FreakyCheeseMan
2013-03-08, 11:09 PM
Why have I not heard more about this class? It seems to be beyond powerful.
The entry requirements are laughable - a one-level binder dip and a single feat, and you're back to full dual casting progression. Hell, I strongly suspect there's a way in by 3rd level, I just haven't found it. (With cheese, you can get in by 2nd.)
After that... ignore the vestiges for a moment. (Only because I don't understand them thoroughly enough to brag them up.) Anima mage gives you an extra spell slot at every level, a bonus to initiative checks, and three free metamagic applications per day (Spontaneous swift actions, what's more.) That metamagic doesn't care about the level adjustment, by the way - persisting 9th-level spells is fine with it.
And then there's the capstone; once per day, you can cast any spell you have available as a swift, still immediate action. Considering how much high-level fights come down to "Whoever goes first wins", that seems... kinda extreme.
That strikes me as being good for a PRC already, and I've yet to even dig into the advantages of vestiges- except that a lot of them are continuous effects, so you're not even limited by your action economy the way other dual-casting classes are. A mystic theurge can still only cast one spell per turn, but an anima mage can cast and enjoy the benefits of vestiges simultaneously.
Oh, and you can get all that done with another seven levels free to invest in Incantrix, which is enough to get you most of the good stuff.
The entry requirements are laughable - a one-level binder dip and a single feat, and you're back to full dual casting progression. Hell, I strongly suspect there's a way in by 3rd level, I just haven't found it. (With cheese, you can get in by 2nd.)
After that... ignore the vestiges for a moment. (Only because I don't understand them thoroughly enough to brag them up.) Anima mage gives you an extra spell slot at every level, a bonus to initiative checks, and three free metamagic applications per day (Spontaneous swift actions, what's more.) That metamagic doesn't care about the level adjustment, by the way - persisting 9th-level spells is fine with it.
And then there's the capstone; once per day, you can cast any spell you have available as a swift, still immediate action. Considering how much high-level fights come down to "Whoever goes first wins", that seems... kinda extreme.
That strikes me as being good for a PRC already, and I've yet to even dig into the advantages of vestiges- except that a lot of them are continuous effects, so you're not even limited by your action economy the way other dual-casting classes are. A mystic theurge can still only cast one spell per turn, but an anima mage can cast and enjoy the benefits of vestiges simultaneously.
Oh, and you can get all that done with another seven levels free to invest in Incantrix, which is enough to get you most of the good stuff.