Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Crimson Hellkite 04-24-04, 09:35 PM	CASHCASTER http://www.ffcompendium.com/~Skylark/ff10/Ginnem.jpg The cleric walked forward in the huge temple of Pelor. Despite being the sun god, his holy site was dark... the town was in despair. The cleric sighed, and looked down. “We killed the evil mage and claimed the relic he stole... but we need to destroy it, so that no other evil can claim it. And, the relic has stolen all the money from the town. They will starve.” The druid moved forward, and raised the giant staff into the air. “Curse this staff! It caused many deaths, and if we cannot destroy it, it will surely cause more...” The druid grimly dropped it to the floor. “That mage killed two birds with one stone. His cult will find it and continue to make use of it, and the town is doomed.” A finely dressed man then walked into the temple. He wore golden robes, with beads and pearls hanging all around him, and a round hat on his dark head. He did not look up, and his foot steps made no sound. He slowly bent over and picked up the staff, and moved forward. The cleric turned and saw the symbol of Pelor on his chest. The mage walked forward to the head statue of Pelor, and dropped to his knees. He began praying, and suddenly, a blue bubble surrounded the staff. It rose, and with a flash of light, disappeared, with gold flooding the room. The mage stood up, and said in a low-pitched voice, “you can thank me later.” Hit Die: d4. Requirements To qualify to become a cashcaster, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Feats: Diligent. Skills: Appraise 8 ranks, diplomacy 8 ranks, spellcraft 7 ranks. Spells: The cashcaster must be able to cast arcane mark. Whenever he uses this spell, he creates an emblem. The emblem is usually his patron deity's symbol next to a custom icon, but may be something else. In addition, he must be able to cast 3rd level arcane spells. Special: Cashcasters must worship (or, be an ally of) a god or goddess. Class Skills The cashcasters’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Speak Language (n/a), and Spellcraft (Int). Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier. TABLE: THE CASHCASTER Base Fort Ref Will Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special Spells per Day 1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Magical Sacrifice, Copper Exchange +1 level of existing class 2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Costly Casting +1 +1 level of existing class 3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Money Magic, Penny Arcane +1 level of existing class 4th +2 +1 +1 +4 Costly Casting +2 +1 level of existing class 5th +2 +1 +1 +4 Silver Exchange, Who Needs Magic Components? +1 level of existing class 6th +3 +2 +2 +5 Costly Casting +3 +1 level of existing class 7th +3 +2 +2 +5 Summon Greedy Monster +1 level of existing class 8th +4 +2 +2 +6 Costly Casting +4 +1 level of existing class 9th +4 +3 +3 +6 -- +1 level of existing class 10th +5 +3 +3 +7 Gold Exchange, Costly Casting +5 +1 level of existing class Class Features All of the following are features of the cashcaster prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Cashcasters gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor. Spells per Day/Spells Known: When a new cashcaster level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in whatever spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of cashcaster to the level of whatever other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before he became a cashcaster, he must decide to which class he adds each level of cashcaster for the purpose of determining spells per day. Magical Sacrifice (Su): Cashcasters may sacrifice any magical items to a temple and recieve money equal to the market price of the sacrificed item. Only the magical bonus cost is included in this price, however, the base cost of the item is lost. This requires one day of praying for every thousand gold the item is worth, to a minimum of one day and a maximum of one month. Using this ability usually requires a donation to the head priest of the temple, almost always 10GP for each day of prayer. In addition, by also paying 1/25th of the cost in experience points, a cashcaster may sacrifice the item in a mere one round. If this would cost enough experience so that you would lose a level, you cannot make the sacrifice in this fashion. Copper Exchange: A cashcaster may strike a deal with their patron deity. The cashcaster may give up essence, or experience points, in exchange for 25 copper per point. You cannot give up enough experience so that you would lose a level in this way. The exchange takes exactly one hour, and is usually done inside temples. If there is no local temple, an altar case¶ is required. The temple need not be of his patron deity, but of a similar alignment instead. Costly Casting (Su): A 2nd level cashcaster may pay 500GP worth of money times the spell level to add one to the DC of an evocation spell. If the cashcaster casts spells by preparing them, he may only use this ability to a spell he memorized. Treat level 0 spells as if they were 1/2 of a spell level. Every two levels thereafter, the bonus to the DC increases by one. Money Magic (Su): A 3rd level cashcaster may pay 100GP worth of money to increase his caster level by one for ten minutes. If you use this multiple times, the affects do not stack. Penny Arcane (Sp): A 3rd level cashcaster may cast the spell glitterdust at will as a spell-like ability. Casting it in this fashion costs 1CP. It is cast as a sorcerer equal to the cashcaster's character level. In addition, he may use this to see the true quality of an item. Whenever a cashcaster sprinkles the dust on an item, he gets a +4 competence bonus to appraise checks. Silver Exchange: A 5th level cashcaster may strike a deal with their patron deity. The cashcaster may give up essence, or experience points, in exchange for 25 silver per point. You cannot give up enough experience so that you would lose a level in this way. The exchange takes exactly one hour, and is usually done inside temples. If there is no local temple, an altar case¶ is required. The temple need not be of his patron deity, but of a similar alignment instead. Who Needs Magic Components? (Su): A 5th level cashcaster need not use material components. Instead, he may merely pay the component's cost in money directly from his inventory. Summon Greedy Monster (Su): Whenever a 7th level cashcaster casts a summon monster spell, he may pay 550GP per spell level worth of money to treat the spell as if the monster summoned was of a summon monster spell one higher. For example, if a cashcaster casts summon monster V and pays 2750GP, treat the monster as if he had cast summon monster VI instead. You may not pay an additional amount of money to increase the number by two or more. For all purposes except for the monster summoned, treat the spell as if the cashcaster had casted the unadjusted spell (in the previous example, you're summoning a monster as summon monster VI, but for all other purposes, it is cast as a summon monster V spell). Also know that if you summon a chaotic monster, or a monster that is on the opposite side of the morale axis as you (i.e. you are good, and the summoned creature is evil), there is a 25% chance the monster will simply leave upon taking your money (you cannot get it back). If this is the case, roll a d% die to see if this happens. Gold Exchange: A 10th level cashcaster may strike a deal with their patron deity. The cashcaster may give up essence, or experience points, in exchange for 5 gold per point. You cannot give up enough experience so that you would lose a level in this way. The exchange takes exactly one hour, and is usually done inside temples. If there is no local temple, an altar case¶ is required. The temple need not be of his patron deity, but of a similar alignment instead. ¶ See Defenders of the Faith.
Rinian2 04-25-04, 01:45 AM	This is strange. The Cashcaster sacrifices the ability to go up levels as quickly for money. At least the very least the abilities Copper Exchange, Silver Exchange, and Gold Exchange drain away his experience points. I'd suggest that the money recieved should only work for the Cashcaster's abilities. Also, in my opinion, the ability's name and actual effect need a touch up. I'd call them Lesser Essence Exchange, Essence Exchange, and Greater Essence Exchange. The Lesser ability would exchange 100xp for 25 Essence Pieces. The middle one would convert 10xp into 25 Essence Pieces, and the Greater ability would be a straight 1 for 25. And why would the Cashcaster's deity pay him money for magic items? It doesn't sound like a sacrifice if he is recieving full market value in return. I'd suggest returning only half the market value, and even then, as I mentioned above, the money recieved should only work for the Cashcaster's abilities. Of course, any money the Cashcaster already has would convert into Essence Pieces at a rate of 1gp to 1 Essence Piece.
Crimson Hellkite 04-25-04, 10:35 AM	I'm not exactly sure why you think I should change the names of the abilities. Magical Sacrifice works just as the Oriental Adventure's version of the samurai's Ancestral daisho ability: you pray and sacrfice items to bring magic to an item. Only, instead of an enchantment, you're getting gold. I'd suggest that the money recieved should only work for the Cashcaster's abilities. Why?
rogue_lettuce 04-25-04, 10:52 AM	i dont agree with rinian2 at all:)
Crimson Hellkite 04-25-04, 11:39 AM	C'mon. Anyone with any criticism once-so-ever?
Cardinal Teplin 04-25-04, 02:37 PM	It assumes the existence of fluid captial in a medieval setting? Basically, you're assuming cash as a resource. Its not terribly medieval. I invented a caste of illusionist photographers that have the same problem. It works fine in a high magic or renaissance type setting, but otherwise its out of paradigm. And inflationary... On a more practical note, it makes the caster absurdly wealthy. 1xp=25gp is really quite a lot of money. The end result is that the caster is never going to run out of money, although he may end up being slightly lower level. The creating of character that is more powerful, albiet lower level than everyone else is kinda game breaking. CRs are calculated on the basis of level, not power. If you are loaded up with advantages bought using this class, and are lower level as a result, then you may not be any less able, but are basically subverting the xp system to your own advantage. This extra xp could then be turned into gold, and you end up in a vicious cycle. This wouldn't be a problem in a campaign world where there wasn't really anything useful to buy, but I suspect that isn't what you had in mind. The other, more minor subversion going on is that items frequency is calculated on the basis that its only worth 1/2 price unless the players can use it. Getting full price for items means getting a systematic advantage, which isn't what class abilties should be doing. The annoying thing is that you've done it really well, the idea has much more flavour that it would first appear. But it does break the game system. And ultimately, it would break the game world.
Crimson Hellkite 04-25-04, 03:19 PM	You'll be, at least, 15th level by the time you get 25GP for one XP, so I'm not too worried about having too much money. By then, you'll be richer than Bill friggin' Gates anyway.
Stirge 04-25-04, 09:36 PM	I like the concept of this PrC, and I think it is nicely done and thought out, but I still think it is a bit overpowered. Including skills like Appraise and Diplomacy in the skill requirement is a good thought, as it doesn't allow the caster to have all his caster levels if he wants all 10 levels in this PrC-forcing him to multiclass into something like bard or rogue. It definately helps balance things, but since this PrC is made for a multiclassed character, and poor BAB and 2 poor saves are pretty bad enough I'd bump up the HD to d6. Furthermore, since they have a pretty big skill list I'd bump up skill points to 4+Int mod instead. A much too powerful ability would be the Costly Casting ability-not only does it give them near-infinite spells per day (especially paired with their abilities), but it increases their DC by up to 5! Note that in 3.5e, it requires a feat just to move a single school's worth of spells DC up by 1, or 2 for an increase of 2. The previous Spell Powers, that added a similar amount have been reduced to merely increasing the caster level of the spell-due for the same reason that I suggest limiting this more-it's simply unbalanced due stacking DC issues. Money Magic is also a pretty strong ability, for its cost. I would move the duration down to 10 minutes, so that it wouldn't require just 200 gold to benefit from it for a whole adventure. I would also note the type of action it would take-perhaps standard or full round. The exchanges, as per above, are more than a bit too powerful in your average, high powered campaign where you can buy mid to high level magical items-not at first, but it becomes a growing problem as more levels in the PrC are taken. Take for example the Wish spell, which allows you, among other things, to gain a nonmagical item of up to 25,000 gold in value-a mere fifth of what it takes to get Gold Exchange, assuming both sacrifice 5,000 XP. Wish is a 9th level spell, meaning that if a Sorcerer wants to cast it, he'd have to sacrifice 1 of his 3 precious spell slots-and while Wish has other capabilities, it's steep XP cost makes it highly unlikely that it would be used more than once every two or three game sessions, if even that-making it a highly unreasonable spell for a spellcaster. My fix to the gold exchange ability would be to start out giving 50 copper per XP, followed by 25 silver per XP, followed by 10 gold per XP-still making it stronger than Wish in that aspect. The ability to use Costly Casting and not lose a spell level is enough to merit it as a pretty strong ability at level 2, and then maybe give it +1 and +2 DCs at higher levels of the PrC, but that'd be it. A small fix also would be the Summon Greedy Monster-not because it is overpowered but because should the caster of this PrC be able to use Summon Monster IX, the question is not answered of what happens. Instead of making a whole other list for the equiv of Summon Monster X, which would be silly IMO, I would just note that he may summon 1d3 monsters of the Summon Monster IX list or 1d3+1 of any list lower. Other than that, I think the PrC is just fine as is, and again, I compliment you for coming up with some very interesting abilities.
Crimson Hellkite 04-25-04, 10:12 PM	Okay, increase the cost for Costly Casting, Money Magic, and Summon Greedy Monster? By how much?
Stirge 04-25-04, 10:27 PM	The costs are in line but their strengths are a bit overboard I think, I gave my reasons as to why and my fixes in the above post, although that's just a suggestion.
Crimson Hellkite 04-27-04, 03:01 PM	:bump:
virtualone 04-28-04, 08:35 AM	i think he should not be allowed to cast spells higher than his highest-level spell level with "summon greedy monster". if his maximum spell level is 5 he should be allowed to bump a S.M. from 4 to 5 but not from 5 to 6.
Crimson Hellkite 04-28-04, 06:11 PM	Then there would be no point to the ability, really. And, I just added a new ability: Penny Arcane.
def_mornahan 04-30-04, 05:41 PM	It's weird...that is of course it's charm...it does carry the likelihood of turning a campaign into a joke campaign (a la "brassiere of air elemental control", "helm of 40-watt brilliance", and so forth). It sounds like an amusing NPC class. I do find it utterly bizarre that the PrC requires worship of a god. Not bad, just bizarre. I wouldn't ever have written that into it, and I would never encourage or probably even allow Pelor (or most other deities) as a sponsor. This is really the specific portfolio of deities of trade, wealth, greed, profligacy, etc. Maybe Yondalla or Moradin could get on board, but that's about as far as I could go. Just for flavor, shouldn't "penny arcane" cost 1 cp? Also, mostly as flavor, perhaps on the last round of "greedy monster summoning" the monster should actually return to the caster and grab his payment... Finally, I don't clearly understand the "costly casting" ability. When is the money sacrificed? I would think that it should be done at memorization (basically it's a metamagic "feat" that doesn't raise the spell level and costs money instead), or as a full-round action for a bard or sorcerer.
Crimson Hellkite 04-30-04, 09:26 PM	It's weird...that is of course it's charm...it does carry the likelihood of turning a campaign into a joke campaign (a la "brassiere of air elemental control", "helm of 40-watt brilliance", and so forth). It sounds like an amusing NPC class. Ever watch Inuyasha? Think Miroku. I do find it utterly bizarre that the PrC requires worship of a god. Not bad, just bizarre. I wouldn't ever have written that into it, and I would never encourage or probably even allow Pelor (or most other deities) as a sponsor. This is really the specific portfolio of deities of trade, wealth, greed, profligacy, etc. Maybe Yondalla or Moradin could get on board, but that's about as far as I could go. All gods are racing to become more powerful. For every exchange with the cashcaster, they become slightly more powerful. IMO, they would actually incourage mages to become cashcasters, seeing as how they can pretty much make gold as they please. Just for flavor, shouldn't "penny arcane" cost 1 cp? Good thought. I'll edit that in. Also, mostly as flavor, perhaps on the last round of "greedy monster summoning" the monster should actually return to the caster and grab his payment... It's like Planar Blinding, you give them the money the second they come. Actually, you've made me think of something; if you summon a chaotic monster (or of oppose alignment), what's stopping them from just leaving? Finally, I don't clearly understand the "costly casting" ability. When is the money sacrificed? While you're casting the spell. Think of the money as an added material component. I would think that it should be done at memorization (basically it's a metamagic "feat" that doesn't raise the spell level and costs money instead), or as a full-round action for a bard or sorcerer. That would really make it useless to sorcerers, and since Costly Casting is the main perk of this class (other than exchange)...
Crimson Hellkite 05-13-04, 06:36 PM	:bump:
Mindshred 05-22-04, 10:34 AM	Going to use a modified version of this PrC for a specialty priest for my god of trade and commerce, just what i was looking for! I'll make the spellcasting levels divine only, and follow the 50 cp / 25 sp/ 10 gp idea as stated above, and let you know how it goes. Hmm....too bad the class doesn't gain an ability to use all those coins as weapons, ala Setzer in FF3. Coin Toss! :D
Nuntius128 07-06-04, 03:05 AM	I think it's one of the most different PrC's I've seen, while maintaining its usability and potential for success. This could spawn some very interesting NPC's, and perhaps even an interesting clan of cashcasters... ahh, possibilities...
Mindshred 07-06-04, 04:02 PM	One of my players was flipping through my allowed prestige classes, and about did a double take when he saw my modified version of this class: "Whoa! You sell your xp to your goddess? That's....wow, can I reroll as a cleric?" :bow: Kudos to Crimson Hellkite!!! :bow: EDIT: Still can't spell >.<
Crimson Hellkite 07-10-04, 07:03 AM	Hellkite... :twitch: You might also want to look at my spellbreaker in my sig.
Crimson Hellkite 07-11-04, 03:49 AM	Nevermind.