DragoonWraith
2010-05-23, 02:02 PM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/DragoonWraith/Dungeons%20and%20Dragons/Homebrew/MageofIceandFire.png
Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice Is also great
And would suffice.
Robert Frost
The powers of fire and ice have always dominated the multiverse, shaping the flow of all energy and dictating the life and death of untold numbers. Many elementalists have devoted their entire lives to the study of one or the other.
Mages of Ice and Fire eschew this opposition, and embrace both, seeing a place for both in their worlds.
Wiki Page (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=Mage_of_Ice_and_Fire)
This class is custom-made for a character that I'm making, and I've therefore tried to be extremely conservative with it. I don't think it's actually worth a spellcasting level (though the character is Gestalt and will be able to get around that), but it's pretty much in line with most blasting PrCs out there, I think.
Becoming a Mage of Ice and Fire
Mages of Ice and Fire are, of course, spellcasters. They specialize in spells that deal elemental, namely Cold and Fire, damage, and so are commonly Evokers and Sorcerers. Notably, the requirements for the class do not require that Sorcerers wait an additional level compared to their Wizard brethren, as both can meet the requirements by level 6.
Prerequisites
Spellcasting
Ability to cast 2nd level spells, including at least one with the Cold descriptor and at least one with the Fire descriptor.
Feat
Energy Substitution (Cold or Fire)
Skills
Knowledge (Arcana) 8 ranks,
Knowledge (Nature) and Knowledge (The Planes) combined, 2 ranks total,
Survival 2 ranks,
Spellcraft 8 ranks.
Class Features of the Mage of Ice and Fire
The following are all class features of the Mage of Ice and Fire.
Hit Die
d4.
Skills
Skill Points per Level: 2+Int.
Class Skills: The following skills (and their key ability modifiers) are class skills for the Mage of Ice and Fire: Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (all skills taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Survival (Wis).
Table 1: Mage of Ice and Fire
{table=head]Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spellcasting
1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Dichotomy | +1 level of existing spellcasting class
2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Bonus Feat | +1 level of existing spellcasting class
3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Flexible Dichotomy | +1 level of existing spellcasting class
4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Bonus Feat | +1 level of existing spellcasting class
5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Dichotomy Admixture, Extreme Dichotomy | -[/table]
Armor and Weapon Proficiency
The Mage of Ice and Fire gains no proficiency in armor or weapons.
Spellcasting
At each class level except fifth, the Mage of Ice and Fire gains an increase in caster level, spells per day, and spells known as if she had gained a level in any spellcasting class to which she had already belonged. She does not gain any other benefit that this class would have received. If she has more than one spellcasting class, she must choose to which class this benefit applies at each level.
Dichotomy
Mages of Ice and Fire revel in the union of these two opposed energies, and never use one without the other. When casting any spell that deals Cold or Fire damage, the Mage may choose to cause half the damage to be of the other Energy type, and the spell gains the appropriate descriptor in addition to its original descriptor(s). Even if the spell does not deal damage, the Mage may add the opposing descriptor to any spell with the Cold or Fire descriptor.
Bonus Feat
At 2nd level, a Mage of Ice and Fire gains her choice of Searing Spell or Piercing Cold as a bonus feat. At 4th level, she gains the other. If she already has both feats, she may instead choose any metamagic feat that requires spells of either the Cold or Fire descriptor, or functions only on spells of the Cold or Fire descriptor (e.g. Lord of the Uttercold, Blistering Spell, etc.). She must meet the requirements for any Feat she takes.
Flexible Dichotomy
Beginning at 3rd level, whenever a Mage of Ice and Fire casts a spell using her Dichotomy feature, the relative proportions of Cold and Fire damage may be set at will by the Mage, including 100% of the opposite element.
Moreover, if the Mage has any feats or class features that allow the damage type of Cold or Fire damage to be changed partially to another type (e.g. Lord of the Uttercold turns Cold damage into half Cold, half Negative), or the spell natively has another damage type in addition to Cold or Fire, this proportion may also be manipulated at will, even to the extent that the spell becomes entirely a third damage type. For example, a 3rd level Mage of Ice and Fire with the Lord of the Uttercold feat could cast a Fireball that deals 100% Negative Energy damage.
Regardless of the type(s) of damage actually dealt, the spell retains any descriptors associated with the damage it could potentially do (so a 100% Cold damage Fireball is still both Cold and Fire).
Dichotomy Admixture
At the height of her powers, a 5th level Mage of Ice and Fire casting any spell using her Dichotomy class feature, treats the spell as Empowered, without an increase in casting time or spell level. The particular proportion of damage from each type (including extra types derived from feats or class features) is still up to the Mage to decide.
She may also add the Cold and/or the Fire descriptors to any spell she casts, at will, though she only gains the above benefit if the spell deals Cold or Fire damage. Adding the Cold or Fire descriptor to a spell that does neither form of damage does not cause the spell to deal Cold or Fire damage or trigger the above feature, it merely allows the spell to trigger other features that key off of these descriptors, such as Extreme Dichotomy below.
Extreme Dichotomy
Due to the extreme temperature differences, anyone negatively affected by a spell with both the Cold and Fire descriptors cast by a 5th level Mage of Ice and Fire must make a Fortitude save or be subject to both frostbite (-2 penalty to Dexterity) and heat stroke (if well, becomes fatigued; if fatigued, becomes exhausted; if exhausted, becomes disabled).
Note that clothing, certain feats (e.g. Cold Endurance and Heat Endurance), as well as skill in Survival, can provide bonuses against these effects, and that the DC for one effect may be different from the other (for example, heavy clothing protects against frostbite, but makes the risk of heat stroke that much greater). Roll one saving throw, but compare it against both DCs if they are different.
This effect lasts until the end of the Mage's next turn, though further dual damage can extend the effect and escalate the heat stroke. After the effect wears off, both the frostbite's Dexterity penalty and the heat stroke's fatigue is removed, though if the heat stroke was severe (resulted in disability), the target remains fatigued until it gets a full night's rest.
Credits
The poem is, of course, by Robert Frost.
The image is adapted slightly from Elementalist (http://drcloud.deviantart.com/art/Elementalist-113490153) by drcloud.
Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice Is also great
And would suffice.
Robert Frost
The powers of fire and ice have always dominated the multiverse, shaping the flow of all energy and dictating the life and death of untold numbers. Many elementalists have devoted their entire lives to the study of one or the other.
Mages of Ice and Fire eschew this opposition, and embrace both, seeing a place for both in their worlds.
Wiki Page (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=Mage_of_Ice_and_Fire)
This class is custom-made for a character that I'm making, and I've therefore tried to be extremely conservative with it. I don't think it's actually worth a spellcasting level (though the character is Gestalt and will be able to get around that), but it's pretty much in line with most blasting PrCs out there, I think.
Becoming a Mage of Ice and Fire
Mages of Ice and Fire are, of course, spellcasters. They specialize in spells that deal elemental, namely Cold and Fire, damage, and so are commonly Evokers and Sorcerers. Notably, the requirements for the class do not require that Sorcerers wait an additional level compared to their Wizard brethren, as both can meet the requirements by level 6.
Prerequisites
Spellcasting
Ability to cast 2nd level spells, including at least one with the Cold descriptor and at least one with the Fire descriptor.
Feat
Energy Substitution (Cold or Fire)
Skills
Knowledge (Arcana) 8 ranks,
Knowledge (Nature) and Knowledge (The Planes) combined, 2 ranks total,
Survival 2 ranks,
Spellcraft 8 ranks.
Class Features of the Mage of Ice and Fire
The following are all class features of the Mage of Ice and Fire.
Hit Die
d4.
Skills
Skill Points per Level: 2+Int.
Class Skills: The following skills (and their key ability modifiers) are class skills for the Mage of Ice and Fire: Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (all skills taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Survival (Wis).
Table 1: Mage of Ice and Fire
{table=head]Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spellcasting
1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Dichotomy | +1 level of existing spellcasting class
2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Bonus Feat | +1 level of existing spellcasting class
3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Flexible Dichotomy | +1 level of existing spellcasting class
4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Bonus Feat | +1 level of existing spellcasting class
5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Dichotomy Admixture, Extreme Dichotomy | -[/table]
Armor and Weapon Proficiency
The Mage of Ice and Fire gains no proficiency in armor or weapons.
Spellcasting
At each class level except fifth, the Mage of Ice and Fire gains an increase in caster level, spells per day, and spells known as if she had gained a level in any spellcasting class to which she had already belonged. She does not gain any other benefit that this class would have received. If she has more than one spellcasting class, she must choose to which class this benefit applies at each level.
Dichotomy
Mages of Ice and Fire revel in the union of these two opposed energies, and never use one without the other. When casting any spell that deals Cold or Fire damage, the Mage may choose to cause half the damage to be of the other Energy type, and the spell gains the appropriate descriptor in addition to its original descriptor(s). Even if the spell does not deal damage, the Mage may add the opposing descriptor to any spell with the Cold or Fire descriptor.
Bonus Feat
At 2nd level, a Mage of Ice and Fire gains her choice of Searing Spell or Piercing Cold as a bonus feat. At 4th level, she gains the other. If she already has both feats, she may instead choose any metamagic feat that requires spells of either the Cold or Fire descriptor, or functions only on spells of the Cold or Fire descriptor (e.g. Lord of the Uttercold, Blistering Spell, etc.). She must meet the requirements for any Feat she takes.
Flexible Dichotomy
Beginning at 3rd level, whenever a Mage of Ice and Fire casts a spell using her Dichotomy feature, the relative proportions of Cold and Fire damage may be set at will by the Mage, including 100% of the opposite element.
Moreover, if the Mage has any feats or class features that allow the damage type of Cold or Fire damage to be changed partially to another type (e.g. Lord of the Uttercold turns Cold damage into half Cold, half Negative), or the spell natively has another damage type in addition to Cold or Fire, this proportion may also be manipulated at will, even to the extent that the spell becomes entirely a third damage type. For example, a 3rd level Mage of Ice and Fire with the Lord of the Uttercold feat could cast a Fireball that deals 100% Negative Energy damage.
Regardless of the type(s) of damage actually dealt, the spell retains any descriptors associated with the damage it could potentially do (so a 100% Cold damage Fireball is still both Cold and Fire).
Dichotomy Admixture
At the height of her powers, a 5th level Mage of Ice and Fire casting any spell using her Dichotomy class feature, treats the spell as Empowered, without an increase in casting time or spell level. The particular proportion of damage from each type (including extra types derived from feats or class features) is still up to the Mage to decide.
She may also add the Cold and/or the Fire descriptors to any spell she casts, at will, though she only gains the above benefit if the spell deals Cold or Fire damage. Adding the Cold or Fire descriptor to a spell that does neither form of damage does not cause the spell to deal Cold or Fire damage or trigger the above feature, it merely allows the spell to trigger other features that key off of these descriptors, such as Extreme Dichotomy below.
Extreme Dichotomy
Due to the extreme temperature differences, anyone negatively affected by a spell with both the Cold and Fire descriptors cast by a 5th level Mage of Ice and Fire must make a Fortitude save or be subject to both frostbite (-2 penalty to Dexterity) and heat stroke (if well, becomes fatigued; if fatigued, becomes exhausted; if exhausted, becomes disabled).
Note that clothing, certain feats (e.g. Cold Endurance and Heat Endurance), as well as skill in Survival, can provide bonuses against these effects, and that the DC for one effect may be different from the other (for example, heavy clothing protects against frostbite, but makes the risk of heat stroke that much greater). Roll one saving throw, but compare it against both DCs if they are different.
This effect lasts until the end of the Mage's next turn, though further dual damage can extend the effect and escalate the heat stroke. After the effect wears off, both the frostbite's Dexterity penalty and the heat stroke's fatigue is removed, though if the heat stroke was severe (resulted in disability), the target remains fatigued until it gets a full night's rest.
Credits
The poem is, of course, by Robert Frost.
The image is adapted slightly from Elementalist (http://drcloud.deviantart.com/art/Elementalist-113490153) by drcloud.