DM Nagging: It's pretty much my job

[Anastasia]

A new PrC is up. It came from considering one for Latha. She may or may not take it, I'm not sure. Regardless, I may tinker with it in the future.

[Anastasia]

Another PrC is nearly done. It has a finished draft, will be posted tonight sometime once I refine and review it. This one's aimed at Lady Sanzha. The descriptive text of the main ability is below (but not the various powers that unlock level by level while under it). The essence of the ability is soul hacking, with the marid using a triune belief to assert that music is water and life is water and in turn they are water. This belief uses bardic music as an instrument to unlock power they shouldn't be able to access in themselves, a powerful but risky business.

Whenever I make an epic PrC, I try to have it be about overcoming or exceeding a limit. In this case it's directly trying to hack your very essence and soul. This isn't a new concept, as Debonah has a power that does exactly that. Debonah's is reprinted below as well - the power is more of a cudgel compared to the far deeper understanding and investment of someone in this PrC.

FYI, this isn't the sort of thing that the text here addresses, but learning to be a madalani would be hard, even for an epic character (it has high prereqs and you won't get in until the mid 20s at the earliest) and you'd see the occasional training mistake that maims or kills a madalani. This is powerful but it's certainly not safe or easy. It's not using souls and the processes around them as precisely designed.

Melody of Water (Su)

The madalani consider water and music to be one in the same, water an endless melody that ranges from a torrent to a stagnant pool, but never ends. As water is also life to the marid, this in turn creates a triune meaning to madalani, where music is water and water is life, so thus life is music. This triune is directed inward, as what is a marid if not water? With this inner focus, they use their bardic music to empower themselves, a key to unlock the power of water within.

The benefits of melody of water apply whenever the madalani is under the effects of their own bardic music and end when they are no longer affected by their bardic music. Unless noted otherwise, the benefits of melody of water stack with the benefits of bardic music.

Melody of water is not without risks. Channeling into one's inner essence is not without risk. When a madalani ceases to be affected by their own bardic music and the benefits of melody of water fade, they must make DC 30 Constitution check. Failure results in 1d4 points of ability burn to Constitution. Success results in only 1 point of ability burn to Constitution. Multiple instances of ability burn from melody of water stack. This ability burn cannot be prevented in any way, and even affects the creature if they are otherwise immune to ability burn. A creature with a Constitution score of 0 (null) cannot use or benefit from melody of water.

A madalani can choose not to gain the benefits of melody of water when they use bardic music, and thus suffer no ability burn. This choice is made each time the madalani uses bardic music that affects them.

---

Ko note: This was never posted over to the SC. When it is moved over from Debonah's sheet to there, expect an addition that the ability burn can't be prevented even if normally immune, ala what madalani has. That sort of thing is primally damaging and bypasses the normal limitations to such things. Fortunately, one can generally only encounter it if they do it to themselves or with long term experimentation/dickery by an epic spellcaster type who really knows what they're doing. Anyway, this was never ported over since it was the only (public) thing of I felt suitable to post and was one of the first I did. I figured I may well tweak and revise, but I ended up posting it with Debonah since I didn't want to forget about it.

Heavenly Glory
Psychometabolism [Good, Light]
Level: Psychic Warrior 10
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level
Power Points: 21

When a celestial manifests heavenly glory, they temporarily destroy the barrier between themselves, the outer world and the pure Good they are connected to. This results in several effects as they are overtaken by powers beyond even them.

Firstly, they glow with intense light. This light is strong light equivalent to strong sunshine that reaches 700ft in all directions from the manifester. Areas of supernatural darkness are countered by this light. Effects of 8th level or less are suppressed and this power's light is unaffected. Effects of 9th level or higher are countered and counter the light of this power, allowing natural light conditions to prevail.

Secondly, any evil creature within the light or struck by the celestial's attacks takes 7d6 points of damage. Each round of exposure to the light or attack deals an additional 7d6 damage.

Thirdly, this light impedes any spell or power with the evil descriptor. The caster must succeed on a Spellcraft check (if a spell or a spell-like ability) or a Psicraft check (if a power or a psi-like ability); the DC is 49 + the celestial's Wisdom modifier. If the check fails, the spell is countered. If the spell has an equivalent good spell (such as unholy blight to holy smite, a summon monster spell to summon evil creatures to a summon monster spell to summon good creatures), the equivalent spell is cast instead.

Spells and powers changed in this way adjust to harm the caster or other evil creatures. For example, a converted unholy blight targeted on innocent creatures would become a holy smite targeted on the caster. Creatures summoned or called by spells changed in this manner are hostile to the creature that summoned them and attack the caster.

Finally, good creatures within the light cannot be reduced below one hit point. Good creatures at zero hit points to -9 hit points automatically stabilize. They cannot be reduced below their current hit points as long as they are within the light.

Manifesting this power is extremely hazardous to the manifester. The barrier between the celestial and pure Good is not meant to be destroyed, unless the celestial is to merge with a plane or deity. When this power ends, the celestial takes 10 points of ability burn to all six ability scores. This cannot reduce an ability score below 1. Additionally, they are unable to manifest powers of 7th level or higher for 1d4 days.

This power can only be selected by an outsider with the good subtype. If this power is somehow manifested by a creature without the good subtype, the power fails with no effect.

[Anastasia]

Dune, feel free to get to this whenever, but I'm curious as to why Singer of the Celestial Choir doesn't progress bard casting at every level. I don't have some sort of huge problem with it, I just am curious as to how you decided on that.

PrC spell progression is a question of balance, design and ultimately designer choice. Some PrCs give up spell level(s) to balance out the powers. If this is worthwhile or not really depends, though spellcasting is potent enough that it can be tough.

It's all a question of trying to balance the PrC. The powers, the prereqs, the spell progression and all of it play into a final answer to the question: In the end, is this balanced?

[Nephrite]

My gut feeling is bard casting is already kind of limited by the natural course of things, and the requirements to get into SotCC is actually pretty high.

Basically, I don't think you'll see a lot of one-level dips into it, if that makes sense.

[Anastasia]

The logic there was (I believe) that the first level song is fast healing as long as the bard performs. Basically if the bard wants to keep it going, they can be mobile fast healing for as long as they can perform bardic music. The minimum fast healing is 11 and it rises as you gain SotCC levels, so it's nothing to sneeze at.

[Nephrite]

I understand the reasoning, I just don't agree with it in its entireity. :)

[Anastasia]

Fair enough. I have that happen sometimes. Pure curiosity, how would you balance it?

[Nephrite]

Hmmmm.

To avoid any one-level dips (which I'm still not entirely sure would happen) you could reduce the Song of Life bonus to +5 at level 1 and then increase it to +10 at level 3 or 4.

I would let it fully progress bard casting, but not let it have any bonuses for bardic music except to give daily uses of bardic music. I realize that it already does this, but I know Madalani does progress all aspects of bards including the other stuff, but that's also a little different.

[Anastasia]

Yeah. The devil of 3.5 balancing is that no two PrCs, classes, feats or anything are the same. There's a whole lot of feeling it out, establishing norms and ultimately deciding what should and shouldn't work for you.

Plus there's a simple fact: Not all kinds of power are equally useful in a given campaign. In a campaign where military structure and mass battles were emphasized more than Balmuria, things like Song of Life or Miracle of Health would be way more prominent and useful. That can make it even trickier, since even when you enforce standards, some things just aren't useful or don't balance for a particular campaign.

[Anastasia]

Re: Antimagic sound. Moore, I'd like you write up an addition to it that deals with how it interacts with creatures too large for the radius being partially in it.

[Anastasia]

Also, I'd like to request a favor from someone. If you could gather up all the spells posted and approved here and link me to the approved versions, I'd appreciate it. For that I mean over the past level up period.

Secondly, if I have any things here that still need replies, link me to them so I can resolve them. Thanks.

[Ebiris]

[17:06] <~Ebiris> For the whole antimagic thing, isn't the rule that if you're in any square of an effect then you're affected by it even if you have other squares that aren't inside it?
[17:06] <~Ebiris> If a fireall hitting one out of an ogre's 4 squares does full damage, surely antimagic would similarly take full effect.
[17:08] <CC> That sounds like the best interpretation
[17:08] <@Kotono> Iddy. Emily got a Seria approved bonus.
[17:08] <CC> Since we don't have figurines or maps or really care to figure out what bodypart carries what magical item and where it's located
[17:11] <@Kotono> Toss the conversation into nagging, please? Trying not to get derailed by it while DMing, it's in nagging for that reason. Thanks.

[Nephrite]

Here is what the Rules Compendium has to say on the subject, if it helps any:

CREATURES
Constructs, elementals, outsiders, and corporeal undead still function in an antimagic area. Their special abilities are affected by the antimagic as detailed below.  A big creature whose space is partially within an antimagic area can choose to attack from a square not within the area, thereby suffering no adverse effects from the antimagic. Its attacks and abilities are affected by the
antimagic if it attacks into the antimagic area or uses an ability on a foe within the antimagic area.  Summoned creatures of any type disappear if they enter an antimagic area. Incorporeal creatures do the same. These creatures reappear in the same spot once the antimagic effect goes away, unless they were summoned by an effect whose duration has expired—see Spells, below

SPELLS
Spells don't function in an antimagic area, but an antimagic area doesn't block line of effect. If a spell's point of origin is inside an antimagic area, that spell is entirely suppressed. When a spell's point of origin is located outside an antimagic area, but part of that spell's area overlaps the antimagic area, that spell's effect is suppressed where the two areas overlap.


It seems to suggest that you can still cast things outside of the antimagic area if you're large enough, but if you're targeting yourself with something, it won't work.

[Nephrite]

I can't fucking believe I'm having a dragon fall on me again.

[Anastasia]

I can't fucking believe I'm having a dragon fall on me again.

Draaaagon!

Dragons everywhere!