Xuldarinar
2014-01-03, 09:20 AM
The Shadowcaster, known for flavor more than power. While one could discuss all day how to make it stronger, I believe it is more fitting to discuss what it excels at being, a flavorful alternative spellcasting class.
The Shadowcaster has a few points of flavor. First and foremost is the fluff of the class itself. The class itself draws upon the fundamental state of the universe, a thing that was, is, and always will be: Shadow. Reflavoring this can take the form of a minor change or a major. Perhaps you draw shadow out of reverence for the nature of shadow, not dissimilar to druids in their bonds with the world. Perhaps you draw upon shadow out of reverence to a deity of night, of darkness. In either case, one could alter mechanics slightly to suit this, mysteries being cast as divine instead of arcane. Even greater changes, discussed in the book, are "Smokecasters" and "Mistcasters", either of which could also draw from nature or divinity. Are there more possibilities than this? Of course. That is one point of discussion, what other lights could the shadowcaster take? How else could one refluff the class itself?
Beyond the shadowcaster as a class itself are it's tools, mysteries. A matter of selection for flavor, every bit as much if not more so than for sorcerers and wizards. While the class's fix makes it so you do not need to follow paths, its at times easier to discuss things in terms of paths. For instance, for a Shadow Elementalist, one may wish to take the following paths: Dark Terrain, Dark Reflections, Elemental Shadows, and Breath of Twilight. What other combinations to reflect different flavors can you come up with? Feats and other elements can, of course, effect this and shouldn't be excluded from discussion.
The Shadowcaster has a few points of flavor. First and foremost is the fluff of the class itself. The class itself draws upon the fundamental state of the universe, a thing that was, is, and always will be: Shadow. Reflavoring this can take the form of a minor change or a major. Perhaps you draw shadow out of reverence for the nature of shadow, not dissimilar to druids in their bonds with the world. Perhaps you draw upon shadow out of reverence to a deity of night, of darkness. In either case, one could alter mechanics slightly to suit this, mysteries being cast as divine instead of arcane. Even greater changes, discussed in the book, are "Smokecasters" and "Mistcasters", either of which could also draw from nature or divinity. Are there more possibilities than this? Of course. That is one point of discussion, what other lights could the shadowcaster take? How else could one refluff the class itself?
Beyond the shadowcaster as a class itself are it's tools, mysteries. A matter of selection for flavor, every bit as much if not more so than for sorcerers and wizards. While the class's fix makes it so you do not need to follow paths, its at times easier to discuss things in terms of paths. For instance, for a Shadow Elementalist, one may wish to take the following paths: Dark Terrain, Dark Reflections, Elemental Shadows, and Breath of Twilight. What other combinations to reflect different flavors can you come up with? Feats and other elements can, of course, effect this and shouldn't be excluded from discussion.