This is a long, involved project that I have finally gotten around to asking for serious assistance with. The full scope of the project is to create PC stats for races from the video game Golden Sun. This has been worked on before, but a lot has changed in 4E since then. The total project, as I currently estimate it, is seven new races (out of a total ten in the game world) and four new themes. What follows is step one.
ProxanAbility Score: +2 Charisma, +2 Strength or Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 6
Vision: Normal
Languages: Common, Draconic
Skill Bonuses: +2 Endurance, +2 Intimidate
Bloodlust: You gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls against bloodied opponents. This bonus increases to +3 at 11th level and +4 at 21st level.
Heart of Flame: You gain a +2 bonus to defenses, saves, and checks against powers and effects with the cold keyword.
Djinn Strike: You have the Djinn Strike racial power.
Djinn Strike
You weaken your foe by sapping its ties to the elemental spirits.
Encounter
Free Action - Personal
Trigger: You hit an enemy with an attack
Effect: The enemy you hit suffers a -2 penalty to your choice of attack rolls or defenses until the end of your next turn.
The people of ancient Prox were punished by the gods for their power and arrogance in the use of Alchemy. Their descendants now live in an ice blasted city verging on annihilation. Though the old grandeur and power of Alchemy has faded from the world, proxans maintain the traditions of fire magic with the hope that one day they will force back their oncoming doom.
Play a proxan if you want...
* to be a violent warrior with a fiery temper.
* to be a rugged survivor from the arctic wastes.
* to be a member of a race that favors the barbarian, sorcerer, and assassin classes.
Physical Qualities
While roughly the same height and weight, proxans stand in stark contrast from humans due to their brilliant coloration. Their skin tones are various pastel colors with occasional darker streaks, and their hair is typically a bold primary or secondary color. They also have patches of scales spread across their bodies, most notably the shoulders. It is this, as well as their affinity for fire that lead many to speculate that proxans are descended from dragons.
Proxan skin is warm to the touch, a byproduct of their enduring allegiance to the power of fire. As a result, they can withstand the bitter cold of their homeland and even wear clothing other races would consider summer attire.
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Feats
Proxan Reaper Training
Prerequisite: Proxan or Str 13+ and Dex 13+
Benefit: You gain proficiency in the sickle and the scythe. You treat the sickle as a +3 proficiency light blade with the brutal 1 and off-hand properties. You treat the scythe as a +3 proficiency heavy blade and staff with the brutal 1 property.
Proxan Staff Reaper
Prerequisite: Proxan, proficiency with an implement
Benefit: You gain proficiency in the scythe and the staff implement. When you wield a scythe, it is also considered a staff implement. While using a scythe as an implement, it has the Unstoppable and Empowered Crit properties.
Proxan Rod Reaper
Prerequisite: Proxan, proficiency with an implement
Benefit: You gain proficiency in the sickle and the rod implement. When you wield a sickle, it is also considered a rod implement. While using a sickle as an implement, it has the Unerring and Deadly properties.
Rage and Terror
Prerequisite: Proxan, ardent, ardent outrage power
Benefit: The targets of your ardent outrage power also suffer a -2 penalty to attacks against you until the beginning of your next turn.
Fury of the Mars Clan
Prerequisite: Proxan, avenger
Benefit: When an Avenger power would deal radiant damage, you may choose to deal fire damage instead. The power loses the radiant keyword and gains the fire keyword.
Wildfire Rage
Prerequisite: Proxan, barbarian
Benefit: While raging, your weapon attacks deal an additional 2 fire damage. Increase the extra fire damage to 3 at 11th level and 4 at 21st level
Light the Beacon
Prerequisite: Proxan, bard, Djinn Strike power
Benefit: The target of your Djinn Strike power can not benefit from Concealment until the end of your next turn. If the target has Total Concealment or is Invisible, it is instead treated as having Concealment.
Bitter Resentment
Prerequisite: Proxan, warlock, Warlock's Curse class feature
Benefit: When you deal your warlock's curse extra damage with a fire or cold power, you roll d10s for the extra damage instead of d6s.
Paragon Tier
Djinn Leech
Prerequisite: 11th level, Proxan
Benefit: When you use your Djinn Strike power, you gain temporary hp equal to your one-half your level
Prime the Fire
Prerequisite: 11th level, Proxan
Benefit: When you use your Djinn Strike power, the target gains vulnerable 5 fire until the end of your next turn in addition to all other effects.
Epic Tier
Djinn Drain
Prerequisite: 21st level, Proxan
Benefit: When you use your Djinn Strike power, the enemy gains both penalties.
Warrior's Scales
Prerequisite: 11th level, Proxan
Benefit: You gain a +2 racial bonus to Endurance and Intimidate checks. You gain resistance 2 to all damage.
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Mars Dragoon
"Bring it on, whelp! You won't live long enough to regret your stupidity!"
Prerequisites: Proxan
Consigned to slow destruction for the heresies of its ancestors, the Mars Clan nurses a grudge centuries old. That anger and power meet at a fire-tempered point in the Mars Dragoon.
Mars Dragoon Path Features
Light of Mars (11th Level): You gain resistance to cold equal to ½ your level. You gain a bonus to damage rolls equal to the number of damage dice.
Proxan Raging Action (11th Level): When you spend an action point, until the end of your next turn, enemies that hit you with melee attacks take fire damage equal to your highest ability modifier.
Flashpoint (16th Level): When you score a critical hit, the target and all enemies adjacent to it take additional fire damage equal to your highest ability modifier.
Mars Dragoon Psynergy
Djinn Blast Mars Dragoon Attack 11
Encounter Implement, Psynergy, Weapon
Standard Action ♦ Close burst 10
Target: 1 enemy in burst
Attack: Your highest ability vs. Fortitude, Reflex, and Will
Hit: The target suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to attack rolls, defenses, and damage rolls for each defense hit (save ends all).
Special:Saving against this effect reduces the penalty by 1. The condition persists until the penalty is reduced to 0.
Fever Heat Mars Dragoon Utility 12
Daily Fire, Psynergy, Stance
Minor Action ♦ Personal
Effect: You enter the stance of the Fever Heat. While in this stance, you have concealment, and you gain a +2 bonus to your Will defense, saving throws, and speed. You can not be dominated and are instead dazed for the same duration.
Djinn Storm Mars Dragoon Attack 20
Daily Implement, Psynergy, Weapon
Standard Action ♦ Close blast 4
Target: All creatures in blast
Attack: Your highest ability vs. Fortitude, Reflex, and Will
Hit: The target suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to attack rolls, defenses, and damage rolls for each defense hit (save ends all).
Special:Saving against this effect reduces the penalty by 1. The condition persists until the penalty is reduced to 0.
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Design concerns:
The name of the power Djinn Strike refers to a part of the game universe that I have not explained in this short race description. I am worried that this will cause confusion, especially between Golden Sun djinn and 4E Monster Manual djinn.
Mechanically, I wonder whether Djinn Strike is appropriately powerful. I know weakened is frowned upon, but I'm not sure how -1 attack and defense compares to weakened.
Per Fireclave's guide, Heart of Flame is a major ability and a minor ability put together. +1 to defenses vs. cold is a big deal; +1 saves and checks- not so much. I may have underdone it on the major ability as (again) I'm not sure how +1 defense measures up to resist 5 + 1/2 level.
Proxan Reaper Training and Proxan Reaper Mage: Proxans really like using scythes; I don't know why, but I figured I should include it. I brought this up earlier on the board, and I took the advice to make the first feat available to other races. The two of these together are very nice for paladins, swordmages, and anyone else with both weapon and implement powers. I believe the biggest thing this does is give avengers, clerics, and paladins access to Staff of Ruin on top of a very nice two-handed weapon.
More racial feats added.
Bitter Resentment: d10 is a significant upgrade over d6, but warlock powers that do fire damage are a bit hard to come by. Granted, Hellish Rebuke is at-will, but it's also a Con primary attack.
If anyone wants to discuss the origins of these abilities in Golden Sun canon, I'm up for that.
