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On the reactive abilities:

How often do 14th level Barbarians ever get reduced to 0 HP. They're probably going to have something like 120hp or so. And an ability which triggers on 1 out of every 20 opponents seems kind of weak.

Might I suggest instead that you can trigger them on being reduced to below half-HP and that you loose the benefits if you raise above half-HP. I also don't think 'every hit is a critical' is a good balance here because it allows you to game the system by stacking too many damage dice. Perhaps instead just double the Rage damage bonus versus that target when you make a Reckless Attack and any damage you take from them when they have Advantage also gains your Rage damage bonus. That's a lot more mathematically predictable. The crits only version really benefits opponents with high damage dice but low damage adds over the opposite. Like an enemy that does 1d8+2 is way better off than one that does 1d4+4.
 
Oh yeah, I was looking at this strictly in terms of my Barbarian dwarf and how I might use her for this but stack some levels of Rogue onto that and shits get crazy.
 
Aaron Peori said:
On the reactive abilities:

How often do 14th level Barbarians ever get reduced to 0 HP. They're probably going to have something like 120hp or so. And an ability which triggers on 1 out of every 20 opponents seems kind of weak.

Might I suggest instead that you can trigger them on being reduced to below half-HP and that you loose the benefits if you raise above half-HP. I also don't think 'every hit is a critical' is a good balance here because it allows you to game the system by stacking too many damage dice. Perhaps instead just double the Rage damage bonus versus that target when you make a Reckless Attack and any damage you take from them when they have Advantage also gains your Rage damage bonus. That's a lot more mathematically predictable. The crits only version really benefits opponents with high damage dice but low damage adds over the opposite. Like an enemy that does 1d8+2 is way better off than one that does 1d4+4.
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Yeah, you're making good points here, all told. I'm going to look at this again, again.

If this isn't an auto-crit power, it's easier to balance. If it is an auto-crit power, I need to balance it off Assassinate (or Paralyze, I guess?). Either way, it needs a rethink.
 
So! Crazy idea time!

This is a Smalljammer.



They're the offspring of the Spelljammer. Like the Spelljammer, they're sapient. They're basically toddlers. They tend to bond with one person and regard that individual as their Captain.

So here's the crazy idea... Could a Paladin use a Smalljammer as his/her Holy Mount?
 
My misremembering, then.

Even then, they'll work substandard for a paladin as opposed to a full spellcaster. If they're a holy mount option, I'd rule that they can effectively work without fuel and are just jonesing on the Paladin's holiness or whatever.
 
AuraTwilight said:
My misremembering, then.

Even then, they'll work substandard for a paladin as opposed to a full spellcaster. If they're a holy mount option, I'd rule that they can effectively work without fuel and are just jonesing on the Paladin's holiness or whatever.
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I always house ruled Smalljammers as not needing a helm anyway. The Spelljammer doesn't need one. Gammaroids and Radiant Dragons don't need them. Why should Smalljammers need them?
 
AuraTwilight said:
Yea, and they're not grown. They explicitly lack a lot of the special features of the legendary Spelljammer.



Yea, well, regardless, they're living things and are the ultimate master race anyway.
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Space travel is kinda fundamental to the species. Hatchling Radiants don't need helms. Why should a Smalljammer? Given that the Spelljammer tends to spawn well away from inhabited space, its offspring is likely to die of neglect long before being stumbled upon by someone with a helm. Even by the "thousands are born so dozens might live" standards of fish and insects, the odds of a Smalljammer surviving are nearly nonexistent without the ability to function independently of a helm.
 
Here's some of what the Legend of the Spelljammer boxed set has to say about Smalljammers.

Legends and More page 25 said:
About a hundred smalljammers are produced in the gardens with every new captaincy, and a similar number of ultimate helm seeds are also produced. The release of the smalljammers, known as the Flight, causes the gates on either side of the gardens to roll back, and both smalljammers and seeds are released. This usually occurs in the phlogiston, which helps guarantee a spread of ships and seeds to all corners of the myriad crystal spheres.

The large numbers of seeds and smalljammers that are released parallel that of many sea creatures in that huge numbers are produced with the hope of one or two living to maturity. Of the hundred smalljammers released, only a handful survive their first decade, and only one in several spawnings will grow to become a full spelljammer.

The smalljammers are defined as individual ships, but it should be noted that there are some basic differences between them and their parent. For instance, the smalljammers do not need an ultimate helm for control-any spelljamming helm will provide sufficient contact and control for them. The smalljammers also operate on a more empathic level than does the full-sized parent, so emotions (fear, affection, pain, etc.) are felt by the captain of a smalljammer. The little spelljammers will often act on their own, much like a pet or an animal companion.
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Aaron Peori Homebrew: Monolith Monster
  • Threadmarks
    • Monolith Monster
    Tiny Ooze, neutral
    Armor Class 19
    Hit Points 10 (1d10+5) + 10 HP (1d10 +5) for every size category higher than Tiny it grows.
    CR 3
    Str 20, Dex 0, Con 20, Int 0, Wis 0 Cha 0
    Skills: None
    Vulnerable: Saltwater (see below)
    Damage Immunites: poison, psychic
    Condition Immunites: blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone
    Senses: None, passive perception (0, always fails)
    Languages: None

    Silicon Drain: Any creature that begins its turn in in the same space as a Monolith Monster in contact with it or enters the same space as one must make a Consitution Save (DC 15) or take 1d8+5 Necrotic damage and reduce their maximum HP by the same amount. On a successful save they only take 1 HP and reduce their maximum by the same amount. The reduction in HP can only be undone with a silicone injection or a magical Restoration spell.

    Growth: Any turn on Initiative count 0 when the Monolith Monster has either done damage to another creature or was exposed to non-salt water it grows one size category. If it grows it to Medium size or larger it will push any Medium or smaller creature out of its space (DC 15 Str save to resist, in which case the person ends up on top of the monster and in the same space). If a creature fails a save to be pushed it must save versus the monsters Silicon Drain ability. Once the Ooze reaches Gargantuan size any further size increases cause it to fill all adjacent spaces with Tiny Monolith Monsters.

    Saltwater Weakness: If exposed to saltwater the monster takes 1d6 damage per turn of exposure. If completely immersed it is instantly destroyed.

    Actions
    None
     
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    • Personally I'd treat them as an environmental hazard rather than a monster. Saves to avoid petrifaction and dodge falling shards would be involved but I don't think they need stats beyond that.
     
    I have a bit of a character idea for Pathfinder. The basic 'point' is that Pathfinder lacks rules to describe Lomoshtu's(?) blessings, which come in the form of mutations. Including extra limbs, claws and bizarre stat shifts. Sound familiar?

    The character idea is a Chaotic Neutral Synthesist with some class that grants Mutagens. Not necessarily the Alchemist proper, though that would add access to a wider variety of buffs in the form of the desired mutation theme, and the mental score buff options are a welcome addition. Essentially, the character's eidolon would represent a mystical source of mutation, while the mutagen would be a 'mundane' source.

    Several odd options for the build include a race with a Con penalty, as the Synthesist can easily negate that. Another is using Con as a dump stat for a melee character, as Con is not very useful for combat oriented feats and the Synthesist can simply replace it with the eidolon's Con score.

    One big question involved in the viability of the build is the question is if the mutagen increases the eidolon based statline. If it does, then high nastiness is available because the physical statline is already freely warpable due to the Synthesist part of the build. Adding mutagen stat changes on top of that could lead to a functionally worthless 'base' form, but a combat 'form' that wrestles dragons easily. Or hides in plain sight without trying. Or can tank an army. Not excelling at things needing feats, but able to fill in any role the party might need.

    Basically, hyper versatility by way of mutations. It would probably work better as a mutagen using Summoner archetype compatible with Synthesist or new class altogether. If it were setup as a seperate class altogether, it would likely be an Int based mix of Alchemist and Summoner with archetypes that do stuff like having divine casting(Lomoshtu gets dibs on that) or applying eidolon mutations through mutagen. Or using mutagen on the eidolon/summoned monsters without needing to apply it normally.
     
    Chloe Sullivan said:
    Sounds like something you could easily do as a re-fluffed 3.5 Totemist or Formbound Surger
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    That would probably be a place to start if you want to write a new class for this from scratch, but Pazio doesn't like making classes for rediculouly specific ideas. Instead, they do archetypes and mixes of existing mechanics.

    The mundane quick and dirty fighter at home in the barroom brawl was written as a mix of Fighter and Monk, with the Captain America style of shield specialist being an archtype of that, reusing the mechanics with only one or two additions.

    The master blacksmith who can craft the greatest of items without a speck of magic of their own is just an archtype feature and a feat that both already exist. Making it a class is doable, yes, but not really all that good when you can just roll those into an Alchemist archetype.

    A lot of archetypes add one or two things from one class to another to have much more specific characters as single classes. Then you get nonsense like the Scrollmaster Wizard, who uses scrolls as swords and shields instead of having a familiar or bonded item. And the Synthesist, an archetype of Summoner, takes a simple thought and makes it happen. That thought is 'What if a Summoner decided to fuse with their eidolon from the start, instead of waiting till level sixteen?'

    So, instead of trying to figure out a new system for mutations based on item slots, like the Totemist, why not use the two existing mutation rulesets? Maybe make the shift of the Synthesist equivalent harder to pull off, to balence the near infinite versatility of the character. Maybe have the eidolon replacement be a permanent thing that is expensive to replace, to make its increased power come with a higher cost when lost.
     
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    wat.

    The totemist is way more flexible than anything paizo came up with on their own. Totemist is "Build your pokemon for the day (No, John, U are the pokemon)."

    Archetypes are cool flavoring but they lock you in once you pick 'em -they're *actually* ridduculously specific. I'd rather have Sub levels and ACFs, at least you get to pick those individually instead of as a package deal, and ACF's are lore-agnostic.


    Because paizo players wanted named jobs, archetypes got increasingly super-niche
     
    Chloe Sullivan said:
    wat.

    The totemist is way more flexible than anything paizo came up with on their own. Totemist is "Build your pokemon for the day (No, John, U are the pokemon)."

    Archetypes are cool flavoring but they lock you in once you pick 'em -they're *actually* ridduculously specific. I'd rather have Sub levels and ACFs, at least you get to pick those individually instead of as a package deal, and ACF's are lore-agnostic.


    Because paizo players wanted named jobs, archetypes got increasingly super-niche
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    Yes, archetypes are sometimes super-niche, but the base classes they modify aren't. And by the Totemist being specific, the flavor is stagnant. Not a whole lot of variety in how you fluff it. Every fluff change a Totemist can get, the Summoner also can have because the two are basically the same fluff doing different things. Also, the Totemist doesn't have a way to get extra limbs. Or alter your effective base stats. Both are available to the Synthesist. The base Summoner's eidolon is much more "build your pokemon" because you can have all sorts of limb arrangements, claws or no claws, point based stat buy, strange numbers of legs and more! The Synthesist gets to apply all of that to themself. Seriously, look at the eidolon mutation list, it has crazy things on it.

    Also, archetypes can easily be written as sub levels and AFCs. Some of them are just AFCs, swapping one or two class features for different ones. Some have all of their changes apply to one level's features. All that archetypes do is lock you in to a coherent character concept, rather that the mad combo platters of half a dozen different fluffs that optimized 3.5 characters end up as all too often. Sure, the same can happen in Pathfinder, but it's a lot less optimal because the archetypes can let you have almost any character setup in just one or two classes.

    In my opinion, the real reason that archetypes are super niche is that Pazio started to run out of options for big shifts without going into combinatorial hell. The options are still there, but most of them already exist in some fashion. Seriously, the advanced class guide introduced several new class features, and promptly gave those new features to at least one existing class.
     
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