Need a brief Shadowcraft Mage explanation (3.5)

[Reprimand]

I was talking with my DM about building a wizard and he recommended shadowcraft mage for "illusion shenanigans" I don't really know much about this class or what it does. Can someone explain why this class is good and a brief synopses of what it does?

I asked him but he didn't want to go into too much detail about what the class could do.

[Yuki Akuma]

The Shadowcraft Mage is a gnome-only prestige class based around [Shadow] illusion spells. It's been nicknamed the Killer Gnome.

You get the PrC's signature ability at level 3. It's called Shadow Illusion, and allows you to convert any [Figment] (such as Silent Image) into any Sorcerer/Wizard Evocation, Conjuration (Summoning) or Conjuration (Creation) spell, of up to one level lower than the [Figment] spell. The illusory copy is only partially real, though - 10% per spell level of the [Figment], +20% at Shadowcraft Mage 5.

On its own, this is interesting, but not really crazily powerful.

The trick is using Heighten Spell and Earth Spell. Earth Spell, a feat that appears in the same book as Shadowcraft Mage, allows you to treat any Heightened spell you cast as if it had been Heightened one level higher. So, say, a Silent Image Heightened to 3rd level can be used to mimic a 3rd level spell, and so on. Earth Spell also gives a +1CL bonus for every level the spell has been Heightened.

So, take the Gnome Illusionist racial substitution level (also in the same book as Shadowcraft Mage) to get Silent Image as a cantrip, Heighten it to fill about half your spell slots, and...

For extra fun, there's also the Shadowcrafter PrC which increases the reality of your Shadow spells, letting you cast spells that are more real if your opponent makes the Will save.

Other fun feats include Residual Magic (letting you cast a Silent Image stored in a cantrip slot Heightened for free if you cast an appropriate Heightened Silent Image last turn), Arcane Disciple: Luck (which lets you cast Miracle, which is an Evocation, although your DM may not let you cast Shadow Miracles) and Signature Spell: Silent Image (convert any prepared spell into a Heightened Silent Image, and then turn that into a Shadow Illusion).

[thethird]

Obligatory link (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5638.0)

The shadowcraft mage is from races of stone, it's more important ability is the third level one called Shadow Illusion. That basically allows you to turn image spells (and others) into shadow evocation, conjuration (summoning) or conjuration (creation) spells.

It's key point is versatility, being able to adapt to almost any situation.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Earth Spell in Races of Stone makes it when you Heighten a spell under certain conditions (wearing sandals made from stone slabs fulfills it no matter what), you get a caster level bonus equal to the number of levels it was Heightened by, and then it gets Heightened by one more spell level. So a Silent Image (1st level spell, or 0-level with the Gnome Wizard 1 sub level) that you Heighten to a 6th level spell slot gets +5 caster level (or +6 if it was originally a 0-level spell) and it counts as a 7th level spell, remember this is from a 6th level spell slot.

With Shadowcraft Mage from Races of Stone, you can make the above spell mimic any Evocation, Conjuration (Summoning), or Conjuration (Creation) of one level lower as though it was a Shadow Evocation/Conjuration. That means you spend a 6th level spell slot to mimic a 6th level spell, and you get +5 caster level. But wait, there's more! Your Greater Spell Focus: Illusion feat applies to all such spells, as well as Ability Focus (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm#abilityFocus): Silent Image should you choose to take it.

If an opponent makes the saving throw to disbelieve the above shadow illusion, the real portion that they're still subject to is 10% per spell level (70% for the above example), +20% from Shadowcraft Mage 5, and with the feat Enhanced Shadow Reality from Dragon issue 325 you get another +20%. That means if an opponent makes the Will save to disbelieve the above spell, they're taking 110% of its effect! Add on the Shadowcrafter prestige class from Underdark and you'll get another 10-20% to those.

With the feat Signature Spell in PGtF (qualify with Illusion Mastery (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm#illusionistVariants) instead of taking Spell Mastery) you can spontaneously convert a prepared spell to a Heightened Silent Image, though this tactic became a bit dated when CM was printed and gave us Focused Specialist.

With the feat Residual Magic in CM, every other Silent Image you cast gets Heightened by as much as the last one was for free.

The recommended build would be Wizard 3/ Master Specialist 4/ Shadowcraft Mage 5/ Shadowcrafter 8. If you're using early entry shenanigans, you can use one fewer Wizard level and squeeze in a dip into Shadow Adept. The build takes tons of feats, so two flaws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) (more here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258440#30)) are almost required. Definitely get the Gnome Illusionist 1 substitution level, and get Focused Specialist, along with the first two ACFs from UA (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm#illusionistVariants).