AtopTheMountain
2009-11-01, 01:58 PM
I don't DM, but when I have lots of free time I like to make stuff like this. This PrC is kind of similar to the Warmage from Complete Arcane, but with different abilities. I thought I'd put it up here to see what people have to say about it. Basically, It tries to make Evocation a legitimate school to specialize in, but it is better against multiple enemies. I would appreciate constructive criticism (overpowered? underpowered? to hard / easy to qualify for? any superfluous abilities? anything I should change?), but compliments are nice too.
The Battlefield Devastator
This prestige class represents those who recognize the potential of the art of magic as a tool of war, whether those be steadfast commanders skilled in tactics or chaotic mages who use their magic for the swift destruction of enemy armies.
Requirements
Alignment: Any lawful or any chaotic
Feats: Greater Spell Focus (evocation), Spell Focus (evocation), Maximize Spell
Skills: Concentration 10 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks
Spellcasting: Able to cast at least two 4th-level arcane spells of the evocation school
The Battlefield Devastator
Hit Die: d6
{table=head]Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spellcasting
1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Armored Mage 5% | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Energy Mastery, Fearsome Blast (chaotic) or Lead the Front Lines (lawful) | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd | +1 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Improved Metamagic: Widen spell | --
4th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Blazing Glory (chaotic) or Selective Destruction (lawful) | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Armored Mage 15%, Energy Mastery | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th | +3 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Improved Metamagic: Empower spell, Wave of Carnage (chaotic) or Take Down the Leader (lawful) | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th | +3 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Bonus Metamagic Feat | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th | +4 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Destructive Casting (chaotic) or War General (lawful), Energy Mastery | --
9th | +4 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Improved Metamagic: Maximize spell, Armored Mage 30% | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th | +5 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Power Surge (chaotic) or Concentrated Assault (lawful) | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class[/table]
Class Skills: (4+int modifier per level) – Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (history) Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
Class Features
Spellcasting: At each level indicated on the chart, you gain increased spells per day and spells known (if any) as if you had gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class that you already have. You do not, however, gain any other abilities that class provides, such as bonus feats or improved familiar abilities. If you had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a Battlefield Devastator, you must choose which class to apply each level's benefit to.
Armored Mage: You are trained in fighting on the battlefield in armor. Your arcane spell failure chance (total from all armor and shields worn) is decreased by the amount shown on the table. In addition, you begin to gain proficiency with armor and shields. At 1st level, you gain proficiency with Light armor. At 5th level, you gain proficiency with Medium Armor and Light shields, and at 9th level you gain proficiency with Heavy shields (but not Tower shields). This cannot decrease the spell failure chance below 0%.
Destructive Specialization: Your body and mind are attuned to the school of Evocation at the expense of other schools. You must choose any one school of spells (except Evocation) to be banned from your use, as if you were a specialist Wizard. You cannot choose a school that is already banned to you.
Energy Mastery: You gain Energy Substitution as a bonus feat at 2nd, 5th, and 8th level.
Fearsome Blast: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 2nd level. When you cast an Evocation area spell (excluding Rays), you may make an Intimidate check against all creatures affected by the spell as a swift action, with a bonus equal to the spell’s level.
Lead the Front Lines: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 2nd level. You gain a bonus on Concentration checks made to cast defensively equal to the number of allies adjacent to you plus 3.
Improved Metamagic: You are accustomed to increasing your spells’ power. Starting at level 3, You may reduce the effective level increase of your Widen Spell feat by 1/3 of your level, maximum -3. At 6th level, you may apply this affect to your Empower Spell feat, and to your Maximize Spell feat at 9th level.
Blazing Glory: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 4th level. When you reduce an enemy to 0 or fewer hit points with an Evocation spell, you gain a +1 morale bonus to AC, attack rolls, and saving throws. This bonus lasts for 1 round per class level, and stack with each other; however, all bonuses you have accrued this way disappear when the duration for the first one you gained runs out.
Selective Destruction: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 4th level. When you cast an area spell, you may omit a number of 5-foot squares from the spell’s area equal to your class level.
Wave of Carnage: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 6th level. As a full-round action, you may cast any Evocation spell with a Range of touch or Area of ray to a spread with a radius of 15 ft. and a range of medium (100 ft. +10 ft. per level). You may not apply any metamagic feats to a spell changed in this way, and instead of an attack roll, the targets of the spell get a Reflex save for half damage. If the spell does not deal damage, they instead get a Fortitude or Will save to negate the effect, depending on the original spell.
Take Down the Leader: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 6th level. Once per day, you may decrease the save dc and damage dealt of any Evocation area spell you cast by an amount up to your class level. In exchange, you may increase the save dc and damage dealt by that amount +3 for any one single creature in the spell’s area. For example, an 8th-level Battlefield Devastator casts a cone of cold spell with a save dc of 20 on a group of 4 orc warriors and one orc cleric. Wanting to take down the cleric, he uses Take Down the Leader to decrease the save dc by 8 to 12 for the orc warriors, and increase by 11 to 31 for the orc cleric. He also deals 8 points less damage to the warriors and 11 points more damage to the cleric. This decreased damage cannot decrease the damage done by the spell below 0. You may only use this ability when you include multiple creatures in the spell's area; therefore, you may not just use this ability fighting one creature to gain a bonus without worrying about other creatures.
Bonus Metamagic Feat: At 7th level, you gain a bonus metamagic feat for which you meet the prerequisites.
Destructive Casting: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 8th level. You may ignore any hardness and energy resistance for any Evocation spell you cast to damage an object; however, you take a penalty on the save dc and damage dealt equal to one-half your class level on all creatures that the spell also affects. This bonus and penalty apply only when you want, but if you have a bonus, you also must have the penalty.
War General: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 8th level. Whenever he casts an arcane spell on an ally, there is a chance equal to 10 plus his primary arcane spellcasting ability modifier that the spell has its effects multiplied by 1 1/2. (If you have more than one arcane spellcasting ability modifier, you must choose one when you gain this ability and cannot later change it.) In addition, all allies within 10 ft. of the target of the spell gain half of the (increased) benefit of the spell if this succeeds. If the spell has a duration, the secondary targets gain the benefit for one-half the normal duration.
Power Surge: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 10th level. Once per day, as a full-round action, you may cast an Evocation spell with a normal casting time of 1 full-round action or less that gains a bonus to its save dc, damage, attack roll, and check to overcome spell resistance equal to 10+your primary spellcasting ability modifier. However, you take a penalty to spell’s save dc’s, attack rolls, damage, and checks to overcome SR for a number of minutes equal to the spell’s level. This penalty is equal to 5+the spell's level that was affected by the Power Surge.
Concentrated Assault: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 10th level. Once per day, as a free action, he may go on a concentrated assault. He must designate a creature within 60 ft. to be the target of the assault. When he casts an Evocation spell that targets the creature he selected, or has the selected creature in its area, that spell gains a bonus on the save dc, attack roll, damage, and check to overcome SR equal to 1+the number of spells he has cast that target or include in its area the specified creature during the duration of this concentrated assault, but he gets a penalty of the same amount to the save dc, attack roll, damage, and check to overcome SR against all other creatures included in his spells until the concentrated assault ends. This bonus only applies to the specified creature. A concentrated assault lasts for 10 rounds plus your constitution modifier, or until the target of the concentrated assault dies. You may voluntarily end a concentrated assault as a move action. The bonus damage is applied once per spell; spells that make multiple effects (such as Magic Missile and Scorching Ray) still only get the bonus damage once.
Yes, I know the table is hard to read, but I typed this in Word where it had an actual table. Deal with it. :smalltongue:
EDITS:
11/1/09: Changed Destructive Specialization to be less horrible; Changed how Energy Mastery works; Made Improved Metamagic less overpowered.
11/2/09: Added Bonus Metamagic at 7th level; Changed War General to be slightly less OP.
The Battlefield Devastator
This prestige class represents those who recognize the potential of the art of magic as a tool of war, whether those be steadfast commanders skilled in tactics or chaotic mages who use their magic for the swift destruction of enemy armies.
Requirements
Alignment: Any lawful or any chaotic
Feats: Greater Spell Focus (evocation), Spell Focus (evocation), Maximize Spell
Skills: Concentration 10 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks
Spellcasting: Able to cast at least two 4th-level arcane spells of the evocation school
The Battlefield Devastator
Hit Die: d6
{table=head]Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spellcasting
1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Armored Mage 5% | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Energy Mastery, Fearsome Blast (chaotic) or Lead the Front Lines (lawful) | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd | +1 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Improved Metamagic: Widen spell | --
4th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Blazing Glory (chaotic) or Selective Destruction (lawful) | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Armored Mage 15%, Energy Mastery | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th | +3 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Improved Metamagic: Empower spell, Wave of Carnage (chaotic) or Take Down the Leader (lawful) | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th | +3 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Bonus Metamagic Feat | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th | +4 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Destructive Casting (chaotic) or War General (lawful), Energy Mastery | --
9th | +4 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Improved Metamagic: Maximize spell, Armored Mage 30% | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th | +5 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Power Surge (chaotic) or Concentrated Assault (lawful) | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class[/table]
Class Skills: (4+int modifier per level) – Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (history) Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
Class Features
Spellcasting: At each level indicated on the chart, you gain increased spells per day and spells known (if any) as if you had gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class that you already have. You do not, however, gain any other abilities that class provides, such as bonus feats or improved familiar abilities. If you had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a Battlefield Devastator, you must choose which class to apply each level's benefit to.
Armored Mage: You are trained in fighting on the battlefield in armor. Your arcane spell failure chance (total from all armor and shields worn) is decreased by the amount shown on the table. In addition, you begin to gain proficiency with armor and shields. At 1st level, you gain proficiency with Light armor. At 5th level, you gain proficiency with Medium Armor and Light shields, and at 9th level you gain proficiency with Heavy shields (but not Tower shields). This cannot decrease the spell failure chance below 0%.
Destructive Specialization: Your body and mind are attuned to the school of Evocation at the expense of other schools. You must choose any one school of spells (except Evocation) to be banned from your use, as if you were a specialist Wizard. You cannot choose a school that is already banned to you.
Energy Mastery: You gain Energy Substitution as a bonus feat at 2nd, 5th, and 8th level.
Fearsome Blast: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 2nd level. When you cast an Evocation area spell (excluding Rays), you may make an Intimidate check against all creatures affected by the spell as a swift action, with a bonus equal to the spell’s level.
Lead the Front Lines: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 2nd level. You gain a bonus on Concentration checks made to cast defensively equal to the number of allies adjacent to you plus 3.
Improved Metamagic: You are accustomed to increasing your spells’ power. Starting at level 3, You may reduce the effective level increase of your Widen Spell feat by 1/3 of your level, maximum -3. At 6th level, you may apply this affect to your Empower Spell feat, and to your Maximize Spell feat at 9th level.
Blazing Glory: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 4th level. When you reduce an enemy to 0 or fewer hit points with an Evocation spell, you gain a +1 morale bonus to AC, attack rolls, and saving throws. This bonus lasts for 1 round per class level, and stack with each other; however, all bonuses you have accrued this way disappear when the duration for the first one you gained runs out.
Selective Destruction: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 4th level. When you cast an area spell, you may omit a number of 5-foot squares from the spell’s area equal to your class level.
Wave of Carnage: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 6th level. As a full-round action, you may cast any Evocation spell with a Range of touch or Area of ray to a spread with a radius of 15 ft. and a range of medium (100 ft. +10 ft. per level). You may not apply any metamagic feats to a spell changed in this way, and instead of an attack roll, the targets of the spell get a Reflex save for half damage. If the spell does not deal damage, they instead get a Fortitude or Will save to negate the effect, depending on the original spell.
Take Down the Leader: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 6th level. Once per day, you may decrease the save dc and damage dealt of any Evocation area spell you cast by an amount up to your class level. In exchange, you may increase the save dc and damage dealt by that amount +3 for any one single creature in the spell’s area. For example, an 8th-level Battlefield Devastator casts a cone of cold spell with a save dc of 20 on a group of 4 orc warriors and one orc cleric. Wanting to take down the cleric, he uses Take Down the Leader to decrease the save dc by 8 to 12 for the orc warriors, and increase by 11 to 31 for the orc cleric. He also deals 8 points less damage to the warriors and 11 points more damage to the cleric. This decreased damage cannot decrease the damage done by the spell below 0. You may only use this ability when you include multiple creatures in the spell's area; therefore, you may not just use this ability fighting one creature to gain a bonus without worrying about other creatures.
Bonus Metamagic Feat: At 7th level, you gain a bonus metamagic feat for which you meet the prerequisites.
Destructive Casting: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 8th level. You may ignore any hardness and energy resistance for any Evocation spell you cast to damage an object; however, you take a penalty on the save dc and damage dealt equal to one-half your class level on all creatures that the spell also affects. This bonus and penalty apply only when you want, but if you have a bonus, you also must have the penalty.
War General: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 8th level. Whenever he casts an arcane spell on an ally, there is a chance equal to 10 plus his primary arcane spellcasting ability modifier that the spell has its effects multiplied by 1 1/2. (If you have more than one arcane spellcasting ability modifier, you must choose one when you gain this ability and cannot later change it.) In addition, all allies within 10 ft. of the target of the spell gain half of the (increased) benefit of the spell if this succeeds. If the spell has a duration, the secondary targets gain the benefit for one-half the normal duration.
Power Surge: A chaos-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 10th level. Once per day, as a full-round action, you may cast an Evocation spell with a normal casting time of 1 full-round action or less that gains a bonus to its save dc, damage, attack roll, and check to overcome spell resistance equal to 10+your primary spellcasting ability modifier. However, you take a penalty to spell’s save dc’s, attack rolls, damage, and checks to overcome SR for a number of minutes equal to the spell’s level. This penalty is equal to 5+the spell's level that was affected by the Power Surge.
Concentrated Assault: A law-aligned Battlefield Devastator gains this ability at 10th level. Once per day, as a free action, he may go on a concentrated assault. He must designate a creature within 60 ft. to be the target of the assault. When he casts an Evocation spell that targets the creature he selected, or has the selected creature in its area, that spell gains a bonus on the save dc, attack roll, damage, and check to overcome SR equal to 1+the number of spells he has cast that target or include in its area the specified creature during the duration of this concentrated assault, but he gets a penalty of the same amount to the save dc, attack roll, damage, and check to overcome SR against all other creatures included in his spells until the concentrated assault ends. This bonus only applies to the specified creature. A concentrated assault lasts for 10 rounds plus your constitution modifier, or until the target of the concentrated assault dies. You may voluntarily end a concentrated assault as a move action. The bonus damage is applied once per spell; spells that make multiple effects (such as Magic Missile and Scorching Ray) still only get the bonus damage once.
Yes, I know the table is hard to read, but I typed this in Word where it had an actual table. Deal with it. :smalltongue:
EDITS:
11/1/09: Changed Destructive Specialization to be less horrible; Changed how Energy Mastery works; Made Improved Metamagic less overpowered.
11/2/09: Added Bonus Metamagic at 7th level; Changed War General to be slightly less OP.