Arcane Architect [Archive] - Wizards Community

Arcane Architect [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
bluetooth
03-19-08, 01:53 PM hey

I'm having some trouble designing this PrC for my setting. I'm trying to make a 5 level PrC that accounts for the enormous structures in my world. At the same time, I would like it to be balanced enough to put in the PCs hands. I'm considering creating an incantation that provides the basics for creating buildings and make that a major requirement for the class.

Beyond that, I'm not really sure how much is ok to put in the PCs hands, since this is the furthest thing from blasting your enemies with eldritch energy or slashing them to pieces. One ability I'm considering is sacrificing spell slots to speed up construction, but I don't know where to draw the line with that. I'm also considering requiring an expensive arcane focus that is required for all their abilities. The Arcane Architect is also a master of making other mundane items besides buildings, but this is secondary to the creation of structures.

The real problem I'm struggling with is how to make is safe to put in the players hands without it being game breaking. Some of that may come down to legal restrictions but I don't want this class outshining (or being out-shined by) anyone else. If I could just get some help getting started I'd really appreciate it. Normally I don't have this much trouble, but this is a pretty out-there concept so how to balance it isn't immediately clear to me. (especially considering that I want structures to be built fast enough to not slow the PCs down too much)

Thanks
Johnathan_Vagabond
03-19-08, 05:34 PM I think theres a lot that you can do with this kind of thing, that will still be useful for the PCs. Here's a quick version I'm thinking of. (By the way, putting this on the PrC board would get you better help)

Arcane Architect
Prerequisets
-Able to cast 4th level Arcane Spells.
-Knowledge: Architecture & Engineering 8 ranks.
-Perform: Art: 8 Ranks.
-Must Possess: Elysian Papyrus and Architect's Pen (detailed below).
-Must continuously study a great work of architecture for 1 month.

Skills
Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge: All; taken separately (Int), Open Lock (Int), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points/level: 4+Int
BAB- As Wizard
Saves: Will good, Ref/Fort poor
HD: d4

Class Features
1....Assembly, Shelter, Design
2....Material Proficiency, Design
3....Material Master, Ameneties, Design
4....Material Proficiency, Design
5....Material Master, Redesign, Design

Assembly: Using the papyrus and the pen you may assemble buildings without the aid of sweat and labor. You can not create more than 100ft3 per caster level in a day and the building is constructed at a rate of 50ft3 per hour. To do you must make a Perform: Art and Knowledge: Architecture and Engineering check per hour. Failure by less than 5 means only half the work is completed, failure by more than 5 means none of the work is completed. Surpassing the check by 5 or increases your progress by 50%, while surpassing it by 10 doubles your progress. The DC for this check is 20+1 per planned 100ft3 that day (to be decided at the beginning of the Assembly).

The building is created bare bones and restricted to basic shapes (4 walls, a floor and a roof) without the proper Designs. Materials for the construction can be summoned via the Fabrication spell or by having been previously marked with the AA's arcane mark. The magic of the Elysian Papyrus requires only 50% of the materials be summoned, the other 50% are provided by the Papyrus.

Shelter: In times of need, the AA can craft crude shelters against the wind or perhaps against arrows. Using only nearby resources (within 50ft) he may create 5ft[sup3] of shelter per round which lasts for 1hr per caster level (or less upon the AA's intent. However the shelter cannot be dismissed once created). The shelter is crude and only benefits slightly from the AA's design. The AA can make a shelter 1/day per AA level. The AA cannot gather materials from buildings already in place until 5th level when he learns Redesign.

Design: The AA must learn of the many different designs to make a truely remarkable building.

-Fort: The building may include arrow slots, crenelations, and reinforced doors. Shelters may have an arrow slot.

-Tower: The building may include more than 1 floor, up to 3 per AA level. Shelters may have a raised floor.

-Temple: The building may include an alter, holy symbols, and is considered hallowed (or unhallowed) depending on the AA's chosen deity. Shelters are considered consecrated for 1 hour.

-Castle: The building may include an outer wall and a moat. Shelters may have a 10ft high wall.

-Vault: The building may include up to (1/2 AA caster level)ELs worth of traps and locked doors. Shelters may have 1 EL 1 trap.

-Zoo: The building has up to (1/2 AA caster level)HD of loyal animals guardians (friendly to AA). Shelters have 1 2HD loyal animal guardian

-Planar: Part of the building functions within an alternate plane (an established or new one). Shelter functions as a Rope Trick spell for 1 hour.

-Garden: The building can provide good food for AA's caster level worth of people per day. Shelter provides 4 good meals.

Material Proficiency: The AA must learn to use different materials on construction before he can become a master AA. All AAs begin with a knowledge of Lumber, and learn from there. (AAs from a different culture may be familiar with a different material).

-Mud: This construction method uses cheap and common materials available almost everywhere. Its availability alone is reason for an AA to use it. A side benefit is that Mud creations grant a +4 to save against extreme heat and are constructed in 1/2 normal time. Mud is weaker than other building agents though. Mud Masters create Mud buildings in a quarter the normal time.

-Stone: Preferred by all fortress makers, stone is exceptionally strong and heavy. Stone is also reasonably plentiful and generally available for purchase. Stone has more hit points and hardness than other materials. A Stone Master creates no seams, increasing its hardness by 5 and hp by 5/inch.

-Lumber: Lumber is the default building material. It is sturdy and available (in most areas). Lumber Masters need 1/2 the normal amount of lumber to construct a building.

-Magic: Magic is an unusual building material, and acts like walls of force (of any color). Magic requires the expendeture of a spell level per 10ft constructed and takes 50% longer than normal construction. Magic Masters can imbue their buildings with a 3rd level or lower spell. The spell functions as normal upon the use of a command word, and originates from any point in the building.

Material Master: The AA gains master in one material (benefits listed in materials).

Ameneties: The building is created with no more than AA caster level gp worth of objects. Shelters receive half that.

Redesign: The AA may use materials from already finished buildings for their own buildings, or may reshape parts of a building to suit their own purposes. Doing so takes at least 30 minutes.
bluetooth
03-19-08, 06:06 PM Thanks so much! Although I thought I was in the Classes and Prestige Classes board. Which board should I have posted this in?

I'm also going to try to make this compatible with the Stronghold Builder's Guide, but your version gives me a ballpark for the power level.
JaronK
03-19-08, 07:06 PM The thing is, you don't need a PrC for this. Consider what the spells Move Earth, Wall of Stone, Wall of Iron, Permanent Illusion, and Fabricate can do, especially when combined with a Lyre of Building (which a Wizard can play with an item that boosts his Perform score). An Archivist can add in Wild Growth to gain wood. Artificers have obvious advantages here too.

JaronK
Johnathan_Vagabond
03-19-08, 11:13 PM Theres a separate PrC board, you can find it in the drop down menu below the last thread post.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
bluetooth 03-19-08, 01:53 PM	hey I'm having some trouble designing this PrC for my setting. I'm trying to make a 5 level PrC that accounts for the enormous structures in my world. At the same time, I would like it to be balanced enough to put in the PCs hands. I'm considering creating an incantation that provides the basics for creating buildings and make that a major requirement for the class. Beyond that, I'm not really sure how much is ok to put in the PCs hands, since this is the furthest thing from blasting your enemies with eldritch energy or slashing them to pieces. One ability I'm considering is sacrificing spell slots to speed up construction, but I don't know where to draw the line with that. I'm also considering requiring an expensive arcane focus that is required for all their abilities. The Arcane Architect is also a master of making other mundane items besides buildings, but this is secondary to the creation of structures. The real problem I'm struggling with is how to make is safe to put in the players hands without it being game breaking. Some of that may come down to legal restrictions but I don't want this class outshining (or being out-shined by) anyone else. If I could just get some help getting started I'd really appreciate it. Normally I don't have this much trouble, but this is a pretty out-there concept so how to balance it isn't immediately clear to me. (especially considering that I want structures to be built fast enough to not slow the PCs down too much) Thanks
Johnathan_Vagabond 03-19-08, 05:34 PM	I think theres a lot that you can do with this kind of thing, that will still be useful for the PCs. Here's a quick version I'm thinking of. (By the way, putting this on the PrC board would get you better help) Arcane Architect Prerequisets -Able to cast 4th level Arcane Spells. -Knowledge: Architecture & Engineering 8 ranks. -Perform: Art: 8 Ranks. -Must Possess: Elysian Papyrus and Architect's Pen (detailed below). -Must continuously study a great work of architecture for 1 month. Skills Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge: All; taken separately (Int), Open Lock (Int), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), and Spellcraft (Int). Skill Points/level: 4+Int BAB- As Wizard Saves: Will good, Ref/Fort poor HD: d4 Class Features 1....Assembly, Shelter, Design 2....Material Proficiency, Design 3....Material Master, Ameneties, Design 4....Material Proficiency, Design 5....Material Master, Redesign, Design Assembly: Using the papyrus and the pen you may assemble buildings without the aid of sweat and labor. You can not create more than 100ft3 per caster level in a day and the building is constructed at a rate of 50ft3 per hour. To do you must make a Perform: Art and Knowledge: Architecture and Engineering check per hour. Failure by less than 5 means only half the work is completed, failure by more than 5 means none of the work is completed. Surpassing the check by 5 or increases your progress by 50%, while surpassing it by 10 doubles your progress. The DC for this check is 20+1 per planned 100ft3 that day (to be decided at the beginning of the Assembly). The building is created bare bones and restricted to basic shapes (4 walls, a floor and a roof) without the proper Designs. Materials for the construction can be summoned via the Fabrication spell or by having been previously marked with the AA's arcane mark. The magic of the Elysian Papyrus requires only 50% of the materials be summoned, the other 50% are provided by the Papyrus. Shelter: In times of need, the AA can craft crude shelters against the wind or perhaps against arrows. Using only nearby resources (within 50ft) he may create 5ft[sup3] of shelter per round which lasts for 1hr per caster level (or less upon the AA's intent. However the shelter cannot be dismissed once created). The shelter is crude and only benefits slightly from the AA's design. The AA can make a shelter 1/day per AA level. The AA cannot gather materials from buildings already in place until 5th level when he learns Redesign. Design: The AA must learn of the many different designs to make a truely remarkable building. -Fort: The building may include arrow slots, crenelations, and reinforced doors. Shelters may have an arrow slot. -Tower: The building may include more than 1 floor, up to 3 per AA level. Shelters may have a raised floor. -Temple: The building may include an alter, holy symbols, and is considered hallowed (or unhallowed) depending on the AA's chosen deity. Shelters are considered consecrated for 1 hour. -Castle: The building may include an outer wall and a moat. Shelters may have a 10ft high wall. -Vault: The building may include up to (1/2 AA caster level)ELs worth of traps and locked doors. Shelters may have 1 EL 1 trap. -Zoo: The building has up to (1/2 AA caster level)HD of loyal animals guardians (friendly to AA). Shelters have 1 2HD loyal animal guardian -Planar: Part of the building functions within an alternate plane (an established or new one). Shelter functions as a Rope Trick spell for 1 hour. -Garden: The building can provide good food for AA's caster level worth of people per day. Shelter provides 4 good meals. Material Proficiency: The AA must learn to use different materials on construction before he can become a master AA. All AAs begin with a knowledge of Lumber, and learn from there. (AAs from a different culture may be familiar with a different material). -Mud: This construction method uses cheap and common materials available almost everywhere. Its availability alone is reason for an AA to use it. A side benefit is that Mud creations grant a +4 to save against extreme heat and are constructed in 1/2 normal time. Mud is weaker than other building agents though. Mud Masters create Mud buildings in a quarter the normal time. -Stone: Preferred by all fortress makers, stone is exceptionally strong and heavy. Stone is also reasonably plentiful and generally available for purchase. Stone has more hit points and hardness than other materials. A Stone Master creates no seams, increasing its hardness by 5 and hp by 5/inch. -Lumber: Lumber is the default building material. It is sturdy and available (in most areas). Lumber Masters need 1/2 the normal amount of lumber to construct a building. -Magic: Magic is an unusual building material, and acts like walls of force (of any color). Magic requires the expendeture of a spell level per 10ft constructed and takes 50% longer than normal construction. Magic Masters can imbue their buildings with a 3rd level or lower spell. The spell functions as normal upon the use of a command word, and originates from any point in the building. Material Master: The AA gains master in one material (benefits listed in materials). Ameneties: The building is created with no more than AA caster level gp worth of objects. Shelters receive half that. Redesign: The AA may use materials from already finished buildings for their own buildings, or may reshape parts of a building to suit their own purposes. Doing so takes at least 30 minutes.
bluetooth 03-19-08, 06:06 PM	Thanks so much! Although I thought I was in the Classes and Prestige Classes board. Which board should I have posted this in? I'm also going to try to make this compatible with the Stronghold Builder's Guide, but your version gives me a ballpark for the power level.
JaronK 03-19-08, 07:06 PM	The thing is, you don't need a PrC for this. Consider what the spells Move Earth, Wall of Stone, Wall of Iron, Permanent Illusion, and Fabricate can do, especially when combined with a Lyre of Building (which a Wizard can play with an item that boosts his Perform score). An Archivist can add in Wild Growth to gain wood. Artificers have obvious advantages here too. JaronK
Johnathan_Vagabond 03-19-08, 11:13 PM	Theres a separate PrC board, you can find it in the drop down menu below the last thread post.