Jade Pheonix Mage rework?

[Eonir]

So I REALLY like the Jade Phoenix Mage class, but I REALLY dislike the fluff. Does anyone have/know of a fluff neutral rework of the class?

[Gildedragon]

What do you dislike of the fluff?

[Anlashok]

Ignore it altogether? Seems easy.

[Eonir]

What do you dislike of the fluff?

The past lives thing, alignment restrictions, and that there is only like 7 at any given time (or some other arbitrarily low number)


Ignore it altogether? Seems easy.

Several of their class features are tied into the fluff.

[Vhaidara]

You would need to work with your GM for the abilities, but one of my fellow players who is in a kind of love/hate with the fluff (ancestor connection is kind of cool, but the limited number is silly) actually had his character (Warblade/Wizard/Runesmith) apply to be tested, then storm out part way through because it was BS. Now he is progressing in Diamond Greathorn Mage (uses Diamond Mind and Stone Dragon), and those are where the abilities are being pulled from.

[Eonir]

Diamond Greathorn Mage

What is this? My google-fu has failed me.

[Gildedragon]

The arbitrarily low number can be done away without problem.
let's see the others:

Alignment: DM talk, not tied to class features

Reincarnation: Only Rite of Waking (Ex) has mechanical ties to the past lifeness

But those are easily fluffed away. Off the top of my head: a) conciousness gestalt you participate in. Something like an experience spellpool. b) touched by an outsider and have gained a bit of their spark. c) training. the ceremony is just the conclusion of an otherwise mundane training that emphasizes breadth of knowledge.

[Vhaidara]

A custom version of Jade Phoenix Mage using Diamond Mind and Stone Dragon in place of Desert Wind and Devoted Spirit. I'm not the player using it (and the campaign hasn't been run in like 6 months because of scheduling), so I don't know what details are, but my point is that fluff is wholly mutable and you can ignore the parts you don't like. For example, going through JPM abilities
Arcane Wrath: Not a problem

Rite of Waking: Maybe you tap into a primal source of knowledge (for Diamond Greathorn, it could be the knowledge of the earth itself), and it enhances your resistance to life-ending magic (bonus on saves vs death effects)

Jade Phoenix Master: If you're removing the fluff, just get rid of this. Or maybe move it back to a capstone and make it like the Kensai capstone, where you are a legend among members of the PrC, so they all respect you and will aid you (as long as you don't go too far or actively work against them)

[Anlashok]

Several of their class features are tied into the fluff.

Only the first and 6th level feature the latter of which has absolutely no mechanical functionality. The former doesn't really require any work either. +2 to knowledge checks doesn't really need to be spun (or spin it however you please, you study a lot. I mean you're a wizard and a blade adept anyways).

There's really only the one class feature (and an alignment restriction the book itself suggests you ignore) to deal with, not seeing why it's such a big hurdle.

[Eonir]

This has given me a lot of good ideas. Thank you everyone.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Rite of Waking and Jade Phoenix Master can both be jettisoned without any real effect on the classes' power. Emerald Immolation is pretty phoenix-y, but it seems like you don't have a big problem with it.

[Faily]

JPM can also be refluffed easily to being linked to something divine (like Magic-domain deities). Like in Forgotten Realms, they can be tied to Mystra for instance, rather than some "past lives"... refluff the Phoenix-y parts to represents Mystra's Silverfire.

[Segev]

The Rite of Awakening could instead be a Rite of Rebirth. Through some means, you undergo the Emerald Immolation as part of your research to enter the class. You won't master it to the point that you can do it at will (or even really at all outside of extremely controlled laboratory circumstances) until you hit the level where you gain it as a class feature, but for now the +2 Knowledge Check bonus is from having "seen the beyond" or something.

Or perhaps just researching what you need in order to get into the class so expands your horizons that you have an effective +2 to Knowledge checks due to just that much study.