Elder Mage PrC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Elder Mage PrC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
wjliii3
11-20-07, 06:24 PM This was inspired by the druids from the Shannara series, but is highly modified from that theme.

Elder Mage

Magic is a powerful force, and many seek to use words of power and mystical gestures to master it. The elder mage chooses instead to draw upon its pure power, using only their own force of will and endurance to direct it. Only those already skilled in the manipulation of their inner magic can use its power, as it draws upon that reservoir of energy to works its art.
The elder mage spends a great deal of time and effort studying the inherent nature of magic, and the history of the world, in order to learn even of the existence of the art. Therefore, the come most often from wizards, though the intuitive nature of their powers may attract sorcerers.
Hit Die: d6

Requirements
To qualify to become an elder mage (Emg), a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Spellcasting: Ability to cast arcane spells.
Skills: Spellcraft 10 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 10 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 10 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 10 ranks.
Feats: Any metamagic feat.
Special: Must have had an experience that shatters their preconceptions about the nature of magic (Usually seeing another elder mage use his power).

Class Skills
The elder mage’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int Mod

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Points per day
1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Elder magic, robe 9
2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Elder shielding +1, item enchant 25
3rd +2 +3 +1 +3 Conical blast, warding sigil 52
4th +3 +4 +1 +4 Elder shielding +2 87
5th +3 +4 +1 +4 Magic focus 132
6th +4 +5 +2 +5 Elder shielding +3, dual blast, greater enchant 189
7th +5 +5 +2 +5 Enhanced robe 255
8th +6 +6 +2 +6 Elder shielding +4, power conversion 331
9th +6 +6 +3 +6 Explosive blast 420
10th +7 +7 +3 +7 Elder shielding +5, master enchant, life fuel 515

Class Features
Elder Magic: The main weapon of the elder mage is his magic. It is drawn from his own inner strength, and, by its very nature, requires no components of any kind. It is, therefore, not subject to arcane spell failure from armor. It does not function as arcane or divine magic, but as a separate school, outside and beyond them. It is not subject to spell resistance or immunity, nor can it be dispelled or disjoined. It does not, however, function within the limits of an antimagic field, or pass through the violet layer of a prismatic wall or similar effect.
When an elder mage draws on his magic, he releases it as a torrent of destructive energy pouring from his body. Its point of emanation, as well as its color and appearance, are entirely of his choice. His total points are equal to the number on the table plus 10 points per level of the highest-level spell he could cast in his former arcane spellcasting class. To strike a target, the elder mage makes a ranged touch attack with an attack bonus of one-half his elder mage level. If he hits, his target takes an amount of damage equal to the amount of points he spends. In one round, he may spend a maximum either 20 points, or 1/10 of his total, whichever is higher. He may exceed this limit, but doing so is hazardous, as powerful magical energies ravage his body. He takes damage equal to one-half the amount by which he exceeded his limit, rounded up. Neither the damage dealt to him nor the damage dealt to his target is subject to damage reduction. Death from massive damage cannot occur as a result of damage dealt by elder magic.
When 90% of an elder mages points for the day are spent, he becomes fatigued, as he has drawn a vast amount of his energy into his magic. Every time an elder mage exceeds his limit of points per round, the amount by which he exceeds it is deducted from this 90% threshold. For example, Tallis, the 6th level wizard/ 4th level elder mage, has 117 points, 87+30 from his 3rd level wizard spells. After using 105 points, he becomes fatigued. If he spends 25 in one round against an enemy goblin, five over his limit, that goblin takes 25 damage. At the same time, Tallis takes 3 damage, and he now becomes fatigued after using only 100 points. If this damage kills him(drops him below –10 hit points), he cannot be restored to life, not even by wish or miracle, as his body has been converted fully into magical energy. If an elder mage spends more than 10 points in one round, the swirling elder magic around his body ravages his possessions, destroying all nonmagical items and forcing magical items to make a Fortitude save, DC 10 + 1/10 points over 10 or be destroyed. This does not affect held items, only those worn on the body. It also does not affect items enchanted by elder magic
Because of the nature of elder magic, it uses the same pool of inner magical energy as arcane spells. Due to this, the two are closely intertwined inside a caster. Total the number of spell levels available to you per day in your casting class, ignoring 0-level spells. Divide your number of points by this number. For every spell level you have of prepared spells each day, you lose that many points. For example, Tallis can cast 4 1st, 4 2nd, and 3 3rd level spells, for a total of 21 levels. Thus, for every spell he has prepared, he loses approximately 5 and a half points (this would be handled by alternating between a 5 and 6 point deduction every other spell).
Robe: By bathing a mage robe in elder magic very carefully, the elder mage can render it immune to the force of his powers. A single robe of his choice becomes proof against the destructive force released when more than 10 points are spent, but it retains all previous properties. Anything kept in its pockets are also undamaged. At 7th level, the robe gains, in addition to its other properties, a +3 armor bonus to AC, and grants SR 10. Despite its title, any article of clothing which does not qualify as armor can be chosen for the purposes of this ability.
Elder shielding: Beginning at 2nd level, an elder mage can spend 15 points to throw up a field of energy in front of himself, granting a deflection bonus to AC equal to half his class level. At 6th level, it also destroys all non-magical projectiles attempting to pass through it, and at 10th level, it acts as a minor globe of invulnerability, the rampaging tides of magic disrupting any weaker spells that try to pass through.
Item enchant: At 2nd level, an elder mage can infuse a weapon or armor with raw magic, making it more powerful. He is able to enchant an item with up to +2 enhancement, but must spend the same amount of time and experience as detailed for normal magic items in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. These items cannot be destroyed by the effect of spending more than 10 points. Attempting to enchant a weapon that is already enchanted by normal magic results in an explosion of energy, dealing 1d6 per caster level of the item.
Conical blast: At 3rd level, an elder mage can alter the direction of his magical blasts, making his blast into a cone 40 ft. long and 10 feet in diameter at the apex, at the expense of 5 additional points, plus 1 per 5 points spent on damage.
Warding sigil: At 3rd level, an elder mage learns to place a particular mark that imbues an object with elder magic, granting it resistance to the destructive effect of spending more than 10 points on an attack. He may spend up to 10 points to grant it a +1 per point bonus to its Fort save against that effect for a day, and may extend the duration by a day/10 additional points.
Magic Focus: At 5th level, the elder mage becomes more skilled in the careful aim of his ability, and gains the feat Weapon Focus (elder magic). If he already has this feat, he gains Greater Weapon Focus (elder magic) instead.
Dual blast: At 6th level, the elder mage has developed his art so that he can fire two blasts at once. He can choose two targets to attack, but must make separate attack rolls, with the normal penalty for two weapon fighting. In addition, the limit applies to the total. For example, Tallis, now a 6th level elder mage, has 219 points. He can therefore spend 21 per round without going over his limit. If he does not wish to go over, he must divide up 21 between his two blasts, whether it be 20 and 1, or 10 and 11.
Greater enchant: At 6th level, the elder mage’s enchanting ability increases, allowing him to apply a bonus of up to +4, as well as the special ability eldritch, a +4 bonus equivalent, which allows a weapon to bypass damage reduction.
Power conversion: At 7th level, the elder mage can draw upon his own lifeforce to grant himself magical power, but only at a terrible cost. He may increase his available points by 50 for one day, but at the cost of a point of constitution. This constitution loss is regenerated at the rate of one point per week, or twice that at full rest. A character killed by constitution loss in this way cannot be regenerated by any means, not even wish or miracle, as his body has been converted entirely into magic. If the mage is killed in this way, all of his remaining points explode out of his body, dealing damage to all creatures in 50 ft. equal to the number of remaining points, including those gained in his last life power conversion.
Explosive blast: At 9th level, the elder mage learns to blast elder magic out of his body in a vast wave, allowing him to deal damage to everything in an area around him. The raduis of the blast is determined by how many points he spends, up to a maximum of 50 ft. for 50 points. In addition, he must spend 2 more for each creature of medium size in the blast radius (or 1 for each small creature, 1 for each two tiny, or 4 for a large creature, 8 for huge, etc.). In addition to those costs, he must spend points equal to the damage he wishes to deal. For example, Tallis is now 10th level, with access to 545 points. He is standing in a room with an adult red dragon and his two ogre lackeys, as well as a human, three kobolds, and 4 stirges. The dragon and the human are 100 feet apart, with him centered in the middle, and the rest of the creatures are within 50 ft in any given direction. He must spend 50 points for the full radius, which then forces him to pay 8 for the dragon, 4 each for the ogres, two for the human, one apiece for the kobolds, and one for every two stirges. This comes out to 73. He must then spend additional points for damage. If he spends 173 points, he deals 100 damage to all of those creatures. He also takes 60 damage, for exceeding his limit by 120.
Master enchant: At 10th level, the elder mage perfects his enchanting abilities, and can enchant items with up to a +5 enhancement bonus, as well as the elder enchantment, a +5 bonus equivalent, which makes a weapon strike as a touch attack.
Life fuel: At 10th level, the elder mage becomes truly attuned with the power of his magic, and can convert amounts of his own lifeforce completely into magic. He may take two points of permanent ability damage in order to permanently increase his point reservoir by 100. This ability drain cannot be repaired by any means whatsoever. A character killed by constitution loss in this way cannot be regenerated by any means, not even wish or miracle, as his body has been converted entirely into magic. If the mage is killed in this way, all of his remaining points explode out of his body, dealing damage to all creatures in 50 ft. equal to the number of remaining points, including those gained in his last life fuel.

EDIT: Also, I'd like to note that "points" is merely a placeholder name for his power reservoir. If anyone has any suggestions for a better name, feel free to submit them.
Governator
11-20-07, 08:01 PM EDIT: Also, I'd like to note that "points" is merely a placeholder name for his power reservoir. If anyone has any suggestions for a better name, feel free to submit them.

Hmm. Perhaps the Elder Mage should use this (http://gayfuelnutrition.ytmnd.com/) for his Power Reservoir?
wjliii3
11-21-07, 06:14 PM Should I have put PEACH in the topic title? I'm not quite sure how this works.
teshen
11-22-07, 10:28 PM Governator... that's just tacky... funny, but tacky.

wjliii3, I've not read the entire Terry Brooks series you are referencing, but I've read some. I don't really think that you need to create a new mechanic to simulate the druids... they are, for the most part, just arcane casters. If you feel more is necessary, add a little warlock to some levels in sorcerer or wizard and the PrC Eldritch Theurge to get closer to the "I throw magic" idea... Or take a look at the feat spellfire wielder...

If I had to judge your PrC, I'd say that the power reservior adds an unnecessary level of complication, the features you give the character could be mimicked better by a caster with low level spells and a decent casting level or by craft feats, and there's not a lot of reason for this character to heal slower than any other character... but he does thanks to your ability burn for power type feature.

If I remember correctly, using magic aged the druids, kind of like the loss of years off one's life with spells in first edition and druids get those years back, somewhat, by the some sort of magically induced comma that spans decades... of course, that kind of thing would effectively take a character out of the game in a dungeon crawl or when partying with anything other than vampires or elans...
Governator
11-23-07, 05:13 PM Governator... that's just tacky... funny, but tacky.

???

tack·y1 /ˈtæki/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[tak-ee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective, tack·i·er, tack·i·est. sticky to the touch; adhesive.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Origin: 1780–90; tack1 + -y1]

—Related forms
tack·i·ness, noun

Look at my jokes, but do not touch them, lest they are coated in or otherwise consist of an evil, otherwordly substance. You are lucky that this time, my joke was merely made of a yet to be revealed, non-toxic substance.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
wjliii3 11-20-07, 06:24 PM	This was inspired by the druids from the Shannara series, but is highly modified from that theme. Elder Mage Magic is a powerful force, and many seek to use words of power and mystical gestures to master it. The elder mage chooses instead to draw upon its pure power, using only their own force of will and endurance to direct it. Only those already skilled in the manipulation of their inner magic can use its power, as it draws upon that reservoir of energy to works its art. The elder mage spends a great deal of time and effort studying the inherent nature of magic, and the history of the world, in order to learn even of the existence of the art. Therefore, the come most often from wizards, though the intuitive nature of their powers may attract sorcerers. Hit Die: d6 Requirements To qualify to become an elder mage (Emg), a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Spellcasting: Ability to cast arcane spells. Skills: Spellcraft 10 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 10 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 10 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 10 ranks. Feats: Any metamagic feat. Special: Must have had an experience that shatters their preconceptions about the nature of magic (Usually seeing another elder mage use his power). Class Skills The elder mage’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int Mod Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Points per day 1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Elder magic, robe 9 2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Elder shielding +1, item enchant 25 3rd +2 +3 +1 +3 Conical blast, warding sigil 52 4th +3 +4 +1 +4 Elder shielding +2 87 5th +3 +4 +1 +4 Magic focus 132 6th +4 +5 +2 +5 Elder shielding +3, dual blast, greater enchant 189 7th +5 +5 +2 +5 Enhanced robe 255 8th +6 +6 +2 +6 Elder shielding +4, power conversion 331 9th +6 +6 +3 +6 Explosive blast 420 10th +7 +7 +3 +7 Elder shielding +5, master enchant, life fuel 515 Class Features Elder Magic: The main weapon of the elder mage is his magic. It is drawn from his own inner strength, and, by its very nature, requires no components of any kind. It is, therefore, not subject to arcane spell failure from armor. It does not function as arcane or divine magic, but as a separate school, outside and beyond them. It is not subject to spell resistance or immunity, nor can it be dispelled or disjoined. It does not, however, function within the limits of an antimagic field, or pass through the violet layer of a prismatic wall or similar effect. When an elder mage draws on his magic, he releases it as a torrent of destructive energy pouring from his body. Its point of emanation, as well as its color and appearance, are entirely of his choice. His total points are equal to the number on the table plus 10 points per level of the highest-level spell he could cast in his former arcane spellcasting class. To strike a target, the elder mage makes a ranged touch attack with an attack bonus of one-half his elder mage level. If he hits, his target takes an amount of damage equal to the amount of points he spends. In one round, he may spend a maximum either 20 points, or 1/10 of his total, whichever is higher. He may exceed this limit, but doing so is hazardous, as powerful magical energies ravage his body. He takes damage equal to one-half the amount by which he exceeded his limit, rounded up. Neither the damage dealt to him nor the damage dealt to his target is subject to damage reduction. Death from massive damage cannot occur as a result of damage dealt by elder magic. When 90% of an elder mages points for the day are spent, he becomes fatigued, as he has drawn a vast amount of his energy into his magic. Every time an elder mage exceeds his limit of points per round, the amount by which he exceeds it is deducted from this 90% threshold. For example, Tallis, the 6th level wizard/ 4th level elder mage, has 117 points, 87+30 from his 3rd level wizard spells. After using 105 points, he becomes fatigued. If he spends 25 in one round against an enemy goblin, five over his limit, that goblin takes 25 damage. At the same time, Tallis takes 3 damage, and he now becomes fatigued after using only 100 points. If this damage kills him(drops him below –10 hit points), he cannot be restored to life, not even by wish or miracle, as his body has been converted fully into magical energy. If an elder mage spends more than 10 points in one round, the swirling elder magic around his body ravages his possessions, destroying all nonmagical items and forcing magical items to make a Fortitude save, DC 10 + 1/10 points over 10 or be destroyed. This does not affect held items, only those worn on the body. It also does not affect items enchanted by elder magic Because of the nature of elder magic, it uses the same pool of inner magical energy as arcane spells. Due to this, the two are closely intertwined inside a caster. Total the number of spell levels available to you per day in your casting class, ignoring 0-level spells. Divide your number of points by this number. For every spell level you have of prepared spells each day, you lose that many points. For example, Tallis can cast 4 1st, 4 2nd, and 3 3rd level spells, for a total of 21 levels. Thus, for every spell he has prepared, he loses approximately 5 and a half points (this would be handled by alternating between a 5 and 6 point deduction every other spell). Robe: By bathing a mage robe in elder magic very carefully, the elder mage can render it immune to the force of his powers. A single robe of his choice becomes proof against the destructive force released when more than 10 points are spent, but it retains all previous properties. Anything kept in its pockets are also undamaged. At 7th level, the robe gains, in addition to its other properties, a +3 armor bonus to AC, and grants SR 10. Despite its title, any article of clothing which does not qualify as armor can be chosen for the purposes of this ability. Elder shielding: Beginning at 2nd level, an elder mage can spend 15 points to throw up a field of energy in front of himself, granting a deflection bonus to AC equal to half his class level. At 6th level, it also destroys all non-magical projectiles attempting to pass through it, and at 10th level, it acts as a minor globe of invulnerability, the rampaging tides of magic disrupting any weaker spells that try to pass through. Item enchant: At 2nd level, an elder mage can infuse a weapon or armor with raw magic, making it more powerful. He is able to enchant an item with up to +2 enhancement, but must spend the same amount of time and experience as detailed for normal magic items in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. These items cannot be destroyed by the effect of spending more than 10 points. Attempting to enchant a weapon that is already enchanted by normal magic results in an explosion of energy, dealing 1d6 per caster level of the item. Conical blast: At 3rd level, an elder mage can alter the direction of his magical blasts, making his blast into a cone 40 ft. long and 10 feet in diameter at the apex, at the expense of 5 additional points, plus 1 per 5 points spent on damage. Warding sigil: At 3rd level, an elder mage learns to place a particular mark that imbues an object with elder magic, granting it resistance to the destructive effect of spending more than 10 points on an attack. He may spend up to 10 points to grant it a +1 per point bonus to its Fort save against that effect for a day, and may extend the duration by a day/10 additional points. Magic Focus: At 5th level, the elder mage becomes more skilled in the careful aim of his ability, and gains the feat Weapon Focus (elder magic). If he already has this feat, he gains Greater Weapon Focus (elder magic) instead. Dual blast: At 6th level, the elder mage has developed his art so that he can fire two blasts at once. He can choose two targets to attack, but must make separate attack rolls, with the normal penalty for two weapon fighting. In addition, the limit applies to the total. For example, Tallis, now a 6th level elder mage, has 219 points. He can therefore spend 21 per round without going over his limit. If he does not wish to go over, he must divide up 21 between his two blasts, whether it be 20 and 1, or 10 and 11. Greater enchant: At 6th level, the elder mage’s enchanting ability increases, allowing him to apply a bonus of up to +4, as well as the special ability eldritch, a +4 bonus equivalent, which allows a weapon to bypass damage reduction. Power conversion: At 7th level, the elder mage can draw upon his own lifeforce to grant himself magical power, but only at a terrible cost. He may increase his available points by 50 for one day, but at the cost of a point of constitution. This constitution loss is regenerated at the rate of one point per week, or twice that at full rest. A character killed by constitution loss in this way cannot be regenerated by any means, not even wish or miracle, as his body has been converted entirely into magic. If the mage is killed in this way, all of his remaining points explode out of his body, dealing damage to all creatures in 50 ft. equal to the number of remaining points, including those gained in his last life power conversion. Explosive blast: At 9th level, the elder mage learns to blast elder magic out of his body in a vast wave, allowing him to deal damage to everything in an area around him. The raduis of the blast is determined by how many points he spends, up to a maximum of 50 ft. for 50 points. In addition, he must spend 2 more for each creature of medium size in the blast radius (or 1 for each small creature, 1 for each two tiny, or 4 for a large creature, 8 for huge, etc.). In addition to those costs, he must spend points equal to the damage he wishes to deal. For example, Tallis is now 10th level, with access to 545 points. He is standing in a room with an adult red dragon and his two ogre lackeys, as well as a human, three kobolds, and 4 stirges. The dragon and the human are 100 feet apart, with him centered in the middle, and the rest of the creatures are within 50 ft in any given direction. He must spend 50 points for the full radius, which then forces him to pay 8 for the dragon, 4 each for the ogres, two for the human, one apiece for the kobolds, and one for every two stirges. This comes out to 73. He must then spend additional points for damage. If he spends 173 points, he deals 100 damage to all of those creatures. He also takes 60 damage, for exceeding his limit by 120. Master enchant: At 10th level, the elder mage perfects his enchanting abilities, and can enchant items with up to a +5 enhancement bonus, as well as the elder enchantment, a +5 bonus equivalent, which makes a weapon strike as a touch attack. Life fuel: At 10th level, the elder mage becomes truly attuned with the power of his magic, and can convert amounts of his own lifeforce completely into magic. He may take two points of permanent ability damage in order to permanently increase his point reservoir by 100. This ability drain cannot be repaired by any means whatsoever. A character killed by constitution loss in this way cannot be regenerated by any means, not even wish or miracle, as his body has been converted entirely into magic. If the mage is killed in this way, all of his remaining points explode out of his body, dealing damage to all creatures in 50 ft. equal to the number of remaining points, including those gained in his last life fuel. EDIT: Also, I'd like to note that "points" is merely a placeholder name for his power reservoir. If anyone has any suggestions for a better name, feel free to submit them.
Governator 11-20-07, 08:01 PM	EDIT: Also, I'd like to note that "points" is merely a placeholder name for his power reservoir. If anyone has any suggestions for a better name, feel free to submit them. Hmm. Perhaps the Elder Mage should use this (http://gayfuelnutrition.ytmnd.com/) for his Power Reservoir?
wjliii3 11-21-07, 06:14 PM	Should I have put PEACH in the topic title? I'm not quite sure how this works.
teshen 11-22-07, 10:28 PM	Governator... that's just tacky... funny, but tacky. wjliii3, I've not read the entire Terry Brooks series you are referencing, but I've read some. I don't really think that you need to create a new mechanic to simulate the druids... they are, for the most part, just arcane casters. If you feel more is necessary, add a little warlock to some levels in sorcerer or wizard and the PrC Eldritch Theurge to get closer to the "I throw magic" idea... Or take a look at the feat spellfire wielder... If I had to judge your PrC, I'd say that the power reservior adds an unnecessary level of complication, the features you give the character could be mimicked better by a caster with low level spells and a decent casting level or by craft feats, and there's not a lot of reason for this character to heal slower than any other character... but he does thanks to your ability burn for power type feature. If I remember correctly, using magic aged the druids, kind of like the loss of years off one's life with spells in first edition and druids get those years back, somewhat, by the some sort of magically induced comma that spans decades... of course, that kind of thing would effectively take a character out of the game in a dungeon crawl or when partying with anything other than vampires or elans...
Governator 11-23-07, 05:13 PM	Governator... that's just tacky... funny, but tacky. ??? tack·y1 /ˈtæki/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[tak-ee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –adjective, tack·i·er, tack·i·est. sticky to the touch; adhesive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Origin: 1780–90; tack1 + -y1] —Related forms tack·i·ness, noun Look at my jokes, but do not touch them, lest they are coated in or otherwise consist of an evil, otherwordly substance. You are lucky that this time, my joke was merely made of a yet to be revealed, non-toxic substance.