Introduction to the Warmage: Be all You can Be (which isn't much :/ )

[ArqArturo]

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The Warmage: Be All you can Be (which isn't much :/)

Well, this is a bit of an introductory guide to know what you have, what you don't, and what you can build with a warmage. Is not a big guide, nor is it going to be a very complete one, but it'll give you an idea of what you can do with the Warmage.

And, to that, I'll add a color coding. to make things easier for first-timers:

Difficult, will need plenty of feats/race/combinations to make it work, mostly a high-level effort.

Hard, early on your choices will be painful, but you'll see the results in mid to high-levels

Fairly Easy, you'll see faint signs of good results early game, and great stuff from mid to forward.

Instinctual, even at low levels you'll feel great results. This can be misleading, though, as things that start great, end just as great, but the well runs dry, so keep planning ahead to maintain the gravy train.
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"What? No, son, this is not the Sorcerer Recruitment Center, you wan't the booth to your left, the one with the pretty gal over there. Wait, what? You want to be a Warmage? Son, I don't know of you're stupid, brave, or both, but it takes a lot of stones to choose the path of the Warmage. Hell, we're right there along with 3rd level fighters, but let's me be clear on what you're going to get: Pain, and lots of it, kiddo! You're gonna be the butt of all jokes of all the RACs (That's Real Arcane Casters for you) in your party, so suck it up and keep on moving, 'cause otherwise you'll end up dead!.

The Warmage

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Oh look, it's Mr. Iconic, in the worst position possible in combat. Sorry, but phil wasn't the smartest warmage I ever trained.

So What is to be a Warmage? If you thought about blasting vast armies with rain of fire and thunder, cause earthquakes to shake the foundations of the earth and swallow siege engines, and make the entire battlefield fight against your foes, you've got it wrong. That be the wizard, and occasionally the sorcerer. Will you be leading the battlefield, clad in armor and fighting with sword and spell in glorious combat? Wrong again, bob, leave that to clerics, paladins, and the odd fighter that took levels in a RAC class and has dabbled a bit (although, with a bit of training, you could, too).

Why not? Well, that's because Warmages are no RACs, son. Let's face it, can I blast enemies with fire? Sure, I can do it, and I'm pretty damn good at it, too! But, I can't tell the difference from a flask of acid to a potion of healing, unless I drank it. But a RAC can.

So, who are we, really? We're the volley, we're all lined down, raining the initial balls of fire to break the ranks; we throw balls of fire at the skirmishers, acid at the cavalry, we break the morale of foes in the first stages of war: We be archers, but with fancier ammunition, and awful skills. But, with these skills, we can turn into deadly killing machines. Hell, we might even make a decent RAC out of you, with enough training. Just don't expect to be the equal of the Wizard, because that's not going to happen.

Bad Points: What's so bad about being a Warmage? Besides the lousy payment, terrible PR, and short lifespan, we don't have a lot going on. We have a limited spell selection, and Advanced Learning is nice, but only goes with Evocation spells, and most of them are not the best choice of spells if you want to do something other than just hurting your foes.

Also, our skill selection sucks. But, we get the basics of the RAC skill set: Concentration, Spellcraft, and Knowledge (Arcane).

Good Points: We have few, and this might be our saving grace. Yes, the Beguiler and the True Necromancer have more points in their favor as the "I know all spells" casters, but they lose features we don't when we decide to dabble in other things. So, see to you blessings, that's what I say.

We have a d6 for our HD, which is... Nice, I suppose. Hardier than the Wizard, but we're really not on a contest, here. Spontaneous Spellcasting is good, too. Once you hit the list, you know the list.

Warmage Edge should not be looked down on. This is the one feature that makes us deadly on early levels. Even our cantrips are deadlier, and the wizard will hate you for it when you're all starting juniors. maybe that's why he gets so powerful afterwards... Out of envy, heh. A secondary effect of having Warmage Edge is that you'll probably have a high Intelligence, and that means more skill points, and since we use Charisma as our main stat, I'd suggest either a little investment in the social skills, or in Use Magic Device... Or both!.

We use light armor at first, and that's a good thing, since we don't really need to bother casting any defensive spells most of the time, so we make up by blasting a little more, eventually we move up to greener pastures (heavier armor, that is), so at the long run, it's preferable to stick with light, since it incurs in less penalties for, say, climbing and sneaking. We also have proficiency with Simple Weapons. Not impressive, but it means you ain't going to be completely defenseless when you run out of magical ammo.

Prerequisites: I'll be short and sweet here: You need to be both purty, and smart to be a Warmage. You need to have The Face (while not necessarily be The Face) and The Brains to get what it takes to be a Warmage. This is good, because it means you get more skill points, and perhaps even learn to activate magical items with your high Charisma.

Dexterity is good for sniper mages, while Charisma works best for Blasters. Either way, don't dump Strength, you'll need it for armor. Also Constitution works best not just for hit points, but also for Concentration checks. That leaves Wisdom as a dump stat. Meh, who needs Intuition, right?.

The recruits: Ideal races for War

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A Changeling Warmage bringing the hurt to the enemy

Alright let's take a look at you and... What, you brought friends? Okay, the more the merrier! Let's see...

Well, you're a runty Gnome, I'll give you that. You're hardy and slightly overweight, but you ain't no pack mule, son. But, you have a few interesting abilities with Charisma. I'm sure your illusionist buddies will lob off mirages to fend off goblins, but the Blasting pain you'll dish is quite real. And remember, undead don't fall on illusions. Whisper gnomes are also good, despite their lack of Charisma, but Dexterity could work on their favor, and their silence ability helps them to move quietly through enemy forces, but you'll want to invest in Sudden Silence, in case you need to do damage quick while it's in effect.

And you... Meh, Elves. I'm not so thrilled to have you treehuggers here, since most are Wizards and love to look down on us grunts, but elves like you that like to be on the muck and be on the fight, those I like. Keep your bow and sword, you'll need 'em. You might need to run a few times to work on your constitution, but you'll make a fine Sniper due to your quick reflexes, but you'll need to run a few laps or else you'll collapse when you need to climb up a flight of stairs, buddy. For elf variants (because there's a crapload of them), the common wood elf is fine. Gray Elves, since they're agile and smart, are really good without getting funky with CLs and whatnot. If you are considering a CL+ race, consider the Drow, since they get stats that are great for the warmages (avoid bright light, however).

Oh, we got a Halfling here, people! Better check your pockets! AHAHAHAH, just kidding. You're alright for a Sniper as well: Small, and quick. But, you are also a little weak on your bones, to start doing pushups! And get that sling!.

Ah, Humans. Where are you from, son? Rivermeet Woods, Thorheim, or the Karsian Empire? No matter, you're adaptive, and that gives you the gift of Choice, so you can either be a Blaster or a Sniper.

Ok, baldie, what you've... Oooh, nice trick there! You're an Illumian, you say? Ok, you creepy weirdos might keep to yourselves in your monasteries like those monks, but you can wield magic, learn languages faster than anyone, and you're good at muticlassing, so I'll give you that!. Also, I know those magic sigils in your head can help somewhat with skills and even caster level, especially when taking a prestige class with a dead caster level (Krau sigil for caster level, and the Vaul sigil for Charisma checks and skills, giving you the Vaulkrau word that burns a spell slot to give you an insight bonus to your next saving throw. This is an immediate action that is good twice a day).

And you, got strength on those wings, Raptoran? I know, you don't have much, but the fact that you can glide in lower levels, and fly on higher levels makes you a powerful bomber. I suggest being a Sniper, but remember I said Bomber? What's a bomber, you ask? It's a flying Blaster Warmage, of course!.

Ok, you're just another hum... Woah! *calls fire* time to fry, doppelganger! Wait, what, you're a Changeling? Nice! Good thing to have a Black Ops infiltrator. You can learn languages as fast as your Illumian feller, and you can shapechange, not impressive to most RACs, but good enough for me. (Also, if you manage to get your DM to use Races of Eberron, and treat you as a sort of Human, you get additional things).

The Archetypes: Meet the Corps

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Deadly, precise, and all-around cocky, Snipers love to be able to deal with enemies one by one.

Ok, son, so you sign here, and here, and here. Oh and a sign here, too. Now, if you ladies leave my island, if you survive recruit training, you will be a weapon. You will be a minister of death praying for war. But until that day you are pukes. You are the lowest form of life on Earth. You are not even sentient freakin' beings. You are nothing but unorganized grabastic pieces of amphibian crap! Because I am hard, you will not like me. But the more you hate me, the more you will learn. I am hard but I am fair. There is no racial bigotry here. I do not look down on dwarfs, humans, halflings or elves. Here you are all equally worthless. And my orders are to weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in my beloved Corps. Do you maggots understand that?.

The Blaster

This here Warmage is a master of destruction in a large scale! Areas are his method, cones are his tools; maps, measurements, these will be your assets. Charisma and Intelligence will be highly needed, as your spells can do a wide arrange of damage to various enemies. Try to empower and maximize your area spells so you give them a bigger and bigger set of hurt every time. But, I recommend to mind your comrades in arms!. Your Priority stats should be as follows: Cha-Int-Dex, and remember, mind your allies in the battlefield.


The Sniper

He moves on the battlefield, silent and deadly. When he is close enough and sees his enemy, he whips out a ray to take that enemy dead in one shot. Hoorah! This is what the sniper does! Obviously, Dexterity is the one you'll need, second only to Intelligence for added damage. Feats that help you hit your targets more accurately and strongly are highly encouraged. Mind your charisma, to get better and better rays.

Now, as a Sniper, you could be tempted to think you're a focused version of The Mailman (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19868534/The_Mailman:_A_Direct_Damage_Sorcerer). While we do have the Orbs in our list, and direct damage in many ways, our list is fairly limited, and unless you manage to get more spells (either with Mage of the Arcane Order, or any of 'em fancy Prestige Classes), you ain't getting much. The Priority of stats should be Dex-Int-Cha. And remember that some feats that affect ranged attacks also affect Ray spells, so Point Blank Shot gives you a floating +1 on both hit and damage.

The Hidden Threat

No! I don't mean it as an invisible enemy (but then again, an Invisible Warmage is a terrifying concept indeed), the hidden threat is more than meets the eye: The enemy sees nothin' but a warmage, but in truth, you suddenly whip out illusions, heal allies, and then you blast 'em!. It's a hard trip, the one you do, but you've learned to expand your spell selection more than the average mage. Prestige Classes that favor adding spells are your best friend, as well as feats that permit that. Your priority Stats vary on just what build you're getting into, but Intelligence should be high as possible, and humans (especially humans with the Able Learner feat) can easily attain skill points that might be prerequisites.

The Gish

And then we have the guys that really like to get in the thick of things. It's a strange thing, considering that most common gishes need some buffs to pull it out. But, with Arcane Strike, and the appropriate dipping and a few other feats, things should get along just fine. Besides, you already know how to wear your armor. Your Priority Stats should be those of a Gish (High Str and Con, then Cha), but always keep in mind Intelligence, similar in many ways to the Hidden Threat.

[ArqArturo]

Prestige Classes: Where the magic happens

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A Warmage, bringing Diplomacy to the table (as in, 'Empowered maximized Fireball')

This, this is where the big changes happen, son. At level 6, this is where you do your... Master's Degree, if we have to give it a name. Most of you maggots will want to dish out more spells than you usually can get, and that's fine, since it's great to see the look of confusion of those damned RACs when you suddenly can heal yourself (that's right, I read heal. More on that later). However, A few others don't really care about variety, and instead wish to embrace the path of War, and turn into mean destruction machines. This is good also, perhaps even better in my book, because it means you've reached Enlightenment, and want to spread what you've learned to everyone you meet, especially your enemies.

For More Spells in your list:

Ok, so you want more bang for you buck, right? Here are a few good choices:

1.- Exalted Arcanist.- This is for all you Good Guys out there, with a capial 'G' on good. The Exalted Arcanist requires a few exalted metamagic feats, but it gives you not only a decent of ammount of skills (and skill points), but also a boost to your spell list, including some of 'em nifty Sanctified Spells. Just be careful who or where you blast 'em.

2.- Sandshaper.- All that tomb-pillaging finally pays off. It may seem odd that a bunch of ghosts of pharaohs may choose a grunt like yo to continue their legacy, but if they do, you must be doing something right, because their boons are not to be scoffed at. You get good skills, a nice array of spells, and the health benefits are very good, provided you get an ample array of desert sand.

3.- Ultimate Magus.- My personal favorite amongst the dual caster classes. This intends for you to devote in a RAC just a bit more than in Warmage college, but you can pull of some amazing things, such as switching some spells from one list to another, and wasting either prepared spells or spell slots to use metamagic effects to a spell, but be prepared to sacrifice armor, since wizardry requires loose clothes, pointy hat, beard... Ok, I'm just joking, but the armor would have to go . Also, you don't hurt from using Intelligence as another main Stat, since you already are doing so.

4.- Wild Soul.- Adding faerie magic to combat magic is risky business, kid. Especially when dealing with them Faerie Courts; but, the benefits outstrip the dangers, so tread lightly. This class lets you trade your spells for a few utility spells in the court-themed list, as well as letting you summon faerie allies to aid you in combat.

5.- Chamaleon.- I shouldn't tell you about these guys, but some might be lured by the call of the chamaleon. It's not impossible to pull off, but you'll need work, and while what they can do means you get powerful spells of any class at your disposal, you can kiss your warmage progression goodbye, so there. What does the Chamaleon do, you ask? Certain times per day, you can emulate a class feature (spellcasting, combat, stuff like that. No ToB maneuvers, though), and it gives you one floating feat you can swap around every day. For example, let's say you grab turning/rebuking undead, and then you grab Divine Metamagic as your floating feat. That is one example of the things you could pull of. However, this class, again, does not help you progress your current spellcasting.

6.- Mage of the Arcane Order.- While it basically does gain spells that are not in your possession, the Order will lend you those when you need 'em the most (notice that I said lend, they need a spell back) plus you get metamagic feats.

7.- Arcane Heirophant.- Yet another Dual caster, now with the Druid as the second. This one is even funkier than the Eldritch Theurge, and it even requires you to have a Familiar, but, unlike Eldritch, all the work and juggling is well worth the effort; especially if you're throwing down a fireball through a tiny, delicate flower. HA!.

8.- Mystic Theurge.- The Original Dual caster, the MT only receives the dual progression, and nothing else. I may sound stupid for some, but on the upside, it gives you ample freedom to use your feat slots the way you please.

9.- Geomancer.- The strangest dual class I've seen yet. From Complete Divine, this class offers some strange things, but it does give you a dual progression (of sorts, since it's 'one level of this and one level of that' kind of progression), if you ever run of out PrC dual class levels.

10.- Paragnostic Apostle: From the Complete Champion list, the Paragnostic Apostle is a weird breed indeed. It requires you to have a good deal of knowledge in three branches (Arcane, Religion, and something else) so either it's to branch into it at level 7, or take a class/feat that gives you extra Knowledge. Either way, the reason why the Apostle is here it's because at each of the five levels you get to choose one of the class features, and one of them is to choose a domain, any domain, and unlike Arcane Disciple, it's not stuck on Wisdom, and you get to have the domain feature!. Yes, I know, not all are so exiting, but that the spells are. A few levels in this class will give you that extra oomph you need.

For Better Damage:

Ahhh, nothing beats the smell of smoldering corpses, right? I myself followed this path, and trust me, I don't regret a damn about it.

1.-Wild mage.- Yeah, sure, your CL goes down, but the benefits and defensive capabilities of this guy are interesting, so try no to get too crazy. Blasters and Snipers make ample use of the chaotic magic.

2.- Holy Scourge.- Ahhh, this is where I'm from, son. This is my Order. The Holy Scourge is the paladin of the Warmage repertorium, only that we don't have a stick up our arse. Yes, we have a code, but not as strict, and we gain much form being a Holy Scourge. Trust me, smiting evil with fire has never been so much fun, eve more so as an Exalted Arcanist and a Holy Scourge. Blasters are quite common, but Snipers can find some good things in the list

3.- Spellwarp Sniper.- Perhaps you've heard be say Sniper over and over. This, my friends, is whom I am talking about. Meet the Spellwarp Sniper: A man designed to turn any spell into a powerful ray, make sneak attacks with your ray spells, and even make a coup de grace with your rays. So powerful that it frightens even the RACs!.

4.- Eldritch Theurge.- Basically a Warlock/RAC dual class. Not exactly the best of choices, but you can work with some of the invocations to do things you wouldn't normally do on your own. Also, you're able to mix in some invocation effects on your spells, as well as some regenerative properties; an interesting choice for Ray Mages, if you are not so interested in the Spellwarp Sniper. Now go to the corner, you're freaking me out.

5.- Recaster.- Remember when I said Changelings would be useful? This is why. The Recaster no only does it speed the process of the effects of metamagic feats, he also adds spells of any list to his. So, scour every tome you can, and look for the most broken spell list, and use that.

6.- Sentinel of Bharrai.- A beary respected Prestige class, and beary underrated, too. Sentinels of Bharrai must swear to protect nature from the corrupting touch of evil (this translates to the Sacred Vow and Vow of Obedience feats from the Book of Exalted Deeds), the good thing of this class is not only for the fact that lets you turn into ursine creatures (from the humble bear to the Dire Bear), but also lets you use quickened Call Lightning and later on quickened Lightning Storm once a day; call a cavalry of dire bears (which you are expected to honor if slain, and by "honor" I mean "use every part of the dead bear and leave the rest for Nature to pick") and energy-spells (3/4 of your list) can make nonlethal damage to animals or plants. The Knowledge (Nature) skill requirements are steep, but with the right planning, this would be no problem (Sandshapers give you the skill as a class skill, as well as Recasters, for example).

8.- Incantatrix.- This PrC from the Forgotten Realms is quite efficient, not only on giving you enough metamagics to get your groove on, it also gives you some interesting abilities, from attacking incorporeal creatures, to even remove charges from magical items to air you with healing. However, it also forces you to specialize in Abjuration, which means you'll need prohibited schools. Which mean you'll laugh and laugh all the way up to level ten. Pretty neat for blasters everywhere.

9.- Silver Piromancer.- A prestige class from Eberron (Five Nations, to be exact), while it does require you to turn undead, and has a dead caster level, you fire spells become more powerful, to the point that red dragons will know what it's like to burn, and you can smite evil with spells, just like a Holy Scourge. Both Blasters and Snipers benefit greatly.

10.- Warmage.- Yes, yes, Warmage/Warmage. Real funny. If you ever venture into Krynn, you'll want to take this class. If gives you greater control (not to mention Metamagic feats) of your damage-dealing spells, and give your allies some extra Armor. Maybe next time an Ogre misses a killing blow towards a RAC's purty nogging thanks to your Aegis, he'll be more mindful of your skill, huh?.

1.- The Sacred Exorcist.- Ooh, this is a tough cookie to eat. It has some steep requirements to get into, both skillpoint-wise, and spellwise. If you manage to use the Educated and Arcane Disciple (Good) feats, it won't be so bad, and you'll get some nifty Turn Undead for Divine Metamagic shenanigans, as well as better HD.

For the Arcane Knights out there:

Ahh, yes, the Gish path. I know a few of you had the idea of being the exotic Arcane Warrior, serving fire and steel with impunity. The thing is, to be a gish, you need the buffs a gish gets. We don't have that many, but with enough training, we can turn you into a death-dealing machine, either from afar, and up close and personal. Besides, it's better a d6 worth of initial HP than a d4 for the warrior types.

1.- Eldritch Knight: The original Gish, the EK is just a simple progression between attack efficiency and spell progression. The problem lies with the HD, and the lack of features, other than attacks an spells. I'd dip in a few levels, and move on.

2.- Spellsword: A slightly better version, but slightly erratic spell progression. It lets you use any weapon to absorb a spell, and unleash it on your enemy. Saving throws still apply to the spell, but if you hit it with your weapon, you get the spell in him (if it requires a touch attack). Remember, a power attack with a Greatsword with True Strike, and Disintegrate along for the ride? Painful.

3.- Dragonslayer: Gives you very interesting things to fight against dragons and fear-inducing enemies (the fact it gives you Aura of Courage is great), plus Armor and Weapon proficiencies, and a decent HD. The downside is the erratic spell progression..

4.- Knight Phantom: If you're from Eberron, and you're itching to be a gish, this would be a good idea. However, there are some complications. It requires you (besides the oh-so-flavorfoul citizenship of Aundair, and member of the Knights Arcane) to cast Phantom Steed, a 3rd level Conjuration Spell. If you somehow are able to get it (If your DM even lets you learn it via the Extra Spell*, for example), the benefits in the class are enormous.

(To be continued...)

The Radiant Servant debacle:

Ok, lads, I've heard enough of you say that the Rainbow Servant is the best prestige class for the Warmage. Let me tell you about this: It depends entirely on the DM.

If, by level 10 of the class, the DM tells you that you can add all the cleric lists on the warmage spell list, go right ahead. But, the class states that the Servant can learn these spells, meaning he has to pick them. That is the problem right there and, like I said before, it's up to the DM.

[ArqArturo]

Items: Equipment and such

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Heavy Fortification Ghostouched Mithral Fullplate, because nothing says 'safe' like a lightweight tank.

Yes, Warmages have the ammo, but that ain't much when an ogre's close enough to smell your crapped out pants. For that, you'll need equipment to remain alive. Let us start.

Armor

Most of the time, you'll be wearing light armor. Chainmails, leather, studded leather will be your friends early on. A blaster's good friend will be his chainshirt. +4 AC is nothing to scoff at. Studded is for the Snipers, and the more Dexterity you horde, the lighter and lighter the armor should be.

Mithral armor is the easiest choice for lighter armor. Blue Ice Armor also represents a shabby material for such an occasion. If you are investing in wearing medium armor (or heavy, if you took extra levels beyond six), you might want to invest in things like Ghost-touch armor, and Fortification. specific armors will also be very helpful.

(To be continued...)

Weapons

We only use Simple Weapons (unless your an Elf, then you get some martial weapons), which is ridiculous for a class that breathers in battle, but I guess it's better than defending ourselves with just a dagger and a staff.

Spears are good, and if you're going to get a shield, carry a morningstar, since it deals both bludgeoning and piercing damage. Also, carry a light crossbow. Heavy crossbows are alluring, but loading as a full-round action can be deadly.

For magic capabilities, try getting spell-storing in your weapons. Charging a deadly spell as a healthy Life Insurance is great in those cases that you're in melee.

(To be continued...)

Ability Enhancers:

You want your spells to be harder to resist? You want to throw more spells? Maybe you want to dish out more damage, or able to better reach people with your rays. Well, like everyone else, you'll need to take performance enhancers, and since we don't have those in our list (Unless you're a Sandshaper, and not all of them), you'll need to invest in artificial enhancing.

(To be continued...)

Toys:

Not those kinds of toys, but the other kind: Wands, Rods, rings. You know, arcane toys.

Metamagic rods are your friends. There are many metamagic feats that look really good on paper, but since we're a little feat-starving, these little buggers help us attain more metamagic love.

Night Sticks are useful for those that have the Divine Metamagic shenanigans going (Read: Cleric multiclassing, Sacred Exorcist and Silver Pyromancer). Get a few, and break away your enemies.

For rings, spell-storing rings will do in a pinch. Add that to spell-storing weapons, and you have emergency spells that you can break out to the enemy.

(To be continued...)

[ArqArturo]

Advanced Learning: Suggestions and ideas

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Decisions, decisions, Advanced Learning can be a tricky thing.

Yes, Advanced learning gives you entry to some extra spells from outside Warmage School. Yes, it gives some versatility, since the Evocation school is not just about blasting/melting/frying/freezing/burying things, it's to bring forth the raw elements to your bidding. But, the understanding of these is rather limited, so instead of giving you a list of spells just as to what to take, I'll ask these questions:

Will this spell be used often?
Will me including it will contribute to the party?
Will me including it will contribute to my survival?
Is it useful 3/4 of the time?

If most of the questions are answered with 'yes', it's a good chance you adding it will cause no remorse. Otherwise, think long and hard. I'm not gonna say 'no', just that you consider it.

That being said, the PHB2 gives you the alternative of adding a spell from the Wizard/Sorcerer list, but it must be a level lower. If you take this Alternative feature (which removes Advanced Learning), also consider The Four Questions.

[ArqArturo]

Mutliclassing: Yes, dabbling CAN help.

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A warmage decides to 'go green'


It may sound odd, son, but sometimes a Warmage needs to further his or her view in life, and needs to see what else is out there to improve the way he spreads the love.

Druid: The choice to pick for Arcane Heirophant. Druids can cast in armor, heal, and have an animal companion that follows them around like my Standard Bearer here (he's not my animal companion, BTW). Druids can also shapechange into animals, and some can cast spells while in animal form (hence Natural Spell) The only downside is that you have to be somewhat Neutral, as the wild places they inhabit... Which makes no sense to me, a rampaging saber-tooth cat looks anything but neutral.

Cleric: You can't go wrong with a cleric when going for Mystic Theurge. Perhaps the only downside is that they lose Turn (or rebuke, if you love the living dead) Undead level progression, but when you make up for it with Divine feats that burn them for effects, it's no so bad. There preferred one is Divine Metamagic, since it burns them instead of spell slots for metamagic effects.

Fighter: If you can to go full gish, and I'm looking at some of few that are itching to do it, take a few levels in Fighter. You'll lose caster level (except the illumian feller with the Krau sigil, or anyone with the Practiced Spellcaster feat) and spell progression, but you'll gain armor and weapon proficencies, not to mention a few extra hit points.

Paladin: Perhaps it's the Code, but not many warmages look on the paladin as a viable path for diversification. However, the Charisma bonus to saving throws, armor and weapon proficiencies, and (if you take it a bit too far) some of the spells and turn undead use make the Paladin a very tempting option for a holy-esque Gish. Your Smite Evil or Lay on Hands won't be as powerful as a full-fledged pally, though, but you won't need much healing when your enemies are already dead and smoldering.

Wizard: ... A RAC. It may sound odd, but actually picking up a book is not so bad. The Ultimate Magus' preffered 'learned' spellcaster, Wizards give you a free critter, so if you're thinking on getting a special familiar, that would be your best shot. The big bummers are, of course, lousy health benefits and wizards are too wimpy to learn to cast any spells in clothes tighter (and heavier) than a blacksmith's apron.

Archivist: From Heroes of Horror, comes this divine spellcaster that studies horrors beyond measure... Ok, sorry for the theatrics, but these guys do study the creepy aspects of the world, learning trick to defeat monsters. But, unlike common clerics (like if they were common to begin with) they don't have Turn Undead, nor do they use their Faith to cast spells. They can research them, analize them, and master them. This also mean they can take any divine spells (including druid spells) into their repertoire. If you wish to go down the Mystic Theurge path, but you don't care about taking Turn Undead nor add points in Wisdom, consider the Archivist.

Warlock: For the Eldritch Theurge PrC, making pacts (or taking their power, if someone in your family did) with otherwordly forces is... Dangerous. Sometimes they bite you in the arse later on, but the rewards (as in 'invocations') are interesting. They also give you interesting abilities you'd otherwise miss out.

Wujen: The Eastern version of the Wizard, Wujen don't have a school-based list like wizards. Rather, they study the elements and honor weird spirits that give them odd restrictions, but reward them with neat abilities. Take it in consideration for the Ultimage Magus, but don't really like what the wizard offers.

Shugenja: Another Eastern class, this one as a version of the cleric. It needs Charisma for spellcasting, and he's also a spontaneous spellcaster, but they focus on elements rather than deities. Interesting for the Mystic Theurge, but be warned that their spell-progression is similar to yours, and depending on the element and the order, your spells might go from redundant to Warmage school (suggestion: Don't take Fire for your element, can't go wrong with Water or Earth, but Air is pretty good too), to become a handy member of your party.

Spirit Shaman: An even stranger divine spellcaster, a spontaneous version of the Druid. While it needs Wisdom to get extra times per day with his spells, he uses Charisma to determine their strength... Odd, I know. But it gains some interesting abilities. An interesting choice for the Mystic Theurge, but for the Arcane Heirophant? Take the Druid, instead.

Hexblade: As creepy as the warlock, but not as nice, the Hexblade offers the not-so-nice Warmage a few good things to dish your enemies, such as Mettle (which is the Fortitude's version of Reflex) and saves bonuses against spells with your Charisma. Definitely worth to consider for a gish build.

[ArqArturo]

Feats: Tools of the Trade

http://24.media.tumblr.com/94204e8496d17017ddc35fa8719d1fff/tumblr_mn3t057LH41r0rc61o1_500.jpg
A warmage that can heal allies is a welcome addition indeed

Ok, so now that you have your training kit, it's high time to start working! I'll show you the tricks, tips, and tools you'll need to excel on the field of honor! And, again, do not worry about the RACs, we ain't here to compete with 'em!.

I will only mention feats that might be good/interesting/must have for Warmages, so I won't bother with Skill Focus (Basketweaving), for example.

PHB:

Combat Casting.- Decent to have, but not entirely important, since you're not gonna be in the thick of melee, unless you choose to go down the Gish path.

Eschew Materials.- Nothing's worse than having to lose your flimsy spell pouch, or worse yet, that you actually have to track the uses of such. This little feat takes that all away; it only works with cheap material components (the ones that cost nothing), but some spell components might be free but are rare to find, this helps quite a lot. Take it whenever possible.

Magical Aptitude.- Perhaps you don't care about getting extra spells in your list, but you still need to cast something from outside your repertoire (for example, use a wand of healing). Since you have a nice charisma, and enough skillpoints with intelligence, a healthy investment in Use Magic Device is allowe. But, since it's a cross-class skills, this is a nice boost for UMD, plus to Spellcraft (a class-skill, btw), to identify other spell schools/effects/etc.

Natural Spell.- Only useful for the odd Warmage that decided to 'go green' with the Arcane Heirophant. Other than that, why are you even looking at it?.

Point Blank Shot.- Useful for the Snipers, this, plus Precise Shot will save your fellow adventurer's hide from the spells you throw at, even if they are touch attacks.

Spell focus.- Evocation. Only good for Blasters.

Spell Penetration.- And it's big brother, Improved Spell Penetration will help you in the long run. Blaster or Sniper, this feat will circumvent those pesky Magic Resistances that some enemies have. Take it at mid level.

Weapon Focus.- Snipers make extensive use of this, but I wouldn't go nuts about it.

Book of Exalted Deeds:

CelestialFamiliar.- Remember Acquire Familiar? Are you a goody two-shoes? Here's your new friend. Any of the three crit- I mean, allies, are good choices, especially the Coure Eladrin.

Words of Creation.- Flavor-wise, it's a good feat. It lets you enhance any spells with the Good descriptor (*ahem* Exalted Arcanist), and you can research the True Name of your foes, to create interesting abilities. Let's see that damn RAC do that.


Complete Arcane:

Arcane Preparation: You may lose your 'spontaneous' nature of getting ammo, but preparing ahead of time may pay off, if you wish to taste some power. By worrying about what spells you prepare, you can also prepare Sanctified Spells... Or Corrupted spells. But, be careful, the path of Evil is a slippery slope, and one spell here and another there, could turn into making an altar with the bones of your former allies to call a Demon Prince. In that case, I'll drag you down to it myself if you do.

Extra Edge.- Nothing to really scoff at, especially if you're a blaster. Still, there are far better choices than this feat.

Extra Spell.- This is a very strange feat, if you read it carefully. At worst (RAW), it gives you an extra spell from the list you own (which would make the feat completely useless), at best, it gives you spells from outside your list, therefore making it incredibly useful. This will be under the consideration of the DM, but I'd choose the safe side.

Obtain familiar.- Familiars are interesting, adding the cheese of the 'other' familiars (Improved, Draconic, or Exalted, for example) could help you give you something to talk about.

Practiced Spellcaster.- If you ever get into a PrC that has no magic level progression at certain levels, this helps to make your spells retain some oomph.

Ranged Spell Specialization.- This is why you taken Weapon Focus with rays. If you're taking that feat, get this one.

Complete Divine:

Arcane Disciple.- Like Extra Spell, this is very situational. First, it treats the spell with Wisdom (our dump stat), but it does say you need to prepare at least one of these spells each day. Since we don't do that... Yeah, it might be worth the while to take this feat, especially if you have a Wisdom score high enough (in the case of Save or Suck).

Divine Metamagic.- The one reason to enter Sacred Exorcist, or Silver Pyromancer, Divine Metamagic gives you access to go nuts with your favored metamagic feat (I like my disitegrate rays quickened, don't know about you).

Complete Warrior:

Arcane Strike.- Again, useful only if you go down the gish path. However, if you're pressed on melee, it never hurts to make some extra damage with your spear, right?.

Complete Mage:

Heritage feats: They bring some good abilities and spells to your repertoir, so it's always good to have. I recommend to look at the Fey Heritage, as it gives you good spells to work with.

Reserve feats.- Many are pretty interesting, and help you save up on precious ammunition, especially when fighting creatures not worth wasting your precious ammo. Also, if you expand to other spells away form your repertoire, some of the reserve feats are incredibly useful.

Ranged Recal.- Snipers will definitely appreciate this feat. Rerolling is always a good thing.

Rapid Metamagic.- Let's you cast metamagic spells in less time you would normally do. Very good, indeed.

Somatic Weaponry.- If you take your spear and buckler, this, along with Eschew Materials, will help you.

Complete Scoundrel:

Luck Feats.- Some people claim to make their own luck, but in truth, luck makes the person, but it's never a bad thing to nudge things a little on your favor. You only take this to get Magical Fortune, which is sort of good. But, I wouldn't rely on these if I were you.

Draconomicon:

Draconic Familiar.- Get Yourself your dragon familiar, and prepare to be annoyed by a tiny little dragon that thinks -and may actually be- smarter than you, even if it's just a baby.

Frightful Presence.- Invoke fear on your enemies (and annoying friends, too!) and avoid getting mobbed by pesky goblins with this wonderful feat.

Frostburn:

Snowcasting.- Adds the Cold descriptor to a spell. This is the prerequisite of the Frostmage, and while that class some good abilities (especially if you like cool magic... Pardon the pun), I'd think long and hard about it.

Heroes of Horror:

Corrupt Arcana.- Exclusively for Spontaneous casters. If you manage to get a scroll of corrupted spells, you may add them to your ammo list.

Bane magic.- Got a bone to pick? Bane magic makes your spells extra deadly to a certain type of creature (or a specific humanoid type, such as, well, humans) when you manage to hit. This is a good choice if you're facing a little too much of the same monster types over an over.

Libris Mortis:

Mother Cyst.- Congratulations, all those days without taking a proper bath have finally paid off! You have grown a purulent cyst that, while not particularly dangerous, gives you access to Necrotic Spells... Just, don't try to pop it, I've heard horror stories.

Races of Destiny:

Able Learner.- Good for prerequisites, and if you're interested in the Chamaleon prestige class, this is a must.

Enhanced Power Sigils.- Illumians will probably consider this feat, especially if it gives some oomph to your CL.

Races of the Wild:

Battle Casting.- Not particularly impressive, but if you must take Combat Casting -and turn into a gish- this is is an interesting feat to consider.

Sandstorm:

Touchstone.- This is the prerequisite feat for the Sandshaper, but, you can also get to use the touchstone of the power associated with them. However, it's not the feat that counts, but the power of the prestige class.

Metamagic Feats:

You might have noticed that neither of the feats above are metamagic. This is because those feats are to add flavor to an otherwise straight-forward class. Metamagics, however, are what energize the Warmage spells. You have to think well which ones to choose, as not all are useful to our brand of ammo, but here are a few examples:

PHB.- Empower Spell for obvious extra damage; Still Spell because there are times in when you're tied and you just need a well-used blast, not to mention that if you multiclass into a wizard, wizard spells get arcane spell failure for using armor, and Maximize Spell to squeeze as much damage you'd normally get on a spell.

Complete Arcane.- The Sudden feats are nice, but I've always thought bad of daily uses (huh... Somehow I think the word 'daily' will be relevant to this whole thing one day); also consider Split Ray for all those Snipers out there; Transdimensional Spell works wonders on pesky incorporal enemies; Energy Substitution/Admixture for when you just want to switch energy types on your magic..

Book of Exalted Deeds: Consecrate Spell, Purify Spell. The very feats you'll need for the Exalted Arcanist, but they also get some nice abilities, since they help you overcome any damage resistance by evil outsiders (Holy Scourges benefit from them, too).

Lords of Madness: Ocular Spell turns one or two spells into rays that fire from your eyes. You can fire them one per turn or both at the same time, but you need to 'load' the spells before unleashing them, and the spells stay there until 8 hours. Also, they turn into range touch attacks (plus whatever other saving throw it gets) of 60 feet. Very interesting feat to take for non-Spellwarp Snipers.

Sandstorm.- Searing Spell. Nice when you love fire, and you're facing enemies with creatures resistant towards fire; Fiery Spell makes your fire spells even more terrifying as they get more damage than they'd otherwise have. Adding that to the Edge, you can clear out mobs.

[ArqArturo]

Ok, these are the sections I'm going to post. Again, this is less of a full guide, as it is more of hindsight of what is like playing Warmage.

All comments are appreciated :smallbiggrin:.

[eggs]

Interesting guide. I've always thought the Warmage got a bum rap, probably being held to a high standard due to its full spellcasting: compared to the Warblade and Crusader, Warmage easily has as much versatility (similar flexibility with ability lists, plus WM has Eclectic Learning for whatever flexible/breakable spells it wants), a comparable level of power (black tentacles, orbs of X, Prismatic sphere and metamagicked rider effects on its spells don't make for a total slouch), and drastically more potential for upward growth (Warblade and Crusader can't do things like grabbing Versatile Spellcaster and jumping a couple levels into Recaster for free metamagicked Miracles and so forth); yet those classes are incredibly popular, and Warmage is avoided like the plague.

Also, 7 posts in a row about Warmage without one mention of Rainbow Servant? I think that's a first. :smalltongue:
Even as someone who rolls his eyes at justifications of the text-trumps-table rule in the RS's case, I have to say it's a huge boost to the Warmage - spontaneous access to the Cleric spell list is a drastic improvement, and compared to straight warmage, can even justify the loss of all those CLs.

This thread (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=2777.0) is relevant for ways to expand a Warmage's spell list, to make Warmage characters' casting more efficient. One omission I see that I have a soft spot for is Wild Soul from Complete Mage, which can access some useful spells and summons at the cost of a caster level.

Also worth noting is the the Runestaff+UMD combo that BF touts around; it's an easy way to add some versatility to a Warmage character.

I don't really get the Eschew Materials love - even if a thousand spell component pouches are smashed throughout a campaign, they would still be a bargain compared to a feat slot. Just carry a backup or two; some of the better warmage spells like Orbs don't even use components.

[ArqArturo]

Heheh, yeah, this is still a work in progress, but I will discuss the Rainbow Servant, though I think it's a strange choice.

[ArqArturo]

Finished up the feats and PrCs so far.

[jaybird]

If Dragonlance material (I believe it's a 3.5 setting?) is allowed, you may want to mention the War Mage PrC. 5 levels of full casting progression, 2 bonus metamagic feats, a minor Cha-based buff aura, and +3 damage per dice of spell cast.

Also, no mention of Fiery Spell from Sandstorm? Flat +1 damage/dice for +1 adjustment means a CL10 Fiery Fireball does 45 damage from a 4th level slot, while a CL10 Empowered Fireball does 52.5 damage from a 5th level slot and a CL10 Maximized Fireball does 60 damage from a 6th level slot. That's a drop of 7.5 damage per spell level, and considering that 2(n-1) slots are generally worth 1 n level slot, you're much better off with the lowest adjustment in that group.

[eggs]

Alright, I've been going through this more thoroughly, and I want to give some criticism. I'm not trying to rain on any parades, but in the present state of the posts that are up, I'm not sure this is a guide I'd direct a player toward, if I were trying to answer their questions about Warmages or to help them structure a build.

I'm not saying it's bad work, but the guide does raise more questions for me than it answers.

The biggest of those questions, which I was asking over and over, is "Why?" This is partly because of the voice you're using for the guide, and partly its organization, which isn't laid out for surgical reading, but the biggest reason is that the advice itself is very brief. I think you could make the handbook much more useful by going through with some more direct explanations of what things do (especially for non-core materials), and why they're useful/rotten. (Sources also don't hurt, but again, I don't think they're the biggest issue here, so they can wait.)

For instance, say I want to get started on my Warmage:

I think I have a handle on the attributes, so I jump down to the Races section. I see you're being quirky and in-character and mentioning illumians. I might roll my eyes, but whatever floats your boat. You seem pretty positive about Illumians, so my first question is "what's so great about them?" You mention that they're bald and learn languages well, but those can't be the reason. Knowing a bit about the race and seeing you've mentioned multiclassing, I hazard a guess that you're going to talk about the arcane DMM-like ability for a mystic theurge. That might make sense. So I scroll down to peek ahead into the PrC section and no, no mention of Mystic Theurge or the DMM sigil there. So then I ctrl+f "illumian," and see a second mention in the "Enhanced Power Sigils" feat entry. Reading the entry, it's still not clear what the sigils do, or which are being recommended. So then I hit up google to try to figure out what you're talking about when you include them in the guide. By the time I've scoured the thread to see what's so great about Illumians, then the internet to try to guess, I'm still not totally sold on them, but it's not clear to me whether that's because the race is just kind of mediocre, or because I'm missing something about it - either way, the handbook isn't helping much to organize my choices.

This lack of explanation is a problem I'm seeing in all the sections that you've posted - especially the races (beside your in-character reaction, why would I as a player pick any of these?) and feats (what do Consecrate Spell/Purify Spell/Transdimensional Spell do, and why would that be useful?).

Then there are the entries that don't make a whole lot of sense to be included at all - either because they're just bad, or because they don't really pertain to the Warmage. For a brief guide like this, it can make some sense to include the crappy core options and to say what makes them bad. But when you stretch out to splatbook materials to say "luck feats? they're not great, don't worry about them," it's not clear why you went out of your way to point those out, when you could have just not recommended them and been in about the same place.

On that subject, I was really unclear what the deal was with Chameleon. It gets a few references, but doesn't seem to do anything to make Warmage better, and Warmage doesn't really do anything to support the PrC. I'm still trying to figure the interaction there - maybe using the floating feat to shuffle around an Arcane Disciple for versatility? Something else? Overall, in a guide this short, if you're giving something a "meh" rating or if an option doesn't really pertain to your subject, I think you could make the guide more usable by either paring those entries from it, or by giving some context for why they'd be deliberately included to be called out as bad choices.

And then there are the entries that have non-explanations. Like on Arcane Disciple, it looks like you're on the fence about the feat, which you only explain with "well, you know the drill." I really must not know it: if a Warmage can spend a feat to get, say, Dimension Anchor, Dimension Door, Teleport, Etherealness, Maze and Gate from Portal Domain, what's the downside? Is the hemming and hawing because using it to its fullest means mustering 19 Wisdom by ECL 18? Or something else? My point on this grievance isn't to argue that Arcane Disciple is an unqualified amazing feat; it's to point out that some of these assessments need more input if they're going to be informative.

But Arcane Disciple also brings up the last of the reasons I'm not sure the guide would be a useful reference to direct players toward. On feats and racial categories with a lot of options like Arcane Disciple, Reserve Feats, Illumian Sigils, Heritage Feats and so forth, it would be useful to specify which of the options you're recommending. Because, for instance, I might walk away thinking "I should take Arcane Disciple! Sweet!" Then crack open my big pile o' books and see there are 130-150 domains to read individually before coming to an informed decision. You don't need to include an assessment of all the options, but mentioning your top choice or three would make the entries more accessible.

-----------------

Okay, that was my criticism section. I still want to call you out on Holy Scourge and the Rainbow Servant discussion, but those can wait until I'm being less wall-of-texty. :smalltongue:

On suggestions:

There are a few more PrCs I'm seeing omitted that make the Warmage much better at what it does: Escalation Mage from Faiths of Eberron and Incantatrix from Player's Guide to Faerun are full CL PrCs with free metamagic - both very powerful for Warmages. And on the defensive side of things, Warmage qualifies for Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil, which doesn't get all its love for nothing.

Also, if you're treating the Warmage as the straight blaster it is out of the can, either 1-2 levels in Sanctified One of Kord (CChamp) or Silver Flame Pyromancer (5 Nations) can help punch through energy resistances.

I also want to point out the various metamagic reducers (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=9876), as almost every one of those is worthwhile for a blaster. Metamagic reduction is to spell damage as charging is to melee.

------------------------

And taking this post into one last direction (I'm almost done, I promise!): the weakest parts of the old warmage guide (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=2816.0) were its feat and item suggestions. Those are the areas where any work you put into this handbook will make the most pronounced improvements over the current easy reference. (I believe Dictum Mortuum's old WotC board wizard guide (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Wizards%27_Handbook_by_Dictum_Mortuum_%28DnD_Optim ized_Character_Build%29/Equipment) had the best item section of any caster thread; it'd be a decent starting point if you need one).

[White_Drake]

Have you considered color coding? Also, bold, italics, and other font modification. As is, I find this guide hard to simply fick through and pick up what I need from a glance. I believe that there's a handbook handbook floating around somewhere in the ether, perhaps it mentions such things. Of course, perhaps it's just me.

That said, kudos for taking the time and effort to write a guide, I hope you follow through on it. The warmage is currently vying with the wizard for the base of my magic missile mage.

[Snowbluff]

Eldritch Theurge should be listed under doing better damage, since it will let you combine Eldritch Blast with blasting spells. Also, it has some nice tricks like being able to turn your ranged touch spells into conjured acid (NO SR and possibly no AMF).

[ArqArturo]

I really appreciate the feedback so far. I understand that some of the writing is, at best, vague on the description, Hopefully as the holidays get close, I'll get more stuff done, mostly because of time. So far it's been fun writing it, as I think the Warmage is one of the most underrated classes, right above 3rd level fighters :smalltongue:. Right now I'm working on the PrCs of the books I own, so getting the Incantatrix and whatnot is a little complicated, but I will be looking into them in the near future.

And yes, warmages are good choices for magic missile.

[White_Drake]

Well yes, they do okay at magic missile, but I would also need spell fusion, greater spell fusion, and chain missile for it to shell out really ridiculous amounts of missiles, and the Warmage's limited spell list is really causing it pain.

Edit: nevermind, slower spell progression means wizard wins.

[Woodzyowl]

I'll second the Sanctified One of Kord (Complete Champion). If you get it and energy substitution (fire), all of your damage spells suddenly become... irresistible :smallcool:

[ArqArturo]

Hmm, ok, the Sanctified of Kord called my attention. I'll try looking for Complete Champion. In the meantime, I've added the Silver Pyromancer and the Incantatrix as PrC options.

[Larkas]

There is a way to broaden your spell list a little that you might have missed: sanctified spells. With Arcane Preparation, you could arguably cast any sanctified spell (or Corrupt spell, if that's your schtick) automatically.

Arcane Preparation's header says:


You can prepare an arcane spell ahead of time just as a wizard does. When you do so, you need not take any extra time to apply metamagic feats upon casting that spell.

And the entry on sanctified spells reads:


Spellcasters prepare sanctified spells just as they do regular spells, and casters who do not prepare spells (including sorcerers and bards) cannot make use of them except from a scroll. Evil characters cannot cast sanctified spells, including ones cast from magic items.
(...)
Sanctified spells are specific to no character class. They are neither inherently arcane nor divine spells. A divine caster casting a sanctified spell casts it as a divine spell, while an arcane caster casts it as an arcane spell.

Now, there is some reason as to why this might not work. The benefit section from the feat reads:


Each day, you can use one or more of your spell slots to prepare spells you know.

Now, you might argue that sanctified spells are not on your spell list, so you can't actually KNOW a sanctified spell. But if that was the case, then how the heck could a sorcerer or a bard cast a sanctified spell from a scroll? The sanctified spells' description seem to imply that every good nonevil spellcaster, even spontaneous ones, have the potential to learn a sanctified spell, but can't normally cast it because they generally can't prepare spells. If that really is the case, then the best class to make use of this trick is the Warmage (and its other full list casting friends): it knows every spell on his list, so it knows all sanctified spells, and Arcane Preparation lets it prepare them!

[ArqArturo]

That is devious... I love it :belkar:.

[Larkas]

It just occurred to me. BoVD is not as explicit as BoED on saying that corrupt spells cannot be used by good spellcasters, but every corrupt spell has the [Evil] descriptor, which means the same thing. Apart from that, the description of corrupt spells is pretty much the same as the sanctified's:


Spellcasters prepare corrupt spells just as they do regular spells, but corrupt spells are available only to spellcasters who prepare spells. Wizards and clerics, for example, can use corrupt magic, but sorcerers and bards cannot. A sorcerer or bard could, however, cast a corrupt spell from a scroll.
(...)
Corrupt spells are specific to no character class. Furthermore, they aren’t inherently divine or arcane spells; a divine caster casting a corrupt spell casts it as a divine spell, and an arcane caster casts it as an arcane spell.

As with sanctified spells, corrupt spells are on the list of a Warmage's spells known, they just need a way to prepare them, and be nongood, to cast them.

That right there is a reason to play a neutral Warmage! By being neutral, you can cast both [Evil] (corrupt) and [Good] (sanctified) spells!

[Tar Palantir]

It just occurred to me. BoVD is not as explicit as BoED on saying that corrupt spells cannot be used by good spellcasters, but every corrupt spell has the [Evil] descriptor, which means the same thing. Apart from that, the description of corrupt spells is pretty much the same as the sanctified's:



As with sanctified spells, corrupt spells are on the list of a Warmage's spells known, they just need a way to prepare them, and be nongood, to cast them.

That right there is a reason to play a neutral Warmage! By being neutral, you can cast both [Evil] (corrupt) and [Good] (sanctified) spells!

Technically, a Good warmage can cast [Evil] spells; doing so is an evil act but not prohibited except in the case of clerics.

[Larkas]

Indeed you are correct. Just double checked here, and the piece I read was about good clerics casting evil spells. By the way, I also checked HoH's corrupt spells, and they also don't specify that good characters can't cast corrupt spells. It's as if evil wanted to corrupt good characters through power... :smalltongue:

On a related note, HoH has a feat called Corrupt Arcana. It reads:


If you have access to a corrupt spell in written form—on a scroll, in a spellbook, or in a tome of forbidden lore—you can prepare it in the same way that a wizard or cleric would. The prepared corrupt spell remains in your mind and occupies one of your daily spell slots until you cast it or change it. A prepared corrupt spell uses a spell slot of the spell’s normal level, and you must pay corruption costs as normal for casting the spell.

It is designed specifically for spontaneous casters. Now, it isn't as good as Arcane Preparation is for a Warmage, and while I feel AP should be able to be used as I said above, your DM might say no, so you can use this. Unfortunately, there isn't a sanctified version of the feat. Fortunately, there are more corrupt than sanctified spells, AFAIK.

[ArqArturo]

Been reading that, might have to add that for the Feats section. Good find. I'm not fan of Arcane Preparation because it defeats the purpose of the spontaneous caster shtick, but, if you prepare the spells, would they stick on the list from then on?.

[ArqArturo]

Whelp, it's back.

I added a few more PrCs, plus the Advanced Learning section (which is still in the works, but I'm not going to give a list, more among the guidelines of what to do).

I'm still going long and hard with the items section.

[Grim Reader]

Warmages power increase drastically as you add more spells to their list.

I'd add the Fiend-Blooded prestige class from Heroes of Horror. The first nine levels are 9/9 casting, you only lose casting at level 10. And you get to add spells from some schools from any list at every even level.

Wyrm Wizard also lets you add spells from any list, but takes a caster progression hit. Still, after you got your ninth levels, grabbing Shapechange or what have you is not bad.

There is also the heritage feats from Dragon Compendium. One feat gives one more spells known at every spell level. Undead heritage also lets you grab turn undead.

[Thurbane]

The Bloodline feats from Dragon Magazine compendium add 1 spell known per spell level 1 through 9, and are good to expand the spell list.

Apprentice (Spellcaster) can get Use Magic Device as a class skill (the number of levels it remains so is debatable). UMD is, naturally, a great skill for any Charisma focused character. It also allows the Warmage to UMD a Runestaff, and use his own slots to cast spells that may not be available.

In the MIC, the Robe of Mysterious Conjuration and the Raiment of the Four set allow you to use your spell slots to cast various spells. Eternal Wands are good to, as you don't need to have the spell on your list, just be an arcane caster.

Spells: Great Thunderclap is a nice 3rd level Evocation spell (SC p.107). It forces 3 separate saves (one of each type) to avoid Stunned, Knocked Prone or Deafened. BY what's really nice is it's one of the few Evocation spells that is SR: No.

It just occurred to me. BoVD is not as explicit as BoED on saying that corrupt spells cannot be used by good spellcasters, but every corrupt spell has the [Evil] descriptor, which means the same thing.

Technically, a Good warmage can cast [Evil] spells; doing so is an evil act but not prohibited except in the case of clerics.
You can get around alignment issues and casting [Evil] spells with a Hellbred character.

[Spuddles]

1 level wizard + versatile spell caster gets you spontaneous access to any spell you put into your spell book. Which can be any spell from grease to shapechange. All you need is the magic ink, a copy of the spell, and an easy spellcraft check.

If you use the stupid rules in rules compendium, you don't even need a level in wizard. Grab Magical Training feat, which gives you a spellbook. Rules Compendium says that if you have a spellbook, you can put spells in it, and those spells count as spells known.

Cerebrosis feat can be picked up for free and adds some decent spells- a dangerous form of teleportation and some not bad summoning.

[ArqArturo]

I've added a couple of things to the handbook, plus some corrections to spelling (though I suspect some might still be out there).


1 level wizard + versatile spell caster gets you spontaneous access to any spell you put into your spell book. Which can be any spell from grease to shapechange. All you need is the magic ink, a copy of the spell, and an easy spellcraft check.

If you use the stupid rules in rules compendium, you don't even need a level in wizard. Grab Magical Training feat, which gives you a spellbook. Rules Compendium says that if you have a spellbook, you can put spells in it, and those spells count as spells known.

Cerebrosis feat can be picked up for free and adds some decent spells- a dangerous form of teleportation and some not bad summoning.

Will look into that, but it sounds awesome :smallsmile:.

Remember this is still a WIP, and my first handbook, so there's still plenty of work to do.

[Segev]

I don't see Libris Mortis mentioned in here at all. I normally wouldn't gripe; it is a book for necromancers more than blasters, and Warmages do tend to seem all about the blasting. However, the Mother Cyst feat is one of those that gives you a spell of every level. They're all necromancy, sure, but they actually complement a "war" focused mage pretty well, too. At low levels, you can infect people with magics to make them more vulnerable to other effects, and you can tell who is so infected. As it increases, you can hurt those people specifically, and later on, use them to hurt others! And, if you kill them with these spells, they tend to drop undead monsters. Since you're a war-mage, your enemies will often be in the ranks of, well, your enemies, and having a "third side" show up in THEIR ranks can only increase the fun chaos.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Don't forget - Wild Mage + Practiced Spellcaster = Fun Blasting.

[ArqArturo]

That's why I included the Wild Mage.

I just added mother cyst to the feat selection. I'm not really impressed with it (never like most necromancy spells, anyway), but it is noted that you add spells early on, so it makes for an interesting entry.

I also started to do some color coding for the guide, and began reading item descriptions to make a reasonable 'warmage-worthy' items.