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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Class The Vedmak (Arcane Caster/Initiator Base Class) PEACH



Alabenson
2023-03-16, 04:59 PM
The Vedmak

Masters of the Sublime Way are often said to blur the line between martial and magical prowess. In the case of the vedmak, this line isn’t blurred so much as completely erased. These elusive mages approach magic and martial combat as two sides of the same coin, training their bodies and minds with equal fervor.

Adventures: Vedmaks tend to approach adventuring as a form of extended experimentation, seeking to learn how best to apply their varied abilities to each situation encountered. Other vedmaks take up adventuring as a way of pushing themselves further than they could by remaining secluded in their monasteries.

Characteristics: Vedmaks are potent arcane spellcasters, though not quite the equal of sorcerers or wizards. Unlike most of their spellcasting peers, however, vedmaks have supplemented their magical studies with training in the martial arts of the Sublime Way, making them far more lethal combatants than a typical mage. Furthermore, experienced vedmaks are able to blend these two disciplines together in particularly lethal ways.

Alignment: Most vedmaks are lawful, as the rigorous mental and physical training involved in becoming a vedmak tends to favor individuals with a more ordered disposition. Exceptions do exist, however, particularly among vedmaks who favor the Shadow Hand school.

Religion: Few vedmaks are particularly religious, at most paying lip service to gods of magic. A substantial minority, including a surprising number of non-elves, venerate Corellon Larethian as a deity who oversees both magic and martial combat.

Background: The vast majority of vedmaks learn their craft in secluded monasteries, which resemble a cross between a wizard college and a monk’s temple. A small handful of vedmaks are trained by an older member of the class, but this is exceedingly rare as few vedmaks are inclined to take the time away from their own studies necessary to train an apprentice.

Races: Vedmaks are most commonly found among human, elves and half-elves, with more martially-minded gnomes making up a substantial minority. Most dwarves favor more purely martial paths, and few halflings are inclined to dedicate themselves to the vedmak’s training regimen. Among the more savage races, vedmaks are most often seen among hobgoblins and drow, with the latter claiming the vedmak tradition originated among elvenkind before the drow were cast underground.

Other Classes: Vedmaks tend to get along well with more martial classes, particularly those of a more lawful bent such as monks and paladins. Wizards, on the other hand, frequently look down on vedmaks as inept rivals, weaker spellcasters who’ve traded casting prowess for the ability to swing a sword.

Role: In combat, a vedmak serves as a more aggressive arcane caster, able to operate closer to the enemy and defend themselves in melee if their magic is ineffective or spent. Outside of combat, vedmak’s are much more constrained than wizards are, but depending on their spells known they are still able to address many potential challenges.

GAME RULE INFORMATION
Vedmaks have the following game statistics
Abilities: Intelligence is the most crucial ability for a vedmak, as it powers their spellcasting and many of their special abilities. Constitution is particularly important as well, as vedmaks are far more likely to find themselves in melee than most other arcane casters.
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: D6
Starting Age: As cleric
Starting Gold: As cleric

Class Skills:
Balance, Concentration, Craft, Hide, Knowledge (any), Martial Lore, Move Silently, Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Tumble
Skill Points at 1st level: (2 + Intelligence Modifier) x4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Intelligence Modifier



LevelBABFortRefWillSpecialManeuvers Known Maneuvers Readied Stances Known 0th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th



1st+0+0+2+2 Defensive casting expertise, eidetic studies, martial training 5 512 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --



2nd+1+0+3+3 Blade and spell (+1 DC) 5 51 3 1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --



3rd+2+1+3+3 Armored mage (light), eidetic studies 6 51 3 1 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- --



4th+3+1+4+4 Martial training (Int to attack), spell fury stance 1/day 6 51 3 2 1 -- -- -- -- -- -- --



5th+3+1+4+4 Eidetic studies, spellstrike 1/day 7 51 3 2 1 0 -- -- -- -- -- --



6th+4+2+5+5 Blade and spell (+2 to overcome SR) 7 52 3 2 2 1 -- -- -- -- -- --



7th+5+2+5+5 Eidetic studies, martial training 8 52 3 3 2 1 0 -- -- -- -- --



8th+6+2+6+6 Spell fury stance 2/day 8 52 3 3 2 2 1 -- -- -- -- --



9th+6 +3+6 +6 Armored mage (shields), eidetic studies 9 52 3 3 3 2 1 0 -- -- -- --



10th+7+3+7+7 Blade and spell (+2 DC), martial training (Int to damage) 9 62 3 3 3 2 2 1 -- -- -- --



11th+8+3+7+7 Eidetic studies, Spellstrike 2/day 10 63 3 3 3 3 2 1 0 -- -- --



12th+9+4+8+8 Spell fury stance 3/day 10 63 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 -- -- --



13th+9+4+8+8 Eidetic studies, martial training 11 63 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 0 -- --



14th+10+4+9+9 Blade and spell (+4 to overcome SR)11 63 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 -- --



15th+11+5+9+9 Armored mage (medium), eidetic studies 12 63 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 0 --



16th+12+5+10+10 Martial training, spell fury stance 4/day12 64 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 --



17th+12+5+10+10 Eidetic studies, spellstrike 3/day 13 64 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 0



18th+13+6+11+11 Blade and spell (+3 DC)13 64 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 1



19th+14+6+11+11 Eidetic studies, martial training14 64 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2



20th+15+6+12+12 Spell fury mastery, spell fury stance 5/day 14 74 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3



Weapon and Armor Proficiency:Vedmaks are proficient with simple weapons, as well as any weapons they select for their martial training ability (see below). They are proficient with light and medium armor and shields (except tower shields).

Maneuvers: A vedmak begins with knowledge of five martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to him are Desert Wind, Diamond Mind, Setting Sun and Shadow Hand.
Once he knows a maneuver, he must ready it before it can be used. A maneuver usable by ascetics is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. His maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and he does not provoke attacks of opportunity when he initiates one.
Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered vedmak level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), he can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one he already knows. In effect, he loses the old maneuver of any level he likes, as long as he observes the restriction on the highest level maneuvers he knows; he need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. For example, upon reaching 10th level, he could trade in a single 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-, or 4th-level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th level or lower, as long as he meets the prerequisite of the new maneuver. He can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.

Maneuvers Readied: A vedmak can ready all five of the maneuvers he knows at 1st level, but as he advances in level and learns more maneuvers, he must choose which maneuvers to ready. He readies his maneuvers by meditating and exercising for 5 minutes. The maneuvers he chooses remain readied until he decides to meditate again and change them. He need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to ready his maneuvers; any time he spends 5 minutes in practice, he can change his readied maneuvers.
He begins an encounter with all his readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times he might have already used them since he chose them. When he initiates a maneuver, he expends it for the current encounter, so each of his readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (until he recovers them, as described below).
A vedmak can recover all expended maneuvers by using a full round action to quickly meditate. Doing this does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If the vedmak completes this meditation, all of his maneuvers become available for use in the subsequent round.

Stances Known: A vedmak begins play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to him. At 6th, 11th and 16th level, a vedmak can choose additional stances. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and they do not need to be readied. All the stances a vedmak knows are available to him at all times, and he can change the stance he is currently using as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description.

Spells: A vedmak casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list, with the following differences. A vedmak learns Abjuration, Divination, and Evocation spells at the same levels as a wizard. A vedmak learns Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation spells (other than cantrips) at one spell level higher than normal (so a vedmak would treat invisibility or bull’s strength as 3rd level spells instead of 2nd). A vedmak leans Conjuration and Enchantment spells (other than cantrips) at two spell levels higher than normal. A vedmak must choose and prepare their spells ahead of time (see below).
To learn, prepare or cast a spell, a vedmak must have an Intelligence score of 10 + the spell’s level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a vedmak’s spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the vedmak’s Int modifier. Like other spellcasters, a vedmak can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day, given on their class table. In addition, a vedmak receives bonus spells for a high Intelligence score.
Unlike a wizard, a vedmak only knows a certain number of spells (see Eidetic Studies). The vedmak must choose and prepare their spells ahead of time by getting a good night’s sleep and spending 1 hour meditating.

Defensive Casting Expertise (Ex): A vedmak is particularly adept at using their martial training to cast spells without leaving themselves open to attack. Any time a vedmak casts a spell defensively, they receive a bonus to their Concentration check equal to their initiator level.

Eidetic Studies (Ex): Rather than employing spellbooks, a vedmak trains themselves to perfectly memorize a number of spells. At 1st level, the vedmak knows all 0-level wizard spells, plus a number of 1st-level spells equal to the vedmak’s Intelligence bonus. At every odd level after 1st, the vedmak learns an additional number of spells equal to their Intelligence bonus. Furthermore, whenever a vedmak learns new spells through this ability, they may also swap one spell that they already know with a different spell of the same level or lower.

Martial Training (Ex): Unlike more martial classes, vedmak’s eschew broad weapons training, instead focusing their efforts on fully mastering a small number of weapons. At 1st level, the vedmak may select a single martial or exotic weapon. The vedmak is considered proficient with this weapon, and receives Weapon Focus for the weapon as a bonus feat. At 4th level and every three levels after that (7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th) the vedmak may receive these benefits with an additional weapon.
Additionally, beginning at 4th level, the vedmak gains the ability to use their Intelligence score in place of their Strength or Dexterity scores when making attacks with the weapons they have selected through their martial training ability.
At 10th level, the vedmak develops the ability to add their Intelligence modifier as a bonus on damage rolls (in addition to any Strength bonus they may have) with the weapons they have selected through martial training.

Blade and Spell (Ex): A vedmak of 2nd level or higher becomes adept at using their maneuvers to render their opponents more vulnerable to their spellcasting. If a vedmak damages an opponent with one of their maneuvers, that opponent treats the DC of any of the vedmak’s spells as +1 higher until the end of the vedmak’s next turn.
At 6th level, the vedmak receives a +2 bonus to rolls made to overcome the spell resistance of any affected target.
At 10th level, the bonus to the vedmak’s spell DCs increases to +2.
At 14th level, the bonus to overcome spell resistance increases to +4
At 18th level, the bonus to the vedmak’s spell DCs increases to +3.

Armored Mage (Ex): Normally, armor of any type interferes with an arcane spellcasters’s gestures, which can cause spells to fail if those spells have a somatic component. Through their specialized training, however, a vedmak can learn to avoid arcane spell failure. A vedmak of 3rd level or higher is no longer subject to arcane spell failure while wearing light armor. This ability does not apply to spells gained from other spellcasting classes.
At 9th level, a vedmak learns to use shields with no chance of spell failure.
At 15th level, a vedmak learns to use medium armor with no chance of spell failure.

Spell Fury Stance (Su): Starting at 4th level, a vedmak gains the ability to enter a special martial stance that allows them to focus and intensify their spellcasting power, turning it into a lethal weapon. While in this stance, the vedmak receives a bonus to their caster level equal to +1 for every four initiator levels they possess. Furthermore, whenever a vedmak casts a spell while in their spell fury stance, they may make an attack as a free action at a single target within 30 feet (with a bonus equal to the vedmak’s base attack bonus + their Intelligence modifier) which deals 1d6 damage/per level of the spell cast.
While a vedmak is in their spell fury stance, they are unable to benefit from any other martial stances, nor are they able to use martial maneuvers under they exit the stance.
Entering the spell fury stance is a swift action, and a vedmak can remain in it for a maximum number of rounds equal to 3 + their Intelligence modifier, though the vedmak can exit the stance early at any time as a free action. Upon exiting the spell fury stance, either early or at the end of its duration, the vedmak is left mentally drained and unable to cast spells for 1 minute.
Initially, a vedmak can use their spell fury stance once per day. A vedmak gains an additional use per day of their spell fury stance at 8th level and every four levels thereafter (3/day at 12th, 4/day at 16th, and 5/day at 20th).

Spellstrike (Su): Beginning at 5th level, a vedmak develops the ability to channel spells into their martial maneuvers as a single attack. When a vedmak uses this ability, they may initiate a martial maneuver and simultaneously target their opponent with a spell. If the maneuver hits, the target suffers the effects of both the maneuver and the spell (including the bonuses from Blade and Spell).
To be used with this ability, both the maneuver and the spell being used must target a single opponent, and both must have a standard action casting time or initiation action. Furthermore, the combined level of the maneuver and spell being used cannot exceed 3/4 of the vedmak’s initiator level.
A vedmak can use the ability once per day at 5th level, and gains an additional use of this ability ever six levels after (2/day at 11th level and 3/day at 17th level).

Spell Fury Mastery (Su): At 20th level, a vedmak attains complete mastery of their spell fury stance. The vedmak is now able to initiate martial maneuvers while in their spell fury stance, and no longer has their spellcasting suppressed after their spell fury ends.