Homebrew Exaltation: The Monsterbound, Guardian and Friend
Sept 3, 2018 11:25:09 GMT -6
Post by konate on Sept 3, 2018 11:25:09 GMT -6
Monster-Bound
Not everyone is powerful from the power they produce, but sometimes from the power they can command. There are stories of ancient weapons, crafted to wage war, and gifted to great generals in the past days of the Syrneth and C'tan. These artifacts were bound to creatures of power and strength, servants to those who were bound to their anchor.
As time passed, these artifacts slowly faded away. Some were destroyed from age or corruption, others lost forever in great depths of the Umbra. But a few still move and trade hands, choosing their own purpose, and find someone they believe to be worthy of their power - or of protecting.
POWERS
Anchor: You start play with an Anchor, which is any Artifact with a rating up to 3. This artifact does not count against your maximum starting total and you can spend starting experience to increase the number of dots the artifact is worth. You always know the location of your Anchor. As long as you possess it, you can communicate telepathically with your Monster and always know where your Monster is. If you die, your monster is instantly absorbed back into its anchor until a new owner can be found.
Bonded Monster: Your Monster may look like whatever kind of creature you want and is completely under your control. Use the following rules for building your monster, calculating derived characteristics as normal:
Shared Training: You start with one rank in any one sword school or gun kata of your choice. You may always advance it normally as though it were part of your current class. In addition, your monster can use your special attacks with its natural melee weapon, and your trick shots with its ranged weapons.
Shared Soul: When your Monster is dropped to 0 hit points, it is reduced to a comatose state until it can be healed. It can not die or take critical wounds. During this time, you can only spend Trust for Reactions or Healing Surges.
Power Stat: Bond
Whether you and your monster are agents of chaos or of law, you must trust each other. This trust is measured by your Bond - how much you care about your newfound friend, the lengths you are willing to go for each other.
Resource: Trust
The character has maximum Trust equal to four times their Bond. Their monster can spend Trust as though it were the character. If the character is conscious, they can make a special Care test (TN 15) once per scene as a Free Action, using Animal Ken + Fellowship. If they succeed, they regain 1 Trust, + 1 for each raise, and heal their Monster for that many hit points. You can gain no more Trust or Hit Points per Care Test than your Bond score + 1.
Assets
Arcane Familiar: Your monster can be the point of origin for spells you cast, and can be the target of spells that have a range or target of self. You can spend 1 Trust as a free action to see through the eyes of your Monster for the remainder of the scene. For Shared Power, you instead choose a spell school, and your monster may cast spells and spell combos that you know, in addition to special attacks and trick shots. They do not use your spell school ranks. You must use Arcana instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Chosen Partner: Your Monster gains an additional +1 to any of its 3 characteristics. Your monster can spend Trust while it is at 0 Hit Points, but can only use it for a Healing Surge action.
Daemonic Pet: Your monster gains the Daemonic trait and can speak all of the languages you understand. When using either Champion or Ultimate Evolution, it gains Stuff of Nightmares. You must use Forbidden Lore instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Living Creation: Choose an artifact material. Your monster's natural armor and natural weapon have the qualities provided by the artifact material. At Bond 4, it also gains the bionic heart for the material chosen. You must use Craft instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Pocket Monster: You can absorb your monster into your anchor if it's adjacent to you, or release it into a space adjacent to you, as a half action. In addition, at Bond 3 and 5, you can create a new set of racial feats and powers for your Monster, in addition to the original choices. Every time you release your Monster from its anchor, you can choose to use a different set.
Puppet Friend: Your monster gains the Mindless Trait and uses your skill ranks instead of the Bound Monster power's version. In addition, choose a race for your Monster to be. Your Monster's size is the same as that race, it can speak that race's language, and you must always choose to increase your monsters' Static Defense, instead of Size, when given the choice. Your monster can also take Proficiency feats when given a choice of racial feats from advancement. You must use Medicae instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Robot Guardian: Your Monster gains the Machine (X) trait, where X is equal to your Bond; the ability to speak Binary; and a custom natural ranged weapon using the Basic Exotic templates, with a maximum rarity of uncommon. Each time you increase your Bond, you can rebuild the natural weapon and increase its maximum rarity by one step. You must use Tech Use instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Monster-Bound: Friends 'til the End
Monster-Bound Physical Features
Many of those chosen by their monster are physically weaker than otherwise, but whom the monster can trust to take care of them. Other times, those chosen have some sort of social or mental quirk that makes it harder to go through life without just a little more help. The key trait between each Monster-Bound, though, is the powerful artifact they hold. It can sometimes be as ordinary as a club, or as ornate as an artifact cybernetic arm.
Monster-Bound Tells
The most obvious tell of a Monster-Bound is often the strange, alien creature that fights alongside them, an extension of their will. Their Anchor glows brightly as they exude this control, and they move in sync with each other.
Becoming a Monster-Bound
Monster-Bound are chosen by the strange, alien intelligence of the Monsters and the anchors they inhabit. Many of them seek those who are physically weaker, or mentally incapable, but who are strong in other areas. Monsters never choose those who already have great power, and so never choose those who are already Exalts - they might forget their monster, and never take care of them.
Playing a Monster-Bound
Monster-Bound are a pair of characters who utilize the same turn, trading based on their specialties and what the situation calls for. Often, all the master does is aid their monster, through words or actions, but sometimes the opposite is true if they stumble upon the master's expertise. They are a true pair, and truly care about each other - sometimes to the detriment of those around them.
Not everyone is powerful from the power they produce, but sometimes from the power they can command. There are stories of ancient weapons, crafted to wage war, and gifted to great generals in the past days of the Syrneth and C'tan. These artifacts were bound to creatures of power and strength, servants to those who were bound to their anchor.
As time passed, these artifacts slowly faded away. Some were destroyed from age or corruption, others lost forever in great depths of the Umbra. But a few still move and trade hands, choosing their own purpose, and find someone they believe to be worthy of their power - or of protecting.
POWERS
Anchor: You start play with an Anchor, which is any Artifact with a rating up to 3. This artifact does not count against your maximum starting total and you can spend starting experience to increase the number of dots the artifact is worth. You always know the location of your Anchor. As long as you possess it, you can communicate telepathically with your Monster and always know where your Monster is. If you die, your monster is instantly absorbed back into its anchor until a new owner can be found.
Bonded Monster: Your Monster may look like whatever kind of creature you want and is completely under your control. Use the following rules for building your monster, calculating derived characteristics as normal:
- Characteristics: Your monster only has three characteristics, each taking the place of those in parenthesis: Power (Charisma, Intelligence, Strength), Finesse (Dexterity, Fellowship, Wisdom), and Resistance (Composure, Constitution, Willpower). You choose one to start at 3 dots, one to start at 2, and the last starts at 1.
- Skills: Your Monster is trained in a number of skills equal to your Fellowship + Bond, with a number of dots in each equal to your Bond + 1 (maximum of 5). The exception is your monster's Ballistics, Brawl, and Weaponry, which are automatically trained and equal to your Fellowship.
- Level: Your monster's level is equal to your Bond.
- HP: Your monster uses Resistance for both the Con and Will portions of calculating HP. They also gain extra HP equal to your Bond.
- Static Defense: Your monster uses Finesse for both the Dex and Wis portions of calculating Static Defense.
- Feats: The monster starts with the Guardian, Weapon Proficiency (Basic), and Weapon Proficiency (Natural) [if required by your SM] feats.
- Hero Points: Your monster may spend your Hero Points to gain any effect that you could.
- Size: Your monster starts at either size 2 or size 4.
- Language: The monster can understand any languages you know. It can not speak verbally.
- Natural Armor: The monster has natural AP equal to your Bond, and a natural weapon with the profile (1k1 R or I, Melee, Brawling).
- Actions: Your monster acts on your turn. You have a full action and a half action, or three half actions, to use between the two of you, and you share Reactions. One of you must always use only one half action, even if either of you is unconscious, dead, or at 0 hit points. However, if one of you takes a Movement subtype action, the other may Shift as a free action. This follows the normal rules concerning repeat actions on the same turn, since you and your Monster share an action pool.
Shared Training: You start with one rank in any one sword school or gun kata of your choice. You may always advance it normally as though it were part of your current class. In addition, your monster can use your special attacks with its natural melee weapon, and your trick shots with its ranged weapons.
Shared Soul: When your Monster is dropped to 0 hit points, it is reduced to a comatose state until it can be healed. It can not die or take critical wounds. During this time, you can only spend Trust for Reactions or Healing Surges.
Power Stat: Bond
Whether you and your monster are agents of chaos or of law, you must trust each other. This trust is measured by your Bond - how much you care about your newfound friend, the lengths you are willing to go for each other.
Resource: Trust
The character has maximum Trust equal to four times their Bond. Their monster can spend Trust as though it were the character. If the character is conscious, they can make a special Care test (TN 15) once per scene as a Free Action, using Animal Ken + Fellowship. If they succeed, they regain 1 Trust, + 1 for each raise, and heal their Monster for that many hit points. You can gain no more Trust or Hit Points per Care Test than your Bond score + 1.
| Bond | Power Gained |
| * | Your Very Own Monster - Your monster starts with any 2 racial feats and a racial power of your choice. You must have the racial power that a feat references in order to take the feat. |
| ** | Champion Evolution - You can activate Champion Evolution by spending 1 Trust, granting your creature +1 Size or +2 Static Defense, and +1 to all characteristics. This power lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Bond. You must always use the same choice between Size and Static Defense when you activate this power afterwards. |
| *** | Stronger Than Before - Your monster gains +1 in all characteristics and either a new Racial Feat or Racial Power. It also permanently gains +1 size or +2 static defense. |
| **** | Ultimate Evolution - You can activate Ultimate Evolution by spending 3 Trust, or 2 Trust if Champion is already active. Double all bonuses granted from Champion Evolution. Ultimate Evolution lasts until the end of the scene. |
| ***** | Best Friends Forever - Your monster gains +1 dot in all characteristics and either a new Racial Feat or Racial Power. It also permanently gains +1 size or +2 static defense. |
Assets
Arcane Familiar: Your monster can be the point of origin for spells you cast, and can be the target of spells that have a range or target of self. You can spend 1 Trust as a free action to see through the eyes of your Monster for the remainder of the scene. For Shared Power, you instead choose a spell school, and your monster may cast spells and spell combos that you know, in addition to special attacks and trick shots. They do not use your spell school ranks. You must use Arcana instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Chosen Partner: Your Monster gains an additional +1 to any of its 3 characteristics. Your monster can spend Trust while it is at 0 Hit Points, but can only use it for a Healing Surge action.
Daemonic Pet: Your monster gains the Daemonic trait and can speak all of the languages you understand. When using either Champion or Ultimate Evolution, it gains Stuff of Nightmares. You must use Forbidden Lore instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Living Creation: Choose an artifact material. Your monster's natural armor and natural weapon have the qualities provided by the artifact material. At Bond 4, it also gains the bionic heart for the material chosen. You must use Craft instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Pocket Monster: You can absorb your monster into your anchor if it's adjacent to you, or release it into a space adjacent to you, as a half action. In addition, at Bond 3 and 5, you can create a new set of racial feats and powers for your Monster, in addition to the original choices. Every time you release your Monster from its anchor, you can choose to use a different set.
Puppet Friend: Your monster gains the Mindless Trait and uses your skill ranks instead of the Bound Monster power's version. In addition, choose a race for your Monster to be. Your Monster's size is the same as that race, it can speak that race's language, and you must always choose to increase your monsters' Static Defense, instead of Size, when given the choice. Your monster can also take Proficiency feats when given a choice of racial feats from advancement. You must use Medicae instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Robot Guardian: Your Monster gains the Machine (X) trait, where X is equal to your Bond; the ability to speak Binary; and a custom natural ranged weapon using the Basic Exotic templates, with a maximum rarity of uncommon. Each time you increase your Bond, you can rebuild the natural weapon and increase its maximum rarity by one step. You must use Tech Use instead of Animal Ken for your Care tests.
Monster-Bound: Friends 'til the End
Monster-Bound Physical Features
Many of those chosen by their monster are physically weaker than otherwise, but whom the monster can trust to take care of them. Other times, those chosen have some sort of social or mental quirk that makes it harder to go through life without just a little more help. The key trait between each Monster-Bound, though, is the powerful artifact they hold. It can sometimes be as ordinary as a club, or as ornate as an artifact cybernetic arm.
Monster-Bound Tells
The most obvious tell of a Monster-Bound is often the strange, alien creature that fights alongside them, an extension of their will. Their Anchor glows brightly as they exude this control, and they move in sync with each other.
Becoming a Monster-Bound
Monster-Bound are chosen by the strange, alien intelligence of the Monsters and the anchors they inhabit. Many of them seek those who are physically weaker, or mentally incapable, but who are strong in other areas. Monsters never choose those who already have great power, and so never choose those who are already Exalts - they might forget their monster, and never take care of them.
Playing a Monster-Bound
Monster-Bound are a pair of characters who utilize the same turn, trading based on their specialties and what the situation calls for. Often, all the master does is aid their monster, through words or actions, but sometimes the opposite is true if they stumble upon the master's expertise. They are a true pair, and truly care about each other - sometimes to the detriment of those around them.
