Mafia game

Here is a game of online Mafia I am running based on Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 rules. It should be fun! Anyone reading this is welcome to check it out and even sign-up if they so choose.

Coralline Prophet

I've written up a prestige class based on my recent interest in saltwater aquaria and coral reefs. The abilities are quite good, but I feel like they are definitely not as good as Wild Shape (what a druid would be giving up) and its questionable whether its ever worth giving up spellcasting, so I think it should be okay for balance. Especially with the feat requirements, since Endurance and Expert Swimmer are hardly first choices for most spellcasters. Submitted for your approval...

Coralline Prophet

“The seas are brimming with life. Behold mother ocean in all her glory!”

-Toren Waterspout, Coralline Prophet

There are few places in the planes so bursting with life and energy as a coral reef, be it one on the material plane, the elemental plane of water, or in the celestial or abyssal seas. Coralline prophets are the devout followers of deities of the ocean and waves or worshippers of the seas themselves who wish to cultivate and spread knowledge and devotion to these cradles of life and abundance. They wear the ocean as their armor and wield it as their weapon, bringing it with them wherever they go as a constant reminder of its strength and beauty.

Becoming a Coralline Prophet

Coralline prophets are usually drawn from the ranks of druids and clerics born on coral atolls or near coral reefs. Although not the only pathway to becoming a Coralline prophet, it certainly is the most common one. Because the spellcasting requirements can be met by arcane spellcasters, the occasional sorcerer or wizard also will choose the path of the Coralline Prophet, despite the armor proficiency requirements, and it is also not uncommon for bards to spread the joy of the underseas jungles with their songs. Although some of the abilities granted by the Coralline Prophet certainly could be of some use in the thick of combat, non-spellcasters rarely if ever pursue this as a career path even if they somehow meet the requirements.

Entry Requirements

Feats: Expert Swimmer (Stormwrack), Armor Proficiency (Light)

Skills:  Knowledge (Nature) 8 ranks, Profession (Sailor) 8 ranks

Spells: Able to cast air breathing (Spell Compendium) and water breathing.

Special: Must spend a continuous twenty four hours swimming in and around a coral reef conducting the Ritual of Encrustation (see below).

Table 1-1 The Coralline Prophet						Hit Die: d8
Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special		Spellcasting
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Watery Companion, Sea Empathy, Coralline Crust AC 4		-
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Boon of the Sea		+1 level of existing spellcasting class
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+3	Coralline Crust AC 5		+1 level of existing spellcasting class
4th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Boon of the Sea		+1 level of existing spellcasting class
5th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Coralline Crust AC 6		+1 level of existing spellcasting class
6th	+4	+5	+2	+5	Boon of the Sea		+1 level of existing spellcasting class
7th	+5	+5	+2	+5	Coralline Crust AC 7		+1 level of existing spellcasting class
8th	+6	+6	+2	+6	Boon of the Sea		+1 level of existing spellcasting class
9th	+6	+6	+3	+6	Coralline Crust AC 8		+1 level of existing spellcasting class
10th	+7	+7	+3	+7	Watery Apotheosis, Boon of the Sea		+1 level of existing spellcasting class
Class Skills (2+Int modifier per level): Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (Nature), Profession, Ride, Spellcraft, Survival, Swim

Class Features

Your class features are all oriented around with mystical bond with the coral reef you call home. As your power grows you even begin to bring a piece of the coral reef around with you wherever you go.

Spellcasting: At every coralline prophet level beyond 1^st, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in an spellcasting class you belonged to before you added the prestige class. You do not, however, gain any other class benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a coralline prophet, you must decide which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day.

Watery Companion: A coralline prophet gains the services of an animal from the seas, imbued with special magic allowing it to accompany him on his terrestrial journeys. This companion must be chosen from the aquatic animal companions spells list (see Stormwrack, page 50). This ability functions in all ways as (and stacks with) the animal companion ability of the druid class except as mentioned here. Treat the coralline prophet as a druid equal to his class level for the purpose of determining animal companion abilities.

In addition to the normal animal companion benefits, however, the coralline prophet’s watery companion gains two additional benefits. They are under the effects of a continuous air breathing effect as a supernatural ability, and gain a fly speed with clumsy maneuverability equal to their swim speed. Unlike a normal fly speed, however, the watery companion cannot fly more than ten feet off of the ground or other solid, anchored surface, or the surface of water. The watery companion loses both of these abilities if they are ever more than a mile away from their master, but regains them once they are within said distance.

Sea Empathy: A coralline prophet gains the Wild Empathy ability. Treat them as a druid of their class level. This stacks with any druid levels or other classes which grant this ability. In addition, coralline prophets can use this on any creature with an intelligence of 1 or 2, regardless of creature type, if they have the aquatic or water subtypes, and if they are an animal with either of those subtypes, the coralline prophet gains a +4 circumstance bonus.

Coralline Crust (Ex and Su): At first level after the Ritual of Encrustation the coralline prophet’s skin is embedded with hundreds of living stony coral polyps, which slowly over time begin to expand, spread, and grow into a thick, armored shell. This grants the coralline prophet a +4 armor bonus to AC; however, the coral polyps prevent him from wearing armor. This armor bonus increases by 1 at every odd numbered coralline prophet level, to a total bonus of +8 at 9^th level. This armor has neither armor check penalty nor any arcane spell failure, and cannot be sundered or disarmed, or in fact removed at all under normal circumstances. It is counted as light armor for the purposes of how it interacts with class features. The coralline prophet can remove it in a painful procedure taking a full hour and dealing 1d6 points of damage per coralline prophet level to himself; doing so allows him to benefit from normal armor, but he loses all benefits of the Coralline Crust ability as well as all his Boons of the Sea until he spends at least one hour swimming in and around a coral reef to reencrust himself with coral polyps. This armor can be enchanted just like normal armor and is considered masterwork for the purpose. If the coralline prophet removes enchanted Coralline Crust from his body and then reencrusts himself, the new crust will not have the enchantments of the old crust. No one but the coralline prophet himself can remove the Coralline Crust.

The coralline crust is a living creature which thrives on the coralline prophet’s body despite being removed from the water. It provides an environment for the various creatures which grant the Coralline Prophet’s Boon of the Sea abilities. The armor bonus and stable living environment of the Coralline Crust are consider extraordinary abilities, and thus do not go away in an anti-magic field. However, while the boon of the sea creatures themselves are non-magical, the abilities they grant a coralline prophet are considered supernatural and thus cease to function in an antimagic field as the creatures hunker down within the coralline crust’s protective layers until the field passes.

Boon of the Sea (Ex and Su): At 2^nd level and every even coralline prophet level thereafter the coralline prophet gains a boon of the sea. This comes in the form of a living creature or creatures which inhabits his personal coralline crust and grants him special benefits. Although these are living creatures, as long as they remain within the coralline crust, they are considered part of the coralline prophet entity. As such, they cannot be individually targeted, damaged, harmed, or removed in any way except by the coralline prophet himself. They survive and thrive perfectly fine without food, water, or air as long as the coralline prophet himself lives. The coralline prophet can choose to remove one of these creatures from the coralline crust in a process which takes ten minutes and deals him 1d6 points of damage. The creature then becomes a normal creature of its type and acts and reacts as is normal for its type and its current location. The boon of the sea which that creature granted becomes non-functional until the coralline prophet returns to a coral reef and spends one hour swimming in and around it to acquire a new creature of the appropriate type. This does not allow the coralline prophet to change his boon of the sea choices.

The coralline prophet chooses his boons of the sea from the following choices:

Anemones: Large predatory sea anemones sprout from your coralline crust. You can seize these and utilize them as thrown weapons, despite the normal prohibition from removing creatures from your coralline crust. It is a free action to remove an anemone from your crust, and throwing one is an attack action. They are a thrown weapon with a range increment of 10 feet. A direct hit with a sea anemone delivers a potent paralytic neurotoxin, which acts as a poison dealing initial and secondary damage of 1d6 dexterity damage, fortitude save DC 10+your coralline prophet level+your Constitution modifier. You produce one anemone per class level per day for use in this manner, but you can never have more on hand than one per class level per day.

Crabs: Your coralline crust is covered with thousands of tiny crustaceans, milling about. Despite their small size these guys have hard shells, and they deliberately place themselves in harms way for you. They grant you a +2 natural armor bonus, or improve your existing natural armor bonus by 2.

Cuttlefish: A small pod of cuttlefish inhabit your coralline crust, aiding and abetting you in keeping a low profile. Their cryptic skills and color changing allow you to blend in better with your environment, despite the brightly colored coral encrusting your body. You gain a bonus on all hide checks equal to your class level, and can Hide in Plain sight as the ranger ability – i.e., only in natural settings even while observed.

Detritivores: Small creatures such as sea cucumbers, brittle stars, and lawnmower gobies inhabit your coralline crust, ensuring it and you stay clean and healthy. Once per day, if you ever fall below 0 hit points, these detritivores burst into action, cleaning the wound and work to stitch you back into shape. This automatically, without an action, heals you by 1d8 points of damage, +1 per class level. This healing can even prevent death if it would prevent you from dropping below -10 hit points.

Giant Clam: One of these peaceful giants has taken residence on your body. Once per class level per day the clam can attempt to clasp its mighty shell around the weapon of someone who has successfully hit and damaged you. The wielder of the weapon must make a reflex save DC 10+your class level+your strength modifier or be disarmed.

Moray Eel: A moral eel has found a comfortable crevice in which to lurk within your coralline crust. Grateful for the lodging, the eel will gleefully bite opponents who get to close. This effectively grants you a secondary bite attack as a natural weapon. This bite attack deals 1d6 points of damage plus half your strength bonus.

Octopus: A small octopus occupies a small niche in your coralline crust, extending its curious tentacles forth to help you in matters of grasping. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus in all grapple checks, and the octopus can also be used to hold and retrieve items. Retrieving stowed items becomes a swift action, as your octopus anticipates your desire and retrieves whatever item is needed as soon as you reach for it from your pack, even magical ones such as bags of holding. The octopus can also be used to hold items just as a third hand, but it cannot be used to wield weapons or cast spells or hold a shield in such a way as to confer a shield bonus.

Sea Turtle: A small sea turtle takes up residence in and around your coralline crust, venturing out to swim through the air (just like your watery companion, or an ioun stone) in small circles around your body before hiding once more in crevices in the crust. This sea turtle gives you a +2 shield bonus to your armor class, but allows you to still use both hands for other purposes such as wielding a two handed weapon or spellcasting. This shield bonus does not stack with that of any other kind of shield. The sea turtle can be enchanted just like a normal masterwork shield. The same rules for enchanting coralline crust apply to enchanting the sea turtle.

Sea Stars: Your coralline crust is home to numerous larger echinoderms known as sea stars. As a free action you may draw one of these from your crust and use it as a thrown weapon. These thrown weapons act as shuriken in all ways, except you are considered proficient with them automatically. Much like how the coralline crust can be enchanted as armor, you may enchant your entire colony of sea stars as a single weapon, and any sea star thrown will gain the benefits of that enchantment. There are no daily limits on how many sea stars may be thrown, although it is considered common courtesy to allow any thrown sea stars to reattach themselves after a battle.

Sea Urchins: Sea urchins crawl all over your coralline crust. As a standard action you may shake a number of these off into your own square and all those within five feet of you. The next time someone other than yourself steps into these squares, they must make a reflex save DC 10+your class level+your constitution modifier or take 1d4 points of damage and have their movement speed slowed by half. A successful heal check DC 15 or any magical healing restores their movement speed. You may shake off any number of sea urchins per day, but it is common courtesy to allow any urchins to return to your coralline crust after a battle.

Shark: A small cat shark has decided to call your coralline crust its home. Although it is too small to do much damage to opponents, its sharp senses will be a great aid to you. Having a shark in residence grants you the Scent ability with a 30 foot radius. This expands to 200 feet under water, where the shark’s senses come into their own.

Squid: A squid takes up residence in one of the crannies of your coralline crust. When danger is afoot and you need to skip town extra fast, the squid can come to your aid, jetting you across the battlefield nearly instantaneously. For one round, you can move up to ten times your normal movement speed in a straight line as a full round action. This provokes attacks of opportunity as normal, and counts as running in terms of how it affects you and your AC. You can do this at will, but once done you cannot do it again for ten minutes, as it takes a lot out of the squid. In addition, once per day the squid can ink while jetting. This reproduces the effect of a fog cloud spell centered on your original location when you began the jet.

Stinging Cells: The corals composing your coralline crust develop long trailing feeding tentacles used to grasp prey or ward off competing coral which can deliver a painful touch to those who get to close to you with hostile intent. Any enemy who approaches within five feet of you must make a fortitude save DC 10+your coralline prophet level+your Constitution modifier or become sickened for 1 minute.

Zoanthids: Your coralline crust is inhabited by zoanthids, small sessile corals containing powerful contact poisons called palytoxins. Anyone you strike with an unarmed strike or natural weapon must make a save versus this poison, and anyone who strikes you with either of those must also save versus the poison. The save DC is equal to 10+your coralline prophet level+your Constitution modifier, and the initial and secondary damage is 1d4 constitution. The Zoanthids produce enough palytoxin for one dose per class level per day at maximum; after that point the polyps withdraw their tentacles to rest until the next day, and your attacks are no longer poisoned nor are others poisoned by attacking you. You cannot store up poison beyond one dose per class level per day. It is not possible to safely harvest this poison from yourself, as it kills the zoanthids.

Zooxanthellae: The coral encrusting your body is cohabitates with tiny algal cells which enable the corals to photosynthesize. They pass along some of these nutrients to you. On any day that you consume at least one gallon of water and spend at least one hour in direct sunlight, it is unnecessary for you to eat. Spending a full eight hours in direct sunlight makes you so refreshed you no longer need to sleep, either.

Playing a Coralline Prophet

You believe that the coral reef represents a natural paradise beneath the sea, a veritable
Eden which should be admired, protected, and revered. You may worship a oceanic deity, or perhaps merely the sea itself in a broader sense, but your devotion to the coral reef itself borders of the religious. You place your trust in it, and in exchange, it arms you and armors you, providing you with the tools to accomplish your goals and protect the reef from those who might harm it.

Combat

You have many tools at your disposal for both defending yourself and dispatching enemies. Your coralline crust is your first line of defense. Although initially weaker than many armors you might wear, it grows as you do, and soon you can augment it to points that enemies will shy away from attacking you for fear of what your sea creatures might inflict upon them. Offensively as well your friends from the deep can come to your aid, but above all it is important to not forget your spells. Although your boons of the sea are useful, fundamentally you are still a spellcaster and it is through your spells that you will find most success eliminating enemies of the oceans.

Advancement

Coralline prophets have no overarching structure or hierarchies. Many individuals find themselves drawn to the reef and undergo the ritual of encrustation on their own through divine inspiration. Most, however, are inducted into the ranks by small covens of coralline prophets, functioning much like druidic groves do. Regardless of which way you were drawn into the fold, the ritual of encrustation is the same: a twenty four hour ordeal during which chunks of living coral, known as frags, are embedded into your skin and sealed there by magic, all conducted underwater in a coral reef. Loners usually find it necessary to prepare multiple casts of water breathing to survive, unless they can breathe underwater naturally, whereas those trained by covens usually have their breathing needs handled by their superiors.

Coral reefs are usually protected by various druids of underwater races, and thus while a coralline prophet may be in residence in or near one temporarily, most do not actually spend their time exclusively among the reefs. Rather, they are the traveling evangelists of the sea, adventuring on the surface and spreading the glory of the deep seas to the ignorant landwalkers.

When advancing as a coralline prophet, you have important choices to make when selecting boons of the sea, and whether to augment your defensive or offensive capabilities. Your feats should reflect this choice as well, playing to your strengths – a build focusing on sea stars and anemones might select Point Blank Shot, for instance, whereas one focusing on Zoanthids might select Ability Focus (Zoanthids) or Dodge. Also consider feats which augment your spell casting capabilities such as Augment Summoning or Extend Spell – your spellcasting should always be your go to abilities, and you should not ignore it in favor of Boons of the Sea.

Resources

A coralline prophet is their own personal social network. They are constantly aided by all manner of sea creatures in their daily life via their boons and watery companion. Their sea empathy ability also allows them to call upon the services of many denizens of the deep, provided they are skillful at persuading them to come to their aid.

Druids of all sorts are friendly to coralline prophets, although some might find the presumption that coral reefs are somehow extraordinarily special to be a little off-putting. Still, it is rare for a druid to not come to the aid of a coralline prophet to the best of their ability, at least when it counts. Aquatic fey are also usually friendly to them, and intelligent underseas races are usually at least neutral, as even sahaugin understand the importance of preserving their fishing sites from the predations of those who would destroy them, even as they themselves exploit them.

Most other surface groups see coralline prophets as oddities at best and madmen at worst. Although few people are actively unfriendly to them, many think their obsession bizarre and unhealthy, and thus would give them relatively little attention or care.

Coralline Prophets in the World

“A servant of the coral must be every aspect of a coral reef – a sturdy foundation like the coral, a stalwart defender like the sea turtle, a fierce predator like the shark – if they are to truly serve it fully.”

-Gulo Swiftflow, coralline prophet

Although one might imagine that coralline prophets would be most common in races which live underwater, this is not actually the case. Most coralline prophets come communities of land races who live in close contact with the sea and depend on it for their daily sustenance. It is these people who most prize coral reefs, as without their bounty they would starve. In these communities coralline prophets often fill the same role a druid, cleric, adept, or similar would serve, as a shaman, wiseman, and healer.

Organization

As previously noted, coralline prophets have no large organization or leaders. Local covens usually associated with druid groves, often joining larger hierarchies of druids in a full or tangential capacity.

NPC Reactions

Few things seem innately crazier than someone ranting on endlessly about the glories of the deep ocean while standing in the middle of dry land – and it doesn’t help if that person appears to have some sort of skin disease and a flying shark in tow! Coralline prophets wish to spread the good news of the bounty of the sea, but most NPCs would sooner put them in an asylum than give them the time of day. Spellcasters, druids, and adventurers in general are likely to be more understanding of their oddities, but even these may find their obsession off putting. Coralline prophets are nothing if not persistent, however, and are not easily fazed. While few villages not on the coast have been converted to the worship of coral reefs, many have begun to tolerate the itinerant preachers as harmless at worst and occasionally quite helpful, since most prophets have a protective streak a mile wide.

Coralline Prophet Lore

Characters who have ranks in Knowledge (Nature) or the bardic knowledge skill can research Coralline Prophets to know more about them. When a character makes a successful skill check or bardic knowledge check, read or paraphrase the following information, including the information from the lower DCs:

DC 10: Coralline prophets are spellcasters with an interest in coral reefs.

DC 15: They are so closely connected to the sea that they encrust their bodies with pieces of live coral, which acts as a living armor.

DC 20: They also host numerous creatures of the sea within this miniature coral reef, some of which can be quite deadly.

DC 30: Coralline prophets wish to spread knowledge and reverence of coral reefs across the world. Their mystical abilities allow them to become a walking, talking coral reef, complete with an entire scale ecosystem on their own flesh. They can be likened best to a force of nature rather than a single individual.

Coralline Prophets in the Game

Coralline prophets can readily adapt to pretty much any adventuring party, provided its aims do not directly conflict with those of the prophet. They are not significantly more zealous than any other druid or nature-focused cleric, if perhaps a bit more focused. Since a single level of spellcasting is not a hugely onerous sacrifice to make, they can easily serve as a primary spellcaster of a group, but their boons of the sea allow them to serve other roles as necessary as well, adding some flexibility in exchange for raw spellcasting power.