Making a WarCraft Death Knight Class - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Making a WarCraft Death Knight Class

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
BlackRequiem
Oct 13, 2008 17:42:46 I'm running a WarCraft campaign in 4e and how would you reasonably implement this class in 4e? And please no 'multiclass X and X then change the thematic elements'. I want to make a brand new class for it that isn't just a 'Paladin with dark vibes', complete with Undead bolstering and healing powers as well as a functioning, balanced way to produce Minions.
#2
samyueru
Oct 13, 2008 18:22:33 Well, the first thing to do would probably be to present how you think it should be done (with sample powers from say, levels 1-5) and then let the community comment on that, and make changes to the class, rather than ask someone else to do all the work.
#3
BlackRequiem
Oct 13, 2008 18:34:47
Well, the first thing to do would probably be to present how you think it should be done (with sample powers from say, levels 1-5) and then let the community comment on that, and make changes to the class, rather than ask someone else to do all the work.

I'm really just looking for ideas. I all ready mentioned creatable Minions but.. what kind of Role should this be? Striker\Leader, as oppose to the Paladins' Defender\Leader?
#4
Novacat
Oct 13, 2008 18:50:42 The Death Knight in WoW is intended as a tank class, so Defender would be appropriate. However, thematically, the Death Knight is meant to use a 2H weapon, rather than sword-and-board, so you should come up with a way to compensate. Until the expansion is released, it's difficult to tell what the DK's other signature abilities are.
#5
mookie37
Oct 13, 2008 20:30:36
Until the expansion is released, it's difficult to tell what the DK's other signature abilities are.

Diseases, cold magic and the summoning of undead minions.
#6
malkav666
Oct 14, 2008 8:42:32 Well first off you would have to drop the rune system, as it is basically a mana system. Then you should take a look at the death knight spells and talent lists found here:

Blood Spells
Frost Spells
Unholy spells

There is also a tab for talents which will probably be necessary to flesh out your skills to 30. Then you need to decide what your build options are. IMO the death knight looks like it would build up almost like a martial warlock. with three distinct sources of power (unholy/frost/blood).

I would say they get the following stats (and this is all very rough so just take it as you will or improve upon it in any way you like).:

HP 15+con score
HP per level: 6
Skill bonus: Endurance +2 Arcana +2 (being that the class used magic to over come death and the process of dieing probably means they got a pretty good tolerance level for taxing items)
Surges per day:8 + con mod
Defense Bonus: +2 fort (due to once again surviving death and the fact that several of their abilities deal with disease)

Skills: choose four from ~ Arcana, Endurance, Athletics, Intimidation, Religion,History, Perception, Stealth

Weapon and Armor groups: Simple and Military melee, Simple ranged, and mail/scale/plate)

Important stats STR (for the to hit of abilities) and INT or CON (for additions to abilities depending on build choice.

Build Options: Must Choose a death pact that basically adds flavor to why and how the character is an undeadish death knight. The end result can be whatever you like as long as it is pertinent to your world. For example Unholy death knights could be the result of powerful necromancy spells, Blood death knights could be the spawn of certain kinds of undead, and frost (this one is a little harder) can have a more shamanistic feel being the harbinger of old spirits of frost and crulty incarnate.

Your build will also give you access to an encounter ability. Here are some examples: (all missing key words and such, so they would have to be hammered out to actually make it into play)

Unholy power: Rise forth and serve-

Once per encounter when the death knight comes upon a humanoid corspe they may use a standard action to animate it with unholy power. The creature has defenses equal to the death knight and HP equal to the death knights healing surge value + con score. The created undead must be pointed at a foe when created and may not be pointed at a new foe unless the one it is aimed at dies or otherwise leaves the combat. At the end of combat this creature becomes a regular corspe again. This ability may not be used outside of combat.

Frost Power: Abyssal Chill-
An aura of frozen undeath radiates forth from the death knight instilling the cold of death into nearby enemies.

Once per encounter. Int vs Fort. Close Burst 1.

Hit: 1d6 + INT frost damage and the targets are all slowed until the end of the death knight's next turn.

Miss: Targets are slowed until the end of the death knight's next turn.

Increase damage to 2d6 at 11th and 3d6 at 21st level.

Blood Power: Gorge the soul-

Once per encounter. Str vs Fort. Melee: weapon.

Hit: [1w]+str necrotic damage. The Death Knight is healed by an amount equal to half of this damage dealt or his CON modifier (whichever is higher)

[2w] damage increase at 21st level.

Now that is one of the two things a class usually gets. Another to consider is a mark/curse type effect. I don't think a standard fighter mark is appropriate per say, nor a curse. But perhaps a disease affect seems to go better. maybe something like?

Virulent Infestation-

When a Death knight attacks an opponent in melee whether or not the attack hits the death knight may choose to infect a contagion into the target. The death knight may only have one such contagion up at a time. If he uses this ability on a new target the previous one is cured.

Unholy Contagion: -2 Will defense. All adjacent enemies (to the player not the mod) get -1 Will defense. If the mob does not score a hit on a creature with a melee weapon during its turn then it takes 1d8+CON damage.

Frozen Contagion: -2 Ref. All adjacent enemies get -1 Ref. If the target does not move at least 1 square during its turn then it is immobilized as its feet freeze to the ground taking an ongoing 5 damage (save ends both)

Blood Contagion -2 Fort. All adjacent enemies take -1 Fort. If the target ends its turn adjacent to enemies (of the player not itself) then each of those enemies takes 1 point of necrotic damage. If the target dies while adjacent to enemies then each adjacent enemy takes necrotic damage equal to the death knights Con modifier.

After that you need 4 at wills I based these 4 off of the four basic death knight attacks:

Frost: Icy Touch

At-will. Int vs Ref. Close Burst 2.
(only one target in burst)
Hit: one target specified takes 1d6+Int damage and is slowed until the end of the death knights next turn.

Special: If the target is infected by frost contagion. This power deal additional damage equal to the death knights con score. And the target is instead immobilized until the end of the death knights next turn.

Blood: Blood Strike

At-will. Con vs Fort. Melee: weapon

Hit: [1w]+Str damage.

Special: If the target is infected by blood contagion then the death knight receives one point of healing and the target takes and additional point of damage. If this attack kills the target then the death knight receives an additional point of healing.

Unholy: Unholy smite-

At-will Str vs Will Melee:weapon

Hit:[1w]+ Str damage.

Special: If the target is infected by Unholy contagion then it contracts ongoing damage of 2/round (save ends). If the target dies while this ongoing damage is on it then the death knight may choose to infect a new target withing 2 squares of the dieing square of the original target with unholy contagion.

Generic: Hunger for Blood

at-will Str vs AC Melee: Weapon

Hit: [1w]+Str Damage.

Special: If this attack kills an enemy the death knight may immediately move a number of square equal to its CON or INT mod (whichever is higher). This is normal movement that provokes attacks of opportunity.

All of these abilities could scale with tier en wot. But I have to run. Good luck with your death knight.

love,

malkav
#7
orc_tao
Oct 14, 2008 14:08:53 Alright... so if I were going to make a Death Knight (not that I have put very much thought into it ;) ) I would first focus on a new style of mechanic to set it apart from other existing classes that would replicate the Death Knight's Runic Power mechanic (a good explanation of the Death Knight class mechanics, including Runic Power, can be found on wowhead).

Then, I would focus on the role I want the character to play. Personally, I think the Death Knight best fits in the Defender category. However, like many other classes, the Death Knight can also fulfill other roles with the appropriate build: Blood makes the character more strikerific, while Unholy is a bit more controllery. Frost is strictly defender.

Power source: Doesn't really matter, but it would probably fall under either Arcane. It could potentially be a new power source (Runic), but that would probably complicate things unnecessarily.

So... let's put something together, shall we...

I'll see you all sometime later this week... ;)
#8
ashmanonar
Oct 14, 2008 15:22:11
The Death Knight in WoW is intended as a tank class, so Defender would be appropriate. However, thematically, the Death Knight is meant to use a 2H weapon, rather than sword-and-board, so you should come up with a way to compensate. Until the expansion is released, it's difficult to tell what the DK's other signature abilities are.

Death Knights in WoTLK do not have shield proficiency; they are 2h and two-weapon tanks. Presumably they're balancing this by making them high-damage, high-armor, and high-parry/dodge, but only Beta players and developers know this yet.
#9
Novacat
Oct 14, 2008 20:25:17
Death Knights in WoTLK do not have shield proficiency; they are 2h and two-weapon tanks. Presumably they're balancing this by making them high-damage, high-armor, and high-parry/dodge, but only Beta players and developers know this yet.

What I was getting at is that there should be some reason that someone playing a Death Knight will WANT to use either a two-handed weapon or two weapons, rather than simply picking up shield proficiency. There should be a mechanical incentive to follow the "all-offense defender" image.
#10
doomsought
Oct 15, 2008 18:13:33 I would like to open your eyes to the fact that Pignight already did this; don't bother going through all the work when it's all done for you. Its nice and easy to read to.
pigknight's deathknight
#11
ff6shadow
Oct 15, 2008 18:50:06 And it has a PDf in the last few posts for easy downloading and printing.
#12
pigknight
Oct 16, 2008 6:41:29 Aww damn you Doom! I wanted to pimp my own creation. =[

Also, I'm working on the minion mechanic. But everything else is a-okay.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 BlackRequiem Oct 13, 2008 17:42:46	I'm running a WarCraft campaign in 4e and how would you reasonably implement this class in 4e? And please no 'multiclass X and X then change the thematic elements'. I want to make a brand new class for it that isn't just a 'Paladin with dark vibes', complete with Undead bolstering and healing powers as well as a functioning, balanced way to produce Minions.
#2 samyueru Oct 13, 2008 18:22:33	Well, the first thing to do would probably be to present how you think it should be done (with sample powers from say, levels 1-5) and then let the community comment on that, and make changes to the class, rather than ask someone else to do all the work.
#3 BlackRequiem Oct 13, 2008 18:34:47	Well, the first thing to do would probably be to present how you think it should be done (with sample powers from say, levels 1-5) and then let the community comment on that, and make changes to the class, rather than ask someone else to do all the work. I'm really just looking for ideas. I all ready mentioned creatable Minions but.. what kind of Role should this be? Striker\Leader, as oppose to the Paladins' Defender\Leader?
#4 Novacat Oct 13, 2008 18:50:42	The Death Knight in WoW is intended as a tank class, so Defender would be appropriate. However, thematically, the Death Knight is meant to use a 2H weapon, rather than sword-and-board, so you should come up with a way to compensate. Until the expansion is released, it's difficult to tell what the DK's other signature abilities are.
#5 mookie37 Oct 13, 2008 20:30:36	Until the expansion is released, it's difficult to tell what the DK's other signature abilities are. Diseases, cold magic and the summoning of undead minions.
#6 malkav666 Oct 14, 2008 8:42:32	Well first off you would have to drop the rune system, as it is basically a mana system. Then you should take a look at the death knight spells and talent lists found here: Blood Spells Frost Spells Unholy spells There is also a tab for talents which will probably be necessary to flesh out your skills to 30. Then you need to decide what your build options are. IMO the death knight looks like it would build up almost like a martial warlock. with three distinct sources of power (unholy/frost/blood). I would say they get the following stats (and this is all very rough so just take it as you will or improve upon it in any way you like).: HP 15+con score HP per level: 6 Skill bonus: Endurance +2 Arcana +2 (being that the class used magic to over come death and the process of dieing probably means they got a pretty good tolerance level for taxing items) Surges per day:8 + con mod Defense Bonus: +2 fort (due to once again surviving death and the fact that several of their abilities deal with disease) Skills: choose four from ~ Arcana, Endurance, Athletics, Intimidation, Religion,History, Perception, Stealth Weapon and Armor groups: Simple and Military melee, Simple ranged, and mail/scale/plate) Important stats STR (for the to hit of abilities) and INT or CON (for additions to abilities depending on build choice. Build Options: Must Choose a death pact that basically adds flavor to why and how the character is an undeadish death knight. The end result can be whatever you like as long as it is pertinent to your world. For example Unholy death knights could be the result of powerful necromancy spells, Blood death knights could be the spawn of certain kinds of undead, and frost (this one is a little harder) can have a more shamanistic feel being the harbinger of old spirits of frost and crulty incarnate. Your build will also give you access to an encounter ability. Here are some examples: (all missing key words and such, so they would have to be hammered out to actually make it into play) Unholy power: Rise forth and serve- Once per encounter when the death knight comes upon a humanoid corspe they may use a standard action to animate it with unholy power. The creature has defenses equal to the death knight and HP equal to the death knights healing surge value + con score. The created undead must be pointed at a foe when created and may not be pointed at a new foe unless the one it is aimed at dies or otherwise leaves the combat. At the end of combat this creature becomes a regular corspe again. This ability may not be used outside of combat. Frost Power: Abyssal Chill- An aura of frozen undeath radiates forth from the death knight instilling the cold of death into nearby enemies. Once per encounter. Int vs Fort. Close Burst 1. Hit: 1d6 + INT frost damage and the targets are all slowed until the end of the death knight's next turn. Miss: Targets are slowed until the end of the death knight's next turn. Increase damage to 2d6 at 11th and 3d6 at 21st level. Blood Power: Gorge the soul- Once per encounter. Str vs Fort. Melee: weapon. Hit: [1w]+str necrotic damage. The Death Knight is healed by an amount equal to half of this damage dealt or his CON modifier (whichever is higher) [2w] damage increase at 21st level. Now that is one of the two things a class usually gets. Another to consider is a mark/curse type effect. I don't think a standard fighter mark is appropriate per say, nor a curse. But perhaps a disease affect seems to go better. maybe something like? Virulent Infestation- When a Death knight attacks an opponent in melee whether or not the attack hits the death knight may choose to infect a contagion into the target. The death knight may only have one such contagion up at a time. If he uses this ability on a new target the previous one is cured. Unholy Contagion: -2 Will defense. All adjacent enemies (to the player not the mod) get -1 Will defense. If the mob does not score a hit on a creature with a melee weapon during its turn then it takes 1d8+CON damage. Frozen Contagion: -2 Ref. All adjacent enemies get -1 Ref. If the target does not move at least 1 square during its turn then it is immobilized as its feet freeze to the ground taking an ongoing 5 damage (save ends both) Blood Contagion -2 Fort. All adjacent enemies take -1 Fort. If the target ends its turn adjacent to enemies (of the player not itself) then each of those enemies takes 1 point of necrotic damage. If the target dies while adjacent to enemies then each adjacent enemy takes necrotic damage equal to the death knights Con modifier. After that you need 4 at wills I based these 4 off of the four basic death knight attacks: Frost: Icy Touch At-will. Int vs Ref. Close Burst 2. (only one target in burst) Hit: one target specified takes 1d6+Int damage and is slowed until the end of the death knights next turn. Special: If the target is infected by frost contagion. This power deal additional damage equal to the death knights con score. And the target is instead immobilized until the end of the death knights next turn. Blood: Blood Strike At-will. Con vs Fort. Melee: weapon Hit: [1w]+Str damage. Special: If the target is infected by blood contagion then the death knight receives one point of healing and the target takes and additional point of damage. If this attack kills the target then the death knight receives an additional point of healing. Unholy: Unholy smite- At-will Str vs Will Melee:weapon Hit:[1w]+ Str damage. Special: If the target is infected by Unholy contagion then it contracts ongoing damage of 2/round (save ends). If the target dies while this ongoing damage is on it then the death knight may choose to infect a new target withing 2 squares of the dieing square of the original target with unholy contagion. Generic: Hunger for Blood at-will Str vs AC Melee: Weapon Hit: [1w]+Str Damage. Special: If this attack kills an enemy the death knight may immediately move a number of square equal to its CON or INT mod (whichever is higher). This is normal movement that provokes attacks of opportunity. All of these abilities could scale with tier en wot. But I have to run. Good luck with your death knight. love, malkav
#7 orc_tao Oct 14, 2008 14:08:53	Alright... so if I were going to make a Death Knight (not that I have put very much thought into it ;) ) I would first focus on a new style of mechanic to set it apart from other existing classes that would replicate the Death Knight's Runic Power mechanic (a good explanation of the Death Knight class mechanics, including Runic Power, can be found on wowhead). Then, I would focus on the role I want the character to play. Personally, I think the Death Knight best fits in the Defender category. However, like many other classes, the Death Knight can also fulfill other roles with the appropriate build: Blood makes the character more strikerific, while Unholy is a bit more controllery. Frost is strictly defender. Power source: Doesn't really matter, but it would probably fall under either Arcane. It could potentially be a new power source (Runic), but that would probably complicate things unnecessarily. So... let's put something together, shall we... I'll see you all sometime later this week... ;)
#8 ashmanonar Oct 14, 2008 15:22:11	The Death Knight in WoW is intended as a tank class, so Defender would be appropriate. However, thematically, the Death Knight is meant to use a 2H weapon, rather than sword-and-board, so you should come up with a way to compensate. Until the expansion is released, it's difficult to tell what the DK's other signature abilities are. Death Knights in WoTLK do not have shield proficiency; they are 2h and two-weapon tanks. Presumably they're balancing this by making them high-damage, high-armor, and high-parry/dodge, but only Beta players and developers know this yet.
#9 Novacat Oct 14, 2008 20:25:17	Death Knights in WoTLK do not have shield proficiency; they are 2h and two-weapon tanks. Presumably they're balancing this by making them high-damage, high-armor, and high-parry/dodge, but only Beta players and developers know this yet. What I was getting at is that there should be some reason that someone playing a Death Knight will WANT to use either a two-handed weapon or two weapons, rather than simply picking up shield proficiency. There should be a mechanical incentive to follow the "all-offense defender" image.
#10 doomsought Oct 15, 2008 18:13:33	I would like to open your eyes to the fact that Pignight already did this; don't bother going through all the work when it's all done for you. Its nice and easy to read to. pigknight's deathknight
#11 ff6shadow Oct 15, 2008 18:50:06	And it has a PDf in the last few posts for easy downloading and printing.
#12 pigknight Oct 16, 2008 6:41:29	Aww damn you Doom! I wanted to pimp my own creation. =[ Also, I'm working on the minion mechanic. But everything else is a-okay.