New Caster Class

[Hiest, monkey]

If any of the readers of this thread have read Ursula K LeGuin's Earthsea cycle this thread will be easier to get. I am designing a new caster class, something I have wanted to do for a long time, and I decided to call it the mage (after reading the general gist of it please suggest a better name if you have one). The mage is essentially a normal person that starts thier life out with no particular purpose in mind, they have almost an empty space inside, and this causes them to usually start as a different class ( primary "empty space" classes are Palladin, searching for purification, and fighter, searching for expertise.) This class assumes even if it is taken as the first class that it has bonus feats (every third, not second, level) and eventually a mage finds a school where they learn of their powers, usually someone else tells them and shows them how to use them, and their empty space fills with magic (spontaneous casting, con based spells) but having their past upbringing they center on spells that increase combat power, not other aspects. They also have new spells that are very combat oriented, enhancment for weapons, charge, bull rush etc. that I will post if anyone wishes to hear it.
They are particularly long spells I designed so first I would like to know if anyone is interested. The hit die are d8 (or d6, DM's out there please help me decide), and they have skills mostly combat or physically oriented. I will post spell list and spells per day if anyone needs to see it. Since they draw power from in themselves I used Constitution to power spells, so fortitude is a good save. Will is good, but reflex is a poor save. Base attack bonus average, they have a better one than normal for a primary caster. Essentially I want to create a replacement for fighter/caster cross-classes, and I think that the Druid core rulebook class does not fully fulfill this requierment. Also mages will have proficiency with a mage blade (modified hand-and-a-half sword, *sigh* yes a bastard sword) a sword that stores spells and generally increases the overall power of the mage. I will eventually post the mage's spell lists spell lists but I'm to lazy and this post is already too long. I also will post special abilities, essentially empowering weapons that don't hold charges, changing spells to spell like abilities at high levels, and the like that fits into this category of my mage. I'm just too busy, and lazy to do that now.

[daggaz]

Ged was more a master of illusions and utility spells than he was doing combat buffs. (I read those books dozens of times, and im having a hard time coming up with any actual direct combat spells except his magic staff, correct me if Im wrong).

For example in the fight with the dragon wyrmlings, he binds the wings of the smaller ones so they fall into the sea and drown, and for the bigger ones he has to shapechange into a dragon and use a breathweapon and claw attacks on them.

He used mend, weather control, shape change/speak with animals, illusions, charms, summoning (rarely and usually to ill effect), and finally true creation.

Dont forget the power of true names as well, you might wanna tack on some special abilities based on that, tho they should be limited and scale with level... low levels he gets lots of ranger/druidic like powers over nature (call animal for example) by learning common names at each level. Mid levels he learns some more powerful names every other level or so, with study. High levels he learns two or three powerful names only with the proper research in a good mage library.

Saves, he has high will, high fortitude, and poor reflex. He has d6 hitpoints... he wasn't a frail weakling, but he wasn't especially big and hardy, either.

He is proficient in the quarterstaff, staves, and simple weapons. I dont remember him ever using a sword, but if he did, it would be light.

You got his spellcasting spot on, spontaneous based on con.

[Hiest, monkey]

I wasn't going for a directly earthsea type thing just mostly for the spontaneous con, more proficiencies, and not utterly defensless in battle. In fact I tryed to modify it just a little to fit in more with the whole d&d world, specifically my campaign setting, I just thought Ged with a tapered slightly curving sword would just be a real "oh crap I'm gonna run in the other direction, like now!" I figured that in the D&D world with its lax fighter power needed some class that focused magically on battle, not just about everything else too. If anyone would like to view/steal my stats for this class I can post them, I am downright asking for suggestions.

[Hiest, monkey]

I'm sorry for both the double post, and that I haven't posted anything on the class despite the *snicker* 75% poll that is asking me to do so. Three out of four, technically it's 75%! I will post it maybe before 7 AM tomorrow, or after 4:30 PM.

[The Mormegil]

The warmage is extra-focused on blasts, your class is extra-focused on buffs. You can use that as a basic, only substitute Metamagic feats with Weapon Focus and so on and the extra damages due to Int bonus with a best weapon proficiency. The armor proficiency is good enough as it is, requiring a feat to use Heavy armours. Cut out some feats and the Improved Learning to get a good Bab. Fortitude saves won't be good, but the class works for me. If you want, use the bard spell progression, not the list, and get a d8 HD instead.

Don't use Con: magic must be based on a mental ability score. Cha is good for it.

[Aramil Liadon]

I like the concept, can't wait to see the crunch. But if you are only looking for the fighter-mage or the truenamer, then there's the truenamer class (!!! It's so creative) and the binder. However, I'd love to see a class that lets me play as a non-squishy arcane caster.

[Hiest, monkey]

Hey druids aren't squishy! I was going to say that the whole point of the class was to use magic from inside, not mental powers, so how are "people skills (cha)" going to increase combat magic? And dude with the lizard avatar, I was actually only loosely basing it on Ged, I do think that making magic con unbalances hitpoints, and that's cheep, dude with the wizard dude avatar help me balance this, you obviously know what you're doing. I am not being sarcastic, me needs help(only been playing for like a year). The "crunch" or at least the spell list, up to 6th level spells will be revealed when I get around to typing them, round 7:35 today, so sit tight, I invented some new ones, so I will post their descriptions, still no name for my class?(mage sounds stupid frankly)

[Hiest, monkey]

3 2 - - - - - - -
4 3 - - - - - - -
4 3 2 - - - - - -
5 4 2 - - - - - -
5 4 3 2 - - - - -
5 4 3 3 - - - - -
6 4 3 3 2 - - - -
6 4 4 3 2 - - - -
6 5 5 4 3 - - - -
6 5 5 4 3 2 - - -
6 5 5 4 4 2 - - -
6 6 6 5 4 3 2 - -
6 6 6 5 4 3 2 - -
6 6 6 5 5 4 3 2 -
6 6 6 6 5 4 4 3 2
6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3
6 6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4
6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Teaser! I still need to type up the spell list, then I'll type up special class abilities. I was thinking maybe let the mage take up a spell slot higher than the spell's level with a spell-like ability(permanently, sort of like an archmage), at level 6 and up, for one spell, please help with technicalities. This is the spells per day list, use the sorceror's spells known list for spells known.

[Matthew]

Why use a Vancian Spell Slot System for an Earthsea type Spell Caster?

[The Mormegil]

Having a 9 levels arane spell list is a biiiiiig advantage, even if you haven't the flexibility of arcane spellcasters. The Archmage thing is REALLY powerful: most of your spells last really long and you have many spells per day... Think about it: you won't use many spells, 'cause you will fight in melee, in the end.
Sacrificing a slot isn't a great cost after all...

Remember that you are creating an arcane spellcaster, so compare it with other arcane spellcasters, like bard and warmage, not to divine casters.

I have in mind a skatch of the class, but I need to know what special abilities you want to have.

[Rad]

Yes, that is a lot of spells... Personally, I think that the thing you have in mind is something close to the Duskblade *with maybe a couple of touches to the spell list.
Keep also in mind that if you make it COS based that is a HUGE advantage! Hit points will be abundant (more than a fighter) even with d6 as d6+4 has the same average of a d14 (if it existed) and COS/buffs will also bring that up too.
I would reccomend to tie the class features to the abilities so as to make him need at least some INT as well... a brute spellcaster is just too sad.

Ah, and I do appreciate Earthsea a lot, and I agree that this concept is totally NOT what I'd call an Earthsea mage.