New base class: Mystic Warrior

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Looking at the new spells, primarily from Complete Adventurer, I got to
thinking how a battle sorcerer (Arcana Unearthed variant) with the right
spell selection might do a decent job of modelling the warriors of wuxia
movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and even more so the more
magical ones like the guy with Essence Draining Stance from Swordsman
II.

Then I got the idea of tweaking the battle sorcerer to better fit the
concept, and building a new spell list, so the mystic warrior can choose
even non-Sor/Wis spells that are appropriate, and can't choose stuff
like scorching ray which isn't.

But I'm not really happy with how the spell list turned out, after first
pass. High level spells that I think fit are sorely lacking, so I'm
wondering if perhaps a bard-like, 0-6th, progression might work better.
But that would necessitate adding some more non-spell abilities to
compensate... eh.

Anyway, I'd be more interested in doing this if people showed some
interest and perhaps helped out, so this is a rough draft of what I have
so far.



MYSTIC WARRIOR

Hit Die: d8

Class skills
The mystic warrior's class skills (and the key ability for each skill)
are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int),
Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge
(arcana) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently
(Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis),
Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
4 skill points per level.

BAB: medium
Fort: weak
Ref: good
Will: weak

Proficiency with all martial weapons and no armour or shields.

Wisdom based arcane spells; spells per day as sorcerer, but one less at
each spell level; spells known as sorcerer, but one less at each spell
level (minimum one). (Perhaps it would be better flavour-wise to call
spells "meditations" or "techniques" or something like that, but they're
basically spells, arcane because I want them to suffer from ASF.)

AC bonus as monk (Wis to AC, +1/5 levels).

Improved Unarmed Strike as bonus feat at 1st level.



Spell list follows. First, there are the new wacky mobility spells like
swift expeditous retreat and swift fly, which were what got me thinking
about this. Then, combat buffs like bull's strength, divine power, keen
edge; perhaps they should all be limited to the mystic warrior and
weapons in his hand only? There are divinations, representing meditative
visions and such: augury, clairaudience/clairvoyance, scrying. There's
Conjuration (Healing) (restoring the chi flow), and some non-energy
touch attacks like inflicts and vampiric touch (disrupting the chi
flow). Also, hold person and hold monster, which should be limited to
touch range, making the effect similar to Freezing the Lifeblood monk
feat.

0-LEVEL SPELLS
cure minor wounds
detect magic
detect poison
disrupt undead
guidance
inflict minor wounds
know direction
resistance
touch of fatigue
virtue

1ST-LEVEL SPELLS
accelerated movement (CAdv)
arrow mind (CAdv)
bless weapon
comprehend languages
critical strike (CAdv)
cure light wounds
detect secret doors
detect undead
distract assailant (CAdv)
divine favor
expeditious retreat
expeditious retreat, swift (CAdv)
feather fall
guided shot (CAdv)
inflict light wounds
insightful feint (CAdv)
iron scarf (CA)
jump
longstrider
magic weapon
master's touch (CAdv)
sanctuary
sniper's shot (CAdv)
true strike

2ND-LEVEL SPELLS
alter self
augury
bladeweave (CAdv)
bull's strength
cat's grace
death knell
detect thoughts
entangling scarf (CA)
false life
fly, swift (CAdv)
invisibility, swift (CAdv)
levitate
owl's wisdom
rain of needles (CA)
see invisibility
shatter
spider climb
whirling blade (CA)
wraithstrike (CAdv)

3RD-LEVEL SPELLS
clairaudience/clairvoyance
cure moderate wounds
delay poison
gentle repose
haste, swift (CAdv)
heroism
hold person
inflict moderate wounds
keen edge
magic weapon, greater
remove paralysis
restoration, lesser
tongues
vampiric touch
water breathing

4TH-LEVEL SPELLS
blade storm (CAdv)
cure serious wounds
dancing blade (CA)
detect scrying
dimension door
divine power
inflict serious wounds
poison
poison needles (CA)
remove blindness/deafness
remove curse
remove disease
scrying
shout
tongues

5TH-LEVEL SPELLS
aiming at the target (CA)
arrow storm (CAdv)
cure critical wounds
death ward
divination
dream
freedom of movement
hold monster
inflict critical wounds
neutralize poison
nightmare
slay living

6TH-LEVEL SPELLS
brilliant blade (CA)
commune
greater heroism

7TH-LEVEL SPELLS
ethereal jaunt
ghostform (CA)
greater scrying
harm
heal

8TH-LEVEL SPELLS
mind blank
moment of prescience

9TH-LEVEL SPELLS
absorption (CA)
foresight
time stop
wail of the banshee


--
Jasin Zujovic
jzujovic@inet.hr

 

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Jasin Zujovic wrote:
> Looking at the new spells, primarily from Complete Adventurer, I got to
> thinking how a battle sorcerer (Arcana Unearthed variant) with the right
> spell selection might do a decent job of modelling the warriors of wuxia
> movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and even more so the more
> magical ones like the guy with Essence Draining Stance from Swordsman
> II.

I think you'd probably do better with a Psychic Warrior. Some of their
abilities and feats are very well suited for this (Up The Walls, for
instance). Also check out the Elocator prestige class.

Laszlo

 

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Jasin Zujovic wrote:
> Psychic warrior suffers from the same problem the battle sorcerer does:
> while you can make a wuxia warrior using it, you'll either end up with
> some totally inappropriate but useful powers/spells, or risk ending up
> crippled if you intentionally avoid them.
>
> Besides, I'm not really a fan of psionics.

All right, then make your own class. You should be bolder than what
you've done here, though. This doesn't really "work", IMO; spells are a
poor way to represent the wuxia chi powers, for a number of reasons.

Instead, you should probably look at the Monk for inspiration. I think
a class with no (or fewer) spells, but one that gets special abilities
every level, is the way to go.

Alternately: do you watch anime, specifically Naruto? There's a d20
system for Naruto on the net; it's not exactly what you're looking for,
but there are some great ideas that would, I think, fit very well.
Check it out.

In case you're not familiar with Naruto, it's basically a cross between
ninjas and X-Men. But don't let that scare you away, it really is
excellent.

http://www.thewebportal.net/narutod20/

Laszlo

 

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Jasin Zujovic wrote:
> In article <1118854003.912908.228170@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
> laszlo_spamhole@freemail.hu says...
>
> > > Psychic warrior suffers from the same problem the battle sorcerer does:
> > > while you can make a wuxia warrior using it, you'll either end up with
> > > some totally inappropriate but useful powers/spells, or risk ending up
> > > crippled if you intentionally avoid them.
> > >
> > > Besides, I'm not really a fan of psionics.
> >
> > All right, then make your own class. You should be bolder than what
> > you've done here, though.
>
> Well, as I've said, this didn't really start out as an attempt to make a
> true wuxia class. Just "hey, a battle sorcerer can make a decent wuxia
> warrior... what about a battle sorcerer with no armour, but monk AC
> instead... and no familiar but Improved Unarmed Strike instead...?"

Hm... as long as you're doing that, maybe give him some of the
Enlightened Fist's perks?

As long as you have unarmed fighting and spells, you might as well
synergize them a bit.

> > This doesn't really "work", IMO; spells are a
> > poor way to represent the wuxia chi powers, for a number of reasons.
>
> Why do you think?
>
> IMO, swift, 1 round duration spells are perfect for wuxia powers, if you
> just step away from the flavour (formulaic spells) and look at how the
> mechanics work out. Spells like swift fly let the character do some
> truly outrageous stuff at low levels (60 ft. leaps at 4th level, 120 ft.
> if all you do is move), while still being usable only X/day, neatly
> explaining why the CTHD people ever travel by walking, when we they can
> leap such amazing distances and even teleport over short ranges.

Hm, I didn't really consider swift spells, you may be right.

> > In case you're not familiar with Naruto, it's basically a cross between
> > ninjas and X-Men. But don't let that scare you away, it really is
> > excellent.
>
> Why would that scare me away?
>
> X-Men? Good! Ninjas? Good! What's not to like?

Heh... well then, you should _definitely_ check it out. It's one of the
few fighting animes which actually have great fight scenes, as opposed
to three frames flickering back and forth.

I gave Naruto a shot because of the fight scenes I saw in an AMV (anime
music video)... and I stuck with it because of the story, which is damn
cool.

If you ever do decide to check it out, though, make sure to watch at
least the first 5 episodes. It starts out a little slow.

Laszlo

 

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Jasin Zujovic wrote:
> Snip!

You might want to check out Arcana Unearthed/Unleashed's system of
combat rituals for an idea of how to implement something like what
you're thinking of. Of course, the combat ritual classes are more
intended to be core fighters than what you have in mind, but that system
might have some elements more appropriate to what you have in mind.

 

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In article <1118849132.438802.114350@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>,
laszlo_spamhole@freemail.hu says...

> > Looking at the new spells, primarily from Complete Adventurer, I got to
> > thinking how a battle sorcerer (Arcana Unearthed variant) with the right
> > spell selection might do a decent job of modelling the warriors of wuxia
> > movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and even more so the more
> > magical ones like the guy with Essence Draining Stance from Swordsman
> > II.
>
> I think you'd probably do better with a Psychic Warrior. Some of their
> abilities and feats are very well suited for this (Up The Walls, for
> instance). Also check out the Elocator prestige class.

Psychic warrior suffers from the same problem the battle sorcerer does:
while you can make a wuxia warrior using it, you'll either end up with
some totally inappropriate but useful powers/spells, or risk ending up
crippled if you intentionally avoid them.

Besides, I'm not really a fan of psionics.


--
Jasin Zujovic
jzujovic@inet.hr

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

In article <1118854003.912908.228170@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
laszlo_spamhole@freemail.hu says...

> > Psychic warrior suffers from the same problem the battle sorcerer does:
> > while you can make a wuxia warrior using it, you'll either end up with
> > some totally inappropriate but useful powers/spells, or risk ending up
> > crippled if you intentionally avoid them.
> >
> > Besides, I'm not really a fan of psionics.
>
> All right, then make your own class. You should be bolder than what
> you've done here, though.

Well, as I've said, this didn't really start out as an attempt to make a
true wuxia class. Just "hey, a battle sorcerer can make a decent wuxia
warrior... what about a battle sorcerer with no armour, but monk AC
instead... and no familiar but Improved Unarmed Strike instead...?"

> This doesn't really "work", IMO; spells are a
> poor way to represent the wuxia chi powers, for a number of reasons.

Why do you think?

IMO, swift, 1 round duration spells are perfect for wuxia powers, if you
just step away from the flavour (formulaic spells) and look at how the
mechanics work out. Spells like swift fly let the character do some
truly outrageous stuff at low levels (60 ft. leaps at 4th level, 120 ft.
if all you do is move), while still being usable only X/day, neatly
explaining why the CTHD people ever travel by walking, when we they can
leap such amazing distances and even teleport over short ranges.

Standard action, longer duration spells aren't so fitting, but you can
say the "casting time" is the time you need to focus, and then the power
lasts for the duration. For example, divine power could represent a sort
of deeply focused battle-trance: you take a standard action to draw upon
your inner reserves, and gain increased durability, strength and martial
ability for 1 round/level.

You can play around with components to get the flavour you want: S could
represent various kata needed to focus, V could represent kiai shouts or
om-sounds (or even shouting out "Twisting Emerald Dragon Battle-
Stance!" if you want to do things anime-style). M are probably
inappropriate, but I don't think I've included any spells with expensive
M components, and even if I did, you could change it to XP component (5
gp = 1 XP).

> Instead, you should probably look at the Monk for inspiration. I think
> a class with no (or fewer) spells, but one that gets special abilities
> every level, is the way to go.

Isn't one of the most common complaints about the monk that the powers
are fixed? And if you make a class that can, at 4th level, choose
between Wind-Walker Technique (swift fly 3/day) and Flow-Restoring Touch
(lesser restoration 3/day)... why not just give them 3 2nd-level spells
per day and put swift fly and lesser restoration on their list?

> Alternately: do you watch anime,

Occasionaly.

> specifically Naruto?

Never seen that one.

> There's a d20
> system for Naruto on the net; it's not exactly what you're looking for,
> but there are some great ideas that would, I think, fit very well.
> Check it out.

OK...

> In case you're not familiar with Naruto, it's basically a cross between
> ninjas and X-Men. But don't let that scare you away, it really is
> excellent.

Why would that scare me away?

X-Men? Good! Ninjas? Good! What's not to like?

> http://www.thewebportal.net/narutod20/

Thanks, I'll check it out.


--
Jasin Zujovic
jzujovic@inet.hr

 

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Jasin Zujovic wrote:
> Looking at the new spells, primarily from Complete Adventurer, I got to
> thinking how a battle sorcerer (Arcana Unearthed variant) with the right
> spell selection might do a decent job of modelling the warriors of wuxia
> movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and even more so the more
> magical ones like the guy with Essence Draining Stance from Swordsman
> II.
>
> Then I got the idea of tweaking the battle sorcerer to better fit the
> concept, and building a new spell list, so the mystic warrior can choose
> even non-Sor/Wis spells that are appropriate, and can't choose stuff
> like scorching ray which isn't.
>
> But I'm not really happy with how the spell list turned out, after first
> pass. High level spells that I think fit are sorely lacking, so I'm
> wondering if perhaps a bard-like, 0-6th, progression might work better.
> But that would necessitate adding some more non-spell abilities to
> compensate... eh.

You might wish to take a look at the new class added to Arcana Unearthed in
Arcana Evolved, the ritual warrior. The combat rites it uses are somewhere
between feats and spells in terms of power - if you extrapolate from the
highest-level rites, rank 4, you could get to the point of some pretty wuxia
moves.

It's a little more low-key than a warrior-mage built off a tweaked battle
sorcerer, admittedly. For instance, though, rank 4 combat rites include Blurring
Speed (which grants an additional move action in a round), True Critical Hit
(guess what it does?), Gather Reserves (instantly heal 4d6 damage any time
during the round), et cetera.

They're "between feats and spells" because, for instance, a ritual warrior knows
all the rites of any rank he has access to, and chooses which to use on a
round-by-round basis, but he's initially limited to a certain number per day.
Over the 25 levels that Arcana Evolved has rules for, though, he eventually
gains unlimited access to ranks 1-3 (unlimited rank 1 rites at 16th level,
unlimited rank 2 rites at 21st level, and unlimited rank 3 rites at 25th level).
They're a free action to use, though you can only use one per round. Some can be
activated on your turn, some can be activated any time, and some have more
restricted activation (like, requiring you to use it at the beginning of your
turn, or after an attack).

Worth looking at, though. The ritual warrior definitely has a "mystical, not
magical, fighter" schtick going on.

--
Christopher Adams - Sydney, Australia
What part of "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" don't you
understand?
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mhacdebhandia/prestigeclasslist.html
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mhacdebhandia/templatelist.html

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked,
and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to
danger. It works the same in any country.

 

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In article <wY1se.17964$F7.5512@news-server.bigpond.net.au>,
mhacdebhandia@yahoo.invalid says...

> You might wish to take a look at the new class added to Arcana Unearthed in
> Arcana Evolved, the ritual warrior.

Ah, yes, I knew I wanted to check AE for something specific!

> It's a little more low-key than a warrior-mage built off a tweaked battle
> sorcerer, admittedly.

Which is not bad thing, necessarily. While swift expeditous retreat and
swift fly are perfect examples of spells that fit my idea, there's a
distinct lack of those that do at higher levels.

> Worth looking at, though. The ritual warrior definitely has a "mystical, not
> magical, fighter" schtick going on.

Yes, interesting. I'll try to check it out.


--
Jasin Zujovic
jzujovic@inet.hr

 

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Jasin Zujovic wrote:
> mhacdebhandia@yahoo.invalid says...
>
>> You might wish to take a look at the new class added to Arcana
>> Unearthed in Arcana Evolved, the ritual warrior.
>
> Ah, yes, I knew I wanted to check AE for something specific!
>
>> It's a little more low-key than a warrior-mage built off a tweaked
>> battle sorcerer, admittedly.
>
> Which is not bad thing, necessarily. While swift expeditous retreat and
> swift fly are perfect examples of spells that fit my idea, there's a
> distinct lack of those that do at higher levels.
>
>> Worth looking at, though. The ritual warrior definitely has a
>> "mystical, not magical, fighter" schtick going on.
>
> Yes, interesting. I'll try to check it out.

Even better, check out the Book of Iron Might. The arcane battle feats are
specifically designed to give a character magical abilities that work off feats.
For instance:

BOUNDING STEP [Arcane Battle]

With a single, seemingly effortless push off the ground, you glide through the
air. In essence, you can fly for short distances merely by invoking the power of
this feat.

PREREQUISITES: Arcane Battle Mastery, Fleet-Footed Charge, Vertical Step, base
attack bonus +8.

USES/DAY: Your base attack bonus divided by 4, rounded down.

DURATION: A number of rounds equal to your base attack bonus.

BENEFIT: When you move, you are considered to be flying through the air. At the
end of your movement, you land, and you gain no special bonus to speed unless
you have other active arcane battle feats. You can choose to take a double move
when you use this feat, and you can move directly up, or horizontally from the
roof of one building to another, or across a castle’s moat. The total distance
you move cannot exceed your total movement allowance, but you can go in any
direction you want. You can even jump safely down. If you are not over a solid
surface when your movement ends, you fall as normal. You may use the run action
in conjunction with this feat.

There are 27 arcane battle feats in the book, and they're available to fighters
and wizards as bonus feats. Pretty damn awesome.

--
Christopher Adams - Sydney, Australia
What part of "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" don't you
understand?
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mhacdebhandia/prestigeclasslist.html
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mhacdebhandia/templatelist.html

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked,
and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to
danger. It works the same in any country.

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

In article <nVbse.18446$F7.13991@news-server.bigpond.net.au>,
mhacdebhandia@yahoo.invalid says...

> Even better, check out the Book of Iron Might. The arcane battle feats are
> specifically designed to give a character magical abilities that work off feats.
> For instance:
>
> BOUNDING STEP [Arcane Battle]

.... wow.

Need I even say that this sounds like it's exactly what I was going for?

If the others are much like this, I'm *very* interested.

> There are 27 arcane battle feats in the book, and they're available to fighters
> and wizards as bonus feats. Pretty damn awesome.

I'll really have to get my hands on this.


--
Jasin Zujovic
jzujovic@inet.hr

 

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Jasin Zujovic wrote:
> mhacdebhandia@yahoo.invalid wrote:
>
>> Even better, check out the Book of Iron Might. The arcane battle feats
>> are specifically designed to give a character magical abilities that
>> work off feats. For instance:
>>
>> BOUNDING STEP [Arcane Battle]
>
> ... wow.
>
> Need I even say that this sounds like it's exactly what I was going for?
>
> If the others are much like this, I'm *very* interested.

They pretty much are. There's a family of energy-related feats - sheathe your
weapon with an energy type to inflict extra damage, create a web of energy that
clings to your opponent and damages him for multiple rounds, create a shield
that protects you from the energy type. There are movement-related feats -
walking up walls, standing in air, moving faster - that lead to Bounding Step.
You can knock opponents prone, knock them back, hurl yourself through the air
very much a la M. Bison from Street Fighter II, wreathed in damaging energy that
can blind your foes for a few rounds.

It's all very, very cool stuff. Check it out.

--
Christopher Adams - Sydney, Australia
What part of "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" don't you
understand?
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mhacdebhandia/prestigeclasslist.html
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mhacdebhandia/templatelist.html

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked,
and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to
danger. It works the same in any country.