LumenPlacidum
2021-03-08, 03:36 PM
Barbarians who walk the path of the Rage Mage never do so as their entire milieu. This is a path that seizes a mage and draws them in. They begin to find that their spells become more powerful when they are angry and passionate about the outcome. They find that spells become locked in and uncontrollable while they are gripped by the throes of their own rage. This variety of mage gives up fine control to a certain extent in favor of raw blasts of power.
Augmented Spellcasting
When you reach 3rd level, you augment your fury with the ability to access magical power, although this subclass provides very little ability to control such power. Please note that this subclass does not offer a way around the stipulation that you cannot cast spells while Raging.
Spell Slots
The Rage Mage table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. Note that the Rage Mage does not offer any spells known and, indeed, the class spell list doesn't have any spells in it. If you have access to known spells from another source, however, you may use these spell slots to cast spells that you know as per the normal spellcasting rules.
Spellcasting Ability
Your spellcasting ability for all spells becomes Constitution, no matter what it was before taking this subclass. For you, magical power flows from your own visceral emotions and grit. Magic is something you endure, rather than something you control. You use your Constitution whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability, no matter the source of the spell. In addition, you use your Constitution modifier when setting the saving throw DC for all spells you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier
Multiclassing Note
If your table uses the multiclass optional rule, then a Rage Mage adds his or her full barbarian level to the level of other spellcasting classes in order to determine their spellcaster level to determine spell slots. Please note that all other Spellcasting features become modified to use your Constitution ability score in place of whatever ability score they had been using previously. For example, a 5th level barbarian / 3rd level wizard with the Rage Mage subclass has the spell slots of a 8th level spellcaster and uses their Constitution modifier as their spellcasting ability modifier for wizard spells, instead of
their Intelligence modifier. They don't get a choice in this.
Raw Power Smite
Starting at 3rd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack while raging, you can expend one spell slot to deal force damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st. Any recipient of this damage must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be knocked prone and moved 10 feet directly away from you.
Body of Magic
Starting at 6th level, you can use your bonus action to spend a spell slot and regain 1d8 hit points per level of the spell slot spent in this way.
Blasts of Raw Power
Starting at 10th level, whenever you use your Raw Power Smite to deal additional damage to a creature with a melee weapon attack, you cause an explosion of raw, uncontrolled magical energy to burst forth from the target. Each creature within a 20 foot cone, which must be placed so as to include the creature against whom you used Raw Power Smite, must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or also take the extra damage of your Raw Power Smite. A successful save halves the damage. The creature that already suffered the Raw Power Smite is not subject to the extra damage.
Locked Focus
Starting at 10th level, you may enter Rage while you are concentrating on a spell and not lose concentration on that spell. In fact, it becomes impossible to lose concentration on that spell, and the duration of the spell will be extended until the end of your Rage. For example, if you are under the effects of a Haste spell when you enter Rage, then the effects of Haste will persist throughout the entire Rage, with no need to make Constitution saving throws for concentration, and without regard to the duration of the Haste spell itself.
Eat Spell
Starting at 14th level, when you succeed on a saving throw against a spell that has a spell level, you can use your reaction to consume the energy of that spell. You gain an extra spell slot of the same spell level as the spell that you consumed. Any extra spell slots disappear at the end of a long rest.
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I just thought it would be interesting to have a spellcasting subclass for a non-spellcasting class that only provided spell slots and alternative ways to use spell slots. Probably it's not a great powergaming choice, but then again, with rage resistances and smites and full spell slot progression on the same extra-attack-granting class? Maybe it is! It's a supremely good crit-fisher. Maybe for that reason I should change it to saving throw damage with the smite-like effect and not have it be multiplied for a crit. It's hard to imagine how good a level 14 subclass capstone would have to be to justify taking 14 levels of this to make 6 levels of an actual casting class as potent as taking 20 in the caster class. What I have here is definitely not enough. Maybe making it so that the reaction just made you auto-eat the spell without a saving throw...
Augmented Spellcasting
When you reach 3rd level, you augment your fury with the ability to access magical power, although this subclass provides very little ability to control such power. Please note that this subclass does not offer a way around the stipulation that you cannot cast spells while Raging.
Spell Slots
The Rage Mage table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. Note that the Rage Mage does not offer any spells known and, indeed, the class spell list doesn't have any spells in it. If you have access to known spells from another source, however, you may use these spell slots to cast spells that you know as per the normal spellcasting rules.
Spellcasting Ability
Your spellcasting ability for all spells becomes Constitution, no matter what it was before taking this subclass. For you, magical power flows from your own visceral emotions and grit. Magic is something you endure, rather than something you control. You use your Constitution whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability, no matter the source of the spell. In addition, you use your Constitution modifier when setting the saving throw DC for all spells you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier
Multiclassing Note
If your table uses the multiclass optional rule, then a Rage Mage adds his or her full barbarian level to the level of other spellcasting classes in order to determine their spellcaster level to determine spell slots. Please note that all other Spellcasting features become modified to use your Constitution ability score in place of whatever ability score they had been using previously. For example, a 5th level barbarian / 3rd level wizard with the Rage Mage subclass has the spell slots of a 8th level spellcaster and uses their Constitution modifier as their spellcasting ability modifier for wizard spells, instead of
their Intelligence modifier. They don't get a choice in this.
Raw Power Smite
Starting at 3rd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack while raging, you can expend one spell slot to deal force damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st. Any recipient of this damage must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be knocked prone and moved 10 feet directly away from you.
Body of Magic
Starting at 6th level, you can use your bonus action to spend a spell slot and regain 1d8 hit points per level of the spell slot spent in this way.
Blasts of Raw Power
Starting at 10th level, whenever you use your Raw Power Smite to deal additional damage to a creature with a melee weapon attack, you cause an explosion of raw, uncontrolled magical energy to burst forth from the target. Each creature within a 20 foot cone, which must be placed so as to include the creature against whom you used Raw Power Smite, must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or also take the extra damage of your Raw Power Smite. A successful save halves the damage. The creature that already suffered the Raw Power Smite is not subject to the extra damage.
Locked Focus
Starting at 10th level, you may enter Rage while you are concentrating on a spell and not lose concentration on that spell. In fact, it becomes impossible to lose concentration on that spell, and the duration of the spell will be extended until the end of your Rage. For example, if you are under the effects of a Haste spell when you enter Rage, then the effects of Haste will persist throughout the entire Rage, with no need to make Constitution saving throws for concentration, and without regard to the duration of the Haste spell itself.
Eat Spell
Starting at 14th level, when you succeed on a saving throw against a spell that has a spell level, you can use your reaction to consume the energy of that spell. You gain an extra spell slot of the same spell level as the spell that you consumed. Any extra spell slots disappear at the end of a long rest.
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I just thought it would be interesting to have a spellcasting subclass for a non-spellcasting class that only provided spell slots and alternative ways to use spell slots. Probably it's not a great powergaming choice, but then again, with rage resistances and smites and full spell slot progression on the same extra-attack-granting class? Maybe it is! It's a supremely good crit-fisher. Maybe for that reason I should change it to saving throw damage with the smite-like effect and not have it be multiplied for a crit. It's hard to imagine how good a level 14 subclass capstone would have to be to justify taking 14 levels of this to make 6 levels of an actual casting class as potent as taking 20 in the caster class. What I have here is definitely not enough. Maybe making it so that the reaction just made you auto-eat the spell without a saving throw...