Jade Pheonix Mage

[ZhanStrider]

Am I wrong, or is the Jade Pheonix Mage class ability "Jade Pheonix Master" totally useless?

"Jade Phoenix Master (Su): When you attain 6th level, you earn the right to call yourself a Jade Phoenix master. You can now perform the Rite of Waking for someone else, provided he or she is a suitable candidate and embodies the reincarnated spirit of one of the ancient masters. (The DM decides if this is true for any given NPC.) You gain the ability to sense the direction and distance to the nearest Jade Phoenix mage, master, or candidate simply by meditating for 1 minute without interruption."

That..is so useless why even mention it?

[Segev]

Fluff ability, yeah, but it does tell you that you need a 6th level JPM to help you become one. It also can help you find other JPMs. And even, if it's important for some reason, tell if another individual really is one. If he doesn't ping as the closest JPM but he's the closest person to you...

[torrasque666]

Not all abilities actually have a mechanical effect. This is one of them.

[Vhaidara]

Hang on a sec. Doesn't this ability Ur-Priest JPM? Since only a level 6 JPM can perform the Rite, and going through the Rite is an entry requirement of the class, how did the first JPM happen?

But yeah, its a fluff ability. Slightly more useful than Slow Fall, for the reasons Segev mentioned.

[AvatarVecna]

The only potential use is that, if there's multiple JPMs in the party (for whatever reason) and one needs to be located, the other can act as a compass, should divinations not be available for whatever reason. So yeah, assuming that spells can't be used by Su abilities can, it can locate the missing and superfluous Jade Phoenix Mage.

[Forrestfire]

It's for interacting with NPCs and giving you cool roleplaying benefits.

[Troacctid]

Hang on a sec. Doesn't this ability Ur-Priest JPM? Since only a level 6 JPM can perform the Rite, and going through the Rite is an entry requirement of the class, how did the first JPM happen?

But yeah, its a fluff ability. Slightly more useful than Slow Fall, for the reasons Segev mentioned.

I expect the original Jade Phoenix Mage was mentored by an actual jade phoenix, who has since died, so only the Jade Phoenix Mages can pass on its teachings.

[Sagetim]

Am I wrong, or is the Jade Pheonix Mage class ability "Jade Pheonix Master" totally useless?

"Jade Phoenix Master (Su): When you attain 6th level, you earn the right to call yourself a Jade Phoenix master. You can now perform the Rite of Waking for someone else, provided he or she is a suitable candidate and embodies the reincarnated spirit of one of the ancient masters. (The DM decides if this is true for any given NPC.) You gain the ability to sense the direction and distance to the nearest Jade Phoenix mage, master, or candidate simply by meditating for 1 minute without interruption."

That..is so useless why even mention it?

Because it's the best ability ever. It says in no uncertain terms that you can ensure the continuation of your prestige class by tracking down other potential jade phoenix mages and gives you blanket permission to be able to use your voodoo powers to awaken their abilities. In a game where the focus is roleplaying, this is a huge benefit. In a game where you've been allowed to have leadership for some reason, this lets you hunt down potential cohorts who could be jade phoenix mages too. In a regular dnd game, this lets you find other potential jade phoenix mage npcs and train them as such.

Sure, that may not mean a lot in a game with heavy combat and a focus on killing the monsters and taking their stuff. But it's the kind of thing that you want in your prestige class- the ability to induct others into the prestige class. Red Wizard gets it too, with the tatoo shenanigans, and there are probably some others I'm not thinking of. Psychic Dream Fighter Guy from Magic of Ebberon?

[ZhanStrider]

Because it's the best ability ever. It says in no uncertain terms that you can ensure the continuation of your prestige class by tracking down other potential jade phoenix mages and gives you blanket permission to be able to use your voodoo powers to awaken their abilities. In a game where the focus is roleplaying, this is a huge benefit. In a game where you've been allowed to have leadership for some reason, this lets you hunt down potential cohorts who could be jade phoenix mages too. In a regular dnd game, this lets you find other potential jade phoenix mage npcs and train them as such.

Sure, that may not mean a lot in a game with heavy combat and a focus on killing the monsters and taking their stuff. But it's the kind of thing that you want in your prestige class- the ability to induct others into the prestige class. Red Wizard gets it too, with the tatoo shenanigans, and there are probably some others I'm not thinking of. Psychic Dream Fighter Guy from Magic of Ebberon?


Don't most games have Leadership? it's SRD right?

[Malimar]

Don't most games have Leadership? it's SRD right?

It's also widely recognized as the most powerful feat in the entire game from any source, and is for that reason frequently banned.

[Gabrosin]

Hang on a sec. Doesn't this ability Ur-Priest JPM? Since only a level 6 JPM can perform the Rite, and going through the Rite is an entry requirement of the class, how did the first JPM happen?

But yeah, its a fluff ability. Slightly more useful than Slow Fall, for the reasons Segev mentioned.

The class fluff explains how the original thirteen JPMs came to be, and specifies that new ones are the reincarnation of the souls of previous ones, such that there are always thirteen.

JPM 6 may be a fluff ability but if you have any other JPM in the story (party member, NPC, cohort, villain somehow, whatever) you can make excellent use of it.

[Sagetim]

Don't most games have Leadership? it's SRD right?

No, from the impression I get on these forums, most games have it banned and there's still a lot of people who ignore the existence of psionics even though that's on the SRD as well.

Edit: Leadership is also a complicated bit of book work if someone actually takes and uses it.

[AvatarVecna]

No, from the impression I get on these forums, most games have it banned and there's still a lot of people who ignore the existence of psionics even though that's on the SRD as well.

Edit: Leadership is also a complicated bit of book work if someone actually takes and uses it.

Especially if you combine the psionic PrC "Thrallherd" with non-Leadership Leadership-like abilities, which can (by 20th level) get you millions of total follower, believers, cohorts, and thralls, if you fully optimize it.

[ZhanStrider]

No, from the impression I get on these forums, most games have it banned and there's still a lot of people who ignore the existence of psionics even though that's on the SRD as well.

Edit: Leadership is also a complicated bit of book work if someone actually takes and uses it.

I don't think I've ever played a game where Leadership wasn't allowed. I've actually had to argue with some of my co-players about whether it is a worthless feat. (How someone can look at "Gain levels in ___ class, a second turn per round, and the ability to do any skill more than once" and say "but Diehard is better" is beyond me.)

[Oberon Kenobi]

Some people would actually prefer it if the awesomeness that they inflict on the game world is directly the result of their character's actions, rather than the result of their character's personal army's actions. They want to be Hercules rather than Alexander. For that mindset, yeah, Diehard is actually a lot better than Leadership.

[Eldaran]

I don't think I've ever played a game where Leadership wasn't allowed.

Conversely, I've never played in a game where it is allowed, and if it was allowed there's virtually no reason not to take it.

[Lerondiel]

The class fluff explains how the original thirteen JPMs came to be, and specifies that new ones are the reincarnation of the souls of previous ones, such that there are always thirteen.

JPM 6 may be a fluff ability but if you have any other JPM in the story (party member, NPC, cohort, villain somehow, whatever) you can make excellent use of it.


This.

The thirteen JPMs are powerful, ancient, and ultimately inseparable allies and you know how to go find them. In this incarnation those that are below 6th level JPM are under your authority to lead.

Get your Teleport on and go get yourself a small army.

[Gabrosin]

Conversely, I've never played in a game where it is allowed, and if it was allowed there's virtually no reason not to take it.

This. Our table has six players and is busy enough already. Familiars and combat summons are frowned on because they slow things down even further. Leadership has never been an option.

[Talionis]

Fm guide two has some Mentor and Apprentice rules that might be cobelled into some real bonuses.