Carl
2013-11-02, 10:08 PM
My main though when re-doing the Archmage was to address my biggest issue with the core Archmage: The fact that it felt completely random and divorced from the concept of what an Archmage should be about.
An Archmage to me was always about mastery of magic. About taking the essence of magic and getting the most out of it. There may be individual’s with more raw magical oomph out there, but the Archmage can beat even them thanks to his superior mastery of how to apply his magic to best effect.
The Core Archmage on the other hand just felt like a bunch of cool tricks and random cool idea’s lumped together under a PrC heading.
Requirements: Ability to cast 5th level Arcane Spells, Quicken Metamagic, Character Level 10th
Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skills Points at Each Level: 2 + Int Modifier
Hit Dice: D4
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st |+0 |+0 |+0 |+2 |Improved Spell Capacity, Empowered Casting, Finesse Casting, Unlimited Power
2nd |+1 |+0 |+0 |+3 |Empowered Casting, Improved Counterspell, Archmages Study
3rd |+1 |+1 |+1 |+3 |Empowered Casting, Irresistible Spellcasting (+2)
4th |+2 |+1 |+1 |+4 |Empowered Casting, Multi-Casting, Archmages Study
5th |+2 |+1 |+1 |+4 |Empowered Casting, Greater Counterspell, Irresistible Spellcasting (+4)
6th |+3 |+2 |+2 |+5 |Empowered Casting, Archmages Study
7th |+3 |+2 |+2 |+5 |Empowered Casting, Irresistible Spellcasting (+6)
8th |+4 |+2 |+2 |+6 |Empowered Casting, Superior Counterspell, Archmages Study
9th |+4 |+3 |+3 |+6 |Empowered Casting, Improved Multi-Casting, Irresistible Spellcasting (+8)
10th |+5 |+3 |+3 |+7 |Empowered Casting, Archmages Study, Perfection, Perfect Counterspell
[/table]
Weapon & Armour Proficiencies: An Archmage Gain’s no further weapon or armour proficiencies.
Class Features:
Improved Spell Capacity: An Archmage gains a number of additional spell slot of every level up to his existing maximum spell level equal to his Archmage level. In addition each Archmage level taken increases their caster level, (but not anything else), in all qualifying arcane caster classes by 1.
Remember what I said about making the class better at what it already does? Well one of the issues of doing that without giving out an increase in maximum spell level like other caster Prc’s is that at higher levels it leaves casters with much more limited resources after taking this PrC than would be the case with a pure class as it where. By giving you more spell slots of the levels you already know I hope to help alleviate this issue. The caster level increase was an obvious move for the same reasons.
It’s also important from a thematic PoV that players feel like they’re getting some form of direct power progression. Archmages shouldn’t sit still. I just don’t think combining high level spells with some of the other features below is appropriate either.
It was also important to try and represent their efficiency in spellcasting more directly than the metamagic elements.
Archmages Study: An Archmages knows 1 additional spell of each level up to the maximum he can cast, these must be drawn from the spell lists of the class or classes that qualify for the Archmage Prestige class, (note this is 1 total, not 1 per qualifying class). He gains the benefits of this 1 additional time at 5th and 9th levels.
If the character already knows all qualifying spells of a given spell level they may pick one spell of that level from the Sorcerer/wizard list. If they know all spells from that list they may use any arcane caster list they wish.
In addition if the character possessed any barred schools prior to taking the Archmage class they lose the baring and gain one known spell of the relevant school/s of each spell level up to their maximum spell level.
With Archmages having so many spell slots of the same level now and no progression in their base class/s I felt it necessary to hand out a few more known spells to keep things fresh, I tried to strike a balance between sorc style and wizard style with some, (admittedly abusable), rules in place for situations where you know everything already.
Empower Csting: At 1st level and every Archmage level thereafter pick any metamagic feat with a base cost of 2 or less and gain it as a bonus feat. You must meet all qualifying restrictions.
In addition each time you gain empowered casting, pick 2 metamagic’s you know with a cost of 2 or less. You may now apply this to any spell of 1st through 5th level with no increase in the spell level of the spell.
You may pick the same metamagic multiple times, if you do so the maximum spell level affected increases by 2 each time.
Metamagics applied via this ability no longer count as metamagic’s for the purposes of cost reducers only, (e.g. Arcane Thesis).
This was the core idea I had to start with I changed the class from providing full base class progression to no base class progression afterwards, but I feel that makes this ability all the more useful and vital as the much reduced maximum spell level would greatly hamper their use of metamagic. Though it takes a bit more investment to effect you’re your highest spell levels. I also but a limit in place to keep the most powerful and thus broken metamagics out.
Overall though it really emphasises that core idea I brought up to begin with. Do what they already know how to do better.
Irresistible Spellcasting: At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level’s the DC of all spell saves and your caster level for the purposes of penetrating spell resistance increase by 2. These bonuses are cumulative for a total of +8 at 9th level
The biggest issue with the fairly low level limit on spell levels is that it’s going to seriously reduce the save DC’s of your spells to the point higher level opponents will find them trivial, this bypasses that as well as upping it’s abilities vs spell resistance to boot.
Unlimited Power: Any spell which has an effect which scales with caster level that has any form of cap on maximum caster level it scales to now ignores that cap and uses a cap equal to 10 + Archmage level.
In addition if the character possessed any barred schools prior to taking the Archmage class they lose the baring and gain one known spell of the relevant school/s of each spell level up to their maximum spell level.
Yet another scalar effect for the low level spell’s, admittedly there are still a number that work off enemy max HD that would be unscaled, but they’re amongst the most broken anyway so I’m happy to forget them.
The last point is pretty much pure thematic, an Archmage having barred schools makes no sense.
Improved Counterspell: An Archmage gains the Improved Counterspell feat for free at 2nd level. If he already possesses this feat then he may select any Metamagic feat he qualifies for as a bonus feat.
In addition you may now expend a 5th level spell slot to cast Dispel Magic as an Immediate action. Dispel Magic does not need to be prepared in the spell slot if the base class is a prepared caster, the spell prepared is instead converted to a Dispel Magic and then expended just like a Cleric spontaneously converting spells to cure spells.
If Dispel Magic is on your spell list/s but you do not already know it. You now add it to your list of known spells. If it is not on any of your spell lists, or requires a spell slot higher than your maximum spell level, you now know it as a 5th level spell.
Greater Counterspell: At 4th level an Archmage may expend any spell of equal or higher level, regardless of school to Counterspell a spell cast at him. In addition you may now attempt to counterspell any spell cast by an enemy that you are aware of without needing to ready an action or expend an action to do so.
In addition you may now expend a 5th level spell slot to cast Greater Dispel Magic as an Immediate action. Greater Dispel Magic does not need to be prepared in the spell slot if the base class is a prepared caster, the spell prepared is instead converted to a Greater Dispel Magic and then expended just like a Cleric spontaneously converting spells to cure spells.
If Greater Dispel Magic is on your spell list/s but you do not already know it. You now add it to your list of known spells. If it is not on any of your spell lists, or requires a spell slot higher than your maximum spell level, you now know it as a 5th level spell.
Superior Counterspell: At 7th level an Archmage may expend any spell of any level to counterspell a spell, even a higher level spell.
Perfect Counterspell: An Archmage may counterspell one spell per round without expending a spell slot.
In addition you may now expend a 5th level spell slot to cast Mage’s Disjunction as an Immediate action. Mage’s Disjunction does not need to be prepared in the spell slot if the base class is a prepared caster, the spell prepared is instead converted to a Mage’s Disjunction and then expended just like a Cleric spontaneously converting spells to cure spells.
If Mage’s Disjunction is on your spell list/s but you do not already know it. You now add it to your list of known spells. If it is not on any of your spell lists, or requires a spell slot higher than your maximum spell level, you now know it as a 5th level spell.
I’ll admit this stuff was a last minute addition. Whilst I felt the earlier elements did an excellent job of giving Archmages superior casting punch with what they already had, you kind of expect Archmages to be beasts in magical duels as well, working with and expanding upon the existing dispel mechanics seemed the obvious route.
Overall I expect this to be a mixed blessing of a PrC, in campaigns where the DM is limiting safe resting opportunities and/or there are an usually large number of encounters per day the huge number of spells per day will likely come into it’s own. A similar thing would apply if SR and/or widespread strong saves are in effect as the Archmage can more easily penetrate both. Medium magic settings when the Archmage is with a party of mundanes would also make a high level Archmage very strong as he could keep even groups of casters shut down for extended periods.
High magic settings however would likely seriously down-power the Archmage as the lack of high level spell slots and the sheer power they represent would be crippling compared to other casters.
That said I’m sure there are abusable combination’s I haven’t seen I did throw this together in just a few hours on the spur of the moment, and interactions between people dipping just a few levels of this and going otherwise mostly full caster base class are hard for me to predict.
Ok I re-jigged the arrival time of certain abilities and did some re-wording to make more stuff scale of Archmage level. This let me reduce a bit of clutter on the features list and make going deeper into the Archmage more valuable. The change in requirements supported the new Unlimited Power and put Wizards at the same entry level as everyone else. I also added some new utility to the counterspelling feature chain.
I’ve added some new features but those are detailed and discussed individually below.
Finesse Casting: An Archmage who does not otherwise have access to them, (Note: Access is defined as unable to select due to too low a maximum spell level or unable to select due to not appearing on the qualifying class/s spell list/s), may select a single spell at each Archmage level from the list below to know as a 5th level spell. However they may never apply metamagic to spells gained in this way except via the Empower Casting class feature.
Spell List:
Antimagic Field
Guards and Wards
True Seeing
Forceful Hand
Banishment
Spell Turning
Plane Shift
Teleport, Greater
Forcecage
Grasping Hand
Control Weather
Dimensional Lock
Mind Blank
Clenched Fist
Freedom
Teleportation Circle
Foresight
Crushing Hand
Astral Projection
Etherealness
Time Stop
As pointed out further down the thread, whilst there are a huge range of effects that high level spells pull that are just bigger numbers or AoE versions of lesser spells there are some that are genuinely unique or can’t be replicated via metamagic. Whilst I can throw a few effects in as metamagic modifications or riders there’s a lot that simply can’t be replicated. Many of these spells, I wouldn’t want to replicate or allow to an Archmage, they get too many other goodies for it to be very balanced. But this littlie list gives a nice selection of hopefully not too OTT spells with a good sampling of the higher level unique effects.
Obviously feedback and suggestions appreciated.
Multi-Casting: As a Full Round action you may now cast 2 spells with a casting time of 1 standard action or less. You may choose different targets and otherwise cast each spell as if it where cast separately. You cannot split this full round action across multiple rounds, nor is it reduced by affects such as Quicken metamagic or Haste spells that would normally modify casting time or allow Full Round actions as another type of action.
Improved Multi-Casting: You may now cast 3 spells as a Full Round action via the Multi-Casting Rules.
I’d wanted to let Archmages unload multiple spells right from day one, but doing so in a way that works for prepared and spontaneous casters equally was a challenge. Balance was also an issue, I didn’t want too much Nova potential.
That said a lot of PEACH’ing on this new trick would be appreciated, the action economy isn’t great so it has it’s limit’s, on the other hand it’s still a lot of spells a round in the right circumstances.
Perfection: An Archmage may expend spell slots in the normal manner, but treating the as exceptional abilities rather than spells, though they follow all the normal rules they otherwise would. As such they now function in anti-magic fields and similar effects. However if they do this they may not use the Multi-Casting, Improved Multi-Casting, Empowered Casting, Irresistible Spell, or any Metamagic feats. They also may not cast spells gained via the Finesse Casting class feature, or use the Dispel Magic, Greater Dispel Magic, and Mage’s Disjunctions granted via the Counterpelling line of class features.
After writing down my inspiration source and deciding to hand out Anti-Magic field as an option I realised that working in an anti-magic field would be kind of Archmagery all by itself. It takes a lot of effort and skill to get around an effect that normally excludes magic. That said I threw a ton of limits at it, it’s potentially very powerful, so yeah not sure how this comes out power wise.
Okay not got the new metamagic feats done that I wanted, but it’s a start.
Old V1.0 Archmage below in spoiler tags.
Requirements: Ability to cast 5th level Arcane Spells, Quicken Metamagic,
Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skills Points at Each Level: 2 + Int Modifier
Hit Dice: D4
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st |+0 |+0 |+0 |+2 | Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Unlimited Power, Irresistible Spellcasting (+2), Archmages Study
2nd |+1 |+0 |+0 |+3 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Improved Counterspell
3rd |+1 |+1 |+1 |+3 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Irresistible Spellcasting (+4)
4th |+2 |+1 |+1 |+4 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Greater Counterspell
5th |+2 |+1 |+1 |+4 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Archmages Study
6th |+3 |+2 |+2 |+5 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Irresistible Spellcasting (+6)
7th |+3 |+2 |+2 |+5 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Superior Counterspell
8th |+4 |+2 |+2 |+6 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic
9th |+4 |+3 |+3 |+6 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Archmages Study, Irresistible Spellcasting (+8)
10th |+5 |+3 |+3 |+7 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Perfect Counterspell
[/table]
Weapon & Armour Proficiencies: An Archmage Gain’s no further weapon or armour proficiencies.
Class Features:
Improved Spell Capacity: An Archmage gains 1 additional spell slot of every level up to his existing maximum spell level at 1st level and every Archmage level thereafter. In addition each Archmage level taken increases their caster level, (but not anything else), in all qualifying arcane caster classes by 1.
Remember what I said about making the class better at what it already does? Well one of the issues of doing that without giving out an increase in maximum spell level like other caster Prc’s is that at higher levels it leaves casters with much more limited resources after taking this PrC than would be the case with a pure class as it where. By giving you more spell slots of the levels you already know I hope to help alleviate this issue. The caster level increase was an obvious move for the same reasons.
It’s also important from a thematic PoV that players feel like they’re getting some form of direct power progression. Archmages shouldn’t sit still. I just don’t think combining high level spells with some of the other features below is appropriate either.
Archmages Study: An Archmages knows 1 additional spell of each level up to the maximum he can cast, these must be drawn from the spell lists of the class or classes that qualify for the Archmage Prestige class, (note this is 1 total, not 1 per qualifying class). He gains the benefits of this 1 additional time at 5th and 9th levels.
If the character already knows all qualifying spells of a given spell level they may pick one spell of that level from the Sorcerer/wizard list. If they know all spells from that list they may use any arcane caster list they wish.
In addition if the character possessed any barred schools prior to taking the Archmage class they lose the baring and gain one known spell of the relevant school/s of each spell level up to their maximum spell level.
With Archmages having so many spell slots of the same level now and no progression in their base class/s I felt it necessary to hand out a few more known spells to keep things fresh, I tried to strike a balance between sorc style and wizard style with some, (admittedly abusable), rules in place for situations where you know everything already.
The last point is pretty much pure thematic, an Archmage having barred schools makes no sense.
Automatic Metamagic: At 1st level and every Archmage level thereafter pick any metamagic feat with a base cost of 2 or less and gain it as a bonus feat. You must meet all qualifying restrictions.
In addition each time you gain Automatic Metamaic, pick a metamagic you know with a cost of 2 or less. You may now apply this to any spell of 1st through 3rd level with no increase in the spell level of the spell.
You may pick the same metamagic multiple times, if you do so the maximum spell level affected increases by 3 each time.
Metamagics applied via this ability no longer count as metamagic’s for the purposes of cost reducers only, (e.g. Arcane Thesis).
This was the core idea I had to start with I changed the class from providing full base class progression to no base class progression afterwards, but I feel that makes this ability all the more useful and vital as the much reduced maximum spell level would greatly hamper their use of metamagic. Though it takes a bit more investment to effect you’re your highest spell levels. I also but a limit in place to keep the most powerful and thus broken metamagics out.
Overall though it really emphasises that core idea I brought up to begin with. Do what they already know how to do better.
Irresistible Spellcasting: At 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th level’s the DC of all spell saves and your caster level for the purposes of penetrating spell resistance increase by 2. These bonuses are cumulative for a total of +8 at 9th level
The biggest issue with the fairly low level limit on spell levels is that it’s going to seriously reduce the save DC’s of your spells to the point higher level opponents will find them trivial, this bypasses that as well as upping it’s abilities vs spell resistance to boot.
Unlimited Power: Any spell which has an effect which scales with caster level that has any form of cap on maximum caster level it scales to now ignores that cap and uses a cap equal to your Archmage level plus your level in the highest level qualifying class.
Yet another scalar effect for the low level spell’s, admittedly there are still a number that work off enemy max HD that would be unscaled, but they’re amongst the most broken anyway so I’m happy to forget them.
Improved Counterspell: An Archmage gains the Improved Counterspell feat for free at 2nd level. If he already possesses this feat then he may select any Metamagic feat he qualifies for as a bonus feat.
Greater Counterspell: At 4th level an Archmage may expend any spell of equal or higher level, regardless of school to Counterspell a spell cast at him. In addition you may now attempt to counterspell any spell cast by an enemy that you are aware of without needing to ready an action or expend an action to do so.
Superior Counterspell: At 7th level an Archmage may expend any spell of any level to counterspell a spell, even a higher level spell.
Perfect Counterspell: An Archmage may counterspell one spell per round without expending a spell slot.
I’ll admit this stuff was a last minute addition. Whilst I felt the earlier elements did an excellent job of giving Archmages superior casting punch with what they already had, you kind of expect Archmages to be beasts in magical duels as well, working with and expanding upon the existing dispel mechanics seemed the obvious route.
Overall I expect this to be a mixed blessing of a PrC, in campaigns where the DM is limiting safe resting opportunities and/or there are an usually large number of encounters per day the huge number of spells per day will likely come into it’s own. A similar thing would apply if SR and/or widespread strong saves are in effect as the Archmage can more easily penetrate both. Medium magic settings when the Archmage is with a party of mundanes would also make a high level Archmage very strong as he could keep even groups of casters shut down for extended periods.
High magic settings however would likely seriously down-power the Archmage as the lack of high level spell slots and the sheer power they represent would be crippling compared to other casters.
That said I’m sure there are abusable combination’s I haven’t seen I did throw this together in just a few hours on the spur of the moment, and interactions between people dipping just a few levels of this and going otherwise mostly full caster base class are hard for me to predict.
Anyway your thoughts on this hasty little construction?
An Archmage to me was always about mastery of magic. About taking the essence of magic and getting the most out of it. There may be individual’s with more raw magical oomph out there, but the Archmage can beat even them thanks to his superior mastery of how to apply his magic to best effect.
The Core Archmage on the other hand just felt like a bunch of cool tricks and random cool idea’s lumped together under a PrC heading.
Requirements: Ability to cast 5th level Arcane Spells, Quicken Metamagic, Character Level 10th
Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skills Points at Each Level: 2 + Int Modifier
Hit Dice: D4
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st |+0 |+0 |+0 |+2 |Improved Spell Capacity, Empowered Casting, Finesse Casting, Unlimited Power
2nd |+1 |+0 |+0 |+3 |Empowered Casting, Improved Counterspell, Archmages Study
3rd |+1 |+1 |+1 |+3 |Empowered Casting, Irresistible Spellcasting (+2)
4th |+2 |+1 |+1 |+4 |Empowered Casting, Multi-Casting, Archmages Study
5th |+2 |+1 |+1 |+4 |Empowered Casting, Greater Counterspell, Irresistible Spellcasting (+4)
6th |+3 |+2 |+2 |+5 |Empowered Casting, Archmages Study
7th |+3 |+2 |+2 |+5 |Empowered Casting, Irresistible Spellcasting (+6)
8th |+4 |+2 |+2 |+6 |Empowered Casting, Superior Counterspell, Archmages Study
9th |+4 |+3 |+3 |+6 |Empowered Casting, Improved Multi-Casting, Irresistible Spellcasting (+8)
10th |+5 |+3 |+3 |+7 |Empowered Casting, Archmages Study, Perfection, Perfect Counterspell
[/table]
Weapon & Armour Proficiencies: An Archmage Gain’s no further weapon or armour proficiencies.
Class Features:
Improved Spell Capacity: An Archmage gains a number of additional spell slot of every level up to his existing maximum spell level equal to his Archmage level. In addition each Archmage level taken increases their caster level, (but not anything else), in all qualifying arcane caster classes by 1.
Remember what I said about making the class better at what it already does? Well one of the issues of doing that without giving out an increase in maximum spell level like other caster Prc’s is that at higher levels it leaves casters with much more limited resources after taking this PrC than would be the case with a pure class as it where. By giving you more spell slots of the levels you already know I hope to help alleviate this issue. The caster level increase was an obvious move for the same reasons.
It’s also important from a thematic PoV that players feel like they’re getting some form of direct power progression. Archmages shouldn’t sit still. I just don’t think combining high level spells with some of the other features below is appropriate either.
It was also important to try and represent their efficiency in spellcasting more directly than the metamagic elements.
Archmages Study: An Archmages knows 1 additional spell of each level up to the maximum he can cast, these must be drawn from the spell lists of the class or classes that qualify for the Archmage Prestige class, (note this is 1 total, not 1 per qualifying class). He gains the benefits of this 1 additional time at 5th and 9th levels.
If the character already knows all qualifying spells of a given spell level they may pick one spell of that level from the Sorcerer/wizard list. If they know all spells from that list they may use any arcane caster list they wish.
In addition if the character possessed any barred schools prior to taking the Archmage class they lose the baring and gain one known spell of the relevant school/s of each spell level up to their maximum spell level.
With Archmages having so many spell slots of the same level now and no progression in their base class/s I felt it necessary to hand out a few more known spells to keep things fresh, I tried to strike a balance between sorc style and wizard style with some, (admittedly abusable), rules in place for situations where you know everything already.
Empower Csting: At 1st level and every Archmage level thereafter pick any metamagic feat with a base cost of 2 or less and gain it as a bonus feat. You must meet all qualifying restrictions.
In addition each time you gain empowered casting, pick 2 metamagic’s you know with a cost of 2 or less. You may now apply this to any spell of 1st through 5th level with no increase in the spell level of the spell.
You may pick the same metamagic multiple times, if you do so the maximum spell level affected increases by 2 each time.
Metamagics applied via this ability no longer count as metamagic’s for the purposes of cost reducers only, (e.g. Arcane Thesis).
This was the core idea I had to start with I changed the class from providing full base class progression to no base class progression afterwards, but I feel that makes this ability all the more useful and vital as the much reduced maximum spell level would greatly hamper their use of metamagic. Though it takes a bit more investment to effect you’re your highest spell levels. I also but a limit in place to keep the most powerful and thus broken metamagics out.
Overall though it really emphasises that core idea I brought up to begin with. Do what they already know how to do better.
Irresistible Spellcasting: At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level’s the DC of all spell saves and your caster level for the purposes of penetrating spell resistance increase by 2. These bonuses are cumulative for a total of +8 at 9th level
The biggest issue with the fairly low level limit on spell levels is that it’s going to seriously reduce the save DC’s of your spells to the point higher level opponents will find them trivial, this bypasses that as well as upping it’s abilities vs spell resistance to boot.
Unlimited Power: Any spell which has an effect which scales with caster level that has any form of cap on maximum caster level it scales to now ignores that cap and uses a cap equal to 10 + Archmage level.
In addition if the character possessed any barred schools prior to taking the Archmage class they lose the baring and gain one known spell of the relevant school/s of each spell level up to their maximum spell level.
Yet another scalar effect for the low level spell’s, admittedly there are still a number that work off enemy max HD that would be unscaled, but they’re amongst the most broken anyway so I’m happy to forget them.
The last point is pretty much pure thematic, an Archmage having barred schools makes no sense.
Improved Counterspell: An Archmage gains the Improved Counterspell feat for free at 2nd level. If he already possesses this feat then he may select any Metamagic feat he qualifies for as a bonus feat.
In addition you may now expend a 5th level spell slot to cast Dispel Magic as an Immediate action. Dispel Magic does not need to be prepared in the spell slot if the base class is a prepared caster, the spell prepared is instead converted to a Dispel Magic and then expended just like a Cleric spontaneously converting spells to cure spells.
If Dispel Magic is on your spell list/s but you do not already know it. You now add it to your list of known spells. If it is not on any of your spell lists, or requires a spell slot higher than your maximum spell level, you now know it as a 5th level spell.
Greater Counterspell: At 4th level an Archmage may expend any spell of equal or higher level, regardless of school to Counterspell a spell cast at him. In addition you may now attempt to counterspell any spell cast by an enemy that you are aware of without needing to ready an action or expend an action to do so.
In addition you may now expend a 5th level spell slot to cast Greater Dispel Magic as an Immediate action. Greater Dispel Magic does not need to be prepared in the spell slot if the base class is a prepared caster, the spell prepared is instead converted to a Greater Dispel Magic and then expended just like a Cleric spontaneously converting spells to cure spells.
If Greater Dispel Magic is on your spell list/s but you do not already know it. You now add it to your list of known spells. If it is not on any of your spell lists, or requires a spell slot higher than your maximum spell level, you now know it as a 5th level spell.
Superior Counterspell: At 7th level an Archmage may expend any spell of any level to counterspell a spell, even a higher level spell.
Perfect Counterspell: An Archmage may counterspell one spell per round without expending a spell slot.
In addition you may now expend a 5th level spell slot to cast Mage’s Disjunction as an Immediate action. Mage’s Disjunction does not need to be prepared in the spell slot if the base class is a prepared caster, the spell prepared is instead converted to a Mage’s Disjunction and then expended just like a Cleric spontaneously converting spells to cure spells.
If Mage’s Disjunction is on your spell list/s but you do not already know it. You now add it to your list of known spells. If it is not on any of your spell lists, or requires a spell slot higher than your maximum spell level, you now know it as a 5th level spell.
I’ll admit this stuff was a last minute addition. Whilst I felt the earlier elements did an excellent job of giving Archmages superior casting punch with what they already had, you kind of expect Archmages to be beasts in magical duels as well, working with and expanding upon the existing dispel mechanics seemed the obvious route.
Overall I expect this to be a mixed blessing of a PrC, in campaigns where the DM is limiting safe resting opportunities and/or there are an usually large number of encounters per day the huge number of spells per day will likely come into it’s own. A similar thing would apply if SR and/or widespread strong saves are in effect as the Archmage can more easily penetrate both. Medium magic settings when the Archmage is with a party of mundanes would also make a high level Archmage very strong as he could keep even groups of casters shut down for extended periods.
High magic settings however would likely seriously down-power the Archmage as the lack of high level spell slots and the sheer power they represent would be crippling compared to other casters.
That said I’m sure there are abusable combination’s I haven’t seen I did throw this together in just a few hours on the spur of the moment, and interactions between people dipping just a few levels of this and going otherwise mostly full caster base class are hard for me to predict.
Ok I re-jigged the arrival time of certain abilities and did some re-wording to make more stuff scale of Archmage level. This let me reduce a bit of clutter on the features list and make going deeper into the Archmage more valuable. The change in requirements supported the new Unlimited Power and put Wizards at the same entry level as everyone else. I also added some new utility to the counterspelling feature chain.
I’ve added some new features but those are detailed and discussed individually below.
Finesse Casting: An Archmage who does not otherwise have access to them, (Note: Access is defined as unable to select due to too low a maximum spell level or unable to select due to not appearing on the qualifying class/s spell list/s), may select a single spell at each Archmage level from the list below to know as a 5th level spell. However they may never apply metamagic to spells gained in this way except via the Empower Casting class feature.
Spell List:
Antimagic Field
Guards and Wards
True Seeing
Forceful Hand
Banishment
Spell Turning
Plane Shift
Teleport, Greater
Forcecage
Grasping Hand
Control Weather
Dimensional Lock
Mind Blank
Clenched Fist
Freedom
Teleportation Circle
Foresight
Crushing Hand
Astral Projection
Etherealness
Time Stop
As pointed out further down the thread, whilst there are a huge range of effects that high level spells pull that are just bigger numbers or AoE versions of lesser spells there are some that are genuinely unique or can’t be replicated via metamagic. Whilst I can throw a few effects in as metamagic modifications or riders there’s a lot that simply can’t be replicated. Many of these spells, I wouldn’t want to replicate or allow to an Archmage, they get too many other goodies for it to be very balanced. But this littlie list gives a nice selection of hopefully not too OTT spells with a good sampling of the higher level unique effects.
Obviously feedback and suggestions appreciated.
Multi-Casting: As a Full Round action you may now cast 2 spells with a casting time of 1 standard action or less. You may choose different targets and otherwise cast each spell as if it where cast separately. You cannot split this full round action across multiple rounds, nor is it reduced by affects such as Quicken metamagic or Haste spells that would normally modify casting time or allow Full Round actions as another type of action.
Improved Multi-Casting: You may now cast 3 spells as a Full Round action via the Multi-Casting Rules.
I’d wanted to let Archmages unload multiple spells right from day one, but doing so in a way that works for prepared and spontaneous casters equally was a challenge. Balance was also an issue, I didn’t want too much Nova potential.
That said a lot of PEACH’ing on this new trick would be appreciated, the action economy isn’t great so it has it’s limit’s, on the other hand it’s still a lot of spells a round in the right circumstances.
Perfection: An Archmage may expend spell slots in the normal manner, but treating the as exceptional abilities rather than spells, though they follow all the normal rules they otherwise would. As such they now function in anti-magic fields and similar effects. However if they do this they may not use the Multi-Casting, Improved Multi-Casting, Empowered Casting, Irresistible Spell, or any Metamagic feats. They also may not cast spells gained via the Finesse Casting class feature, or use the Dispel Magic, Greater Dispel Magic, and Mage’s Disjunctions granted via the Counterpelling line of class features.
After writing down my inspiration source and deciding to hand out Anti-Magic field as an option I realised that working in an anti-magic field would be kind of Archmagery all by itself. It takes a lot of effort and skill to get around an effect that normally excludes magic. That said I threw a ton of limits at it, it’s potentially very powerful, so yeah not sure how this comes out power wise.
Okay not got the new metamagic feats done that I wanted, but it’s a start.
Old V1.0 Archmage below in spoiler tags.
Requirements: Ability to cast 5th level Arcane Spells, Quicken Metamagic,
Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skills Points at Each Level: 2 + Int Modifier
Hit Dice: D4
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st |+0 |+0 |+0 |+2 | Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Unlimited Power, Irresistible Spellcasting (+2), Archmages Study
2nd |+1 |+0 |+0 |+3 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Improved Counterspell
3rd |+1 |+1 |+1 |+3 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Irresistible Spellcasting (+4)
4th |+2 |+1 |+1 |+4 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Greater Counterspell
5th |+2 |+1 |+1 |+4 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Archmages Study
6th |+3 |+2 |+2 |+5 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Irresistible Spellcasting (+6)
7th |+3 |+2 |+2 |+5 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Superior Counterspell
8th |+4 |+2 |+2 |+6 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic
9th |+4 |+3 |+3 |+6 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Archmages Study, Irresistible Spellcasting (+8)
10th |+5 |+3 |+3 |+7 |Improved Spell Capacity, Automatic Metamagic, Perfect Counterspell
[/table]
Weapon & Armour Proficiencies: An Archmage Gain’s no further weapon or armour proficiencies.
Class Features:
Improved Spell Capacity: An Archmage gains 1 additional spell slot of every level up to his existing maximum spell level at 1st level and every Archmage level thereafter. In addition each Archmage level taken increases their caster level, (but not anything else), in all qualifying arcane caster classes by 1.
Remember what I said about making the class better at what it already does? Well one of the issues of doing that without giving out an increase in maximum spell level like other caster Prc’s is that at higher levels it leaves casters with much more limited resources after taking this PrC than would be the case with a pure class as it where. By giving you more spell slots of the levels you already know I hope to help alleviate this issue. The caster level increase was an obvious move for the same reasons.
It’s also important from a thematic PoV that players feel like they’re getting some form of direct power progression. Archmages shouldn’t sit still. I just don’t think combining high level spells with some of the other features below is appropriate either.
Archmages Study: An Archmages knows 1 additional spell of each level up to the maximum he can cast, these must be drawn from the spell lists of the class or classes that qualify for the Archmage Prestige class, (note this is 1 total, not 1 per qualifying class). He gains the benefits of this 1 additional time at 5th and 9th levels.
If the character already knows all qualifying spells of a given spell level they may pick one spell of that level from the Sorcerer/wizard list. If they know all spells from that list they may use any arcane caster list they wish.
In addition if the character possessed any barred schools prior to taking the Archmage class they lose the baring and gain one known spell of the relevant school/s of each spell level up to their maximum spell level.
With Archmages having so many spell slots of the same level now and no progression in their base class/s I felt it necessary to hand out a few more known spells to keep things fresh, I tried to strike a balance between sorc style and wizard style with some, (admittedly abusable), rules in place for situations where you know everything already.
The last point is pretty much pure thematic, an Archmage having barred schools makes no sense.
Automatic Metamagic: At 1st level and every Archmage level thereafter pick any metamagic feat with a base cost of 2 or less and gain it as a bonus feat. You must meet all qualifying restrictions.
In addition each time you gain Automatic Metamaic, pick a metamagic you know with a cost of 2 or less. You may now apply this to any spell of 1st through 3rd level with no increase in the spell level of the spell.
You may pick the same metamagic multiple times, if you do so the maximum spell level affected increases by 3 each time.
Metamagics applied via this ability no longer count as metamagic’s for the purposes of cost reducers only, (e.g. Arcane Thesis).
This was the core idea I had to start with I changed the class from providing full base class progression to no base class progression afterwards, but I feel that makes this ability all the more useful and vital as the much reduced maximum spell level would greatly hamper their use of metamagic. Though it takes a bit more investment to effect you’re your highest spell levels. I also but a limit in place to keep the most powerful and thus broken metamagics out.
Overall though it really emphasises that core idea I brought up to begin with. Do what they already know how to do better.
Irresistible Spellcasting: At 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th level’s the DC of all spell saves and your caster level for the purposes of penetrating spell resistance increase by 2. These bonuses are cumulative for a total of +8 at 9th level
The biggest issue with the fairly low level limit on spell levels is that it’s going to seriously reduce the save DC’s of your spells to the point higher level opponents will find them trivial, this bypasses that as well as upping it’s abilities vs spell resistance to boot.
Unlimited Power: Any spell which has an effect which scales with caster level that has any form of cap on maximum caster level it scales to now ignores that cap and uses a cap equal to your Archmage level plus your level in the highest level qualifying class.
Yet another scalar effect for the low level spell’s, admittedly there are still a number that work off enemy max HD that would be unscaled, but they’re amongst the most broken anyway so I’m happy to forget them.
Improved Counterspell: An Archmage gains the Improved Counterspell feat for free at 2nd level. If he already possesses this feat then he may select any Metamagic feat he qualifies for as a bonus feat.
Greater Counterspell: At 4th level an Archmage may expend any spell of equal or higher level, regardless of school to Counterspell a spell cast at him. In addition you may now attempt to counterspell any spell cast by an enemy that you are aware of without needing to ready an action or expend an action to do so.
Superior Counterspell: At 7th level an Archmage may expend any spell of any level to counterspell a spell, even a higher level spell.
Perfect Counterspell: An Archmage may counterspell one spell per round without expending a spell slot.
I’ll admit this stuff was a last minute addition. Whilst I felt the earlier elements did an excellent job of giving Archmages superior casting punch with what they already had, you kind of expect Archmages to be beasts in magical duels as well, working with and expanding upon the existing dispel mechanics seemed the obvious route.
Overall I expect this to be a mixed blessing of a PrC, in campaigns where the DM is limiting safe resting opportunities and/or there are an usually large number of encounters per day the huge number of spells per day will likely come into it’s own. A similar thing would apply if SR and/or widespread strong saves are in effect as the Archmage can more easily penetrate both. Medium magic settings when the Archmage is with a party of mundanes would also make a high level Archmage very strong as he could keep even groups of casters shut down for extended periods.
High magic settings however would likely seriously down-power the Archmage as the lack of high level spell slots and the sheer power they represent would be crippling compared to other casters.
That said I’m sure there are abusable combination’s I haven’t seen I did throw this together in just a few hours on the spur of the moment, and interactions between people dipping just a few levels of this and going otherwise mostly full caster base class are hard for me to predict.
Anyway your thoughts on this hasty little construction?