Talk:Pariah

• Pariah (was Warlock)
  • rewards for aggression, gets fragile if not aggressive
  • spell-casting scrappers (think COH's "blapper" hybrid)
  • arcane-powered pact magic, movement and close attacks
  • if move towards enemy and closest of all allies, can turn aoe into multi-ranged-touch attack
  • add defenses for aggression, must acquire each round (e.g. blur/fast-healing/AC from movement, etc.)

has a way of taking good luck now, in exchange for bad luck later. For example, the pariah may be able to roll 2d20 for any d20 roll he wishes, taking the best of the two results, any time! However, each time he does so, the GM gets to mark down 'bad karma', and use it against the pariah at a future time. This bad karma might manifest as the GM saying the pariah must roll 2d20 and take the worst of the two results. (In general, the downside probably shouldn't be as powerful as the upside, since this is a class feature. Perhaps the player can use bad karma on d20 rolls of their own choosing, to try to burn off the bad karma before the GM can use it against him.)

terminology

• pact - the source of power for the pariah, akin to a sorcerer's bloodline. Pariahs can only select abilities from their own pact.
• binding - a pact's affinity which has been bound to the pariah, granting some utility ability (senses, movement, buff/debuff, skill enhancement, etc.).
• chain - a pact affinity which can be employed offensively, like a combat spell.
• ward - a pact affinity which can be employed defensively (self only).

each blinding, chain, and ward can be upgraded as the pariah levels up, akin to a skill tree, making it more powerful. Alternatively, additional bindings, chains, or wards may be selected (though each would then need to be upgraded to improve its power).

Think of each binding, chain, and ward as a single spell. At top level, a pariah might have a maximum of 35 total (super-generalist), or could have as few as 4. Each pact ability can be upgraded a maximum of 9 times (comparable to spell slot levels). Upgrades are granted as class features at character level-up.

some bindings, chains, and wards grant a synergy to other specific bindings, chains, and wards, to allow a generalist pariah (who has taken a broad array of bindings, chains, and wards) to remain competitive with a specialist (though obviously not competitive with that specialty). This is a catch-up mechanism, since a generalist will be weakened comparably to someone who multiclasses a lot; there needs to be something to keep their lower-ranked pact abilities useful, despite their comparatively low level.

Probably grant 3 abilities at first level, but no upgrades possible (i.e. you can't take 1 and upgrade it twice; you have to take 3 different abilities).

chains

offensive abilities; comparable to fireball, disintegrate, etc. Need to be upgraded to be good (instead of using higher level spell slots, etc.).

upgrades for chains can include:

• additional targets
• status effects
• forced movement
• areas of effect
• harder saving throws
• improved action economy

wards

upgrades for wards can include (wards are always self-only):

• more defense granted
• easier circumstances for activating (less movement, fewer threatening foes, fewer nearby allies, etc.)
• secondary effects - bonus movement, alternate movement types, improved senses, etc.
• improved action economy

• wards should really focus on single defenses, and not all pacts can improve all defenses (each pact leaves at least one hole in the pariah's defenses). If someone wants to shore up all defenses, they are a generalist, and cannot become as tough as someone who specializes in one or two defenses.

• wards might grant bonus to AC, DR, ER, AOO defense, saves, SR, forced movement, fast healing,

• at the highest specializations (epic), could do things like absorption (healing) from one energy type, taking half damage from physical attacks, a self heal as a swift action, etc.

• wards will always require some activating condition. e.g.:

• displace at least 15 feet
• be threatened by 3 or more enemies
• attack an enemy who isn't threatened by any ally
• attack at least two enemies this round
• etc.; once active, the ward lasts until the start of the pariah's next turn.

bindings

this is the 'everything else' category, and allows us to put some flavor into each pact. This would be comparable to utility spells, either in-combat or out, but all themed to match the pact they are attributed to.

upgrades for bindings can include:

• additional targets
• better effects
• improved action economy

pacts

• pact of the fundaments (elemental)

• strong chains, weak wards, moderate bindings

• pact of the outer madness (corruption, diversity)

• moderate chains, weak wards, strong bindings

• pact of the nascent seed (life, nature, health)

• weak chains, strong wards, moderate bindings

• pact of the font (mana, magic, power)

• strong chains, moderate wards, weak bindings

Bargaining for Karma

• some things a Pariah can do to gain karma from the spirits:

• deliver the killing blow to a non-minion enemy
• speak a truth when you would prefer to lie
• wake from a full-night's rest with lingering injuries
• sacrifice a damage die, dealing no damage with it
• rolling 2d20 on a d20 roll and taking the worst result (must declare you are doing this before you roll)

• Players are encouraged to come up with other things that might interest the spirits.

• Players should always announce when they do something to earn the favor of the spirits (like telling the truth when they'd prefer to lie). The spirits (the GM) can then decide how much favor/karma the deed was worth.

Spell System

character class has a smaller set of spells which are unique to the class (maybe as few as 35?). Each spell scales with level, and offers a different flavor depending on the source of their pact magic. Spells tend to be melee-oriented effects, akin to shocking grasp. When we write these, they should be distinct based on each pact, and have enough flavor text to provide a weirdness and unpredictability to the magic. Make magic great again.

Spells are not memorized, but are instead granted by the pact's source. You can keep casting a spell until you fail to cast it (see failure, below). Once a spell casting fails for a particular spell, you can't cast that spell again until after a full night's rest.

pariahs don't have to make concentration checks, even when threatened. In addition, spell resistance has a harder time resisting pariah's spells. Instead, each time a pariah casts a spell, he must roll 2d6 to see if he is favored by his pact source enough to cast it today.

• on a 2 - 6, the spell fails, and he can no longer cast this spell until after a full night's rest.
• on a 7 - 9, the spell casts as normal
• on a 10 - 12, the spell casts as normal, and if the pariah wishes to spend a point of karma he can add a critical effect to the spell.

If a creature has spell resistance, the 2d6 result is reduced by 2, but the effects above are otherwise unchanged.

pariah can spend 1 karma to add +1 to a spell casting roll.

Pact Sources

Each pariah gets his magic from a deal made with a more powerful entity or source of power. It should remain unclear what the entity or source gets out of the deal, but it should be clear that they get something.

• the whispering void - that tentacled god seemed nice enough, and hey, free magic!
• the well of power - drawing primal magic from the source of all magic (sipping from a firehose)
• the heirloom - drawing power from a poorly-understood artifact, passed down in secret among your family members
• the masquerade - power from the heart of the First World
• the prince - the classic faustian pact with a devil. Yay! Satanism in D&D. It's not just for Tom Hanks any more.

the most important thing to achieve with pact sources is to provide some class diversity among pariahs. The second most important thing is to create a sense of wondrous weirdness in the class and its magic.

Mechanically, pact sources differentiate themselves with the following:

• a specific class ability or two at various class levels, depending on the pact chosen.
• critical spell effects are different for each pact.
• maybe offer 1 or 2 different ways to generate and/or spend karma, per pact.

(we want to minimize how much work is involved in creating the class, but without just phoning it in. We'll have to design around 50 spells or so, though we can borrow heavily from existing spell lists, if we want. In my opinion, this is an opportunity to create a champions-like spell system that is interesting and flexible.)

ideas

• power which lets them push an enemy (non-role) out of a fight for 1 round, and when it returns, it takes xx psychic damage (from going somewhere horrible)