You can only dig so deep before your mind snaps like a twig[PrC]

Anathema Mage
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...mthatwalks.jpg
Orossis the Mad, anathema mage.

HD: d4

Requirements
Alignment: Neutral evil, Chaotic evil or Chaotic neutral
Feats: Aberration Blood, any one other Aberrant feat
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 4 ranks
Arcane Spellcasting: Ability to spontaneously cast 3rd level spells.
Special: Must have come across a tome of horrible eldritch lore, which more than likely shattered the mage's mind.

Class Skills: Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Escape Artist, Hide, Knowledge (all skills taken indevidually), Move Silently, Profession, Spellcraft and Swim
Skill-points per level: 4+Int modifier

{table="head"]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special|Spellcasting
1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Secrets of madness|--
2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3|Bonus aberrant feat|+1 level of spellcasting class
3rd|+1|+1|+1|+3|Insane clarity|+1 level of spellcasting class
4th|+2|+1|+1|+4|--|+1 level of spellcasting class
5th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Bonus aberrant feat|+1 level of spellcasting class
6th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Divine resistance|+1 level of spellcasting class
7th|+3|+2|+2|+5|--|+1 level of spellcasting class
8th|+4|+2|+2|+6|Bonus aberrant feat|+1 level of spellcasting class
9th|+4|+3|+3|+6|Mind devours body|+1 level of spellcasting class
10th|+5|+3|+3|+7|Anathemic metamorphosis|--
[/table]

Weapon and armor proficiencies: Anathemic mages recieve no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Spellcasting: At each level except 1st and 10th, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level(and spells known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming an amathema mage, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known.

Secrets of Madness: Anathema mages have insight into secrets creatures considered more sane don't, which gives them more spells known than other arcane spellcasters(see the list below). These spells are immediately added to your list of spells known the instant you gain a new spell level. If you already have access to these spell levels, you add the appropriate spells to the appropriate spells known according to level.
1st- create water, protection from law, wings of the sea*
2nd- detect thoughts, desecrate, eagle's splendor, swim*
3rd- analyze portal*, magic circle against law, mind poison*, water breathing
4th- bestow curse, evard's black tentacles, wall of water*
5th- contact other plane, corporeal instability*, dispel law, feeblemind, unhallow, wall of limbs(limbs become tentacles)*
6th- cloak of the sea*, control water, dream casting*, true seeing
7th- blasphemy, control weather, evil glare*, insanity, plane shift
8th- bestow greater curse*, cloak of chaos, maddening whispers*, symbol of death, symbold of insanity, trap the soul
9th- astral projection, gate, maw of chaos*, reality maelstrom*
Additionally, you become resistant to being pushed over the edge completely and your Wisdom score cannot be lowered below 1 by any means.
*Spells found in the Spell Compendium.

Bonus Aberrant Feat: You have influxes of aberrant lineage that shoot forth and alter your very body. At 2nd, 5th and 8th levels, an anathema mage gains an additional aberrant feat. You must meet the feats prerequisites to learn it.

Insane Clarity(Ex): Your mind, in it's utter madness gains moments of clarity that a sane person isn't capable of even imagining. Firstly, an anathema mage is capable of treating all Knowledge skills as trained even without ranks. Secondly, you are capable of sacrificing weaker magic to attain more powerful spells. As a full-round action, you can sacrifice two spell-slots of up to 8th level to ready an additional slot of the spell level above. This does not allow the mage to sacrifice spells of two different levels to gain additional spells. These new spell slots last for a number of minutes equal to the sacrificed spell level.

Divine Resistance(Su): You have stepped in a direction that no normal mortals ever have, and this direction denies the mortal gods and moves toward creatures inpercievable by most creatures. You gain a +4 profane bonus to saving throws against divine spells cast on you and gain spell resistance 13+anathema mage level+Cha modifier against divine spells only.

Mind Devours Body(Ex): The mind is powerful, and when made mad and profane becomes dangerous, even to you. This however is not without benefit. As a swift action, you can regain a used spell slot by taking an amount of Con damage equal to 1+half the regained spell-slots level(rounded down). For example, Orossis the Mad wishes to regain a 6th level spell to cast chain lightning, he takes 4 Con damage[1+(6/2)] and regains the slot for use.

Anathemic Metamorphosis(Ex): You take the final step, but this step reaches past your mind and consumes your body. Your whole body is devoured by writhing otherworldly tentacles and your mind is absorbed into them. You take a slightly modified Worms that Walk template but instead of your body becoming a mass of worms and maggots, it is instead a mass of tentacles without a core.
Unlike the normal worms that walk template, you do not gain the spell resistance or burrow speed but in their place you gain a 30 foot swim speed and the ability to survive without food, air, or sleep but still must rest 8 hours before regaining spells.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Krimm_Blackleaf

[B][COLOR="DarkGreen"][
Alignment: Nuetral evil, Chaotic evil or Chaotic nuetral

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Meant Neutral here perhaps?

The Class looks good and works well with sorcerers. It may have to lose another spellcasting level, but still, good job.

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Originally Posted by Gralamin

The Class looks good and works well with sorcerers. It may have to lose another spellcasting level, but still, good job.

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I'll ditch one more spellcaster level.

I like it!

Wow, this is a very well done sort of creepy. I like it.

However, I'm worried about balance for Insane Clarity. How long do those extra spell slots last? And could, say, two 4th level spells be used to make a 5th-level spell slot, which, when combined with another 5th-level spell slot, could create a 6th-level slot? If so, a Sor10/Anath10 could concievably have one 1st level, one 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th-level, and eight 9th-level spell slot, a bit much. Eight reality maelstroms can really ruin someone's universe (or day).
Or, starting with fifth level spells and sacrificing upward, the same character could have six 0th, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-level slots, one 6th-level slot, TEN 8th level slots, and three 9th-level slots.

These don't even factor in any bonus spell slots for a high Charisma modifier. Maybe a use/day mechanism could prevent that kind of literally insane modification.

Also, what's with the (relatively) large number of water themed spells in the additional spells list? Did I miss something in the fluff that explained that?

The six additional 5th and 8th-level spells known are a bit much, maybe five should be the maximum number of extra spells known for any given level gain? The Anathema Mage is still going to be able to gain spells known besides that list, after all, and there was a balance reason behind letting a sorceror have only three 6th through 9th-level spells known.

It doesn't seem any more or less broken than Versatile Spellcaster, which does allow you to mix and match spell slots to get an insanity+1 level of 9th level spell slots.

Yes, but Versatile Spellcaster explicitly states that the two lower level slots are used to cast the higher level spell, whereas Insane Clarity, as far as I can tell, just gives the Anathema Mage another spell slot, which could concievably be used much later.

The difference is little, since Versatile Spellcaster takes no actions to mix the two spells. It's effectively having X 9th level spell slots.

But here's the real difference between the two abilities..

Versatile Spellcaster lets you use a 3rd level spell slot and a 6th level spell slot to power a 9th level spell.

Insane Clarity only allows you to use 2 8th level spell slots.

In the end, Insane Clarity is significantly more balanced than Versatile Spellcaster.

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Originally Posted by ZeroNumerous

It doesn't seem any more or less broken than Versatile Spellcaster, which does allow you to mix and match spell slots to get an insanity+1 level of 9th level spell slots.

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No, it actually doesn't allow you to mix and match, it explicitly states of the same level as well. And since casting a spell (for most spells) is a standard action, that is the amount of time it takes.

Perhaps a solution: Which Versatile Spellcaster are you looking at? I'm reading from the feat by that name in Races of the Dragon.

EDIT: I'm using the one from Dragon Mag. Sorry, I guess we're talking about two different feats with the same name. I hate it when wizards does things like this. (Or the 3 different Draconic Knowledge abilities, two of which are feats.)

Aha, I thought that might be the issue. Okay, problem solved. If I were a DM, I'd only allow the one in the book though, as it seems a little less OP.

@Krimm Blackleaf: Sorry about the relatively off-topic argument.

I agree that Insane Clarity would work better with a limit on how long the additional spell slots last, and I apologize for the confusion as well.

Alright, I put a time limit on the spell slots.

Oh, and I forgot to address the issue of the water... I just always associate lovecraftian madness to water and the sea. My friend described it as 'very cthulhu-y'.

Where'd you get the images for this and worms that walk, anyway?

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Originally Posted by Ascension

Where'd you get the images for this and worms that walk, anyway?

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WotC site, via Google.

+1 cool point

I loved that image of the Anathema mage so much that i made it my desktop background. Beats the hell out of default Windows wallpaper.

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Originally Posted by Brom

I loved that image of the Anathema mage so much that i made it my desktop background. Beats the hell out of default Windows wallpaper.

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Yes, Wayne Reynolds is God.

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Originally Posted by Krimm_Blackleaf

Yes, Wayne Reynolds is God.

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Couldn't have said it better myself.

Anyway, as a lover of all things Far Realmsian, I have to say I love this PrC. If my abberation-obsessed summoner character hadn't already taken levels in alienist, I'd be petitioning my DM to allow this one on the table...

...with one exception. I think adding a template that creates the equivalent of a +4 level adjustment might cause some balance issues, though I haven't done any serious number-crunching. Since he'd have to be at least 5th level to take the PrC, he'd be at least 15th level, but he's suddenly being bumped up to the equivalent of a 19th level character. A lot of PrCs (and a monk's 20th level ability) result in changing the character's type - usually to outsider or elemental - but to my knowledge a type change doesn't result in any sort of level adjustment.

The only exception that I can think of is the Warforge Dreadnaught PrC, which changes the warforged into a full construct - a creature type that comes with significant ability-related advantages - but with that class it slowly builds on the warforged's initial construct-like abilities, level by level, until the last level of the PrC results in the character being completely a construct.

What you might want to do is have the PrC give the character one or two abilities of the Lesser Worm that Walks template each level, until at 10th level it has all the abilities of the template. That would probably take some serious retooling of the class, but otherwise you might just want to give the character the pseudonatural template at 10th level. That's only a +1CR adjustment.

Anyway, despite that criticism, as I said, I love it. I'm also a big fan of your Lesser Worm that Walks template, even if I don't think it should be a class ability.:smallwink: Keep up the good work!

Now that you bring it up, I think I can mention that I was considering lowering the LA of the template to +3 or lower. I'm not entirely sure it's power is worth the 4 level loss for the template itself.
They don't get some of the more powerful aspects of the template anyway, like the spell resistance or the mode of movement that is rarely given(burrow) and replaced with something that can be easily attained(swim speed). Not to mention the template doesn't give any bonuses to ability scores like other +4 LA templates we know well.
All things considered this isn't really an incredibly pro-caster template, except for the fact it grants you easy escape from a potentially deadly scenario(if they don't have a fireball prepared).

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Originally Posted by Krimm_Blackleaf

Now that you bring it up, I think I can mention that I was considering lowering the LA of the template to +3 or lower. I'm not entirely sure it's power is worth the 4 level loss for the template itself.
They don't get some of the more powerful aspects of the template anyway, like the spell resistance or the mode of movement that is rarely given(burrow) and replaced with something that can be easily attained(swim speed). Not to mention the template doesn't give any bonuses to ability scores like other +4 LA templates we know well.
All things considered this isn't really an incredibly pro-caster template, except for the fact it grants you easy escape from a potentially deadly scenario(if they don't have a fireball prepared).

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Since it has a fair amount of differences from the worm that walks template, it might be better to just rewrite a separate anathemic metamorphosis template in the description of the PrC, so 1) it's easier reference for people who want to take levels, and 2) it's easier to see how the modified template works as a whole for balance-tweaking purposes (if needed). I'm assuming you wouldn't want the "all HD to d8s" feature in there, either. And I would think that "tentacle smite" would work differently than "worm smite," at least in the flavor text. :smallwink:

And are you sure I need to be a sorceror to be one of these guys? What about my studious wizard who just has... unusual taste in reading material? :smallsmile:

This is COOL. *bookmarks so his PCs have some interesting BBEGS*

Seriously, I'm totally going to use this. Every DnD campaign needs a little lovecraftian horror crawling from beyond time and space. (With your permission, of course.) And the WtW template.

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Originally Posted by FlyMolo

This is COOL. *bookmarks so his PCs have some interesting BBEGS*

Seriously, I'm totally going to use this. Every DnD campaign needs a little lovecraftian horror crawling from beyond time and space. (With your permission, of course.) And the WtW template.

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You and anyone else has full permission to use my classes, templates or any homebrew creations I've made. If you post it somewhere else make sure to ask me first, and give me full credit.:smallbiggrin: