Soilborn
2011-01-07, 02:53 AM
I've been toying with this idea for a while and thought I'd finally get it down in text. Toss me some feedback so I can iron this guy out. I'm not too thrilled with the name "Arcane Palm," but it will suffice for now. This is my first shot at a home-brew PrC, so please be gentle.
The Arcane Palm
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/8403/arcanepalm.jpg
Image by Chriss2d. (http://chriss2d.deviantart.com/art/MtG-Online-Prodigal-Sorcerer-131824044)
"They’re supposed to be weak and fearful! They hide behind their friends and cast their spells, but get in their face and they go down in seconds. This one must have been swinging a massive pair; he jumped right in and, with a few taps of his hands, felled half my squad. Burned to a crisp, frozen in place, dissolved into puddles, in the blink of an eye. " – Sergeant Terian Velodus
The stereotype of the adventuring wizard is one who stands behind his allies, carefully browsing his spell book and summoning forth waves of arcane might as he sees right for the current situation. They are labeled as analytical individuals that distance themselves from battle to defend their relative frailty and maintain a stable mind apart from the frenzy of bloodshed nearby. But not all share this mindset. Be it the thrill of melee or the personal interaction involved with their work, Arcane Palms rush into the heat of battle at the front line merely to touch, more often than not decimating their enemies before even the thought of retaliation can reaches their minds.
Arcane Palms specialize in touch attacks not as a way to defend against encroaching enemies but as a method of pure offense. Though still not particularly sturdy they are tougher than the average wizard, improving their odds at surviving melee combat. There is little formal training required to become an Arcane Palm, it is more a state of mind and optimization of a specific set of the wizard’s tools.
Becoming an Arcane Palm
The most important aspect of the Arcane Palm is access to arcane magic. Regardless of the reason for their urge to join the brawl, spells are still the Arcane Palm's primary tool of combat. With the rigors of melee come the dangers, and only the immensely skilled or incredibly foolish would risk life and limb without at least light protection.
Wizards and Sorcerers have the most to gain from becoming Arcane Palms. The class's thirst for devastation at a personal level appeals greatly towards the academic with chaotic streaks, and the experience they gain in melee helps to make them sturdier individuals.
A direct confrontational approach can often appeal to Warmages who already possess much of the requisite training, though many who eye the Arcane Palm’s way usually strive to perfect spellcasting in medium armor first. A well protected Warmage makes for a surprisingly deadly Arcane Palm.
Rare are Beguilers and Dread Necromancers who show interest; though these classes often find that their capabilities can mesh well with the skills of the Arcane Palm’s, their usual methods of combat don’t. Even rarer are Duskblades and Hexblades who rely on completely different tactics in combat and find the juxtaposition of skill sets too extreme to combine.
Hit Dice: d8
Requirements
Proficiencies: Light Armor.
Feats: Weapon Focus (Touch Spells).
Spellcasting: Arcane caster level 3rd.
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2| Armored Mage (light), Petal Supplement, Touch Retention, Spell Bloom 1/day | ---
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3| Ambidextrous Touch 1 |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Spell Bloom 2/day, Swift Bloom |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4| Finger Cleave |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4| Spell Bloom 3/day |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+5| Ambidextrous Touch 2 |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th|
+5|
+2|
+2|
+5| Spell Bloom 4/day, Supernatural Bloom |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th|
+6|
+2|
+2|
+6| Supreme Finger Cleave |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
9th|
+6|
+3|
+3|
+6| Spell Bloom 5/day |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th|
+7|
+3|
+3|
+7| Adaptive Bloom |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class[/table]
Class Skills:
The Arcane Palm‘s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), and Spellcraft (Int)
Skill-points per level: 2 + Int modifier
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Arcane Palms gain no proficiency with any weapons or armor.
Spells per Day: On every level except 1st, when a new Arcane Palm level is gained, he gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of Arcane Palm to the level of whatever other arcane spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly.
If an Arcane Palm had more than one arcane spellcasting class before he became an Arcane Palm, he must decide to which class he adds each level of Arcane Palm for the purpose of determining spells per day.
Armored Mage (light) (Ex): If the character did not have the Armored Mage (light) class ability before becoming an Arcane Palm he gains it at 1st level. Armored Mage (light) negates the arcane spell failure chance of any light armor worn by the Arcane Palm. Medium and heavy armor arcane spell failure chances remain unaffected unless the character has Armored Mage (medium), Armored Mage (heavy), or a similar ability prior to gaining levels in Arcane Palm.
Petal Supplement: The Arcane Palm's signature ability is derivative of an incantation known as Spell Flower (Spell Compendium p. 198) and the user must be familiar with it to utilize Spell Bloom. At 1st level, if the character does not possess Spell Flower on their list of class spells they may add it as a 1st level spell. It may be prepared and cast just as any other spell that character knows.
Spell Bloom (Sp): Arcane Palms are able to channel their spells within their own bodies, focusing them on their limbs. Starting at 1st level an Arcane Palm may assume the Spell Bloom state as a standard action. This ability allows the Arcane Palm to hold the charge of one melee touch spell or spell-like ability per manipulating limb of his body as long as he doesn’t use a charged limb to cast another spell. This allows a standard humanoid to store two spells (one in each arm,) a Thri-Kreen with four arms to store four spells, an intelligent squid to store one in each tentacle, etc. Each touch spell he casts resides in a different forelimb. For the duration of this ability, any touch spells he casts are discharged only if he casts another spell with that forelimb. This effect lasts a number of rounds equal to the user’s arcane spellcasting level. Any spells held once Spell Bloom expires fizzle away and are lost.
Metamagic must be applied to spells at the time of their storage in a limb using Spell Bloom. Any metamagic effects that extend the range of a melee touch spell lose that effect.
Spell Bloom may only be used to store spells in limbs attached naturally to the user's body. Temporary limbs such as those granted by Girallon's Blessing are viable for this purpose, but a Spectral Hand is not.
The Arcane Palm may choose to discharge both limbs as a standard action, either against the same or two different enemies. Doing so counts as two-weapon fighting with light weapons and incurs the associated penalties.
The Arcane Palm can use the Spell Bloom state once a day beginning at 1st level and gains an additional use every odd level (2 and 3rd, 3 at 5th, 4 at 7th and 5 at 9th.)
Touch Retention (Su): Normally, touching a surface with a spell charged to a limb will cause the spell to automatically discharge. The Arcane Palm however can prevent his spells from being unintentionally miscast. Whenever the player would normally unintentionally discharge their spell they may roll a Concentration check (DC: 15 + spell level - Arcane Palm level) to retain it.
Ambidextrous Touch (Ex): At 2nd level the Arcane Palm is treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat in regards to touch attacks only. At 9th level the attack penalty for using touch attacks for two-weapon fighting is reduced to 0.
Swift Bloom (Sp): Beginning at 3rd level the Arcane Palm can activate Spell Bloom as a swift action.
Finger Cleave (Ex): Beginning at 4th level the Arcane Palm gains the Finger Cleave ability. If he deals a creature enough damage with a melee touch attack to make it drop (typically by dropping it to below 0 hit points or killing it), he gets an immediate, extra melee touch attack against another creature within reach as a free action. He cannot take a 5-foot step before making this extra attack. The extra attack is with the same touch attack and at the same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous creature, as though the spell still remained held in the associated limb. The Arcane Palm can use this ability once per round.
Supernatural Bloom (Su): From 7th level onward, Spell Bloom counts as a supernatural ability. This benefit does not extend to the spells held or discharged by Spell Bloom.
Supreme Finger Cleave (Ex): Beginning at 8th level the Arcane Palm gains the Supreme Finger Cleave ability. This ability works like Finger Cleave, except that there is no limit to the number of times he may use it per round. Additionally, he can take a 5-foot step between attacks when using Finger Cleave. He can only make one 5-foot step per round.
Adaptive Bloom: At 10th level the flexibility of Spell Bloom increases exponentially. Spell Bloom gains the ability to hold rays and other single-target spells. Ray spells can be released as either melee or ranged touch attacks, but are subject to the benefits of the Supreme Finger Cleave ability only as melee touch attacks. Single-target spells may be released as a melee touch attack only and are subject to the Supreme Finger Cleave only against the touched opponent.
Playing an Arcane Palm
Adaptation: Arcane Palms are not necessarily too different from the classes they stem from. Wizards find this class the most flexible; with their access to most every arcane spell in the game they can load up on rays and touch attacks and go to town, or continue to cast spells from range as they see fit. On the other hand, specialist classes such as the Beguiler and Duskblade don’t have to bother wasting a feat on light armor proficiency and tend to have more health from previous levels, making survivability in melee combat easier. Keep in mind too that Spell Bloom can also hold spell-like abilities, broadening the array of options available to different characters with more unusual capabilities.
Combat: Arcane Palms are versatile combatants. With only one lost level of arcane progression an Arcane Palm remains a formidable spell-casting force outside of melee combat, but stars just as much within. He operates mainly through hit-and-run tactics, taking a turn or two to ready and charge his Spell Bloom ability before rushing in to unleash a fury of magical touch attacks. With their charges exhausted they fall back and ready another assault as necessary.
Advancement: A martial class that improves the character’s hit dice and base attack bonus will allow for better survivability, permitting the Arcane Palm to stay in combat more readily. For many arcane classes however the Arcane Palm offers either an improvement or exchange of abilities in and of itself, and few spellcasters are willing to lose more than one or two caster levels.
The Arcane Palm
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/8403/arcanepalm.jpg
Image by Chriss2d. (http://chriss2d.deviantart.com/art/MtG-Online-Prodigal-Sorcerer-131824044)
"They’re supposed to be weak and fearful! They hide behind their friends and cast their spells, but get in their face and they go down in seconds. This one must have been swinging a massive pair; he jumped right in and, with a few taps of his hands, felled half my squad. Burned to a crisp, frozen in place, dissolved into puddles, in the blink of an eye. " – Sergeant Terian Velodus
The stereotype of the adventuring wizard is one who stands behind his allies, carefully browsing his spell book and summoning forth waves of arcane might as he sees right for the current situation. They are labeled as analytical individuals that distance themselves from battle to defend their relative frailty and maintain a stable mind apart from the frenzy of bloodshed nearby. But not all share this mindset. Be it the thrill of melee or the personal interaction involved with their work, Arcane Palms rush into the heat of battle at the front line merely to touch, more often than not decimating their enemies before even the thought of retaliation can reaches their minds.
Arcane Palms specialize in touch attacks not as a way to defend against encroaching enemies but as a method of pure offense. Though still not particularly sturdy they are tougher than the average wizard, improving their odds at surviving melee combat. There is little formal training required to become an Arcane Palm, it is more a state of mind and optimization of a specific set of the wizard’s tools.
Becoming an Arcane Palm
The most important aspect of the Arcane Palm is access to arcane magic. Regardless of the reason for their urge to join the brawl, spells are still the Arcane Palm's primary tool of combat. With the rigors of melee come the dangers, and only the immensely skilled or incredibly foolish would risk life and limb without at least light protection.
Wizards and Sorcerers have the most to gain from becoming Arcane Palms. The class's thirst for devastation at a personal level appeals greatly towards the academic with chaotic streaks, and the experience they gain in melee helps to make them sturdier individuals.
A direct confrontational approach can often appeal to Warmages who already possess much of the requisite training, though many who eye the Arcane Palm’s way usually strive to perfect spellcasting in medium armor first. A well protected Warmage makes for a surprisingly deadly Arcane Palm.
Rare are Beguilers and Dread Necromancers who show interest; though these classes often find that their capabilities can mesh well with the skills of the Arcane Palm’s, their usual methods of combat don’t. Even rarer are Duskblades and Hexblades who rely on completely different tactics in combat and find the juxtaposition of skill sets too extreme to combine.
Hit Dice: d8
Requirements
Proficiencies: Light Armor.
Feats: Weapon Focus (Touch Spells).
Spellcasting: Arcane caster level 3rd.
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2| Armored Mage (light), Petal Supplement, Touch Retention, Spell Bloom 1/day | ---
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3| Ambidextrous Touch 1 |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Spell Bloom 2/day, Swift Bloom |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4| Finger Cleave |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4| Spell Bloom 3/day |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+5| Ambidextrous Touch 2 |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th|
+5|
+2|
+2|
+5| Spell Bloom 4/day, Supernatural Bloom |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th|
+6|
+2|
+2|
+6| Supreme Finger Cleave |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
9th|
+6|
+3|
+3|
+6| Spell Bloom 5/day |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th|
+7|
+3|
+3|
+7| Adaptive Bloom |+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class[/table]
Class Skills:
The Arcane Palm‘s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), and Spellcraft (Int)
Skill-points per level: 2 + Int modifier
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Arcane Palms gain no proficiency with any weapons or armor.
Spells per Day: On every level except 1st, when a new Arcane Palm level is gained, he gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of Arcane Palm to the level of whatever other arcane spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly.
If an Arcane Palm had more than one arcane spellcasting class before he became an Arcane Palm, he must decide to which class he adds each level of Arcane Palm for the purpose of determining spells per day.
Armored Mage (light) (Ex): If the character did not have the Armored Mage (light) class ability before becoming an Arcane Palm he gains it at 1st level. Armored Mage (light) negates the arcane spell failure chance of any light armor worn by the Arcane Palm. Medium and heavy armor arcane spell failure chances remain unaffected unless the character has Armored Mage (medium), Armored Mage (heavy), or a similar ability prior to gaining levels in Arcane Palm.
Petal Supplement: The Arcane Palm's signature ability is derivative of an incantation known as Spell Flower (Spell Compendium p. 198) and the user must be familiar with it to utilize Spell Bloom. At 1st level, if the character does not possess Spell Flower on their list of class spells they may add it as a 1st level spell. It may be prepared and cast just as any other spell that character knows.
Spell Bloom (Sp): Arcane Palms are able to channel their spells within their own bodies, focusing them on their limbs. Starting at 1st level an Arcane Palm may assume the Spell Bloom state as a standard action. This ability allows the Arcane Palm to hold the charge of one melee touch spell or spell-like ability per manipulating limb of his body as long as he doesn’t use a charged limb to cast another spell. This allows a standard humanoid to store two spells (one in each arm,) a Thri-Kreen with four arms to store four spells, an intelligent squid to store one in each tentacle, etc. Each touch spell he casts resides in a different forelimb. For the duration of this ability, any touch spells he casts are discharged only if he casts another spell with that forelimb. This effect lasts a number of rounds equal to the user’s arcane spellcasting level. Any spells held once Spell Bloom expires fizzle away and are lost.
Metamagic must be applied to spells at the time of their storage in a limb using Spell Bloom. Any metamagic effects that extend the range of a melee touch spell lose that effect.
Spell Bloom may only be used to store spells in limbs attached naturally to the user's body. Temporary limbs such as those granted by Girallon's Blessing are viable for this purpose, but a Spectral Hand is not.
The Arcane Palm may choose to discharge both limbs as a standard action, either against the same or two different enemies. Doing so counts as two-weapon fighting with light weapons and incurs the associated penalties.
The Arcane Palm can use the Spell Bloom state once a day beginning at 1st level and gains an additional use every odd level (2 and 3rd, 3 at 5th, 4 at 7th and 5 at 9th.)
Touch Retention (Su): Normally, touching a surface with a spell charged to a limb will cause the spell to automatically discharge. The Arcane Palm however can prevent his spells from being unintentionally miscast. Whenever the player would normally unintentionally discharge their spell they may roll a Concentration check (DC: 15 + spell level - Arcane Palm level) to retain it.
Ambidextrous Touch (Ex): At 2nd level the Arcane Palm is treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat in regards to touch attacks only. At 9th level the attack penalty for using touch attacks for two-weapon fighting is reduced to 0.
Swift Bloom (Sp): Beginning at 3rd level the Arcane Palm can activate Spell Bloom as a swift action.
Finger Cleave (Ex): Beginning at 4th level the Arcane Palm gains the Finger Cleave ability. If he deals a creature enough damage with a melee touch attack to make it drop (typically by dropping it to below 0 hit points or killing it), he gets an immediate, extra melee touch attack against another creature within reach as a free action. He cannot take a 5-foot step before making this extra attack. The extra attack is with the same touch attack and at the same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous creature, as though the spell still remained held in the associated limb. The Arcane Palm can use this ability once per round.
Supernatural Bloom (Su): From 7th level onward, Spell Bloom counts as a supernatural ability. This benefit does not extend to the spells held or discharged by Spell Bloom.
Supreme Finger Cleave (Ex): Beginning at 8th level the Arcane Palm gains the Supreme Finger Cleave ability. This ability works like Finger Cleave, except that there is no limit to the number of times he may use it per round. Additionally, he can take a 5-foot step between attacks when using Finger Cleave. He can only make one 5-foot step per round.
Adaptive Bloom: At 10th level the flexibility of Spell Bloom increases exponentially. Spell Bloom gains the ability to hold rays and other single-target spells. Ray spells can be released as either melee or ranged touch attacks, but are subject to the benefits of the Supreme Finger Cleave ability only as melee touch attacks. Single-target spells may be released as a melee touch attack only and are subject to the Supreme Finger Cleave only against the touched opponent.
Playing an Arcane Palm
Adaptation: Arcane Palms are not necessarily too different from the classes they stem from. Wizards find this class the most flexible; with their access to most every arcane spell in the game they can load up on rays and touch attacks and go to town, or continue to cast spells from range as they see fit. On the other hand, specialist classes such as the Beguiler and Duskblade don’t have to bother wasting a feat on light armor proficiency and tend to have more health from previous levels, making survivability in melee combat easier. Keep in mind too that Spell Bloom can also hold spell-like abilities, broadening the array of options available to different characters with more unusual capabilities.
Combat: Arcane Palms are versatile combatants. With only one lost level of arcane progression an Arcane Palm remains a formidable spell-casting force outside of melee combat, but stars just as much within. He operates mainly through hit-and-run tactics, taking a turn or two to ready and charge his Spell Bloom ability before rushing in to unleash a fury of magical touch attacks. With their charges exhausted they fall back and ready another assault as necessary.
Advancement: A martial class that improves the character’s hit dice and base attack bonus will allow for better survivability, permitting the Arcane Palm to stay in combat more readily. For many arcane classes however the Arcane Palm offers either an improvement or exchange of abilities in and of itself, and few spellcasters are willing to lose more than one or two caster levels.