Avyctes
2010-10-04, 03:34 AM
While panning out an NPC sorcerer, I ran into a slight problem:
The character I was making, Ivan Rockwell, is a wealthy aristocrat who turns out to have unlocked his sorcerous heritage through research into blood-based transmutation magic. Although he is never going to be the main villain in the campaign, he will be a recurring one due to his usefulness and closeness to the main villain. This main villain has been consistently misleading and manipulating Ivan to utilize his unique bloodline and his near-supernatural mental prowess.
Anyways, while looking at his ability scores, I realized that I had not created the villain I had imagined: although Rockwell is the source of many of the intrigues and plots the PC's uncover, he is not the manipulator at the center. Looking at his 24+ Charisma score, I realized that this gave Ivan the ability to be personable and much more of a leader than I intended for my misled brainiac. To cope with this, I came up with the stats I thought a villain like the one I imagined would start with:
Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 12
1) a high intelligence score, showing Ivan's formidable mental capabilities.
2) a low wisdom to explain Ivan's inability to see the flaws in the main villain's logic and that he is being manipulated.
3)a medium to low charisma to show his inability to truly connect and/or communicate with normal individuals
The one problem I discovered after doing this, though, was that Ivan's sorcerous powers couldn't be all that powerful with a Charisma score of 12; when thinking about this further, I realized that Ivan, although a sorcerer, would probably rely on his prodigious intellect to help him control and focus his bloodline's power rather than his meager charisma.
I mean, does every sorcerer rely on charisma to utilize his innate abilities? Could not a wise sorcerer-sage exist? Or a wizard whose self-confidence and ego allow him to succeed where his intelligence could not?
Thinking of ways to fix/mitigate this, I came up with the following feats described below. Many of these feats were inspired by both the explanation above and the Academic and Dynamic Priest feats in Legends of the Twins.
Edit: Changed the feats so that the ability score specified applies to spell DC's only when the feat is taken twice. (10-08-2010)
New Feats:
-Academic Priest
Your study of divine magic relies more on recitation, memorization, and research-skills rather than most divine spellcasters.
pre: Intelligence 13+, Divine caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus divine spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable divine spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
If you have more than one divine spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. The bonuses apply to only the class chosen.
-Devout Sage
Your intuition and highly perceptive nature are the key to your connection to the divine.
pre: Wisdom 13+, Divine caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus divine spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable divine spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
If you have more than one divine spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
-Dynamic Magician
Your self-confidence and force of personality power your arcane magic.
pre: Charisma 13+, Arcane caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus arcane spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable arcane spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
If you have more than one arcane spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
-Dynamic Priest
Your self-confidence and force of personality power your divine magic.
pre: Charisma 13+, Divine caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus divine spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable divine spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
If you have more than one divine spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
-Postulative Mage
Your spells rely more on your keen intellect and knowledge than force of personality or intuition.
pre: Intelligence 13+, Arcane caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus arcane spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable arcane spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
If you have more than one arcane spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
-Power of the Dynamic
Your charisma and force of will empower your spells.
pre: Charisma 13+, caster level 1 or higher, Dynamic Magician [if arcane] or Dynamic Priest [if divine] feat.
When a character takes this feat, for the purpose of determining Spell DC's, his primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
-Power of the Postulate
Your keen intellect and postulative mind empower your spells.
pre: Intelligence 13+, caster level 1 or higher, Postulative Mage [if arcane] or Academic Priest [if divine] feat.
When a character takes this feat, for the purpose of determining Spell DC's, his primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
-Power of the Sage
Your intuition and highly perceptive nature empower your spells.
pre: Wisdom 13+, caster level 1 or higher, Sage-Magician [if arcane] or Devout Sage [if divine] feat.
When a character takes this feat, for the purpose of determining Spell DC's, his primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
-Sage-Magician
Your intuition and highly perceptive nature fuel your arcane studies.
pre: Wisdom 13+, Arcane caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus arcane spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable arcane spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
If you have more than one arcane spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
------------------------------------------------
So, what do you guys think? Is the feat selection balanced? does it seem fair? Can you think of a more efficient/better way to resolve this main spellcasting modifier conflict?
Hope to read your critiques soon. :)
The character I was making, Ivan Rockwell, is a wealthy aristocrat who turns out to have unlocked his sorcerous heritage through research into blood-based transmutation magic. Although he is never going to be the main villain in the campaign, he will be a recurring one due to his usefulness and closeness to the main villain. This main villain has been consistently misleading and manipulating Ivan to utilize his unique bloodline and his near-supernatural mental prowess.
Anyways, while looking at his ability scores, I realized that I had not created the villain I had imagined: although Rockwell is the source of many of the intrigues and plots the PC's uncover, he is not the manipulator at the center. Looking at his 24+ Charisma score, I realized that this gave Ivan the ability to be personable and much more of a leader than I intended for my misled brainiac. To cope with this, I came up with the stats I thought a villain like the one I imagined would start with:
Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 12
1) a high intelligence score, showing Ivan's formidable mental capabilities.
2) a low wisdom to explain Ivan's inability to see the flaws in the main villain's logic and that he is being manipulated.
3)a medium to low charisma to show his inability to truly connect and/or communicate with normal individuals
The one problem I discovered after doing this, though, was that Ivan's sorcerous powers couldn't be all that powerful with a Charisma score of 12; when thinking about this further, I realized that Ivan, although a sorcerer, would probably rely on his prodigious intellect to help him control and focus his bloodline's power rather than his meager charisma.
I mean, does every sorcerer rely on charisma to utilize his innate abilities? Could not a wise sorcerer-sage exist? Or a wizard whose self-confidence and ego allow him to succeed where his intelligence could not?
Thinking of ways to fix/mitigate this, I came up with the following feats described below. Many of these feats were inspired by both the explanation above and the Academic and Dynamic Priest feats in Legends of the Twins.
Edit: Changed the feats so that the ability score specified applies to spell DC's only when the feat is taken twice. (10-08-2010)
New Feats:
-Academic Priest
Your study of divine magic relies more on recitation, memorization, and research-skills rather than most divine spellcasters.
pre: Intelligence 13+, Divine caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus divine spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable divine spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
If you have more than one divine spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. The bonuses apply to only the class chosen.
-Devout Sage
Your intuition and highly perceptive nature are the key to your connection to the divine.
pre: Wisdom 13+, Divine caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus divine spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable divine spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
If you have more than one divine spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
-Dynamic Magician
Your self-confidence and force of personality power your arcane magic.
pre: Charisma 13+, Arcane caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus arcane spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable arcane spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
If you have more than one arcane spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
-Dynamic Priest
Your self-confidence and force of personality power your divine magic.
pre: Charisma 13+, Divine caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus divine spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable divine spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
If you have more than one divine spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
-Postulative Mage
Your spells rely more on your keen intellect and knowledge than force of personality or intuition.
pre: Intelligence 13+, Arcane caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus arcane spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable arcane spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
If you have more than one arcane spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
-Power of the Dynamic
Your charisma and force of will empower your spells.
pre: Charisma 13+, caster level 1 or higher, Dynamic Magician [if arcane] or Dynamic Priest [if divine] feat.
When a character takes this feat, for the purpose of determining Spell DC's, his primary spellcasting ability is Charisma.
-Power of the Postulate
Your keen intellect and postulative mind empower your spells.
pre: Intelligence 13+, caster level 1 or higher, Postulative Mage [if arcane] or Academic Priest [if divine] feat.
When a character takes this feat, for the purpose of determining Spell DC's, his primary spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
-Power of the Sage
Your intuition and highly perceptive nature empower your spells.
pre: Wisdom 13+, caster level 1 or higher, Sage-Magician [if arcane] or Devout Sage [if divine] feat.
When a character takes this feat, for the purpose of determining Spell DC's, his primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
-Sage-Magician
Your intuition and highly perceptive nature fuel your arcane studies.
pre: Wisdom 13+, Arcane caster level 1 or higher.
When a character takes this feat, he gains the following benefits:
-For the purpose of determining bonus arcane spells per day, your primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
-For the purpose of determining maximum castable arcane spell level, your primary spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
If you have more than one arcane spellcasting class, you must choose one when you take this feat. These bonuses (as well as the one below) apply to only the class chosen.
------------------------------------------------
So, what do you guys think? Is the feat selection balanced? does it seem fair? Can you think of a more efficient/better way to resolve this main spellcasting modifier conflict?
Hope to read your critiques soon. :)