4e Mystic project
Well, not really. I’ve decided to rename my take on the Monk class “Mystic Monk” in homage to the Cyclopedia’s Mystic class, in order to differentiate it from Wizards’ in-playtest monk class. I made a few more changes, including one to an epic destiny feature I hadn’t previously noticed was broken (even for a level 30 ability). I think it’s more or less in its final form now. The one major thing I might change is the power source: currently it’s still using Ki, which is deprecated. Aside from that, I foresee no more than a few small tweaks as further play catches minor problems I’d previously missed.
There are design decisions I would make differently if I’d known when I started the project what I now know about the game. I think the process has helped me get a better grasp of the way 4e classes work, though. If I ever get the urge to write up another class, I’ll be able to apply what I’ve learned here. And I’ll know what I’m getting into — 30 levels of powers is no easy task, I can tell you.
I think, in general, it might be a better idea to expand the system by homebrewing new class builds, rather than new classes entirely. Sometimes, though, the existing classes just don’t come close to what you want, and that was the case for the monk when I began this project. In the end, I guess it turned out pretty well. It’s a straightforward class, but it seems to do what I meant it to, and it seems to be roughly balanced against other classes.
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Fox Magic: Allies and Adversaries
I was going to move on from this series, but I realized I hadn’t provided any examples yet. Therefore, my final preview for now will be the following two statblocks: First, the Kitsune Celestial Shrine Maiden, a young priestess ready to defend her shrine and those who worship there. (Yes, I’m aware that miko aren’t exactly priestesses, but anime made me do it.) Second, the Kitsune Wilder Shadow Weaver, a beguiling illusionist all too willing to toy with the minds of others for his own amusement. Following the jump.
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Fox Magic: Arcane Feats
Continuing the series, some feats for kitsune who take up arcane professions.
Arcane Power differed from Martial Power in that race-specific feats only showed up at the heroic tier. For the moment, I’m following that design.
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Fox Magic: Martial Feats
Beginning with Martial Power, feats that offered a benefit to a particular race/class combination made their appearance. These feats often serve to shore up what might otherwise be subpar choices, and to offer a little extra flavor — a tiefling warlock can vengefully spread his Warlock’s Curse around to whoever hits him, while a deva wizard can draw upon the knowledge of past lives to recall extra spells, giving her more to choose from each day when it comes to preparing.
Below, some kitsune feats for martial characters.
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Fox Magic: Feats
Kuniyoshi's woodblock print of the legendary kitsune Kuzunoha.
Most of the fourth-edition races boast race-specific feats. Even the half-elf has one or two, in addition to being able to choose from among the elf- or human-specific feats. The only races presented as potential player-character options that don’t have feats associated with them are the ones from the back of the Monster Manuals — and those are incomplete writeups, not suggested for open PC use, which are slowly getting fleshed out and given the full treatment in Dragon and future rulebooks. The lack of racial feats is often cited as a weakness of these races. The strength of the humans’ feats — particularly Action Surge at the heroic tier — is considered one of their biggest plusses.
Clearly, racial feats are of some importance. So it’s only fitting that kitsune should have a few of their own.
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