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Eela6 09-12-05, 01:35 AM

I was hoping for some constructive criticism and help on making the Mediator as good as it can be. Well, here goes! Mediator There is an opponent to every Paladin who seeks to change the world into a better place. The same Paladin may find himself allied with this opponent against a ruthless Dracolich who wishes to place the world under his power. This opponent is the Mediator. The Mediator is a preserver of balance, one guided by a force he cannot explain. In the myriad battles of Good and Evil, Law and Chaos, the Mediator uses his arcane powers to make sure that in the end, they come out even. Adventures: Mediators frequently begin on adventures, as they will lead them to areas of great conflict where their powers can even the score. They take their adventures seriously and aid those that aid them. Though Mediators are not above personal desires or allegiances, they will refuse any task that would swing one side of a dispute into a position of superiority over another. Characteristics: A Mediator is an arcane spellcasters. However, his primary focus is his cause, not the methods used to achieve it, and therefore Mediators are skilled in most simple weapons and often use light armor. Mediators are skilled in persuasion, allowing them to ignite or defuse nearly any situation. Mediators can use a wide variety of spells and cast them often, but they are prohibited from the unnatural schools of necromancy and evocation: those that disturb the natural order. Mediators do not prepare their spells each morning but rather awaken with understanding of which powers they can use that day, given to them by the "presence" within their minds. Though they can in many cases influence what powers they are given, in the end the choice is not theirs. Mediators either have powerful, spellcasting familiars as a guide, or are able to twist spells to their own usage and make them more powerful. Alignment: Mediators are, in the majority, True Neutral. However, for the Mediator, neutrality is a state of decision, not a state of indecision. In every major conflict of interest he will support the losing side, regardless of his personal qualms of serving the forces of evil or pandering to a governor attempting to control a province ridden by roving Orcish bandits. Mediators act as their inclinations please for the most part, but in cases of major influence on the Material Plane, the Mediator stands by Neutrality. Religion: Many Mediators revere Boccob the Uncaring, who they believe is the font of their arcane power as well as the representative of their beliefs. Others, especially multiclass Ranger/Mediators and Druid/Mediators, follow Obad-Hai. Just as many worship in some way the Material, Ethereal, or Astral planes themselves, or worship no deity at all. Background: Mediators often begin as student Wizards who seek to understand the balance of the universe. At some point they realize that spells beyond those they have been learning have appeared in the back of their mind. At this point, many Mediators realize their calling and head out into the world as guided by a "presence" they feel in the back of their mind. Others begin as druids or rangers who seek to preserve the balance in the world. Regardless, Mediators have no great group identity and often think of themselves as Wizards, Sorcerers, or Druids, though if they see another Mediator they will recognize him as one who shares the same cause. Races: With their orderly disposition and long-lasting lives, Dwarves often become more combat-focused Mediators, though they often chafe when their ideals come in conflict with their clan loyalty. Some elvish druids or rangers find themselves drawn to the Mediator class. Half-Orc's short lives and chaotic, brutish disposition do not suit them to the Mediator class. Though most halflings are too free-spirited, some halflings find themselves called to be Mediators and use their natural wit and charm to aid themselves. Half-Elves are perhaps the most common Mediators, as their own place between two cultures and Elvish inclination to magic aids them in their understanding of their task. Humans and Gnomes who seek to become Wizards occasionally become Mediators, but it is few and far between. Other Classes: As so many of them sought to become Wizards, Mediators understand and admire Wizards, who often share many of the same ideas they do. Mediators admire Druids and Rangers, who they believe are kin to their own ideals. Though they acknowledge their usefulness and may form friendships, Mediators largely ignore Fighters, Rogues, and Clerics, and Monks. Mediators often find themselves opposed to Paladins, whose actions often carve out change. Mediators distrust Barbarians, who are often too unpredictable and difficult to oppose should they need to. Role: Mediators fill the spellcaster role within the party. Though they are able to cast less spells than a Wizard, and cannot choose exactly which spells they want to cast that day, as well as not being able to access the domains of necromancy and evocation, they have powerful abilities that let them shine in their own right, as well as the ability to cast Arcane spells with light armor, without chance of spell failure. Ex-Mediators: If at any point a Mediator ceases to be True Neutral or Lawful Neutral, or willfully commits an act that will change the balance of the Material plane, he loses all class abilities and spells, keeping only generic feats and armor/weapon proficiencies. An Ex-Mediator can take a 10% penalty to current Experience and become a Wizard of levels equal to his levels in Mediator at next level, though he still cannot cast any spells of Evocation or Necromancy and must replace all Mediator-Only feats, except Energy Substitution - Force. Game Rule Information Mediators have the following game statistics: Abilities: A Mediator takes the average of his intellect and charisma (Effective Spell Attribute [ESA] to determine his spells per day and known spells per day, as well as how hard his spells are to resist. A high constitution gives a mediator extra hit points, and dexterity gives the mediator additional armor, something that can help him survive heated battle. Alignment : Lawful Neutral or True Neutral. Hit Die:d4 Skills: A Mediator's class skills are Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Concentration (Con), Knowledge [All but Dungeoneering] (Int), and Spellcraft (Int). Spells Per Day and Spells Known: Mediators follow the same spells per day table as a Sorcerer, except he uses his ESA for his bonus spells and has one less spell per day than the Sorcerer for his two highest spell levels. Mediators "know" every spell currently available on their spell list, but for the purposes of scribing scrolls and spell knowledge their spells known is equal to a Sorcerer, but selected according to special rules. Mediator Spells: Every night, the Mediator "announces" what spells he will have in the morning from his spell list to the DM. The DM can exchange as many spells as he wishes on the list for other spells, as long as the total spell level of all the spells remains at what it originally was. However, the mediator can sacrifice one spell slot of one level below that of a spell to keep one spell per spell slot sacrificed (up to three) on his spells known list. Mediators can cast any of the spells on their current list without preparation. Mediators cannot cast spells with a Good, Evil, Law, or Chaos descriptor, and gain caster level +1 for all spells which have no energy or elemental descriptor besides Force. Mediators cannot cast spells with an energy descriptor besides force without first using Energy Substitution - Force Bonus Feats: At first level, fourth level, ninth level, fifteenth level, twentieth level, (and so on in epic) Mediators gain a bonus feat from one of two tracks they choose at first level - the Energy Track or Familiar track. Mediators can buy the Energy Substitution - Force feat using a normal feat slot, though all the others are restricted to bonus feat levels. Energy Track: Feats: Energy Substitution - Force: As per other energy substitution spells, replace energy descriptors with Force. Balanced Boost: Gain an additional +1 to caster level for all spells with no energy or elemental descriptor. Force Counter: Can use a spell of equal or higher level to counter any spell. Penetrating Counter (Preq Force Counter): Can counter a spell using any spell of higher level and have the spell use it's effect on the opposing caster at a -2 caster level penalty to spell resistance. Spell Increase (Preq Balanced Boost): Gain an additional +1 to caster level for all spells with no energy or elemental descriptor. Familiar Track: Mediator's familiars are far different from other spellcasters. A Mediator who chooses to obtain a familiar, is, in essence, embodying their guiding "presence" into their familiar. A Mediator is both the master of and the servant of his familiar. In the case of a Lawful Neutral Mediator, it is often a more chaotic spirit, bringing them to Neutrality. Mediator Familiar: As per Sorcerer or Wizard familiar, but can support spells of caster to give +1 caster level to all spells. Caster Familiar (Preq Mediator Familiar): Twice per day, the familiar can mirror a spell the Mediator casts at +1 caster level. Unnatural Familiar (Preq Caster Familiar): The familiar can have templates applied or transform into a creature with ECL of three or lower, but must remain tiny or small and based on it's original creature, as well as Neutral. It also gains a single spell-like ability, castable once per day, of a caster level equal to the highest spell level it's master has. (Exampes:Winged Cat, Ghost Raven.) Mediator Familiar (Preq Caster Familiar): The familiar become a mediator of a class level equal to half of the character's class level, rounded down. It cannot use weapons or armor, but gains all of the spellcasting abilities and skills of a Mediator. It cannot follow a Mediator feat track, but does obtain Energy Substitution - Force and can obtain other feats. Guardian Familiar (Preq Unnatural Familiar): Once per level, the Mediator's familiar can become any creature of any size, including additional templates, that has an ECL of the Mediator's level -2. Mentor Familiar (Preq Mediator Familiar): The familiar becomes a mediator of a class level equal to the character's class level - 2 and the mediator can now support it's familiar's spells to give it caster level +5. It has three fewer hit die than the character. It gains Force Counter.