But I can't think of a way to make it work, so I present the problem to you: Is there some way to combine Shadowcraft Mage and Beholder Mage?
reserved
That's one of the things that I've been dying to try. Perhaps a Shapeshifter Race of some sort?
Phaerimm
Tiny Aberration
1 Racial HD (which can be traded in for a Class Level, probably Sorcerer... :D)
-6 STR, +6 DEX, +2 WIS, +2 CHA
No need for Verbal/Somatic/Material Components for Sorcerer Spells
+2 Natural Armor
Detect Magic at Will
Immunity to Polymorph and Petrification
SR 11
2 1d2 Claws
1 Racial HD (which can be traded in for a Class Level, probably Sorcerer... :D)
-6 STR, +6 DEX, +2 WIS, +2 CHA
No need for Verbal/Somatic/Material Components for Sorcerer Spells
+2 Natural Armor
Detect Magic at Will
Immunity to Polymorph and Petrification
SR 11
2 1d2 Claws
JaronK
Except I think Stoneblessed has a humanoid prereq.
Incomplete. Giant and monstrous humanoid are okay as well. Giant and monstrous humanoid don't really help, but who knows what some can come up with.
Hmm... you would need to first qualify for Beholder Mage, then find a way to qualify for Stoneblessed in order to get into Shadowcraft Mage, but even assuming you could gain the Giant, Humanoid, or Monstrous Humanoid type necessary for entry into Stoneblessed, would it even matter?
for all effects related to race, a stoneblessed is considered a member of the race to which she is bonded
So even assuming you could got into Beholder Mage AND Stoneblessed, you would then cease to qualify for Beholder Mage the moment you qualified for Shadocraft Mage, no?
You could theoretically take stoneblessed first. Take stoneblessed to 3, get stoneborn. You are now treated as a gnome. Use POA to turn into a beholder. Since you are considered a gnome, though, you should still meet the requirements for stoneblessed, therefore retain stoneborn ability, and can be safely enter beholder mage.
Psychic Warrior 5/Stone Blessed 3/Beholder Mage 3/Shadowcraft Mage 5/XYZ 4
Should work, and you can use whatever class you want as a base as stoneblessed can be entered at level 3. You only need BM 3 if you do some heighten spell shenanigans. 9th level spellcasting at level 16.
Doesn't seem as powerful as some of the dual spellcasting beholder mage stuff, like urtheurging it up with beholder mage, but hey, massive illusiary power.
The only problem that arises is using an ability granted to you by a class to maintain the requirement to remain in the class. You use stoneborn to be allowed in stoneblessed so you still have the stoneborn ability. Bit of a chicken or the egg scenario, which could result in problems with a DM.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b
The Assume Supernatural Ability feat from SS should also work with this for a non-psionic class, shouldn't it?
Beholder Mage have spellbooks, and they can cast any spell spontaneously as long as it in their spellbook. Thus he gets all the goodies of casting all evocation and conjuration spells, the only thing he doesn't gain is material/xp component evasion.
Furthermore the ability to cast up to 10 spells as a free action seriously doesn't need any more upgrading. (You can cast as many spells as you normally use eye rays, and you cast them as free actions just like your eye rays.)
Funny enough, the same DM that might possibly allow this if I decided to actually play it, doesn't allow psionics. Not because he thinks it's broken, thankfully, but just because he's not at all familiar with pretty much anything psionic. However, he does allow the Assume Supernatural Ability feat, so maybe...
XX2/Stoneblessed 3/Beholder Mage 3/Shadowcraft Mage 3/Ur Priest 2/Mystic Theurge 4/Ur Priest 3
That would still give 10 levels of Beholder Mage casting and 9 of Ur Priest, netting 9th level arcane and divine spells, while granting ScM goodies and Rebuke Undead for DMM.
There may be a faster way to do it, but alter self is the first way that came to mind to me. That means you may need to drop a level of shadowcraft mage if you want 9th level divine pre-epic.
Also, I'm still not sure that Stoneblessed/Stoneborn works. If you're a gnome, are you a humanoid? You're a gnome, but there is the issue with race versus type.
Wiz 5/BM 1/UM 10/XX 4 can probably be optimized to be full of awesome, and if I've done the math right (it's early), as long as XX gives you at least 3 levels of Wizard casting, you'll get 9th level spells on both sides, as well as the caster level boosts and metamagic fun from Ultimate Magus.
Also, on a more general note, with beholder mage and prestige classes, do you get the double CL per spellcasting level, or per beholder mage level? If its the latter, then UM wouldn't work out as the wizard side would then always have the higher CL.
As for caster level, it's equal to twice the Beholder Mage level. But since BM has it's own caster progression, a prestige class that furthers that casting does so at the same rate, no? A Wizard's CL is equal to his class level, but if a PrC gives full casting advancement, then his CL equals his class levels + PrC levels. And a Paladin or Ranger taking a PrC that gave full casting progression would still only have a CL of 1/2(class levels + PrC levels) (or have I been doing that wrong this whole time?), so any PrC that gives full caster progression for Beholder Mage does so at the same rate, +2 CL/level.
That being said, potential build: Wizard 3/Master Specialist 3/Beholder Mage 1/Ultimate Magus 10/MS + 1/Archmage 2
Feats: Spell Focus(Whatever you specalize in) 1, Extend Spell(Human), Assume Supernatural Ability(Eye Rays) 3, Skill Focus(Spellcraft) MS 1, Assume Supernatural Ability(Antimagic Eye Cone) 6, Greater Spell Focus(Specialization) MS 3, Spell Focus(Another School) 9, Persistant Spell UM 5, Metamagic School Focus(School) 12, Craft Contingent Spell 15, Quicken Spell UM 9, Practiced Spellcaster(Wizard) 18.
A few free slots that I filled in with useful feats, can be moved around and whatnot. My reason for going MS is that its(to my knowledge) the only prestige class enterable at level 3 for wizards. Breakdown of UM CL increases.
WIZ 1-3: CL 1-3
MS 1-3: CL 1-3
BM 1: BM CL 2, Wizard CL 6
UM 1: BM CL 4, Wizard CL 6
UM 2: BM CL 6, W CL 7
UM 3: BM CL 8, W CL 8
UM 4: BM CL 10, W CL 8
UM 5: BM CL 12, W CL 9
UM 6: BM CL 14, W CL 10
UM 7: BM CL 14, W CL 11
UM 8: BM CL 16, W CL 12
UM 9: BM CL 18, W CL 13
UM 10: BM CL 20, W CL 14
MS 4: BM CL 20, W CL 15
ARCH 1: BM CL 20, W CL 16
ARCH 2: BM CL 20, W CL 17
apply 2 of the lower levels to beholder mage, and the level 7 lower level to wizard. you lose 3 total CL(2 UM + 1 BM) for wizard, gaining 9th level spells at level 20. What makes MS and archmage useful is that even though you apply their spellcasting levels to wizard, you can use their abilities on beholder mage spells.
Anyway, thats just a potential wizard build. Looking around, theres gotta be a way to pick up assume supernatural ability earlier. Divine minion template will allow you to do that.
What I'm thinking with that is the fact that you can enter beholder mage as soon as you can afford poa, usually around level 4. Human Divine Minion(Thoth) Factotum 1/Monk 2/Beholder Mage 2/Ur-Priest 2/Mystic Theurge 8 should give you 9th level divine and arcane casting by ECL 16(15 with buyoff).
Feats: Assume Supernatural Ability x2(Human/1), Iron Will 3, Spell Focus(Evil) 6.
Think that could work? Main reason I used factotum/monk is for saves and because theres a massive mess of skills needed by the time you hit level 6, and factotum just makes life easy to make sure you can get all of them.
Also, could changeling apply for being able to magically change form? If disguise self works, though, then you could get away with wizard 1.
What I'm thinking with that is the fact that you can enter beholder mage as soon as you can afford poa twice
Clarified.