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04/07/2004 Archived Entry: "new d20 prestige class I wrote...thoughts?"

Life Shaper

With a gigantic flash and a distant roll of thunder, the giant cocoon cracked open...the being within testing its first strength to break free of its mutagenic chamber. It stood up on its shaking but powerful legs and spread its insectoid wings to catch the fading light of sunset. Scanning the room it found moment...an older tired-looking man in stained and gooed robes.

"Mmm...maaahma?" it cried, the sound reverberating through the chamber. It's long black claws scraped the stone floor as it stumbled forward for comfort.

The wizard smiled and laughed slightly...and moved on to the next of birth of a member of his newly born army.

This sorcerer or wizard has focused his magical talents towards alteration of himself and living creatures around him in startling new ways. When creating or altering creatures, his intent may be to create an army of followers, creatures that he will treat as his children, or to just take on an ecological niche that he feels is lacking. He may alter himself to provide bonuses that don't exist in copying existing creatures. He may also use these shapeshifting abilities to make impotent his enemies.

The Life Shaper is the ultimate extension of the Polymorph Self and Polymorph Other spells, and is often the creator of the many aberrant creatures whose origins have been lost in the mists of time.

Requirements:
Chaotic Neutral alignment
Must be able to cast 4th level spells
Must be able to cast Polymorph Self, Polymorph Other, Alter Self
Must previously be a single class Sorcerer or Wizard
Charisma equal or greater than 16
Concentration equal or creater than 8
Knowledge Arcana of 8 or better
Spellcraft of 6 or better

Bonuses:
By having better control over his own shape, the sorcerer gains one D8 hit points per LifeShaper level
Life Shapers gain spells and spells per level as per their original class

Progression chart:

Level BAB Fort Save Ref Save Will Save
1 Orig +4 +3 Orig
2 Orig +4 +3 Orig
3 Orig +4 +3 Orig
4 Orig +5 +4 Orig
5 Orig +5 +4 Orig
6 Orig +5 +4 Orig
7 Orig +6 +5 Orig
8 Orig +6 +5 Orig
9 Orig +6 +5 Orig
10 Orig +7 +6 Orig

Level Special Ability
1 Polymorph Self once per day (must retain spell, but does
not use points)
2 All Transmutation spells duration doubled and casting
time halved
3 --
4 Mutate (see below) once per day
5 Rack (see below) 3 times per day
6 --
7 Meld (see below) once per day
8 Assimilate Abilty (see below) once per day
9 --
10 Craft Creature (as per the Feats and the DM's guide,
see below)

Mutate
Casting time: 1 action
Range: 25ft+5ft/2 levels
Target: One living creature
Duration: 1 round per level
Saving Throw: Fortitude halves duration and see text
Spell Resistance: Yes

The Life Shaper can alter himself or a creature in a visible way for a short period. This is in many ways a version of Polymorph Other that allows specific positive and negative effects. An unwilling participant may make a successful saving throw to half the duration of the effect. This may be done multiple times.

Examples:
Eyes grow shut - Blindness
Ears grow shut - Deafness
Mouth grows shut - Unable to cast spells that have a verbal component
Gills - Allow breathing underwater
Rubberize - Allow squeezing through small spaces

Rack
Casting time: 1 action
Range: 25ft+5ft/2 levels
Target: One living creature
Duration: 10 rounds + 1 round per level
Saving Throw: Fortitude halves duration and see text
Spell Resistance: Yes

The Life Shaper alters an enemy in tortuous twisting ways, making it nearly impossible for the enemy to fight. For the duration of this effect, the enemy appears as a creature of chaos, with body parts absorbing and appearing in random locations. The target is unable to speak, fight or cast spells. Upon a successful Fortitude saving throw the duration of the effect is halved and the target may move at one-quarter normal speed, as the target manages to gain some minimal control over the transformations taking place.

Meld
Casting time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: One living creature
Duration: 1 hour per level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates and see text
Spell Resistance: No

The Life Shaper can attempt to meld with another living-flesh creature, gaining control over the creature and its abilities upon a successful Charisma check.
For example, a Life Shaper attempts to meld with a Medusa. The Medusa rolls and fails a Fortitude check. The Life Shaper melds into the Medusa and rolls a Charisma check. If successful, the Life Shaper has control over the Medusa and the abilities of the Medusa (petrifying gaze, specifically). If the Charisma check was unsuccessful, the Life Shaper would would have no control over the creature. The Life Shaper may end the Meld at any time. If the Medusa is killed, the Life Shaper would be forcefully ejected from the meld and takes 1d4 damage per hit dice of the creature. Creatures with an intelligence greater than 6 are aware of the Meld. The creature must be with one size difference of the Life Shaper.

Assimilate Ability
Casting time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: One living creature
Duration: 1 day
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

The Life Shaper may copy an ability from a creature upon a successful touch.
Abilities in this context are standard attributes such as Strength or Intelligence, or special intrinsic attributes of the create touched, such as a dragon's breath weapon, or a physical attribute such as the creatures size or wings.
It is up to the GM to determine if an ability can be absorbed in this way.
An example that may be refused is the 3 wishes granting ability of a Noble Djinn.

Craft Creature
The Life Shaper has learned to work with the very forces of life creation. Stealing slightly the role of a diety, the Life Shaper works to create bizarre creatures whose only limit is his imagination (and his access to components).
All created creatures are melded forms of creatures that already exist, and this ability is responsible for many of the creatures in the game world.
When desiring to craft a creature, the Life Shaper must seek out and capture (or get agreement with) live examples of each of the creature that will have aspects seen in the final creation.
Created creatures may also have abilities imbued based on spells.

Example:
A Dragonne (see Monster Manual) could be created by the machinations of a Life Shaper with the live capture of a Brass Dragon and a Lion. However, the creation of the creature does not destroy the originals, so a Brass Dragon (chaotic as they are) may have been a willing participant of the process.

The cost of creation is equal to the example in the DMs guide for creating magical items, with special attention paid to the section on intelligent items.

Replies: 2 comments

Just 'cause I play D&D these days and I needed a prestige class for my sorceror to join :) Posted by Greg @ 06/14/2004 04:02 PM PST