PrCs for my players - suggestions? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

PrCs for my players - suggestions?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Sep 30, 2004 13:38:46 Hi

My players' PCs have reached 5th level in my KoD campaign and I (and they) want to narrow the focus a bit with two of them by finding a suitable PrC. I was going to design them myself but thought I might check whether anyone knows of any PrC that might already suit the job - ideally in a pdf format that I could download from RPGNow or similar. However, I might also contemplate buying a book if it had other stuff of interest too.

PC 1 is a Human Rgr3/Rog2 with a history of animosity to spiders and spiderkind - he owns a Spiderbane longsword - so I want to find a relevant PrC to this theme.

PC 2 is a 5th-level mystic whose domain is destruction - she's chaotic in nature and her player just feels she does not have enough destructive power - a lot of the spells she has access to seem to be protection/divination/healing with only a limited number of destructive ones. Some of this is down to her not using what she has to her best advantage (she is a newbie) so I will work with her on that but a PrC with a few chaotic/destructive powers would also help.

Any thoughts on new PrC design would also be much appreciated either.

Thanks

Simon Collins
#2
clarkvalentine
Sep 30, 2004 14:24:28 You could invent some yourself.

For the Ranger, perhaps create a guild of arachnid hunters. The sorts of abilities they'd get are immunity to spider/scorpion/insect venom, bonuses to escape artist checks to slip out of webs, improved initiative, skill focus in seach & spot, bonuses to track spiders. etc.

For the mystic, maybe she's touched by Chaos somehow. Create a PrC ("The Disordered" or something, I dunno) representing a loose association of people with that affliction. Grant powers like bonuses to spell penetration for evocation spells, allow her to add 1 point of Anarchic damage to all damaging spells, extra resistance to chaos damage (at the price of even greater vulnerability to axiomatic weapons/lawful spells), bonus evocation spells, that sort of thing. Careful not to go too far with it, you don't want to build a walking nuclear arsenal.
#3
zombiegleemax
Sep 30, 2004 15:11:14
For the Ranger, perhaps create a guild of arachnid hunters. The sorts of abilities they'd get are immunity to spider/scorpion/insect venom, bonuses to escape artist checks to slip out of webs, improved initiative, skill focus in seach & spot, bonuses to track spiders. etc.

Yep, just rediscovered the Foe Hunter PrC in Masters of the Wild, which could be adapted with some poison resistance instead of the spell resistance. I like the Escape Artist bonus idea for webs - very cool idea. Thanks.

For the mystic, maybe she's touched by Chaos somehow. Create a PrC ("The Disordered" or something, I dunno) representing a loose association of people with that affliction. Grant powers like bonuses to spell penetration for evocation spells, allow her to add 1 point of Anarchic damage to all damaging spells, extra resistance to chaos damage (at the price of even greater vulnerability to axiomatic weapons/lawful spells), bonus evocation spells, that sort of thing. Careful not to go too far with it, you don't want to build a walking nuclear arsenal.

Hmmm...it's that fear of making her too powerful which is actually my biggest problem - how to get her feeling like she's being destructive without unbalancing the character. Maybe take her existing abilities, which she's not using to their best advantage, twist them a bit, and give them to her again in a short 5-level PrC? e.g. Allow her a ranged touch attack three times a day with inflict light wounds. Give her more uses of her smite ability whilst restricting the bonuses to hit and damage. Let her swap out spells for her domain spells. I particularly like the +1 anarchic damage idea too.

Thanks for your sparks of inspiration. Much appreciated.

Simon Collins
#4
theredrobedwizard
Oct 02, 2004 9:45:16 Well, the best way to be a "destructive" Mystic is to multiclass with Sorcerer.

The way it looks, the player just picked bad spells. If the player is new, allow them to go back and pick new ones.

Failing that... my suggestion is to let the character "re-level up". Go back to the original 1st level character that the player started with, and do each level up individually. Mystic 1, Mystic 1/Sorcerer 1, Mystic 1/Sorcerer 2, Mystic 1/Sorcerer 3, Mystic 2/Sorcerer 3... whatever.

Now, forgive me... but here's the *(angry rage-based noises)* explaination of why your player's Mystic isn't destructive, even with the Destruction domain...

Masking is against the Code of Conduct. WizO Randal

Mystics aren't meant to be destructive.

She might want to level up to Mystic 4/Sorcerer 4 then take the Mystic Theurge PrC from the DMG. She'll be able to cast 7th level Arcane and Divine spells at 18th level, then she'll have to chose whether she wants 8th level Arcane or Divine spells for her last two levels.

Sure, she'll have less HP than most mystics, but she'll also have access to lots of destructive magical POWAH.

tl;dr - Mystic != Offensive magic. Multiclass with Sorcerer.

-TRRW
#5
Dragonhelm
Oct 02, 2004 10:34:30 Your mystic may want to multiclass as a fighter or barbarian, just to have that physical destructive power.

I would have suggested the war priest from Complete Divine, but you need to be able to turn undead to get it. You may want to look at that anyway.

Another thought, and this is sort of odd, is to go the route of the Stormlord, also from Complete Divine or from the FR Faiths and Pantheons book. Take out the patron deity requirement. The fun part is that you can shoot a lightning bolt at the mystic. ;)
#6
zombiegleemax
Oct 02, 2004 17:10:41
Now, forgive me... but here's the *(angry rage-based noises)* explaination of why your player's Mystic isn't destructive, even with the Destruction domain...

Edited For Masking. WizO Randal

Mystics aren't meant to be destructive.

Woah! I know a great therapist for anger management. ;)
Take into account that this is her first ever experience with D&D - she didn't know what she wanted until she'd gained a few levels.
What's the problem with giving her a PrC that gives her some elemental power (such as the Stormlord mentioned by Dragonhelm) to make up for her inexperience, to keep her happy, and coming back for more D&D and DL?
Cut some slack there!
Simon Collins
#7
theredrobedwizard
Oct 03, 2004 6:12:43 Sorry about that, see I just have this problem when players want to do something that seems to be anathema to the class.

That's the one thing that has bothered me about Clerics/Druids in 3.5... they're better offensive spellcasters than Sorcerers/Wizards. It's stupid. Well, that and that they can effectively have access to any arcane spell by picking the right domains.

Again, I apologize for seeming a bit rash there... lots of work related stress lately. One more person asks for a raincheck on milk, I'mma have to bring down the fury of the Welsh on them.

----------

I still recomend my previously stated course of action, with the Theurgery.

-TRRW
#8
zombiegleemax
Oct 03, 2004 13:34:03
Again, I apologize for seeming a bit rash there... lots of work related stress lately. One more person asks for a raincheck on milk, I'mma have to bring down the fury of the Welsh on them.

----------

I still recomend my previously stated course of action, with the Theurgery.

No problem - as long as you're Welsh, I'll let you get away with anything, being Welsh too. The hiraedd can be fearsome sometimes!

I checked into the Theurgist and it seems like a great idea - I am going to encourage her to multi-class with sorcerer. Thanks for the tip.

Simon Collins
#9
talinthas
Oct 03, 2004 13:48:00 i dunno, my storm based cleric had a great time with destruction. Call lightning is the win =)
similarly, spiritual weapon is seriously strong, especially with a mystic, since you can have multiple copies up simultaniously.

also, worst case, nothing like an elementally enhanced weapon that blows stuff up =)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Sep 30, 2004 13:38:46	Hi My players' PCs have reached 5th level in my KoD campaign and I (and they) want to narrow the focus a bit with two of them by finding a suitable PrC. I was going to design them myself but thought I might check whether anyone knows of any PrC that might already suit the job - ideally in a pdf format that I could download from RPGNow or similar. However, I might also contemplate buying a book if it had other stuff of interest too. PC 1 is a Human Rgr3/Rog2 with a history of animosity to spiders and spiderkind - he owns a Spiderbane longsword - so I want to find a relevant PrC to this theme. PC 2 is a 5th-level mystic whose domain is destruction - she's chaotic in nature and her player just feels she does not have enough destructive power - a lot of the spells she has access to seem to be protection/divination/healing with only a limited number of destructive ones. Some of this is down to her not using what she has to her best advantage (she is a newbie) so I will work with her on that but a PrC with a few chaotic/destructive powers would also help. Any thoughts on new PrC design would also be much appreciated either. Thanks Simon Collins
#2 clarkvalentine Sep 30, 2004 14:24:28	You could invent some yourself. For the Ranger, perhaps create a guild of arachnid hunters. The sorts of abilities they'd get are immunity to spider/scorpion/insect venom, bonuses to escape artist checks to slip out of webs, improved initiative, skill focus in seach & spot, bonuses to track spiders. etc. For the mystic, maybe she's touched by Chaos somehow. Create a PrC ("The Disordered" or something, I dunno) representing a loose association of people with that affliction. Grant powers like bonuses to spell penetration for evocation spells, allow her to add 1 point of Anarchic damage to all damaging spells, extra resistance to chaos damage (at the price of even greater vulnerability to axiomatic weapons/lawful spells), bonus evocation spells, that sort of thing. Careful not to go too far with it, you don't want to build a walking nuclear arsenal.
#3 zombiegleemax Sep 30, 2004 15:11:14	For the Ranger, perhaps create a guild of arachnid hunters. The sorts of abilities they'd get are immunity to spider/scorpion/insect venom, bonuses to escape artist checks to slip out of webs, improved initiative, skill focus in seach & spot, bonuses to track spiders. etc. Yep, just rediscovered the Foe Hunter PrC in Masters of the Wild, which could be adapted with some poison resistance instead of the spell resistance. I like the Escape Artist bonus idea for webs - very cool idea. Thanks. For the mystic, maybe she's touched by Chaos somehow. Create a PrC ("The Disordered" or something, I dunno) representing a loose association of people with that affliction. Grant powers like bonuses to spell penetration for evocation spells, allow her to add 1 point of Anarchic damage to all damaging spells, extra resistance to chaos damage (at the price of even greater vulnerability to axiomatic weapons/lawful spells), bonus evocation spells, that sort of thing. Careful not to go too far with it, you don't want to build a walking nuclear arsenal. Hmmm...it's that fear of making her too powerful which is actually my biggest problem - how to get her feeling like she's being destructive without unbalancing the character. Maybe take her existing abilities, which she's not using to their best advantage, twist them a bit, and give them to her again in a short 5-level PrC? e.g. Allow her a ranged touch attack three times a day with inflict light wounds. Give her more uses of her smite ability whilst restricting the bonuses to hit and damage. Let her swap out spells for her domain spells. I particularly like the +1 anarchic damage idea too. Thanks for your sparks of inspiration. Much appreciated. Simon Collins
#4 theredrobedwizard Oct 02, 2004 9:45:16	Well, the best way to be a "destructive" Mystic is to multiclass with Sorcerer. The way it looks, the player just picked bad spells. If the player is new, allow them to go back and pick new ones. Failing that... my suggestion is to let the character "re-level up". Go back to the original 1st level character that the player started with, and do each level up individually. Mystic 1, Mystic 1/Sorcerer 1, Mystic 1/Sorcerer 2, Mystic 1/Sorcerer 3, Mystic 2/Sorcerer 3... whatever. Now, forgive me... but here's the (angry rage-based noises) explaination of why your player's Mystic isn't destructive, even with the Destruction domain... Masking is against the Code of Conduct. WizO Randal Mystics aren't meant to be destructive. She might want to level up to Mystic 4/Sorcerer 4 then take the Mystic Theurge PrC from the DMG. She'll be able to cast 7th level Arcane and Divine spells at 18th level, then she'll have to chose whether she wants 8th level Arcane or Divine spells for her last two levels. Sure, she'll have less HP than most mystics, but she'll also have access to lots of destructive magical POWAH. tl;dr - Mystic != Offensive magic. Multiclass with Sorcerer. -TRRW
#5 Dragonhelm Oct 02, 2004 10:34:30	Your mystic may want to multiclass as a fighter or barbarian, just to have that physical destructive power. I would have suggested the war priest from Complete Divine, but you need to be able to turn undead to get it. You may want to look at that anyway. Another thought, and this is sort of odd, is to go the route of the Stormlord, also from Complete Divine or from the FR Faiths and Pantheons book. Take out the patron deity requirement. The fun part is that you can shoot a lightning bolt at the mystic. ;)
#6 zombiegleemax Oct 02, 2004 17:10:41	Now, forgive me... but here's the (angry rage-based noises) explaination of why your player's Mystic isn't destructive, even with the Destruction domain... Edited For Masking. WizO Randal Mystics aren't meant to be destructive. Woah! I know a great therapist for anger management. ;) Take into account that this is her first ever experience with D&D - she didn't know what she wanted until she'd gained a few levels. What's the problem with giving her a PrC that gives her some elemental power (such as the Stormlord mentioned by Dragonhelm) to make up for her inexperience, to keep her happy, and coming back for more D&D and DL? Cut some slack there! Simon Collins
#7 theredrobedwizard Oct 03, 2004 6:12:43	Sorry about that, see I just have this problem when players want to do something that seems to be anathema to the class. That's the one thing that has bothered me about Clerics/Druids in 3.5... they're better offensive spellcasters than Sorcerers/Wizards. It's stupid. Well, that and that they can effectively have access to any arcane spell by picking the right domains. Again, I apologize for seeming a bit rash there... lots of work related stress lately. One more person asks for a raincheck on milk, I'mma have to bring down the fury of the Welsh on them. ---------- I still recomend my previously stated course of action, with the Theurgery. -TRRW
#8 zombiegleemax Oct 03, 2004 13:34:03	Again, I apologize for seeming a bit rash there... lots of work related stress lately. One more person asks for a raincheck on milk, I'mma have to bring down the fury of the Welsh on them. ---------- I still recomend my previously stated course of action, with the Theurgery. No problem - as long as you're Welsh, I'll let you get away with anything, being Welsh too. The hiraedd can be fearsome sometimes! I checked into the Theurgist and it seems like a great idea - I am going to encourage her to multi-class with sorcerer. Thanks for the tip. Simon Collins
#9 talinthas Oct 03, 2004 13:48:00	i dunno, my storm based cleric had a great time with destruction. Call lightning is the win =) similarly, spiritual weapon is seriously strong, especially with a mystic, since you can have multiple copies up simultaniously. also, worst case, nothing like an elementally enhanced weapon that blows stuff up =)