PF Archwizard Prestige Class

[Xar Zarath]

What do you guys think about this prestige class? Is it viable and able to work properly?

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-prestige-classes/frog-god-games/archwizard-prestige-class

Here are some highlights:

Spell Echo
A 4th level archwizard holds on to some of the arcane energy in a cast spell. One spell per 2 archwizard levels/ day, is treated as if under the Echoing Spell feat, with no increase in casting level.

Epic Crafter
An archwizard of 5th level may craft magic weapons with the Epic descriptor, to bypass DR/Epic.

Overcome School Restriction
A 6th level archwizard is no longer required to use 2 spell slots to memorize spells of their opposition schools, if any.

Archwizardry (Ex)
At 10th level, an archwizard is truly the master of magic and its weavings. An archwizard of this level may cast 2 spells with a casting time of "1 standard action" in a single round. The archwizard may do this 1 time per 6 spellcaster levels per day. This ability does not stack with Quicken Spell or any other ability that increases spells per round. The archwizard must still expend spell slots or prepared spells normally, as if the spells were cast on two consecutive rounds.

All comments are welcome!:smallbiggrin:

[Craft (Cheese)]

Well, the most important thing to keep in mind with this class is you're looking at 16th-level entry, minimum, without early-entry tricks. It should be noted that PF doesn't have any official rules for play beyond 20th level.

With that in mind, I think there are only two abilities that are truly problematic here: Metamagic Enhancement (effectively Cloak of Mysteries on steroids), and Selective Targets (effectively brings back Selective Antimagic Field shenanigans). Here are my suggestions to modify the class:

- Get rid of the first-level Metamagic Enhancement (so it's -1 at 20th level and -2 at 25th level), give it a uses/day limitation, and specify a minimum +1 level adjustment. (Let's say 3+INT modifier uses per day.)

- Give Selective Targets a uses/day limitation (once again, 3+INT uses/day sounds good), and have it use the same wording as the official PF version of Selective Spell (which makes AMF shenanigans impossible).

[grarrrg]

Well, the most important thing to keep in mind with this class is you're looking at 16th-level entry, minimum, without early-entry tricks.

I'd just like to elaborate a little more on this:

THERE ARE NO EARLY ENTRY TRICKS.

Unless you can find some _really_ messed up 3rd party stuff, there is NO WAY to get 15 Skill Ranks lower than level 15.
There is also NO WAY to get 8-th level spells lower than level 15 (possible exception on this if you can find a low enough CR monster to use as a PC, but...).


The abilities are good enough that it would be a step up from Wizard though.

[Craft (Cheese)]

I'd just like to elaborate a little more on this:

THERE ARE NO EARLY ENTRY TRICKS.

Unless you can find some _really_ messed up 3rd party stuff, there is NO WAY to get 15 Skill Ranks lower than level 15.
There is also NO WAY to get 8-th level spells lower than level 15 (possible exception on this if you can find a low enough CR monster to use as a PC, but...).


The abilities are good enough that it would be a step up from Wizard though.

I didn't want to make the assumption that the player wasn't using any imported 3.5 material.

[Urpriest]

I didn't want to make the assumption that the player wasn't using any imported 3.5 material.

To add to this, without imported 3.5 material the PrC is simply unusable. PF doesn't have epic levels.

[Grod_The_Giant]

To add to this, without imported 3.5 material the PrC is simply unusable. PF doesn't have epic levels.
That's really weird. Why on earth is it 10 levels?

[skyth]

To add to this, without imported 3.5 material the PrC is simply unusable. PF doesn't have epic levels.

Incorrect. There is no maximum level in Pathfinder.
From the PRD:

To gain a level beyond 20th, a character must double the experience points needed to achieve the previous level. Thus, assuming the medium XP progression, a 20th-level character needs 2,100,000 XP to become 21st level, since he needed 1,050,000 XP to reach 20th level from 19th. He'd then need 4,200,000 XP to reach 22nd level, 8,400,000 XP to reach 23rd, and so on.

[Urpriest]

Incorrect. There is no maximum level in Pathfinder.
From the PRD:

Ah interesting. So perhaps it's more accurate to say that PF has no epic rules, you can just keep gaining levels.

That said, my understanding is that the PF designers have expressed intention to write more detailed epic rules, which might make this PrC unusable. Writing a PrC without knowing the ruleset that will eventually govern it seems silly at best.

[grarrrg]

I didn't want to make the assumption that the player wasn't using any imported 3.5 material.

If he could use 3.5 material, then I'm sure he could find worse than this class.
FLUFFLE PUFF

[JoshuaZ]

Yeah, it is particularly confusing in that they refer explicitly to "epic" things in the PrC when that's not a meaningful term (at least as of yet) in PF. Most 3rd party stuff listed in d20PFsrd.com are ok. This one however has issues.

[Craft (Cheese)]

If he could use 3.5 material, then I'm sure he could find worse than this class.

Yeah, but he could also do better than this class. It's pretty good but it's no Incantatrix or Dweomerkeeper.

Isn't she cute? :3

[Xar Zarath]

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah this class features, at least some of them are broken, and most likely if I went with this class, we would play a 3.P game.
Having said that, if we went 3.5 the broken-ness of using some classes there would probably outbreak this class easy! (e.g Incantatrix, IOTSFV etc)

Thanks for the advice anyway!

[grarrrg]

Yeah, but he could also do better than this class. It's pretty good but it's no Incantatrix or Dweomerkeeper.

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah this class features, at least some of them are broken, and most likely if I went with this class, we would play a 3.P game.
Having said that, if we went 3.5 the broken-ness of using some classes there would probably outbreak this class easy! (e.g Incantatrix, IOTSFV etc)

Ah, the problems with "slang"...
By "find worse than this class" I meant find things more overpowered, at a much lower level.

[Craft (Cheese)]

Ah, the problems with "slang"...
By "find worse than this class" I meant find things more overpowered, at a much lower level.

Ooh, I thought you were saying "This class is much better than most of the 3.5 PrCs that were printed" (which I'd agree with, but that alone doesn't qualify it as broken or overpowered as 3.5 had lots of chaff). My fault for misunderstanding.