Hi all,

I'm not much of a coder/kit designer or anything, but when I was browsing through the D&D complete warrior book, I came across the prestige class Justiciar. I tried doing some stuff in the Kit Editor, but failed miserably...

I'm not sure if it is balanced or technically feasible, hey, maybe a kit is out there already, but I thought it would be a nice twist to the Bounty Hunter type character (and it's a great archetype: Westerns anyone :D ). Just wondering what you guys think (and maybe someone with more tech savvy might even be inspired ;) )

BTW. if there's a better place for this, please tell me. I'm fairly new on this board

Justiciar (Fighter Kit)

Description:

Where there are laws, there are those who defy them. There are also brave souls who hunt them down, and they are known as Justiciars. They don’t do it for money, they don’t do it for glory; they do it because it’s a thankless job that needs to be doing. As the regular forces of law tend to be cumbersome and ineffective, Justiciars cut out the red tape, while also giving criminals and wrong-doers a well deserved kick-around. While there are justiciars who act as judge, jury and executioner, others will leave their prey tied up (preferably in an as humiliating way as possible) for the authorities to find them.

Justiciars tend to be lone wolves, only seeking companionship when facing a powerful foe. The most important weapon of the Justiciar is fear: they depend on a reputation of efficiency, ruthlessness and stealth. They are the boogeymen of those considering straying off the paths of law.

Advantages

- Innate Ability: can cast Horror once per day for every 4 levels
- Can Hide in Shadows, like Ranger. Backstabs x2
- Special ability: stunning blow, starts at lvl 1, once per day per 5 levels onward, same as monks stunning blow while wielding weapon
- Innate Ability: Know Alignment once per day

Disadvantages

- Charisma -2
- Cannot use shields
- Cannot be proficient in Spears and Halberds

Other
- Must be Lawful (any)
- Can only dual to Cleric

[ March 13, 2006, 01:16: Message edited by: Vindicta_Mickey ]

if, I'm not wrong, you could possible make the kit, but will have to be a thief kit, not a fighter, since a fighter can't use hide.

Hmm, I kinda feared that one... Could be Ranger kit as well, but I don't like the Ranger's "must be good" alignment. Any workarounds there?

the alignment is not a problem

Actually, Stalkers are already ideally suited to this, particularly since they are the only kit that can use its Tracking ability in an urban area (by 2e rules). Just make your Stalker LG.

I also fail to see why you would want to attempt to make a 3e kit for a 2e game. :skeptic:

EDIT:
I remembered seeing something else along these lines in one of my 2e source books, and I finally found it. The Investigator thief kit is pretty much what you're describing, but it isn't so much a kit as you would think of it, with Special Benefits and Special Hindrances, as it is an alternative outlook. Investigators are basically normal thieves gameplay-wise, but diametrically opposed RP-wise. A regular LN thief would fit the bill fairly well.

[ March 13, 2006, 01:53: Message edited by: Felinoid ]

Well, Stalker is definitely closest of the pre-made kits. As far as making it yourself goes, the only real problem is the "cannot use shields" restriction, which is impossible to get on its own in BG2, owing to engine limitations. You have to use the restrictions of an existing kit or multi-class, and I can't think of one that matches. :skeptic: On the plus side, restricting proficiencies is easy, it's just a matter of fiddling with the appropriate .2da files. Stat penalties and special abilities are also pretty straightforward, especially if they mimic existing spells.
I also fail to see why you would want to attempt to make a 3e kit for a 2e game.Maybe you can't stand 3e for the most part, but want to play a particular character whose talents aren't directly represented by the 2e ruleset. ;)

"Actually, Stalkers are already ideally suited to this, particularly since they are the only kit that can use its Tracking ability in an urban area (by 2e rules). Just make your Stalker LG."

That was one of the reasons I wanted it to be more of a fighter. The way I see it, the Stalker is a scout for which stealth is a prime. Here, stealth is not a prime, but a nice option (he can still wear heavy armour if he wanted to). Closest thing I've seen was the Justifier (from a mod), but that one is more of a Ranger Leader.

Also, I don't like the "LG only then..." idea because some would use disproportionate force to bring a (petty) criminal down (which would be more LN or even LE).

"I also fail to see why you would want to attempt to make a 3e kit for a 2e game"

Not really a 3e kit, although I drew the inspiration from a 3e prestige class (which is not really a kit: pr.cl. are more of a "you must earn this to become it" kind of thing). It's not near a one-on-one conversion. Just thought that the good'ol "Batman" type of character was missing. Gameplay considerations came second, character type came first, and although the stalker come near, I had a feeling of "not quite"...

Thanks for the input by the way :)

I was still unsatisfied even with finding the Investigator, and finally I've found what I was looking for. The Huntsman is a kit for an elven F/T (found in the Complete Book of Elves). The special bonuses are +10% to both Hide in Shadows and Move Silently and no penalty on taking the Tracking non-weapon proficiency (translating into getting the HLA). The special hindrances are a 2 point reaction penalty (which could easily translate into a CHA penalty), not being able to use the Read Languages skill all thieves get (pass), and getting only 3d6*10 gp at start instead of 5d4*10 (30-180 instead of 50-200, wouldn't matter anyway in BG2).