Magic missile master

[silverknife615]

For the longest time in my D&D career I have pondered over the exact extent a spell caster could master the spell magic missile. Finding no other way to make the character I wanted, I made my own.

This is my first time making a full 20 level class. Any and all suggestions and modifications are welcomed. also, i am new to this forum, so if i am breaking any rules by posting this, i appologise

Magic missile master

Magic missile, it is one of the simplest spells known. Popular the world over, and usually one that any wizard can cast. Yet there are some that dedicate their lives to this simple spell. Making it the focus of their magical study they take a common, mundane spell, and turn it into a never missing killing blow.

Adventures: life is a great laboratory, and missile master knows this. They adventure to enhance his spellcasting abilities and to learn new ways to improve magic missile.

Characteristics: the missile master is similar to the wizard in many respects, with a hint of eccentric childish stubbornness, and a smattering of a snipers focus

Alignment: over all missile masters are neutral to the ideas of law and chaos. They have a wizard’s pension for organized study, with the understanding that the laws are more guidelines really.

Religion: Baccob is the primary deity of the missile master. His neutrality leaves missile masters to decide for themselves where to stand on the good/evil debate

Game rule information

Abilities: intelligence is essential for the wizard-like missile master. Also, good dexterity will help to improve their armor class and a decent constitution score will give them hit points that they would not usually get many of

Alignment: any.

Hit die: d4
BAB: poor
Saves: fort; poor, ref; poor, will; good

Class skills
The magic missile master’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (con), craft (int), decipher script (int), knowledge (all, but taken individually) (int), profession (wis), spell craft (int)
Skill points at first level: (2+int modifier) x4
Skill points at each additional level: 2+int modifier

Class features

Weapon and armor proficiencies: magic missile masters are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff. They are not proficient with any types of armor or shields.

Spells: as wizard of the same level

Bonus languages: as a wizard

Familiar: as a wizard/sorcerer

Missile multiplication: a missile masters able to create more magic missiles with every spell they cast. For every caster level beyond 1st they gain another missile, with a maximum of 10. for example, a 15th level wizard casting magic missile would create 5 missiles, a missile master of the same level would create 8

Missile manipulation: a magic missile master is able, through their intense focus, to increase the damage that each missile does. At 1st level they become 1d6, at 4th 2d4, at 8th 2d6, at 12th 4d4, at 16th 3d6, at 20th 5d4. in addition, instead of simply adding 1 to the damage die, a missile master adds a number of points equal to their missile master level. For example, a 9th level magic missile master’s missiles each do 2d6+9 damage

Spell mastery: starting at 1st level, a magic missile master can prepare magic missile without the use of their spell book

Subdual substation: starting at 2nd level, a magic missile master can apply the feat, subdual substation, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way.

Silent spell: starting at 3rd level, a magic missile master can apply the feat, silent spell, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way.

Still spell: starting at 4th level, a magic missile master can apply the feat, still spell, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way.

Purify/defile spell: starting at 5th level, a magic missile master can apply either the purify spell feat if good aligned, or the defile spell* feat if evilly aligned, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way. Neutral missile masters must choose one or the other.

Enlarge spell: starting at 6th level, a magic missile master can apply the feat, enlarge spell, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way.

Sudden subdual: starting at 7th level, once a day, a magic missile master can apply the feat, sudden subdual, to their magic missiles.

Spell penetration: starting at 8th levels a magic missile master’s missiles gain a +2 bonus to overcome spell resistance

Sudden silent: starting at 9th level, once a day, a magic missile master can apply the feat, sudden silent, to their magic missiles.

Sudden still: starting at 10th level, once a day, a magic missile master can apply the feat, sudden still, to their magic missiles.

Empower spell: starting at 11th level, a magic missile master can apply the feat, empower spell, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way.

Sudden purify/defile: starting at 12th level, once a day, a magic missile master can apply the either purify or defile spell, to their magic missiles. They may only use the one that matches the one they chose 5th level.

Maximize spell: starting at 13th level, a magic missile master can apply the feat, empower spell, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way.

Sudden enlarge: starting at 14th level, once a day, a magic missile master can apply the feat, sudden enlarge, to their magic missiles.

Greater spell penetration: at 15th level a magic missile master’s missiles can an additional +2 bonus to overcome spell resistance

Sudden empower: starting at 15th level, once a day, a magic missile master can apply the feat, sudden empower, to their magic missiles.

Chain spell: starting at 16th level, a magic missile master can apply the feat, chain spell, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way.

Sudden maximize: starting at 17th level, once a day, a magic missile master can apply the feat, sudden maximize, to their magic missiles.

Quicken spell: starting at 18th level, a magic missile master can apply the feat, quicken spell, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way.

Sudden chain: starting at 19th level, once a day, a magic missile master can apply the feat, sudden chain, to their magic missiles.

Sudden quicken: starting at 20th level, once a day, a magic missile master can apply the feat, sudden quicken, to their magic missiles.


New feat

*defile spell
Benefit: a spell you modify with this feat gains the evil descriptor. Furthermore, if the spell deals damage, neutral creatures take half damage, or one quarter damage with a successful saving throw (if allowed), while evil creatures take no damage at all. good outsiders affected by the spell take extra damage: the spells damage is increased one die size (d4 becomes d6, d6 becomes d8 and so on)

A defiled spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spells actual level.

[Dhavaer]

It'd actually suggest making this a prestige class, like the Master of the Unseen Hand. I think the already is one, actually. Argent Savant, I beleive it's called.

[Darkie]

The magic missile becomes far too powerful at higher levels.

This part of the reason it was nerfed in the latest editions, and a cap placed on how many missiles you could do.

If you want more magic missiles, make a higher level spell.

For example, other level 1 spells do 5d4 in a cone (~12.5), or 5d6 with a touch attack to a single target (17.5). Magic missile does 5d4+5 to multiple/single targets without a touch attack (~17.5). It's already one of the best spells out there.

Now, a 3rd level spell has 6d6 explosive runes (~21), and 10d6 lightning bolts/fireballs which are area of effect at cap (~35). A 3rd level magic missile spell that caps at 10d4+10 (~35) but gives you 1 missile per level (as opposed to 1/3) would be balanced, ja?

This means at level 5, a wizard can toss 5d6 (~17.5) fireballs, or 5d4+5 (~17.5) magic missiles (which is an upgrade from the 3d4+3 (~10.5. Burning hands does ~12.5 at level 5, but has a save for half. Shocking grasp does ~17.5 at this point but is touch) he can toss at level 5 with the level 1 version), at level 9 the 1st level version tosses 5d4+5 (~17.5), the fireballs are 9d6 (~31.5), and the level 3 magic missile does 9d4+9 (~31.5).

See? Balanced.
If you just make up new higher level variants of magic missile in this manner (you can work out a magic missile for every spell-level, really), you don't have to fiddle with classes, and it's far easier to balance.

[Seerow]

1)
Maximize spell: starting at 13th level, a magic missile master can apply the feat, empower spell, to their magic missiles, preparing them in the normal way.

Im sure that was just a copy and paste typo, but still.


2) I agree it should be a prestige class.

3) Look for some balance. Consider by 20th level here you have 10 missiles doing 5d4+20 each. We're talking 32.5 per missile, or ~325 damage total.

Compare that to Meteor Swarm, which does 24d6, or ~84 Damage total.

See the difference there?

Edit: Also note that Meteor Swarm is Fire, so is subject to resistance, and is subject to a saving throw for Reflex half (Making 42 damage more likely), while Magic Missile is only subject to SR.

[Darkie]

Magic Missile is also a force effect, which has additional benefits in addition to not being elemental damage.

[Hallavast]

The third level spell chain missile and the fourth level spell force missiles are effectively higher level versions of magic missile. They can be found in the Spell Compedium on pages 44 and 98.

[Starbuck_II]

If you just make up new higher level variants of magic missile in this manner (you can work out a magic missile for every spell-level, really), you don't have to fiddle with classes, and it's far easier to balance.
Agreed.

What would a second level magic missile do?
2 missile + 1 every 2 levels after 1st max 7?

That would do 7d4 +7 at level 9 which is only 2d4+2 more.

[Rei_Jin]

I'd make it a variant wizard type with a specialisation within the Evocation school. Not only does he have to become an Evoker, he also gives up access to other Evocation spells in exchange for this power.

His Magic Missile spells become something like a domain for him, like a cleric, in that he can spontaneously cast Magic Missile in place of any spell, and for each level above 1 that he trades in he gets 1 extra missile and the damage cap goes up by 1. The worst this gets is at level 17, with 14d4+14 as a level 9 spell. That's an average of 49 damage, with no save and no to hit. That's really not bad, and it's not over powered.

In place of the bonus feats that a wizard normally gains, he gains access to a sudden metamagic feat that only applies to Magic Missile, but he can use them 1+1/2 int mod times per day, so if he has an intelligence of 18, thats 3 times per day for each sudden metamagic.

If done this way, it is balanced fairly well. He basically loses 3 schools of magic(Except for Magic Missile) and in exchange he gains huge ability with Magic Missile.

Thoughts? Comments?

[Rykaj]

This is really quite sick, the missiles become obscenely powerful. Sudden quicken, maximize and empower combined at level 20 make it an instant 10*(20+20)*1.5 or 600 damage. And that's before the round started.
I really like the idea though, you should give him some drawbacks (I didn't see any drawbacks over an ordinary wizard) and remove some of the abilities, especially missile manipulation.

[Meat Shield]

I could have sworn that I saw somewhere a force mage, a wizard specialist that specialized in force spells the same as an evoker or enchanter in their respective schools. The intent of this proposed class would fall into this I believe, or the force mage could be altered to make it more magic missile-like.

The class specialized in the Bigby spells, Tenser's disc, wall of force, and of course, magic missile. It may have been second edition now that I think about it.

I think it gave more missiles, but did not increase the damage on each one.

Does this sound familiar to anyone, or am I crazy (again)?

[Spaz]

If this is just using magic missle, wouldn't a simple sield spell defeat the whole class or did I drastically miss something?

[The_Werebear]

Ehehe

Very good point. I can imagine that. All of your years of training and practice, foiled by a level 2 sorcerer with nothing better to do than spam sheild.

[Seerow]

Spaz just won, this topic can be closed now.

[starwoof]

There actually is a prestige class that exists for this. Argent Savant focuses on force in general.

I beleive the name is 'Force Missile Mage' and they are exclusive magic missile users. They gain extra missiles and can generate sheilds. Its in the dragon compendium.

[Rei_Jin]

I was just curious, what kind of drawback do you think losing 3 schools of magic is?

And in regards to Shield, it stops level 1 Magic Missile, not the higher level versions. So you call the one you get Force Missile or something, and it can be cast for any spell level.

And yes, an empowered, maximised quickened Magic Missile cast by a level 17 caster can do a lot of damage, in total? 105 points of damage. So very, very much, when compared to the same things put on a Meteor swarm (324)

It's a matter of balance, and the options I provided are if anything a little underpowered, not overpowered.

[Seerow]

Except we were all still responding to the original post, not yours.

In which that's 600 damage instead of 105, just illustrating that yes, his class is a bit broken =P

[Rei_Jin]

True that, my apologies.

[Toliudar]

There is also a 5-level prestige class that ran in Dragon a year or two ago, the Force Missile Mage, that had some nice flavour, didn't overpower (no bonus damage to the individual missiles, but added a missile, added a few special abilities related to metamagic and Shield spells, and maintained four levels of caster progression. One of my PC's is taking this, and it's seemed fairly balanced (if anything, a bit underpowered). This might be another useful source of inspiration.

[Abd al-Azrad]

All I know is, NWN gives you the 6th-level Issac's Greater Missile Storm that deals 1 missile/level, 2d6 damage each. This spell is the single most powerful spell in the game. As a 9th-level maximized spell, it deals 240 damage, no save, no touch attack, no energy resistance.

This is too much, and even for a 9th-level spell, and even if the missiles get randomly targeted (it still kills the BBEG instantly). Don't go overboard with Magic Missile upgrades.

[Dhavaer]

Heh heh. I remember that. It was a great spell.
Has anyone else heard of the Argent Savant, or did I make it up?

[Bizwacky]

No, you didn't make it up, well unless you wrote complete arcane, in which case....