So, last time I looked at one of these classes, I went with the Shadow. It's a class I'm probably most excited to play, but also one that is arguably one of the simpler classes (the Summoner, currently in playtesting, is being framed as an "advanced" class, and one that I almost feel like you should have some experience running the game as a Director before trying out).
The Null is, I think, likely one of the more complex classes, though we're going to kind of explore whether that's truly the case in this deep-dive.
If you squint, the Null is roughly Draw Steel's equivalent to the Monk, as an unarmed, unarmored martial melee class. But there's a bit more specificity here - Nulls are one of two heavily psionics-themed classes (along with the more traditional Psion in the Talent,) and the ethos of fighting without weapons or armor extends to the Null's theme of using psionics to become kind of the anti-magic class.
Nulls have two characteristics that automatically scale up to the highest you can get: Agility and Intuition (5E veterans will recognize these as the equivalents of Dexterity and Wisdom, reinforcing the "Monk" comparisons.)
Again, my intent is not to just give you the entire class here, focusing on class features. Of course, abilities are really where these classes get most of their power. Null abilities tend to be melee-range, so you'll definitely be something of a front-line fighter. Unlike other martial characters, you don't get a Kit, so you'll need to rely on your class features like Psionic Augmentation to make up for it.
Heroic Resource: Discipline
Like all Draw Steel classes, you fuel your abilities with your Heroic Resource. Nulls have Discipline. When combat starts, you gain Discipline equal to your Victories (same as any class) and then at the start of each of your turns, you gain 2. (Again, there's a subtle order versus chaos theme in the classes, with Nulls landing on the order side of things. Ironically, the other psionic class, the Talent, gets 1d3, so clearly psionics are alignment-agnostic). You'll also gain one additional Discipline when an enemy inside your Null Field (a very important core mechanic we'll discuss below) uses a main action each combat round. Additionally, the first time in a combat round that the Director uses an ability that costs Malice (the "villainous resource,") you'll get one as well.
This means that there's a very good chance you can get 4 Discipline in a round, unless your Director is banking Malice (given how much they generate each turn, though, when I eventually run this, I'm probably going to be spending Malice like it's going out of style).
Subclasses:
The "Null Traditions" you can choose from are your subclasses.
Chronokinetics gives you time powers, allowing you to treat time as another dimension through which to move.
Cryokinetics tap into absolute cold, the essential energy of stillness, manifesting icy effects with your body.
Metakinetics see through the illusions of the universe to understand their body and psionic potential. (I think this is the more "physical mastery" subclass).
Core Features:
At level 1, the first and really core feature is your Null Field. As a maneuver, you can emit an aura around you that lasts until you are dying or willingly end it, even persisting outside of combat (meaning I'd expect you're going to keep this up at all times, though I guess you have the option of dropping it). Each enemy within the aura reduces their Potencies by 1 (potencies, remember, are attached to various abilities, where you might say "if your Might is less than 1, you're restrained." If an enemy used something like this, you could tell them "actually, only if my Might is less than 0, because they're in my Null Field.)
Additionally, as a free maneuver on each of your turns, you can spend 1 discipline to gain one of the following benefits until the start of your next turn: Gravitic Disruption lets you slide a target 2 squares the first time they take damage. Inertial Anchor says that any enemy who starts their turn in the Null Field can't shift (meaning they can't move away without drawing opportunity attacks). Synaptic Break increases the potency of your and your allies' abilities against enemies within the field.
Also at 1, you get Inertial Shield, your primary triggered action. You can use this when you take damage, halving it. You can also spend 1 Discipline to reduce the potency of an effect associated with the damage by 1.
In other words, Nulls are very much about avoiding the nasty non-damage effects of most monsters' abilities (though note that some effects don't involve potencies).
Discipline Mastery, also at level 1, gives you various benefits as your pool of Discipline grows higher. You gain the benefits as soon as you reach that amount of Discipline, and they last until the end of your turn, even if you spend enough to put you below the threshold.
Each subclass has different "tracks" of mastery benefits, with buffs you receive for having 2 (meaning every turn unless some monster prevents you from gaining resources,) 4, and 6 Discipline, and at higher levels, 7, 10, and 12.
Next, Null Speed increases both your speed and the number of squares you can shift when you Disengage by a number of squares equal to your Agility.
Yes, we're not done with level 1.
Psionic Augmentation lets you choose from three different augmentations, increasing your Stamina, adding damage to your psionic abilities, or increasing you speed further. You can swap these as a respite activity.
Lastly, before the abilities, you get Psionic Martial Arts, which lets you use Intuition instead of Might for the power rolls for the Knockback and Grab manuevers, and when you use the Knockback manuever, you can slide targets instead of pushing them (meaning you can send them in any horizontal direction, and even change their direction mid-forced-movement.)
Notably, Nulls are the only martial class that doesn't get kits, so you pick two Signature abilities from your class.
At level 3, you get Psionic Leap, which lets you long jump and high jump a distance equal to twice your Agility without making a test.
Also at 3, you get Reorder, which lets you use a free triggered action at the start of each of your turns to end an effect on you that can be ended with a saving throw or that ends at the end of your turn. You can also use this on a creature within your Null Field.
At 4, you get Enhanced Null Field. Your aura now removes temporary supernatural terrain effects of your level or lower when it overlaps with any part of them.
Regenerative Field now increases the Discipline you get when a creature uses their main action in your field from 1 to 2.
At level 6, you get Elemental Absorption, which, when you use Inertial Shield, gives you immunity to acid, cold, corruption, fire, lightning, poison and sonic damage equal to your Intuition score against the triggering damage (one note I'd love to see clarified, is whether this immunity applies before or after halving the damage. That might be buried somewhere in the rules, like what order you apply these generally.)
Elemental Buffer (also at 6) says that when you reduce the aforementioned damage types with damage immunity, you gain 2 surges that can be used only to increase the damage of your next strike. (So, using both will mean adding two times your Agility to the strike).
At level 7, you get Psi Boost. When you use an ability as a main action or maneuver that has the Psionic keyword, you can spend additional discipline to grant additional effects, which last until the end of the turn in which you use the ability. You can apply as many psi boosts as you like, spending discipline for each one, though you can't use the same boost multiple times at the same time.
The psi boosts range in cost from 1 to 5 discipline, and will do things like allowing you to target additional creatures, deal more damage, give area effects a larger area, etc.
Also at 7, Improved Body increases the amount of Discipline you get at the start of your turn from 2 to 3.
At level 9, you get I am the Weapon, which increases your Stamina by 21 and you can't be made bleeding, even when dying (which normally gives you bleeding). You no longer age or have need of food. Also, you can use Intuition instead of other characteristics when resisting potencies (given that you've got, at this level, a 4 in Intuition, and then also your Null Field, you're only ever going to be affected by potency abilities of very powerful monsters).
At level 10, you get Manifold Body, which increases the discipline you get at the start of each turn from 3 to 4.
Manifold Resonance allows you, at the end of a respite, to shift yourself and any creatures in the area of your Null Field to any location in the Timescape (Draw Steel's multiverse) that is known to you, or a creature in the area, or where any supernatural treasure in the area has been before.
Also, whenever you use an ability, you gain 1 discipline that can only be used to apply a Psi Boost feature to that ability.
Also, you and any allies in your Null Field ignore banes and double banes on your power rolls.
Finally, Order is a new epic resource that you gain when you gain XP. You can spend order as if it were discipline, and it remains until you spend it.
At the start of each combat encounter, you can spend 1 order to increase the size of your Null Field by 1 until the end of the encounter.
So, there you have it. I will say, I think the class gets a lot of its complexity at level 1, but seems fairly manageable beyond that. Truly, the key here is that they're going to be able to shrug off a lot of effects, especially in the endgame.
No comments:
Post a Comment