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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Class Devotee of Pure Magic (Boccob-ian Cleric PrC)



Zaydos
2015-10-09, 04:01 PM
Devotee of Pure Magic

Someone requested a Boccob based brew on Tumblr, given nothing else to go on besides that seed this is what I came up with rather quickly and a bit dirty. It is a sort of pseudo-theurge. Compared to a straight cloistered cleric it loses Constitution (and thus hp), 2 skill points per level, the ability to cast in armor, and attack bonus even when using Divine Power, but gains access to the Sor/Wiz spell list, additional spells per day, improved use of domain spells, and a smattering of other abilities notably the ability to temporarily suppress anti/dead magic nearby and the ability to use Arcane Sight as an orison. Compared to a straight wizard it loses metamagic feats, attack bonus, familiar (more useful than given credit for, especially with Obtain Familiar to snag it and the crazy good ACFs), and possibly even hit points, for potentially 2 skill points/level but probably not, access to the cleric list, additional spells per day, domains, and a smattering of relatively minor abilities notably the ability to temporarily suppress anti/dead magic nearby and the ability to use Arcane Sight as an orison. Compared to a mystic theurge it trades spell slots, attack bonus, and hit points, for higher level spells, better use of domains, and the ability to temporarily suppress anti/dead magic nearby and the ability to use Arcane Sight as an orison. It is aimed to be competitive with Cleric or Wizard + PrC, as it is literally a Cleric PrC, but I am not 100% sure how it really falls.

The Archmage of the Gods, Boccob is the god of magic and sorcery. While most of his priests concern themselves more with the elements of balance the god represents, a devotee of pure magic represents that minority within his church which is concerned first and foremost with the propagation of magic and its research and creation. A Devotee of Magic is a master of those magics usually considered arcane, drawing them through their devoted study and faith in the god which presides over all magic. A Devotee of Pure Magic serves to promote the study and research of the arcane arts throughout the world, seeking to in so to increase the amount of magic in the world and prolong its finite life. In this way these Devotees hope to avoid the doom prophesied in the legend of the Lost Spell and the End of Magic.

Their devotion to magic gives them a wider breadth and understanding of the magical arts, but it is not without costs. A Devotee of Pure Magic grows rusty in their martial skills, and their body grows frail as they devote themselves entirely to the magical arts. However their understanding of magic allows them to use a greater variety of powers than any mortal wizard or normal cleric.


Becoming a Devotee of Pure Magic

A Devotee of Pure Magic is usually tutored by others of the sect within the clergy of Boccob, though on occasion a lone priest will set forth on this path with no instruction in it besides that provided by their own studies into their god and perhaps subtle divine inspiration which even the most devout member cannot be certain of unless they manage to convince Boccob himself to tell them. Setting forth on this path requires a devotion to the study of magic and knowledge of its ways that is rarely found even in the priests of the Uncaring.

Prerequisites:
Skills: Knowledge (Arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (Religion) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks.
Feats: Skill Focus (Knowledge Arcana).
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 3rd level divine spells.
Patron Deity: Boccob.
Special: Magic or Knowledge Domain.

Class Skills: The class skills for a Devotee of Pure Magic (and their key ability scores) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Knowledge (any, each taken individually) (Int), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill points per level: 4 + Int modifier.

Hit Dice: d4.

DEVOTEE OF PURE MAGIC

LevelBABFortRefWillSpecialSpellcasting
1+0+0+0+2Divine Wizardry, Lore ]+1 level existing divine spellcasting class
2+1+0+0+3Bonus Domain, Noncombatant+1 level existing divine spellcasting class
3+1+1+1+3Intelligent Theurgy, Scribe Scroll+1 level existing divine spellcasting class
4+2+1+1+4Flexible Domain Magic +1 level existing divine spellcasting class
5+2+1+1+4Balanced Soul +1 divine level existing spellcasting class
6+3+2+2+5Eye of the Uncaring ]+1 level existing divine spellcasting class
7+3+2+2+5Greater Flexible Domain Magic+1 level existing divine spellcasting class
8+4+2+2+6Domain Spontaneity+1 level existing divine spellcasting class
9+4+3+3+6Share Magic +1 level existing divine spellcasting class
10+5+3+3+7Font of Sorcery+1 level existing divine spellcasting class

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A Devotee of Pure Magic gains no new armor or weapon proficiencies. Coming closer to losing what ones they already possess.

Divine Wizardry: A Devotee of Pure Magic gains access to sorcerer/wizard spells. They may treat any sorcerer/wizard spell with a spell level of up to 1 plus one half their class level as if it were on the cleric spell list gaining the ability to prepare and cast it as a divine spell (assuming they can prepare and cast spells of that level) or to learn it if they learn spells instead (such as a favored soul, however when casting such a spell they still suffer arcane spell failure as it retains the complicated gestures of arcane magic.

Lore: A Devotee of Pure Magic gains the Lore ability as a Cloistered Cleric or Loremaster of their class level (or add their class level to their level in other classes which gain the ability).

Bonus Domain: At 2nd level a Devotee of Pure Magic gains an additional domain that can be granted by Boccob; if they do not have both the Knowledge and Magic domains this additional domain must be one of those two.

Noncombatant (Ex): A Devotee of Pure Magic gains little training in the combative arts preferring instead the use of magic. A Devotee of Pure Magic suffers a penalty to attack rolls equal to 1/2 their class level.
Explanation: I did this instead of giving them a non-standard +0 BAB (like Warhulk) because of Divine Power. This means that even if they artificially maximize their BAB with divine magic the effects still sting cutting into CoDzilla potential.

Frail (Ex): A Devotee of Pure Magic's health suffers due to the extreme nature of their magical devotion. At 3rd level a Devotee of Pure Magic's Constitution is permanently decreased by 2; this cannot be healed by magical means other than losing the level entirely.

Intelligent Theurgy: A Devotee of Pure Magic uses their knowledge and study to maximize the potentially of their divine magic. Beginning at 3rd level a Devotee of Pure Magic adds twice their Intelligence modifier (if positive) to their Wisdom for determining their maximum spell level they can cast and bonus spells per day.

Scribe Scroll: At 3rd level a Devotee of Pure Magic gains Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat.

Flexible Domain Magic: A Devotee of Pure Magic learns to use their magic in more flexible manners. Beginning at 4th level they may choose to treat up to one normal spell slot of each level as an additional domain slot of that level, allowing them to prepare and cast domain spells with it. They may choose not to exercise this ability on any or all spell levels available to them if they'd prefer a full complement of non-domain spells.

Balanced Soul (Su): A Devotee of Pure Magic is a follower of Boccob god of balance, and must balance their own soul in accordance to his wishes. Beginning at 5th level whenever a spell or magic item has negative effects that only affect creatures of a certain alignment or which are not a certain alignment they do not apply these effects to the Devotee of Pure Magic. A Devotee of Pure Magic still does not receive beneficial effects that only affect creatures of another alignment.

Eye of the Uncarring: As servants of the god of knowledge and magic it follows that a Devotee of Pure Magic is capable of great magical insights. Beginning at 6th level a Devotee of Pure Magic can cast Arcane Sight with a spell slot of any level including level 0; it is still a 3rd level spell. They still must prepare it if they normally prepare spells.

Frailer (Ex): A Devotee of Pure Magic's health suffers further due to the extreme nature of their magical devotion. At 7th level a Devotee of Pure Magic's Constitution is permanently decreased by another 2; this cannot be healed by magical means other than losing the level entirely.

Greater Flexible Domain Magic: All magic comes from the same source, and a Devotee of Pure Magic is able to draw magic in various forms with adept ease. Beginning at 8th level a Devotee of Pure Magic can prepare and cast non-domain spells with their domain spell slots.

Domain Spontaneity: The special gifts of Boccob are not to be squandered, but neither are they to be regarded as stale and fixed without the ability to adjust them. Beginning at 9th level a Devotee of Pure Magic may expend a spell prepared into a domain spell slot to cast any spell of the same level or lower that they are granted by one of their domains similarly to how a cleric spontaneously casts cure spells. In effect this means a Devotee of Pure Magic never needs prepare a domain spell again, instead preparing other spells in those slots with Greater Flexible Domain Magic and spontaneously swapping such spells for necessary spells from their domains.

Share Magic (Su): Boccob teaches that magic selfishly hoarded will dwindle and fade, and that only through the sharing and spreading of magic and magical knowledge can the sum total of magical energy be increased. Beginning at 9th level a Devotee of Pure Magic learns how to share their spell slots with others. When they prepare spells (or regain spell slots if they do not prepare spells) they may designate 3 spell slots as "shared". They may then bestow these spell slots on another creature capable of casting spells of that level which can then prepare spells in those slots (if they are prepared spell casters) or cast spells using them. Either the Devotee or the gifted creature can cast the spell with the shared slot (if the gifted creature is a spontaneous caster it can be any spell that the gifted creature knows). If either cast the spell it is expended for both and cast using the gifted creature's ability scores and caster level. If the gifted creature has multiple types of spell casting (such as a Mystic Theurge or Spellthief/Wizard) you must choose which type of spell slot you are gifting the spell slot as.

Font of Sorcery (Su): Magic is a finite resource, it can be created by sharing it and using it, but it is finite and a Devotee learns to store some of this power within themselves in case of an emergency. Beginning at 10th level a Devotee of Pure Magic may store up to 10 minutes (100 rounds) of magical energy within themselves. They may release this energy as a swift action even in an area of dead magic or anti-magic. When they release this energy it negates the effects of dead magic or anti-magic within 20 ft for as long as the energy lasts; it may only negate one instance of dead or anti-magic, if there are two instance (for example 2 beholders gazing upon the devotee, or if an enemy mage casts a second Anti-Magic Field) then the Font only negates the effects of one. This ability can be used to negate the effects of a low magic region for 1 minute per round it would function in a dead or anti-magic area. A Devotee may not voluntarily end this release, but if there is no dead or anti-magic to negate then it automatically ends and begins recharging at a rate of 1 round per minute spent outside of a dead, anti, or low magic area.

Amechra
2015-10-09, 06:21 PM
No.

No.

NO.

NO!

...

I'm sorry, but Divine Wizardry is not a feature I like seeing on anything, especially not a full caster. At least Rainbow Servant has the decency to cost you 4 caster levels, and Sovereign Speaker strictly limits what new spells you get.

1. Noncombatant and Frail are, collectively, a -4 to Con on one of the classes that has the most money free to raise their ability scores, and a penalty that doesn't matter if you are going for touch attacks. So those drawbacks, while present, are things you can mitigate to a degree.

2. You add the Wizard spell list to yours. Sure, you have a level limit on that... but Clerics can prep anything off their spell list each morning. By 9th level, you are a Wizard++, since you effectively have a spell book that contains every Wizard spell ever, plus the Cleric spell list.

3. Flexible Domain Magic and its upgrades (including Spontaneous Domain Magic) are interesting... Hell, they'd still be a pretty nice class if they had those while dropping Noncombatant, Divine Wizardry, and Frail.

4. Balanced Soul and Eye of the Uncaring are... OK, I guess? Boccob is the uncaring because he doesn't take sides, not because he can no-sell Blasphemy and Holy Word.

5. Font of Sorcery is neat. Share Spells, on the other hand, is the kind of class feature other classes are built around. Here, you've got it thrown in as an afterthought.

So... yeah. Some dialling down is needed.

My suggestions:

A. Drop Divine Wizardry, Noncombatant, and Frail. Noncombatant and Frail are only justified due to Divine Wizardry's raw power.

B. Continue with the theme of making Domain spells better; I could see giving out new Domains at 1st level and every 3 levels thereafter.

C. If you still want a theme related to Boccob's magic supremacy... I could see adding your Devotee of Pure Magic level to your Cleric level for the purposes of the Magic domain, having a higher level class feature (maybe replacing Balanced Soul) double your effective cleric level when calculating the Magic domain's benefit, etc.

D. If you want to incorporate Share Spells, I suggest scaling it from lower levels. Maybe just have it let you burn domain spell slots to give them to other creatures, with a maximum spell level of (Devotee of Pure Magic)?

E. I feel really wary of PrCs for full casters that don't have an implicit or explicit cost in caster levels. Otherwise, you are just making BaseClass++. However, giving up caster levels doesn't feel... right for this guy. Maybe have them lose a caster level at 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th levels, but let those levels count for the purposes of Domain spells and Domain spell slots.

EDIT: At this point, I feel almost obliged to make my own version. I probably shall.

Zaydos
2015-10-19, 01:01 AM
Reduced Divine Wizardry to spell level 1 + 1/2 class level. Means you end with 9/6 casting, making it worse than early entry Mystic Theurge, but better than regular Mystic Theurge (which is a straight downgrade in power).

Made it so the ability to hand out spells was 3 slots instead of 2/spell level.

tsj
2015-10-20, 01:54 AM
what if the class was hurting the player in other ways, in order to offset the power of being able to cast any wizard or cleric spell?

something like automatically gaining 2 anti feats (flaws) each time you take a level in the class, to represent that your body is being slowly destroyed by the extreme magical abilities?

Also, the saves, base attack and hit dices could all be set to be insanely bad?

There must be some way to properly offset the advantages of Divine Wizardry in a full caster ?

maybe loosing a stat point in a random stat (Str, dex, con, int, wis or cha) each time a level is gained in the class?

maybe some kind of continous damage to the caster 24/7 ?

maybe disallow any kind of armor or weapons after entering the class ?

Ryunosuke
2015-10-20, 02:39 AM
Reduced Divine Wizardry to spell level 1 + 1/2 class level. Means you end with 9/6 casting, making it worse than early entry Mystic Theurge, but better than regular Mystic Theurge (which is a straight downgrade in power).

Made it so the ability to hand out spells was 3 slots instead of 2/spell level.

A full Mystic Theurge is Cleric 5, Wizard 5, Theurge 10 (typically) will be an effectively level 15 caster in both their divine and arcane classes and have access to up to 8-th level spells in each. With the exception of some high optimization crap based on the 9-th level spell selections to each class, that is actually very good for a heavily focused magic caster type (which is what this class is anyways) so I see no reason to hate on the MT itself.

This class does however outclass it painfully. Adding TWICE another stat onto one for anything is too much so that ability needs to be nerfed. and despite your penalties, the raw magical domination this class can potentially provide is still going to be brutal in the hands of someone that knows what they're doing with spells available and the capstone ability sure isn't helping.