Curse

Giddeanx · Nov 17, 2006, 08:16 PM // 20:16

Ok here we go again. When I wrote jester I felt like I was telling a good joke, this one feels more like I created a monster. I still havent thought of the full implications of what I created. Will it go down to the village and stample all the balance or will it just throw it self off the windmill and down to the bottom of the forum. Well anyway here we go.

Familiar

Familiars in fiction are usually an animal that accompanies a spell caster. The familiar is usually a cat, rat, bat or some other creature. In this class Familiars are people who have been trained, willingly or by force, to accompany spell casters. They have the ability to bond to their master and share their life essence with them. During their training familiars are exposed to the spirits of more traditional familiars. These spirits allow the familiar to take an animal form for a limited amount of time. Claw mastery has formed from the familiar’s time as an animal. Claw mastery skills are useable while in the form of most animals. Due to training a familiar’s own spirit is indomitable. This is necessary so the familiars own spirit is not lost when combining with lesser spirits. His spirit gives the familiar strength in the direst circumstance and the ability to force the power of his will on others.

Note: The fellow you bond does not suffer damage when the familiar suffers damage nor does he lose energy when the familiar casts skills. Also if either party is in a bond no other bond can be formed on the bond members.

Bonding

Form Bond-Bonding Spell 5e ¼c 60r
Form Bond must be cast on other ally casting a spell. A level 1 bond is formed between you and other ally. While the bond is maintained: if the target ally casts a spell 10% of the cost of the spell will go to you; if the target ally takes damage you take 10% of that damage; if your are healed or your ally is healed the other person receives healing equal to 10% of the heal. If the energy points or health points of either bonded person fall become or fall below 0 the bond is severed and all bonding skills are disabled for 30…10 seconds.

Strengthen Bond-Bonding Spell 5e 2c 15r
If you are maintaining a bond, your bond is increased by one level.

Dissolve Bond-Bonding Spell 5e 1c 10r
If you are maintaining a bond, that bond is dissolved. You lose 5…1 points of energy for each level of bond.

Transfer Bond-Bonding Spell 5e ¼c 60r
You must have a bond before casting Transfer Bond and it must be cast on other ally casting a spell. A level 1 bond is formed between you and other ally. The existing bond is dissolved.

Lessen Bond-Bonding Spell 5e 1c 10r
If you are maintaining a bond, your bond is decreased by one level, you gain 1...5 energy.

Dampen Bond-Enchantment Spell 15e 1c 45r
For 20 seconds, if you are maintaining a bond, any damage that you would take through the bond is reduced by 15...35%.

Feedback-Enchantment Spell 10e 1c 30r
For 20 seconds, if bonded ally casts a spell they get 10…25% of the spells cost back.

Comfort of Company-Elite Enchantment Spell 15e 1c 45r
For 30 seconds, if you are bonded you and the other member of the bond recieve +1...5 health regeneration and +1 energy regeneration.

Negative Bond-Hex Spell 15e 1c 15r
If foe is casting you attatch a negative bond to foe for 5...15 seconds. While under the bond the foe takes 25% of the damage you take.

TransfigurationPrimary-On transformation all enchanments are dropped as the player takes on a new form. During the transformation the player only has access to claw attacks and form skills. [I went back and forth on what attribute to make the primary and finally decided on this. It seems to be the signature piece for this class and in the hands of some of the other classes it may bring unbalance)

Lupine Spirit-Transformation 15e 1c 60r
If you have transfiguration under 4 then this skill has a 25% chance of failing.
For 30 seconds, you take the form of a wolf equal to your level. Wolf attacks have a 10...25% chance of causing deep wounds for 10 seconds. Wolves take 25% more damage from fire damage.

Equine Spirit-Transformation 20e 1c 60r
If you have transfiguration under 4 then this skill has a 25% chance of failing.
For 20 seconds, you take the form of a horse equal to your level. Skills are not disabled. Horse attacks cannot be “evaded”. Due to thier skiddish nature horse skills are easily interupted. Horses do not use claw attacks.

Ursine Spirit-Transformation 25e 1c 60r
If you have transfiguration under 4 then this skill has a 25% chance of failing.
For 30 seconds, you take the form of a bear equal to your level. Bear attacks have a 10...25% chance of knockdown. Bears move 25% slower.

Suidal Spirit-Transformation 10e 1c 60r
If you have transfiguration under 4 then this skill has a 25% chance of failing.
For 30 seconds, you take the form of a boar equal to your level. Boar attacks do +10...20 points of damage. Boars take 25% more damage from piercing attacks.

Feline Spirit-Transformation 15e 1c 60r
If you have transfiguration under 4 then this skill has a 25% chance of failing.
For 30 seconds, you take the form of a cat equal to your level. Cat attacks have a 10...25% chance of causing bleeding for 10 seconds. The cat has 70% of your maximum health.

Night Spirit-Transformation 10e 1c 60r
If you have transfiguration under 4 then this skill has a 25% chance of failing.
For 30 seconds, you take the form of a giant bat. Giant bats are not affected by blind. If you are hit with a fire skill you become blinded 2...10 seconds.

Rabbit’s Leg-Transformation 15e 1c 30r
If you have transfiguration under 4 then this skill has a 25% chance of failing.
For 20 seconds, you are transformed in to a rabbit. Rabbits travel 5...15% faster. And each time you are hit while transformed you travel another 5% faster (Limit 50%). Rabbits have 1/2 total hit points and cannot attack.

Canine Loyalty-Form Skill 5e 1c 15r
Only available in canine form. If bonded ally is adjacent then you are healed for 45…125 points of health.

Pack Mentality-Form Skill 10e 1c 10r
If you are in a equine, feline, or lupine form and there is a creature of the same species in the area you attack 15...33% faster.

Sip of Life-Form Skill 5e 1c 15r
Only available in night form. For 15...30 seconds foe has a -1 health regeneration. If hex meets its natural end you recieve 150...300 health.

Early Return-Form Skill 15r You return to your natural form. All abilities are disabled for 5...1 seconds.

Statuesque Beauty-Form Skill 5e 1/4c 10r
Only available in equine form. If bonded ally is adjacent then all nearby foes move 15% slower for 5...10 seconds.

Claw Mastery-The claw attacks came to me as almost a default. These skills are still available when you change into most of the beast forms.

Perforation-Claw Attack 15e 15r
Causes bleeding and deep wound for 2…10 seconds.

Swipe-Claw Attack 5e 2r
Does half damage, causes bleeding for 2…8 seconds.

Gut-Claw Attack 10e 15r
Causes deep wound and weakness for 2…10 seconds.

Weak Spot-Claw Attack 10e 15r
Attack has 10…20% armor penetration.

Sword catcher-Claw skill 10e 1c 15r
Block next sword attack.

Spirit Training

Wild Bond-Bonding Spell 10e ½ c 10r
If you have a bond, that bond is severed and adjacent foes take 30…50 points of chaos damage multiplied by the level of the bond.

Push Essence-Enchantment Spell 5e 1c 20r
For 10…30 seconds, bonded ally receives +1 to energy regeneration. You receive -2 to energy regeneration.

Second Wind-Skill 15e 1c 20r
If in the next 15…45 seconds, you have <5% energy you gain 10…20 points of energy and any bond is maintained.

Pulse-Enchantment 10e 1c 15r
For the next 30 seconds. The next time you create a bond, any nearby foes take 20…50 chaos damage.

Bend Will-Hex 10e 1c 10r
For 5...15 seconds. Target foe will expend double the energy cost whenever a skill is activated that useds energy.

Giddeanx · Nov 28, 2006, 02:30 PM // 14:30

Added skills and explanation. Mainly because I linked it in another post.

BahamutKaiser · Nov 28, 2006, 06:25 PM // 18:25

This one is kind of confusing. So basicly this class bond with other allies than uses shapeshifting abilities to gain attack advantages.

Sounds a bit shaky. First, you need an allie to utilize any transformations, so he cannot even transform on his own. The transformations are simular to god forms, but a dedicated shapeshifter is welcome. The requirement of a form to use certain attack skills makes it unique from Avatars, but it needs more differences.

I would say you have some original content here, but the whole bond thing is quite unwelcome. Binding the damage, energy and healing of an allie may not be welcome, they may not want to share damage with you, and as this is a melee class, they will likely recieve more damage from the bond than you are for it.

More over, the effects of these transformations are generally too strong. What I used to dampen transformations in my ideas is provide an inherited weakness in it as well. Instead of bonding to other players to use shapeshifting, my shapeshifter lost casting efficiency when he turns into a creature, taking twice as long to cast spells, but gaining armor and attack improvements. Evenso, continous speed increases of up to 50%, and some of the other advantages are just a bit too powerful.

Worst of all, it requires a bond to transform, and it requires a transformation to use his attacks, the dually dependant attacks make it very unstable. Bonding may be part of the identity you developed, but it isn't a good requirement for transformations. Trasformations should be different than god forms, but not in this way. For a class that requires a form to use his attacks, a form should be readily available. Also, unlike Elite God Forms which provide extreme advantages part of the time, a transformation should have much more subtle effects, and tradeoffs for any strong effects. Instead, the skills which require transformation should be stronger and more cost effective because they require a form to function, like beast mastery, since it requires the use of another skill/function to become available, it should have an equal advantage.

Your idea has a popular identity and original background, but the functions are quite gumbled and disfunctional IMO. It could be tossed around and improved to work the way you envisioned it, but personally, it is a class I wouldn't want in my party, I would choose an Assassin first.

Giddeanx · Nov 28, 2006, 07:36 PM // 19:36

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