Arcling (PrC)

[EvilDave]

This character was not created for purpose of 'balance' so much as it is resembles what my last Sorc resembled due to some odd (and fun) rulings and a little bending of the RAW. This PrC is somewhat more extreme though.

That said, input related to balance would be appreciated (this PrC was developed without comparison to other PrC's). Also let me know if anything I'm putting up is somehow not OGL, though I don't think that'd be a problem.


Arcling

Requirements:

Wisdom < 14

Weapon Focus in a primarily metal melee weapon.

Ability to cast Shocking Grasp and Lightning Bolt spontaneously.

Energy Substitution(Electricity)

A catastrophic affinity for lightning.



HD: d6
Class Skills: Same as sorc
Skill Points: 2 + Int

The Arcling gains no additional proficiencies with any weapon or armor.

At each level an Arcling gains an effective +1 to an existing arcane spellcasting class for purposes of Spells per Day and Spells Known.

An Arcling is never immune to the effects of their own abilities, but resistance may apply. An arcling cannot choose to suppress abilities unless it is stated that they are optionally used. All abilities are considered Supernatural. Any bonus from items, spells, or level progression that bring the Arclings Wisdom up to 14 or greater are immediatedly suppressed. If the Arcling is the subject of a Wish/Miracle spell to increase their Wisdom up to or greater than 14 they MUST immediately make a will save, failure immediately and irreversibly converts all levels in Arcling to levels in Sorcerer.

As the Arcling levels it's hair and skin pale and eye color fades to gray then changes to blue. At 10th level an arcling has an almost radiant white skin and hair, brilliant blue eyes, and a faint nimbus of energy around them.

BAB F/R/W
1: 0 0/2/0 Shocking Blow (1/day)
2: 1 0/3/0 Conductivity
3: 2 1/3/1 Rebounding Strike, Shocking Blow (2/day)
4: 3 1/4/1 Electricity Resistance 5
5: 3 1/4/1 Self Absorbed, Shocking Blow (3/day)
6: 4 2/5/2 Vicious Spell
7: 5 2/5/2 Electricity Resistance 10, Shocking Blow (4/day)
8: 6 2/6/2 Aftershocks
9: 6 3/6/3 Augment Bolt, Shocking Blow (5/day)
10: 7 3/7/3 Electricity Resistance 20, Tremulous Wrath, Arcing Burst, Eased Casting

Shocking Blow
You may expend a lvl 1 or greater spell slot as a move action that does not provoke an attact of opportunity to deal 5d6 Electric damage to the next target you strike in melee in this or the next round. The weapon used to enact this ability must a primarily metal weapon that you have Weapon Focus with.

Conductivity
Whenever you are struck for electric damage from any source you may, as a free action, direct an equal die worth of electric damage to any single target within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack with a reflex save for half (if the original spell or ability did not permit a save treat as a 1st lvl spell cast by you only for purposes of save DC, otherwise DC is the same). If the attack were to allow a saving through, you must forego the save before rolling it to be able to use this ability. (If you choose yourself as a target for Chain Lightning this does not allow you to chain off two bolts but instead allows you to treat the next target as a second primary target for purposes of determining maximum range from primary target. Treat anything to which the Chain Spell metamagic feat is applied in the same manner.) Spell resistance applies.

Rebounding Strike
If a Lightning Bolt you cast strikes a barrier and would not deal enough damage to break through the barrier, instead of stopping it deals damage to the object normally but then reflects off the surface and continues till it's range expires. When casting Chain Lightning you may designate an object as a target to gain line of effect against a target with cover.

Self Absorbed
You may select yourself as primary target for any spell with the Electricity descriptor. Any spell cast in this way that has a casting time equal to a full round or less is instead a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Vicious Spell
Any spell you cast with the Electricity descriptor you can have, at your option at will, deal an additional 2d8 damage to every affected target. For each target that gets hit by the affected spell, you take 1d8 empathic damage. If this damage would reduce your HP to 0 or less, you can attempt a will save for half damage DC 10 + Your Charisma Bonus + 1 per die of damage taken. If the spell hits any targets, this ability leaves you stunned for 2 rounds.

Aftershocks
Any target hit by a spell you cast with the Electricity descriptor gets hit for an additional 1d6 Electricity damage on each of the following 2 rounds.

Augment Bolt
Mimics the Heighten Spell metamagic feat except it can only be used with spells of the Electricity Descriptor and for each increase in spell level the spell does an additional die of damage (these additional die can surpass die number caps on spells).

Tremulous Wrath
Each time a creature is struck by a spell with the Electricity descriptor that you cast that creature also takes one point of Strength and one point of Dexterity damage, Fortitude save negates. If this would lower an ability score below six, that ability is unnaffected This is also triggered by Aftershocks. If a creature resists all the damage it is still affected but if the creature is immune to Electricity this has no effect.

Arcing Burst
As a full round action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity you may make a ranged touch attack against any targets within 15 feet. This attack deals 1d6 Electric damage, triggers Tremulous Wrath and Aftershocks. This act leaves you fatigued. There is no save against this ability, but Spell Resistance does apply.

Eased Casting
When wearing primarily metal armor you can ignore up to 20% arcane failure chance when casting spells with the Electricity descriptor.

[Umbral_Arcanist]

Well i'm little short on time so i'll add more later, but right off the bat i'd say shocking blow is too good, why cast magic missle when you can attack with a longsword and deal 5d6 damage?? i'd say maybe 1d6 per spell level.

eased casting is pretty good, but it's a 10th level ability so i'm not worried since their is no armor prof given by the class, but spellswords will like this.......

The affinity with lightning may need a better quatifying aspect so DMs can use it easier.

Also why wisdom less than 14?

The other abilties seem ok, but i;d bump up the requirements a little, maybe add a BAB requirement so that the character would have to take at least one level of fighter or something to get the class more easily.

aftershocks should not deal the tremulous wrath ability as well, seems too good.

Thats all i see right now but thats just a cursury glance

[Ferahgo]

Well, he said the point of the class was to recreate a character he played. Seems like a sort of... trigger-happy class. The 'shoot-first-ask-what-that-thing-was-later' sort. Hence the Wisdom less than 14.
Some of the abilities I don't see coming into play often; like Conductivity. I don't think electricity comes into play all that often, and it isn't worth it to use Self-Absorbed to take advantage of it, as the save will be much lower than just casting it. Unless you augment an area effect spell, so you could hit enemies around you and someone out of range... but any-who.
It seems to be for combat-casters a bit, but it doesn't actually give any benifet for that sort until level ten, which seems a bit odd.
Aftershocks pushes it a bit; I dunno. But overall, it's nice. The lower-than-14 wisdom requirement suggests interesting, infuriating characters, which is fine by me, and the abilities are cool

[EvilDave]

Magic missile has a 100 ft + range and no miss chance? Shocking Blow requires you to get in the midst of things. Basically, it's designed as Shocking Grasp with Spell Channeling. Looking through the abilities, it's also one of the few things this PrC lets ya do without hurting yaself.

The 'affinity for lightning' bit is pretty much just flavor, but I'd like to have some kind of 'Special' req for it, just couldn't think of anything appropriate at the time.

Moving the good save from Will to Ref and capping Wisdom at 14 puts a severe limitation on Will saves. This makes a Vicious Substituted Electric Fireball against a horde of kobolds a rather effective way to commit suicide. This also goes along with the theme of a PrC that is potentially front-loaded like nothing else, but only with use of abilities that cause harm to the caster.

The idea behind Conductivity is that Energy Substitution gives any spell affected a new descriptor (that, or I need to state that it does for purposes of this PrC), in this case selective to Electricity. This means that you could use any spell with an energy descriptor, cast it as a full round action, and gain any associated benefit. This reminds me that I completely forgot to put in rules for Rebounding Strike.... that will allow you to use Lightning Bolt as a rather nerfed Chain Lightning with the requisite hitting of oneself with it. Also, Conducivity + Self Absorbed + Shocking Grasp = standard action, no AoO, targetted ranged spell. This is actually why I put in the Tremulous Wrath/Aftershocks bit. Seeing as how, playing the averages, you would at lvl 10 be able to resist most to all of the damage you would've received, you still get to make a fort save vs 3 Str and Dex damage. The Tremulous Wrath ability and the Arcing Burst ability are going to tend to leave your char with an ever reducing melee damage/accuracy and AC (and thinking on that, cap added to ability damage taken). On the note of saves against Conductivity, it's been changed to be a little more appealing.

Eased Casting was set with Chain Shirt in mind specifically. I know I'd want it if I had a habit of causing myself loads of Dex damage with a really nifty ability that depends on melee....

While it is more than possible, looking at the reqs for this vs the reqs for Spellsword, the multiclass is appealing but if ya play human I'd think the tendency is to go straight from Sorc into this and use the feats for Metamagic (req for Energy Substitution is one other Metamagic feat) and Weapon Focus.