of the class, you'd be better of with another defining feature other then '+1 to AC'.
What the warlord does with giving you an attack bonus, is done through a power, not as an automatic side-effect. You should make a Lock-on power that does that, along with basic damage. It's really powerful if every daily you use, gives you a free at-will power along with it for free.
For Integrated Weapon, I'd let the player just integrate any weapon type he wants, as long as it's melee (and possibly one-handed)
Gives him some more choice.
That already makes the weapon mostly fluff, which isn't all that bad, really.
Just give it the mechanical ability of 'cannot be disarmed' and it should be ok.
Also, have a look at this:
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1121020
It's a remake of the Warcraft III Tinker, done by Lumovanis.
You might be able to snag some ideas there, it might match your flavor a bit
The MAD was going to be taken care of by having rider effects on the powers be very build-specific, and having most of the powers be very versatile in their application.
As for your other suggestions, have a look at my updated OP. It's got the springboard for the other builds right there, and I can start working on the quicksilver stuff off of it too.