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View Full Version : [3.5/Pathfinder] PrC: The Sigmarian Mage-Slayer



Golden-Esque
2011-06-12, 07:09 PM
Below is some quick information on the campaign that I designed this Prestige Class for. It is stated to appear EXTREMELY soon in my game, so I would like as much feedback as possible. It was designed as an NPC Prestige Class, but hopefully its good enough for anyone to want to take. It is designed using material from the Core Rulebook and Dreamscarred Press's Psionics Unleashed.


The campaign takes place in the City of Sigmar, which is part of the territory of Duke Karl Sigmund. Sigmund's lands are part of the Kingdom of Angelest, a former king having dividing his land among appointed dukes and duchesses to reduce the amount of land he personally had to govern. Those dukes and duchesses pass their titles down from family to family, but the king can (and has on occasion) revoked the status from appointed families.

Roughly 20 years prior to the beginning of the campaign, Duke Karl Sigmund took the title of Duke from his father. Upon parading through town with his wife, an assassination attempt was made on the Duke, but thanks to protective wards, the Duke wasn't killed. Instead, the shot meant for him ricocheted off and killed the duchesses, leaving Sigmund a widower. Blaming mages everywhere (though no proof ever arose that it was a magic user), Sigmund outlawed the practice of magic within his realm.

This was easier said then done, so Sigmund sent his men out to find a way to enforce this law. His men came across an ancient tribe of psicrafters who taught their younglings to negate the magical powers of the powerful aberrations that constantly besieged their home. Sigmund offered then sanctuary within his city if they agreed to stamp out magic within his home. The psicrafters agreed, and within five years all mage guilds were abolished and all but one clergy left the city. When argued against, Sigmund merely claimed that psionics was not magic (even though they are different means to identical results) and therefore was not illegal.

With no one willing to oppose Sigmund, his government ran fat and corrupt, using magic for his own cause. The city and its outlying towns are suffering, and it is in this state that the players discover Sigmar in. They have agreed to band together in an attempt to usurp control of the city. However, one of the primary factions that the group will have to deal with is the Sigmarian Mage-Slayers.


SIGMARIAN MAGE-SLAYER


http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs23/f/2008/023/8/0/Mage_Hunter_by_hunqwert.jpg

After the assassination of Duchess Sigmund, her husband outlawed the use of magic within his lands. Sigmund knew that he could never hope to impose this law on his own, however, so he sent his best men across the world for someone who could control the use of magic within his realm.

Those men stumbled upon the Shal’Zenaye Kingdoms on the southern continent. There, the practice of psionics thrives and an order of psionic monks learned the secret to protecting themselves from magic with their minds. Through untold means, Duke Sigmund was able to recruit the monastery to his cause and moved their headquarters into the heart of his realm. There, any child born with the psionic gift was immediately brought before the monastery and trained into an instrument of Duke Sigmund’s will; a powerful warrior with the ability to cull magic and incarcerate any who broke the law. Called the Sigmarian Mage-Slayers for their allegiances, these warriors are feared through the realms not only for their anti-magical properties, but also for their frightening psionic powers.

Role: Sigmarian Mage-Slayers are trained to be extremely durable, able to resist the most devastating of attacks. Their abilities allow them to endure the most powerful of attacks and spells, making them exceptional front-line fighters.
Alignment: Any Lawful.
Hit Die: d10

Requirements
To qualify to become a sigmarian mage-slayer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
Base Attack Bonus: +7
Feat: Psionic Weapon
Psionics: Must have a power point reserve of at least 1 power point.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks

Class Skills
The sigmarian mage-slayer’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Autohypnosis* (Wis), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), and Swim (Str).

Table: The Sigmarian Mage-Slayer

{table=head]Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special
01 | +1 | +1 | +0 | +1 | Arcane Disruption, Continued Training, Detect Magic, Magic Reduction 1
02 | +2 | +1 | +0 | +1 | Arcane Resilience, Sigmarian Craft
03 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +2 | Magic Reduction 2, Spell Resistance
04 | +4 | +2 | +1 | +2 | Sigmarian Craft
05 | +5 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Antimagic Mettle, Magic Reduction 3
06 | +6 | +3 | +2 | +3 | Sigmarian Craft
07 | +7 | +4 | +2 | +4 | Magic Reduction 4, Spell Turning
08 | +8 | +4 | +2 | +4 | Sigmarian Craft
09 | +9 | +5 | +3 | +5 | Improved Antimagic Mettle, Magic Reduction 5
10 | +10 | +5 | +3 | +5 | Antimagic Weapon, Sigmarian Craft[/table]


Class Features
All the following are class features of the sigmarian mage-slayer prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Sigmarian mage-slayers gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Arcane Disruption (Su): As a swift action, a sigmarian mage-slayer can expend their psionic focus to imbue their next weapon attack with disruptive energy. As long as one of their weapons is imbued in this way, the sigmarian mage-slayer cannot become psionically focused. When the weapon successfully hits a creature, that creature must make a Will save (DC 10 + the sigmarian mage-slayer’s prestige class level + their Wisdom modifier). If the creature fails its save, it suffers a 10% spell failure chance per sigmarian mage-slayer prestige class level they possess on the next spell cast or spell-like ability used. This ability does not affect any other types of abilities, even if they refer to spell failure chance.

This effect is temporary and lasts for 1 round per sigmarian mage-slayer level you possess or until the spellcaster casts a spell or uses a spell-like ability.

Continued Training: As the sigmarian mage-slayer trains in the arts of magic eradication, they continue to practice their original crafts. A sigmarian mag-slayer’s prestige class levels stack with their psychic warrior class level when determining the abilities gained from their warrior’s path class feature and with their soulknife level when determining their mindblade’s enhancement bonus. These levels do not stack for any other purposes. This ability does not grant the sigmarian mage-slayer any other psychic warrior class features associated with their warrior’s path.

Detect Magic (Pp): At will, a sigmarian mage-slayer can use detect magic, as the spell. A sigmarian mage-slayer can, as a move action, concentrate on a single item or individual within 60 feet and determine if it possesses any magical auras, learning the strength of its aura as if having studied it for 3 rounds. While focusing on one individual or object, the sigmarian mage-slayer does not detect magic in any other object or individual within range.

Arcane Resilience (Su): While a sigmarian mage-slayer is psionically focused, they gain a bonus on all saving throws against the effects of spells and spell-like abilities equal to their level in this prestige class.

Magic Reduction (Su): Sigmarian mage-slayers are highly attuned to the wave lengths of magic and can use this knowledge to resist spells with ease. By expending their psionic focus as an immediate action, a sigmarian mage-slayer can decrease the caster level of any spells or spell-like abilities that target them by 1 during the round this ability was used on. This affects all effects of the spell dependent on caster level, even if they do not directly affect the sigmarian mage-slayer (such as range, number of targets, and damage dealt to other creatures). If the spell targets more creatures then its new caster level would allow, the caster selects which creatures are no longer targeted. A spell whose caster level falls lower than the minimum caster level required to cast it functions normally based on its new level but suffers a 10% spell failure chance per level of the spell (maximum 90% failure chance for 9th level spells, cantrips are treated as 1st level spells for the purposes of this effect), as higher-level spells are dangerously unstable without the proper amount of energy.

At 3rd level and every two levels thereafter, this caster level penalty increases by 1, to a maximum reduction of 5 to the spell’s caster level at 9th level.

Sigmarian Craft: At 2nd level and every two levels thereafter, a sigmarian mage-slayer perfects one of the ancient techniques passed onto him by the ancient warriors whose knowledge originally founded their order.


Absorb Magic (Su): Whenever a psionic power or spell fails to overcome your spell resistance, you gain a number of power points equal to the spell or power’s level. You can choose to spend any number of these power points to instead heal 1d3 hit points. You must be a 4th level sigmarian mage-slayer in order to select this sigmarian craft.
Antimagic Armor (Su): Your presence significantly affects magical weapons, suppressing their enhancement bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls when the weapon is used to attack you by an amount equal to your magic reduction. This ability only applies against attacks that target you and it does not suppress the weapon’s masterwork status or any special properties the weapon possesses.
Antimagic Strike (Su): By expending your psionic focus as a swift action, you can ignore all bonuses to AC granted from spells, spell-like abilities, or magic items that your targets possess. This ability does not negate any other effects of those spells, spell-like abilities, or magic items except for bonuses to AC.
Dispelling Strike (Pp): As a swift action, a sigmarian mage-slayer can imbue their weapon with an effect that disrupts magical energy. This ability functions as dispel magic, using the mage-slayer’s hit dice as their caster level. When the sigmarian mage-slayer hits a creature or object with the imbued weapon, they can expend this charge to make their dispel attempt with the target of the attack functioning as the target of the effect.
Disruptive: You gain the Disruptive feat as a bonus feat, ignoring its normal prerequisites.
Hunter (Ex): You add your prestige class level to all Survival checks made to track creatures that have cast spells, used spell-like abilities, or have had those effects used on them within the past 24 hours. In addition, you benefit from the see invisibility spell at all times and you can see through magical darkness (but not regular darkness, unless you possess dark vision from another source). You also gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Sense Motive, and Survival checks per two prestige class levels you possess (maximum +10) when those skills are used against creatures capable of casting spells or spell-like abilities. Finally, you add half of your prestige class level to weapon damage rolls made against creatures that can cast spells, use spell-like abilities, or have a spell or spell-like ability active on them.
Improved Spell Resistance: Your spell resistance improves to 11 + your hit dice. You must be a 4th level sigmarian mage-slayer in order to select this sigmarian craft.
Improved Dispelling Strike (Pp): This functions as dispelling strike, except you can imbue your weapon with greater dispel magic instead. You can only use this ability to make a targeted dispel. A sigmarian mage-slayer must select the dispelling strike sigmarian craft in order to select this craft.
Magewreck (Pp): As a standard action, you can target one creature within 25 feet + 2 feet per HD you possess. If the creature can cast spells, use a spell-like ability, or has an active spell or spell-like ability targeting them, they become entangled for the duration of that spell effect. When the spell ends, so does the entangled condition. Escape Artist cannot be used to escape this condition, but it is suppressed by freedom of movement or similar effects.
Psionic Fortification: You gain a number of hit points equal to the number of psionic class levels you possess (a psionic class is any base class or prestige class that grants power points (or the Wild Talent feat) or possesses psi-like abilities.
Spellbreaker: You gain the Spellbreaker feat as a bonus feat, ignoring its normal prerequisites. You must possess the Disruptive sigmarian craft in order to select this sigmarian craft.

Spell Resistance: Starting at 3rd level, a sigmarian mage-slayer gains spell resistance equal to 6 + their sigmarian mage-slayer level.
Antimagic Mettle (Ex): Starting at 5th level, a sigmarian mage-slayer can shrug off the most deadly effects with ease. Whenever a sigmarian mage-slayer succeeds on a Fortitude save, they suffer no effects from the ability; even if it would normally have a half or partial effect on a successful saving throw. Whenever the sigmarian mage-slayer is targeted by a spell or spell-like ability that requires a saving throw, they can apply this ability against the spell, even against spells that require a Reflex or Will saving throw.
Improved Antimagic Mettle (Ex): At 9th level, a sigmarian mage-slayer’s mettle improves further still. This ability functions like antimagic mettle, except that while the sigmarian mage-slayer still suffers no effect on a successful Fortitude save, they are henceforth only partially affected on a saving throw. All numeric portions of the effect (such as damage and duration) are halved on a failed save. As with antimagic mettle, a sigmarian mage-slayer can apply this ability against any spells they are targeted by, even against spells that normally require a Reflex or Will saving throw.
Antimagic Containment (Pp): At 10th level, a sigmarian mage-slayer gains the ability to upset the natural magical vibrations that allow for spellcasting, making magic possible for a time. As a full-round action, the sigmarian mage-slayer can make an attack at their highest bonus against one creature. If it hits, instead of dealing damage, the creature is affected as if they were standing in an antimagic field for 1 round. The struck creature cannot cast spells or spell-like abilities, is completely unaffected by all spells and spell-like abilities targeting him or her, and has all active spells or spell-like abilities targeting them suppressed for the duration of this effect.

Psionics and the Spell Transparency Rule
This prestige class's power is increased or decreased based on whether your group plays with the spell transparency rule. Simply put, this rule determines whether psionics functions like magic or completely separate from it. If you play with the spell transparency rule, then all of this class's antimagic effects also apply to psionic powers; for example, dispelling strike could be used to dispel psionic effects. If the transparency rule is not in effect and magic and psionics are treated as different, then this class would only apply its effects against spells unless the GM decides otherwise. Regardless, it is up to the GM on how this class's abilities affect psionics.

Golden-Esque
2011-06-13, 04:29 PM
Updates and Changes:
---Fixed the class's Saving Throw progression.