[Base, 3.5] Burn now, trap their ashes later, ask questions never

[Phosphate]

The Pyromancer
http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/169/b/0/Fire_mage_by_Eliag1101.jpg
"I just think it looks cool." - Syrar, Pyromancer

Pyromancers are masters of fire, making use of its three natures (destruction, utility and transformation) to achieve their goals and fight their battles. They delve deeper than any other spellcaster into the control of flames, light, smoke and ash.

Organization: Pyromancers usually affiliate to temples of fire deities or wizard academies focused on elementalism.

Adventuring: As others, pyromancers adventure for fame, fortune, knowledge and to get a following.

Alignment: any, although most are chaotic

Starting Age: moderate
Starting Gold: as sorcerer

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|+0|+0|+2|+2|Elemental Communion I|5|3|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—

2nd|+1|+0|+3|+3|Magic Specialization/Magic Generalization|6|4|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—

3rd|+1|+1|+3|+3|Fiery Blood|6|4|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—

4th|+2|+1|+4|+4||6|5|3|—|—|—|—|—|—|—

5th|+2|+1|+4|+4|Elemental Communion II|6|5|4|—|—|—|—|—|—|—

6th|+3|+2|+5|+5|Exchange|6|5|4|3|—|—|—|—|—|—

7th|+3|+2|+5|+5|Energy Conversion|6|6|5|4|—|—|—|—|—|—

8th|+4|+2|+6|+6|Create Dustwraith|6|6|5|4|3|—|—|—|—|—

9th|+4|+3|+6|+6|Empowered Minions|6|6|5|5|4|—|—|—|—|—

10th|+5|+3|+7|+7|Elemental Communion III|6|6|6|5|4|3|—|—|—|—

11th|+5|+3|+7|+7||6|7|6|5|5|4|—|—|—|—

12th|+6/+1|+4|+8|+8||6|7|6|6|5|4|3|—|—|—

13th|+6/+1|+4|+8|+8|Pyre Channeling|6|7|6|6|5|5|4|—|—|—

14th|+7/+2|+4|+9|+9||6|7|7|6|6|5|4|3|—|—

15th|+7/+2|+5|+9|+9|Elemental Communion IV|6|7|7|6|6|5|5|4|—|—

16th|+8/+3|+5|+10|+10||6|7|7|7|6|6|5|4|3|—

17th|+8/+3|+5|+10|+10||6|7|7|7|6|6|5|5|4|—

18th|+9/+4|+6|+11|+11||6|7|7|7|7|6|6|5|4|3

19th|+9/+4|+6|+11|+11||6|7|7|7|7|6|6|5|5|4

20th|+10/+5|+6|+12|+12|Pyrelord|6|7|7|7|7|7|6|6|5|5

[/table]

Hit Die: d6

Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Intimidate, Knowledge (All), Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft
Skill points per level: 2+int mod

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A pyromancer is proficient with simple weapons, light armor, and no shield. He still incurs arcane spell failure when casting spells with a somatic component normally.

Spellcasting: A Pyromancer casts arcane spells from his own* class list. As a wizard, he must prepare these spells beforehand by sleeping for 8 hours and then channeling his energy for an hour (for which quiet concentration is required). The only spells he may cast spontaneously without having prepared them are the Summon Monster spells.

A Pyromancer knows all the spells on his spell list up to the level of his highest spell slot. To prepare or cast a spell he must have an intelligence of at least 10+spell level. His spell DCs are charisma-based. Also, he receives bonus spells from having a high charisma score.

*Spell list:


New spells are underlined.

0th: Resistance, Daze, Dancing Lights, Flare, Light, Cauterize
1st: Endure Elements, Burning Hands, Color Spray, Feather Fall, Continual Flame, Faerie Fire, Produce Flame
2nd: Resist Energy (fire or cold only), Glitterdust, Daze Monster, Flaming Sphere, Scorching Ray, Pyrotechnics, Snakesign Ward, Flame Blade, Heat Metal
3rd: Blur, Protection from Energy (fire or cold only), Summon Monster III (fire elementals only), Fireball, Flame Arrow, Searing Light, Dust Form
4th: Fire Trap, Summon Monster IV (fire and magma mephits only), Fire Shield, Wall of Fire, Lesser Planar Binding (creatures must have fire descriptor), Dismissal (fire descriptor only, but 0% chance of wrong plane)
5th: Summon Monster V (fire elementals only), Permanency, Planar Binding (creatures must have fire descriptor), Flaming Teleport, Flame Strike
6th: Summon Monster IV (fire elementals only), Contingency, Banishment, Greater Flaming Teleport
7th: Plane Shift, Summon Monster VII (fire elementals only), Delayed Blast Fireball, Prismatic Spray, Control Weather, Greater Planar Binding (creatures must have fire descriptor), Blackfire
8th: Prismatic Wall, Incendiary Cloud, Summon Monster VIII (fire elementals only), Sunburst, Unmake By Fire, Fire Storm
9th: Scintillating Pattern, Prismatic Sphere, Gate (for the purpose of summoning, you may only choose entities with the fire descriptor), Summon Monster IX (fire elementals only), Meteor Swarm, Fiery Rebirth


New Spells


Cauterize
Evocation [Fire]
Level: Pyr 0
Components: S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Area: One living creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes

You cauterize the wounds of a dying ally. He receives 1 fire damage, but stabilizes.

Snakesign Ward
Evocation [Fire]
Level: Pyr 2
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 full round action
Range: Personal
Area: All 5 foot squares adjacent to you
Duration: 1 minute/CL
Saving Throw: no
Spell Resistance: Yes

A snake made of flames starts levitating around your body, providing both defense and assistance. While this spell is in effect, you may ignore the somatic component of your spells, and all creatures that are adjacent to you receive 1d6 damage per 2 CL (max 6d6) per round, and the same damage when they enter the zone of effect. If an opponent deals more than 10 damage to you or you use a spell that involves teleporting, Snakesign Ward ends.

Dust Form
Trnsmutation [Fire]
Level: Pyr 5
Components: S, V
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Area: You
Duration: 1 round/CL
Saving Throw: none
Spell Resistance: no

You turn your body to dust. Every time you are hit with a nonmagical attack, there is a 50% chance to receive no damage. Also, your speed is increased by 10 feet and every time you use a spell with the fire descriptor, you heal 1d6 health.

Flaming Teleport
Conjuration [Teleportation, Fire]
Level: Pyr 5
Components: S, V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal and Touch
Area: You and touched objects
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Ref
Spell Resistance: Yes

Like Teleport, except you can't teleport living beings other than yourself. Also, when you leave your current position, you cause an explosion that deals 6d6 fire damage in a 15 feet spread and knocks everyone prone - passing a ref save against a DC of 10+spell level+cha mod prevents falling in prone, but does not prevent damage.

Flaming Teleport, Greater
Conjuration [Teleportation, Fire]
Level: Pyr 6
Components: S, V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal and Touch
Area: You and touched objects
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Ref
Spell Resistance: Yes

Like Greater Teleport, except you can't teleport living beings other than yourself. Also, when you leave your current position, you cause an explosion that deals 6d6 fire damage in a 30 feet spread that deals maximized (36) damage within the first 5 feet and knocks everyone prone - passing a ref save against a DC of 10+spell level+cha mod prevents falling in prone, or, if you would be dealt maximized damage, the damage is rolled normally.

Blackfire
Evocation [Fire]
Level: Pyr 7
Components: S, V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium
Area: vertical cylinder, 50 feet in diameter and CL/2 feet in height
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: See text
Spell Resistance: No

You create a great natural fire and enhance it with the property to negate magic. Every round that creatures stay inside the cylinder, they receive 3d6+2/CL fire damage, or half if they pass a reflex save against a DC of 10+spell level+cha mod. Passing through the cylinder deals that damage per square passed, or again half if saved. Additionally, the entire volume of the cylinder and everything 5 feet around it is treated as an anti-magic field until either of these 3 happen:

1. 1 hour passes
2. the natural fire is put out
3. Disjunction is used

Unmake By Fire
Transmutation [Fire]
Level: Pyr 8
Components: S, V
Casting Time: 1 minute/ton
Range: Close
Area: up to class level tons of nonmagical objects and corpses
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You burn down nonliving nonmagical matter to the point where it basically ceases to exist. You may not use this spell on the ground beneath the feet of a creature, on armor that is currently worn by someone, and on diamonds.

Fiery Rebirth
Conjuration [Creation, Fire]
Level: Pyr 9
Components: S, V
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: Personal or Touch
Area: single target
Duration: 24 hours
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

The target of this spell will enjoy a fiery rebirth if he dies within 24 hours. Since the target can simply refuse to be reborn, this spell does not have a save. If the target would die in these 24 hours, he will instantly spring back from his own ashes, dealing 2d4*his character level fire damage to his armor and anyone touching him at that particular time. He will regain full health, will be immune to fire damage for 1 minute and will not receive any negative levels or penalty to XP.

Anyone under the effect of Fiery Rebirth may dismiss it as a free action.


Elemental Communion I/II/III/IV(Su): A pyromancer doesn't like getting burnt when he plays with fire. At level 1, he gains fire resistance 10, which doesn't stack with other fire resistances.

At level 5, this changes to fire resistance 15 and cold resistance 10, and he is immune to the damage of his own spells.

At level 10, he becomes immune to all fire damage, gains cold resistance 15, and resistance 5 to all other energy types.

At level 15, every time he would receive fire damage he heals 1d6 instead, gains immunity to cold, resistance 10 to all energy types, and DR 5/-.

Magic Specialization/Magic Generalization: At level 2, a pyromancer may choose one (and only one) of those paths.

If specialization: your CL for the purpose of casting spells with the Fire descriptor is increased by your class level/3 rounded up.

If generalization: at levels 2, 6, and every 4 levels thereafter, you may learn an additional spell that you can cast from the sor/wiz spell list. Depending on school, you will cast these spells at a different CL than usual.

Evocation, Illusion: CL
Transmutation, Conjuration, Necromancy: CL-2
Abjuration, Enchantment: Cl-4
Divination, spells without a school: CL-6

Fiery Blood (Su): The body of a level 3 pyromancer is imbued with magical fire. Treat his fort as good for the purpose of saving against spells only. Also, he will permanently ignore the disadvantages of extreme temperature.

Exchange (Su): A level 6 pyromancer may, as a swift action once per encounter, destroy one of the fire elementals summoned by him within 100 feet. If he does so, he gains an additional spell slot for the day for any spell level up to the level of the spell that summoned the fire elemental -1. This bonus spell slot may be used to spontaneously cast any level-appropriate non-conjuration spell.

Energy Conversion (Su): Before casting a spell that deals fire damage, a pyromancer may choose to have it deal untyped damage. In this case, the damage is halved.

Create Dustwraith (Sp): Whenever a level 8 pyromancer kills an opponent, he may choose to raise him as a Dustwraith. This process takes 3 full rounds, but the pyromancer need not pay attention. Dustwraith works for all intents and purposes as a template applied to the dead creature.


Size and Type: The creature's Type changes to Elemental, and its Size remains the same. Unlike a normal template, a Dustwraith doesn't gain the augmented subtype.

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Change all existing Hit Points of the creature to Elemental Hit Points. The number of Hit Dice remains unchanged.

Speed: Increase the creature's speed by 10 feet. If the creature had a swim, fly, burrow, or climb speed, it is now lost.

Armor Class: Reduce the target's Armor Class to 0.

Base Attack/Grapple: Remain unchanged.

Attack and Full Attack: Remain unchanged.

Space/Reach: Remain unchanged.

Special Attacks: None, and it loses the special attacks of the base creature.

Special Qualities: Loses the special qualities of the base creature, gains elemental traits, gains 1 way telepathy (can't answer back) with the pyromancer, gains immunity to fire.

Base Saves: Remain unchanged.

Abilities: Str -2, Dex +2, Con -2, Int -, Wis+0, Cha+0
Dustwraiths are unintelligent and only do what the pyromancer commands them to do.

Skills: All ranks in skills with a mental modifier become 0, rest remain the same.

Feats: All are lost.

Environment: N/A

Organization: N/A

Challenge Rating: varies, usually the original creature's -4 or even less


Dustwraiths are under the complete control of the pyromancer that created them. A pyromancer may not have more than one dustwraith under his control at one time, nor may he raise a dustwraith as a dustwraith.

A dustwraith lives for a number of rounds equal to either the HD of the slain creature or the CL of the pyromancer, whichever is lower.

Empowered Minions: All creatures summoned by a pyromancer are treated as having all ability scores higher by 2.

Pyre Channeling (Su): A level 13 pyromancer may declare any 100 square feet area as his pyre. The location of a pyre may be changed once per week. While within his pyre, a pyromancer meditates instead of sleeping as elves do, and is invulnerable to sleep effects. Also, he doesn't need the additional hour of channeling to prepare his spells.

Pyrelord (Su): A level 20 pyromancer is a master of fire. He can make anyone within 100 feet of him immune to fire damage, the maximum range of all his non-personal non-touch spells extends to 20 feet and he can control an unlimited number of Dustwraiths.

[JackMage666]

First off, needs skills. Now, onto others!



Hit Die: d6
Good.


Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A pyromancer is proficient with simple weapons, light armor, and no shield. He still incurs arcane spell failure when casting spells with a somatic component normally.
Why is he proficient in light armor if he still incurs spell failure?


Spellcasting: A Pyromancer casts arcane spells from his own* class list. As a wizard, he must prepare these spells beforehand by sleeping for 8 hours and then channeling his energy for an hour (for which quiet concentration is required). The only spells he may cast spontaneously without having prepared them are the Summon Monster spells.

A Pyromancer knows all the spells on his spell list up to the level of his highest spell slot. To prepare or cast a spell he must have an intelligence of at least 10+spell level. His spell DCs are charisma-based. Also, he receives bonus spells from having a high charisma score.

*Spell list:

Greater Fiery Teleport needs it's spell level fixed in the spell descriptor, but I'm not too good at spell balance otherwise. It's odd that's he's a prepared caster, but has the Spells Per Day advancement and numbers closer to a Sorc. Given his limitted spell selection, I don't think it would be bad to just make him a Spontaneous Caster instead of Prepared.


Elemental Communion I/II/III/IV(Su): A pyromancer doesn't like getting burnt when he plays with fire. At level 1, he gains fire resistance 10, which doesn't stack with other fire resistances.

At level 5, this changes to fire resistance 15 and cold resistance 10, and he is immune to the damage of his own spells.

At level 10, he becomes immune to all fire damage, gains cold resistance 15, and resistance 5 to all other energy types.

At level 15, every time he would receive fire damage he heals 1d6 instead, gains immunity to cold, resistance 10 to all energy types, and DR 5/-.
I find it odd that he gains Cold Resistance just after Fire Resistance, considering creatures with the Fire Subtype are weak against Cold. That said, balance wise it's fine, but it's still kinda peculiar. I would prefer to see him gaining other advantages of Elementals, maybe bonuses vs Paralysis/Stunning, or Light Fortification at some point.


Magic Specialization/Magic Generalization: At level 2, a pyromancer may choose one (and only one) of those paths.

If specialization: your CL for the purpose of casting spells with the Fire descriptor is increased by your class level/3 rounded up.

If generalization: at levels 2, 6, and every 4 levels thereafter, you may learn an additional spell that you can cast from the sor/wiz spell list. Depending on school, you will cast these spells at a different CL than usual.

Evocation, Illusion: CL
Transmutation, Conjuration, Necromancy: CL-2
Abjuration, Enchantment: Cl-4
Divination, spells without a school: CL-6
This is clunky. Not necessarily unbalanced, but clunky. I would suggest that you handle generalization like Eclectic Learning from the PHB2: That is, he can learn other spells, but they're at +1 Spell Level than they'd normally be. It's simple, direct, and the player isn't double checking the type of spell every time to know what his CL is for it. As for specialization, a +7 CL increase is pretty substantial, but since it's on a very limitted set of spells, it should be fine.


Fiery Blood (Su): The body of a level 3 pyromancer is imbued with magical fire. Treat his fort as good for the purpose of saving against spells only. Also, he will permanently ignore the disadvantages of extreme temperature.
The built in Endure Elements is fine, but granting them Good Fort vs Spells is a bit overpowered. With this, they have all good saves vs Spells (which are primarily where you use saves anyhow.) Plus, it doesn't make much sense how Fiery Blood makes you more resistant against spells like Disintegrate, Slay Living, Contagion, or any spell that isn't elementally related.
I'd suggest a +2 bonus to saves (all saves) vs spells with an Elemental descriptor (Fire, Cold, Acid, or Electricity), which increases to +4 at a later level.


Exchange (Su): A level 6 pyromancer may, as a swift action once per encounter, destroy one of the fire elementals summoned by him within 100 feet. If he does so, he gains an additional spell slot for the day for any spell level up to the level of the spell that summoned the fire elemental -1. This bonus spell slot may be used to spontaneously cast any level-appropriate non-conjuration spell.
This is tricky. While not game breaking, it means that he can Spontaneous Summon an Elemental, and if it's alive at the end of the encounter, Exchange is, and he's got an additional spell at one level lower the rest of the day.
So, he uses a 6th level spell, it helps the encounter, and he adds a 5th level spell slot.
While the ability itself isn't gamebreaking, it's still very potent, since it lets the caster retain spells he's cast. In the spirit of the ability, I don't think it would be out of the question to have him use the newly acquired spell slot within a number of rounds equal to his level.


Energy Conversion (Su): Before casting a spell that deals fire damage, a pyromancer may choose to have it deal untyped damage. In this case, the damage is doubled.
No. There is no no reason to ever do fire damage. The untyped damage is unblockable by resistance, and you get to deal twice as much to boot. That's Empower on every [Fire] spell, twice, for free. So on top of eliminating the main weakness of the Pyromancer, he's doubled in power.
If he's going to do untyped damage for free, it should be at 1/2 damage. Energy Substitution is the metamagic equivalent of this ability, and you still deal some kind of energy damage (thus subject to resistance) and you need to prepare it in advance.
Not to mention being able to toss around 18d6 Untyped Fireballs (+2 CL from Specialization, Double from this ability) at 7th level is absurd.


Create Dustwraith (Sp): Whenever a level 8 pyromancer kills an opponent, he may choose to raise him as a Dustwraith. This process takes 3 full rounds, but the pyromancer need not pay attention. Dustwraith works for all intents and purposes as a template applied to the dead creature.


Size and Type: The creature's Type changes to Elemental, and its Size remains the same. Unlike a normal template, a Dustwraith doesn't gain the augmented subtype.

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Change all existing Hit Points of the creature to Elemental Hit Points. The number of Hit Dice remains unchanged.

Speed: Increase the creature's speed by 10 feet. If the creature had a swim, fly, burrow, or climb speed, it is now lost.

Armor Class: Reduce the target's Armor Class to 0.

Base Attack/Grapple: Remain unchanged.

Attack and Full Attack: Remain unchanged.

Space/Reach: Remain unchanged.

Special Attacks: None, and it loses the special attacks of the base creature.

Special Qualities: Loses the special qualities of the base creature, gains elemental traits, gains 1 way telepathy (can't answer back) with the pyromancer, gains immunity to fire.

Base Saves: Remain unchanged.

Abilities: Str -2, Dex +2, Con -2, Int -, Wis+0, Cha+0
Dustwraiths are unintelligent and only do what the pyromancer commands them to do.

Skills: All ranks in skills with a mental modifier become 0, rest remain the same.

Feats: All are lost.

Environment: N/A

Organization: N/A

Challenge Rating: varies, usually the original creature's -4 or even less


Dustwraiths are under the complete control of the pyromancer that created them. A pyromancer may not have more than one dustwraith under his control at one time, nor may he raise a dustwraith as a dustwraith.

A dustwraith lives for a number of rounds equal to either the HD of the slain creature or the CL of the pyromancer, whichever is lower.
This is lovely, gives a minion, but it takes 3 rounds so often it'll only come up during long battles. At then they die, so it's not like he can just Dustwraith a Gold Dragon and keep it forever.
Does the choice have to be made just after he kills the opponent, or can he choose to start reanimating a few rounds later?


Pyre Channeling (Su): A level 13 pyromancer may declare any 100 square feet area as his pyre. The location of a pyre may be changed once per week. While within his pyre, a pyromancer meditates instead of sleeping as elves do, and is invulnerable to sleep effects. Also, he doesn't need the additional hour of channeling to prepare his spells.
This is fun and flavorful, but can be gained at a lower level. At 13th level, the party has other ways to rest safely, so this will be used rarely.


Pyrelord (Su): A level 20 pyromancer is a master of fire. He can make anyone within 100 feet of him immune to fire damage, the maximum range of all his non-personal non-touch spells extends to 20 feet and he can control an unlimited number of Dustwraiths.
Not terribly exciting for a capstone, it could use some pizazz.

[JackMage666]

Oh, I do have to say, your spell Fiery Rebirth is overpowered. It's basically free True-Res if you cast it that day, and since they're utterly no cost to you, other than a 5th level spell slot, there's no reason not to cast it at the beginning of each day.
Sure, it can be dispelled, and if you get killed twice it no longer functions, but you still get a full do-over if you do die in game.
Simple fix, though, add on a fairly pricey material component. Raise Dead costs 5K and a Level, and it's a 5th level spell as well, so a 1K cost that may or may not get activated is more than fair.

[Phosphate]

First off, needs skills.

Still thinking about them.


Why is he proficient in light armor if he still incurs spell failure?

Any semi-optimized pyromancer is expected to have Snakesign Ward active at all times.


Given his limitted spell selection, I don't think it would be bad to just make him a Spontaneous Caster instead of Prepared.

I'm not making him prepared instead of spontaneous to make him weaker, but to make him stronger. Action economy dictates that summoning-based casters, as the pyromancer is, need to quicken a lot. Spontaneous casters can't quicken.


I find it odd that he gains Cold Resistance just after Fire Resistance, considering creatures with the Fire Subtype are weak against Cold. That said, balance wise it's fine, but it's still kinda peculiar. I would prefer to see him gaining other advantages of Elementals, maybe bonuses vs Paralysis/Stunning, or Light Fortification at some point.

He doesn't become fire-type or closer to a fire elemental. He simply becomes more resistant to elemental magic.


As for how fire magic can protect you from cold, please see Fire Shield.


It's simple, direct, and the player isn't double checking the type of spell every time to know what his CL is for it.

Um...dude. You gain 5 spells. 5. And that is if you level in the class all the way to 20. You can't track 5 individual spells?


The built in Endure Elements is fine, but granting them Good Fort vs Spells is a bit overpowered. With this, they have all good saves vs Spells (which are primarily where you use saves anyhow.) Plus, it doesn't make much sense how Fiery Blood makes you more resistant against spells like Disintegrate, Slay Living, Contagion, or any spell that isn't elementally related.
I'd suggest a +2 bonus to saves (all saves) vs spells with an Elemental descriptor (Fire, Cold, Acid, or Electricity), which increases to +4 at a later level.

At the level he gains it, it's a +2 to fort. Why is +2 to all saves WEAKER than +2 to fort?! As for when the bonus to fort is +4, that is level 8/12. Also, I fail to see how you don't understand why having a blood imbued with fire would help you fight off effects like Contagion. Or Flesh to Stone.


I don't think it would be out of the question to have him use the newly acquired spell slot within a number of rounds equal to his level.

To what tier are you balancing?


it should be at 1/2 damage

That is what I THOUGHT I wrote :)). Changed.


Does the choice have to be made just after he kills the opponent

Yes.


This is fun and flavorful, but can be gained at a lower level. At 13th level, the party has other ways to rest safely, so this will be used rarely.

This has nothing to do with safety, merely with duration. Elf meditation is 4 hours, sleep is 8 (9 with channeling).


Not terribly exciting for a capstone, it could use some pizazz.

On it.


Oh, I do have to say, your spell Fiery Rebirth is overpowered. It's basically free True-Res if you cast it that day, and since they're utterly no cost to you, other than a 5th level spell slot, there's no reason not to cast it at the beginning of each day.

That's because it's not level 5, it's level 9, but I was too tired to notice.

[Soliloquy]

Well, you could just have him be spontaneous, and just give him a class ability that lets him quicken summoning. And I like the cold resistance stuff. I always wished people would do that more.

[silphael]

The Exchange ability bothers me. As worded, you may use a summon spell to summon some elementals of a lower level (1D4+1 or so) and then win 1D4+1 spell slots of one level lower. Worse, you can use it to summon even lower creatures, to win more spell slots...

[Phosphate]

The Exchange ability bothers me. As worded, you may use a summon spell to summon some elementals of a lower level (1D4+1 or so) and then win 1D4+1 spell slots of one level lower. Worse, you can use it to summon even lower creatures, to win more spell slots...

Where have I said you can do that? Exchange has no loopholes, I'm sure of that.

[druid91]

Where have I said you can do that? Exchange has no loopholes, I'm sure of that.

Higher level summoning spells allow you to summon 1d4+1 of a lower summoning spells creatures.

Exchange is per elemental not per spell.

So you can use that and gain 1d4+1 spell slots

[Phosphate]

Higher level summoning spells allow you to summon 1d4+1 of a lower summoning spells creatures.

Exchange is per elemental not per spell.

So you can use that and gain 1d4+1 spell slots

It is per elemental, but it specifically says you can use it on only one elemental per encounter :smallconfused:

[druid91]

It is per elemental, but it specifically says you can use it on only one elemental per encounter :smallconfused:

And if not in a combat encounter?

By the way that brings up something. You use a lot of Meta ideas in this, per encounter, Unmake by fire specifically not being able to destroy anything beneath someones feet. I can't speak for others, but personally if I were to ever use this class I'd first go through and use actual time limits and make it more realistic.

As it is Unmake by fire is completely useless.

[Phosphate]

Um...have you ever played D&D? Ever?!

There is like an entire tome of class features and abilities that have uses per encounter. As there are numerous things that cannot affect that which is directly beneath your feet.

And if you're seriously going for realism...isn't making his whole armory and a good chuck of the walls of his fortress disappear a very good strategy to sabotage a tyrant?

[druid91]

Um...have you ever played D&D? Ever?!

There is like an entire tome of class features and abilities that have uses per encounter. As there are numerous things that cannot affect that which is directly beneath your feet.

And if you're seriously going for realism...isn't making his whole armory and a good chuck of the walls of his fortress disappear a very good strategy to sabotage a tyrant?

Yes. A lot.

List a few please?

Which are you referring to, Tome of battle? I didn't like it there either.

MY point is that it breaks immersion. Sure you can destroy that patch of ground... but now you can't because I'm standing on it. Heck the diamonds bit is flavorful. But having it not be able to destroy something it arguably should for silly reasons is weird. Personally I like the idea, but it's just too limited. Take for example Earthquake which has the same basic use and level. It is limited to an 80-ft area but it simply destroys things, no cumbersome "if someone is standing there you can't use it" spells. And as for armour I'd make it a save. Like most other things that can destroy armour.