He always seems so...distant (3.5 PRC, PEACH)

[Kane0]

Some spellcasters naturally tend towards magic that blurs, displaces or otherwise conceals his form to avoid attack, aid in hiding, or any other miriad ways they have found it useful for. Some are so good, talented or interested they pursue it exclusively, unlocking ways to make themselves much harder to find and hit, eventually becoming permanently (though partially) connected to the Ethereal Plane, granting them their beloved haziness at all times.

The Faded Mage

Prerequisites:
- 3rd Level Spellcasting
- Know (Arcana) 8 ranks, Know (Planes) 8 ranks
- Must know any two spells that grant concealment
- Must be able to summon an Ethereal creature or a Displacer Beast (A displacer Beast can be summoned by a Summon Monster IV or Summon Monster V spell)

Hit Dice: d4
Skills Per level: 2+Int
Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Hide, Know (Arcana, Planes), Profession, Spellcraft
Proficiencies: None

{table=head] Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Casting Progression
1st| +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Hazy Concealment | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
2nd| +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Displacer Beast Familiar | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
3rd| +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Fortified Concealment | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
4th| +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Blurred Vision | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
5th| +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 |Never Entirely There | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
[/table]

Hazy Concealment: At level 1, any time a spell or magical effect owuld grant you 10% or more concealment, you gain an additional 10% concealment.
Displacer Beast Familiar: At level 2 you can choose a Displacer Beast as a familiar, under the normal rules
Fortified Concealment: At level 3 your concealment becomes very difficult to bypass. To penetrate your magical concealment the attacker must make a successful will save (DC= 10 + Casting Ability Modifier + Class level) on top of the normal effects of concealment. Any effect that would entirely negate concealment (eg. True Seeing.) only reduces the concealment to 20%
Blurred Vision: At level 4, while under the effects of magical concealment, you can see other magically concealed creatures clearly and can bypass up to 20% magical concealment.
Never Entirely There: At level 5, you have established a permanent link to the ethereal plane, always at least partially on the plane. This grants you permanent 10% concealment. This is a magical effect that can be suppressed (but not removed) by dispelling & antimagic, or be suppressed/resumed with a free action. This ability actually grants a total of 20% concealment due to the level 1 Hazy Concealment ability.
In addition, you also treat any spell that grants concealment as extended with no adjustment to spell slots


PEACH away!

[TuggyNE]

Prerequisites:
- 4th Level Spellcasting
This puts standard entry at 8th level, which is a bit unusual. Perhaps only 3rd level spells should be needed? (There may be some balance reason for this, I don't know.)


- Know (Arcana) 4 ranks, Know (Planes) 4 ranks
Very low skill rank requirements, seems to me... an arcane caster can get them both at first level in most cases. (And I'm given to understand many wizards max K:Arcana in any case.)


- Must know any two of the following spells: Blur, Displacement, Improved Invisibility, Etheral Jaunt, Summon Monster (Displacer Beast or Ethereal Creature)

I would rephrase the summon monster entry slightly, perhaps a bit more like this: "ability to summon a displacer beast or any ethereal creature".


{table=head] Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Casting Progression
1st| +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Hazy Concealment | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
2nd| +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Displacer Beast Familiar | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
3rd| +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Fortified Concealment | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
4th| +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Blurred Vision | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
5th| +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 |Never Entirely There | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
[/table]

Hazy Concealment: You gain an additional 10% concealment from magical sources
Displacer Beast Familiar: You can choose a Displacer Beast as a familiar, under the normal rules
Fortified Concealment: To penetrate your magical concealment the attacker must make a successful will save (DC= 10 + Casting Ability Modifier + Class level).
Blurred Vision: While under the effects of magical concealment, you can see other magically concealed creatures clearly and can bypass up to 20% magical concealment.
Never Entirely There: You gain a permanent 10% concealment. This is a magical effect that can be suppressed (but not removed) by dispelling & antimagic, or be suppressed/resumed with a free action. This ability actually grants a total of 20% concealment due to the Hazy Concealment ability.
In addition, you also treat any spell that grants concealment as extended with no adjustment to spell slots

It'd be nice to clarify if this stacks with other miss chances (I'd assume it doesn't, in general, with the exception of blink and similar, but in that case what is it for?) Also, all of these could use a mention in the text of the level they are acquired at, so "Starting at level 1, you gain..." and so forth.

Anyway, this seems like an interesting class. I'm not really qualified to judge how balanced it is, but nothing horrible jumps out at me. :smallwink:

[Kane0]

Thanks for the input, and all good points. I have updated accordingly.

[GuyFawkes]

This looks a fine class. Things of note:


You ought to fix that 43rd level spellcasting requirement.
Put in some class skills list.
Also put in what type of abilities the class has, ie ex, su, or sp.
You might want to put in something like concealment that cannot be pierced through by true seeing, since the class would be beat by a single spell.

[Silva Stormrage]

Interesting class.

I think it's a bit weak for needing to have 43rd level spell casting. It doesn't seem like an epic prestige class :smallwink:

[Steward]

I think it looks pretty solid. I agree that requiring 43 spellcaster levels is a little much. You could probably cut that down to 20 at the most, if your goal was to make it an epic-level prestige class (though even then, the class features just aren't strong enough to justify taking it that later -- no offense!).

Your summoning requirement seems reasonable. Does it apply explicitly to just summoning or would a calling effect be accepted too? Which Summon Monster (X) spell lets you call a displacer beast?

[Kane0]

Oops, that was supposed to be a change form 4th to 3rd, fixed now.

Also added a clause about True Seeing and other similar effects.
Adding skills now.