So, I can't help but notice that, with Kara switching characters, the original plot (of Elnisa questing to get a relic, and us accompanying her) doesn't work, what with Elnisa not existing anymore (unless you'll be making her into an NPC).
But I assume you guys have realized this and are planning accordingly. Right?
Anyone who assigns themselves loads of character tropes is someone to be worried about.@Staghorn: Yes, we have noticed—it's hard to have a subplot when the driving force behind it doesn't exist. Elnisa will not become an NPC.
Alright, I've broken up the bonuses of the shifter traits into shifting (only available while shifting), passive (always available), and Feats based on that trait. I've also listed shifter feats that don't correspond to particular shifter traits. Note that shifter feats grant the following bonuses in addition to whatever is listed:
- +1 round shifting per feat
- +1 shifts per day per two feats
Shifter Traits
- Beasthide
- Shifting: +2 Con, +2 natural armor
- Beasthide Elite: While shifting, additional +2 natural armor.
- Shifter Stamina (requires Endurance): While shifting, immune to non-lethal damage, and fatigue/exhaustion effects don't start affecting you until your shifting is over.
- Cliffwalk
- Shifting: +2 Dex, 20 ft. climb speed
- Cliffwalk Elite: +10ft. climb speed while shifting
- Shifter Agility: +1 AC, +1 Reflex while shifting
- Dreamsight
- Shifting: +2 Wis, speak with animals
- Passive: +2 Handle Animal, +2 Wild Empathy
- Dreamsight Elite: Activate as a full-round action to get +5 spot and see invisible creatures and objects
- Gorebrute
- Shifting: +2 Str, horns (natural weapon) only usable while charging for 2d6 damage, +1 damage/4 levels
- Gorebrute Elite: Creatures taking damage from your horns must make an opposed Str check to avoid being knocked prone.
- Shifter Savagery (requires BAB +6 and rage/frenzy): While shifting and raging simultaneously, the critical range of your natural weapons doubles and they deal damage as though you were two size categories higher (neither effect stacking with anything other than actual size increases).
- Longstride
- Shifting: +2 Dex, +10 ft. base land speed
- Longstride Elite: +10 ft. base land speed while shifting
- Great Bite (requires +6 BAB): Your bite has a critical hit multiplier of x3 instead of x2
- Shifter Agility: +1 AC, +1 Reflex while shifting
- Longtooth
- Shifting: +2 Str, fangs (natural weapon) dealing 1d6 damage, +1 damage/4 levels
- Longtooth Elite: Injuries from your bites bleed copiously, dealing 1 Con damage.
- Shifter Multiattack (requires BAB +6): Secondary attacks with natural weapons only have a -2 penalty (instead of -5)
- Shifter Savagery (requires BAB +6 and rage/frenzy): While shifting and raging simultaneously, the critical range of your natural weapons doubles and they deal damage as though you were two size categories higher (neither effect stacking with anything other than actual size increases).
- Razorclaw
- Shifting: +2 Str, claws (natural weapon) dealing 1d4 damage, +1 damage/4 levels*
- Razorclaw Elite: When charging, you can make two claw attacks at the full attack bonus instead of just one.
- Shifter Multiattack (requires BAB +6): Secondary attacks with natural weapons only have a -2 penalty (instead of -5)
- Great Rend (requires BAB +4): If you hit with both claw attacks in one round you deal bonus damage equal to 1d4 + 1/2 Str mod + 1 per every 4 levels.
- Shifter Savagery (requires BAB +6 and rage/frenzy): While shifting and raging simultaneously, the critical range of your natural weapons doubles and they deal damage as though you were two size categories higher (neither effect stacking with anything other than actual size increases).
- Swiftwing
- Shifting: +2 Dex, fly speed of 20 ft. with average maneuverability via bat-like wings (can't use hands for anything other than holding, can't fly with more than a light load or in more than light armor)
- Swiftwing Elite: While shifting, +10 ft. fly speed and good maneuverability
- Shifter Agility: +1 AC, +1 Reflex while shifting
- Truedive
- Shifting: +2 Con, 30 ft. swim speed (which grants +8 Swim)
- Passive: Can hold breath for 5 x Con rounds without danger of drowning
- Truedive Elite: while shifting, +10 ft. swim speed and no penalties for attacking underwater with melee weapons
- Shifter Stamina (requires Endurance): While shifting, immune to non-lethal damage, and fatigue/exhaustion effects don't start affecting you until your shifting is over.
- Wildhunt
- Shifting: +2 Con, scent (can sense creatures via smell, synergy with the Track feat)
- Passive: +2 Survival
- Wildhunt Elite: While shifting, you have blindsense 30 ft.
- Shifter Stamina (requires Endurance): While shifting, immune to non-lethal damage, and fatigue/exhaustion effects don't start affecting you until your shifting is over.
General Shifter Feats
- Extra Shifter Trait (requires two other shifter feats): Select a second shifter trait. You gain all bonuses of this trait aside from the ability score bonus.
- Reactive Shifting (requires Improved Initiative): You can shift as an immediate action.
- Shifter Ferocity (requires 13 Wis): While shifting, you can act normally at 0 to -9 HP.
- Shifter Instincts: +2 initiative; +1 Listen, Sense Motive, and Spot
- Shifter Defense (requires 2 other shifter feats): DR 2/silver
- Greater Shifter Defense (requires Shifter Defense and 3 other shifter feats): DR increases to 4/silver
- Healing Factor (requires 13 Con): When you stop shifting, you immediately gain HP equal to your character level. (Dying doesn't count.)
Non-shifter Shifter-only Feats
Yes, the description may sound silly, but it is accurate: there are two shifter-only feats that are Racial feats, but not Shifter feats (for the purposes of enhancing the shift ability). Both of these are also Tactical feats (granting specific maneuvers that can be used in combat) and are mutually exclusive.* If you are setting up a tactical maneuver from these or other tactical feats, it is helpful to let the GM know you are doing so.- Battleshifter Training (requires +6 BAB): You may use the following three maneuvers.
- Tiring Defense
- Setup: For two consecutive rounds, use Combat Expertise with at least a -2 penalty or fight defensively. A creature makes melee attacks against you in both rounds, but does not hit.
- Action: If you hit that creature with a melee attack in one of those rounds, that creature is fatigued for as long as you continue using Combat Expertise with a -2 or fight defensively. Creatures that were already fatigued before you used this maneuver become exhausted after missing you for four rounds.
- Exploit Weakness
- Setup: You make a melee attack against a creature while you are not using Combat Expertise or fighting defensively.
- Action: If that creature is fatigued, exhausted, dazed, or dazzled, you deal +1d6 damage.
- Riposte
- Setup: Use Combat Expertise with at least a -2 penalty or fight defensively. A creature makes a full attack against you, but misses.
- Action: You may Invoke an Aspect and spend a Prophecy Point to make an extra melee attack against that enemy as an immediate action.
- Tiring Defense
- Ragewild Fighting (requires +6 BAB and Power Attack): You may use the following three maneuvers.
- Instinctive Strike
- Setup: You fail a Will save against a spell that is not considered harmless.
- Action: You make make a single melee attack as an immediate action before the spell takes effect.
- Rattle the Weakling
- Setup: You hit a creature with a melee attack in a round.
- Action: In the next round, if you make a Power Attack with at least a -5 penalty, must make a Fortitude check (DC 10 + 1/2 your level + your Str mod) or be dazed for one round.
- Brutal Charge
- Setup: You charge a creature and successfully hit it with a melee attack.
- Action: You may Invoke an Aspect and spend a Prophecy Point to deal extra damage equal to your Str bonus (or 1.5 times this bonus for a two-handed weapon).
- Instinctive Strike
I'm teasssssssing arim, I meant the start especially, I'm interested in what you guys have planned.
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"Still trying to think of a good name for that last, desire-to-see-the-world, intrigued-by-all-the-strange-and-interesting-things aspect. "The world is just so interesting!" seems too long, and Enrapt by Eberron (the name for it currently on the sheet) doesn't really cover what I'm trying to convey.
Anyone who assigns themselves loads of character tropes is someone to be worried about.For added reference bonus 'Oh the places I'll go'
edited 11th Sep '11 4:01:49 PM by Lanceleoghauni
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"Remember, Reference jokes make a character 20% Cooler.
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"New character sheet.
I still have to finish up Aspects and equipment, and possibly other things I've overlooked—anyone can feel free to point these out if they find any. Have I mentioned that I have a lot of creative projects in the pipeline these days?
Will provide additional information on Aspects in near future. Need mental break from all this. Argh. And so forth.
Since the Relationship Aspect has been causing a bit of confusion, here's some clarification. The hardest part of a relationship aspect is making it relevant. While each of you could easily come up with some person or group of people your character has strong feelings about, it's not going to do much good having a relationship aspect with them if they have a vested interest in staying where you last left them and doing nothing of consequence. The relationship should be something that can come up on a fairly regular basis independent of your location. There are a few types of people and organizations that make this easy:
- A continent-spanning organization, such as a dragonmarked house or the Aurum—they have people almost everywhere
- An organization that is politically or economically important on the world stage, even in they don't have a strong presence everywhere. For example, an outspokenly loyal Brelish citizen will be treated well in Breland and Zilargo, a bit better than neutrally in Aundair, and with hostility in Droaam, Darguun, Karrnath, and Thrane, even though Breland has little direct influence in most of those countries.
- A person who has influence outside of their immediate surroundings, such as a particularly wealthy noble. This obviously works best if the person in question has a vested interest in retrieving/killing/stealing from/giving an Indian burn to your character.
- A person or group of people who travel, such as a minstrel, a merchant, an adventuring party, a pirate crew, etc. They may not be as powerful as the above, but they can easily turn up all over Khorvaire.
- A religion or other organization with a code of belief, since your beliefs can help or hinder you in that regard, even if there is no formal church hierarchy as there is with the Silver Flame
- A person or organization that need not have power, influence, or mobility, but which can restrict your character's actions and beliefs by virtue of the relationship. For example, a character may be restricted in their actions because they couldn't go back home and face their father/mother/siblings/spouse/children after taking such actions. (Obvious this isn't interesting if the actions in question are against your alignment in the first place. Sure, you may not be able to face your mother after murdering children in cold blood, but someone who's NG likely wouldn't even consider such things in the first place.)
Incidentally, global connections don't seem to have caused variety issues in the past. Examples:
- Constantine: The Arcane Dominion
- Adellion: The Arcane Dominion (albeit with an opposing view)
- Millie: Victoria, Communists, Tausret, the Baltimore Press-Agent
- Samson: Abin, the Gemsetters, the EASP
- Ivan: The Red Russians, Agent Morpheus, the Marowit cult, Rocket Red
- Anton: The Red Russians
- Sam: The RAF, Gray's Raptors, Brandon Gray
- Sarah: Bernhardt, the US Army
- Dana: Ordo Corvi, Bentham
- Kaylee: Aundair, Adal, House Lyrandar, Windfield's Warriors, the Silver Flame, Faran, Andor, the Sovereign Host
- Brackle: The Lord of Blades, Deran, House Phiarlan, House Deneith, House Medani
- Anila: The Power of Purity, the Inmost, Baldrik, House Davandi
- Nameless: The Lord of Blades, House Cannith
- Elnisa: Breland, Martull, Dol Arrah, the Martial Temple of Dol Arrah, the Mockery
Mind you, this is just allowing for multinational connections. Adding party members, people whose memory is being honored (such as Tibalyn), etc. add more options for a Relationship Aspect.
edited 13th Sep '11 11:07:07 PM by Ironeye
I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.I have an idea for a Relationship Aspect that I think you can have fun with, Ironeye...
Once upon a time, when Maralee was with the Delethorn Rascals, a wealthy merchant from Aundair visited the town, spread around a lot of money in the marketplace, ordered around random citizens as if they were members of her entourage, and basically acted like a pompous ass. So the Rascals decided to break into her room at the inn and steal some of that cash she was throwing around and maybe some choice personal belongings, just to teach her a lesson about conspicuous consumption.
And they got caught.
They were able to pass it off as a mere prank—or at least the constables pretended to believe it was just a prank, since the merchant had not endeared herself to them any more than anyone else in town with her antics—but the victim swore that her grudge against the "ruffians" would last until the end of time. And she has an excellent memory for faces and a fair amount of influence in the Five Nations.
Of course, some of that influence takes the form of people going "Oh, that snotty twerp? Anyone she doesn't like is all right by me!"
What do you think?
Ever since the run-in with Madam Imbris (the merchant), Maralee has been thinking Aundair must be a good place to score some treasure. Last year, she finally got her traveling papers in order and headed over...only to find that Imbris wasn't kidding about her grudge and her connections. After being hounded by various branches of local law enforcement, refused service at any number of inns and marketplaces, and once smuggled out of a town on a vegetable cart by one of Imbris's business rivals, Maralee decided to give it up as a bad job. By that time, she was a lot closer to the border with Breland than to home. She decided to take it as a sign and try her luck in Breland instead. She's been there ever since, circulating from city to city, taking odd jobs and supplementing her income with a little cat-burgling when the pickings are slim.
edited 16th Sep '11 6:52:09 PM by Karalora

so do what you'd like kara, there's no point in saddling you with a character you hate/feel utterly uninterested in/have no stake in.
edited 10th Sep '11 9:08:30 AM by Lanceleoghauni
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"