Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Bluntaxe 01-04-06, 11:02 AM	While this is a class, it is primarily a new spellcasting method (so mods, move to Magic area if you feel it is more appropriate). I've never liked the idea of a wizard 'forgetting' spells. Spell-points systems have had varying results for different people, however this system is a bit different. I've always envisioned a wizard as someone who taps into the magical realm and unleashes and controls that magic. The whole 'forgetting' is a good balancing feature, however I feel the wizard should still be able to cast those spells in a pinch. So, I came up with the idea of 'attunement'. In this slightly altered system, the spellcaster has 'attunement' with the plane of magic. When a caster is attune to a spell they are able to cast it without much risk. As they cast spells, they lose attunement, however not the ability to cast the spell. Casting without being 'attune' however becomes dangerous. Higher level spells are a lot more difficult to re-cast as a balancing tool. This is an example class based primarily off the Wizard. It uses the idea of even low-level wizards using staves, wands etc to help cast their spells. The Arcane Incantations is an idea inspired roughly off of the Unearthed Arcana incantations, to spruce up the class as it advances in levels, including moving the familiar ability to it. I'd appreciate any thoughts/feedback. ARCANE CHANNELER An arcane channeler channels magic through wands, staves or in a pinch themselves. Unlike the wizard, he need not memorize a spell, nor does she forget them once cast. Instead she uses her preferred focus to conduit magic into the form of a spell. Alignment: Any. Hit Die: d4. Class Skills The arcane channeler’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). See Chapter 4: Skills for skill descriptions. Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x4. Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier. Table: The Arcane Channeler ---------- Attuned Spells --------- Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Eschew Material, Focus, Arcane incantation 2 1 - - - - - - - - 2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Arcane incantation 2 2 - - - - - - - - 3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 3 2 1 - - - - - - - 4th +2 +1 +1 +4 Bonus Feat 3 2 2 - - - - - - - 5th +2 +1 +1 +4 4 3 2 1 - - - - - - 6th +3 +2 +2 +5 Arcane incantation 4 3 2 2 - - - - - - 7th +3 +2 +2 +5 4 3 2 2 1 - - - - - 8th +4 +2 +2 +6 Bonus Feat 4 3 2 2 2 - - - - - 9th +4 +3 +3 +6 4 4 3 2 2 1 - - - - 10th +5 +3 +3 +7 Arcane incantation 4 4 3 2 2 2 - - - - 11th +5 +3 +3 +7 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 - - - 12th +6/+1 +4 +4 +8 Bonus Feat 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 - - - 13th +6/+1 +4 +4 +8 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 - - 14th +7/+2 +4 +4 +9 Arcane incantation 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 - - 15th +7/+2 +5 +5 +9 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 - 16th +8/+3 +5 +5 +10 Bonus Feat 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 - 17th +8/+3 +5 +5 +10 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 18th +9/+4 +6 +6 +11 Arcane incantation 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 19th +9/+4 +6 +6 +11 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 20th +10/+5 +6 +6 +12 Bonus Feat 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 Class Features All of the following are class features of the arcane channeler. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Arcane channelers are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with an arcane channeler’s movements, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail. Spells: Arcane channelers cast spells as arcane formulas of words and gestures sometimes requiring a material component. More difficult spell formulas are learned as the arcane channeler progresses. An arcane channeler casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the sorcerer/ arcane channeler spell list. An arcane channeler may cast any spell they have learned. When an arcane channeler casts a spell, he opens a connection to the plane of magic, channeling that energy into a spell. This is most often done with the aid of a wand, staff or other focal point for the magic, however the arcane channeler may use their own body as a focal point, risking pain and death. Any spell learned may be cast at any time, however if the arcane channeler is not attuned to the spell, it becomes dangerous. An arcane channeler is attuned to a number of spells based on their level. These spells do not have to be predetermined or memorized. Casting a spell causes the arcane channeler to lose attunement with that spell for the duration of the spell + 1 hour for each level of the spell. If a spell’s duration is permanent, attunement is instead lost until the arcane channeler has rested for a full day. If an arcane channeler has no attunement slots available for a spell level, they lose attunement to all spells of that spell level. Example: If an arcane channeler knew the spells sleep, burning hands and mage armor, and had two 1st level attunement slots they could cast any two of the three spells without harm. If they cast sleep, they would lose attunement with that spell and still have one attunement slot available to cast either burning hands or mage armor. If the arcane channeler then cast mage armor, they would then lose their last 1st level attunement slot. The arcane channeler would then have to wait for one of their attunement slots to become available to safely cast another 1st level spell. To learn, or cast a spell, the arcane channeler must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an arcane channeler’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the arcane channeler’s Intelligence modifier. An arcane channeler can cast only spells they have learned, and must follow the attunement rules. Her spell attunement slots are given on Table: The Arcane Channeler. In addition, she receives bonus attunement slots if she has a high Intelligence score. Unlike a bard or sorcerer, an arcane channeler may know any number of spells. Casting spells when not attuned: If an arcane channeler attempts to cast a spell when not attuned, they risk the chaos of uncontrolled or wild magic. The arcane channeler must make a spellcraft check with a DC of 20 + two times the spell’s level, in order to cast the spell. The arcane channeler may read the spell from their spellbook to gain a +2 equipment bonus to this check. If the check succeeds the spell takes affect normally, and the arcane channeler becomes fatigued for 1 hour. If the spellcraft check fails the caster takes 1d8 damage, +2 per level of the spell and a wild magic effect occurs. (see chart X Wild Magic Effects). In either case the arcane channeler loses attunement with that spell permanently or until the arcane channeler performs the attune incantation (see attune incantation). Bonus Languages: An arcane channeler may substitute Draconic for one of the bonus languages available to the character because of her race. Focus: An arcane channeler obtains at 1st level a magical focus that she casts spells, with somatic components, through. The spellcaster’s mentor or magic school gives this focus to the caster and may be a wand, staff or amulet. The chosen focus may be used in place of any focus component found in a spell’s description. Other focuses may be used, with your DM’s permission. An arcane channeler casting a spell with somatic components without their focus must make a successful spellcraft check in order to cast the spell. The DC of the check is equal to 15 plus twice the level of the spell. If they fail, they unleash a wild magic effect. See chart Wild Magic Effects. If the spell the arcane channeler is attempting to cast has a focus component and she has that focus, she does not need to make this spellcraft check. Eschew Material: At 1st level, an arcane channeler gains Eschew Material as a bonus feat. Arcane Incantation (Su): At 1st, 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th and 18th level, an arcane channeler gains an arcane incantation. At each such opportunity, she can choose any arcane incantation she has the prerequisites for. Bonus Feats: At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th and 20th level, an arcane channeler gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity, she can choose a metamagic feat, or an item creation feat, or Spell Mastery. The arcane channeler must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including caster level minimums. These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. The arcane channeler is not limited to the categories of item creation feats, metamagic feats, or Spell Mastery when choosing these feats. Spellbooks: An arcane channeler cannot cast any spell she has not recorded in her spellbook. An arcane channeler learns a spell once they successfully scribe a spell into a spellbook they own. The spellbook is not needed to attune the spells or memorize them each day (however may be required for re-attunement when using the attunement incantation). Once an arcane channeler knows a spell, he never forgets it and may cast it at any time (following the attunement rules). An arcane channeler begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level arcane channeler spells (except those from her prohibited school or schools, if any; see School Specialization, below) plus three 1st-level spells of your choice. For each point of Intelligence bonus the arcane channeler has, the spellbook holds one additional 1st-level spell of your choice. At each new arcane channeler level, she gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new arcane channeler level) for her spellbook. At any time, an arcane channeler can also add spells found in other arcane channelers’ spellbooks to her own. SCHOOL SPECIALIZATION A school is one of eight groupings of spells, each defined by a common theme. If desired, a arcane channeler may specialize in one school of magic (see below). Specialization allows a arcane channeler to become better attuned to their chosen school, but she then may never become attuned to spells from some other schools. A specialist arcane channeler gains one additional attunement slot of her specialty school per spell level each day. This special attunement slot only functions with spells of her chosen school. She also gains a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks to learn the spells of her chosen school. The arcane channeler must choose whether to specialize and, if she does so, choose her specialty at 1st level. At this time, she must also give up two other schools of magic (unless she chooses to specialize in divination; see below), which become her prohibited schools. A arcane channeler can never give up divination to fulfill this requirement. Spells of the prohibited school or schools are not available to the arcane channeler, and she can’t even cast such spells from scrolls or fire them from wands. The arcane channeler has completely lost attunement with the chosen schools. She may not change either her specialization or her prohibited schools later. The eight schools of arcane magic are abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, and transmutation. Spells that do not fall into any of these schools are called universal spells. Abjuration: Spells that protect, block, or banish. An abjuration specialist is called an abjurer. Conjuration: Spells that bring creatures or materials to the caster. A conjuration specialist is called a conjurer. Divination: Spells that reveal information. A divination specialist is called a diviner. Unlike the other specialists, a diviner must give up only one other school. Enchantment: Spells that imbue the recipient with some property or grant the caster power over another being. An enchantment specialist is called an enchanter. Evocation: Spells that manipulate energy or create something from nothing. An evocation specialist is called an evoker. Illusion: Spells that alter perception or create false images. An illusion specialist is called an illusionist. Necromancy: Spells that manipulate, create, or destroy life or life force. A necromancy specialist is called a necromancer. Transmutation: Spells that transform the recipient physically or change its properties in a more subtle way. A transmutation specialist is called a transmuter. Universal: Not a school, but a category for spells that all arcane channelers can learn. An arcane channeler cannot select universal as a specialty school or as a prohibited school. Only a limited number of spells fall into this category. ARCANE SPELLS AND ARMOR Arcane channelers do not know how to wear armor effectively. If desired, they can wear armor anyway (though they’ll be clumsy in it), or they can gain training in the proper use of armor (with the various Armor Proficiency feats-light, medium, and heavy-and the Shield Proficiency feat), or they can multiclass to add a class that grants them armor proficiency. Even if an arcane channeler or sorcerer is wearing armor with which he or she is proficient, however, it might still interfere with spellcasting. Armor restricts the complicated gestures that an arcane channeler must make while casting any spell that has a somatic component (most do). The armor and shield descriptions list the arcane spell failure chance for different armors and shields. If a spell doesn’t have a somatic component, an arcane spellcaster can cast it with no problem while wearing armor. Such spells can also be cast even if the caster’s hands are bound or if he or she is grappling (although Concentration checks still apply normally). Also, the metamagic feat Still Spell allows a spellcaster to prepare or cast a spell at one spell level higher than normal without the somatic component. This also provides a way to cast a spell while wearing armor without risking arcane spell failure. Here are a few sample incantations Attunement Incantation Spellcraft DC: 5 Material: Incense costing 5cp. Benefit: A spellcaster who has permanently lost attunement with a spell must perform this incantation to again become attune with that spell. To perform this incantation, the spellcaster draws an arcane circle around them, and meditates for an hour while inhaling burning incense. The incense can easily be obtained, costing 5cp. An arcane channeler requires their spellbook with the appropriate spell to perform this incantation. A runic blade requires their blade with the appropriate spell to perform this incantation. Create Focus Spellcraft DC: 5 Material: non-magical wand, staff or amulet (magical versions may also be used) Benefit: Choose wand, staff or amulet (Your GM may allow other choices). By unleashing magical energies into the appropriate device you are able to attune the chosen item to useable as a focus for the channeler. This process takes an hour and requires a non-magical wand, staff or amulet to become the focus. A focus is finalized by using it to cast a spell with. Once a channeler uses a focus, they become attuned to that focus and may not use any other focus. Other spellcasters also cannot use the focus until this incantation has been preformed again. Special: A runic blade instead uses a bladed weapon (one chosen type) as the subject of the focus they are creating. This requires appropriate tools to carve the necessary runes into the blade and requires a Craft (Weapons) check of DC 15 to succeed. Rune Caster Requirement: Create Focus Spellcraft DC: 7 Benefit: This incantation is performed much as the create focus incantation is, however instead of an item the magical energies are unleashed upon the caster’s body. The magical energies leave behind magical runic tattoos upon the body that become the caster’s focus. A runic blade may use this incantation. Summon Familiar Spellcraft DC: 5 Benefit: The spellcaster is able to summon a familiar as described in the PHB.
Damionte 01-04-06, 11:09 AM	Sound skinda interesting so far. It's a bit much to read this early in the morning though. I'll get back to you later.
Xabre 01-04-06, 11:16 AM	Well, the way I see it is that you basically said that wizards can recast spells 1hr +1 hr/spell level later. Beyond that, you really haven't changed much. You still need a spellbook (?), specialization is still an option, you still have somatic components, you still have material components (the focus item), you still have Focus components.
Bluntaxe 01-04-06, 11:28 AM	Well, the way I see it is that you basically said that wizards can recast spells 1hr +1 hr/spell level later. Beyond that, you really haven't changed much. You still need a spellbook (?), specialization is still an option, you still have somatic components, you still have material components (the focus item), you still have Focus components. The idea wasn't to change too much. The idea was to alter the spellcasting and 'replace' the wizard. The Focus item, over the material components is more a flavor thing. Instead of carrying a bunch of little odds and ends, you have one focus. If you will note, the focus is also not required to cast the spell. Also, you can re-cast spells more than the 1hr +1 hr/spell level, you summed it all up to be. Read the section, 'casting without attunement'.
Bluntaxe 01-06-06, 06:22 PM	:bump: