PDA

View Full Version : Arcane Cleric [P.E.A.C.H.]



ExemplarofAvg
2011-05-16, 09:54 PM
I like wizards, I do, but I roll terribly, and it's not the dice, it's me most assuredly, so I made a class to fix it all, a non-squishy wizard, or an Arcane Cleric (sort-of). This is my second class on the boards but not my second ever made please be as harsh as you need to be, and if someone could please tell me how to make a proper table for the stats, that would be appreciated as I have no idea what I'm doing I will try to align everything so that it makes sense but it didn't work the last time, and I fear it will be worse this time, so without further ado, The Dark Magus


Dark Mage
Alignment: Any non-Lawful, non-Good
D8
{table=head] Level | Bab | Fort | Ref | Will | Class Abilities | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
1 | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Armored Casting | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | |- | - | - | -
2 | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -
3 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | -
4 | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | -
5 | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | -
6|+4|+2|+2|+5||4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-
7|+5|+2|+2|+5| |4|4| 3| 2|1|-|-|- |-|-
8|+6/+1|+2|+2|+6| |4|4|3|3|2|-|-|- |-|-
9 |+6/+1 |+3| +3 |+6 | |4 |4 |4 |3 |2 |1 |-| -| -| -|
10 |+7/+2 |+3| +3| +7| | 4| 4| 4| 3| 3| 2| |- |- |- |-
11| +8/+3 |+3 |+3 |+7| |4| 4| 4| 4| 3| 2| 1| -| -| -
12 |+9/+4 |+4 |+4 |+8 | |4| 4| 4| |4 |3 |3 |2 |- |- |-
13| +9/+4| +4 |+4| +8| |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |3 |2|1 |- |-
14 |+10/+5| +4 |+4 |+9 | |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |3 |3 |2 |- |-
15 |+11/+6/+1| +5| +5| +9| |4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 3| 2| 1| -|
16 |+12/+7/+2 |+5| +5| +10 | |4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 3| 3| 2| -
17 |+12/+7/+2 |+5| +5| +10| |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |3 |2 |1
18 |+13/+8/+3 |+6 |+6| +11| |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |3 |3 |2
19 |+14/+9/+4 |+6 |+6 |+11| |4 |4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 3| 3|
20 |+15/+10/+5| +6| +6| +12| |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |4
[/table]
Skills: Bluff, Concentration, Decipher Script, Forgery, Knowledge (All Skills taken individually) and Spellcraft

Skill Points at 1st level: (2+Int modifier) x4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2+Int modifier

Dark Mages are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as light armor, but not any other armor or shields as it interferes with a Dark Mages spellcasting.

Spells A Dark Mage casts arcane spells that are drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list. A Dark Mage must choose and prepare His spells ahead of time. To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the Dark Mage must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Dark Mage’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Dark Mage’s Charisma modifier. Like other spellcasters, a Dark Mage can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Dark Mage. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Intelligence score. Unlike a bard or sorcerer, a Dark Mage may know any number of spells. He must choose and prepare His spells ahead of time by getting a good night’s sleep and spending 1 hour studying His spell book. While studying, the Dark Mage decides which spells to prepare.


Armored Mage (Ex): Normally, armor of any type interferes with arcane spellcasting gestures, which can cause spells to fail if those spells have a somatic component. A Dark Mages limited focus and specialized training, however allows you to avoid arcane spell failure so long as you stick to light armor.

Special: A Dark Mage who willing commits a good or lawful act without justification immediately loses all spellcasting abilities until they have atoned.


I feel I've gotten better at balancing, By tossing an alignment restriction on this I could give it light armor and by removing the bonus feats I could improve it's Bab, I caused a MAD scenario with the Spells per day and the DC working off of different scores so the HD can be better than a wizard. And yes if you say "Play a Cleric" I will die just a little inside. I'm part of a group where if you play a Cleric you are naught but a heal-monkey

LOTRfan
2011-05-16, 10:15 PM
You write {table=head], you put a | between each section of the table. At the end of the table, you write {table] with a "/" inbetween the [ and the t.

ExemplarofAvg
2011-05-16, 10:51 PM
Thank you, that was the most needful tedious work I have ever done. Again sir (or madam), Thank you.

Ozymandias
2011-05-16, 11:00 PM
Special: A Dark Mage who willing commits a good or lawful act without justification immediately loses all spellcasting abilities until they have atoned.


I think this is a bad idea. It basically means that you have to act irrationally, cartoonishly evil to even keep playing your character.

ExemplarofAvg
2011-05-16, 11:02 PM
I think this is a bad idea. It basically means that you have to act irrationally, cartoonishly evil to even keep playing your character.

I can see where your coming from, I just didn't know what else to take away so I could add, I suppose the loss of familiar is enough of a drop so I guess just evil then. Or are you against the idea as a whole and not in separate parts?

Welknair
2011-05-16, 11:44 PM
Sorry but... no. Just no. You're giving up four bonus feats and a familiar in exchange for a d8 hit die, 3/4 BAB and the ability to use Arcane spells in Light Armor without an AFC? Keep in mind that such a character would also have access to that feat from CA that increases the level of armor they can wear without AFC by one, boosting it to Medium. This is just.. no. There's a reason why Wizards are squishy. Heck, they aren't even that squishy! Stoneskin! The pros for this class greatly outweigh the cons.

And the alignment restriction is just harsh. It doesn't reduce the power of the character, only the playability. No PC could ever use this. If there was a sign that said "Do not walk on grass" they'd have to stomp all over it or lose all class features.

...

What.

PoorHobo
2011-05-16, 11:55 PM
If there was a sign that said "Do not walk on grass" they'd have to stomp all over it or lose all class features.

Not commiting an chaotic or evil act doens't automatically make it a lawful or good act. Sometimes taking a walk is just taking a walk. The fact that you didn't kick puppies or burn down an orphanage on your way doesn't turn you into a paladin.

Dryad
2011-05-17, 06:38 AM
I don't actually see the benefits... That's just me, maybe, but still.
A: 3/4 BaB makes it an up-close and personal class, especially when paired with the relatively high d8 hit die. It's the same hd as monks and clerics get. Pair that again with the armoured casting, and you've basically got a melee wizards. Not bad per say, but wouldn't you be better off just rolling a cleric?
B: Because it is basically a melee wizard you're creating, you want to get a reasonable strength score to make the best of it. Since you'll be confined to light armour, you're going to want a nice dex score to keep your defences (as well as hit with your rays, since dex is already arguably the secondary wizard stat) get a good con score to get your combat casting on a roll as well as make some use of that d8 hd... Basically, in a point-buy, you're going to have to dump wisdom and charisma, but there's four stats that will matter to this class, making it a bit MAD.
C: The allignment restriction doesn't actually make much sense; it doesn't reflect the class abilities.

In the end, this class can't do anything a cleric couldn't do better. It doesn't excel at casting arcane spells, it doesn't have that many spell slots, it doesn't get the much needed bonus feats that wizards receive, and it won't be as able to take it to the front as a cleric could.
That aside, you could make a build like this with a cleric already. The only difference is that you'd be divine spells; not that much of a difference, if you ask me. There's been offensive caster cleric builds, and with help from cleric domains, you could also include illusion spells, enchantment and other forms of crowd control. The benefit: You can wear higher tiers of armour (and shields), you'll have more spell slots, you'll get some extras in the way of Channel Energy/Turn/Rebuke, depending on what cleric/what edition you're playing, and you're far less restricted in the kinds of spells you can prepare, since you have access to all spells on your list; not just the ones in your spellbook.

If you really, really want an arcane close-quarter caster, you could choose several melee arcanist classes, like hexblade or something, ór you could opt for a simple cleric build, and maybe ask whether you could instead pick spells from the Arcane list instead, with your chosen 'domain' being your chosen magic school. This would loose you any powers gained from domains apart from the bonus spell, but since the arcane spell list is so much more diverse, and has more damage-dealing options as well as other options, this might not be such a bad trade-off.
Still; I personally don't see much of the benefit. As I see it: A cleric can do this, but better.