[D&D-3.5e] Lost Cause

[Ermine]

I was going to make this on homebrewery, but the site was being uncooperative, so...

 

Psycarnate
BAB: 1/2
Good Saves: Will
Bad Saves: Fort and Ref
Skills: 2+Int (x4 at 1st level).
Class Skills: Autohypnosis, Balance, Concentration, Craft, Heal, Jump, Knowledge (all skills taken individually), Profession, Psicraft.
Hit Die: d6
Alignment: Any.

Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Psycarnates are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, quarterstaff, and shortspear. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor does not, however, interfere with the manifestation of powers.

Power Points/Day
A psycarnate’s ability to manifest powers is limited by the power points he has available. His base daily allotment of power points is the same as a psychic warrior of the same level. In addition, he receives bonus power points per day if he has a high Intelligence score (see Table: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Power Points). His race may also provide bonus power points per day, as may certain feats and items.

Powers Known
A psycarnate begins play knowing one psycarnate power of your choice. Each time he achieves a new level, he unlocks the knowledge of a new power.

Choose the powers known from the psion power list. (Exception: The feats Expanded Knowledge and Epic Expanded Knowledge do allow a psycarnate to learn powers from the lists of other classes.) A psycarnate can manifest any power that has a power point cost equal to or lower than his manifester level.

The total number of powers a psycarnate can manifest in a day is limited only by his daily power points.

A psycarnate simply knows his powers; they are ingrained in his mind. He does not need to prepare them (in the way that some spellcasters prepare their spells), though he must get a good night’s sleep each day to regain all his spent power points.

The Difficulty Class for saving throws against psycarnate powers is 10 + the power’s level + the psycarnate’s Intelligence modifier.

Maximum Power Level Known
A psycarnate begins play with the ability to learn 1st-level powers. As he attains higher levels, he may gain the ability to master more complex powers.

To learn or manifest a power, a psychic warrior must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the power’s level.

Access Akashic Record
With a good night's rest and an hour of meditation (the same hour as shaping soulmelds), and tapping into the akashic record, you replace one power you know with another from the psion power list of the same level.

Psycarnum Avatar
By spending a standard action and 1 power point +3 per part bound to a chakra, you form a breastplate of incarnum around your torso, granting you a +4 Armor Bonus to your Armor Class for 1 hour per manifester level. This occupies the Heart chakra.

Once you can bind soulmelds to different chakras, you can bind parts of your psycarnum avatar to gain additional effects for each part bound. These parts occupy chakra and magic item slots as normal. You bimd them the same time you would bind any other soulmeld, save that you do not have to have them shaped at the time. They remain bound until you change bound soulmelds, as usual. You only gain the benefits of these binds while your psycarnum avatar is active, however.
Feet: Your feet are encased in incarnum. You gain a climb speed of 30 feet, +10 feet for each point of essentia invested in your psycarnum avatar.
Hands: You gain a pair of digging claws, giving you a burrow speed of 15 feet. Investing essentia into your psycarnum avatar grants a +1 shield bonus per point of essentia invested.
Crown: Your armor bonus to AC from the psycarnum avatar increases by +2 as a psycarnum helmet forms over your head. Each point of essentia invested in the psycarnum avatar gives a +2 bonus to Knowledge (Arcana and Psionics) and Psicraft.
Arms: You grow a mass of tentacles on one of your arms, allowing you to make a natural tentacle melee attack with +5 feet reach. Each point of essentia invested in the psycarnum avatar gives a +2 bonus to checks to grapple.
Brow: A fearsome cerulean mempo forms over most of your face. You gain the ability to detect opposition at will. For each point of essentia invested in your psycarnum avatar grants a +3 bonus to Intimidation checks.
Shoulders: Sleek midnight pauldrons form over your shoulders. You gain a swim speed of 30 feet. Each point of essentia invested in your psycarnum avatar grants a +2 bonus to Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks.
Throat: An ornate carcanet of pure psycarnum forms around your neck. You gain a scream attack dealing 2d6 sonic damage to creatures in a 15 foot cone if they fail a will saving throw. For each point of incarnum invested in your psycarnum avatar, you gain a +2 bonus to Bluff, Gather Information, and Listen checks.
Waist: A cincture of pure psycarnum forms around your waist. You gain the effects of Psionic Endure Elements. For each point of essentia invested in your psycarnum avatar, you gain a +2 bonus to Balance, Jump, and Tumble checks.

Bonus Feats
At 1st level, a psycarnate gets a bonus feat in addition to the feat that any 1st level character gets and the bonus feat granted to a human character. The psycarnate gains an additional bonus feat at 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th). These bonus feats must be drawn from feats that open chakras or psionic feats. The psycarnate must still meet all prerequisites for the bonus feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums as well as class requirements. A psycarnate cannot choose feats that specifically require levels in another class unless he is a multiclass character with the requisite levels in that class.

These bonus feats are in addition to the feats that a character of any class gains every three levels. A psycarnate is not limited to feats that open chakras and psionic feats when choosing these other feats.

Meldshaping
Beginning at 4th level, a psycarnate gains a limited ability to shape soulmelds, which are drawn from the soulborn soulmeld list (page 56). You know and can shape any soulmeld from this list.

The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a psycarnate soulmeld is 10 + number of points of essentia invested in the soulmeld + your Constitution modifier. Your meldshaper level is equal to one-half your psycarnate level.

A psycarnate can shape only a certain number of soulmelds per day. Your base daily allotment is the same as a soulborn of the same level. The maximum number of soulmelds that you can have shaped simultaneously is equal to your Constitution score minus 10 or the number of soulmelds on the table, whichever is lower. At 4th level, you can shape one soulmeld at a time (assuming you have a Constitution score of at least 11). As you advance in level, you can shape an increasing number of soulmelds.

At 6th level, you gain access to your personal pool of essentia, which can be invested into your soulmelds to increase their power. Your essentia pool's size is the same as a soulborn of equal level. Your character level, as noted on Table 2—1: Essentia Capacity, determines the maximum quantity of essentia that you can invest in any single soulmeld. As a swift action, you can reallocate your essentia investments in your soulmelds every round (see Essentia, page 50).

A psycarnate does not study or prepare soulmelds in advance, but must have a good night's rest and must meditate for 1 hour to shape her soulmelds for the day (see Shaping Soulmelds, page 49).

Aligned Soulmelds
You cannot shape soulmelds with an alignment descriptor that does not match your own. For example, if you are a chaotic good psycharnate, you cannot shape soulmelds with the lawful or evil descriptors.

[Eleishar]

Originally Posted by RisenMartyr

Some abilities don't scale rather the ability gets stronger as the character gets stronger.

That's cool, but doesn't fit at all with people washing up on an island with amnesia.

Well, except for the fact it isn't human it can suffer from amnesia I think. Like destabilised divine spark (maybe there was something really wrong with that storm). Also, it can go as advanced warforged by appearance I suppose.

EDIT: I soulmelding really so powerful? I never really played with those rules in use.

[RisenMartyr]

I'd allow a regular warforged for sure. That monstrosity just wouldn't fit. If this was a comedy game? Heck yes!

Soulmelding can be powerful at early levels and balances out. It has some utility and can be most things you need.

[Ermine]

Any ideas for low level features to balance this out? Maybe an additional way to use power points? I'm coming up with ideas.

Edit: Maybe the homebrew convo should be done in PMs to not clog up the thread...

[Dark Asterisk]

I like the premise of this game. If I weren't tackling dming two games, I'd throw my hat in the ring. As it is though, you have a great number of interesting characters to choose from. Happy gaming.

[Snicker]

Here's another weird question: What is the climate of the land we washed up on, if we can know that beforehand? I plan to submit a druid, and I like the idea of my character shifting into animals foreign to the game's location (such as a wolf in the jungle, a panther in the tundra, etc.) before they acclimate to their surroundings and shifting into something native to the area. The Shapeshift variant allows a lot of flexibility in animal forms.

[triedtherest]

Would a Wilder work better than an Artificer in this Group/Campaign?

[RisenMartyr]

The island is temperate with deciduous forest mixed with conifers. The temperature is cool but not cold.

Either class should be fine in this game from a DM perspective.

[Ermine]

I think both could work. Artificer is just gonna be doing more islandy crafting. (I don't know enough about the artificer). Wilders are just fun.

[RisenMartyr]

I don't have much experience with wilders. I enjoy playing psychic warriors and psions though. I once had a psychic warrior that was group mvp in most of the hairy situations the party got into. We went from level 1 to 18. It was a fast paced game. It showed me the power of psionics for sure.

[btccg]

Even though the starting level is Level 1, would you allow the use of savage progressions for monster races with Racial HD and/or Level Adjustments?

EDIT: I am in the same boat as a few other folks here; in a couple games already and not sure if I can take on another one, but I love me some 3.5 goodness (kinda getting bored with 5E already)...

[triedtherest]

I've redone my application, and replaced my Artificer with Yu the Kalashtar Wilder.

[RisenMartyr]

btccg: It really depends on what monster race you want to play as and how such monster winds up on an island with the group.

Welcome Yu, nice to meet you. The party is looking pretty interesting.

[Ermine]

Did you have any preferences for the options I PM'd you, @RisenMartyr, or should I just play a psion?

[btccg]

1) Are Feats applicable the the special abilities if they work 'like' a certain ability? E.g. Can you take a Wildshape Feat to enhance the Animorph gift?
2) Is the Titan's Gift applicable to two weapon fighting with great weapons, including double weapons? E.g. can I only use two single great weapons with this Gift or can I also apply it to a double-weapon?