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Jane_Smith
2009-06-23, 06:42 PM
This is my attempt at using pathfinder d20 rules, and my own free time to completely 'redo' prestige classes and make them a bit more challenging, and much more worthwhile to take. All Legendary Classes are 5 level classes, capable of being taken on a characters 11th character level iif they focus, and give an incredible boost of power to the character.

These are not to be confused with Epic classes - these can easily be taken long before level 21+. This is simply just a new version of prestige classes i would like to test out, and would like some opinions on.

All common themes of all legendary classes;
1: They all have 5 levels.
2: They all have selectable abilities each level that influences their power level. All abilities scale with level.
3: They all will be vastly superior to someone who is just a plain, non-legendary character of the same type. Thus, a wizard 10/archmage 5 will easily out class and out shine a plain wizard 15. These classes make great villain classes, or incredible rewards for gifted players that have made your game shine.
4: All legendary classes require a quest. These quests can be competitions, tests of personal abilities, etc, but they must be at least very difficult to obtain.
5: Last, but not least - as an added bonus of 'legendary' power, all legendary classes give a +1 legendary bonus to two separate abilities each level. These bonuses are permanent, and do not stack (thus if you managed to get into two legendary classes with intelligence and/or charisma, etc, you would take the highest level bonus). If somehow the character permanently loses a level (which was removed in pathfinder, so i do not know HOW they would, i guess retraining?), they lose the bonus.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Archmage~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.jfredriksson.com/img/art/Archmage.jpg


"Power is not for the timid." - Solomon Guiles, Master and Archmage of the Arcane Order.

Those who study arcane power sometimes become obsessed with its theory and application. Such wizards can never absorb enough lore or experiment with enough new and different magic to satiate their growing need for eldritch knowledge and power. They create magic items simply for the thrill of feeling their own lifeforce infusing a mundane object. They tinker with spells they cast, extending them beyond their normal range and magnitude with the flick of a fingure in the blink of an eye.

Characters that take their obsession with arcane magic this far often become archmagi, the paragon of arcane spellcasters. At their highest level they have abilities that put lesser wizards to shame, often causing both admiration and jealousy in their peers. These wizards know the secrets of the universe that only the hoariest of sages have ever hinted at, and they have powers that few are able to explain. The archmage is the king of wizards.



The Archmage
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells

1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Arcane Power|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Arcane Power|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|Arcane Power|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Arcane Power|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Arcane Power|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class[/table]


Requirements
To qualify to become a archmage, a character must fulfill all the following requirements.

Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 10 ranks, Spellcraft 10 ranks.
Feats: Any five metamagic and/or item creation feats.
Special: Ability to prepare 5th-level arcane spells.
Quest: The character must create a number of magic items with a combined base price of at least 100,000 gold in his lifetime. Or, the character must research and create at least five new spells based around a single theme, each of which bears his name.

Hit Dice: d6.
Base Attack Bonus: Poor.
Saving Throws: Poor Fortitude, Poor Reflexes, Good Willpower.
Class skills: Appraise (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all) (Int), Lingquistics (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.


Class Features

Weapons and Armor Proficiency: A archmage is proficienct with all simple weapons, but no armor or shields.

Spells per Day/Spells known: When a new archmage level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class in which he could cast 5th-level arcane spells before he added the legendary class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus feats, familiar advancement, so on). If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class in which he could casy 5th-level arcane spells before he became an archmage, he must decide to which class he adds each level of archmage for the purposes of determining spells per day and spells known.

Enhanced Attributes: The archmage gains a +1 legendary bonus to both Intelligence and Wisdom for each power level possessed.

School Powers: The archmage continues to advance in his career as a wizard, adding his total archmage level to his wizard level to determine when he gains school powers for his specialization.

Arcana Power: At 1st level and every level thereafter, the archmage gains a Arcane Power from the list below. For every single Arcane Power he possesses, the archmage is considered to have a power level.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arcane Fire (Su): The archmage gains the ability to create and manipulate raw arcane magic as a standard action, manifesting it as a bolt of raw magical energy. The bolt is a ranged touch attack with a a range of 400 feet + 40 feet/level per power level that deals 1d6+1 damage per caster level. This damage is untyped magical energy damage, and bypasses all energy resistance and immunities.

Mastery of Elements (Ex): The archmage may choose a single element per power level. He can choose to alter any arcane spell he casts so that it utilizes a that element from the one it normally uses. This ability can only alter a spell with the acid, cold, fire, electricity or sonic descriptor. The spell's casting time is unaffected. The caster decides whether to alter the spell's energy type and chooses the new energy type when he begins casting. In addition, he gains an amount of energy resistance equal to 3 times his power level against that type of energy.

Mastery of Shaping (Ex): The archmage can choose one school of magic per power level he possesses. The archmage may lose any prepared spell to spontaneously cast any spell of the same level of lower from the selected school of magic.

Magic Familiarity (Ex): The archmage gains a +1 legendary bonus per power level to all saves against spells and spell-like abilities, and as a dodge bonus to armor class against spells and spell-like abilities that use a attack roll.

Master of the Mundane Arts (Ex): Due to the archmage's obession with information on all things magical, he gains the ability to make all knowledge checks untrained. In addition, he gains a +5 bonus per power level to the following skills: Craft (Alchemy), Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft. When crafting a magic item, you may reduce the overall gp price of the total raw material cost by 5% per power level.

Fundamentals of Magic (Ex): The archmage gains the ability to apply metamagic effects to spells without paying the normal cost. He can ignore up to four levels of metamagic costs per power level when preparing spells. So, a 3rd level archmage who took this ability could prepare three maximized fireballs as 3rd level spells instead of 6th-level spells. The character can apply this ability to multiple spells each day as long as the total number of level increases ignored does not exceed the maximum. The character can also use these levels to decrease the level penalty if he does not have enough to completely override it.

Wealth of Power (Ex): Each time the archmage creates a magical item, he can opt to give it an additional +1 caster level per power upon completion. This bonus is permanent, and influences the market value of the object.

Spell Power (Ex): The archmage gains a +1 bonus per power level to his effective caster level for the purposes of determining level-dependent spell variables such as damage dice or range, and caster level checks. In addition, the save DC of all spells he casts is increased by 1 per power level.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dragonfan6490
2009-06-23, 07:54 PM
A great class, much better than the 3.5 Archmage, especially since you don't have to sacrifice spell slots for class features.

ZeroNumerous
2009-06-23, 07:58 PM
A great class, much better than the 3.5 Archmage, especially since you don't have to sacrifice spell slots for class features.

Which is, to say the least, a bad thing. I'll echo the statement of the quoted post, but not the sentiment. Pathfinder did little to fix magic trumping melee, and I don't believe a wizard needs to do it any flashier. All in all, it's a very dedicated recreation but it's still just as powerful as 3.5 Archmage.

Jane_Smith
2009-06-23, 08:12 PM
Well, its suppose to be powerful. Quite frankly im not attempting to further balance martial vs. magic, its been tried and done. Magic in its nature is overpowered, what could cunning, skill or steel have to match against it? :P But, seriously, just wait for the martial legendary classes.. barbarian one, the Titan, is next.

Riftwalker
2009-06-23, 08:52 PM
Have you had any experience with the Dawnforge campaign setting? That campaign setting (by Fantasy Flight Games) had a series of legendary classes that--in some ways--worked similarly to some of the mechanics you've included below (particularly the way power levels improve the class' features).

I'd go on about how much I like the setting, but that'd quickly lead me off-topic.:smallbiggrin:

Jane_Smith
2009-06-23, 09:09 PM
Nope, fraid not. I got my first ideas for Legendary classes from a off-source d20 company, Legend and Lairs. They had a book series on it. They were 3.0 however, and were horribly designed/flavored.. -snickers at Dragon knight (not a dragoon knight, but DRAGON knight.. makes you a dragon warrior.. -_-) So, sunk my teeth into them for the lovins.

Jane_Smith
2009-06-25, 12:25 PM
Updated - now with fluffy chart! :smallbiggrin:

Myrmex
2009-06-25, 12:55 PM
Wow, that is an unbelievably powerful class.

You should change the ranks needed to qualify to 12 ranks in at least one skill, otherwise you can qualify for it at lower levels. Dragonwrought Kobolds, Shadowcraft Gnomes, and any spontaneous caster using heighten spell and versatile spellcaster can enter at levels below ten.

Jane_Smith
2009-06-25, 01:12 PM
Not in pathfinder. In pathfinder the maximum ranks you can have is equal to your hit dice. You get a +3 bonus on class skills if you possess 1 rank in them, and cross-class skills dont cost 2 points for 1 rank.

So, 10 ranks = level 10 minimum, period. Not to mention the requirement of -must be able to PREPARE 5th level arcane spells-. This pretty much limits it to wizards.

Edit: Also, to everyone who keeps saying these classes are so powerful, -please- read the above first post of archmage here where i clearly stated "their suppose to be". -clonks on head- Their like quest rewards for doing something amazing that didnt actually give you much reward, trials, tests, etc. Like, for the archmage, you might have to become a master of one of the several arcane orders all over the world just to qualify to be -trained- to be a archmagi.

Zeta Kai
2009-06-25, 01:37 PM
This looks very nice. And yes, if you accept that it's designed to be a powerful class, then it is much more palatable. I can't say that I'll let my players have access this anytime soon, but I wouldn't mind tacking a few levels of Archmage onto a sorcerous BBEG.

Also, I don't see what's so fluffy about that chart. :smallwink:

Myrmex
2009-06-26, 11:13 AM
Not in pathfinder. In pathfinder the maximum ranks you can have is equal to your hit dice. You get a +3 bonus on class skills if you possess 1 rank in them, and cross-class skills dont cost 2 points for 1 rank.

Ah.


So, 10 ranks = level 10 minimum, period. Not to mention the requirement of -must be able to PREPARE 5th level arcane spells-. This pretty much limits it to wizards.

Except for feats like, say Arcane Preparation, and the shadowcraft gnome is a wizard.


Edit: Also, to everyone who keeps saying these classes are so powerful, -please- read the above first post of archmage here where i clearly stated "their suppose to be". -clonks on head- Their like quest rewards for doing something amazing that didnt actually give you much reward, trials, tests, etc. Like, for the archmage, you might have to become a master of one of the several arcane orders all over the world just to qualify to be -trained- to be a archmagi.

I've looked at your other classes. The quest rewards for barbarians and knights suck, comparatively, while you give mages unbelievable power. Being able to spontaneously cast nearly every wizard spell? What are you thinking?