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2011-12-09, 06:03 PM (ISO 8601)
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The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
The True Archmage
The true archmage sacrifices a great deal of magical power, but in return, the spells he is able to cast become almost second nature to him, and he is able to empower and shape them in ways no mage can!
Prerequisites: To become a true archmage, you must meet the following prerequisites:
Feats: Any one metamagic feat, Skill Focus (Knowledge (Arcane), Knowledge (Religion), OR Knowledge (Nature)), Skill Focus (Spellcraft)
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast 7th level spells
Skills: Spellcraft 18 ranks
Hit Dice: d6
Class Skills: The true archmage has Concentration, Craft, Heal, Knowledge (All skills, taken individually), Profession, Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device as class skills.
Skill Points: 2+Int per level
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special
1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Specialized Casting
2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3|Innate Casting
3rd|+2|+1|+1|+3|Master of Metamagic
4th|+3|+1|+1|+4|Limit Break
5th|+3|+1|+1|+4|Master of Magic
[/table]
Specialized Casting (Ex): At 1st level, a true archmage may select a subschool or a descriptor, such as the (healing) subschool or the [fire] descriptor. He must know at least 3 spells with this subschool or descriptor. If the true archmage is a prepared caster, he may spontaneously convert other prepared spells into any spell he knows or has scribed in his spellbook with the chosen subschool or descriptor, as if he was a druid converting a spell into summon nature's ally. If the true archmage is a spontaneous caster, he instead learns all spells of the chosen subschool or descriptor, up to the highest level he is able to cast, from the sorcerer/wizard spell list if he is arcane, and from the cleric list if he is divine.
Innate Casting (Ex): At 2nd level, a true archmage's spells no longer have any verbal, somatic, material, focus, or divine focus components. He also ignores expensive material components, up to 1000 gp. (If a spell has more expensive components than that, such as the forcecage spell, he must pay the entire component, in this case, 1500 gp)
Master of Metamagic (Ex): At 3rd level, a true archmage is able to apply a single metamagic feat he knows to a spell he casts without increasing the casting time or the spell's level. He may not use this effect with the Heighten Spell feat. A true archmage is able to use this effect 3+his casting ability score modifier times per day.
Limit Break (Ex): At 4th level, spells a true archmage casts that are dependent on caster level no longer have any level caps. (For instance, a wizard 15/true archmage 4 who casts magic missile would create 8 missiles instead of 5, and a wizard 15/true archmage 4 who cast ray of enfeeblement would inflict a Strength penalty of 1d6+7)
Master of Magic (Su): At 5th level, a true archmage is a master of magic. He adds a +5 perfection bonus to the DC of all saving throws for spells he casts that allow a saving throw. Additionally, the true archmage's spellcasting is not disabled inside of an anti-magic field. Any attempts made to dispel or counter the true archmage's spells automatically fail, though the true archmage may still dispel/dismiss his own spells and effects. Any effect the archmage personally produces with magic is irreversible, except by the archmage himself. This prevents spells like remove blindness, remove curse, break enchantment and etc from working, but it does not affect spells that simply affect the new target naturally (like a resurrection spell on a creature the archmage has killed, or a stone to flesh spell on a creature the archmage has petrified)
Finally, the true archmage projects a 20 ft radius aura of magical balance. Everything within the aura, including the true archmage and all of his equipment, are completely immune to the mage's disjunction spell. This is a supernatural ability.Last edited by NeoSeraphi; 2011-12-10 at 10:57 PM.
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2011-12-09, 06:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
eh... so it gets NOTHING for 5 levels, then gets epic grade stuff... seems intresting, but some cool features for five levels might be better than five dead levels.
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2011-12-09, 06:25 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
People couldn't go into this class naturally. You could build a character who had already taken this class past its 5th level, which might be worth it for those characters, but anyone looking at taking the first level of this prestige class would fail. 5 levels or your character not progressing at all is so harsh. Even at a extended rate of XP gain. 5 levels is a lot to lag behind, and by the time you hit the 4th one you would wish that your character would die so you could re-roll to be that barbarian that is kicking your arse in everything at the moment.
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2011-12-09, 06:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
There, I added two new features to make the first five levels a bit easier to swallow. Does it look any better?
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2011-12-09, 06:45 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
Why not make it a 5 level class with no casting advancement? You'd have to increase the prerequisites so that you would need to be 15th level instead of 10th to take it, but it might work.
The alternative would be to have the first 5 levels be the ones that give casting advancement, but it makes more sense to just drop them entirely.
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2011-12-09, 06:47 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
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2011-12-09, 06:50 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
a better half casting would be full spell casting but no features for the first 5 levels, and full abilities for the other half.
then the bitter pill is just that you lose 5 levels of abilities, then can chose how much casting you want to lose.Avatar by Szilard, thank you sir for the fine work!
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2011-12-09, 06:54 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
Yeah, I think Skelengar has the right idea. Right now, you get 5 levels of pure horribleness followed by 5 levels of breaking everything. I know the dead levels are supposed to be a sacrifice, but you're asking for way too much to make this practical in-game.
If you'd rather keep this a 10-level PRC, I'd alternate between spellcasting-progression and abilities.
As for the features themselves, Specialized Casting seems way too good for prepared casters. If I pick, say Conjuration (Creation), suddenly I can spontaneously cast almost as many different spells as a sorcerer-- and that's just in core.Hill Giant Games
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2011-12-09, 06:58 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
Ninja'd. I already made it a 5 level class with no casting.
As for the features themselves, Specialized Casting seems way too good for prepared casters. If I pick, say Conjuration (Creation), suddenly I can spontaneously cast almost as many different spells as a sorcerer-- and that's just in core.
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2011-12-09, 07:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
Personally, I think this mostly makes a great dip. Two levels gives you Silent and Still on every spell and removes limits on effects based on caster level. The third level is a bit more debatable since you're missing out on three levels of spellcasting advancement, but a Wizard or Cleric would still be able to get 9th-level spellcasting... and then be able to apply Maximize, Persist, or Quicken for free seven or more times a day.
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2011-12-09, 07:17 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
True. Since the class is frontloaded now, I should have harsher prerequisites.
Edit: There, I added Skill Focus (Spellcraft) and Scribe Scroll to the prerequisites. A master specialist wizard isn't bothered by that, but it does discourage sorcerers, favored souls, clerics and druids (and offers a pretty significant trade off, since druids and clerics don't get bonus metamagic feats)Last edited by NeoSeraphi; 2011-12-09 at 07:21 PM.
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2011-12-09, 07:26 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
If you wanted to discouarage druids you could add some knowledge (arcana0 requirements. IMO the requirements are harsh enough for a class this good.
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2011-12-09, 07:28 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
I don't want to discourage specific classes, I want to discourage dipping. Harsher prerequisites help, because who wants to spend two of their precious feats just to get into a class they only want to take for 2 levels, especially when they are losing caster levels along with that?
Though I also heavily boosted Master of Magic, so that it was an attractive capstone that might encourage a character to drop his access to 9ths for it.
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2011-12-09, 08:04 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
I quite like it. 8th level spells are already game-breaking enough that it could easily be worth taking, to the right kind of character; 9th level is generally overkill, although it's very fun overkill. But I do feel like Limit Break should be higher than the 1st level ability, because it's really quite impressively powerful. Maybe even swap it with Specialized Casting.
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2011-12-09, 08:22 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
Alright, Eurus. I swapped Limit Break with Specialized Casting.
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2011-12-09, 10:29 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
I would swap Scribe Scroll for something else, merely because wizards do get it for free. I think pretty much every caster is going to have a metamagic feat by these kind of levels, so really it's only a 1-feat tax for wizards (who need the power the least).
Suggestions? Craft Staff. Skill Focus (Knowledge (Arcane)). Greater Spell Focus. Maybe Magical Aptitude, if you really want a tax.Hill Giant Games
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2011-12-09, 10:39 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
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2011-12-09, 10:56 PM (ISO 8601)
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2011-12-09, 11:05 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
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2011-12-10, 12:07 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
I'm not saying its cheesy, I'm actually hoping that you enjoy your free Persistent Spell applications.
Though it does sorta leave me feeling like it makes things too easy.
No, cheesy is when you go X 5/Ur Priest Y/Other Stuff Z/True Archmage 5. Then you (probably) have 9th level spells and a bunch of sexy class features meant to be an incentive to skip 9th level spells.
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2011-12-10, 12:21 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
This is interesting, to say the least, though I'm not sure I'd take it personally. I was wondering if you could clarify something for me: does limit break increase the damage caps on spells? Like a spell that normally caps at 15d6 damage now has no damage die cap?
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2011-12-10, 01:07 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
Take Specialized Casting ([Evil] descriptor) and the Violate Spell metamagic feat (adds Evil descriptor to a spell and 1/2 the damage is vile damage, +1 level) to spontaneously cast any spell ever from any spell list from any slot 1 level higher. This might be a bit stronger than intended for a 1 level dip. If it was just for spells you already know, it would probably be okay given the feats you need to spend to get in (and compared to just getting Uncanny Forethought).
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2011-12-10, 01:13 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
It is just for spells you already know. I was pretty sure that was clear intent, but I'll go ahead and clarify further.
This is interesting, to say the least, though I'm not sure I'd take it personally. I was wondering if you could clarify something for me: does limit break increase the damage caps on spells? Like a spell that normally caps at 15d6 damage now has no damage die cap?
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2011-12-10, 08:24 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
1. Why do your examples for Limit Break use a character who doesn't have the requisite 4 levels of True Archmage?
2. This is an incredibly powerful class. As things stand, dispel is one of the few things at least attempting to keep casters in line. And using AMF to disable someone's protections is just plain nasty.
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2011-12-10, 08:26 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
Left over from when Limit Break was the 1st level ability.
2. This is an incredibly powerful class. As things stand, dispel is one of the few things at least attempting to keep casters in line. And using AMF to disable someone's protections is just plain nasty.
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2011-12-10, 08:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
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2011-12-10, 08:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
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2011-12-10, 10:19 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
The first four levels are just not good enough to justify a 2 feat tax and four lost caster levels at that stage of the game. Coming at it from a spontaneous side, all Specialized casting does is compensate you for spells known you'd get from caster levels. Innate casting is ok, but on its own would probably not be worth a dip with a lost spellcasting level. Master of Metamagic and Limit Break are good, though Limit Break loses a lot because to really capitalize on it you need to spend yet another feat, Practiced Spellcaster. On the other hand the 20th level ability gets you enough that it alone would be worth a dip and two feats and the lost level all its own.
I think as it is, the PRC is just too backloaded. Here are my suggestions:
1) Have the +5 Perfection bonus to DCs at level 5 be changed into an ability you get at level 1 that gives +1 per class level. Think hard about adding in an ability that gives you +1 vs SR per level to compensate for lower CL with it (though see #2, in which case this is less necessary)
2) Give 2/5 spellcasting, with level boosts at 2 and 4. You may want to reshuffle the abilities so that the weaker ones (Innate Casting and debatably Spec Casting) are on the 2/4 levels.
3) Move the immunity to AMFs to Innate Spellcasting, since its the weakest ability currently and could use the buff
4) d6 HD and 3/4 BaB are unnecessary and unthematic, putting it back to d4 and 1/2 gives you some more moral authority to restore a couple of those caster levels
5) As it is Spec Casting is much, much better for a Prepared caster. The real slap in the face is that to choose it a spontaneous caster already needs to have 3 spells with the descriptor, so he ends up needing to have 10 total (and as a limited list caster picking 10 spells with one descriptor is pretty wasteful). If this class is just meant to be more of a Prepared thing that's ok I guess, but it really isn't nearly an equal feature right now, especially considering the power of a Prepared caster choosing [Creation] or something like that.
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2011-12-10, 10:33 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
And I think that most spellcasting PrCs are too front-loaded. I don't like PrC dipping and I discourage it heavily whenever I DM. I feel that prestige classes should be taken all the way to 5th/10th level.
4) d6 HD and 3/4 BaB are unnecessary and unthematic, putting it back to d4 and 1/2 gives you some more moral authority to restore a couple of those caster levels
5) As it is Spec Casting is much, much better for a Prepared caster. The real slap in the face is that to choose it a spontaneous caster already needs to have 3 spells with the descriptor, so he ends up needing to have 10 total (and as a limited list caster picking 10 spells with one descriptor is pretty wasteful). If this class is just meant to be more of a Prepared thing that's ok I guess, but it really isn't nearly an equal feature right now, especially considering the power of a Prepared caster choosing [Creation] or something like that.
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2011-12-10, 10:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: The True Archmage (3.5 PrC, PEACH)
Well, for a moderate fee the prepared caster can effectively "know" (by scribing into his spellbook) every spell even slightly worth knowing of his chosen descriptor for spontaneous casting at any time. Would it really be that much worse to give the Spontaneous caster knowledge of all spells with the descriptor? A lot of them will be redundant, but after a certain point quantity has a quality all its own.