Maho-Tsukai
2011-05-27, 12:58 PM
The Invoker
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/AkatsukiEmperor/divinemagus-2.png
Divine Magic is irrevocably linked to deities in the minds of most mortals. While this is an easy assumption for men to make, with churches and their agents being the primary wielders of divine magic this is not the case. Deities may give their clerics knowledge of divine magics and instruct them on it's use it is ultimately the clerics belief in their faith and deity that allows them to cast the spell, not the deity itself. Thus, some who are less faithful have gained the ability to use divine magic. Some clerics use their belief in an ideal or philosophy to power their spellcasting while archivists use their belief in the power of the knowledge of the divine that they gain. Even these spellcasters, however fail to realize that their magic comes not from their philosophy or collected knowledge but rather their belief in it's power.
There are however, a select few who have come to realize the true nature of divine magic. Known to the planes as Invokers, these powerful divine-mages channel divine magic just as the servants of deities, philosopher-clerics and Archivists yet unlike them realize that it is not the outside power that grant them their powers, but their belief and sheer force of personality. The ultimate incarnations of true personal powers, Invokers stand far apart from all other spellcasters. While other spellcasters arcane and divine rely on outside sources to practice their magic Invokers simply tell reality to sit down, shut up and give them what they want because they believe they can.
Adventures: Invokers being a diverse group adventure for almost every reason under the sun. Good aligned invokers often find themselves called to a noble cause such as defeating a great villain, helping the needy and weak or liberating mankind. Evil aligned Invokers may adventure to gain even greater power to forward a despicable plot that they seek to move to fruition. No matter what the reason, though, Invokers tend to be passionate individuals and as a result usually adventure for some kind of personal cause or goal as appose to just the acquisition of loot.
Characteristics: While one may assume that casting magic off of pure belief is as easy as simply willing a cure light wounds spell into exsistance, it's actually not. While Invoker's magic is powered through belief, their art is very much one with strict rules and dicipline. Simply wantonly invoking divine powers cannot produce proper results as not all souls can handle channeling that much divine energy and trying to could lead to death or worse. Thus, in order to channel divine energy properly the Invoker learns to strengthen their mind and soul, condition themselves to be vessels of divine power and use specific rituals that allow them to use their divine power safely and effectively.
As a result the path of the invoker is one that takes the utmost devotion and training, and as a result while a powerful divine spellcaster the invoker has little time to train their body and/or acquire a diverse set of skills. The payoff for their dedication however is great, and for all the energy they put in the Invoker becomes a being of pure divine power, able to invoke divine energies to bend reality to their whim, destroy enemies and aid allies. In addition to their divine magics, Invokers also can influence undead creatures in the same manner as clerics and also have the amazing ability to convert their traditional spells to more exotic abilities obtained through their access to divine domains that represent whatever powers they believe they exert power over.
Alignment: Invoking the divine through belief is not a practice that in and of itself has any moral stigma and as a result Invokers of all alignments exist. Good Invokers tend to develop their own powers and use their belief in their ability to be a vessel of divine might to bring out the best in others. They use their great power to aid the poor, help the weak, right wrongs and fight evil. Some good Invokers will be very much exalted characters. While they believe greatly in their divine powers they see their craft as one that comes from years of study, trial and error by previous invokers and a gift to the world and thus despite using belief alone to channel divine powers they act as humbly and nobly as any other exalted figure. Some good aligned invokers may suffer from the pride that one would expect would come as a requisite for their crafts though good invokers of this breed tend to still do good and often act as a vocal and strong inspiration and example to others.
Invokers of evil alignments on the other hand tend to be the biggest egomaniacs in all the multiverse. Evil invokers many times believe that they are in fact in a sense deities themselves, and with their ability to use just their belief to cast divine magic, influence undead and even gain power over divine portfolio elements(domains) they may not be all that far away from the truth. Ruthless and power-hungry, evil invokers seek to obtain ultimate power and usually have overblown goals such as multiversal domination and/or ascension to true godhood. Evil Invokers also like the flaunt their powers and show the world just how great they are. Their favored method? Excessive their abilities on those weaker then them. Domination and/or destruction are as much a way to satisfy an evil invoker's pride as they are a way for him to forward his nefarious plots.
As far as the Law/Chaos axis is concerned, Invokers fall all over the place. Lawful Invokers tend to take the dedication their art requires and transpose it onto the other aspects of their life. Chaotic Invokers may see authority and tradition as things that seek to limit what they and/or others can do and perhaps even a direct threat to their brand of magic, especially when it comes to established religions that may see their magics as a thread to their hold on divine magic.
Religion: Invokers tend to be a controversial topic among the faiths of the multiverse. Some religions that preach open-ness and tolerance, or perhaps just want to gain powerful agents welcome invokers into their congregations with open arms, treating them as any other member of their faith. Some religions, however, see the invokers as a direct threat to their power. With invokers going around being a shining example of how one need not turn to a deity to obtain divine power some faiths worry that the Invokers are a threat to their power and influence that would steer people away from the church. Such faiths may just speak harsh words against invokers and end things there or in some cases send church agents and inquisitors to actively hunt Invokers and label them blasphemous heretics.
Background: The craft of the Invoker is not one that is widely avalivble to the general public, especially in areas where more intolerant and zealous churches hold power. As a result most invokers hardly come from average backgrounds. An Invoker's background is, almost always dependent on the setting, however. In some worlds invokers may be part of a secret society that keeps their craft hidden. Characters from such settings would obviously have a backstory detailing how they came to enter said society. In other settings the craft may be passed between teacher and student in which case an Invoker's backstory would include both how they found their mentor and perhaps their training under them. No matter what the setting, though, the craft of the Invoker is one that is exotic and based in an often hidden and denied truth, and as a result your Invoker's backstory should include an explanation for how they realized this truth.
Races: Invokers can come from any race and indeed their numbers are among the most diverse. However, humans with their inquisitive nature, great pride, ambition and cultural focus on individual achievement are the race that is most naturally drawn to the way of the invoker and thus produces more Invokers then other races.
Other Classes: While Invokers possess great divine power, they too know that they can't do it all on their own. As a result many invokers tend to value their teammates greatly, especially more hardly, martial team mates who can keep enemies from entangling them in physical combat and cunning, individuals with the wide range of skills they lack. Invokers also value ally spellcasters as despite their own powerful casting abilities wizards, sorcerers, druids and other casters tend to have spells and knowledge beyond the scope of the Invokers and thus make a useful addition to the Invoker's team. In general, with their naturally high charisma Invokers tend to get along with members of all classes well enough.
Role: While the Invoker has access to the whole cleric list the class hardly plays like a traditional cleric. With a poor BAB, a d4 HD and class features that more or less confine them to robes Invokers are poor melee combatants. However, to make up for their physical weakness the Invoker is granted greater spellcasting power. With the ability to obtain many spells that most clerics will never be able to cast via divine magician and all the extra domains they obtain an Invoker plays out very much like a "divine wizard," standing in back and aiding allies rather then bloodying themselves in melee like the more martial clerics.
Unlike a wizard though, the Invoker has no spellbook and no need to hunt for scrolls, making them at base more versatile. In fact, with their spontaneous domain casting, limited wizard spells and the whole cleric list the Invoker is perhaps the tier 1 class that can get the most versatility for the least amount of work. The wizard and archivist in the end will be more versatile then the invoker, but that comes with having to find and acquire, often with gold, new spells...something the Invoker need never bother themselves with.
Of course, unlike the wizard and archivist, the Invoker, with it's already pitiful skill points per-level and practically no use for int will most definitely fall behind those two classes in terms of knowledge and sheer amount of skills. However, despite this Invokers have a fairly solid list of class skills and with enough intelligence the use of Diplomacy and bluff can make them good party faces, especially with their naturally high charisma scores and enchantment spells such as Charm Person to back them up.
Abilities: Charisma is, without a doubt, the Invoker's most important stat. It determines what spells they can cast and how powerful their spells are. Charisma can also help the invoker be useful as a party face when combined with the diplomacy and bluff skills. In addition, an Invoker will want a good constitution score as having a high constitution will help them make up for their d4 HD. A good dexterity can also be of use in increasing the Invoker's usually low AC and making their ranged attacks better. A good intelligence score may also be something an invoker strives to have as a good int can provide the Invoker with much needed skill points.
Adaptation: While the default fluff of this class has it casting off of pure belief rather then from a deity, if your setting dose not support this fluff the class can easily be re-fluffed as the cloth-wearing priest archetype or perhaps somebody born with innate divine ability. Sources of the latter could include being the mortal reincarnation of a dead god, being part of a bloodline that has origins with a mortal who had a relationship with a god, having some kind of divine power sealed within you at birth or some other reason. The mechanics of this class are so general that it could be refluffed into almost anything allowing it to be worked into settings in which belief-based divine magic dose not exist with some creative refluffing.
Class Features
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d4
Starting Gold: As Wizard
Class Skills: Bluff(Cha), Concentration(Con), Craft(Int), Diplomacy(Cha), Heal(Wis), Knowledge(Arcana)(Int), Knowledge(History)(Int), Knowledge(Religion)(Int), Knowledge(The Planes)(Int) Profession(Wis), Spellcraft(Int)
Skill Points at first level: (+2 Int Modifier) x4
Skill Points at each additional level: 2+ Int Modifier
Proficiencies: Invokers are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield.
The Invoker
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th| 9th
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2| Domains, Spontaneous Domain I, Turn/Rebuke Undead, Divine Magician|3|1
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3||4|2|-
3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3||4|2|1|-
4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Bonus Domain|5|3|2|-|-
5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Spontainous Domain II|5|3|2|1|-|-
6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5||5|3|3|2|-|-|-
7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5||6|4|3|2|1|-|-|-
8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6||6|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-
9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6||6|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-
10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Soul of Great Power |6|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-
11th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7||6|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-
12th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8||6|5|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-
13th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8||6|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-
14th|
+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+9|Bonus Domain|6|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|-|-
15th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+9|Spontainous Domain III|6|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|-
16th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10||6|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|-
17th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10||6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1
18th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11||6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2
19th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11||6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3
20th|
+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|The Divine Soul Unleashed|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4[/table]
Spellcasting: The Invoker casts divine spells drawn from the Cleric Spell List. Like a Cleric the Invoker must prepare his spells but requires no spellbook to do so. The Invoker, also like a cleric automatically knows all spells on his spell list(cleric) of all levels he can cast and when he gains access to a new spell level he automatically learns all spells of that level from his list. To cast a spell a Invoker must have a charisma score equal to 10+ the spell’s level and the DC for his spells are equal to 10 + the spell’s level + his Cha modifier. An Invoker receives bonus spells for a high charisma just as a wizard receives bonus spells for a high intelligence. Unlike a Cleric’s divine magic the magic of a Invoker functions in a slightly different manner. The first is that a Invoker's spells which would normally require a Holy Symbol do not. Instead, the Invoker may use a mundane or magical staff as the “holy symbol” for all spells which would require one. In addition, the Invoker’s spells have a more pronounced somatic component and as a result they suffer spell failure in the same manner as arcane casters while in any armor heavier then robes.
Domains: At 1st level the Invoker gains access to two cleric domains of his or her choice. He/she gain the granted powers of those Domains as well as access to the spells of those domains. Unlike a cleric, however, the Invoker has no domain spell-slots. Instead he adds all domain spells to his Cleric spell-list and they may be cast and prepared normally as any other spell he knows. If the Invoker chooses any alignment Domains they cannot be oppose to his or her alignment.(So a Lawful good Invoker could not chose the Evil and Chaos Domains.) Any and all bonus domains that the Invoker gains function exactly as these two domains(so they would add the spells from bonus domains to their own class spell list and treat them as all their normal spells.)
Spontaneous Domain I: Unlike a cleric the Invoker cannot spontaneously cast heal or inflict spells. Instead at 1st level she may chose one of his Domains. From that level onward the Invoker may expend a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a spell of the same level from the chosen Domain. He can also cast these spells as if they where under the effects of one or more metamagic feats he has, though to do that he must expend a prepared spell who’s level is equal to the level of the spell he wishes to spontaneously cast if it had been prepared with all metamagic feats he wants to apply to it. Spontaneously casting a spell in this manner takes same amount of time it would for a sorcerer to cast a spell to which he has applied a metamagic feat to.
Turn/Rebuke Undead: The Invoker learns to use his divine power to effect undead in similar ways to a Cleric. At 1st level the Invoker gains the ability to Turn or Rebuke undead as a cleric of his class level a number of times per-day equal to 1+ his Cha modifier. Evil Invokers Rebuke undead while good Invokers Turn them instead. A Neutral Invoker may chose whether he wants to Turn Undead or Rebuke Undead at 1st level but once made that decision cannot be changed.
Divine Magician: At 1st level and every level at which the Invoker gains access to a new spell-level the Invoker may choose one spell from the Sorc/Wiz spell list and add it to his cleric spell list. This spell is treated in an identical manner to all spells he normally possesses and can be cast and prepared in the same ways as all other spells he possesses. This ability, however, only applies to levels in the Invoker class.(So if an Invoker took a PrC that advances his divine spellcasting he would not get any new Divine Magician Spells from that PrC.)
Bonus Domain: At level 4 the Invoker gains access to another Cleric Domain of his choice. This domain cannot be oppose to his alignment.
Spontaneous Domain II: At level 5 the Invoker choses a domain he possesses that he cannot yet spontaneously cast from. From that level onward the Invoker may expend a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a spell of the same level from the chosen Domain. He can also cast these spells as if they where under the effects of one or more metamagic feats he has, though to do that he must expend a prepared spell who’s level is equal to the level of the spell he wishes to spontaneously cast if it had been prepared with all metamagic feats he wants to apply to it. Spontaneously casting a spell in this manner takes same amount of time it would for a sorcerer to cast a spell to which he has applied a metamagic feat to.
Soul of Great Power: As the Invoker increases in power he becomes such a force of Divine power that his very soul burns with holy(or unholy) energies. At level 10 the Invoker automatically gains the Fire-Souled Template. He dose not acquire any LA from possessing this template and dose not gain any of it’s Ability Score bonuses or the leadership feat. However, if he already possesses the leadership feat or at any time gains it, he still receives the +2 bonus to his leadership score the template grants
Bonus Domain: At level 14 the Invoker gains access to another Cleric Domain of his choice. This domain cannot be oppose to his alignment.
Spontaneous Domain III: At level 15 the Invoker chose a domain he possesses that he cannot yet spontaneously cast from. From that level onward the Invoker may expend a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a spell of the same level from the chosen Domain. He can also cast these spells as if they where under the effects of one or more metamagic feats he has, though to do that he must expend a prepared spell who’s level is equal to the level of the spell he wishes to spontaneously cast if it had been prepared with all metamagic feats he wants to apply to it. Spontaneously casting a spell in this manner takes same amount of time it would for a sorcerer to cast a spell to which he has applied a metamagic feat to.
The Divine Soul Unleashed: At the pinnacle of his power the Invoker becomes such a force of divine might that he is transformed into an avatar of divinity, a mortal being that is just one step below true godhood. At level 20 the Invoker, if good, gains the Saint template. If Evil, the Invoker gains an altered version of the Saint Template known as the "corrupt saint" that is listed below. Neutral Invokers may choose between either the saint or “corrupt saint” template but once the choice is made it cannot be changed. The Invoker dose not acquire any LA from this template but dose acquire it’s ability score bonuses.
”Corrupt Saint” Template:
The “Corrupt Saint” Template is in all ways identical to the Saint Template except with the following changes:
Holy Touch becomes “Unholy Touch.” Effects Good creatures instead of evil ones and deals Unholy damage.
Casts Slash Tongue, Unnerving Gaze, Inflict Minor Wounds and Bane At-Will instead of Guidance, Resistance, Virtue and Bless at will.
The Protective Aura counts acts as a double strength Circle of Protection Against Good and Lesser Globe of Invulnerability as appose to a Double Strength Circle of Protection against evil and Lesser Globe of Invulnerability.
All DR/Evil the character receives instead becomes DR/Good.
__________________________________________________ _______
IMPORTANT NOTES: This class is a BIG WIP and I know it's broken. Part of that was intended as the balance point for this class was Tier 1. However, I also know I am not the best homebrewer when it comes to crunch and as a result I want your help. I want this class to remain at Tier 1 yet I do not want it to be so broken that no DM would ever allow it. That is where you come in. I need help making this class a Tier 1 yet not SO overpowered that DMs who allow other tier 1s(wizards, clerics, druids ect..) would auto-deny this.....so, can anybody help me out in that field?
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/AkatsukiEmperor/divinemagus-2.png
Divine Magic is irrevocably linked to deities in the minds of most mortals. While this is an easy assumption for men to make, with churches and their agents being the primary wielders of divine magic this is not the case. Deities may give their clerics knowledge of divine magics and instruct them on it's use it is ultimately the clerics belief in their faith and deity that allows them to cast the spell, not the deity itself. Thus, some who are less faithful have gained the ability to use divine magic. Some clerics use their belief in an ideal or philosophy to power their spellcasting while archivists use their belief in the power of the knowledge of the divine that they gain. Even these spellcasters, however fail to realize that their magic comes not from their philosophy or collected knowledge but rather their belief in it's power.
There are however, a select few who have come to realize the true nature of divine magic. Known to the planes as Invokers, these powerful divine-mages channel divine magic just as the servants of deities, philosopher-clerics and Archivists yet unlike them realize that it is not the outside power that grant them their powers, but their belief and sheer force of personality. The ultimate incarnations of true personal powers, Invokers stand far apart from all other spellcasters. While other spellcasters arcane and divine rely on outside sources to practice their magic Invokers simply tell reality to sit down, shut up and give them what they want because they believe they can.
Adventures: Invokers being a diverse group adventure for almost every reason under the sun. Good aligned invokers often find themselves called to a noble cause such as defeating a great villain, helping the needy and weak or liberating mankind. Evil aligned Invokers may adventure to gain even greater power to forward a despicable plot that they seek to move to fruition. No matter what the reason, though, Invokers tend to be passionate individuals and as a result usually adventure for some kind of personal cause or goal as appose to just the acquisition of loot.
Characteristics: While one may assume that casting magic off of pure belief is as easy as simply willing a cure light wounds spell into exsistance, it's actually not. While Invoker's magic is powered through belief, their art is very much one with strict rules and dicipline. Simply wantonly invoking divine powers cannot produce proper results as not all souls can handle channeling that much divine energy and trying to could lead to death or worse. Thus, in order to channel divine energy properly the Invoker learns to strengthen their mind and soul, condition themselves to be vessels of divine power and use specific rituals that allow them to use their divine power safely and effectively.
As a result the path of the invoker is one that takes the utmost devotion and training, and as a result while a powerful divine spellcaster the invoker has little time to train their body and/or acquire a diverse set of skills. The payoff for their dedication however is great, and for all the energy they put in the Invoker becomes a being of pure divine power, able to invoke divine energies to bend reality to their whim, destroy enemies and aid allies. In addition to their divine magics, Invokers also can influence undead creatures in the same manner as clerics and also have the amazing ability to convert their traditional spells to more exotic abilities obtained through their access to divine domains that represent whatever powers they believe they exert power over.
Alignment: Invoking the divine through belief is not a practice that in and of itself has any moral stigma and as a result Invokers of all alignments exist. Good Invokers tend to develop their own powers and use their belief in their ability to be a vessel of divine might to bring out the best in others. They use their great power to aid the poor, help the weak, right wrongs and fight evil. Some good Invokers will be very much exalted characters. While they believe greatly in their divine powers they see their craft as one that comes from years of study, trial and error by previous invokers and a gift to the world and thus despite using belief alone to channel divine powers they act as humbly and nobly as any other exalted figure. Some good aligned invokers may suffer from the pride that one would expect would come as a requisite for their crafts though good invokers of this breed tend to still do good and often act as a vocal and strong inspiration and example to others.
Invokers of evil alignments on the other hand tend to be the biggest egomaniacs in all the multiverse. Evil invokers many times believe that they are in fact in a sense deities themselves, and with their ability to use just their belief to cast divine magic, influence undead and even gain power over divine portfolio elements(domains) they may not be all that far away from the truth. Ruthless and power-hungry, evil invokers seek to obtain ultimate power and usually have overblown goals such as multiversal domination and/or ascension to true godhood. Evil Invokers also like the flaunt their powers and show the world just how great they are. Their favored method? Excessive their abilities on those weaker then them. Domination and/or destruction are as much a way to satisfy an evil invoker's pride as they are a way for him to forward his nefarious plots.
As far as the Law/Chaos axis is concerned, Invokers fall all over the place. Lawful Invokers tend to take the dedication their art requires and transpose it onto the other aspects of their life. Chaotic Invokers may see authority and tradition as things that seek to limit what they and/or others can do and perhaps even a direct threat to their brand of magic, especially when it comes to established religions that may see their magics as a thread to their hold on divine magic.
Religion: Invokers tend to be a controversial topic among the faiths of the multiverse. Some religions that preach open-ness and tolerance, or perhaps just want to gain powerful agents welcome invokers into their congregations with open arms, treating them as any other member of their faith. Some religions, however, see the invokers as a direct threat to their power. With invokers going around being a shining example of how one need not turn to a deity to obtain divine power some faiths worry that the Invokers are a threat to their power and influence that would steer people away from the church. Such faiths may just speak harsh words against invokers and end things there or in some cases send church agents and inquisitors to actively hunt Invokers and label them blasphemous heretics.
Background: The craft of the Invoker is not one that is widely avalivble to the general public, especially in areas where more intolerant and zealous churches hold power. As a result most invokers hardly come from average backgrounds. An Invoker's background is, almost always dependent on the setting, however. In some worlds invokers may be part of a secret society that keeps their craft hidden. Characters from such settings would obviously have a backstory detailing how they came to enter said society. In other settings the craft may be passed between teacher and student in which case an Invoker's backstory would include both how they found their mentor and perhaps their training under them. No matter what the setting, though, the craft of the Invoker is one that is exotic and based in an often hidden and denied truth, and as a result your Invoker's backstory should include an explanation for how they realized this truth.
Races: Invokers can come from any race and indeed their numbers are among the most diverse. However, humans with their inquisitive nature, great pride, ambition and cultural focus on individual achievement are the race that is most naturally drawn to the way of the invoker and thus produces more Invokers then other races.
Other Classes: While Invokers possess great divine power, they too know that they can't do it all on their own. As a result many invokers tend to value their teammates greatly, especially more hardly, martial team mates who can keep enemies from entangling them in physical combat and cunning, individuals with the wide range of skills they lack. Invokers also value ally spellcasters as despite their own powerful casting abilities wizards, sorcerers, druids and other casters tend to have spells and knowledge beyond the scope of the Invokers and thus make a useful addition to the Invoker's team. In general, with their naturally high charisma Invokers tend to get along with members of all classes well enough.
Role: While the Invoker has access to the whole cleric list the class hardly plays like a traditional cleric. With a poor BAB, a d4 HD and class features that more or less confine them to robes Invokers are poor melee combatants. However, to make up for their physical weakness the Invoker is granted greater spellcasting power. With the ability to obtain many spells that most clerics will never be able to cast via divine magician and all the extra domains they obtain an Invoker plays out very much like a "divine wizard," standing in back and aiding allies rather then bloodying themselves in melee like the more martial clerics.
Unlike a wizard though, the Invoker has no spellbook and no need to hunt for scrolls, making them at base more versatile. In fact, with their spontaneous domain casting, limited wizard spells and the whole cleric list the Invoker is perhaps the tier 1 class that can get the most versatility for the least amount of work. The wizard and archivist in the end will be more versatile then the invoker, but that comes with having to find and acquire, often with gold, new spells...something the Invoker need never bother themselves with.
Of course, unlike the wizard and archivist, the Invoker, with it's already pitiful skill points per-level and practically no use for int will most definitely fall behind those two classes in terms of knowledge and sheer amount of skills. However, despite this Invokers have a fairly solid list of class skills and with enough intelligence the use of Diplomacy and bluff can make them good party faces, especially with their naturally high charisma scores and enchantment spells such as Charm Person to back them up.
Abilities: Charisma is, without a doubt, the Invoker's most important stat. It determines what spells they can cast and how powerful their spells are. Charisma can also help the invoker be useful as a party face when combined with the diplomacy and bluff skills. In addition, an Invoker will want a good constitution score as having a high constitution will help them make up for their d4 HD. A good dexterity can also be of use in increasing the Invoker's usually low AC and making their ranged attacks better. A good intelligence score may also be something an invoker strives to have as a good int can provide the Invoker with much needed skill points.
Adaptation: While the default fluff of this class has it casting off of pure belief rather then from a deity, if your setting dose not support this fluff the class can easily be re-fluffed as the cloth-wearing priest archetype or perhaps somebody born with innate divine ability. Sources of the latter could include being the mortal reincarnation of a dead god, being part of a bloodline that has origins with a mortal who had a relationship with a god, having some kind of divine power sealed within you at birth or some other reason. The mechanics of this class are so general that it could be refluffed into almost anything allowing it to be worked into settings in which belief-based divine magic dose not exist with some creative refluffing.
Class Features
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d4
Starting Gold: As Wizard
Class Skills: Bluff(Cha), Concentration(Con), Craft(Int), Diplomacy(Cha), Heal(Wis), Knowledge(Arcana)(Int), Knowledge(History)(Int), Knowledge(Religion)(Int), Knowledge(The Planes)(Int) Profession(Wis), Spellcraft(Int)
Skill Points at first level: (+2 Int Modifier) x4
Skill Points at each additional level: 2+ Int Modifier
Proficiencies: Invokers are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield.
The Invoker
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th| 9th
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2| Domains, Spontaneous Domain I, Turn/Rebuke Undead, Divine Magician|3|1
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3||4|2|-
3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3||4|2|1|-
4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Bonus Domain|5|3|2|-|-
5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Spontainous Domain II|5|3|2|1|-|-
6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5||5|3|3|2|-|-|-
7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5||6|4|3|2|1|-|-|-
8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6||6|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-
9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6||6|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-
10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Soul of Great Power |6|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-
11th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7||6|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-
12th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8||6|5|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-
13th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8||6|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-
14th|
+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+9|Bonus Domain|6|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|-|-
15th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+9|Spontainous Domain III|6|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|-
16th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10||6|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|-
17th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10||6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1
18th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11||6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2
19th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11||6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3
20th|
+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|The Divine Soul Unleashed|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4[/table]
Spellcasting: The Invoker casts divine spells drawn from the Cleric Spell List. Like a Cleric the Invoker must prepare his spells but requires no spellbook to do so. The Invoker, also like a cleric automatically knows all spells on his spell list(cleric) of all levels he can cast and when he gains access to a new spell level he automatically learns all spells of that level from his list. To cast a spell a Invoker must have a charisma score equal to 10+ the spell’s level and the DC for his spells are equal to 10 + the spell’s level + his Cha modifier. An Invoker receives bonus spells for a high charisma just as a wizard receives bonus spells for a high intelligence. Unlike a Cleric’s divine magic the magic of a Invoker functions in a slightly different manner. The first is that a Invoker's spells which would normally require a Holy Symbol do not. Instead, the Invoker may use a mundane or magical staff as the “holy symbol” for all spells which would require one. In addition, the Invoker’s spells have a more pronounced somatic component and as a result they suffer spell failure in the same manner as arcane casters while in any armor heavier then robes.
Domains: At 1st level the Invoker gains access to two cleric domains of his or her choice. He/she gain the granted powers of those Domains as well as access to the spells of those domains. Unlike a cleric, however, the Invoker has no domain spell-slots. Instead he adds all domain spells to his Cleric spell-list and they may be cast and prepared normally as any other spell he knows. If the Invoker chooses any alignment Domains they cannot be oppose to his or her alignment.(So a Lawful good Invoker could not chose the Evil and Chaos Domains.) Any and all bonus domains that the Invoker gains function exactly as these two domains(so they would add the spells from bonus domains to their own class spell list and treat them as all their normal spells.)
Spontaneous Domain I: Unlike a cleric the Invoker cannot spontaneously cast heal or inflict spells. Instead at 1st level she may chose one of his Domains. From that level onward the Invoker may expend a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a spell of the same level from the chosen Domain. He can also cast these spells as if they where under the effects of one or more metamagic feats he has, though to do that he must expend a prepared spell who’s level is equal to the level of the spell he wishes to spontaneously cast if it had been prepared with all metamagic feats he wants to apply to it. Spontaneously casting a spell in this manner takes same amount of time it would for a sorcerer to cast a spell to which he has applied a metamagic feat to.
Turn/Rebuke Undead: The Invoker learns to use his divine power to effect undead in similar ways to a Cleric. At 1st level the Invoker gains the ability to Turn or Rebuke undead as a cleric of his class level a number of times per-day equal to 1+ his Cha modifier. Evil Invokers Rebuke undead while good Invokers Turn them instead. A Neutral Invoker may chose whether he wants to Turn Undead or Rebuke Undead at 1st level but once made that decision cannot be changed.
Divine Magician: At 1st level and every level at which the Invoker gains access to a new spell-level the Invoker may choose one spell from the Sorc/Wiz spell list and add it to his cleric spell list. This spell is treated in an identical manner to all spells he normally possesses and can be cast and prepared in the same ways as all other spells he possesses. This ability, however, only applies to levels in the Invoker class.(So if an Invoker took a PrC that advances his divine spellcasting he would not get any new Divine Magician Spells from that PrC.)
Bonus Domain: At level 4 the Invoker gains access to another Cleric Domain of his choice. This domain cannot be oppose to his alignment.
Spontaneous Domain II: At level 5 the Invoker choses a domain he possesses that he cannot yet spontaneously cast from. From that level onward the Invoker may expend a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a spell of the same level from the chosen Domain. He can also cast these spells as if they where under the effects of one or more metamagic feats he has, though to do that he must expend a prepared spell who’s level is equal to the level of the spell he wishes to spontaneously cast if it had been prepared with all metamagic feats he wants to apply to it. Spontaneously casting a spell in this manner takes same amount of time it would for a sorcerer to cast a spell to which he has applied a metamagic feat to.
Soul of Great Power: As the Invoker increases in power he becomes such a force of Divine power that his very soul burns with holy(or unholy) energies. At level 10 the Invoker automatically gains the Fire-Souled Template. He dose not acquire any LA from possessing this template and dose not gain any of it’s Ability Score bonuses or the leadership feat. However, if he already possesses the leadership feat or at any time gains it, he still receives the +2 bonus to his leadership score the template grants
Bonus Domain: At level 14 the Invoker gains access to another Cleric Domain of his choice. This domain cannot be oppose to his alignment.
Spontaneous Domain III: At level 15 the Invoker chose a domain he possesses that he cannot yet spontaneously cast from. From that level onward the Invoker may expend a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a spell of the same level from the chosen Domain. He can also cast these spells as if they where under the effects of one or more metamagic feats he has, though to do that he must expend a prepared spell who’s level is equal to the level of the spell he wishes to spontaneously cast if it had been prepared with all metamagic feats he wants to apply to it. Spontaneously casting a spell in this manner takes same amount of time it would for a sorcerer to cast a spell to which he has applied a metamagic feat to.
The Divine Soul Unleashed: At the pinnacle of his power the Invoker becomes such a force of divine might that he is transformed into an avatar of divinity, a mortal being that is just one step below true godhood. At level 20 the Invoker, if good, gains the Saint template. If Evil, the Invoker gains an altered version of the Saint Template known as the "corrupt saint" that is listed below. Neutral Invokers may choose between either the saint or “corrupt saint” template but once the choice is made it cannot be changed. The Invoker dose not acquire any LA from this template but dose acquire it’s ability score bonuses.
”Corrupt Saint” Template:
The “Corrupt Saint” Template is in all ways identical to the Saint Template except with the following changes:
Holy Touch becomes “Unholy Touch.” Effects Good creatures instead of evil ones and deals Unholy damage.
Casts Slash Tongue, Unnerving Gaze, Inflict Minor Wounds and Bane At-Will instead of Guidance, Resistance, Virtue and Bless at will.
The Protective Aura counts acts as a double strength Circle of Protection Against Good and Lesser Globe of Invulnerability as appose to a Double Strength Circle of Protection against evil and Lesser Globe of Invulnerability.
All DR/Evil the character receives instead becomes DR/Good.
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IMPORTANT NOTES: This class is a BIG WIP and I know it's broken. Part of that was intended as the balance point for this class was Tier 1. However, I also know I am not the best homebrewer when it comes to crunch and as a result I want your help. I want this class to remain at Tier 1 yet I do not want it to be so broken that no DM would ever allow it. That is where you come in. I need help making this class a Tier 1 yet not SO overpowered that DMs who allow other tier 1s(wizards, clerics, druids ect..) would auto-deny this.....so, can anybody help me out in that field?