Talk:Phantom Limb (3.5e Feat)

Rating

	The-Marksman likes this article and rated it 3 of 4.
	This is a creative and fun idea and it just needs a little polish and this will be a feat that could bring tons of various scenarios and resolutions to problems you might not normally think of. I like it.

Hmm Perhaps

I see your idea, I like your idea, but besides picking the optimal method of one ghost arm and one normal, you're giving non-stop Wraithstrike to unarmed builds.

Now, while unarmed does need all the help it can get, it doesn't need THIS much help. Perhaps you could be better off making your attacks with said arm effectively Brilliant Energy instead which at least only bones over your human opponents. It would still be worth the Very High moniker. There is good reason why ghost touch attacks tends to be limited to that pitiful 1d6 entropy zap rather than an actual slam or unarmed attack.

Could also tighten up by reducing fluff in the mechanics section. Other than that, it's an interesting concept. -- Eiji-kun (talk) 02:10, 26 February 2018 (MST)

The idea was originally to just have it be one arm, but I gave the option for it to be two, just so it's the player's choice.

I understand what you're saying, though there is a lot of rather nasty ITA's that deal ability damage or energy drain instead of or alongside that pitiful 1d6/1d8. I just... Don't really see how it would be a big problem, at least in the department of noncasters getting nice things. Unarmed-spec Monks, for example, struggle to compete with a greatsword-wielding Fighter until higher levels, because the unarmed damage sucks - And without an Amulet of Natural attacks, which needs reworked anyway (Why can you put Throwing and Returning on your headbutt attack? Wouldn't you be dead after using it once?), you can't even add enchantments. Admittedly, adding Defending to both fists would break Monk's AC even more, but yeah.

I think for tonight I'll leave it as it is, and look it over later today when I'm more awake. Surgo and I were discussing this thing in the Discord chat a couple days ago when i first had the idea; I've only just now gotten around to writing it out. Making it work like BE might work, but also listing that Strength does not apply to the damage, etc. would also help. The big thing is, this only screws over creatures that rely on armor or natural armor for AC. Dex-based builds like Monk, Swordsage, or even a Shield + Mage Armor'd Sorcerer (Or a Warded creature) are going to be harder for this to have an effect on.

And except for the line in the Special section about the optional glow, I don't see where I'm mixing mechanics and fluff all that much. Though, it is a very fluff-centric feat anyway. Oh well. I'll look at it with fresh eyes another time if it continues to receive similar comments. --Zhenra-Khal (talk) 02:34, 26 February 2018 (MST)

I can see the balance issue with giving the PC wraith touch doing ability damage and energy drain on unarmed strikes. I think this can be balanced in 1 of 2 ways. First my choice would be to place a % chance on whether or not a successful strike done by the character causes energy drain or ability damage. Setting it at like 50% or maybe even a little less (Eiji?) would make it so that it doesnt always happen and that alone I think would balance it. Or secondly you can put a restriction saying that any attack that deals more than X damage (1d6 or 1d8?) doesnt cause the ability damage or energy drain effect. I think either one of these would balance it and thats the only issue I see with this. There is a little fluff talk but the only one that felt out of place was the mention of glowing hands reaching for you being unnerving. I feel that isnt needed, but the rest is fine. I would like a little extra fluff somewhere saying how this even happens or comes to pass to get this ghostly arm. Maybe have to be a victim of ITA yourself first? All in all, I really like this, its a little powerful but not brokenly so. I think if you put some kind of balance restriction on the ability damage / energy drain it'll be perfect. For now I'll give this a like but if that part gets balanced, I'll change it to favor. The-Marksman (talk) 07:05, 27 February 2018 (MST)

Actually, I'm not sure where you got the notion that it gives them the ability to deal ability damage. This just allows you to turn one of your unarmed attacks or natural weapons into a touch attack, dealing the same damage; So unless they find a way to deal ability damage with their unarmed/natural attacks from another source, they don't get ability damage or energy drain, just the normal damage.

I considered having the ITA have a 20% or 50% miss chance and making a feat to improve it later on. And I am likely going to specify that your Strength bonus does not apply to the damage of the incorporeal touch attack. So really, this is going to be 1d4 damage for a medium creature, unless they take levels in something like Monk, and unless they stick with that for several levels, they're not going to get anything bigger than a d6 or d8 anyway. That's a lot of level investment for something that is so easy to counter, in my opinion. The main issue is devastating natural attacks on larger creatures, like slams, being used with this feat.

This concept is based partially on the character Tomix, from the game Dragnfable. He's a Soulweaver, someone who can manipulate raw spiritual energy and weave or unravel it - Normally used to make incredibly durable cloth that can be as protective as armor, but can also be used to shred or mend the souls of the living. Soulweavers do so using special gauntlets known as Spiritlooms. They also have a spirit companion that is their connection to the spirit realm and the conduit through which they gain the raw soulstuff to shape and use.

Tomix was an ambitious student at the academy, and a bit of a troublemaker. One of the other students dared him to try to weave a coat using the headmaster's Spiritlooms - In which the spirits of the seven deadly sins were imprisoned. He ended up releasing the spirits by accident, and they began to try and consume him - Turning his skin pale, crimson hair white, his blue eyes gold, and leaving him covered in scars. He would have died if another spirit hadn't intervened - The spirit Aspar, who became his companion.

He spent several years hunting the corrupt spirits. During the battle with Greed, his spiritlooms were shattered, leaving his hands ghostly and purple-black. It's never actually stated that his hands are incorporeal after this accident, but the appearance is the exact same as the spiritual attacks Tomix uses in battle.

I did add some small example fluffs to get the mind thinking, without detailing them enough to make the reader lock in to any one idea, which is usually what I ry to achieve with my writing style :P Anyway, I hope this has cleared up some of the confusion. --Zhenra-Khal (talk) 13:34, 27 February 2018 (MST)