Tweak: initiate of mystra feat

[Lactantius]

I have a little problem. I'm running a weave-loving, mystrafollower with access to the initiate of mystra feat.
Now we know that this feat got picked and discussed so often because of its abusive powers around antimagic fields.
Since my approach would be completely background-related, I would like to rebalance this feat's power to such a level that only Mystrafollowers (and no Munchkins) would take this feat.

My idea was to allow only the dead-magic-related stuff as granted power and delete the passage around antimagic fields completely. So, a caster couldn't abuse if for his own spellcasting nerdgasm. The powers would be useful in dealing with dead magic zones and shadow weave threats.

Maybe, if that alone would be too weak, I would add a helper for the wild magic zones.

What do you guys think?
Is this tweak a fairly good change (powerwise and fluffwise)?
To be honest, I don't like that this feat gets recommended and picked by munchkins all day long who don't have a connection to Mystra, the Weave and Shadow Weave in the first place.
So, this feat should work campaign-specific and not as a "in win - card."

[sleepyphoenixx]

Does this actually come up in your games?
Unless dead magic zones are a major theme in your campaign or every second fight has someone with AMF in it it's really not that big of a deal in my experience.
The granted spells are good but can be gained by domain choices and unless i'm misremembering they aren't exactly gamebreakers.
The only times i've seen Initiate of Mystra mentioned is in TO discussions.

If you want it for fluff reasons just take it. Nobody says you have to start running around with a persisted AMF and abusing it.
If you still want to nerf it you could build in a restriction similar to the Invoke Magic spell so it only allows spells of 4th level or below.

[Lactantius]

Well, I have a current character concept of Divine Wizardry, you could say.
The background is already available: an organization in Faerûn which keeps the misuse and threat of the Weave at bay, defending the Weave no matter what.
The organization can be found in the Champions of Valor sourcebook, called Guardians of the Weave.

Technically, a wizard with heavy focus on abjuration and divination magic would be perfect.
To round it up, I thought about some divine abilities, like divine spells with abjuration and divination and some powers.

The guardians of the weave consist mainly of wizards, but the Churches of Mystra, Azuth, Deneir and Savras strongly support them.
- So, initiate of mystra would be one ability to cover one of the church's support mechanically.
- Savras could be done with divine oracle dips, or, at least, the oracle domain. Maybe Fate or Destiny, since those are the main portfolios of Savras.
- Azuth is all bout spell-battle, spellmastery and the like. Maybe he will be represented by counterspelling and dispel bonus.
- Deneir is the god of scholars, scribes, runes and loremasters. Paragnostic Apostle could fit, Loremaster, Geometer and any other knowledge/rune-based class.

[Raendyn]

Fluffwise its fine as you saw it.

But what sleepy said is true, its hardly ever an issue.

If someone in your campaign is actualy persiting AMF on himself and abusing it then just do something via DM fiat. Why would any weave loving mage cast antimagic field? Its like opening holes in the Weave!

I'd suggest something that a former DM of mine brought as a plot line when I was playing a spellfire yielder 3 years ago. DM introduced me at the party as a guy that was mending the holes in the Weave, fixing wild-dead magic zones(Yes I also had silver fire).

The fluf was that ppl that repeatidly cast AMF were harming the Weave and I had a fetich about hunting them down, and my major rival in the plot was a former Mystran Cleric who had the feat and eventually he got cursed with something like ,"when you cast AMF you are denied the feat's passive power for X hours/days" or "When you get the feat you can no longer cast or activate magic items that produce AMF", I can't remember precicly the rulling cause it was for an NPC.

Also note that Mystra favors evocation, transmutation and Conjuration as schools, flavor-wise.

[Toliudar]

To make it as simple as possible, you could just have the Initiate Feat not work in your own AMF's. That way, if the PC encounters someone else's field, they're still not completely screwed.

[Lactantius]

Hmmm sounds fair.
@Raendyn:Antimagic Fields are pretty common within the Mystran clergy since they can get it as domain spell (magic).

And that is okay since AMF and dead magic zones are not the same.
AMF does not harm the weave or destroys it.
In fact, AMF just suppresses the weave working temporaily, but the weave is still present.
Dead magic zones are the absent of the weave.
That's why the Chruch of Shar, shades and shadow weave users generally can cast within dead magic zones. The dead magic zones affect Mystra's weave only and not the shadow weave.

Theoretically, a shadow weave user could be affected by dead magic zones, too if there would occur a unbinding/destruction of the shadow weave.
A possible event could be a destruction of a shadow weave mythallar (like the one which exists in the City of Shade).
But thats totally lore.

So, we have at least three magic conditions:
weave, shadow weave and dead magic (plus wild magic).
AMF is neither of those.

[Raendyn]

Well , you were asking for opinions about tweaking the feat. We are obviously out of RAW.

So dont just copy paste what AMF does when someone proposes a solution to what you asked for. I just told you what plot device a former DM of mine had done, at the very least, it is start.

Just make is so that the feat doesnt apply to their own AMF. Its that simple. I just made a rational description behind my former suggestion.

[Lactantius]

Thanks for this advide, I appreciate that!
Don't get it wrong, I just added the lore to show the possible tweaking mechanics and how they affect the game world.

Your idea with the own AMF not affected sounds good.
I think I will take that. :smallwink: