Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sisyfos 07-17-04, 03:48 AM	Greetings all, I've been reading through AU for some possible back-up characters and I've found magister to be a nice spellcaster with a good mix of divine-type and arcane spells. Designing one is hard though as I am pretty unfamiliar with the CO options of magisters. What I would like to accomplish is a sturdy and capable support+offensive character. For race I've been thinking perhaps loresong (small fairie with -2 str, +2 int creature and no LA). For feat progression this might be ok? 1) Eldritch training, Improved initiative 3) Modify spell 5) * Energy mage (electricity) 6) Quicken spell 9) Creator mage 10) * Free 12) Craft constant item About PrC: They work a bit differently in AU spellcasting system it seems. The spryte levels, which I'd like otherwise do not add to spell level progression it seems, but only to casterlevel. This makes them a terrible choice for a spellcaster. In the basic system there are no Prcs and I am uncertain with the magister's compatibility (RP-wise) with WoTC source PrCs. Are there some interesting PrCs in the Diamond throne setting or should I settle with a straight magister? Sisyfos
Ranthanas 07-17-04, 09:46 AM	You can go spryte without taking any spryte levels at the cost of a single feat. It admittedly cuts your speed back to 10ft, but it shrinks you, allows you to fly and changes your type. Also makes you harder to hit and increases your Dex (at the cost of your already near useless Str). It also makes you fey rather than humanoid. I'd say it's worth the feat. Feats: I don't honestly think Modify Spell is worth it. You can usually trump its effects by heightening the standard spell. I'd also go for Psion rather than electricity mage- you get far more exotic spells that way, you don't need to burn 30GP every time you use the feat and the ability to get still, silent and no components at the cost of ladening is well worth having. Note: You can quicken heightened spells, but not modified ones. I also wouldn't go for both Creator and Craft permenant Item on the simple grounds that they do almost the same job and can only be applied to the same spells. My instincts say to go for the Craft Permenant Item on the grounds it isn't vulnerable to dispels and you can use full level spells with it. On the other hand, this takes longer and is more expensive. Quicken and Eldritch Training are both superb (compare to standard D&D feats...). The other feat I'd throw in is Blessed Mage so you can heal without being on the front lines. I'd therefore go with: 1) Eldritch training, Improved initiative 3) Spryte Transformation 5) Psion 6) Quicken spell 9) Free 10) * Electricity or Blessed 12) Craft constant item
Sisyfos 07-17-04, 03:28 PM	First of all, thanks for the reply and the information Ranthanas. The modify spell intrigues me because of its versatility. It is basically: extend spell, enlarge spell, widen spell, weak chain spell, silent spell, still spell and empower spell all in one feat. What I like about energy mage is the ability to add stunning ability to all damaging spells. Area spells which damage and stun can be very useful. About psion: I like that feat a lot. Especially as it dramatically lessens the magister's reliance on his staff. There must be nothing worse for a magister than to get his staff sundered/disarmed in a tough fight... Blessed template would be great otherwise, but as our game is not pure AU, the truenames will not be used in a way which allows the template to really kick in. The ceremonial feats are alright, but effects based on true names will probably be ignored by our DM. It's a good call on the creator mage and craft item matter. I'll defitely think about it. Contingency type of effects from programmed spells are very useful though in tough situations. For all the mages I've played I have avoided casting permanent spells though just because of the xp-cost and the possibility that they could be dispelled and this certainly applies for this character also. I think I'll listen your advise on this matter. So it looks like this then: ) Eldritch training, Improved initiative 3) Spryte Transformation 5) * Modify spell 6) Quicken spell 9) Psion (??) 10) * Energy mage (electricity) 12) Craft constant item
Snow Savant 07-17-04, 04:50 PM	Even though I know little about Malhavoc's Arcana Unearthed, I'm glad to see some C.O. talk about this highly popular and rapidly ascending alternative D20 game. I wish there was more talk about the various D20 games in here ... after all, our forum resides in the D20 System Games / D20 Related Topics hierarchy. Good luck, Sisyfos!
rilem 07-17-04, 10:24 PM	A bit off topic, but if anybody is interested in ways to move the magisters and other AU classes over to a more standard D&D setting, Delgath on the Greyhawk boards has been working on that subject for while and come up with some interesting ideas.
Sisyfos 07-23-04, 05:39 PM	Ok. This is what I came up with. Name: Kikaki Windsong Race: Loresong - Spryte Class: Magister 20 1 Improved Init, Eldritch training 2 3 Spryte 4 5 Modify spell 6 Brandish magical might 7 8 9 Creator mage 10 Quicken spell 11 12 Craft constant item 13 14 15 Peaceful mage, Air elemental mage 16 17 18 Electricity energy mage 19 20 Speed burst/psion ? I guess it is a pretty typical Arcana unearthed magister. It would be a lot more powerful if I took human instead of a loresong and branced out into PrCs early on (AU is supposed to be pretty compatible with all those WoTC PrCs out there). The only PrC which I am thinking of perhaps taking though is loremaster because I feel it might be a good RP match for this character. I did not try to max his effectiveness totally as I see he is effective enough as it is. The AU spell suite is pretty versatile and strong. The feats taken just complement that strength and versatility (or what do you think about being able to cast a "fireball" around 4000 feet away with stunning and/or subdual effects?). The programmed template is even too strong so I need to limit using it by myself or I could build up dozens of active contingency type spells. The feats have been chosen for effectiveness, but also for thematic consistency. The spryte's mischavious and magical character has been taken into accord and feat revolve a lot around air elements, trickery and of course magical power. The only disappointing factor is the not too great skill suite which I'd prefer to do something about. Unfortunately we will not be doing epic levels as there that is rather easily solved by racial levels of spryte to get some nice skills and abilities while keeping up caster level progression. Those of you who know AU, what do you think? Sisyfos
Tinkertoy888 07-23-04, 08:46 PM	That looks pretty good; it seems like you've got all of what I'd consider to be the essentials for a Magister. I'd probably move Energy Mage: Electricity earlier, because that stun becomes really good once you get Sorcerous Blast and similar spells. I'm not sold on Sprytes, personally, as I think the metamagic type feats in AU are really good. There are two things you might want to consider: one is taking the Sensitive talent at 1st level, as it can be pretty handy, the other is taking Blessed Mage, which can really add to your healing capabilities. (Hmmm, I wonder if I should post some AU melee builds I played in the past.) PS And yes, programmed spells are broken. I've houseruled them to occupy spell slots until discharged, and even then I'm not sure that's enough.
Sisyfos 07-24-04, 01:53 AM	Originally posted by Tinkertoy888 the other is taking Blessed Mage, which can really add to your healing capabilities. (Hmmm, I wonder if I should post some AU melee builds I played in the past.) Blessed mage would require implementing true names for other characters also. That is too much of a change in this particular campaign. Besides blessed mage only adds range to healing spells (first I though it made healing spells area spells, but then I read it again and it seems to only add range). PLEASE do post some AU builds. Sisyfos