Brilliant Gameologists Forum

The Thinktank => Min/Max It! => : godzilla5939 March 15, 2011, 12:23:38 AM

: Fixing the blighter
: godzilla5939 March 15, 2011, 12:23:38 AM
I'm running a campaign based on alignment flipping via an equivalent of a helm of opposite alignment. One of my players wants to play a Blighter, but I feel he'll be gimped. Does anyone have any fixes or ideas for fixes to the blighter. My main idea was to expand his spell list with the Necromancy spells from arcane spellcasting and making some form of trade off like they have for the blackguard. Figured the people here would be the best for fixing this shitty class.
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: JaronK March 15, 2011, 12:39:36 AM
The obvious thing to do is to have the Blighter change around the Druid spell list instead of deleting your old casting.  At the very least, it should start at level 1 with casting equivalent to what you just gave up.

JaronK
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: Bloody Initiate March 15, 2011, 01:05:04 AM
and/or ditching the druid prereq. You don't have to be a fallen paladin to become a blackguard, why must you be a fallen druid to become a blighter?

The class is based on pretty dumb fluff though, so a lot of its abilities are extra worthless. Who gives a shit that you can burn trees? Who CAN'T burn trees?
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: ninjarabbit March 15, 2011, 01:07:08 AM
I like the idea of trading ex-druid levels for blighter levels. I'd also change the requirements of the blighter so that you necessarily don't have to be an ex-druid to become one, maybe removing the spellcasting requirement and making it skill based with 8 ranks in knowledge (nature) and 4 ranks knowledge (religion) and survival.

Another idea is that the blighter is able to add one necromancy spell to his spell list via advanced learning maybe once every 2 or 3 levels.
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: godzilla5939 March 15, 2011, 01:13:45 AM
I think I'm just going to rewrite the damn thing :banghead
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: Mushroom March 15, 2011, 02:09:45 AM
Why not make it like the Ur-priest? Give them the entire druid list instead of a shitty list



+1 on ignoring druid prereq
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: godzilla5939 March 15, 2011, 03:24:29 AM
I think I'm going to have to modify deforestation as well, because it gimps the damn class if you are ever in a plane without plants like Mechanus, elemental planes etc. or even any area with just a lack of vegetation.
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: Bloody Initiate March 15, 2011, 03:53:52 AM
I think I'm just going to rewrite the damn thing :banghead

It shouldn't be hard to improve upon...

1st level
-You can kill trees, cuz you hate trees... damn trees. Keep in mind this ability is only against non-sentient plant life. Also, you're useless if you don't do this. You're still useless when you do, but at least you and your party can hit each other with rotten sticks and feel badass because they break so easily.

2nd level
-You can use a stock 1st level blasting spell as a supernatural ability, which you can then use to BURN TREES! Keep in mind you have to get within 10 feet to hurt anyone with this ability. You also don't have to eat or drink.

3rd level
-You gain a version of wildshape that takes away a lot of the utility of wildshape. You are at least level 7.

4th level
-You can talk to roadkill. Specifically dead animals, who can't have intelligence scores higher than 2, so what the fuck do they have to say other than "Squirrel!"

5th level
-Another underwhelming Su ability that requires you to enter melee range.

6th level
-Now you can ANIMATE roadkill! You're moving up in the world!

7th level
-More uses per day of your officially shitty abilities. Which btw, are going up in x/day, which means even if they were good they would be useless.

8th level
-Kind of like sundering is a good NPC ability (NPCs sundering is devastating, PCs sundering is worthless), you now have the ability to separate people from their animal companions and shit. You spent at least 12 levels just so you could separate people from familiars and animal companions, which you should just kill and animate, but you're not doing what you should do at 12th level. This would have been cool if they didn't condition out the experience penalty the target would take. Much like Sundering, his is an NPC trick, not a PC tool.

9th level
-See level 7

10th level
-If you get within 20 feet of an enemy you can potentially give them VD. Way to take the fun out of it dumbass. You're a level 15 character.


...that would be VERY easy to improve upon.

The blighter is obviously intended for NPCs, its fluff has nothing to do with PCs at all and its abilities are stupid-useless. Its spell progression is purely thematic. It even suggests NPC-like roles for the blighter under "Adaptation," calling them loners (aka not PCs, because PCs aren't loners no matter how many stupid fucking emo kids play D&D) or talking about secret cults (Also not PCs, PCs kick the shit out of secret cults on general principle, they don't join them.).

Rewriting an entire prestige class is a lot of work to do for one player's bad choice. It's a shitty class built on a stupid concept. You should redirect the player to something useful, because the blighter is just plain fucking awful.

If they're adamant, switching out the spell list (Make it Druid + All Necromancy) and throwing away the roadkill fetish could do a world of good for the class.
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: Mixster March 15, 2011, 04:22:33 AM
Easy fix, play it in a Tier 3-4 campaign were it easily fits with the rest of the group.

Otherwise:
Entries should be low, something like Knowledge Nature 8, and must give up druid casting, if he has any, but it's not a requirement to hate trees that you once loved them. You can be one of the regular old Dendrophobes.
Should get fiendish animal companion.
Some alternative to Wild shape, probably weaker to compensate for the stronger AC, but MUCH stronger than Undead Wild Shape.
Full druid spell list + Re-animation spells from cleric spell list.
Remove the deforestation thingie, or at the very least make it have to be fewer trees.

---
Anyway, whatever you do, let me know :) I'd love to see this.
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: godzilla5939 March 15, 2011, 06:40:06 AM
Well, I finished it welcome to constructive criticism heres the link http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11373.msg389195#msg389195 (ftp://http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11373.msg389195#msg389195)
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: JohnnyMayHymn March 15, 2011, 09:48:21 AM
Well, I finished it welcome to constructive criticism heres the link http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11373.msg389195#msg389195 (ftp://http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11373.msg389195#msg389195)
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EDIT:this is probably what you meant (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11373.0)

how about progressing wildshape if you already have it, but you lose animal/elemental forms and gain skeleton and/or zombie versions of animals?
I do like ghostly wildshape :devil

and progress the full divine casting that you already have invested in(if only to discourage mystic theurge shenanigans), but you loose your entire druid list(you can never cast any spell on the druid list even ones that overlap with cleric, ranger or any other spell list) and you now prepare spells from the cleric list (since hating nature is pretty much your religion now). cleric alignment restrictions apply

and your animal companion pretty much says "eff you" and takes off, you can never have another "animal companion", even if you were to gain one from another class(ie ranger)

these changes could also fit a ranger that has grown a hatred for nature (just add a clause about no ranger spells allowed, and you prepare cleric spells in your ranger slots)
(the wildshape if you have it lets wildshape rangers in on the fun ;))

EDIT:edited several times for clarity
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: Runestar March 16, 2011, 03:38:03 AM
Replace the independent spell list with spellcasting advancement?

Talontar blightlord (unapproachable east) does this.
: Re: Fixing the blighter
: Nunkuruji March 16, 2011, 12:28:34 PM
Replace the independent spell list with spellcasting advancement?

Talontar blightlord (unapproachable east) does this.

Mmm Blightlord, but better entered with Cleric + Wild Cohort.

Blight infested pokemon blight-rebuking, and undead-rebuke them once they devolve into juju zombies.