Well, I've had a bunch of you recommend different systems, none of which I have access to. I get that Pathfinder might not work for everybody, but given that I actually have access to it and an understanding of it, I think I can make it work if people are willing to work with me.
So.
Here's a work-in-progress model of how I am going to treat cultivation levels in terms of levels in pathfinder. Each realm encompasses 4 character levels with a total of 7 realms, progressing into epic levels and finally reaching Immortal Ancestor Realm at level 25.
I figure starting a game at either level 4 or level 7, for people to have an idea, so either at peak Houtian realm or at Late-stage Xiantian.
It may also help to think of non-cultivators as not even worthy of possessing class levels. Anybody who does is a cultivator. Even NPC classes are cultivators, as there are many many paths to immortality. Regular folk (non-cultivators) are like cannon fodder before cultivators, and can only hurt them utilizing advanced tech (firearms) or battle formations designed by cultivators/strategists to permit trained military units to engage cultivators. Even then, the loss of life is typically high, as these battle formations are treated more like monster swarms with a massive area than they are groups of individuals, and a simple attack on a formation will kill many at once.
Cultivation levels and Benefits
- Early-stage Houtian / Body-Tempering Realm
Awakening the body's meridians and aligning one's Essence, Qi and Spirit, tempering the body in preparation for further cultivation.
Character Levels 1-4
Immediate Realm benefits:
- +2 realm bonus to Constitution and +1 to any physical attribute.
Bonus Ki Feats:
- Ki Awakened - gain 2 Ki points - If a character gains a ki pool from a character class whether at character creation or later, this feat transforms into the Extra Ki feat.
- Speed of the Wind - at Xiantian realm and each realm after, this ki feat gains a permanent bonus ki feat permanently invested in it that cannot be expended, and does not count towards maximum ki invested.
- Footsteps of the Dragon - at Xiantian realm and each realm after, this ki feat gains a permanent bonus ki feat permanently invested in it that cannot be expended, and does not count towards maximum ki invested.
- Leopard Jump - at Xiantian realm and each realm after, this ki feat gains a permanent bonus ki feat permanently invested in it that cannot be expended, and does not count towards maximum ki invested.
- Vertical Prana - at Xiantian realm and each realm after, this ki feat gains a permanent bonus ki feat permanently invested in it that cannot be expended, and does not count towards maximum ki invested.
Ascending Realm benefits:
Level 2 - Mid-stage layer Houtian - +1 to any physical attribute
Level 3 - Late-stage layer Houtian - +1 to any physical attribute
Level 4 - Peak layer Houtian - +1 to any physical attribute
Early-Stage Xiantian / Heaven & Earth Realm
Character Levels 5-8
Involves establishing bridge to connect body with the 'Heaven and Earth'
Immediate Realm benefits:
- 1st mythic tier
- Gain access to Joss (IE: Action/Hero point system)
- +2 realm bonus to both one physical and one mental attribute
- Either +1 Strength Rank OR +1 Speed rank
Bonus ki feats:
- Sense Ki (from secondary ki feat list) - This feat is adjusted as following: The range for blindsense (including bonus range gained with ki expenditure) is doubled, and at every realm increase gained thereafter, the previous sense ki range is doubled again. A successful perception check is still required to locate people. Example: A Peak Layer Sage Realm cultivator (CL 16), would have a base sense ki blindsense range of 80ft, and can increase it by 80ft per additional ki spent. Upon reaching Great Sage realm, this would double again to 160ft base range as well as per ki point spent.
- Ki-infused organs - at Xiantian realm and each realm after, this ki feat gains a permanent bonus ki feat permanently invested in it that cannot be expended, and does not count towards maximum ki invested.
- Heart of the Dragon
- Flight of the Dragon - at Xiantian realm and each realm after, this ki feat gains a permanent bonus ki feat permanently invested in it that cannot be expended, and does not count towards maximum ki invested. Special: Once in Qi Condensation/Truth Realm, another tier of flight ability occurs when 6 ki are invested in this feat, permitting the cultivator to fly indefinitely as long as he retains ki focus.
Ascending Realm benefits:
6 - Mid-Stage layer Xiantian - +1 to mythic power/zhenqi pool
7 - Late-Stage layer Xiantian - +1 to mythic power/zhenqi pool
8 - Peak layer Xiantian - +1 to mythic power/zhenqi pool
Qi Condensation Realm/Truth Realm
Cultivation which involves absorbing Qi from the natural world and refining it inside the body.
Character Levels 9-12
Immediate Realm benefits:
- 2nd mythic tier
- Ascetic Control (as Enhancement Advanced Talent from Spheres of Power: by spending a ki point during 10m of meditation the cultivator can suppress his bodily functions of bleeding, eating, drinking, breathing and sleeping for the span of a month)
- +4 to one physical attribute, +2 to a different physical attribute.
- +4 to one mental attribute, +2 to a different mental attribute.
- +1 Speed Rank
- +1 Strength Rank
Ki Feats:
- Spiritual Pressure
- Body Control (from secondary ki feat list)
Ascending Realm benefits:
10 - Mid-Stage layer Truth realm - Extra Ki feat, +1 to mythic power/zhenqi pool
11 - Late-Stage layer Truth realm - Extra Ki feat, +1 to mythic power/zhenqi pool
12 - Peak layer Truth realm - Extra Ki feat, +1 to mythic power/zhenqi pool, 3rd mythic tier
- I am working on the remaining realms (Foundation Establishment/Sage Realm, Core Formation/Great Sage realm, Nascent Soul realm and finally Immortal Ancestor realm) to make it looks coherent as well, with the hope of getting a game to the point where it reaches these stages, but given the place I'd like to start, this is probably enough of an example of what my thought process has gone into.
Being attacked by someone/something with a lower cultivation realm grants the following bonuses:
+3 realm bonus to AC per realm difference.
+2 realm bonus to all saving throws per realm difference.
5/- damage reduction per realm difference which stacks with other damage reduction
+2 per realm difference bonus to any spell resistance innately possessed. Alternately, if no spell resistance is possessed, the cultivator gains spell resistance equal to 10 + character level versus all spell/spell-like abilities/ki attacks of his lower realm attacker.
Mythic power pool would be understood and referred to as Zhen-qi, purer than regular ki and required to utilize some mythic path and feat abilities. I am considering a higher realm ability or feat that would permit transferring zhen-qi to ki and vice versa, probably on a 1/2 or 1/3 exchange ratio.
The ki feats that people might recognize (or not) are mostly from here:
http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/jade-feats
Note that I am only using the Chakra/ki feats listed from this link
Here are the rules supporting these ki feats that I plan on also using. The ability to meditate and recover your ki should be noted in addition to using ki focus to utilize your chakra feats. The Ki Meditation feat from the above jade feat lists allows to to acquire ki focus as a move action instead of a full-round action, and I am considering a further homebrew feat that might permit it as a swift action. Might even just build the feats into the realm layers.
http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/ch-i
Speed and Strength ranks are shamelessly lifted from the Naruto d20 system, which I played ages ago, and is the only thing I plan on lifting from said system, the rest of it being hugely complicated relative to the rest of the d20 systems. Essentially you get speed and strength related bonuses when you are not suppressing these ranks, but it uses up your ki (chakra in the Nd20 system) at a specific rate dependent on rank. I'm not going to post the list of benefits here, but it would obviously be posted for the game.
More supplementary ki feats from the following link will be considered for PC's to take as well.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats...dary-games/ki-feats/
- This is where you will find the Sense Ki and Body Control feats from above.
A complete list of martial art style feats available, which can be used along-side Path of War stances (Path of War includes a feat enabling you to enter one of each simultaneously)
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/style-feats
If someone wants a specific kind of bloodline, a variety of templates can be used, but would of course require approval.
This message was last edited by the user at 06:50, Mon 23 July 2018.