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Zarion
2016-06-15, 01:19 PM
So I was working on an Artificer build, and I was looking for any good PrC's for the class. I came across a homebrew one that seemed perfect for an Artificer, however after showing it to my DM we both agreed that it seemed unbalanced. So I decided to try and rebuild the class to be more balanced, can you tell me what you think of it.

Master Spellcrafter
The Master Spellcrafter is the pinnacle of magical item creation. His understanding of magic and how items can be created using magic is so complete that he can create items faster, cheaper, and at less personal expense then any other spellcaster. He is also very adept at identifying magical items, and can even increase the power of the things that he creates. The drawback for this prestige class is that the Master Spellcrafter must spend many skill points in Spellcraft, Knowledge, and Craft. This prestige class fits very well with wizards, but can also work well with clerics.
Requirements:
To qualify to become a Master Spellcrafter, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Any
Skills: Craft (any) 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, OR Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, and Spellcraft 8 ranks.
Feats: Scribe Scroll, Any three Craft Magical Item feats.
Special: Must have completed a magic item of at least 20.000gp in base price.

Hit Die: d4


Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special
Spells per Day/Spells Known


1st
+0
+0
+0
+2
Bonus Feat (See Features)
+1 level of existing spellcasting class



2nd
+1
+0
+0
+3
Materials Knowledge
+1 level of existing spellcasting class



3rd
+1
+1
+1
+3
Bonus Feat (See Features)
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


4th
+2
+1
+1
+4
Crafting Efficiency
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


5th
+2
+1
+1
+4
Bonus Feat (See Features)/Item Knowledge
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


6th
+3
+2
+2
+5
Practiced Crafter
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


7th
+3
+2
+2
+5
Bonus Feat (See Features)
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


8th
+4
+2
+2
+6
Crafting Efficiency
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


9th
+4
+3
+3
+6
Bonus Feat (See Features)
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


10th
+5
+3
+3
+7
Bonus Feat (See Features)
+1 level of existing spellcasting class



Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level)
The Master Spellcrafter’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con),Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int),
Knowledge:(all skills taken individually)(Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int)

Class Features:
All the following are class features of the Master Spellcrafter prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Master Spellcrafter gains no proficiencies in weapons or armor.
Spells per Day/ Spells Known: When a new Master Spellcrafter level is gained, the character gains new spells per day and spells known, as if he had also gained a level in the spellcasting class to which he belonged before adding this prestige class. He does not gain any of the other benefits a character of that class would have gained.
Bonus Feat: At level 1 of Master Spellcrafter; casters receive the feat Craft Scepter. At level 3, 5, and 7one of the following feats may be selected. Any Item Creation, Any Metamagic, or Any Spell Mastery.
At levels 9 and 10 one of the following feats may be selected. Any Item Creation, Any Metamagic, and Any Spell Mastery.
–OR–
The following only applies if the caster meets the ALL of the prerequisites for them. Epic Skill Focus: Knowledge (Arcana), Epic Skill Focus: Knowledge (religion), or Epic Skill Focus: Spellcraft, Epic Spellcasting. Also any Epic Item Creation, Metamagic, Divine, or Wild feat that the character can qualify for.
Crafting Efficiency: At the 4th level, and again at the 8th level, the Master Spellcrafter reduces the XP cost for crafting items by 25%.
Materials Knowledge: Through experience and insight the 2nd level Master Spellcrafter has gained an understanding of what materials work best for crafting magical items. He has also learned how to use the materials more efficiently thus granting him a 50% reduction to the cost of the raw materials needed for crafting. He also gains a +2 to any Craft check made.
Practiced Crafter: At level 6 the Master Spellcrafter has produced such a quantity of magical items that he gains a 50% reduction to the amount of time it takes to create a magical item.
SPECIAL:
Item Knowledge: At level 5 the Master Spellcrafter gains the ability to cast the spell Identify as a spell-like ability 5 times per day. They also receive a +2 to their Appraise check.
Spell Crafting Insight: As the Master Spellcrafter gains a better understanding of how magical items function and the energies used to create them, he gains the ability to increase the energy efficiency of the items. For every 15 skill modifier points he has in both Spellcraft and, Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (religion), the character can increases the set numeric effects of magical items by 50%. For example a new wand of Magic Missile normally has 50 charges; and Boots of Teleportation normally have 3 uses per day. With the Spell Crafting Insight ability the Master Spellcrafter can increase the amount of charges to 75 for the wand and 6 uses for the boots. This ability is not gained at a specific level, since the skill modifier number can fluctuate at any time.
Continual Requirements: The Master Spellcrafter MUST have the maximum number of ranks per character level in both Spellcraft and, Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (religion). If the Master Spellcrafter does not meet this criteria, then they do not receive the special ability for that level. If the ranks are eventually restored to maximum, then the caster retroactively gains the abilities that they “missed” previously.
Also the Master Spellcrafter must devote skill points in various crafting skills in order to create magical items that are more powerful then normal types. For example to create Boots of Teleportation that are useable 6 times per day the Master Spellcrafter must succeed a Craft: Leatherwork against a DC of 20. This represents the “masterwork” quality of the item, even if an item cannot be “masterwork”. The finished product is not considered masterwork for determining skill or ability bonuses. For every 50% increase to the number of uses, beyond the first, increase the DC by 10, and double the Ad Hoc gold cost.
Example 1: “Spellcrafted” Boots of Teleportation. Any Character wearing this footwear may teleport six time per day, exactly as if he had cast the spell of the same name. Moderate Conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item; teleport; Craft: Leatherwork DC 20; Price: 49,000 gp; Weight 3 lb. Ad Hoc +75 gp for “Masterwork” boots.
Example 2: “Spellcrafted” Boots of Teleportation. Any Character wearing this footwear may teleport nine time per day, exactly as if he had cast the spell of the same name. Moderate Conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item; teleport; Craft: Leatherwork DC 30; Price: 49,000 gp; Weight 3 lb. Ad Hoc +150 gp for “Masterwork” boots.

Now here is the modified class I built:

Master Spellcrafter
The Master Spellcrafter is the pinnacle of magical item creation. His understanding of magic and how items can be created using magic is so complete that he can create items faster, cheaper, and at less personal expense than any other spellcaster. He is also very adept at identifying magical items, and can even increase the power of the things that he creates. The drawback for this prestige class is that the Master Spellcrafter must spend many skill points in Spellcraft, Knowledge, and Craft. This prestige class fits very well with wizards, but can also work well with clerics.

Requirements:
To qualify to become a Master Spellcrafter, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Any
Skills: Craft (any) 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, OR Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, and Spellcraft 8 ranks.
Feats: Scribe Scroll, Any three Craft Magical Item feats.
Spells: Caster level 9th
Special: Must have completed a magic item of at least 20,000 gp in base price.

Hit Die: d4
Skills: (2 + Int per level)


Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special


1st
+0
+0
+0
+2
Bonus Feat, Spell Crafting Insight, Spell Crafting Power


2nd
+1
+0
+0
+3
Materials Knowledge (25%)


3rd
+1
+1
+1
+3
Bonus Feat


4th
+2
+1
+1
+4
Crafting Efficiency (25%)


5th
+2
+1
+1
+4
Bonus Feat, Item Knowledge


6th
+3
+2
+2
+5
Practiced Crafter


7th
+3
+2
+2
+5
Bonus Feat


8th
+4
+2
+2
+6
Materials Knowledge (50%)


9th
+4
+3
+3
+6
Bonus Feat


10th
+5
+3
+3
+7
Crafting Efficiency (50%)



Class Features:
All the following are class features of the Master Spellcrafter prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Master Spellcrafter gains no proficiencies in weapons or armor.
Bonus Feat: At levels 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 the Master Spellcrafter may select one of the following feats. Any Item Creation, any Metamagic.
Spell Crafting Insight: At level 1 the Master Spellcrafter gains a better understanding of how magical items function and the energies used to create them, he gains the ability to increase the energy efficiency of the items. For every 15 skill modifier points he has in both Spellcraft and, Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (religion), the character can increases the set numeric effects of magical items by 50% rounded down. For example a new wand of Magic Missile normally has 50 charges; and Boots of Teleportation normally have 3 uses per day. With the Spell Crafting Insight ability the Master Spellcrafter can increase the amount of charges to 75 for the wand and 4 uses for the boots.
The Master Spellcrafter must devote skill points in various crafting skills in order to create magical items that are more powerful than normal types. For example to create Boots of Teleportation that are useable 4 times per day the Master Spellcrafter must succeed a Craft: Leatherwork against a DC of 20. For every 50% increase to the number of uses, increase the DC by 10, and increase the base cost of the item by 10%.
Example 1: “Spellcrafted” Boots of Teleportation. Any Character wearing this footwear may teleport four time per day, exactly as if he had cast the spell of the same name. Moderate Conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item; teleport; Craft: Leatherwork DC 20; Price: 53,900 gp; Weight 3 lb.
Example 2: “Spellcrafted” Boots of Teleportation. Any Character wearing this footwear may teleport six time per day, exactly as if he had cast the spell of the same name. Moderate Conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item; teleport; Craft: Leatherwork DC 30; Price: 59,290 gp; Weight 3 lb.
Spell Crafting Power: Levels in Master Spellcrafter count toward the caster level requirements of item creation, as if he had gained a level in the spellcasting class to which he belonged before adding this prestige class i.e. if a character had Wizard 5/Master Spellcrafter 3 he would have a caster level of 8 for the purpose of meeting the caster level requirement for crafting magic items, and the item would function at caster level 8.
Materials Knowledge: Through experience and insight the 2nd level Master Spellcrafter has gained an understanding of what materials work best for crafting magical items. He has also learned how to use the materials more efficiently thus granting him a 25% reduction to the cost of the raw materials needed for crafting. This increases to 50% at level 8. He also gains a +2 to any Craft check made, this increases to +4 at level 8.
Crafting Efficiency: At level 4 the Master Spellcrafter reduces the XP cost for crafting items by 25%, this increases to 50% at level 8.
Item Knowledge: At level 5 the Master Spellcrafter gains the ability to cast the spell Identify as a spell-like ability 5 times per day. They also receive a +2 to their Appraise check.
Practiced Crafter: At level 6 the Master Spellcrafter has produced such a quantity of magical items that he gains a 50% reduction to the amount of time it takes to create a magical item.

Continual Requirements: The Master Spellcrafter MUST have the maximum number of ranks per character level in both Spellcraft and, Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (religion). If the Master Spellcrafter does not meet this criteria, then they do not receive the special ability for that level. If the ranks are eventually restored to maximum, then the caster retroactively gains the abilities that they “missed” previously.

So are there any changes that I should make to this, or is it balanced enough for play?

ShiningStarling
2016-06-15, 02:03 PM
Example 1: “Spellcrafted” Boots of Teleportation. Any Character wearing this footwear may teleport four time per day, exactly as if he had cast the spell of the same name. Moderate Conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item; teleport; Craft: Leatherwork DC 20; Price: 53,900 gp; Weight 3 lb.
Example 2: “Spellcrafted” Boots of Teleportation. Any Character wearing this footwear may teleport six time per day, exactly as if he had cast the spell of the same name. Moderate Conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item; teleport; Craft: Leatherwork DC 30; Price: 59,290 gp; Weight 3 lb.
The last noun that "he" in these items entries could apply to would be "any character", therefore most Fighters and Rogues would get no function out of these boots, as they have no caster levels, thus making the level scaling effects, like the distance they can teleport (100 miles per level) equal to 0. Weirdly, this is also what is written in the DMG. Hey errata errata, swing... errata errata. :P

Other than that, I have little experience with artificers, but this seems cool, and helpful to noncasters in the party.