Entromancer

[Arkhandus]

Er, what?

And I'm only here offering a critical eye towards your rules-text because it's supposed to help you fix it so as to be clear when you put it to serious use in-game or in-print.


For one thing, no, Unmaking is not that non-uber just because it will be very rare in the setting or somesuch. It nullifies one spellcaster or similar, completely, and that basically equals one dead spellcaster. A cleric or wizard is generally just a glorified Commoner or Expert when their magic's nullified, and they can't even run away quickly without magic. With all of their magic undone, and their ability to use any further magic negated, the spellcaster will die in one or two rounds. And they get no chance to avoid that fate. That kind of absolute unstoppability is generally avoided in the d20 system.

The wording of your text DOES matter. As it stands, it DOES infer that you can cast Dispel Magic with Dispel of Opportunity even if you don't know the spell; because the wording of the Dispel of Opportunity ability is not worded appropriately to avoid that. At least, it would be very easy for a munchkin to argue that to the DM, since the wording says nothing that contradicts that reading.


Dispel is not a specific action in d20; counterspell IS an action in d20. Dispel Magic normally can be cast to counterspell, so there is no confusion given the way that the text is already written (except for the use of dispel where it should say counterspell). The text already fits the proper rules context, it just needs to say "counterspell" in the few places where it currently says "dispel" for this purpsoe. Therefore the appropriate wording, for the first two lines of Dispel of Opportunity, should say "An entromancer of 2nd level may lose a prepared spell of 3rd level or greater to immediately cast Dispel Magic to counterspell another spellcaster's spell. This happens as if the entromancer had a prepared action to counterspell. "

The only reason this could be inaccurate is if you actually mean for it to be used for dispelling an effect after-the-fact, rather than countering it as it is being cast. BUT YOU HAVEN'T ANSWERED THAT QUESTION YET. Is the ability meant to dispel something after it is cast, or is it instead meant to counter a spell before it takes effect? Some spells cannot be dispelled, such as Wall of Force, but they can be counterspelled during casting.

If you do mean for it to just dispel an effect after-the-fact, then the wording should clarify that it is not for counterspelling; or, if it's meant to be used for either purpose, then it should clarify that it can be used for either a counterspell or a normal dispelling. As it stands, the wording is unclear on that point.


Note: Caster level checks are not the same as dispel checks. Although they both apply caster level to the roll as a bonus, they are not the same thing in the "Rules As Written," so to speak.

In just the same way that a melee attack roll and a Climb check both apply Strength bonus to their rolls, but are not considered "Strength checks" or "Strength rolls" (the latter of which isn't even a d20 term). Strength checks are a specific type of roll, not a general term for all rolls that apply a Strength modifier.

Dispel checks are not called caster level checks; therefore, if you intend for "Superiority" to apply on dispel checks, then you must fix it's wording to clarify that it affects dispel checks as well as caster level checks.


Lastly: "If used against the PC's in a party, there are already plenty of ways to take a party member out of a fight for a few rounds at a DM's disposal anyway."
Response: But those ways generally don't involve a completely unavoidable special ability of the opponent, that turns one PC instantly and unavoidably into a useless, very fragile, very helpless liability.

The guy doesn't even have to get close enough to touch you, or hit your touch AC, to slap you with this magic death sentence. He just looks at you funny from hundreds of feet away and you suddenly lose all your mojo, and as a primary spellcaster, that mojo's just about the only thing you can do.

Worse, if you were flying at the time due to a magic item or a spell, you plummet to your death unavoidably.
.....Or if you were underwater and supported by a Water Breathing spell, you drown instantly and unavoidably. Water breathing means you couldn't just hold your breath the whole time it was active; you had to BREATHE the water in, otherwise you'd have suffocated just as quickly as if you hadn't cast the spell at all. So, you wouldn't have been holding your breath while underwater with the aid of that spell, you'd be breathing in the water..... Then Mr. Bad Mojo sees you and suddenly your lungs are filled with water. You die.

At least Dispel Magic gives the poor berk a chance to survive, by buffing up his caster level to make the dispel check DC really high, or just by you rolling low on your dispel check. Plus, Dispel Magic can be prevented through a Spell Immunity, Ring of Counterspells (storing a Dispel Magic at the time, of course), a Wish or similar spell that is duplicating Spell Immunity at the time, or various other things in supplements that allow you a fighting chance of avoiding a Dispel Magic that would kill you in a bad environment.

 

[Aliandro]

Your points are well taken Arkhandus. Thanks for taking the time to look at our class. We had the basic concept of what we wanted, but getting the wording right to not have unforseen effects hadn't been easy. And has resulted in some mangled English. Check the pdf fluff text if you want to see DiasExMachina's actual writing style and not mine. I've recommended changes to DiasExMachina and he can post them later. I think we've addressed the points you brought up. Superiority is supposed to apply to dispel checks. The wording in Dispel of Opportunity does work better specifying counterspell. Being able to cast Dispel Magic as a class pre-req also makes sense upon reflection. I've added a dispel check to Unmaking.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Very soon, I will be modifying the PDF for Entromancer. Discussions on Enworld have forced us to readdress issues with the class. Here they are the revisions in a nutshell...

I am not too worried about this. Seriously. We only have one caster prestige class and they are notoriously hard to fashion. Our Paladin was well received so I am confident about the others.

REQUIREMENTS
To qualify to become an urmage, a character must meet all of the following criteria.
Spells: Ability to cast 3rd level arcane spells. Must be able to cast Dispel Magic.
Skills: Spellcraft 8 ranks, Knowledge (Arcana) 8 ranks
Feats: Spell Focus (Any one school), Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Improved Counterspell.
Origin: Must be laudenian.
Totem: Must select staff.

CLASS SKILLS
The urmage's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.

CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are class features of the laudenian
urmage prestige class.
Armor and Weapon Proficiencies: The urmage cannot use any urmage class features while wearing any armor.

Spells per Day/Spells Known: When a new urmage level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in the previous arcane spellcasting class in which he could cast 3rd-level spells before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained.

Superiority (Ex): At 1st level, the urmage adds his Int bonus to dispel checks, up to a maximum of his urmage class level.

Dispel of Opportunity (Su): An urmage of 2nd level may lose a prepared spell of 3rd level or greater to immediately cast Dispel Magic to counterspell another spellcaster's spell. This happens as if the urmage had a prepared action to counter-spell. The urmage must know Dispel Magic to be able to cast it in this manner. This counts as the urmage’s next turn's actions. He is already considered to have acted once his turn comes around. Once the urmage learns Greater Dispel Magic, he can lose a spell of 6th level to use Greater Dispel for the check. At tenth level, he can use Unmaking for this ability as well. This counts as a use of Unmaking if he does. The urmage can use this ability 1/day at 2nd level, 2/day at 5th level, and 3/day at 8th level.

Grounding (Su): An urmage at 4th level can choose to take a -10 penalty on a targeted dispel check. If the check succeeds, the highest-level spell that is dispelled is also grounded out. The subject of the targeted dispel suffers 1d6 points of damage per spell level of the dispelled spell.

Seize Magic (Su): Once per day when countering a spell as it is cast with Dispel Magic or Greater Dispel, the urmage can take a -10 to the dispel check to seize the spell. When the urmage seizes the spell, it is not dispelled. The urmage takes control of it. The save DC and damage are as from the original caster. All selectable parameters of the spell such as target and shape are chosen by the urmage. The urmage is treated as the caster for all other intents and purposes.

Unmaking (Sp): At 10th level, the urmage is able to unravel the magical power of a target. The range is 100 ft. + 10ft/ urmage level. Unmaking requires a dispel check like Dispel Magic, but there is no maximum caster level. Unmaking can be used two ways.

Counterspell: If targeted to be used as a counterspell, it counters the spell being cast and stops all spellcasting or spell-like abilities from being used by the target for 1d4 rounds.

Target: If directed at a target, Unmaking immediately strips all magic spells and spell-like effects from the target. This applies to positive and negative effects. It also suppresses magic items, spell casting, and spell-like abilities on the target for 1d4 rounds.

Item: If used against a specific unattended item (not carried by someone) via touch, Unmaking suppresses all trace of magic for 2d6 days and the urmage makes a caster level check. The level check is the % chance that the item is suppressed for 2d6 years.