Celestial Artist (3.5e Prestige Class)
Celestial Artist
| “ | "To join the universe with one's art, a steady hand must be held at all times..." | ” |
| —Lineeil of the New Moon, Kobold Celestial Artist, The Artist's Handbook | ||
Inspired by Okami, this class takes the innovative approach to combat by attacking using the ability to manifest powers through their drawings, or other talents. Note, the class is -inspired- by Okami, I'll strive to set it apart, and "DnD-ize" it.
Becoming a Celestial Artist
Celestial Artists have a powerful gift in that they can make their art come to life, whether they use it to reconstruct or repair the destroyed pieces of the world, or to vanquish their foes.
| Alignment: | Any Non-Evil. |
|---|---|
| Base Attack Bonus: | +4 |
| Skills: | Perform (Painting And Drawing) 4, Forgery 2 |
| Feats: | Quick Draw, Skill Focus (Perform) |
| Special: | The character must come into contact with a Celestial Artist whom perceives them as worthy to wield a brush, when they are approved of, another Artist's Handbook is handed down. |
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +1 | +0 | +2 | +2 | The Pen Is Mightier, The Paper Is Stronger, The World As A Canvas, Poison Use, Ink Sword 1d10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +2 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Reconstruct | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +3 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Create Wind, Water As Ink, Fire As Ink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +4 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Ink Sword 2d8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +5 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Ink Bomb 2d10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +6 | +2 | +4 | +4 | Ink Animal Familiar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +7 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Ink Bullets 2d4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +8 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Ink Sword 2d12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +9 | +3 | +6 | +6 | Summon Ink Animal Companions 1d4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +10 | +3 | +6 | +6 | Ink Bomb 3d10, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Celestial Artist.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Celestial Artists grant no additional proficiencies to a character.
Poison Use: Celestial Artists may use and apply poisons without danger to themselves.
The Pen Is Mightier: A Celestial Artists' pen (Whether it be a quill, a brush, a pen, or some other writing implement) is considered Adamantine, and has DR5 (Adamantine), gaining Hardness 20 and HP 10 (Or, keeping higher stats.)
The Paper Is Stronger: A Celestial Artists' paper (Whether it be parchment, fabric, tablet, or some other item which he can write or draw upon) is considered Adamantine, and has DR5 (Adamantine), gaining Hardness 20 and HP 10 (Or, keeping higher stats.)
The World As A Canvas: When the Celestial Artist wills it, any object she can write or draw upon acts as if a see-through glass of the world, she can see the world through it as if it were drawn upon the object before she'd even raised it to view. This facilitates her ability to attack, and create objects into the world, at range. This is a swift action when in combat, but provokes an attack of opportunity.
Ink Sword (Ex): A Celestial Artist may attack by slicing an enemy through "The World As A Canvas" using his brush or other writing implements. This deals 1d10 damage at 1st level, 2d8 damage at 4th, and 2d12 damage at 8th level. This counts as a Touch Attack, with a Critical of 2x, but the Celestial Artist does not add a bonus to the damage roll. You can make disarm attempts with this ability and may make a Coup de Grace attack upon a helpless foe. A Celestial Artist may poison a foe through use of poisons in his ink through this attack.
Reconstruct (Ex): A Celestial Artist of 2nd level may renew a structure, such as a bridge or wall or door, that is still partly intact using their Perform (Painting and Drawing) skill. For example, if a bridge has been collapsed, they may attempt to repair it by beating a DC of 20 vs. their Perform (Painting and Drawing) skill. This ability repairs structures, it does not recreate what the structure contained or held, it also does not grant the structure any magical enchantments it may have held before. Sample DCs below:
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 10 | A door in disrepair. |
| 15 | A destroyed wall. |
| 20 | A collapsed bridge. |
| 25 | A larger, broken structure. |
| 30 | An entire building. |
Create Wind (Ex): A Celestial Artist of 3rd level can create a Wind by making a DC Vs. their Perform (Painting and Drawing) skill. See the table [[1]] here for Wind effects.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 10 | Light |
| 15 | Moderate |
| 20 | Strong |
| 25 | Severe |
| 30 | Windstorm |
Water As Ink (Ex): A Celestial Artist of 3rd level may direct water along the path he draws from it, redirecting rivers or filling water skins without physically completing the task. This ability may not be used offensively against creatures.
Fire As Ink (Ex): A Celestial Artist of 3rd level may direct fire along the path he draws from it, redirecting flames or burning buildings without physically completing the task. This ability may not be used offensively against creatures.
Ink Bomb (Ex): A Celestial Artist of 5th level may create a bomb within 30 feet of themselves that after being created explodes, dealing 2d10 damage at 5th level, and 3d10 damage at 10th level to all creatures and characters within 5 feet of it. A Reflex save halves the damage, Evasion and Improved Evasion apply.
Ink Animal Familiar: A Celestial Artist may create a Familiar by using 200GP of materials, and half a day of repeated practice. The Familiar functions as an animal familiar with the Artists' choice from the Sorceror Familiar table as if he were a Sorcerer of his Celestial Artist levels.
Ink Bullets (Ex): A Celestial Artist of 7th level may attack an enemy within 30 feet, dealing 2d4 damage unerringly as if by the magic missile spell.
Summon Ink Animal Companions (Ex): A Celestial Artist of 9th level may summon 1d4 Ink Animal companions which remain for 1 hour, or until they are slain. These animals function as creatures from the Animal Companion table where the Celestial Artists' level is equal to it's Druid/Ranger level.
Ex-Celestial Artist
A Celestial Artist who becomes Evil, or violates the Artists' Code (See Below) no longer benefits from the bonuses of the Celestial Artist class, nor can he manifest his abilities.
A Celestial Artist who attempts to create an army to control the world also loses all their abilities as a Celestial Artist.
The Artists' Code
Any Celestial Artist who breaks this code of conduct must atone through the atonement spell, or never benefit from their levels in Celestial Artist again.
- Rule #1: Protect the innocent of heart, and the virtuous of soul. Do not stand for injustice or wrongdoing. (This rule specifies Evil for Evil's sake, thus a Celestial Artist may still yet travel with an Evil companion.)
- Rule #2: Hard Work is Rewarded. (This rule specifies that a Celestial Artist never takes shortcuts when the work is worth the reward, this rule -is- debatable, though, and often is.)
- Rule #3: To Vanish In Shadow Is Better Than To Be Treated As God. (This rule specifies that a Celestial Artist must never invoke his powers for fame and recognition, as their powers are only explained through the Divine, and to invoke a God/Goddesses' Wrath is a foul idea indeed.)
- Rule #4: Poison Only Whom You Must. (A popular tactic of Celestial Artists is to infuse their inks with Poisons, but this has come under ruling recently, leaving it a self-defense-only ruling.)
Campaign Information
Playing a Celestial Artist
Combat: Combat-Focused, Skilled
Resources: Celestial Artists are loners, and as such do not often gather.
Celestial Artists in the World
| “ | "Go through great pains for the innocent, virtue guides all the divine of our brushes." | ” |
NPC Reactions: NPCs treat most Celestial Artists as figures of myth, unsure as to whether to believe what they see, or pass it off as hysteria or a trick of the mind. As such, some NPCs react differently than others.
Celestial Artist Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Religion) can research Celestial Artists to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 11 | Celestial Artists are a creed of people who manifest powerful abilities through their art. |
| 16 | Celestial Artists can control the flow of water, and the ebb of fire. |
| 21 | Celestial Artists can reconstruct structures that have been ravaged by people, or time. |
| 26 | Any character who makes this DC knows of notable characters of this class, organizations, and gathering places. |
Celestial Artists in the Game
Adaptation: Celestial Artists have unique abilities that may turn the tide in some campaigns, so you may want to take greater note of their Reconstruction, Water as Ink, Fire as Ink, and Create Wind abilities most of all.
Sample Encounter: ECL18
EL18: To Come Soon
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