Now that’s what I call a rock star.

The medusa is an iconic creature in D&D lore, something appropriated whole-cloth from her even more iconic position in Greek mythology (save for D&D making her a type of creature, rather than a specific individual). Far less obvious is the origin of her male counterpart, the maedar.

The maedar is something of an anti-medusa; not only is it uniquely male, but it has no snakes for hair (or any hair at all, for that matter) and no ability to petrify. Indeed, its signature power (it has several additional minor ones) is that it can turn stone into flesh; this is explained in that it will smash victims a medusa has petrified, and then de-petrify the pieces, which are then eaten.

For this post, I’m going to put together an Eclipse-based write-up for the maedar. This isn’t strictly necessary, as the maedar has 3.5 stats (found in Dragon #355) which can be used in an Eclipse d20 game without any conversion necessary, but deconstructing its abilities this way is a useful exercise in how to make races using Eclipse. One thing to watch out for is that the 3.5 stats give the maedar a level adjustment of +4, so we’re going to try and aim for that same range in its racial stats.

Of course, since the maedar isn’t Open Game Content, we’ll call this build by a more prosaic name: the male medusa (I was going to call it the “male-dusa,” but even I couldn’t stomach a pun that bad).

Male Medusa

Okay, so what powers does a male medusa have? Well, looking over its 3.5 stat block, it has 60 foot darkvision, for one.

• Occult Sense/darkvision 60 ft. (6 CP).

It also has +3 natural armor. We’ll bend the rules here and call this one Defender; that gets less of a bonus at low levels, but more of one at higher levels, so it evens out.

• Defender/natural armor (6 CP).

It’s immune to the poison of a medusa, as well as to paralysis, petrification, and “movement-inhibiting” magic, which is apparently meant to be indicative of magic that directly impacts movement (e.g. a slow spell) rather than spells that indirectly cause it to be unable to move (e.g. web).

Okay, we can pretty safely fold the immunity to paralysis in with the immunity to movement-inhibiting magic. The immunity to medusa poison is pretty specific, as is the immunity to petrification, so no problems there.

• Immunity to medusa poison (uncommon/major/major – 6 CP), petrification (uncommon/severe/great – 18 CP), and movement-inhibiting magic (common/major/great – 18 CP).

Now we come to its ability scores. The listed ability scores are Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 12. That translates to the following bonuses, each with the following costs (luckily, these costs are halved, since they’re part of a racial build):

• Str +6 (36 CP), Dex +4 (24 CP), Con +4 (24 CP), Int +2 (12 CP), Wis +2 (12 CP), Cha +2 (12 CP) (120 CP total).

Male medusae can strike with their natural weapons as per adamantine for overcoming damage reduction and hardness; hence how they’re able to smash statues. While Imbuement is usually limited to plusses, we can call this the equivalent of a +1 bonus.

• Imbuement (adamantine) (6 CP).

Oddly, male medusae are listed as being able to fight without penalty even when below 0 hit points. On the surface, this doesn’t seem to be too intuitive; presumably it has something to do with the enduring nature of earth and stone (which these cthonic creatures are affiliated with). Still, it’s easy enough to do in Eclipse.

• Stoic (3 CP) with Ferocity (3 CP).

It’s signature power of using stone to flesh can be done five times per day. That’s not hard to do using Inherent Spell, though we’ll need to tweak it a bit since it’s using only that power and no other.

• Inherent Spell (6 CP) with Advanced added thrice (18 CP)/specialized for half-cost, only for a single sixth-level spell (stone to flesh) (12 CP), plus the Multiple modifier (6 CP) (18 CP total).

One of their stronger powers is the ability to earthwalk; that is, to move through solid earth and stone (but not metal) the way a fish does through water, leaving no tunnel or visual indicator of its passage.

Okay, that’s a little harder. We’ll call that a use of Celerity, since it’s a new movement mode, with a base rate of 0 ft. That means that the inital use of Celerity will get it’s speed up to 10 feet, and then we can bump it up from there to a total of 30 ft.

• Celerity (6 CP) plus double Improved (6 CP) plus Additional (earthwalking) (12 CP).

Male medusae are treated as being regular medusa for all effects related to race. Easily done, again.

• Privilege/treated as a medusa whenever favorable (3 CP).

Finally, male medusae have an odd ability to cheat death. If they would die when they’re in contact with the earth, they can let their life force travel through the ground until it reaches a crystal, which then becomes its new body. The crystal is trapped until mined, and at that point can move itself or anything that it’s set in.

Alright, surviving your own death is Returning, and changing your abilities like that is an instance of the Rewrite modifier, hence:

• Returning (6 CP) with the Rewrite modifier (6 CP)/specialized and corrupted, must be in contact with natural earth, rewrite features are set (4 CP total).

Altogether, this comes out to 235 CP, which makes it a +7 ECL race. Luckily, the entire package is corrupted for two-thirds cost/male medusae are antisocial, driven to seek revenge for perceived slights, unable to reproduce except for with normal (female) medusae, and despise being subservient to other creatures.

That brings the cost down to 157 CP, which is within the 159 CP limit for +4 ECL creatures. Perfect.

As we noted, a male medusa that uses its returning power has its features set for its new incarnation. It can also reallocate up to one-fourth of its points when it does, but these are in a set amount.

In this form, the male medusa gives up its immunities to medusa poison (-6 CP) and petrification (-18 CP), since its crystal form has no Constitution score. It also therefore loses its Constitution bonus (-24 CP), Stoic and Ferocity (since it can’t survive below 0 hit points in its crystal form; -6 CP), and it can’t return to life again, sacrificing Returning and Rewrite (-4 CP).

That’s a grand total of 58 CP, or 39 CP after the reduction for the build’s corruption…which is almost exactly one-fourth of its total. Perfect again!

In exchange for these powers, it gains the following (in addition to the remaining racial traits above):

• Occult Sense/low-light vision (6 CP).
• No Con score (0 CP) plus size-related bonus hit points (12 CP) (these are based on the size of the item (if any) that the male medusa’s crystal form is attached to).
• Skill Emphasis (Use Magic Device) (3 CP) and Skill Focus +3 (Use Magic Device) (6 CP), both specialized for double effect/only if the male medusa crystal is affixed to the magic item.
• Immunity to being unable to move (very common/major/great) (30 CP). This last item allows the male medusa crystal to fly when on its own, and otherwise animate items that it’s affixed to, using its stats.

These abilities have a total cost of 57 of its 58 CP – almost an exact match – and reducing it for the corruption brings that to 39, thanks to rounding. An exact match.

To be fair, we are eliminating the damage reduction 8/adamantine that the male medusa is supposed to gain in this form. On the other hand, we’re also eliminating the restriction that it can only have a flat 5 hit points in this form, which is a far greater liability than the DR is a benefit, so that certainly evens out. There’s also nothing here about the size of the crystal that the male medusa’s life force inhabits, but that matches with the source material, since it can be anything from a tiny crystal to being set in a large statue.

Note that a male medusa crystal has the same corruption to its racial package as a normal male medusa, save only that it cannot speak, and rather than being unable to reproduce except with a medusa, it now cannot reproduce at all.

I was captivated by anime when I first discovered it, which luckily for me was during its entry into the American mainstream in the mid-late 90′s. Unfortunately, being a teenager at the time, I had little in the way of personal funds to acquire this new habit. As such, I had to make due with what was being shown on broadcast television…which at that point was very little. One of the few shows that was available to watch, however, was Sailor Moon.

Compared to the domestic animation available at the time, watching Sailor Moon was a revolutionary thing, as ridiculous as it sounds now. We take things like an advancing plotline and actual characterization somewhat for granted now, but at the time they were exceptionally rare in animated TV shows. Even considering that it was an anime which mostly featured monsters of the week, was poorly edited for American television, and was made primarily for teenage girls, it was one of the highlights of my cartoon-watching years (which are now behind me…mostly).

Eventually I acquired fansubs of the show which, along with translated copies of the manga, helped me to appreciate it more. True, it suffers in comparison to contemporary anime, but it’s still fun, even if only for the sake of nostalgia. It’s in that spirit that the next character I’m providing stats for is from this series. Here is…

Sailor Saturn

“I am Death, destroyer of worlds.”

Hotaru Tomoe is one of the youngest Sailor Senshi, being twelve years old when she’s introduced as Sailor Saturn. She’s also the most powerful, being the Senshi of Death (but not rebirth, as is often mistakenly attributed to her). She takes to the field quite rarely, compared to her fellows, and then only to face an enemy of unusual strength…and even then, she usually has little trouble dispatching them, given the overwhelming force of her attacks.

That’s…somewhat problematic. Hotaru is young and inexperienced, which in d20 terms is how you say “low-level,” something that doesn’t fit at all with the sheer destructive force she can bring to bear. True, we’re using Eclipse: The Codex Persona to generate her stats, which gives us some leeway in how we develop them, but that’s still a large gap to overcome. Particularly since Eclipse posits that children of Hotaru’s age are level zero characters!

So how can we resolve this disparity? Well, there’s one immediate answer: given that Hotaru’s powers as Sailor Saturn are something she manifests rather than something she learns, we can say that her powers are a template, rather than class levels. In fact, one of the co-authors of Eclipse already posted a generic magical girl template on his blog, so we’re going to crib that and modify it as needed for our purposes.

Available Character Points: 24 (level 0 base) + 6 (human bonus feat) + 6 (starting traits) + 10 (disadvantages) +0 (duties) = 46 CP.

Hotaru’s disadvantages include History (her dual-persona with Mistress 9, and her connection to the Death Busters), Secret (her secret identity as Sailor Saturn; if revealed, she gains the Hunted and Valuable disadvantages), and Unarmored (like all magical girls, the Sailor Senshi rely solely on their magical abilities for attack and defense).

It’s worth noting that, after the end of the third season, Hotaru bought off her History disadvantage as part of the season’s climax. As this counts as an “epic adventure” that dealt directly with her history, it cost her no Character Points to remove; it’s listed here as a notation, to account for her disadvantage-based CPs.

Note that, being level 0, Hotaru has yet to receive any points for her duties – which include combating supernatural evils and supporting her Princess – as those won’t pay off until she grows some more. She also has yet to receive any level-based feats, though she is receiving Pathfinder’s 6 CP of “starting traits.”

Ability Scores (0-point buy): Str 7, Dex 10, Con 8, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 15. This includes Hotaru’s +2 human racial bonus (applied to Charisma).

The number of points assigned for buying ability scores is typically set by the tone of the campaign. Given that Sailor Moon seems like a fairly typical fantasy campaign, albeit an urban one, a 15-point buy is typical (the series has its moments of “high” or even “epic” fantasy, but these are usually at the denouement of a season, and are not representative of the series as a whole).

Unfortunately, that doesn’t work here. Just like the problem we had with Gargamel, Hotaru simply doesn’t have overwhelming ability scores in any area, and indeed is notably sub-par in several areas. Given that, I’m electing to try something different here: her point-buy value has been reduced to 0 – the points she receives from her single-digit ability scores, as well as her human racial bonus, give her enough points to buy stats which, I think, accurately reflect her character.

Human Traits

• Bonus feat (6 CP).
• Fast Learner, specialized in skills (3 CP).
• Humans get to pick which attribute enjoys the Pathfinder Package Deal bonus – buying off a Corruption worth (4 CP).

As always, this last bullet point is in reference to the Pathfinder Package Deal.

Basic Abilities (10 CP)

• Proficiency with one simple weapon: spear (1 CP).
• 2 hit points (0 CP).
• +0 BAB (0 CP).
• Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +1 (3 CP).
• 6 skill points (6 CP).

Hotaru’s skills are something of an oddity. Since we’re using the Pathfinder rules for Eclipse, Hotaru should be able to pick twelve skills, plus Craft and Profession, as class skills. However, she can only take ranks equal to her level…but she’s level zero!

The compromise we’re making here is to allow Hotaru to take up to 1 rank in skills, but she won’t receive any bonuses for class skills. In effect, until she reaches level one, she treats all skills as cross-class.

Minor Healing (12 CP)

• Healing Touch, specialized for increased effect/each use requires an expenditure of Body Fuel, effective level is increased by +2 (6 CP).
• Body Fuel with the Efficient modifier, specialized for one-half cost/must use Constitution, may only be used to fuel Healing Touch (6 CP).

Essentially, Hotaru can take one point of Constitution burn (that is, Constitution damage that can only be cured non-magically) to heal – with her current statistics – 4 hit points of damage to someone. That’s exceptionally little return for such a high investment, but it fits with the source material; Hotaru is shown to heal only minor injuries, mostly cuts and scrapes, and is heavily exhausted as a result.

Ironically, as a level 0 character, Hotaru loses no hit points as a result of taking Constitution damage. I would expect that it’s still a fatiguing experience, though.

Sailor Crystal (18 CP)

• Extraordinary Returning (12 CP) with the Rewrite (+6 CP) modifier.

That Sailor Senshi are reborn when they die is an early trope in the series, but the first season makes it seem situational; that is, they come back because they’re reincarnated/resurrected in various instances.

It’s only in the last season that they start getting into the nature of what, exactly, Sailor Senshi are, and how they’re different from normal people, that being that their soul is a “sailor crystal” that’s linked to a particular planet. It’s heavily implied that these crystals are, on their own, eternal, which in turn suggests that dead Sailor Senshi will come back to life – at some point, and possibly in a new incarnation – if slain.

Unfortunately, this is never answered out-and-out during the last season, as the final villain is more focused on conquest, corruption, and consumption than all-out genocide. Ergo, we’ll have to make an educated guess. Given that resurrection and rebirth happen so often in the series anyway, we’ll go ahead and make this an intrinsic power.

For a d20-based game, the soul is hard to definitively destroy, but it can be done, to say nothing of other methods of attacking or trapping it. Hence, this is Returning with the Extraordinary modifier. Since they sometimes return in a new incarnation that’s different, albeit only slightly, from their previous life, that’s the Rewrite modifier.

Sailor Saturn Transformation (6 CP)

• Reflex Training, specialized for one-half cost/may be used to take a standard action once per day (3 CP).
• Innate Enchantment, specialized for one-half cost/only for half the normal GP value (3 CP).
  • Void Sheathe (700 GP), this is a variant that only functions for her “transformation pen.”
  • Sailor Senshi Transformation Sequence (2,000 GP).

The use of Reflex Training here allows Hotaru to not only transform instantly in response to a threat (needing a free action to grab her transformation pen and a swift action to invoke her transformation), but also to then take a standard action immediately. Given the comparative rarity of her fighting an enemy, however (since enemies seem to appear once a week at most), this usually isn’t needed more than once per day.

Technically, Hotaru is 200 GP over her limit for her innate enchantments here, but that’s such a small amount that we’ll waive it. Also, while the Void Sheathe spells is from The Practical Enchanter, the Sailor Senshi Transformation Sequence spell is as follows:

Sailor Senshi Transformation Sequence, Transmutation; Level 1; Components V, F (transformation pen); Casting Time 1 swift action; Range personal; Duration permanent (D). This spell changes the user’s clothing into some stereotypical battle-costume. The change is actually instant, but the spell effect gives everyone watching the vague impression of a lengthy and dramatic transformation, with background music and appropriate imagery.

All of the above are for Hotaru’s “normal” form; that is, these things are independent of her actually having transformed into Sailor Saturn. For her transformation, we’ll apply the following template:

The Sailor Saturn Template (26 CP/+0 ECL)

• Immunity to anyone independently making the connection between Sailor Saturn and Hotaru Tomoe (very common, minor, minor) without the use of a great deal of detective work, powerful magic, or some similar method (8 CP).
• Luck, with +4 Bonus Uses (12 CP).
• Opportunist, use Acrobatics once per round – allowing her to move up to her speed as part of the check – as a free action. This may be used to avoid an attack of opportunity (6 CP).
• Innate Enchantment. All abilities are constant (e.g. unlimited use), level 1 or level 0 effects at caster level 1 (spell level x caster level x 2,000 gp), with the personal only modifier (0.7). Total cost 12,600 gp (14 CP).
  • Inspiring Word, +1 morale bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and skill and ability checks (1,400 gp).
  • Jump, +10 enhancement bonus to Acrobatics checks involving jumps (1,400 gp).
  • Force Armor I, +4 armor bonus to AC (1,400 gp).
  • Force Shield I, +4 shield bonus to AC (1,400 gp).
  • Mending, keeps her costume in good condition (700 gp).
  • Immortal Vigor I, 12 additional hit points (1,400 gp).
  • Resist Energy, resistance 10 to all forms of energy damage (1,400 gp).
  • Void Sheathe, this is a variant that only functions for the Silence Glaive (700 gp).
  • Enhance Attribute (Constitution) I, +2 enhancement bonus to Constitution (1,400 gp).
  • Fast Healing I, regain up to (20 hp per level per day – 10 hp at level 0) hit points (1,400 gp).

Of course, the above CP costs don’t match the amount listed at the template’s heading. That’s because the entire template is corrupted for two-thirds cost. This is for several reasons: The template is only active when she’s using her Sailor Senshi Transformation Sequence spell; when it’s down, she doesn’t have any of the templated abilities (this could be a major weakness if she ever faces someone who can use dispel magic). There’s also a fairly unending cavalcade of enemies for her (and her friends) to face, even if Saturn is left on the bench most of the time. She’s also at least somewhat famous, which can be a hindrance when trying to keep her identity a secret.

Except…now we come to the issue of her attacks. Let’s go over these in more detail. In the anime and the manga, Sailor Saturn has four special powers that she can use:

Death Reborn Revolution is, in the manga, the attack the defeats Pharaoh 90, which he says is a “negative energy” attack. Hm, that does fit with her being the Senshi of Death, insofar as Pathfinder is concerned. Now, the attack looks like ribbons, but that doesn’t mean anything; at most that’s an instance of the Eldritch ability (Eclipse p. 31) altering the cosmetics of the spell.

As for the spell itself, it must be fairly powerful to take out one of the Pharaoh 90, the “big bad” of the third season. So let’s say that it’s harm…but given that it’s used at range, it must have the Extension (+1 spell levels) upgrade from the Extension metamagic theorem. It also seems to be an area effect, given that it seems to hit Sailor Saturn also (requiring Sailor Moon’s intervention to save her and reincarnate her as a baby), so let’s call that the Boost (+2 spell levels) and Hammer (+2 spell levels) upgrades from the Area metamagic theorem.

Given that harm is a 6th-level spell, that’s an additional +5 spell levels, for a level 11 spell in total. Okay…let’s say those modifiers are built into the spell itself, rather than being true metamagic. That reduces the total cost by 20%, down to +4, making it a 10th-level spell. Still very high, but we’ll take what we can get.

Silence Glaive Surprise is, in the manga, a mist-like attack that seems to confuse and frighten the Amazones Quartetto. In the anime, it’s an attack that Sailor Saturn almost uses to destroy Queen Nehellenia, but is interrupted before it’s unleashed.

Hm, this one is tricky. The manga appearance seems to imply it’s not a damage-dealing effect so much as one to cause confusion. But the anime seems to imply that it’s a powerful attack, though we never see it. The best thing here may be to split the difference. Let’s take a damage-dealing fog spell, acid fog, and throw in the Alter (negative energy) (+0 spell levels) and Infliction (confusion) (+2 spell levels) upgrades from the Elemental Manipulation metamagic theorem. That makes it deal negative energy damage in accordance with her theme of Death, as well as the Death Reborn Revolution, and has the disorienting effect as well. Since you don’t get a price break for building in +2 spell levels of metamagic, this is an 8th-level spell…that’s her weak attack, too.

Silence Wall, also called Silent Wall in the anime, is a defensive ability. It raises a dome of dark energy over Sailor Saturn, and the people near her, to protect them from incoming attacks. Okay, we can use roughly the same formula here. That’s a resilient sphere that, presumably, also has Alter (negative energy) (+0 spell levels) upgrade from the Elemental Manipulation metamagic theorem added to it. That’s slightly awkward, as changing the spell from force to negative energy seems counterintuitive. I’d say that this sacrifices the wall’s hardness (but not it’s hit points; it’s still a barrier), but in return inflicts negative energy damage to anyone touching it.

Lowering her Glaive over the world is an attack that doesn’t have a name. In fact, it’s not an attack at all, strictly speaking. She just symbolically lowers the Silence Glaive and…everyone and everything on a given planet dies.

Huh…

Okay, that’s a bit tricky. Let’s break this down as best we can. That’s clearly a negative energy attack. We could use a minor spell like inflict light wounds, since most people are only 1st-level characters with a scant handful of hit points anyway. But that doesn’t seem right, since this is supposed to kill absolutely everyone, and in some worlds there’ll be mighty heroes and powerful monsters with more hit points.

Let’s call this another instance of harm. To this we’ll add the Grandiose (+20 spell levels) upgrade from the Area metamagic theorem to cover the entire world, as well as the Verbal (+1 spell levels) upgrade from the Easy metamagic theorem to remove the verbal component. This is going to be monstrously huge…but there is one catch. When Sailor Saturn uses this power in the anime, it kills her. That’s the “dying to cast it” modifier (-4 spell levels), so that helps bring things down a bit. That’s a grand total of +17 spell levels on top of this 6th-level spell. If we build this into the spell effect though, that’s a -3 spell level reduction, bringing it all down to…a 20th-level spell.

Ouch.

So now we come to the problem. We’ve already spent all of Hotaru’s character points. Even if we find a method that doesn’t require her to buy a ton of caster levels for these spells, the spells themselves will cost far and away more Character Points than she has, or likely will for many levels. So what then do we do?

The Silence Glaive

Maybe it should be the Silence Glaive-Guisarme?

At this point, the only real answer is to turn to her weapon, the Silence Glaive, itself. Even as a relic, giving it those powers would cost far and away too much, so we’re going to go further and make it an out-and-out major artifact.

That’s problematic in more ways than one. For one thing, it moves the menace from Sailor Saturn herself, and shifts it to her weapon (which we’re not giving any restriction as to who can use it). Moreover, it strains credulity to have a zero-level twelve-year old wielding a major artifact…but if we can have a level one halfling wielding one on a trek to a distant volcano, why not here too?

That said, there are two divergences from the anime and manga that I’m going to make where the Glaive is concerned. The first is in regards to its weapon properties. Sailor Saturn never uses the Silence Glaive as a melee weapon, which is counterintuitive in a d20 game. Given its status as a major artifact, I’m going to call it a +6 spear (hence Hotaru’s weapon proficiency, in case she ever wants to make a melee attack).

Secondly, I’m not going to limit it to the four specific effects above. Rather, we’ll make it a weapon that can grant the wielder great power over negative energy, and say that the few instances that we saw in the source material (most of which were unique) are simply examples of a much wider array of powers. That’s getting away from the canon slightly more than I’m comfortable with, but I think that having that much power calls for slightly more breadth.

THE SILENCE GLAIVE (major artifact)

This five-foot polearm is composed of a single piece of black metal, the haft flaring slightly for grip. It’s blade is curved slightly, reminiscent of a sickle, with a small counter-point opposite it.

Less a weapon than a force for destruction, this +6 spear grants its wielder god-like control over the forces of death. The Silence Glaive’s wielder has access to 20 generic spell levels, which instantly replenish each round and may only be used to cast spells that utilize negative energy. These spells are always cast at 20th caster level.

Suggested Means of Destruction

• Plunge the Silence Glaive and the Ginzuishou into the Galaxy Cauldron together, where the release of their energies will destroy both of them, as well as the Galaxy Cauldron itself.
• Use it to kill everyone who was never born, inverting the Silence Glaive’s power over death and causing it become a normal, non-magical weapon.

In Conclusion

Overall, Sailor Saturn is…so phenomenally unbalanced that we need a new word for just how unbalanced she is.

Her stats are notably sub-par, even for a zero-level character. Even in her transformed state, she’d easily go below 0 hit points – and could likely be killed outright – with one solid hit from a level one melee-oriented character. That contrasts very poorly with her wielding such a powerful artifact; she’s essentially just begging for someone to one-shot her and take it for themselves (or, if an enemy feels bad about hitting a little girl, just making a disarm check).

This at least explains why she takes to the battlefield so rarely, and always surrounded by her friends when she does. She has a great deal of power, but that power is easily taken from her.

Recently, I pulled out my old copy of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Like most kids who were teenagers in the nineties, I played the hell out of that series of games, first in the arcades and then at home on the consoles. It’s not hard to see why either; the games were very “edgy” with their gruesome fatalities, digitized characters, and completely insane storyline.

The series wound down as the nineties ended and we all grew familiar enough with the games that the novelty wore off. Unexpectedly, however, the games successfully reinvented themselves as the new millennium arrived, something that not many series can pull off (I’m looking at you, Sonic the Hedgehog). The graphics transitioned to polygons, the arena made use of 3D fighting, and the story grew much tighter.

The Mortal Kombat series recently gave itself another facelift with its 2011 reboot, but for now I wanted to focus on the last game in the original storyline, the aforementioned MK: Armageddon. Specifically, I wanted to look at that game’s rendition of the series’ most popular character:

SCORPION

“Yoga Flame! No, wait, that’s not right…”

There’s little need to introduce Scorpion; rather, its more germane to say that this write-up focuses on him as he appears during the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. By this time, Scorpion is far stronger than he was during the original Mortal Kombat, as evidenced by his greater array of powers, multiple fighting styles, and his leadership of his undead clan. This is Scorpion at his deadliest.

To reflect that, we’re setting him at 12th level. The idea for that is that the characters in the original Mortal Kombat game were all 6th level characters – the logic there being that, as The Alexandrian laid out, the greatest an ordinary person can ascend is 5th level; since the characters in that game are already breaking the limits of what humans can achieve, as demonstrated via their special moves, they’ve already surpassed normal human limits, albeit only slightly.

After that, we’re presuming that the characters all gain one level for each subsequent game, so since Armageddon is the seventh game in the series (we’re not counting all of the side-games), the characters have gained six levels. Hence, Scorpion is a 12th-level character now. Of course, we’re going to use Eclipse: The Codex Persona to generate his stats.

Having elaborated on that, as the announcer says: Fight!

Available Character Points: 312 (level twelve base) + 10 (disadvantages) + 12 (restrictions) + 6 (human bonus feat) + 6 (“starting traits”) + 12 (fast learner) + 36 (levels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 feats) = 394 CP.

As the above should make clear, we’re using the Pathfinder progression for Scorpion’s feats. We’re also going to use Pathfinder’s tendency to give “starting traits” to characters as well. Since these are supposed to be two “half-feats,” we’re just calling those an extra 6 CP at 1st level.

Scorpion’s disadvantages are Compulsive (to take revenge on those he feels have wronged him, his family, and his clan), History (Scorpion’s history includes his clan’s rivalry with the Lin Kuei, his hatred of the sorcerer Quan Chi, and his anger at the Elder Gods for what they did to his clan), and Unarmored (a staple for the characters of Mortal Kombat).

Scorpion’s restrictions are to not use any spellcasting or psionic progressions.

Ability Scores (25-point buy): Str 18, Dex 16, Con –, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 14. This includes his +2 human racial bonus (applied to Strength), and three instances of Improved Self-Development for reaching levels 4, 8, and 12 (applied to Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma).

We’re cutting a few corners here. The earlier games would have used a much smaller point buy, but as the story continued and things grew more and more over-the-top, a higher point-buy became more appropriate. By the time Armageddon arrived, using the highest value was much more in line with how things were going.

We’re also going to allow Scorpion to retroactively gain skill points for increasing his Intelligence score. Given how little skills seem to matter in Mortal Kombat, this doesn’t seem that unfair.

Human Traits

• Bonus feat (6 CP).
• Fast Learner, specialized in skills (3 CP).
• Humans get to pick which attribute enjoys the Pathfinder Package Deal bonus – buying off a Corruption worth (4 CP).

As always, this last bullet point is in reference to the Pathfinder Package Deal.

Before we get to Scorpion’s level-based abilities, we’re also going to need to develop his “race” a little more, as Scorpion is an undead creature from the Netherrealm (aka Hell). Given that this is where evil people go when they die, it’s best to leave his human traits as they are and simply apply a template.

Since Scorpion’s powers aren’t any greater than those of other kombatants, most of whom aren’t undead creatures like him, it makes sense to say that Scorpion’s template as a Netherrealm creature adds comparatively little to his overall abilities (something that makes sense since, in later games such as Deception and Armageddon, the story modes have the main characters – Shujinko and Taven, respectively – fighting their way through Netherrealm denizens with comparative ease compared to their fights with Scorpion).

Hence, we can say that Scorpion has the following:

Netherrealm Ghost template (31 CP/+0 ECL)

All of the abilities of this template are specialized for one-half cost/the user becomes an undead monster, is vulnerable to channeled positive and negative energy, can be banished back to the Netherrealm, and loses all ability to experience positive emotions.

• No Constitution score (0 CP). Includes immunity to ability damage (including all poisons), ability drain, energy drain, and effects requiring Fortitude saves unless they work on objects or are harmless. Does not breathe, eat, or sleep, cannot tire, and can move, work, or remain alert indefinitely. They cannot be raised or reincarnated and are instantly destroyed at 0 HP.
• Negative Energy Metabolism (0 CP). Undead are healed and enhanced by negative energy and harmed or hindered by positive energy, instead of the reverse. As a side effect, they regain 10 HP whenever they would normally suffer a negative level, but treat positive levels as negative levels.
• Finesse with the Advanced modifier (6 CP): May substitute their (Cha Mod) for their (Con Mod) when calculating hit points and Fortitude saves.
• Immunity to things which affect biological processes (Very Common/Major/Epic, 22 CP). This includes paralysis, stunning damage, nonlethal damage, diseases, death effects, critical hits, and most necromancy effects.
• Adaptation/Netherrealm (3 CP).

This template’s use of Negative Energy Metabolism is kept because the differences between positive and negative energy is one of the most fundamental ways that Pathfinder differentiates the living from the undead. However, it has little practical meaning in the Mortal Kombat universe. Likewise, undead in that universe have no blanket immunity to mind-affecting effects. Given that, Scorpion might be in for an unpleasant surprise if he finds himself in a more typical Pathfinder world!

Basic Abilities (207 CP)

• Weapons group proficiency (3 CP): katana and rope dart.
• 12d10 Hit Dice (72 CP).
• +12 BAB (72 CP).
• Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +4 (60 CP).

Notice that no skill points have been bought. Despite this, Scorpion still receives a fairly plentiful number of skill points, which we’ll go over below.

Guarded Fighting (60 CP)

• Reflex Training (as per Combat Reflexes) with Bonus Uses (12 CP).
• Block (all three forms, all with the Advanced modifier) (36 CP).
• Defender with the Improved modifier (+3 dodge bonus) (12 CP).

Scorpion’s Armor Class is going to be terribly low for a 12th-level character, having only his +3 Dex modifier, his +3 dodge bonus from Defender, and whatever defensive bonuses he’s getting from using one of his martial arts styles (see below). This is on purpose, as the MK cast has little use for passive defenses – most of the time they avoid taking damage by actively blocking.

Bloody Spear (12 CP)

• Trick (corrupted for increased effect/requires a full-round action (including initial attack) – when striking someone with a rope dart, the victim is flat-footed until their next turn, and Scorpion may make an immediate pull check) (6 CP).
• Reflex Training (may make a single attack after successfully pulling a victim) (6 CP).

Given that the bloody spear attack, Scorpion’s famous “Get over here!” move, needs to have so many different effects – the initial damage from the spear, then pulling the enemy in, and then leaving them unable to defend themselves while Scorpion gets a free hit – it was pleasantly surprising that this could be done with only 12 CP. 

A “pull check” works just like a drag combat maneuver, save that you do not move, and cause the opponent to move towards you on a success. The opponent can not move closer than being adjacent to you.

Hellfire Attacks (16 CP)

• Augment Attack, corrupted for increased effect/as a full-round action, appear adjacent to a foe on their opposite side, making a single unarmed strike with +1d6 fire damage (6 CP).
• Augment Attack, corrupted for two-thirds cost/as a full-round action, perform an unarmed strike with +1d6 fire damage (4 CP).
• Trick, when performing a coup-de-grace, treat it as an unarmed attack that deals fire damage (6 CP).

These are meant to represent most of Scorpion’s remaining special moves. The first is his “hellfire punch,” where he teleports to attack a character’s back with a flaming punch; I’d recommend keeping this limited to foe that’s already very close. The second is his “backflip kick.” The third is meant to be his classic fatalty, where he reveals his flaming skull and sets the opponent on fire.

To Hell and Back (30 CP)

• Path of the Dragon, specialized and corrupted for increased effect/Shaping (6 CP), Pulse of the Dragon (6 CP), Heart of the Dragon II (18 CP). The specialization and corruption are that these abilities are reduced to two level 3 spell effects:
• Allowing Scorpion and one other person (unwilling, with a save) to plane shift to the Netherrealm from Earthrealm, or vice versa.
• Raising a single column of fire beneath an opponent, 5d6 fire, Reflex save for no damage.

This is how Scorpion is able to enter and leave the Netherrealm to enter Earthrealm seemingly at will, something most Netherrealm ghosts don’t seem to be able to do. Note that we’re saying that he’s using a level 3 variant of planeshift that can only go from Earthrealm to Netherrealm and vice versa, only bring one passenger (if unwilling, they get a Will save to not be taken), though it has no focus and no off-target chance.

Technically, we should say that Scorpion’s Path of the Dragon grants another ability also: to always create a rope dart when he needs one, though they disappear a few rounds later. That’s minor enough that it costs no additional CPs.

The last bullet point is Scorpion’s “hellfire” special attack.

Mortal Kombatant (42 CP)

• Adept (Martial Arts/Hapkido, Martial Arts/Mugai Ryu, Martial Arts/Moi Fah, and Intimidate) (6 CP).
• Adept (Knowledge (history), Knowledge (planes), Perception, Stealth) (6 CP)
• Convert human fast learner to specialized in skills for double effect (3 CP).
• Martial Arts for 1d8 damage (9 CP).
• Fast Learner (6 CP).
• Extraordinary Returning (12 CP), Scorpion cannot permanently die unless his torment is eased by having his clan and family resurrected.

The extraordinary returning should probably have been part of another package deal that all Mortal Kombat characters get, since by the time Armageddon arrives, all of the characters who have ever participated previously are there for the final battle, no matter what fate they suffered previously.

Leader of the Undead Shirai Ryu (27 CP)

• Leadership (6 CP) of the undead (+3 CP), with the Strength in Numbers (+3 CP), Horde (+3 CP), Born leader (+6 CP), and Emperor’s Star (+6 CP) modifiers.

This is something that’s been mentioned several times so far in this article, but might not be familiar to readers who haven’t played through Mortal Kombat: Armageddon’s story mode.

In Mortal Kombat: Deception, the Elder Gods tasked Scorpion (who had appeared before them at the end of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance) to destroy Onaga, the Dragon King. Scorpion agreed, but his price was that the Elder Gods resurrect his clan, the Shirai Ryu.

Scorpion failed to destroy Onaga, not because he could not defeat the Dragon King, but simply because Shujinko found Onaga first and successfully killed him. In MK: Armageddon, we find out that since Scorpion had tried to faithfully carry out his task, and since Onaga had been destroyed anyway, the Elder Gods granted Scorpion’s request…but because he still had not completed his mission, they twisted it. His clan had been resurrected as ghosts, like him.

Needless to say, Scorpion is enraged by this, and vows vengeance on the Elder Gods. Thus he fights on the side of evil in the final battle.

Test Your (Mental) Might

We mentioned above that despite Scorpion’s buying no skill points, he still has plenty of them. That’s due to several things. First, he’s upgraded his human Fast Learner trait so that it grants 2 skill points per level (24 total). Second, he also receives 2 skill points per level from his Intelligence (24 total). Finally, he’s gaining 1 additional skill point per level thanks to his “favored class bonus” from the Pathfinder Package Deal (12 total).

Given that, Scorpion has a total of 60 skill points. Not bad for someone who didn’t buy any directly. Moreover, he’s getting two ranks for each point he spends in the skills he purchased Adept for. Since each character receives twelve skills as class skills, plus Craft and Profession, we’ll select the following for Scorpion’s class skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (planes), Martial Arts, Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, Stealth, Survival, and Swim.

Let’s put these together to see Scorpion’s skill bonuses:

Notice that Scorpion has taken ranks in three different martial arts. These are the ones used in Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (though programming limitations meant that his Moi Fah style was left out of the latter game). Given that martial arts can offer substantial combat bonuses, let’s flesh these out more.

Moi Fah (Dex)

This variant of kung fu focuses on making large, sweeping movements to keep enemies at bay. Moi Fah has little in the way of offensive techniques, being focused primarily on defense. It is usually learned as a back-up style for instances of facing an unexpectedly strong enemy. This presents the “base” version of Moi Fah, developed as a mundane style with no occult techniques, and correspondingly minimal requirements; many users pioneer their own variant with greater supernatural combat abilities.

• Requires: Improved Unarmed Strike or equivalent point-buy.
• Basic Techniques: Defenses 4, Synergy (Acrobatics), Synergy (Bluff), Toughness 2.
• Advanced/Master Techniques: Combat Expertise, Dodge, Improved Feint, Mobility.
• Known: Defenses 4, Synergy (Bluff), Toughness 1, Dodge, Mobility, Improved Feint.

Hapkido (Con)

A relatively recent offshoot of jujitsu, hapkido teaches a well-rounded mixture of attack and defense, along with techniques for grappling. While less popular than many older forms of martial arts, its broad base of techniques makes it an excellent starting martial art for those who have little experience in unarmed combat, though variants exist for use with sword, staves, and nunchaku as well. This is the “base” version of hapkido, having no occult techniques and correspondingly low requirements to learn; no supernatural variant of the style has yet been invented.

• Requires: Improved Unarmed Strike or equivalent point-buy.
• Basic Techniques: Attack 3, Defenses 3, Power 1, Strike.
• Advanced/Master Techniques: Improved Grapple, Instant Stand, Mind Like Moon, Prone Combat.
• Known: Attack 2, Defenses 2, Power 1, Strike, Instant Stand, Mind Like Moon, Prone Combat.

We’re going to say that Scorpion’s use of Advanced Finesse, from the Netherrealm Ghost template, applies here too.

Mugai Ryu (Str)

An older form of sword-based martial arts, mugai ryu is an aggressive style. It has largely been displaced by contemporary sword forms, primarily kendo, though numerous variants of mugai ryu still exist, many of which claim direct inheritance of the “ownership” of this martial art. Most of these have improved upon the style by adding occult techniques to its roster. The version listed below is the “base” form of mugai ryu, having no occult techniques, and likewise only minimal entry requirements.

• Requires: Proficiency with swords or equivalent point-buy.
• Basic Techniques: Attack 4, Power 3, Synergy (Intimidate).
• Advanced/Master Techniques: Improved Sunder, Mighty Blow, Quick Draw, Whirlwind Attack.
• Known: Attack 4, Power 2, Synergy (Intimidate), Quick Draw, Mighty Blow, Whirlwind Attack.

FINISH HIM!

One of the reasons I chose Scorpion to be the subject of this post is that he’s one of the better examples for showcasing Eclipse’s flexibility in character design compared to “standard” Pathfinder/3.5 characters.

Try and imagine making Scorpion using only the Pathfinder rules. Even if you expanded the content you used to the various supplements, and even third-party supplements, it would be an uphill battle to make a character that not only approximated Scorpion’s special powers, but didn’t come with a great deal of extraneous powers that he didn’t have in the source material.

It’s in areas like this – for characters that have highly individualized special powers that aren’t traditional spellcasting – that Pathfinder is weakest, and Eclipse is, by comparison, strongest. Whether it’s for superheroes, anime characters, video game fighters, or something else, characters that aren’t easily fit into the mold of “class levels” are where point-buy is most obviously the way to go.

Until next time readers, may your fights end in friendship, rather than fatality.

Best hunter since the dog in Duck Hunt.

Supernatural is a television series of the “urban fantasy” genre. Set in contemporary America, it follows two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who are “Hunters.” That is, they are among the few people who know that monsters are real, and so dedicate their lives to hunting and killing the creatures that prey on humanity. There is a larger plot, of course, but that’s the essence of what the show is about.

I discovered the show during the summer of 2009, when the fourth season had just ended. I managed to catch several of the just-concluded season’s episodes during the summer re-runs, and from the fifth season onward I haven’t missed an episode (though that sometimes entails going back and finding ones whose initial airing I had missed). While wikis and synopses helped to fill in the gaps, there were still a lot of blanks from my having missed the earlier seasons.

Now I’m almost totally caught up, and I’m enjoying the show even more thanks to having a deeper understanding of the show’s progression. Armed with that knowledge, I decided that it was once again time to mix chocolate with my peanut butter, and stat out a character from the show using the brilliant d20 supplement Eclipse: The Codex Persona.

As such, allow me to present Sam Winchester, as he appears during the fourth season, for your Pathfinder game.

SuperNatural 20

The world of Supernatural is a quintessentially low-fantasy world, even taking into account it’s set on an Earth where most people have no idea that monsters and magic are real. While later seasons do turn up the proverbial dials a little bit, the show is one where the battles between monsters and those who fight them are confined to the shadows; this is a world of guns and ghosts, not fireballs and tarrasques.

In other words, this is a setting where the E6 rules are the order of the day; there’s more about what E6 is at that link, but the main idea is that characters can’t gain more than six levels. Given that, and that we don’t want to necessarily assume that Sam (the main character, alongside Dean) has already hit the limit of how far a person can advance this early in the show, I’ve decided to set him at 3rd level. Given that the show is currently in its eighth season, and has been renewed for a ninth, if we presume that the characters go from 1st to 6th level throughout the life of the show, then this seems reasonably accurate.

We’re also going to use a very conservative point-buy for Sam’s ability scores: 10 points only. Since this is the value listed for “low fantasy,” it seems to go with the theme of keeping the character – and, by extension, the game representation of the show – fairly well grounded (and it certainly helps to explain why Sam and his brother lose so many fights).

Available Character Points: 96 (level three base) + 10 (disadvantages) + 6 (duties) + 12 (levels one and three feats) + 6 (human bonus feat) = 130 CP.

Sam’s disadvantages are Accursed (he’s the chosen vessel for Lucifer), History (his family’s history of fighting evil, as well as the tampering Azazel did to give Sam his psychic powers), and Secret (his “job” as a Hunter, as well as his demon-given psychic powers; revealing his secret causes him to suffer the Hunted and Poor Reputation disadvantages).

Sam’s duties represent his life as a Hunter, which he doesn’t want to live but can’t ignore due to familial obligations and the consequences of what happens if he tries (e.g. a lot of people die).

Ability Scores (10-point buy): Str 10, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 15. These include Sam’s +2 racial bonus.

Human Traits

• Bonus feat (6 CP).
• Fast Learner, specialized in skills (3 CP).
• Humans get to pick which attribute enjoys the Pathfinder Package Deal bonus – buying off a Corruption worth (4 CP).

I’ve referenced the Pathfinder Package Deal virtually every time I’ve posted a character. While I usually link back to where it was originally posted, or simply refer to a previous post with such a link, I’m going to repost it in full here, for ease of reference. To make sure that credit is given where it’s due though, I’ll reiterate that the material below was originally written over at the Emergence Campaign Weblog.

The Pathfinder Package Deal is actually a small template, which provides… .

• +2 to an Attribute, Corrupted/the attribute is fixed by race (8 CP).
• Fast Learner, Specialized and Corrupted/only works as long as the user sticks to a particular archetype and relatively narrow plan of development chosen at level one at each level, points may only be spent on skills and additional hit points (2 CP).
• Immunity/not being allowed to buy up their (normally maximized) level one hit die later on. Uncommon/Minor/Major (3 CP). There are several ways to get more hit points which are more effective – but Pathfinder effectively equates skill points and hit points as far as “favored classes” go, and this is the easiest way to go about that.
• Pathfinder normally grants immunity to the experience-point cost of making magic items on the grounds that “experience isn’t something you use up”. Unfortunately this means that a long-term, campaign – where years may pass between major adventures – destroys the magic-item economy. It also misses the fact that “experience points” – some sort of magical energy that accumulates in you until it transforms you – have nothing at all to do with experiences or memories. Ergo, I’m going to substitute Action Hero (the Crafting option), Specialized and Corrupted/the user still has to spend the time, and money, and may ONLY create items by spending action points (2 CP). That will let characters use their item-creation feats without spending XP, but will limit item creation during any long stretches of downtime.
• Pathfinder provides a +3 bonus to “Trained In-Class Skills”. This isn’t properly part of Eclipse, it’s simply an option attached to the skills system – “Characters get a +3 bonus on skills that fit their character concept”. The awkwardness in Eclipse comes in deciding which skills qualify as “In-Class” given that Eclipse doesn’t really HAVE classes. The simplest option is simply to let the character consider Craft, Profession, and their selection of a dozen other skills “in-class”. No cost.

The Pathfinder Package Deal thus has a basic cost of 15 CP – three more than you can normally get out of a package deal. Fortunately, all Pathfinder characters suffer from a major disadvantage; Accursed (must use the Pathfinder versions of spells even where those have been downgraded, may not take “overpowered” feats, -3 CP).

That gives us a net cost of 12 CP for the Pathfinder Package Deal – and it gives Eclipse-style builds an option; they can accept the Pathfinder Package Deal, or they can use another one, or none at all.

Basic Purchases (69 CP)

• 3d10 Hit Dice (18 CP).
• Simple Weapons Proficiency (3 CP) and Small Arms Proficiency (6 CP).
• +3 Base Attack Bonus (18 CP).
• Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +1 (15 CP).
• 9 skill points (9 CP).

Between the 9 skill points he’s purchased directly, plus 3 for being human, plus 3 for his 13 Intelligence, plus 3 from his “favored class bonus” (see the second bullet point in the Pathfinder Package Deal), Sam has a total of 18 skill points.

Sam’s twelve class skills (see the last bullet point in the Pathfinder Package Deal) are Bluff, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), Perception, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth.

Sam’s skills are mostly drawn from the standard Pathfinder skills list; a few, however, are from d20 Modern.

A close look at the above table will show that Sam has gained 22 skill ranks from his 18 skill points. How? It’s due to his having taken Adept twice (see below). He’s spent a half-point in each of his Adept skills, which gains him a full rank in them. This is technically cheating, as skill points are treated as indivisible units, but it’s minor enough that we’ll overlook it.

Much to my chagrin, working on the above made me realize that I had forgotten to take the “favored class bonus” into account for all of the previous Eclipse Pathfinder characters I’d posted here. Given that, it’s best to presume that for each of them, any favored class bonuses are applied to their hit points.

Man of Learning (24 CP)

• Adept/Bluff, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Escape Artist (6 CP).
• Adept/Knowledge (history), Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth (6 CP).
• Skill Focus/Knowledge (religion) +3 with the Stunt option (12 CP). 

This last ability is how Sam – as with many other characters – can chant incantations that can summon someone’s ghost, draw a sigil that traps demons who move through it, exorcise demons possessing someone with some words of Latin, etc. Presumably these would have DCs somewhere in the upper teens to low twenties. Likewise, Supernatural most likely doesn’t have Knowledge (planes), replacing it instead with Knowledge (religion) where required.

Hunter’s Training (12 CP)

• Block/melee (6 CP).
• Improvise Weapon (3 CP).
• Martial Arts (3 CP).

As alluded to previously, given that Sam needs to make a DC 20 Reflex save for his block to be successful, this seems very apropos for how things often turn out on the show.

Dark Blessing of Azazel (22 CP)

• Witchcraft II (dreamfaring, hand of shadows, infliction)/specialized (requires rite of chi to restore lost power), and corrupted, dreamfaring may only be used uncontrolled, showing only futures related to Azazel and those tainted by him; hand of shadows may only exert force equal to what Sam could physically handle; infliction may only be used to inflict damage to demons (not harming their human hosts) (4 CP).
• 3 levels of wilder, no caster level/corrupted, provides power points only (6 CP).
• Rite of Chi with +4 bonus uses/specialized, requires drinking the blood of a demon (6 CP).
• Immunity to demonic powers (uncommon/minor/major) (6 CP).

As mentioned above, these stats represent Sam during the fourth season; the powers above drive this home. At this point, Sam’s previously-displayed visions have gone dormant, though he could reactivate them if he wanted to. By this point, he’s completely focused on his ability to attack demons with his powers, without harming the person they’re possessing.

The last bullet point bears some further explanation. This is an aggregate of two things: Sam’s immunity to the psychic powers of the other children tainted by Azazel, and his immunity to demonic possession via the protective sigil tattooed into his skin. While the latter can be defeated by anything that would mar the tattoo (e.g. scarification), that doesn’t happen to Sam at any point in the show once he acquires it, and so we can overlook that here.

Finally, since we still have 3 CP left over, let’s add…

• Contacts (3 CP).

These are Sam’s connections with other Hunters. Given how often these others die over the course of the show, these points are reallocated among new contacts fairly often.

Until next time readers, may you know the proper chant to exorcise all of your demons!

Well, two weeks ago my group surprised me – they were withdrawing their objections to my using Eclipse! Needless to say, I was delightfully surprised, but also slightly confused; what had made them change their mind? As it turned out, it had been me, but not because of anything I’d done deliberately. Rather, it had been a result of my enthusiastically role-playing a dramatically weak character that I’d rolled up after my original push to use Eclipse had been vetoed.

This was my reaction. It was also how I was dressed at the time.

After my group had initially decided that they didn’t want me to use Eclipse, I decided to go in the opposite direction, in terms of character creation. Eclipse, being a point-buy character builder, requires that you have an existing back-story that you want to model your character around; that is, you use the flexibility of a point-buy system to flesh out an idea that you already have (as opposed to building the character organically, which is certainly doable but is much more likely to result in a character that is, conceptually, all over the place).

Opposed to this is the idea of developing a character’s mechanics first, and then creating the narrative identity around that, followed by fleshing them out through play. In other words, let the dice and the course of events determine just who the character is. This is the style of play which – as others have claimed – is how D&D was originally built around. It was also the style that I decided to play towards.

I wasn’t going to do it half-assed, either. I didn’t have any fall-back ideas for what sort of character I wanted, so I felt that using a point-buy system purely to generate ability scores (my group’s preferred method of ability score generation) was fairly meaningless here. Moreover, being one of the guys in the group with the longest history with the game, I had previously (and jokingly) mocked the use of point-buying ability scores as “not how we did it back in the old-school.” Given that, I felt fatalistic enough to let the dice choose my character for me…and I was going to let them be harsh about it, too.

I was going to roll my stats randomly, using the 3d6-in-order method of generation. No roll-4d6-and-drop-the-lowest, no re-allocating the results around to different ability scores. Just roll them randomly for each stat, and play what I got.

Needless to say, the results were exactly what you’d expect: Str 5, Dex 9, Con 6, Int 11, Wis 15, Cha 11.

Given that, as part of my “doing it old school” attitude towards this character I’d written off using any supplements or expansions beyond the Core Rulebook, it seemed that being a cleric was my only real option.

Needless to say, this was uncharted territory for me. I’d never played a divine spellcaster before; the issues with having a connection to an established religion were a burden (e.g. knowing how the religion worked, having ties to its terrestrial hierarchy and structure – especially since we were playing in the GM’s home-brew world) that I hadn’t wanted. But I was resolute, and since the GM was willing to give me some leeway in playing up my character’s religion, I went forward with the idea. As such, my cleric – Varek Tam – joined the group.

In the course of our initial adventure, Varek was (alongside another cleric in the party) our group’s healer and buffer, working to make sure that the rest of the characters (particularly the headstrong barbarian, who went below 0 hit points five times in the course of our first adventure) were able to stay up and combat-ready. This was, to me, the perfect example of having game-play and random ability scores define your character: I saw Varek as someone who was weak individually, and because of that knew the value of strength through community. His clerical domains were, not surprisingly, Community and Protection.

Things went fairly smoothly from there on out. I put all of Varek’s ability score bonuses, both racial and from hitting every four levels, into Wisdom – that seemed obvious, since it would pump up the one thing he did well, casting spells – instead of trying to ameliorate his otherwise-anemic ability scores. While I initially tried to put him right in the thick of things alongside the other characters, adopting a “come what may” attitude, it wasn’t long before I found myself keeping him away from danger so that he could continue enhancing and healing the other party members.

Unfortunately, Varek’s Hit Dice rolls each level were, on average, poor. Taking the Toughness feat, and sinking all of his favored class bonuses into additional hit points effectively cancelled out his low Constitution, but nothing could cancel out poor rolls for more hit points.

It was here that the group in general, and the GM in particular, were concerned. While I had known that they were impressed that I was going forward with such a sub-standard character, I hadn’t realized quite the degree of props they had given me. This was doubly true for the fact that I was role-playing the character’s personality to the hilt as someone who was concerned with the spirit of community and togetherness, focusing on the good of the group without being taken in by draconian measures of “individuals must suffer for everyone’s benefit” that can come with focusing too much on the collective.

The problem was that the GM had plans for all of our characters, in terms of the campaign’s storyline. The plans for my character, however, were rapidly being put in jeopardy due to the widening gap in effectiveness that was becoming more and more apparent with each level we gained. Having a few less hit points at 2nd level was one thing. Having less than half the hit points of most of the group at 6th level was something else again. The rest of the group was concerned too, since it was taking two dedicated clerics to keep everybody going (our total group size is seven PCs).

That was where Eclipse was brought back into the conversation (though again, I didn’t know that quite yet). The group’s main worry was (as I understood it) that I’d use the system to min-max the crap out of an Eclipse character and…well…eclipse the rest of the party. My willingness to play a weak character, and focus on his role-playing potential rather than his mechanics, had apparently driven home the point that I wasn’t going to do that. It’d also allow me the flexibility to fix Varek’s horrifically low hit points. The verdict was settled: I’d be given a chance to use Eclipse.

Of course, I wouldn’t just be allowed to re-spec my character. Up until this point, I had shied away from my character’s back-story – I had fleshed out who he was now, but not how he’d gotten that way. The GM decided to use this weakness as a strength, and said that my character was recovering memories that he hadn’t even realized he’d lost…and that these were the in-game use of Eclipse statistics. Given that, the GM’s plan was that each day, for a number of rounds equal to his character level, I could “swap out” using Varek’s normal Pathfinder statistics for Eclipse statistics (something the group referred to humorously as “memory mode”). The GM likewise said that, since this would be a limited ability, I shouldn’t feel bad about tricking out what Varek could do. The one caveat was that the character be re-designed around the same thematic elements as he had had so far; that is, no turning him into a martial heavy-hitter, etc.

Needless to say, I was elated! I decided to take the GM’s words to heart, and set about making an Eclipse version of Varek (who was, and still is, 6th level). Since the GM had given me permission to take the gloves off, I decided that all of Varek’s abilities were specialized (for one-half cost), due to only being able to use Eclipse for a few rounds per day. This essentially doubled how many character points I could spend on Varek, and it was easy to make an exceptionally-powerful incarnation of him.

Said incarnation lasted for one week.

The GM had changed his mind on the matter of swapping-out Pathfinder stats for Eclipse stats; while it would make Varek incredibly powerful for a few rounds, he was still a weakling the rest of the time, and far too easy to kill when he’d run out of time in “memory mode.” As such, the GM changed his original ruling, and now I was going to be allowed to use the Eclipse stats to run Varek full-time. This, of course, meant I couldn’t specialize everything across-the-board, but it meant that I could design the character with a more long-term progression in mind.

Of course, the irony was that I was told to re-spec the character to Eclipse while still playing closely towards how his Pathfinder stats were constructed. Ironically, this meant that the end result of redoing the character’s stats was, if I interpreted the GM literally, virtually indistinguishable from how Varek looked under the Pathfinder rules. After all, you can easily re-create the Pathfinder cleric in Eclipse, to the point where it’s effectively identical.

Naturally, I didn’t hew quite that closely. After all, it was far more important to address Varek’s low hit points, and related deficiencies (e.g. his low saves, etc.), resulting in some things being traded away to find ways to bump those up. The end result is below.

Available Character Points: 168 (level 6 base) + 18 (levels 1, 3, and 5 feats) + 6 (human bonus feat) + 10 (disadvantages; history, inept (Dex), stigmata) = 202 CP.

Varek receives feats at each odd-numbered level, a la the Pathfinder progression. His disadvantages play into the themes of the characters and the campaign: his ineptness builds on his physical weakness, his history is part of the campaign’s storyline with a lost age of disaster slowly returning, and his stigmata is that he had an old wound caused by negative energy over his heart – energy-aligned metals are part of the GM’s campaign world, and this plays into Varek’s ties with positive energy.

Ability Scores: Str 5, Dex 9, Con 6, Int 11, Wis 18, Cha 11. Includes Improved Self-Development (for Wisdom) and racial bonus (for Wisdom).

Human Traits

• Bonus feat (6 CP).
• Fast Learner, specialized in skills (3 CP).
• Humans get to pick which attribute enjoys the Pathfinder Package Deal bonus – buying off a Corruption worth (4 CP).

As always, this last bullet point is based off of the Pathfinder Package Deal that all Pathfinder-style characters get with Eclipse.

Basic Purchases (99 CP)

• 6d8 Hit Dice (25 hit points) (24 CP)
• Light and Medium Armor Proficiency (9 CP)
• Shield Proficiency (3 CP)
• All Simple Weapons Proficiency (3 CP)
• +3 BAB (18 CP, corrupted for two-thirds cost/does not count for iterative attacks – 12 CP)
• +5 Fort, +2 Ref, +5 Will (36 CP)
• 12 skill points (12 CP)

Varek’s base attack bonus was reduced to help save on Character Points. Since his low Strength means that he’ll almost never enter combat, I reduced it to one-half his Hit Dice, rather than three-fourths. Likewise, it was corrupted to remove iterative attacks, since those are of no use to him.

Special Abilities (103 CP)

• 6 levels clerical spellcasting (no package) plus caster level (48 CP)
• Spell Conversion (healing spells) (6 CP)
• Shaping, specialized/increased effect (only works for prepared set of 0-level cleric spells), corrupted/two-thirds cost (must use verbal and somatic components) (4 CP)
• Finesse with the Advanced modifier; apply Wisdom bonus to hit points instead of Constitution bonus (12 CP)
• Channeling 3 times per day (6 CP) plus 4 bonus uses (6 CP)
  • Conversion, a set of four level three effects (9 CP), corrupted for two-thirds cost/only actually provides two effects (6 CP).
• Augmented Bonus, add Wisdom modifier to channeling intensity and magnitude (6 CP).
• Innate Enchantment, all abilities constant (e.g. unlimited use), personal only (x0.7 gp cost). Spell level 1 x caster level 1 x 2,000 gp. 5,600 gp value (7 CP).
  • Immortal Vigor (2d6 bonus Hit Dice, plus Wis bonus (+8) – retroactive to first level, and so are maximized (e.g. 20 extra hit points), 1,400 gp)
  • Warding Rune (1 + caster level/3 (max. +4) resistance bonus on saves, 1,400 gp)
  • Force Armor I (+4 armor (force), 1,400 gp)
  • Force Shield I (+4 shield (force), 1,400 gp)
• Immunity, Stacking limits when combining innate enchantment effects with external effects (Common, Minor, Trivial – only covers L1 effects, 2 CP).

The biggest changes in Varek’s stats here are his removing the “clerical package” option when buying his magic levels. While he did buy spell conversion so that he can spontaneously cast healing spells, the rest of the clerical domains were of little use for what they offered. This helped pay for Advanced Finesse, which lets him use his Wisdom to receive bonus hit points (this is explained as his having more positive energy in his body than normal biological processes could normally sustain – he’s simply “more alive” than his biology would normally support, something sustained by his faith).

Similarly, the innate enchantments help to round out the rest of his basic stats, providing bonuses to his hit points, his Armor Class, and his saving throws. Since he wears +1 hide armor (green dragonhide) and carries a heavy steel shield, the immunity to stacking limits for his innate enchantments is also a small-but-necessary purchase. He can also channel more often than he could before, and with greater efficacy thanks to Augmented Bonus (though I’m only mostly sure, rather than totally sure, that it doesn’t need to be Improved to apply his Wisdom modifier to both his turning intensity and magnitude).

Overall, these change Varek’s stats quite a bit.

Table: Hit Points

Table: Saving Throws

Table: Skills

The issue of what skills constitute “class skills” for Eclipse characters, which are class-less, hasn’t come up yet. I suspect, however, that the GM will limit me to the list of class skills for the standard Pathfinder cleric. The above skills that are receiving the “+3 class skill bonus” are reflective of that.

Table: Armor Class

Having said all of that, I’m still trying to figure out a longer-term plan for Varek, in terms of buying further abilities for him. He wasn’t originally meant to be an Eclipse character, and while I do have some themes in mind for him (the good of the group – healing, buffing, and maybe some defending), I’m unsure of how to properly reflect these with further powers.

Presumably he’ll want to take an immunity to having his innate enchantments dispelled or negated, and he’ll probably expand on them with some low-level boosters (e.g. some +2 stat bonuses), but I’m wondering if I should eschew his clerical spellcasting (and maybe take Superstition to reflect that he’s not devoted to a particular higher power) in favor of expanding his channeling powers.

I’d appreciate any ideas for where to take the character from here, but however he develops, it’s going to be a lot of fun using Eclipse to take him there!

Personally, I don’t think very much of those arguments. Like most armchair theory-crafting, this tends to focus on mechanical issues that look bad on paper – particularly when backed up by hypothetical game situations constructed specifically to aggrandize the “problem” under discussion – but aren’t really that bad in the course of actual play. Given that most players can’t even agree on what “balance” is, let alone how to achieve it, I think that the whole issue is overblown.

Don’t even bother rolling for initiative, bitch.

That said, it is a truism that wizards are more powerful than they were in previous editions. Now, this is true for all classes (and monsters, for that matter), but in the case of wizards and other spellcasters, I’ve noticed that while there are plenty of new powers and abilities added, there’s another factor here – the loss of the weaknesses that were once part-and-parcel of spellcasting.

That may sound odd, but back in earlier editions of the game, there were some pretty exacting limitations involved with casting a spell. All have been subsequently removed or toned down, allowing spellcasters to (as the alarmists have described it) dominate the game at high levels. Given that, the answer to this problem seems simple – we don’t need to power-up the melee classes even further, but rather need to reintroduce the previous limitations on spellcasters in general and wizards in particular.

Listed below are three variant rules that help to check the limits on what wizards and other spellcasters can do. Each of these rules works independently of the others, but taken together they sharply dial back on the power that spellcasters will have in your game.

Segmented Casting Times

Notwithstanding a handful of spells that take a full round to cast, casting a spell is always completed during your action on the initiative order. It doesn’t matter how powerful or intricate the spell, it’s something you can do in an instant, and unless someone readied an action or got an attack of opportunity on you (tsk, you didn’t cast defensively?), then there’s nothing anybody can do about it.

That’s not how it used to be though. Before, casting times had a numerical modifier that altered your initiative, so if you rolled an initiative of 14, for example, and cast a spell with a casting time of “3,” then while you’d start casting it on a 14 in the initiative count, it wouldn’t take effect until the initiative got to 11…which could result in disaster if that enemy orc got to go on a 12.

So how do we reintroduce this limitation in Pathfinder? Easily: When casting a spell, its casting time takes a number of round segments equal to the level of the spell. This is true for all spellcasters.

Now, there are number of caveats that need to be addressed for this. First, this only affects spells with a casting time of 1 standard action – spells that already take 1 full round or more keep their original casting time; no more is added. Likewise, spells with a much quicker casting time (e.g. a move, swift, or immediate action) keep their original casting times as well; those spells are designed to be cast quickly.

The verbal component for Charm Person.

Secondly, this doesn’t change the action used in the round when the spellcaster takes his action. A fifth-level spell that has a listed casting time of 1 standard action will, under these rules, take 5 segments to complete…but on the wizard’s turn, he still needs to spend a standard action to begin casting the spell; he just then keeps doing so for another five segments of the round. Also note that he’s still casting during this time, and so any disruptions he suffers during this time can also cause him to lose the spell.

Thirdly, spells affected by metamagic use their effective level to determine their casting time. So casting a maximized fireball will take 6 segments of a round.

Utilizing “round segments” introduces some unique problems into the game. What happens, for example, if a wizard rolls an initiative of 3 but is casting a spell that requires 5 segments to cast under the above rules? Does it go off at 0? Or do round segments go to into negative numbers? Or should it roll over to the beginning of the next round, and if so, when is the “beginning” of the next round? Is it at the highest rolled initiative, or are there segments above that? Problems like these are corner cases, certainly, but they will eventually come up.

The best way to handle this is to denote that each combat round has a specific, set number of segments in it. A good rule of thumb is 40 (twice the range of the d20), which should allow for a wide range of initiatives without spreading the action times too thin. So all actions in a round take place during a count from 40 down to 0, with the higher numbers going first.

In the event that multiple characters act on the same initiative, then whomever has the higher Dexterity score is considered to go first; if two or more characters have the same Dexterity score, then their actions are performed simultaneously.

Similarly, characters that get extreme initiative rolls act on segment 40 (if they got an initiative result of 40+) or 0 (if they got an initiative result of 0 or less). In case multiple characters get results at such extremes, they all still act on that count, but the characters with the higher results go first (e.g. as though they got a tied initiative result, and the characters with the higher scores had a higher Dexterity).

So for example, if Dirk the Rogue rolled a modified 41 for his initiative score, and Dudley the Paladin rolled a modified 47 (both are point-whoring munchkins), both characters go on segment 40 of the round (the earliest it’s possible to go) but Dudley goes first, since he rolled a higher score. Likewise, if Boris the Bumbler rolled a modified -2 for his initiative, and Natasha the Nincompoop rolled a modified -4 for her initiative, then both would go on segment 0, but Boris would act first, since he had the better roll. Only if two or more characters’ modified initiative rolls are the same would they need to check who had the higher Dexterity.

So what happens in the case of casting spells that require more segments than are left in the round – such as the aforementioned wizard whose initiative is a 3 and is casting a spell with 5 initiative segments’ casting time? In such an instance, the casting time “rolls over” to the next round, and its remaining casting time is subtracted from the subsequent initiative count. In this case, that wizard would cast his spell on the next round at 39 in the initiative count. Note that this would not change the wizard’s order in the initiative, nor use up any of his actions on that subsequent round – it just takes the spell he cast last round that long to be completed.

One issue that needs to be dealt with using this rules variant is how magic items and spell-like abilities are treated.

For magic items – regardless of whether they’re spell trigger, spell completion, or command word-activated – it’s recommended that any magic item that requires activation be subject to the above casting times. So utilizing a wand of fireballs would have a segment modifier of 3, regardless of whether you were a wizard using it or a rogue activating it via Use Magic Device.

The reason for this is that removing the “casting time” from magic items makes them eclipse spellcasters, particularly at higher levels. Scrolls, wands, and staves become the weapons of choice for high-level spellcasters, with actual spellcasting being a disadvantageous fall-back option. Subjecting magic items to this restriction keeps them on par with spellcasting abilities.

It’s possible that you may find that having “casting times” for magic items to break verisimilitude. After all, when’s the last time you heard of someone leveling a wand at their enemy, speaking an eldritch command word…and then waiting awkwardly for a little bit until it unleashed its magic at them? This problem, however, is easier to solve than it appears. Remember that this is taking place during a six-second round. Dividing a period of six seconds into forty segments means that each segment is slightly less than one-sixth of a second. In that case, if your wand of fireballs needs 3 segments to activate once you’ve spoken the command word, it’s taking just under half-a-second to activate…is that really so long?

By contrast, for spell-like abilities, it’s recommended that you take the opposite tact; spell-like abilities shouldn’t require a casting time measured in round segments, instead requiring only the usual standard action (unless otherwise noted) to activate.

Why allow that? Mostly for metagame reasons – spell-like abilities are the province of monsters far and away more than they are for characters. Most monsters have a set “screen time” before they’re hacked apart by the PCs and are gone forever. Given that, it’s best that the monsters – especially “boss monsters” that appear by themselves as challenges for the entire party – be able to maximize their potential by using their powers successfully, rather than having canny PCs set things up to disrupt them with held actions (true, PCs will try to use this on enemy spellcasters too, but those NPCs shouldn’t be solo foes, making it much more fair game).

Again, there’s also a narrative reason for having spell-like abilities take effect much quicker than spellcasting. Spell-like abilities represent a direct connection to magic, a natural ability to tap into mystical power. Spellcasting, by contrast, is an unnatural ability to tap that same power; utilizing a set of verbal, somatic, and material components to kludge together the same power – of course it’s not going to work quite as well, hence the longer casting time.

Finally, remember that both of the above are just recommendations. If you want magic items that don’t require longer times to activate, or spell-like abilities that do require round segments to active, make them work that way in your game.

Disrupted Casting

Being hit while you’re attempting to cast a spell is bad, but if you can make your concentration check, it’s not a fatal problem; you’ve still gotten your spell off.

Prepare to taste eldritch doom and please don’t hit me!

That’s far and away more generous than how it used to be. Back in the day, if you took damage while casting a spell, that was it – kiss your spell goodbye.

Reintroducing this limitation for Pathfinder is simple: All concentration checks are considered to automatically fail. In other words, if your PC ends up in a situation where you’d have to make a concentration check because something happened, you instantly lose the spell – there’s no check or roll, it’s just gone. This may sound harsh, and it is, but there’s one offshoot to this particular variant that makes it slightly easier to swallow: casting a spell does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

This may draw some complaints that it’s too easy to lock spellcasters down – that grappling them or entangling them, or even ensuring that they’re caught in harsh weather or are subject to “vigorous motion” is enough to make them useless, let alone being damaged in combat. The answer to this is that that’s intentional – spellcasters gain great power, eventually, but the trade-off for that power is that it’s difficult to utilize, and causes them to rely on their more martial allies to protect and aid them so that they can get their spells cast.

One particular complaint regarding this particular variant is that the easiest way to lock down a spellcaster is to have an enemy (most likely a ranged attacker) simply ready an action to attack whenever the spellcaster starts to cast a spell. This works by PCs attacking enemy spellcasters just as much as it does having NPCs target PC spellcasters.

This is not an insubstantial complaint. A dedicated ranged attacker can quickly make life difficult for a spellcaster. Ideally, a spellcaster will have things like a high AC (likely from a combination of spells and magic items), cover and/or concealment, and allies harassing the attacker to throw off such opposition.

Such things may still be lopsided in the attacker’s favor, however, in which case the following changed is recommended: soft cover stacks with itself. To put it another way, for every creature between you and a ranged attacker, you gain soft cover. So if there are three creatures between a wizard and an archer, the wizard will have triple soft cover (a +12 bonus to AC!) against the archer’s attacks. This encourages a much greater degree of tactical thinking – as well as meat-shield-style protect-the-mage tactics – in targeting enemy spellcasters. It also makes mooks good for a bit more than mere cannon-fodder.

Note that this rule holds true for spell-like abilities as well; utilizing such things may be a silent act of will, but still requires the same concentration as actual spellcasting, and so is equally vulnerable to disruption.

In regards to magic items, this variant rule applies only to spell trigger magic items (which is usually just scrolls). Using a spell trigger magic item is essentially spellcasting, with the energies contained in the scroll rather than within yourself, and so can be disrupted (and the scroll lost). Other kinds of magic items, by contrast, are simply having their imbued energies directed, rather than carefully constructed the way a spellcaster does.

Limited Learning

One of the wizard’s greatest powers is that the number of spells they can learn has no limit. True, only so many can be prepared at a time, but they can potentially learn every arcane spell out there – giving them access to potentially unlimited power, and allowing them the right tools to master virtually any situation. That has always been the real power of the wizard class.

Of course, by “always” we mean “since Third Edition.”

Believe it or not, back in earlier editions, there were caps on the number of spells that wizards could learn per spell level, based on their Intelligence. Maybe everyone conveniently “forgot” that rule, or perhaps it was simply discarded outright, but it’s notable for how potent a limit this is on a wizard’s power.

Originally, the exact limits on spells per level as determined by Intelligence was its own table, but for the reintroduction of this rule in Pathfinder, we can set a more general limit: spellcasters that must record the number of spells they learn – e.g. wizards and magi – can only learn a number of spells per spell level equal to their one-half their casting stat (rounded down). So in other words, a wizard with an Intelligence of 18 could learn nine 1st-level spells, nine 2nd-level spells, nine 3rd-level spells, etc.

A distinction needs to be made, in this case, between “spells learned” and “spells recorded in their spellbook.” While it may seem superfluous to do so, wizards and magi that want to prepare spells in their spellbook without learning them – either because they’ve already hit their limit, because they want to collect spells ahead of time and then figure out which ones to learn, or because their limit might go up later (e.g. gaining more points of Intelligence) – can do so using the standard rules for deciphering and copying magic writings (e.g. scrolls, borrowed spellbooks, etc.).

The spells that a wizard actually learns, however, should be recorded separately on the PC’s character sheet. There’s no need to institute a check for a PC to learn a spell, though if you decide to call for one a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + 1 per spell level) is a good baseline, with one check allowed per spell per day.

If using this rule in your game, you may also want to include an option that every so often (such as at 4th level and every even level thereafter) the wizard can permanently “forget” one spell that he’s learned, and replace it with another of the same level.

Note that, using this variant rule, you’ll need to decide what to do regarding wizards and magic items. With a limit on the spells they can prepare each day, most wizard and magus PCs will look to scrolls, wands, and staves to expand their repertoire. There are two ways to adjudicate this.

The first option is to allow these characters to still utilize all magic items as they would normally. A PC magus, for example, could use a scroll or a wand with an arcane spell on the magus spell list, even if it’s not one of the spells that particular PC has learned. The limiting factors here aren’t game mechanics, but rather are the GM taking care to control what magic items are available (as opposed to having anything the PCs want be available for the standard prices at “magic marts” in every town).

The other option is to play it much more strictly regarding magic items – specifically, spell completion and spell trigger magic items. In this case, the spells learned act as the PC’s entire class spell list, meaning that any spells not learned can’t be automatically utilized in corresponding magic items. In this instance, a magus PC that hasn’t learned a fireball spell won’t have any greater ability to utilize a wand of fireballs or a scroll of fireball any better than, say, the fighter would. Note that in this scenario, Use Magic Device becomes a much more sought-after skill.

Wizardly Woes

As mentioned above, each of these three variant rules can be used separately, or altogether. While individually they each introduce a sharp check on the power of spellcasting characters, altogether they can seem unreasonably harsh – particularly to wizards.

What’s key to remember is that these restrictions are meant to be the answer for spellcasters, particularly full-progression arcane spellcasters, from dominating the game at higher levels. If that’s not (anticipated to be) a problem in your game, then you won’t need many (or perhaps any) of these restrictions. On the other hand, if you think that wizards and other spellcasters are so powerful as to utterly overshadow fighters and their ilk at higher levels, then these can be very helpful indeed.

The zeitgeist of game design is that if one class or set of classes is better than another, you need to give the weaker class(es) new abilities to bump them up. With the variant rules introduced – or rather, reintroduced – here, you can instead bust the so-called “stronger” classes back down.

Okay, obviously Lincoln isn’t the sort of person who’s going to be forgotten anytime soon, but all of a sudden he seems to have exploded into the cultural consciousness. From the book-turned-movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln to his appearance in the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, he’s suddenly everywhere.

This is interesting because it represents something about the cultural zeitgeist we’re living through. Unlike even a few years ago, we’re living in an age where people are lionized or demonized to an exceptional degree. The rapid proliferation of mass media across cable television and (to an even greater degree) the internet has given such omnipresence to famous people that they’ve expanded to the point of becoming icons. These icons have then become points of mass consumption, easily transcending issues of fiction and nonfiction until they’re everywhere.

Needless to say, this can be a disorienting and even frightening process, as these figures are reinterpreted and re-imagined to the point where it’s easy for people to disagree vehemently on what the “correct” view of them is. In essence, such figures become all things, with people choosing which version of them to adopt.

This is nothing new, of course; while the media by which it happens are different, this has always been how mythologies have been invented.

It’s in that spirit that I present this Eclipse build for Abraham Lincoln. This isn’t meant to represent any particular version of Honest Abe (though it admittedly draws a lot from his presentation as a vampire hunter), but rather functions as something of a composite – this is Lincoln, the Civil Warrior of the United States of America.

UP UP AND AWAAAAAY!

Available Character Points: 312 (level twelve base) + 24 (Duties) + 12 (Restrictions) + 36 (levels one, three, five, seven, nine, and eleven feats) + 6 (human bonus feat) = 390 CP.

Abe’s duties are to always act in accordance with what’s most beneficial for the United States of America and its people; he’s something of a national paladin in that regard. His restrictions are to refrain from using spellcasting or psionics – such mystical powers run counter to the ideal of the hardworking American who pulls themselves up by their bootstraps.

Ability Scores (25-point buy): Str 14, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 12. These include Abe’s +2 human bonus (added to Constitution), and three instances of Improved Self-Development for his being 12^th-level, added once to Constitution and twice to Strength.

Human Traits

• Bonus feat (6 CP).
• Fast Learner, specialized in skills (3 CP).
• Humans get to pick which attribute enjoys the Pathfinder Template bonus – buying off a Corruption worth (4 CP).

Basic Purchases (270 CP)

• 1d20 starting Hit Die, and 11d12 additional Hit Dice (104 CP).
• Light Armor Proficiency (3 CP).
• All Simple and Martial Weapons (9 CP).
• +12 Warcraft (72 CP).
• +8 Fortitude (24 CP).
• +8 Reflex (24 CP).
• +4 Will (12 CP).
• 22 skill points (22 CP).

Lincoln receives 12 skill points for his racial Fast Learner over twelve levels, and another 12 skill points for his +1 Int bonus at each level, which together with his purchasing 22 skill points, give him a total of 46 skill points. Since Lincoln has Craft, Profession, and twelve other skills with ranks put in them, they all count as class skills, as per the Pathfinder Package Deal.

Lincoln’s total bonus in his Heavy Lumberjack martial art grants him ten martial arts techniques. Abe has taken Attack 1 and Power 2 basic techniques, Combat Reflexes, Improved Sunder, and Whirlwind Attack advanced/master techniques, and all of the listed occult techniques.

Heavy Lumberjack (Con)

This aggressive style concentrates on using an axe to deal massive amounts of damage to enemies, relentlessly chopping the opposition into pieces. While it does teach a rudimentary defense, it’s primarily focused on absorbing blows while continuing to deal egregious damage until all attackers have been hacked to bits.

• Requires: Weapon Focus/Battleaxe or greataxe, or equivalent point buy.
• Basic Techniques: Attack 4, Defenses 1, Power 2, and Toughness 4.
• Advanced/Master Techniques: Breaking, Combat Reflexes, Improved Sunder, and Whirlwind Attack.
• Occult Techniques: Focused Blow, Inner Strength (x2), Iron Skin.

Special Abilities (120 CP)

• Action Hero with the Stunts and Influence option (12 CP).
• Augment Attack (3 CP). Lincoln gains a +1 bonus to hit with a battleaxe.
• Berserker with the Odinpower and Enduring modifiers/corrupted for two-thirds cost – Lincoln may only use these abilities in an encounter that includes at least one of his favored foes as an enemy (8 CP). Five times per day Lincoln may gain the following modifiers for 10 rounds: +6 Str, +6 Con, +3 Fort, -2 Wis; he is not fatigued afterwards.
• Defender/corrupted for two-thirds cost – only while wearing light armor or no armor/ +2 dodge bonus (4 CP).
• Favored Foe (6 CP). Lincoln’s favored foes consist of the following: Undead/specialized in vampires for double effect – Lincoln receives a +8 to damage and on Knowledge (religion), Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against vampires. Humanoids (human)/specialized in lycanthropes for double effect – Lincoln receives a +8 to damage and on Knowledge (local), Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against lycanthropes. Aberrations – Lincoln receives a +2 to damage and on Escape Artist, Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks against aberrations.

While Eclipse encourages switching around the bonuses for favored foe, it’s silent on if you can do so for multiple types of enemies learned as part of the same expenditure. In this case, we’re saying that such diversity is allowable, as it encourages greater diversity in how exactly a character studies his favored foes.

Similarly, we’re being slightly selective with the uses of specialization here. Instead of specializing favored foe as a whole, we’re selectively specializing particular foes chosen as part of the ability. Since this is being done for increased effect, rather than diminished cost, and since it still applies to a much narrower range of foes, this seems reasonable.

• Imbuement with the Focused modifier (12 CP). Lincoln treats any battleaxe he wields as a +2 silver weapon.
• Imbuement with the Superior modifier (12 CP). Lincoln treats any leather armor he wears as though it were +4 armor.

This is a variant on the Imbuement ability where it applies to armor instead of weapons. Given that this is an exceptionally straightforward change, it’s surprising that Eclipse doesn’t mention anything like this for this power.

• Immunity to mind-affecting effects of 7^th-level or below (common/severe/great) (24 CP).
• Leadership with the Beast-lord modifier/specialized and corrupted for one-third cost; limited to one giant eagle (3 CP).

This is specialized and corrupted for how much the total levels of cohorts Lincoln is receiving from this ability. Normally, he should get twenty-six levels’ worth of followers and cohorts. However, a giant eagle is a CR 3 creature with four Hit Dice and (in 3.5 parliance) a +2 level adjustment. Given that it’s a level six creature at most, and so less than a fourth of what he’s entitled to, specializing and corrupting this ability seems like the very least that can be done.

• Major Privilege (6 CP). As one of the greatest Presidents of the United States, Lincoln has the support of most of its people, and can count on governmental backing and support for his actions.
• Reputation with the Improved and Superior modifiers (12 CP). Lincoln has a +8 Reputation score; characters must make a DC 20 check (gaining their Int score +8 on the check) to know who Abraham Lincoln is. Lincoln receives a +5 bonus on social skill checks with the American people, but a -5 on social skill checks against supernatural creatures (save for Intimidate, to which Lincoln receives a +5 bonus against such monsters).
• Returning with the Extraordinary and Unique modifiers (18 CP). Lincoln is empowered by the collective will of the people of the United States of America. So long as the United States continues to exist as a country, he will return to aid its people.

Until next time readers, may you one day get your face carved into a mountain!

It’s a silly game, to be sure, but that’s what makes it so much fun. It’s also interesting since, in addition to its lighthearted tone, the player (via the Agents) takes on a supporting role, encouraging the people in trouble to help themselves, rather than simply stepping in to solve the problem for them.

Now, D&D and Pathfinder have something like that in the form of the bard class, which also uses the power of music and performing arts to inspire and augment others. But the bard alone isn’t quite the same the agents of EBA…luckily Eclipse doesn’t suffer from that limitation! Given that, here’s a member of the Elite Beat Agents, ready to cheer your Pathfinder PCs to victory!

Agents are GO!

A rookie among the EBA, Agent Spin is one of the youngest agents to be put in charge of his own team (two other agents, with the same stats as Spin). Even though he doesn’t have as many moves as some of his senior agents, he’s unequaled in the intensity he brings. Seeing and hearing Spin’s performance is enough to encourage even the most despondent of souls to pick themselves up and sally forth!

Available Character Points: 72 (level two base) + 4 (Duties to the EBA) +6 (level one bonus feat) + 6 (human bonus feat) = 88 CP.

Ability Scores: Str 8, Con 10, Dex 13, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 15 (elite array); the +2 human racial bonus will be added to Charisma, making it Cha 17.

Human Traits

• Bonus feat (6 CP).
• Fast Learner, specialized in skills (3 CP).
• Humans get to pick which attribute enjoys the Pathfinder Template bonus – buying off a Corruption worth (4 CP).

Basic Purchases (25 CP)

• Proficiency with Light Armor (3 CP).
• +2 skill points (2 CP).
• +2 on Reflex saves (6 CP).
• +2 on Will saves (6 CP).
• 2d8 Hit Dice (8 CP).

Agent Spin gets 4 skill points from having a +2 Intelligence bonus over two levels, 2 skill points for his bonus human skill point at each level, and 2 skill points from direct purchases, for a total of 8 skill points. Since he can have up to twelve skills as class skills, plus Craft and Profession, he can easily afford to make all of the above skills class skills, leaving the others undefined until he takes them.

Special Abilities (63 CP)

• Mystic Artist/Perform (dance) (6 CP).
• Mystic Artist/Perform (sing) (6 CP).

Normally, Mystic Artist only needs to be purchased once. However, by buying it twice and specifying the skills it applies to, Agent Spin may add the bonuses from both together when determining the basic Mystic Artist abilities he may take, which are Emotion, Competence, Greatness, Excellence, Mass Greatness, Mass Excellence, Fascinate, Hold Audience, and Emotional Auras.

• Privilege (3 CP). Members of the EBA are known far and wide for helping people in need, and so can count on most (good) people allowing them to operate free from interference.
• Skill Focus/Perform (dance) (6 CP).
• Skill Focus/Perform (sing) (6 CP).
• Assistant with the Aide modifier. Specialized for half cost/only useable with Mystic Artist abilities (6 CP).
• Reflex Training/three times per day when Agent Spin uses Mystic Artist, he may immediately take a standard action (6 CP).
• Reflex Training/three times per day when someone else uses Mystic Artist, Agent Spin may immediately take a standard action (6 CP).
• Harnessed Intellect (6 CP).
• Rapid (Mystic Artist ability modifier) (6 CP).
• Innate Enchantment (6 CP). All abilities are either spell level 1 x caster level 1 x 2,000 gp or spell level ½ (0-level spells) x caster level 1 x 2,000 gp. The personal only modifier (x 0.7) is added where appropriate.
  • Sanctuary (1,400 gp)
  • Ghost sound (1,000 gp)
  • Prestidigitation (1,000 gp)
  • Detect good (1,000 gp)

Mission Complete!

Singing and dancing to triumph over evil!

If it isn’t immediately apparent, Agent Spin is a comparatively powerful support character, particularly if working with the two other agents on his team. When Spin uses Mystic Artist to either sing or dance, he may immediately take a standard action to use the other form of Mystic Artist as well; both apply immediately thanks to his Rapid enhancement. While not technically a form of concentration, I’d say that Harnessed Intellect applied, meaning that Spin can keep using both forms of Mystic Artist for 3 rounds after the first. Further, the effects linger for 5 rounds further once he ceases performing.

On his own, Agent Spin can thus grant a powerful set of bonuses to a group; he can grant Mass Excellence to a group of four people while simultaneously granting Mass Greatness to a group of five, all for a total of 9 rounds. If he has his team backing him up, both can use Assistant with the Aid modifier (twice; once on their action, and once from the free action granted by Reflex Action when someone else, like Spin, uses Mystic Artist) to grant an additional +4 to the bonuses from each of those powers!

Each target would then gain a grand total of +5 positive levels (granting +5 BAB, +5 to all saves, +5 to AC, and +30 CP spent where Spin allocates) and 5d10 temporary hit points, along with two +8 bonuses that could be applied to ability scores, all saves, their AC, attack rolls, or melee damage rolls!

Of course, Agent Spin isn’t going to last long in direct combat; with no weapon proficiencies or Base Attack Bonus, he’s largely relying on his sanctuary innate enchantment (DC 14) to protect him. But then, thanks to his Privilege, only malevolent creatures would even think of doing that. His remaining innate enchantments are used to make sure the people he helps deserve it (detect good) and to create “special effects” during his performance (e.g. ghost sound for background music, prestidigitation for flashing lights, etc.).

Until next time, may your characters be able to bust a move when they need it!

One of the hardest parts, that I’ve found, is magical abilities. Most characters that have magic – particularly those involved in a recurring TV series – rarely define how it works or what its limitations are. There clearly are some, if only because they tend to be limited in the scope of what they can accomplish, and often use the same magic over and over, but the audience is rarely privy to the details.

That’s a difficult thing for an RPG, as they tend to focus very closely on the details. Hence why, so far, there’s only been one magic-using character showcased, and he was from a mini-series.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done…at least not with Eclipse. As such, this next character is my first attempt to portray a magic-user from a TV series, one whose powers aren’t explicitly defined. Admittedly, it’s a low-power character to be sure, but he’s a good starting point. So let’s give it up for…

Gargamel

How would your PCs feel if they lost to this guy?

The quintessential bumbling villain, Gargamel is also the main antagonist of the smurfs. While he’s a somewhat competent wizard, that seems to be more in spite of himself than anything, since we’re talking about a guy who can’t defeat a race of tiny blue mushroom-people. Gargamel’s magic is entirely based around rituals, meaning that he has no combat abilities whatsoever, basing his plots around deception and trickery.

In this regard, Gargamel makes an adequate villain, primarily in games that are less combat-oriented, for 1st-level heroes. I’d recommend increasing his ability scores to a point-buy value equivalent to the PCs (see below), and, if you’re worried about introducing smurfs into your game, changing his name as well.

Available Character Points: 48 (level one) + 10 (three disadvantages; Aged, Broke, and Compulsive) + 6 (level one bonus feat) + 6 (human bonus feat)  - 6 (Untrained) = 64 CP.

Ability Scores: Str 8, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 9, Cha 8.

Ordinarily, characters’ stats are determined via a point-buy. However, the Pathfinder method of point-buy starts all characters off with a 10 in all scores and builds on that; characters who lower their scores receive bonus points.

The issue here is that Gargamel has several stats that are below 10, and those that aren’t are only slightly above that – this means that even the minimum of 10 points gives him ability scores that are far too high. As such, the above scores simply ignore point-buying altogether, simply setting Gargamel’s stats at values which seem appropriate. Note that the above ability scores take into account Gargamel’s +2 human racial bonus.

Human Traits

• Bonus feat (6 CP).
• Fast Learner, specialized in skills (3 CP).
• Humans get to pick which attribute enjoys the Pathfinder Template bonus – buying off a Corruption worth (4 CP).

Basic Purchases  (34 CP)

• 1d6 Hit Die (2 CP).
• +2 Fort save (6 CP).
• +2 Will save (6 CP).
• 20 skill points (20 CP).

With his Intelligence of 13 and his human bonus, Gargamel has a total of 22 skill points to spend. As explained in previous articles, his class skills are Craft and Profession, along with twelve other skills of his choice (and indicated above with the +3 class bonus) .

Special Abilities  (30 CP)

• Companion/cat familiar named “Azrael” (6 CP).
• Contacts/Gargamel’s mother and Lord Balthazar (2 CP).
• Leadership/specialized for half cost/one 0-level youth named “Scruple” (3 CP).
• Occult Ritual (6 CP).
• 1 CP spent on the Great Book of Spells relic.
• Skill Focus/Knowledge (arcana) (6 CP).
• Skill Focus/Spellcraft (6 CP).

The Great Book of Spells (1-point relic)

This ancient tome is a spellbook, but not in the usual sense. Rather, this codex is a boon for those who practice ritual magic, as it contains a seemingly endless supply of ritual formulas. However, the Great Book of Spells cannot be studied through reading; attempting to do so just showcases page after page of gobbledygook.

Instead, the book must be petitioned on the last night of the full moon each month. Doing so causes the spirit of the book to awaken for one day (until the next sundown) during which time it will teach the petitioner one ritual requested. However, the book is prone to misinterpreting the requests made of it, so those who ask it for aid must be sure to precisely state that which they wish to accomplish.

In game terms, the Great Book of Spells has Double Enthusiast/specialized and corrupted for triple effect (6 CP) – it can only be used for one day per month, is limited to spending points on knowing formulas for ritual magic (see the last paragraph on Eclipse pg. 96), and characters must spend 1 Character Point of their own to be able to use it. In effect, the book knows a half-dozen rituals at any one time, and can change which ones it knows from month to month.

As mentioned above, Gargamel makes a poor choice for an adversary for your PCs. He serves better as a background character, one who plays a minor supporting role in a larger plot – perhaps he has access to the ritual the PCs need, but won’t ask the Great Book of Spells for it unless the PCs help him with his latest scheme first. Or perhaps one of his rituals goes horribly wrong, and it’s up to the PCs to clean up the mess.

Characters that insist on a physical fight with Gargamel should be disappointed, as he’s a coward who will run at the first sign of trouble, and beg for mercy if he can’t run. Besides his relic, he has no treasure worth taking, and characters who attack him should gain no XP for it. After all, any character weak enough that they lose consistently to the smurfs is no real threat to Pathfinder heroes.

It was either a spider motif, or the goddess Kali.

Like most internet nerds, I read my fair share of webcomics. One of these is Spinnerette, a comic about a girl named Heather Brown who becomes the eponymous Spinnerette, a superhero with spider-like powers. In a refreshing change from most superhero comics, she’s thrilled about her transformation, as her secret dream has always been to be a caped crusader against evil.

The comic is fairly light-hearted, focusing on Heather’s enthusiasm as she adjusts to her new double-life. It does have its serious moments, of course, but for the most part its an adventure-comedy-drama sort of webcomic. It’s also a comparatively low-power setting as well – while the various heroes and villains have powers far beyond ordinary people, none of these are the world-shaking abilities often found among more mainstream comics.

It’s this latter point that interested me in making an Eclipse conversion of Spinnerette. One thing I didn’t mention in last week’s conversion of Malecite was that I had originally figured him for a fifth-level character. Needless to say, that went up as I calculated the levels necessary for the strength and variety of his powers. With Spinnerette though, her powers are comparatively minimal, and aren’t that strong overall – a perfect candidate for a low-level hero.

As with all of the other Eclipse characters posted so far, Spinnerette is built using the Pathfinder rules for Eclipse, including +6 CP at every odd-numbered level, receiving Craft, Profession, and twelve other skills of her choice as class skills, and the use of the Pathfinder package deal for her race.

Available Character Points: 144 (level five) + 10 (three disadvantages: Obligations, Secret, and Showman) + 18 (levels one, three, and five feats) + 6 (level one human bonus feat) = 178 CP.

In Spinnerette’s case, her disadvantages represent her superhero obligations (which she happily undertakes), that she needs to keep her identity a secret (something not so easily done when you have six arms!), and how her superhero activities draw the media spotlight.

Ability Scores (20-point buy): Str 12, Dex 16 (includes +2 racial bonus), Con 14, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 14.

Human Traits

• Bonus feat (6 CP).
• Fast Learner, specialized in skills (3 CP).
• Humans get to pick which attribute enjoys the Pathfinder Template bonus – buying off a Corruption worth (4 CP).

Basic Purchases (103 CP).

• 5d10 Hit Dice (30 CP).
• +5 Warcraft (30 CP).
• +2 Fort save (6 CP).
• +4 Ref save (12 CP).
• +2 Will save (6 CP).
• Light armor proficiency (3 CP).

The light armor proficiency is for the suit she wears later in the series; being made out of Heather’s “spider” silk, it’s strong enough to grant her an armor bonus (how much is uncertain, but I’d likely say +4, the highest bonus light armor can provide).

• 16 skill points (16 CP).

Heather has a total of 26 skill points to spend, thanks to receiving +1 skill point per level from her race, another +1 skill point per level from her Intelligence bonus, and the 16 skill points she bought for 16 CP. All of the skills listed above are class skills for her.

It should be mentioned that normally having a poor maneuverability rating to her fly speed (see below) would cause a character to take a -4 penalty to Fly skill checks, rather than a +8 bonus. We’re bending the rules here, however, as Eclipse doesn’t state that Celerity for an additional movement mode grants anything other than a +8 bonus. Since the modus operandi for Eclipse is that, when there’s a grey area, default to what’s more beneficial for the player (notwithstanding the GM’s judgment call on an issue, of course), that’s what we’re doing here.

Special Abilities (75 CP)

• Celerity/additional mode (climb) (18 CP) with a +10 ft. modifier (+3 CP).
• Celerity/additional mode (fly) (18 CP) + 40 ft. modifier (+12 CP)/specialized for half-cost (poor maneuverability, but may hover up to 50 ft. below an overhanging surface) and corrupted for two-thirds cost (requires a solid surface within 50 ft.).

This power is meant to approximate her web-slinging.

• Equipage/50 gp. worth of material per week (18 CP)/specialized for double effect and corrupted for two-thirds cost; only may have silk ropes, nets, and similar materials.

This one was also slightly awkward; it’s meant to denote that Heather can create spider silk that can be used for other things besides webs, but those are fairly limited in scope.

• Extra Limbs (6 CP).
• Grant of Aid (6 CP) with the Mighty modifier (+3 CP) specialized and corrupted for triple effect/regains hit points only, effect happens slowly (1 hit point per round) up to 50 hp per day.
• Innate Enchantment (8 CP)
  • +2 to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution (4200 gp).
  • Web twelve times per day (2400 gp).
• Martial arts (3 CP) with d6 damage (+3 CP).
• Privilege (3 CP).

The privilege is meant to allow for superheroes being legally allowed to run around and apprehend criminals in blatant disregard for most law enforcement procedures; they can even testify against them in court without having to reveal their secret identities.

One minor caveat needs to be made in regards to some of the above powers. The comic briefly mentions that superhero powers of all types are caused by the “Cherenkov-Kirby reaction.” This goes for everything from Spinnerette’s genetic mutation to magic, and other powers – only super-science devices (e.g. power armor) are exempt from this.

The logical extension of this, in other words, is that Spinnerette’s powers are essentially magical in nature; in Eclipse, that’s normally a cause for corrupting them. However, we aren’t doing that here for several reasons. First, in the context of the comic this only comes up environmentally; there are places where such powers are naturally suppressed, and others where they are augmented – beyond that, it’s a relatively meaningless distinction.

More germane is that even when in a field where C-K powers are suppressed, most of Spinnerette’s abilities are still present; her extra arms, for example, don’t suddenly vanish. Given all of the above, it seems safe to ignore the issue with making some of her powers be vulnerable to antimagic abilities.

Until next time, may all of your super powers work when you need them!