Author Topic: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer  (Read 2466 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

plaguewraith

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 44
Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« on: November 08, 2008, 01:19:34 PM »
I'm currently creating a sorcerer with a distant vampire relative which he draws his power from. My question is how should i go about creating this character alternative class features (homebrew allowed), feats (homebrew allowed), prestige classes (homebrew allowed), and spells (no homebrew spells, sorry to say).

this is my first serious role playing game, the rest were always powergame things with little or no roleplaying, and i would like to be able to have a flavorful character with mechanics to match.

I'm using a homebrew variant sorcerer that can specialize in a school of magic and gains bonus metamagic, reserve or heritage feats for this build:
starting at 4th level
Specializes in necromancy and prohibited abjuration and illusion (keeps both necromancy and enchantment spells high and a few evocations that can target multiple opponents [magic missile, scorching ray and the like])
No familiar, want a variant that replaces the familiar for something better.

Backstory: Corax Crow was an aspiring young sorcerer that has lead a different life from most sorcerers, he enrolled at an academy of magic where he picked up extra skills and learned to focus his magic.
He never once mentioned that his grandfather was a half-vampire and kept it a secret for many years, however, over time he started to show signs of his vampiric heritage and dropped out of the academy before he could be discovered, now he wanders the land expeimenting in the necromantic arts and researching for the day he returns to the academy, a vampire that has not embraced undeath...

Here are some homebrew feats i've already come up with.

Vampire Heritage [Vampire Heritage]
You draw your innate power from the unliving essence of a vampire.
Prerequisites: Sorcerer level 1st
Benefit: You can imbue your blood with arcane energy in order to heal your wounds. You can use a standard action to sacrifice a single spell slot to heal yourself by twice the level of the sacrificed spell slot. Additionally, you gain a bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks when dealing with vampires and humanoids equal to the number of Vampire Heritage feats you possess, including this one.

Blood Transfusion [Vampire Heritage]
You can imbue your own health into another living creature.
Prerequisites: Vampire Heritage
Benefits: By sacrificing your own health, you can heal a touched creature by an amount equal to half the damage you take with this feat. You cannot heal yourself with this feat. Using this ability is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
Special: This feat only works on living, corporeal creatures.

Vampiric Spell [Vampire Heritage, Metamagic]
You imbue your spell with the power of a vampire allowing it to drain the vitality of the target.
Prerequisites: Vampire Heritage
Benefits: You can only apply this feat to damage dealing spells. A vampiric spell drains the blood of the target. The target takes Con damage based on the unmodified level of the spell. The target is allowed a Fort save (using the spell DC) to negate the ability damage. You gain 5 temporary hit points for each point of Con damage the target takes from the spell, these temporary hit points last for 1 minute. A vampiric spell takes up a spell slot 3 levels higher than normal. This feat does not affect the casting time of a spell, unlike most other metamagic feats.

0 - level: 1
1st - level: 1
2nd - level: 2
3rd - level: 2
4th - level: 3
5th - level: 3
6th - level: 4
7th - level: 4
8th - level: 5
9th - level: 5

Vampire Fangs [Vampire Heritage]
You can drink the blood of the living to bolster yourself.
Prerequisites: Vampire Heritage
Benefits: You grow a pair of short fangs, you can use these fangs to drink the blood of a pinned or helpless target. You can use a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity to bite your opponent, each round you drain blood, you deal 1d4+1 points of damage, you gain half of this damage (rounded up) as temporary hit points. You cannot take any other action while draining your opponent. Temporary hit points gained from this feat last for 1 minute. Temporary hit points granted by this feat stack with those granted by other vampire heritage feats.

Vampire Legacy [Vampire Heritage]
You gain great power from your vampiric ancestory.
Prerequisites: Any 4 Vampire Heritage feats
Benefits: You can use Charm Person at will as a spell-like ability.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2008, 10:07:23 PM by plaguewraith »

Mister_Sinister

  • King Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 910
  • For some people, four walls are three too many.
    • Email
Re: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2008, 01:33:54 PM »
Looks quite reasonable. Farm temporary hit points with Blood Transfusion for the win!

Everything I learned about DnD I learned from Frank Trollman at The Gaming Den... but nowadays, my work space is the New DnD Wiki.

Check them both out!


veekie

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 9034
  • WARNING: Homing Miko
Re: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2008, 01:46:05 PM »

Vampire Heritage [Vampire Heritage]
You draw your innate power from the unliving essence of a vampire.
Prerequisites: Sorcerer level 1st
Benefit: You can imbue your blood with arcane energy in order to heal your wounds. You can sacrifice a single spell slot to heal yourself by twice the level of the sacrificed spell slot. Additionally, you gain a bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks when dealing with vampires equal to the number of Vampire Heritage feats you possess, including this one.

I'd say make the bluff diplomacy apply on humanoids, since vampires traditionally have Charm Person. You need to state the action to activate the ability(presumably standard? swift?) and how long the skill bonuses last(or if they are a permanent effect). Maybe make it grant temp hp instead of healing.

Quote
Blood Transfusion [Vampire Heritage]
You can imbue your own health into another living creature.
Prerequisites: Vampire Heritage
Benefits: By sacrificing your own health, you can heal a touched creature by an amount equal to half the damage you take with this feat. You cannot heal yourself with this feat.
Special: This feat only works on living, corporeal creatures.
Again, action needed?

Quote
Vampiric Spell [Vampire Heritage, Metamagic]
You imbue your spell with the power of a vampire allowing it to drain the vitality of the target.
Prerequisites: Vampire Heritage
Benefits: You can only apply this feat to damage dealing spells. A vampiric spell drains the blood of the target. The target takes Con damage based on the unmodified level of the spell. The target is allowed a Fort save (using the spell DC) to negate the ability damage. You gain 5 temporary hit points for each point of Con damage the target takes from the spell, these temporary hit points last for 1 minute. A vampiric spell takes up a spell slot 3 levels higher than normal. This feat does not increase the casting time of a spell, unlike most other metamagic feats.

0 - level: 1
1st - level: 1
2nd - level: 2
3rd - level: 2
4th - level: 3
5th - level: 3
6th - level: 4
7th - level: 4
8th - level: 5
9th - level: 5
Now This, I can see healing the sorc, with the excess going into temp hp.
Minor wording nitpick bolded.

Quote
Blood Drinker [Vampire Heritage]
You can drink the blood of the living to bolster yourself.
Prerequisites: Vampire Heritage
Benefits: You grow a pair of short fangs, you can use these fangs to drink the blood of a pinned or helpless target. Each round you drain blood, you deal 1d4+1 points of damage, you gain half of this damage (rounded up) as temporary hit points. Temporary hit points gained from this feat last for 1 minute.
This one, again, action? Do the temp hp stack? If they didn't, you'd be getting 3 temp hp max out of this, if they did, do they stack with other temp hps from this heritage?

Looks niceish though.
The mind transcends the body.
It's also a little cold because of that.
Please get it a blanket.

I wish I could read your mind,
I can barely read mine.

"Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. At 2:15, it begins rolling up characters."

[spoiler]
"Just what do you think the moon up in the sky is? Everyone sees that big, round shiny thing and thinks there must be something round up there, right? That's just silly. The truth is much more awesome than that. You can almost never see the real Moon, and its appearance is death to humans. You can only see the Moon when it's reflected in things. And the things it reflects in, like water or glass, can all be broken, right? Since the moon you see in the sky is just being reflected in the heavens, if you tear open the heavens it's easy to break it~"
-Ibuki Suika, on overkill

To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basilisk ouranionon.
Epigenentheto, apoleia keraune hos timeis pteirei.
Hekatonkatis kai khiliakis astrapsato.
Khiliarkhou Astrape!
[/spoiler]

There is no higher price than 'free'.

"I won't die. I've been ordered not to die."

plaguewraith

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 44
Re: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2008, 06:01:39 PM »
it does say each round and you must use a full round action to establish a hold to begin drinking

Mister_Sinister

  • King Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 910
  • For some people, four walls are three too many.
    • Email
Re: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2008, 09:28:46 PM »
it does say each round and you must use a full round action to establish a hold to begin drinking

Actually, no, it doesn't say that. What it says is that you can use it on a pinned or helpless target, and that you drain blood each round. It doesn't give an action for BEGINNING nor SUSTAINING the action - merely the targeting restriction and the effect per round. Just because it sounds like the vampire does not mean it defaults to it.

Everything I learned about DnD I learned from Frank Trollman at The Gaming Den... but nowadays, my work space is the New DnD Wiki.

Check them both out!


plaguewraith

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 44
Re: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2008, 01:34:51 AM »
sorry about that, it didn't save earlier, fixed it now

veekie

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 9034
  • WARNING: Homing Miko
Re: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« Reply #6 on: November 09, 2008, 05:47:03 AM »
Looks good then.
The mind transcends the body.
It's also a little cold because of that.
Please get it a blanket.

I wish I could read your mind,
I can barely read mine.

"Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. At 2:15, it begins rolling up characters."

[spoiler]
"Just what do you think the moon up in the sky is? Everyone sees that big, round shiny thing and thinks there must be something round up there, right? That's just silly. The truth is much more awesome than that. You can almost never see the real Moon, and its appearance is death to humans. You can only see the Moon when it's reflected in things. And the things it reflects in, like water or glass, can all be broken, right? Since the moon you see in the sky is just being reflected in the heavens, if you tear open the heavens it's easy to break it~"
-Ibuki Suika, on overkill

To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basilisk ouranionon.
Epigenentheto, apoleia keraune hos timeis pteirei.
Hekatonkatis kai khiliakis astrapsato.
Khiliarkhou Astrape!
[/spoiler]

There is no higher price than 'free'.

"I won't die. I've been ordered not to die."

plaguewraith

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 44
Re: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2008, 10:24:43 PM »
Any ideas for additions, this thread is not about the feats (not entirely anyway), and i still need help with spells to take, PrCs, and anything to help the idea along

InnaBinder

  • Grape ape
  • *****
  • Posts: 1610
  • OnnaTable
    • Okay - - Your Turn: Monte Cook's Message Board
Re: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2008, 01:26:51 AM »
Vampires are all about Enchantment/Charm/Compulsion spells, unless you're specifically working against type; pump those DCs high and make them Stilled.  A PrC like Dread Witch is thematically appropriate to the archetype, as is any other that grants or enhances a Fear aura.  Alter Self and Gaseous Form are also obvious examples of the archetype's standard. Necromantic spells are another no-brainer, as in Vampiric Touch.
Winning an argument on the internet is like winning in the Special Olympics.  You won, but you're still retarded.

I made a Handbook!?

plaguewraith

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 44
Re: Vampire Hertage Sorcerer
« Reply #9 on: November 11, 2008, 10:08:04 PM »
added vampire legacy (any ideas for any changes could be useful)