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View Full Version : Warmage fix [PEACH]



Faleldir
2010-01-14, 08:16 PM
Everyone hates the Warmage base class because it's good for blasting and nothing else. If you want to give it more diverse abilities, that's fine, but I don't. I want to make it better at blasting than any other class.

WARNING: THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED.

[spoiler]
WARMAGE

Abilities: Charisma, Intelligence, Constitution, Dexterity
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: 1d6 + CON

Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (history), Profession, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
Skill Points: 2 + INT

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th| 9th

1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Armored Mage (light), Warmage Edge (damage), Quick Cast 1/day, Energy Substitution 1/encounter|5|3

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Arcane Warding, Quick Cast 2/day|6|4

3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|Advanced Learning|6|5

4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Warmage Feat|6|6|3

5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Advanced Learning, Quick Cast 3/day, Energy Substitution 2/encounter|6|6|4

6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Warmage Edge (caster level checks)|6|6|5|3

7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Advanced Learning|6|6|6|4

8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|Warmage Feat, Quick Cast 4/day|6|6|6|5|3

9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|Advanced Learning|6|6|6|6|4

10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Armored Mage (medium), Energy Substitution 3/encounter|6|6|6|6|5|3

11th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Advanced Learning, Quick Cast 5/day|6|6|6|6|6|4

12th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8|Warmage Feat, Warmage Edge (Reflex save DCs)|6|6|6|6|6|5|3

13th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8|Advanced Learning|6|6|6|6|6|6|4

14th|
+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+9|Quick Cast 6/day|6|6|6|6|6|6|5|3

15th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+9|Advanced Learning, Energy Substitution 4/encounter|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|4

16th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10|Warmage Feat|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|5|3

17th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10|Advanced Learning, Quick Cast 7/day|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|4

18th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Warmage Edge (no save)|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|5|3

19th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Advanced Learning|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|4

20th|
+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|Warmage Feat, Quick Cast 8/day, Energy Substitution 5/encounter|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|6|6[/table]

Proficiencies: All simple weapons, light armor, light shields

Spells: You cast spontaneous Charisma-based arcane spells from the Warmage spell list.
You start the game knowing 4 0th-level spells and 4 1st-level spells.
At each subsequent class level, you learn 2 additional spells of any spell level you can cast.
You don't know your spells automatically like a normal Warmage; this was changed to avoid Rainbow Servant cheese.
Assay Spell Resistance is added to your spell list.

Armored Mage: When casting Warmage spells, you ignore the Arcane Spell Failure of light armor and light shields.
At 10th level, this ability also applies to medium armor.

Warmage Edge: When you cast a Warmage spell that deals HP damage, you may add your Intelligence bonus (if any) + 1d6 per spell level to one damage roll.
If a spell involves multiple damage rolls, you choose which one recieves the bonus after hitting and before rolling for damage.
At 6th level, you add your Intelligence bonus (if any) to caster level checks when casting Warmage spells.
At 12th level, you add your Intelligence bonus (if any) to the Reflex save DCs of your Warmage spells.
At 18th level, your Warmage Edge damage cannot be reduced or avoided by a save. All other effects of the spell are resolved normally.

Quick Cast: Once per day, you may cast a Warmage spell with a casting time of one standard action as a swift action.
At 2ndlevel and every 3 levels thereafter, you gain one additional daily use of this ability.

Energy Substitution: Once per encounter, when you cast a Warmage spell with a casting time of one standard action that deals HP damage, you may change its damage type to acid, cold, electricity, fire or sonic, as if you had the corresponding Energy Substitution feat. The altered spell's descriptors change accordingly, and its casting time increases to one full-round action.

Arcane Warding: At 2nd level, you add your Intelligence bonus (if any) to all saving throws.
This bonus does not stack with Divine Grace.

Advanced Learning: At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you learn one additional Evocation spell from any spell list.

Warmage Feats: At 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain a Metamagic, Sudden Metamagic or Reserve feat.
You must meet all the prerequisites for these feats.
[spoiler]

Is it too powerful?

Latronis
2010-01-14, 11:36 PM
The best warmage edge fix I've seen is 1/2(Int*CL) as it keeps a nice steady progression of damage throughout all levels, lowers at the lowest levels when it's too strong as written, and much much better at higher levels when the original version is insignificant. Your version is roughly equivelent to empowering a CLd6 spell. Not as good with a higher die.

Although that's perhaps a little over the top with your energy affinity as written, though energy affinity as written for the vast majority of spells is merely only going to result greater spell penetration for spells with that damage type(since most energy spells are capped @ a CL lower than full class level). Granted some of the higher level ones arn't capped or have bonuses capped beyond 20cl, but that only makes it a top heavy ability, aiding lowbies by getting the damage cap quicker, and letting higher levels o the same with the highest level spells but misses out on the midling levels.

Maybe break it up a little, Progress it to +2CL adjust the edge as i recommend. The other 2 versions can give you a substitution effect changing spells that deal energy damage into your chosen energy type and spells of the chosen type ignore 50% resistance. Which will overall result in more damage and effectiveness with your type of energy.

Advanced Learning could be improved. At the least let them take spells with the subtype of your chosen energy affinity [Fire] for example(from any spell list).

I don't think divine grace is going to be enough of a problem to warrant specifically excluding it stacking with arcane warding.

Warmage feats and quick cast. Personally I don't like giving out metamagic feats to spontaneous casters, it feels too much like a study based bonus. But that's just me. Personally I'd just give them the most blastery sudden metamagic feats for free, and then advance to the uses to 3\day. (which is like giving them a handful of free metamagic rods, which is fine since the spell list is so specific(damage)) Say.. Sudden Empower, Widen, Maximize, Twin(just use the same format to make a sudden version) Quicken.. Then Any sudden metamagic feat you know may know be used upto 3 times per day.

Quick cast isn't something that should be given straight off the bat imo either. Especially since it's only slightly worse than sudden quicken, which they get for free.. at 1st level. Except then you let it advance upto 8 times a day. Way too much.

DragoonWraith
2010-01-14, 11:56 PM
I completely agree; Warmage should be blasty. The Warmage isn't just bad because it can only be a blaster, it's bad because it can only be a mediocre blaster. However, yours needs ways around resistances/immunities, ways of piercing SR, maybe a way around Evasion. I've seen better Warmage's Edge fixes, personally, though yours is fine. Finally, I think the Warmage should maintain its fixed spell list with spontaneous casting of any spell from the list, but! you should give the Warmage some blasty spells a level early. Meteor Storm as an 8th level spell? Lesser Orb of X as a cantrip? Can be abused by things that let other casters learn spells off of its list, but then those are always abusable.

Dante & Vergil
2010-01-15, 12:19 AM
If Meteor Swarm is 8th level, what do you give them for 9th level?

arguskos
2010-01-15, 12:41 AM
If Meteor Swarm is 8th level, what do you give them for 9th level?
Something worth having for blasting, such as Maw of Chaos (shouldn't be Abjuration :smallfurious:).

Latronis
2010-01-15, 12:43 AM
storm of vengenance? crushing hand? implosion maybe?

I think the idea was only the most straight forward blastery spells would be level reduced

Faleldir
2010-01-15, 08:18 AM
These are all good suggestions, but I don't understand why ER, SR or Evasion would be a problem if you automatically know your spells. Wouldn't you always be able to cast a spell against which your opponent has no resistance?

Anyway, in light of your very polite constructive criticism, I replaced Quick Cast with Sudden Substitution and removed Energy Affinity. At 6th level, you add your INT to caster level checks. At 12th level, you add your INT to Reflex save DCs. At 18th level, you add your INT to... something, I haven't decided yet. Is that better?

Burley
2010-01-15, 09:33 AM
I suggest you check your wording on the Spells section. You have "spells known" instead of "spells per day." Warmages know every spell on their small spell list.

Faleldir
2010-01-15, 10:10 AM
Yes, I know. I changed that on purpose to avoid Rainbow Servant cheese.
It's still more than most classes get.

Latronis
2010-01-16, 04:47 PM
These are all good suggestions, but I don't understand why ER, SR or Evasion would be a problem if you automatically know your spells. Wouldn't you always be able to cast a spell against which your opponent has no resistance?

Anyway, in light of your very polite constructive criticism, I replaced Quick Cast with Sudden Substitution and removed Energy Affinity. At 6th level, you add your INT to caster level checks. At 12th level, you add your INT to Reflex save DCs. At 18th level, you add your INT to... something, I haven't decided yet. Is that better?

I don't know if you should remove Quick cast altogether. Without it you can't get either Quicken spell or sudden quicken normally(it would require previous feat investment) and it's quite handy to have for a blaster. Just probably not from level 1 and not too often.

For something that is pretty much solely an arcane artillery platform Into to caster level is probably fine. Though advanced learning may potentially throw a wrench in the works.

reflex save DCs I'm not so sure about atm. My gut says it probably won't matter for many things, and something with improved evasion will still only take at worst half damage. So it's probably fine.