class idea: "Nature's Conduit," a Constitution-based divine magic user

Here's a rough sketch of a unique magic-using class. I was thinking about ability-based spell bonuses for different magic-using classes, such as Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom. As a half-joke challenge, I tried to imagine a class that used some other unlikely ability, such as Constitution or Dexterity, for its spell bonuses. The "Nature's Conduit" was the result.

Does this class seem unbalanced? I tried to cross some features of the sorcerer and druid. I didn't add any special abilities (yet), but the monk and druid have some special abilities that might be applicable (if this class is not already too powerful). Any ideas?


Nature's Conduit

A Nature's Conduit is spontaneous caster (like a sorcerer), but channels "nature's energy" as divine spells with Range: Touch (such as Inflict Light Wounds, Burning Hands, Harm, and Slay Living), Range: 0 ft., or Range: Personal (like Iron Body, Protection from Energy, and Entropic Shield). While other magic users use their Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom abilities for spell bonuses, the Nature's Conduit uses his Constitution ability. Imagine a magic user whose high Constitution makes him tough enough to channel more powerful magic energy, more often. The Nature's Conduit has to be tough because he has to get in close because his magic has such a short range (Touch, 0 ft., or Personal).


Alignment: Any chaotic

Hit Die: d8

Class skills:
The Nature's Conduit's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.


Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Nature's Conduit.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Nature's Conduits are proficient with all simple weapons.

Nature's Conduits are proficient with light and medium armor but are prohibited from wearing metal armor; thus, they may wear only padded, leather, or hide armor. (A Nature's Conduit may also wear wooden armor that has been altered by the ironwood spell so that it functions as though it were steel. See the ironwood spell description). Nature's Conduits are proficient with shields (except tower shields) but must use only wooden ones.

A Nature's Conduit who wears prohibited armor or carries a prohibited shield is unable to cast spells or use any of her supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so.


Spells:
A Nature's Conduit casts divine spells drawn from both the cleric and druid spell lists with Range: Touch, Range: 0 ft., or Range: Personal. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a cleric must.

To learn or cast a spell, a Nature's Conduit must have a Constitution score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Nature's Conduit spell is 10 + the spell level + the Nature's Conduit's Constitution modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a Nature's Conduit can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Constitution score.

A Nature's Conduit’s selection of spells is extremely limited. A Nature's Conduit begins play knowing four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells of your choice. At each new Nature's Conduit level, he gains one or more new spells. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a Nature's Conduit knows is not affected by his Constitution score; the numbers on Table: Sorcerer Spells Known are fixed.) The Nature's Conduit can’t use this method of spell acquisition to learn spells at a faster rate, however.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered Nature's Conduit level after that (6th, 8th, and so on), a Nature's Conduit can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the Nature's Conduit "loses" the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level Nature's Conduit spell the Nature's Conduit can cast. A Nature's Conduit may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level.

Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a Nature's Conduit need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his spells per day for that spell level. He does not have to decide ahead of time which spells he’ll cast.


Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Spells/Day
1st +0 +0 +0 +2 5,3,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 6,4,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-
3rd +2 +1 +1 +3 6,5,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-
4th +3 +1 +1 +4 6,6,3,-,-,-,-,-,-,-
5th +3 +1 +1 +4 6,6,4,-,-,-,-,-,-,-
6th +4 +2 +2 +5 6,6,5,3,-,-,-,-,-,-
7th +5 +2 +2 +5 6,6,6,4,-,-,-,-,-,-
8th +6/+1 +2 +2 +6 6,6,6,5,3,-,-,-,-,-
9th +6/+1 +3 +3 +6 6,6,6,6,4,-,-,-,-,-
10th +7/+2 +3 +3 +7 6,6,6,6,5,3,-,-,-,-
11th +8/+3 +3 +3 +7 6,6,6,6,6,4,-,-,-,-
12th +9/+4 +4 +4 +8 6,6,6,6,6,5,3,-,-,-
13th +9/+4 +4 +4 +8 6,6,6,6,6,6,4,-,-,-
14th +10 +4 +4 +9 6,6,6,6,6,6,5,3,-,-
15th +11 +5 +5 +9 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,4,-,-
16th +12 +5 +5 +10 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,3,-
17th +12 +5 +5 +10 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,4,-
18th +13 +6 +6 +11 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,3
19th +14 +6 +6 +11 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,4
20th +15 +6 +6 +12 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6

Problem is, you've created a spellcaster which needs one, and only one, ability score.

--Kynn

I like it, looks like it could use some abilities other than spellcasting but the concept is solid. This could turn into a melee king with all the buffs and touch attacks.

Kynn said:

Problem is, you've created a spellcaster which needs one, and only one, ability score.

--Kynn

Click to expand...

Good point, but couldn't you say that clerics "only" need Wisdom or wizards only need Intelligence? I see that a high Constitution gives this class both a good offense (more spells) and good defense (more HP), which does sound unbalanced and one-dimensional. Dexterity would still be important, though, to make touch attacks and improve AC (because, like the druid, the Nature's Conduit cannot wear metal armor or shields).

hmm, your comment gives me another class idea: what about a "Divine Dancer", a divine magic-user that invokes magic using a frenzied dance and thus uses the Dexterity ability for spell bonuses? Imagine a cross between a druid and a shadowdancer. Unlike the Nature's Conduit, she can NOT use spells with range touch or 0 ft. because that would interrupt her dance. She would also need to take a 5' step as part of her spellcasting (as part of her dance). And maybe multiple Divine Dancers can get meta-magic power-ups from dancing together.

Thing is, everyone needs Constitution. Clerics also need Charisma (for Turn Undead), but Wizards are a problem because they only need Intelligence ... and Con.

So you've created a class that only needs Con.

As for a Dex-based spellcaster, a dance could work, or a "weaving" theme, or both. This is less problematic, because they'd need Dex and Con both, while the Conduit only needs one ability score.

...or you could split up the spell casting between two abilities like the favored soul. Number of spells known based on con, DC's based on cha, or something.

Enamel_32 said:

...or you could split up the spell casting between two abilities like the favored soul. Number of spells known based on con, DC's based on cha, or something.

Click to expand...

That's a good idea. Two ideas I had for re-balancing were:

1. Use Wis to determine number of spells known, but use Con to determine number of spells/day. Maybe the Nature's Conduit uses Wis to know spells, but needs Con to withstand the "channeling" of the magic energy.

and/or

2. Use a weaker BAB and Saving Throw progression, so players would have an incentive to improve ability scores besides Con.

where is spells known

as to the only needing con I don't think you are looking at this right

they need dex and str even more now because they are in melee they are right up there with the fighters wasting time casting bull strength eveytime you fight even weak monsters will cost them

also the totemist only needs con for its magic but is in the same boat all he does is buff basically so high str and dex become important

True... Either way, it sounds like afun class to play.

Another way to do a con based spellcaster would be to inflict subdual damage on themselves when they cast a spell