Ciaran
First Post
This is a new character class for my current campaign, a heavily Scandinavian-flavored setting which I am in the process of converting from the Burning Wheel rules. I'd already established that magicians (including the magician PC) have a narrow repertoire of spells, but given how tightly focused spells are in D&D, I've established the magician's system of runes as a compromise mechanism for narrowing the magician's focus while still permitting him a broad range of spells. (I'd originally planned on using the sorcerer, but the magician's player balked; he likes having lots of spells. 
)
In terms of gauging the abilities of the class, note that I'm awarding feats at every odd level rather than at every 3rd level. In addition, there is no divine magic in the setting, nor do any of the core D&D spellcasting classes exist. Lastly, we are not using XP, hence the mechanics for avoiding XP costs; the entire group will level up at my discretion.
The group has been on hiatus for several months since the group demanded the shift from BW to D&D, so there's still time to revise the class further before we start play. Any commentary is welcome, with the understanding that "it's not balanced against the Cleric / Druid / Sorcerer / Wizard" is irrelevant.
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Magician
Runic sorcery is a rare and powerful art. The runes are not mere letters on a page, but symbolic keys to the cosmos, and only a trained and disciplined mind can unlock their power. Sorcery is a matter of long study and ritual initiation, demanding years of apprenticeship to grasp the force of the runes. Only a few have the wealth or the talent to win apprenticeship in the art.
The class functions as a 3.5e wizard in most respects. A magician has the same hit dice, skill points, class skills and spells per day as a wizard. Like a wizard, the magician gains two new spells per level, and can learn more during play from other magicians or from books.
Feats: At 1st level, a magician gains the Eschew Materials feat in addition to Scribe Scroll and Summon Familiar. At 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th and 18th level, a magician gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity he can choose a metamagic feat, an item creation feat, Extra Rune, Rune Focus or Spell Secret.
Spells: Unlike wizards, magicians do not prepare spells. A magician knows all his spells by heart, allowing him to cast spontaneously as a sorcerer does, but without a sorcerer’s limit on spells known. In addition to spells from the Wizard spell list, he also gains access to many spells on the Cleric and Druid spell lists. Some spells, such as resurrection magic, may function differently in this setting. Consult your DM for more information on specific spells.
Learning a new spell from a teacher or a written text takes one day of dedicated study per spell level; the student must know an appropriate rune and must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell’s level). If a magician fails a check to learn a new spell, he may not try again until he gains another rank in Spellcraft.
Components: Any spell with expensive material components requires an additional rune of the magician’s choice. Replace all material components listed in the spell description with components appropriate to the additional rune. For example, a version of identify using the Pyre rune might require 100gp worth of rare woods and incense, whose swirling smoke reveals the item’s powers to the magician. Another version of the spell using the Man rune might call for rune-graven human bones to be fractured by heat; the resulting pattern of cracks discloses the item’s secrets. A magician with multiple appropriate runes may devise multiple variants of this nature, at the DM’s discretion.
XP costs for spells are replaced by power components: rare items chosen by the DM whose GP cost is ten times the written XP cost. Such spells are ritual in nature, with a minimum casting time of 1 minute.
Runes: The spells a magician knows are based upon runes of power. There are many such runes, and no magician ever learns them all. In order to devise a new spell, a magician must know a rune that is in some way related to the desired effect. For instance, a magician with the Fire rune might devise such spells as burning hands, scorching ray or fireball. A starting magician knows three runes, and gains a new rune at every even level.
Sometimes a rune only allows incomplete access to a spell’s effects. For instance, a magician using the Man rune to learn cure light wounds may only cure human beings with the spell. Other pertinent runes may be applied later to broaden the spell effect; the magician does not need to purchase the spell again to do so.
Item Creation: Crafted items also require power components; this doubles the raw materials cost while removing the XP cost. The caster must have an applicable Rune Focus feat for each spell to be built into the item. For each +1 bonus in a magical weapon or piece of armor, the caster must add an additional, distinct rune for which he has the Rune Focus feat. Other items may also require extra runes, at the DM’s discretion. The runes chosen for an item flavor its abilities and appearance in unique ways.
)In terms of gauging the abilities of the class, note that I'm awarding feats at every odd level rather than at every 3rd level. In addition, there is no divine magic in the setting, nor do any of the core D&D spellcasting classes exist. Lastly, we are not using XP, hence the mechanics for avoiding XP costs; the entire group will level up at my discretion.
The group has been on hiatus for several months since the group demanded the shift from BW to D&D, so there's still time to revise the class further before we start play. Any commentary is welcome, with the understanding that "it's not balanced against the Cleric / Druid / Sorcerer / Wizard" is irrelevant.
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Magician
Runic sorcery is a rare and powerful art. The runes are not mere letters on a page, but symbolic keys to the cosmos, and only a trained and disciplined mind can unlock their power. Sorcery is a matter of long study and ritual initiation, demanding years of apprenticeship to grasp the force of the runes. Only a few have the wealth or the talent to win apprenticeship in the art.
The class functions as a 3.5e wizard in most respects. A magician has the same hit dice, skill points, class skills and spells per day as a wizard. Like a wizard, the magician gains two new spells per level, and can learn more during play from other magicians or from books.
Feats: At 1st level, a magician gains the Eschew Materials feat in addition to Scribe Scroll and Summon Familiar. At 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th and 18th level, a magician gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity he can choose a metamagic feat, an item creation feat, Extra Rune, Rune Focus or Spell Secret.
Spells: Unlike wizards, magicians do not prepare spells. A magician knows all his spells by heart, allowing him to cast spontaneously as a sorcerer does, but without a sorcerer’s limit on spells known. In addition to spells from the Wizard spell list, he also gains access to many spells on the Cleric and Druid spell lists. Some spells, such as resurrection magic, may function differently in this setting. Consult your DM for more information on specific spells.
Learning a new spell from a teacher or a written text takes one day of dedicated study per spell level; the student must know an appropriate rune and must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell’s level). If a magician fails a check to learn a new spell, he may not try again until he gains another rank in Spellcraft.
Components: Any spell with expensive material components requires an additional rune of the magician’s choice. Replace all material components listed in the spell description with components appropriate to the additional rune. For example, a version of identify using the Pyre rune might require 100gp worth of rare woods and incense, whose swirling smoke reveals the item’s powers to the magician. Another version of the spell using the Man rune might call for rune-graven human bones to be fractured by heat; the resulting pattern of cracks discloses the item’s secrets. A magician with multiple appropriate runes may devise multiple variants of this nature, at the DM’s discretion.
XP costs for spells are replaced by power components: rare items chosen by the DM whose GP cost is ten times the written XP cost. Such spells are ritual in nature, with a minimum casting time of 1 minute.
Runes: The spells a magician knows are based upon runes of power. There are many such runes, and no magician ever learns them all. In order to devise a new spell, a magician must know a rune that is in some way related to the desired effect. For instance, a magician with the Fire rune might devise such spells as burning hands, scorching ray or fireball. A starting magician knows three runes, and gains a new rune at every even level.
Sometimes a rune only allows incomplete access to a spell’s effects. For instance, a magician using the Man rune to learn cure light wounds may only cure human beings with the spell. Other pertinent runes may be applied later to broaden the spell effect; the magician does not need to purchase the spell again to do so.
Item Creation: Crafted items also require power components; this doubles the raw materials cost while removing the XP cost. The caster must have an applicable Rune Focus feat for each spell to be built into the item. For each +1 bonus in a magical weapon or piece of armor, the caster must add an additional, distinct rune for which he has the Rune Focus feat. Other items may also require extra runes, at the DM’s discretion. The runes chosen for an item flavor its abilities and appearance in unique ways.
