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Tuvarkz
2015-06-26, 12:39 PM
So, after rewatching Trinity Seven after the BDs came out, I had this idea: What about a caster class whose entire shtick is countering and copying its opponents' spells? I also happened to glance at the Sin Magic part amongst Wizard schools, and got this idea.
Notes: Yes, I know that as one of the original eight sins, Sadness was specifically intended as envy, but I needed something for Divination, and it fit darn well (Much more than vainglory), so I decided to run with it.
Last Update: 20/07/2015, at 9:11 GMT+1
Changelog for last Update: Added Arcane Strike in addition to Eschew Materials at level 2-Eschew Materials as a class feature is too weak for a Tier 3. Clarified some wording too.

The Fiend Lord
http://i.imgur.com/giSTfLxl.jpg

Sometimes, humanoids are born with powerful fiendish magical energy of unknown origin, their bloodlines devoid of outsider influence.Always driven by a grand purpose, which manifests at the latest on the very day their powers manifest, Fiend Lords constantly try to gain as much power as necessary to fulfill said purpose. Due to their recorded appearances often ending in great destruction and tragedy, Fiend Lords are commonly hunted down by those who would rather prevent another such event.

Fiend Lords embrace Sin Magic spontaneously, with one particular exception: While a Sin Wizard may delve into the Sin they’ve chosen, Fiend Lords, instead, lack the Sin they embrace upon choosing a school to specialize in. They also possess the special capability of counter most kinds of magic and copy them without much effort.
Envy-Abjuration
Gluttony-Necromancy
Greed-Transmutation
Lust-Enchantment
Pride-Illusion
Sadness-Divination
Sloth-Conjuration
Wrath-Evocation

Alignment: Never evil (as per the beginning of their career, although many of them end up being corrupted), rarely neutral in the law-chaos axis.
Often aware of the fate of their fellows, two paths of action tend to form:
Fiend Lords of Envy, Gluttony, Lust and Wrath tend to think that because one mistake would cost them everything, believe they should plan their actions to avoid making said mistakes at any cost. They strongly tend towards lawful alignments
Fiend Lords of Greed, Pride, Sadness and Sloth either for the same reason, or because of their confidence tend to risk everything on their actions. They strongly tend towards chaotic alignments.
The few Fiend Lords that don’t tend towards law or chaos are most of the time either of Envy or Pride.

Starting Age: Intuitive

Races: Fiend Lords never possess any outsider blood.

Other Classes: Fiend Lords permanently emit a magic aura, and thus, aware of their bad reputations, and to conceal their identities, they remain in company of pure martial combatants, disguising themselves as sorcerers or magi.
Fellow arcane spellcasters are most of the time uncooperative, unwilling to allow the fiend lord to copy their spells and research. A few good-aligned divine spellcasters, aware of the fiend lords’ plight, sometimes offer help in private.

Hit Die: d8

Starting Wealth: As Magus

Class Skills:
Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks per Level: 4+ Int Modifier

Table: The Fiend Lord



Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Class Feature
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th



1st
+0
+0
+0
+2
Spellcasting, Counterspell, Aura of Magic, Grimoire
1
-
-
-
-
-



2nd
+1
+0
+0
+3
Combat Magic
2
-
-
-
-
-



3rd
+2
+1
+1
+3
Martial Training I
3
-
-
-
-
-



4th
+3
+1
+1
+4
Dispel Magic
3
1
-
-
-
-



5th
+3
+1
+1
+4
Maneuver Recovery
4
2
-
-
-
-



6th
+4
+2
+2
+5
Martial Training II
4
3
-
-
-
-




7th
+5
+2
+2
+5
Improved Combat Training
4
3
1
-
-
-




8th
+6/+1
+2
+2
+6
Improved Counterspell
4
4
2
-
-
-




9th
+6/+1
+3
+3
+6
Martial Training III
5
4
3
-
-
-




10th
+7/+2
+3
+3
+7
Adaptive Magic
5
4
3
1
-
-




11th
+8/+3
+3
+3
+7
Improved Grimoire
5
4
4
2
-
-




12th
+9/+4
+4
+4
+8
Martial Training IV
5
5
4
3
-
-




13th
+9/+4
+4
+4
+8
Demon Lord Possession
5
5
4
3
1
-




14th
+10/+5
+4
+4
+9
Greater Counterspell
5
5
4
4
2
-




15th
+11/+6/+1
+5
+5
+9
Martial Training V
5
5
5
4
3
-




16th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+5
+10
Magic Controller
5
5
5
4
3
1




17th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+5
+10
Increased Spell Access
5
5
5
4
4
2




18th
+13/+8/+3
+6
+6
+11
Martial Training VI
5
5
5
5
4
3




19th
+14/+9/+4
+6
+6
+11
Combat Magic Mastery
5
5
5
5
5
4




20th
+15/+10/+5
+6
+6
+12
Master of Magic
5
5
5
5
5
5




Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A Fiend Lord is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. A Fiend Lord is also proficient with light armor. He can cast spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a Fiend Lord wearing medium armor, heavy armor, or a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component.

Spellcasting

A Fiend Lord may cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. To cast a spell, a fiend lord must have a Charisma modifier equal to 10+the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a fiend lord’s spell is 10+the spell level+his Charisma modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a Fiend Lord can cast only a certain number of spells of each level each day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Fiend Lord. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score.

A Fiend Lord’s starting selection of spells is limited. A fiend lord starts play with three 0-level spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list belonging to his chosen Sin.
At each new Fiend Lord level, he gains one or more new spells of the school associated with his Sin, as indicated on Table: Base Fiend Lord spells known.
In addition, the spells whose school match that of his Sin have their DC increased by 2.

Should a fiend lord somehow get his hands on a divine spell (see Counterspell and Grimoire), he may cast it as an arcane spell, ignoring the divine focus requirement (should said spell have a material component as an alternative, he must use it). Should the spell have varying levels depending on class, the Fiend Lord uses either the wizard/sorcerer class, or the class/domain from which he copied it, whichever is lower.

Table: Base Fiend Lord spells known


Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th


1st
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
1
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
2
-
-
-
-
-


4th
2
1
-
-
-
-


5th
3
1
-
-
-
-


6th
3
2
-
-
-
-



7th
3
2
1
-
-
-



8th
4
3
1
-
-
-



9th
4
3
2
-
-
-



10th
4
3
2
1
-
-



11th
4
4
3
1
-
-



12th
5
4
3
2
-
-



13th
5
4
3
2
1
-



14th
5
4
4
3
1
-



15th
5
5
4
3
2
-



16th
5
5
4
3
2
1



17th
6
5
4
4
3
1



18th
6
5
4
4
3
2



19th
6
5
5
4
3
3



20th
6
6
5
4
4
3




Counterspell

As an immediate action, a Fiend Lord may counter a spell he has identified by expending a spell slot of the same level (should the spell slot to use be a 0 level one, he does not need to spend any spell slots). Upon countering a spell, the Fiend Lord instinctively grasps the secrets behind the spell, and can add it to his Grimoire, regardless of whether he can cast it or not. At 8th level, the Fiend Lord can counter a spell using a spell slot one level lower, the maximum difference between spell countered and spell slot expended increasing to 2 at at 14th level.
In addition, the Fiend Lord is considered to possess the Improved Counterspell feat for any Prestige Class or Feat that may have it as prerequisite.

Magic Aura

A Fiend Lord constantly emanates a magic aura, attuned to his Sin (spell school) of choice. The strength of their aura is equivalent to a Magic Item with a caster level equal to their number of levels in this class.

Grimoire

A part of the Fiend Lord’s powers manifest in the form of a knowledge storage base that can be sensorially manifested as a book, floating by the Fiend Lord’s side if he chooses not to grasp it. Upon it, the Fiend Lord can instinctively copy spells whose structure he has grasped onto it and cast them as if he knew them, expending spell slots as normal, with the grimoire’s pages instantly flipping to the spell he wishes to use. If the Fiend Lord can’t see his grimoire, he can cast the spell as a full round action instead.

The Fiend Lord’s grimoire has four slots for 0 and 1st level spells each, three slots for 2nd and 3rd level spells each, two slots for 4th, 5th, and 6th level spells each, and a single spell slot for 7th, 8th, and 9th level spells each. Said spell slots cannot be used to inscribe a different level spell upon them. Should the slots for a level be completely filled, a Fiend Lord may instead replace one of the spells of the same level instead. It starts with a number of 0 level spells equal to his Charisma modifier, and half that amount in 1st level spells. The ninth level spell must belong to the Fiend Lord's chosen Sin's associated school.

At 11th level, the Grimoire gains self-awareness, as if an Intelligent Item, becoming able to manifest itself at will. It has a Chaotic Neutral alignment, but is extremely loyal to its master. Its Ego score is equal to the Fiend Lord’s class level -5, and has mental attributes equal to the Fiend Lord’s class level. In addition, it possesses the following abilities: Empathy, Speech, Senses (30 ft), and read magic. It knows the same languages as its master, plus additional ones from its Intelligence modifier. By having Empathy, the Fiend Lord no longer needs to see the Grimoire to cast the spells in it without delay. The Grimoire possesses ranks equal to its Ego in Sense Motive, Diplomacy, Perception, Knowledge: Arcana, and Spellcraft, treating them all as class skills.

The Fiend Lord may improve its Grimoire as if modifying a magical item as long as he possesses at least one item crafting feat. Should the ability to cast spells be added, they may only be chosen amongst those contained in it.

Combat Magic

At 2nd level, a Fiend Lord gains Eschew Materials and Arcane Strike as bonus feats.

Martial Training

At 3rd level, a Fiend Lord gains the Martial Training I feat (Ignoring the Base Attack Bonus/Knowledge: Martial requirements), of a discipline in accordance to chosen Sin, gaining the discipline skill and Knowledge: Martial as class skills. Each 3 levels afterwards, the Fiend Lord gains the next feat in line. The Fiend Lord’s initiation modifier is Charisma and his Initiator level is equal to half his character level + his Charisma modifier (This also applies should the Fiend Lord choose to take more Martial Training feats).
Should the Fiend Lord choose to take the Martial Training feats further down the line before they are granted by the class feature, the Fiend Lord may instead choose to take one of the following feats:
Advanced Study, Extra Readied Maneuver, Martial Charge, Victorious Recovery, or any of the Martial Training feats for other disciplines. (The Fiend Lord counts as a martial disciple for these feats, and may take them with his feats)
The Fiend Lord may not ignore the Base Attack Bonus/Knowledge: Martial requirements for any Martial Training feats he should choose to take outside of those granted by the class feature.
The disciplines learned are as follows:
Envy, Lust: Eternal Guardian
Gluttony: Unquiet Grave
Greed, Sadness: Riven Hourglass
Pride: Shattered Mirror
Sloth: Veiled Moon
Wrath: Elemental Flux
Alternatively, regardless of Sin, a Fiend Lord may choose the Solar Wind discipline.
In addition, you may recover a single maneuver as a standard action instead of a full-round action.
At 5th level, as a swift action, the Fiend Lord can choose to sacrifice a spell slot to automatically recover a maneuver of the same level as the level of the slot used.

Dispel Magic

At 4th level, as standard action, the Fiend Lord may choose to expend a spell slot to cast Dispel Magic as a Spell-Like Ability, gaining a bonus on the caster level roll equal to the level of the spell slot consumed.

Improved Combat Training

At 7th level, the Fiend Lord becomes proficient with medium armor, and can cast spells while wearing medium armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. The Fiend Lord can choose an exotic weapon, becoming proficient with it.

Adaptive Magic

At 10th level, the Demon Lord improves his casting versatility. Whenever he should need to expend a spell slot, he can instead use 2 spell slots of one level lower, 3 spell slots of two level lower, or 4 spell slots of three levels lower. He may not reduce the spell slot level required below one in this manner.

Fiend Lord Possession

At 13th level, once per day, as a full-round action, the Fiend Lord can draw large amounts of the fiendish energy within himself. The magic power in of itself is terribly overwhelming, so he can only safely maintain it for a number of rounds equal to 1+ half his Constitution modifier (Transformation round not counting, but any rounds under a Fiend Lord-casted Time Stop do count. He doesn’t gain any additional bonus rounds from temporary bonuses either).
While under Fiend Lord Possession, the Fiend Lord gains the following benefits:
-A +4 Profane bonus to each of his physical ability scores. This bonus increases by +2 at 18th level
-Spell Resistance equal to 11+ his Fiend Lord level
- Immunity to all mind-affecting conditions
- A +2 Profane bonus to the DC of all his spells, or a +4 profane bonus for spells of his chosen Sin. He adds the same bonus to any caster level rolls he should make.
While transformed, a Fiend Lord’s skin, hair and eyes take a pale white color. He also gains the outsider (evil) type and subtype for the duration of the effect.

Magic Controller

At 16th level, the Fiend Lord may Counterspell an additional time per turn, even if he’s already used up his immediate action, and may use Dispel Magic as a move action.

Increased Spell Access

At 17th level, the Fiend Lord selects up to four spells from any spell list that belong to his Sin’s school and adds them to his Grimoire.

Combat Magic Mastery

At 19th level, the Fiend Lord no longer needs to make concentration checks to cast defensively. Creatures stricken by his magic receive a -2 to their saving throws against his martial maneuvers. Creatures stricken by his martial maneuvers receive a -2 to their saving throws against his spells.

Master of Magic

At 20th level, the Fiend Lord maximizes his access to spellcasting. Twice per day, he may cast a level 7 spell at no cost, and may counter a spell using a spell slot up to three levels lower.

Restrictions

The Fiend Lord may not take levels in any other base class with spellcasting, retrain Fiend Lord class levels, nor may take the Eldritch Heritage feat for any outsider-related bloodline.

Character Advancement

A Fiend Lord that starts at a level higher than first may add to his Grimoire an additional spell per odd level, and two additional spells per even level. At each level, he cannot learn a spell whose level is higher than half his class level rounded down.

arixe
2015-07-03, 07:07 PM
I dislike the restrictions those are ment for alignments honestly also counterspelling should be a readied action cuz this class litterally makes it impossible to cast spells with only one caster in the party you just keep some spells on hand and bam no casting its over powered. Maybe give it a bonus to spell carft to identify spells or give it a progressive sr but counterspelling as an imediate action is not recomended

Tuvarkz
2015-07-04, 06:48 PM
About alingments: It's just a guideline, and the evil ban is meant for lvl 1 fiend lords. Secondly, in terms of counterspelling, this class works with PoW material, which has a variety of counters that work to the same effect with a considerably high success rate at little expense, whereas the Demon Lord ends up using unrecoverable resources to do so (and still needs to succeed at the spellcraft check). Additionally, they are already getting Skill Focus: Spellcraft to boost their chances of success.
Also, note: I've been reworking to balance the class, just happened to not bother updating on GitP due to no responses
EDIT: OP updated with most recent changes.

arixe
2015-07-06, 01:35 AM
I like how you reworded the edits. Can his grimoire store spells like wizards bonded objects. Also could your grimoire hold scrolls in the sense you gain the ability to cast that spell as part of your list but modify it with meta magic and such. Sorry if I'm pulling way from the source material with any of these.

Tuvarkz
2015-07-06, 03:01 AM
Grimoires can't store spells like bonded objects (Namely, the entire appearance of the grimoire for mechanics purposes is an unclassified phenomena, the book is an entirely sensorial manifestation of the database that exists inside the Fiend Lord in order to facilitate his access to it), however they can be modified into having spells per day as detailed in, using any spells inscribed in them; and they can take the at will modifications from the special purpose tab.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/intelligent-items
Holding scrolls: don't really like the idea much, it could end up with Fiend Lords having too much flexibility for a low cost. Similarly for a spellbook, Fiend Lords can't transcribe anything from them.
Metamagic from Grimoire spells: Works just like metamagic on spontaneous spellcasting, however, until Improved Grimoire comes into play, the Fiend Lord must have the Grimoire manifested and visible by him.
Will probably do an expanded section on the Grimoire part, for lore and flavor reasons mostly.

arixe
2015-07-06, 08:21 AM
So ive looked into almost all classes they tend to pull very outsidery near the end with 20th lvl abilities giving you dr10/this and that with a couple immunites. Just woundering if the class ends on par with them. If i remember correctly the paladin, the monk, and most of the blood lines end like this

Extra Anchovies
2015-07-08, 12:55 AM
Why do they get Martial Training instead of a standard 6th-level maneuver progression?

Tuvarkz
2015-07-08, 07:17 AM
6th level maneuver progression would have essentially made them a Magus+ class.