Tome Inertial Armor feat

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 4:23 pm

I've been looking at the Mind Blade [Skill] feat, and wanted to make an armor feat that is similar. I was toying with a ranged feat like one Maxus worked on a couple of years ago, but I realized that Mind Blade can create ranged weapons.

First of all: how do you feel about Mind Blade? I like the flavor, but is it worth the feat? If I base these an armor feat off of it, I want to make sure it's up to snuff. Secondly, here's what I've go to far:

Inertial Armor
You're surrounded by psychic armor.
Benefits: This is a skill feat that scales with your ranks in Concentration.
0 ranks: As a swift action, you can create a suit of psychic armor to protect you as a Su ability. This grants you an armor bonus to AC equal to two plus half your ranks in Concentration (round down). This armor lasts until dispelled or dismissed.
4 ranks: Your armor is considered a [Force] effect and applies against incorporeal and ethereal touch attacks.
9 ranks: Your armor grants you Force resitance equal to your ranks in Concentration. In addition, it gains any one lesser quality from the Book of Gears armor qualities list.
14 ranks: Your armor grants you Damage reduction X/-, where X is half your ranks in Concentration. In addition, it gains any one moderate or lesser quality from the Book of Gears armor qualities list.
19 ranks: ??? In addition, it gains any one greater, moderate, or lesser quality from the Book of Gears armor qualities list.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 4:45 pm

I hate you all so fucking much.

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 4:51 pm

Conceptually, the idea seems decent, but 3 qualities on one armor might be a bit much. Perhaps give 1 quality, but you can meditate some amount of time to change it?

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 5:57 pm

Kaelik wrote:I hate you all so fucking much.

I'm assuming I'm missing something...

Avoraciopoctules wrote:Conceptually, the idea seems decent, but 3 qualities on one armor might be a bit much. Perhaps give 1 quality, but you can meditate some amount of time to change it?

It may be. I was just basing this on the existing feat, and I'm not really sure how well balanced that is. Perhaps the wording on both could be changed so that you get one quality, of the level appropriate to your ranks.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:53 pm

RobbyPants wrote:
Kaelik wrote:I hate you all so fucking much.
I'm assuming I'm missing something...

Yes, for starters, the entire point of the eight magic item limit.

Mind weapon is already maybe too powerful, and in a terrible way, where it's not interestingly powerful. It's just a feat that gives you a better than normal magic weapon that infringes on other peoples schtiks.

This is not worth it at low levels, and then suddenly, way too fucking good for no reason after some break point.

The fact that it's an armor with no ASF that works against everything and has a huge bonus more than any other armor after a certain point, and oh yeah, runs of a spellcasting skill, is just salt in the wound.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:37 pm

Makes enough sense. It wouldn't be hard to throw in a caveat on reducing your attuning limit by one. Also, what are the guidelines for when moderate and greater weapons and armors should become available? These two feats assume 11th level for moderate (about when you hit the Wish economy) and 16th for greater.

You've got a good point about the rate of scaling. I based it roughly on Armored in Life, but you're right about giving it to arcane casters. Would an ASF chance help? Should it count as "light armor" for purposes of class features?

Do you think the concept is salvageable?

ubernoob · Post by **ubernoob** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 9:43 pm

RobbyPants wrote:Do you think the concept is salvageable?

I certainly don't. What D&D story has a guy just randomly figuring out how to make a personal force field where it isn't a defining characteristic (class feature)? Same goes for the mind blade feat.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:12 am

Oh well. I saw the Mindblade feat and thought it looked kinda cool, so I wanted to mirror it. I suppose I could just use a Soulbound-weapon Psychic Warrior for the concept, or something.

Speaking of that, how do you feel the PW meshes with the rest of the Tome material? It seems the bonus feats would be nice with the [Combat] feats.

cthulhu · Post by **cthulhu** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 5:56 am

it's totally salvagable? Just need to work on the balance point a bit. Start here

Elusive Target [Combat]
You are very hard to hit when you want to be.
Benefits: You gain a +2 Dodge bonus to AC.
+1: Your opponents do not gain flanking or higher ground bonuses against you.
+6: Your opponents do not inflict extra damage from the Power Attack option.
+11: Diverting Defense - As an immediate action, you may redirect an attack against you to any creature in your threatened range, friend or foe. You may not redirect an attack to the creature making the attack.
+16: As an immediate action, you may make an attack that would normally hit you miss instead.

Blicero · Post by **Blicero** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 5:59 am

RobbyPants wrote:
Speaking of that, how do you feel the PW meshes with the rest of the Tome material? It seems the bonus feats would be nice with the [Combat] feats.

Mechanically, there's not a lot a Psychic Warrior can do that a Cleric can't do better. And psychic focus also has the disadvantage of being a kind of shitty mechanic that favors ambushes.

So, on the overall, I'd say workable, but a bit on the weak side.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:06 pm

Seems like the kind of feat every Arcane caster will want to grab. It would work if you anticipate that.
Disregard Kaelik's rampant hate. Signal to noise, etc.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:08 pm

sigma999 wrote:Seems like the kind of feat every Arcane caster will want to grab. It would work if you anticipate that.
Disregard Kaelik's rampant hate. Signal to noise, etc.

I think it's cute that you are trying to convince people to ignore me based on my signal to noise ratio when A) I have been all signal this thread B) You don't actually have any signal at all ever.

CatharzGodfoot · Post by **CatharzGodfoot** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 12:26 am

I think Sigma was agreeing with you, Kae.

Anyway, the premise of a character who uses force fields for defense is salvageable, and it could even come from a feat instead of spells (which are the current route) or some other class abilities.

A scaling armor bonus would be totally fine. By focusing psychic force through a hand, the character can strengthen the force field at a specific location (this is a shield). By altering the phase resonance of the field, it will prevent a specific energy type from getting through. With a bit of training and concentration, the character can enlarge the field to encompass nearby allies. Eventually it even blocks psychic control and magic.

It really shouldn't come with armor abilities, though, as you can still wear armor.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 2:37 am

The idea of a property, and if it takes up your armor or shield (or both) slot, isn't too bad. But I wouldn't expect to see All-around vision.

Stuff a psionic forcefield around you could plausibly do for you--resist energy, fortification. Water walking and wall walking as a stretch.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 3:10 am

I'm fine with making it "not a magic armor". Should it provide any AC bonus if it overlaps, though?