Yet Another Shadowcaster Fix. PEACH

[The Shadowmind]

This is yet another installment of Yet Another X Fix, it has been a while since our last installment when we created a fix for the Enlightened spirit PrC, then we created a through the Mirror Darkly version of the Enlightened spirit:The Corrupted Spirit.

Ah from the Tome of Magic has gotten a lot of talk, to the flavorful and powerful Binder class to the waste of ink that is the Truenamer class, the ToM shows good and powerful to just down right bad. Then there is the Shadowcaster the black sheep of the family, if you pardon the pun. If not please keep it nonlethal, I might someday have a family I might need to feed.

Since the Shadowcaster has yet to even been declared which tier it is, exactly how far I need to push is unclear, so we are in a bumpy ride folks.

We will be using the unofficial unofficial errata by the developer as a part of the base, with only minor tweaks to that. (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/184955-shadowcaster-fixes-mouseferatu.html) The rest is based on the class as it was written.
The minor tweak is that if an mystery or fundamental becomes or is supernatural change the save DC from 10 + equivalent spell level + Cha to 10 + 1/2 caster level + Cha.
This means mysteries changed to supernatural would have the improved DC formula, as well fundamentals would have this formula.



Shadowcaster
Hit Die:D6
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Fundamental of Shadow, Apprentice Mysteries
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Bonus feat; see text

3rd|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+3|Umbral Sight(dark vision 30ft)

4th|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+4|Bonus Fundamental

5th|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|Sustaining Shadow(eat 1 meal/week

6th|
+4|
+5|
+2|
+5|Umbral Sight(dark vision 60ft)

7th|
+5|
+5|
+2|
+5|Apprentice mysteries(spell-like), Initiate mysteries

8th|
+6/+1|
+6|
+2|
+6|Bonus Apprentice mysteries

9th|
+6/+1|
+6|
+3|
+6|Umbral Sight(dark vision 90ft, normal and magical darkness)
10th|
+7/+2|
+7|
+3|
+7|Sustaining Shadow(Sleep 1 hour/day)
11th|
+8/+3|
+7|
+3|
+7|Sustaining Shadow (no need to breath, sleep, or eat.

12th|
+9/+4|
+8|
+4|
+8| Bonus Apprentice mystery, Umbral Sight 120ft (able to see colors)

13th|
+9/+4|
+8|
+4|
+8|Apprentice mysteries (supernatural), Initiate mysteries (spell-like),Master mysteries
14th|
+10/+5|
+9|
+4|
+9|Unlimited use of fundamentals

15th|
+11/+6/+1|
+9|
+5|
+9|Sustaining Shadow(Immunity to magical and normal poison and disease

16th|
+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+5|
+10|Bonus Initiate mystery

17th|
+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+5|
+10|Dark form
18th|
+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+6|
+11|
19th|
+14/+9/+4|
+11|
+6|
+11|Umbral Sense

20th|
+15/+10/+5|
+12|
+6|
+12 |Bonus Initiate,Unlimited use of Apprentice Mysteries|
[/table]
Class skills:Add Bluff,Disguise,Escape Artist, Forgery, and Gather information to the list of class skills.
New:
Dark Form:[/B(](Ex)At level 17 you gain the benefits of the Dark template, you do not gain the level adjustment from this template.

[b]Umbral Sense[b/](Su)A Shadowcaster at level 19th can detect and pinpoint beings, including mindess beings, within range of it dark vision. This works much like blindsense - the creature knows what square each thinking being is in, but it does not see the being, and the being still has total concealment unless the creature can see it by some other means.
The creature also perceives several observable characteristics about each being detected with Umbral Sense, including the being's type and Wisdom score.

A shadowcaster at level 20 gains an Unlimited use of Apprentice Mysteries.

Changes:Base attack bonus has increase by one step from poor to average.
Umbral sight, is 30ft Dark vision at level 3, 60ft dark vision at level 6, then 90ft dark vision for normal and magical darkness at level 9.

[b] The uses base uses per day of a mystery will now follow this pattern:
cast as spell: 2/day, cast as a spell-liki 3/day, cast as a supernatural ability 4/day. You still gain additional uses of mysteries from a high ability score as normal.



Instead of gain a new fundamental at level 4 and one every 4 levels after that, you instead a new mystery of a grade lower that the highest grade.

Level 15th's Sustaining Shadow effects more magical and non-magical poisons and diseases, instead of simply non-magical ones.

New Feat:
Extra mystery: You gain an additional mystery of up to one level(spell level,) below the highest mystery you can cast or you can gain a already know mystery of the same level as you can cast
Special:You can take this feat multiple times. A Shadowcaster may select this as a bonus feat gained from completing a path.
*This would mean a level 1 shadowcaster could have several copies of the same level 1 apprentice mysteries at level 1, but wouldn't be able to gain extra new mysteries with this until level 3.*
Changed feat:
Favored Mystery.
You do gain extra uses of the mystery as you would normally do so for a mystery going from a spell to a spell-like or a spell-like to a supernatural ability.

Note we still have 3 dead levels at level 11, 18, and 19. So if you want make a suggestion on how to fill it, be my guest.

[peacenlove]

Shameless plug to my work on the shadowcaster in my sig :smallbiggrin:

Outside of that however i believe that casting classes can get away with a few dead levels, there is no need to put abilities only for the sake of putting abilities.

Why medium attack bonus? Mind you at later levels and with still mystery they can easily wear armors and be on the frontlines without any mystery use. Also they do not rely on rays, instead having many save-or-sucks or battlefield control spells. Its not a bad addition however i wonder why it is necessary.

Swap dark form with the capstone sustaining shadow. Also i suggest improving the template to Shadow template or even the Shade template (refluffed and working even in day if desired) in forgotten realms campaign setting.

Sustaining shadow always felt to me lack luster and in need of improvement. The protection from magical poisons is an improvement.

Bonus mysteries are all good and cool but you should aim for a number of mysteries known equal or slightly less than the number of sorcerer spells known (34 i think at lvl 20 + runestaves + knowstones etc. ) Until then there no incentive to play a shadowcaster over a sorcerer. (and any fixes towards the shadowcaster should bring him up to tier 2 IMHO)

An idea for 18th level is to expand his umbral sight up to 120 feet and finally allow him to discern color even in magical darkness (something the original version didn't do)

Lastly he needs more skill points because he must split them into spell casting and hiding (and he needs to hide in order to deliver his close range spells since he has no luxury to select both offensive and defensive mysteries). 4 + int per level is cool in my experience.

[The Shadowmind]

I move around the normally capstone ability to fill the 11th level ability, since the capstone was weak anyway. Updated the umbral sight as suggested but did so at a earlier level. Added a Blindsight/Mindsight like creature, that works agaisnt undead and tells wisdom since you are sense the creatures shadow and its connection to the Planes of Shadow.
Changed the pass mysteries per day progression to put them closer to be between a wizard's and sorcerer's spells per day progression.

The BaB boost is more for early levels when pulling out a crossbow/morning star becomes a necessity, and to help if anyone is trying to gish with the shadowcaster, since several of the mysteries encourage it.