Custom Warrior-Mage PRC

[Ioreck]

The Combat Weaver

http://www.jaestudio.com/WarrioroftheDragon.jpg

“Get him boys! We’ve got him outnumbered ten to one!”
Two of the closest assailants fell to the tattooed man’s blade, the reverse strokes slicing through flesh as it would paper, and a strong hand swiftly appeared over the stomach of a third. A bold of lightning annihilated his innards, and crippled the two thugs following the assault.
The tall warrior stood calmly, back facing his foes and katana at his side, ready. The remaining thieves' charge faltered.
“You won’t for long.”

These mighty warriors have developed a unique fighting style that allows them to simultaneously attack their opponents while casting spells. Such a spellcasting warrior has been known to spend anywhere from months to a year developing these techniques. Over time, the Combat Weaver can extend this unique skill to even more complex spells. However, casting such spells requires even more focus to complete. It can take years for a combat-weaver to reach his true potential with the skill. Due to the intense and time-consuming practice that this requires, a Combat Weaver's spellcasting abilities are somewhat inhibited, while their combat prowess is maintained and bettered.

Hit Die: d6.
Requirements
To qualify to become an Combat Weaver, the character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 2nd-level arcane spells.
Feats: Weapon Focus (any one melee weapon), Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobile Spellcasting
Balance: 6 ranks
Concentration: 8 ranks
Knowledge (Arcana): 4 ranks
Spellcraft: 6 ranks

Class Skills
The Combat Weaver's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Scripts (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jumps (Str), Knowledge (all) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Lv   BAB   Fort   Ref  Will   Special
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1    +1     +2    +0    +2    Improvised Casting
2    +2     +3    +0    +3    Weapon Specialization
3    +3     +3    +1    +3    Ignore Spell Failure 5%
4    +4     +4    +1    +4    Improved Improvised Casting
5    +5     +4    +1    +4    Empower Strike
6    +6     +5    +2    +5    Ignore Spell Failure 10%
7    +7     +5    +2    +5    Greater Improvised Casting
8    +8     +6    +2    +6    
9    +9     +6    +3    +6    Ignore Spell Failure 15%
10   +10    +7    +3    +7    Improvised Casting Master

Spellcasting: At every even level, a Combat Weaver gains new spells per day and spells known as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class in which he could cast 2nd-level arcane spells before he added the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class in which he could cast 2nd-level spells before he became a Combat Weaver, he must decide to which class he adds each level of Combat Weaver for the purpose of determining spellcasting abilities.
Weapon Specialization (Ex): A Combat Weaver has trained extensively to develop a unique combat style. At first level, he gains Weapon Specialization as a bonus feat for a single melee weapon that he has Weapon Focus for.

Improvised Casting (Ex): A Combat Weaver, through study and experimentation, has developed a new casting technique. Whenever a Combat Weaver makes a full-attack action on an opponent, he has the option of substituting his last attack to cast a spell of 2nd-level or lower as part of that action. This must be a spell from the class that Combat Weavers advance spellcasting with, and it uses a spell slot as normal. If the Combat Weaver prepares spells, as a wizard does, then this must be a spell prepared in that slot. The spell must have a casting time of one standard action or less. This requires a concentration check (DC 20+spell level). The concentration check becomes more difficult depending on the spell components necessary to cast the spell (see the table below). If the check is failed, the spell is lost.

Spell Component   DC Change
-----------------------------
Verbal            +1
Material          +1
Focus             +3
XP Cost           +3

A Combat Warrior may only use this ability while wearing light or no armour, is able to fight with a weapon he has Weapon Focus for, and is able to provide all needed components. This ability uses his swift action for that round.

Weapon Specialization (Ex): A Combat Weaver has trained extensively to develop a unique combat style. At second level, he gains Weapon Specialization as a bonus feat for a single melee weapon that he has Weapon Focus for. If the Combat Weaver already has this feat, he may substitute it for one from the list of Fighter feats, where half his Combat Warrior levels count as Fighter levels for the purpose of meeting requirements.

Ignore Spell Failure (Ex): A Combat Weaver knows that a good defence just as important as his casting abilities while in combat. He develops his casting techniques so that he ignores a portion of the arcane spell failure chance associated with using armour. This reduction starts at 5% at level 3, and increases by 5% every three levels after, to a maximum or 15% at level 9.

Improved Improvised Casting (Ex): At level 4, the Combat Warrior is able to cast spells of 4th-level and lower with his improvised casting.

Empower Strike (Su): At level 5, the Combat Warrior may, rather than cast his spell, use the built up magic power to fuel his final attack. By sacrificing the spell of 1st-level or higher, which must be announced at the beginning of the round, the warrior’s last attack deals an additional d6 magic damage per spell level of the sacrificed spell. The concentration check to cast the spell must still be succeeded to successfully empower the strike. If it is failed, the spell is lost and there is no additional damage to the attack.

Greater Improvised Casting (Ex): At level 7, the Combat Weaver is able to cast spells of 5th-level and lower with his improvised casting.

Improvised Casting Master (Ex): At level 10, the Combat Weaver is able to cast spells of 6th-level and lower with his improvised casting.

The Combat Weaver no longer needs to sacrifice an attack to cast a spell while using this ability. The Combat Weaver may now use his improvised casting ability to cast spells of casting time one full round or less, and he may cast 1st to 3rd-level spells, with casting time one standard action or less, while making a standard attack (DC 30+spell level).



Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Notes
- Mobile Spellcasting is a feat from Complete Adventurer that lets the caster cast a standard action spell and move as a standard action.

 

[Arkhandus]

Well, firstly, welcome to the boards.

Secondly, I have to say it, your class gives way too much for very little cost (even only a minor opportunity cost).

Thirdly, some of the wording is wierd or confusing; for example, you list 'level 2 spells' as a prerequisite, but the Spellcasting entry says that he/she advances the spellcasting of the class that gave them 'level 3 spells'. And in the same paragraph you mention 'level 2 spells'. For reference, they should be referred to as 0-level, 1st-level, 2nd-level, 3rd-level, or 4th-level spells, etc., not 'level 2' or the like.


As for specific problems/clarification issues......

Requirements: What is Weapon Focus (melee)? I don't know if any book has that kind of variation on the Weapon Focus feat, though I understand Warblades in the Tome of Battle might have something similar (haven't actually looked at the Warblade yet myself). If you mean Weapon Focus (any one melee weapon), then make it clear.

Also, is Mobile Spellcasting a feat from some non-Core book, like PH2, CA, or something else? I don't recognize it, but then I only have occasional contact with any 3.5 books (I almost exclusively play/DM 3.0). I don't need to know what MS does, just what the gist of it is; is it basically like Spring Attack or Shot On The Run, but for casting standard-action spells or somesuch? I just don't know if it has some particular relevance or synergy with this prestige class.

From the requirements, this class could easily be taken by a 10th-level Wizard or Sorcerer, or a 7th-level Bard (if human at least; others may need to wait longer for the fourth required feat). Don't know if that's intentional or not, don't much care, since this class is obviously focused on mixing it up in melee, so the pure-Wiz or pure-Sorc route is a bad idea (too few HP and low BAB). So I'm just guessing Fighter 4/Wizard 3 or Fighter 2/Wizard 5 as the standard route, depending on the spellcasting prerequisite.


Assuming your Combat Weaver requires 2nd-level arcane spells; he basically gives up 2 points of Base Attack Bonus and a small handful of hit points to enter this class (from multiclassing 3 levels into Wizard, most likely). If the requirement is 3rd-level arcane spells, tehn the Fighter gives up 3 BAB and a few more HP to enter (the 5 Wizard levels in that case are still secondary). Then he loses out on a few more hit points (but not too many) by advancing in the prestige class, and misses out on 3 bonus feats, and gets 1 or 2 Wizard bonus feats instead of 1 or 2 Fighter feats he would have otherwise gained.

Either way, not a very big price to be casting spells freely while full-attacking at a high Base Attack Bonus with decent hit points and a decent or good AC (start out with leather armor, move on to magical mithral breastplate with magical mithral buckler......).

Considering that this class seems to demand and emphasize being a very nimble, very dextrous person with amazing capacity to multitask and go through delicate motions/invocations at the same time as they execute a full-on barrage of strikes in close combat...... I would think the class requires Combat Expertise at the very least, but somehow it does not. Just think about exactly how many complicated, careful things this guy is going to be doing all at the same time. Also, considering the prerequisites and all, I would think this class would get some mobile skills as well, not just barebones Fighter + Wizard skills. It seems as though it ought to have Balance, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble as class skills, yet it does not.


Note how you give the class basically Fighter stats, but with a slightly lower hit die and slightly better class skills, and 3 bonus feats replaced with: strong Will saves, 5 levels of spellcasting ability, 15% arcane spell failure reduction, the ability to strike really hard and accurately with what would normally be his weakest and least-accurate attack each round, and the ability to cast spells pretty easily at the same time as he attacks away.


In the list of class features, you put Bonus Feats first, even though they aren't gained until after reaching 2nd-level. Just a minor bit of cognitive dissonance there or something. I assume this class does not count towards effective Fighter level for purposes of gaining special Fighter feats? It does not seem to count, and I sure hope it does not, but I don't know if that's your intent or not.

Improvised Casting: Fix the 'level 1 and 2' spells thing as I mentioned above. And the action is a full-attack action, not a full-round attack, for reference. Also, you do not specify what casting time the spell needs to have. Does the spell have to possess a casting time of 1 action to cast in this manner? Does it just have to be a casting time of 1 full round or less? Or can he basically, somehow, cast a spell that normally requires 1 minute or more to cast, but in only a Swift action this way? I recommend limiting it to spells that have a casting time of 1 action or less (meaning, spells that normally could be cast within the space of a standard action or less).

Furthermore, you say 'a spell that he has memorized' or somesuch. That is an invalid definition in 3rd Edition D&D; casters do not 'memorize' their spells, not exactly. Do you mean for this only to work with prepared (that's the term that replaces it) spells, like a Wizard's spells, or do you want this class to be useable by spontaneous (non-prepared) casters as well, like Bards and Sorcerers? If you do want all three Core arcane casters to use the class, you need to word that sentence better.

Instead of saying "substituting his last attack to cast a spell of spell level 1 and 2 that he has memorized as part of that action."
you should probably word it as "substituting his last attack to cast a spell of 2nd-level or lower as part of that action. This must be a spell from the class that Combat Weavers advance spellcasting with, and it uses a spell slot as normal. If the Combat Weaver prepares spells, as a wizard does, then this must be a spell prepared in that slot."

Also, the Concentration DC isn't tough at all, for reference. Assuming for a moment that the character has a 10 Constitution and doesn't take any feats that boost his Concentration checks (besides Combat Casting, which only applies to casting defensively), he can easily have 11 ranks in Concentration at 1st-level in this prestige class (max rank equals 3 + character level, and he'll need to be at least 7th-level beforehand, so 8th-level once he actually enters this PrC).

The DC for a 2nd-level spell at that point is a mere 14, or 22 if it somehow has all four of the modifiers you give a DC increase for. With 11 ranks, that means he needs either a roll of 3, or 11 at most (and I don't know if there are any 2nd-level spells with an Experience Point cost, besides maybe Continual Flame, which is only a utility light spell anyway and wouldn't be cast in battle).

By the time a Combat Weaver reaches 10th-level in the PrC, he'll have 20 ranks in Concentration (Ftr 4/Wiz 3/CW 10 means CL 17, max skill rank of 20). To cast a 6th-level spell with Improvised Casting, his DC is 22 if it only has somatic components (yeah right!), or a maximum of 30 if it has all the components you listed. That means a natural roll of only 10 or higher is needed.

Yet a Ftr4/Wiz3/CW10 couldn't cast 6th-level spells; he'd have to advance another 3 levels in Wizard first, reaching his 20th character level, and a max Concentration rank of 23. So a natural roll of 7 or higher would be needed instead, for his highest-level spells. A Ftr 4/Wiz 3/CW 10 is an 8th-level caster, but slap on those 3 extra Wizard levels at the end and you've got an 11th-level caster, just barely acquiring 6th-level spells (a bard or sorcerer multiclass wouldn't be able to reach that; they'd only get something like 3rd or 4th level spells as a bard, or 5th level spells as a sorcerer).

And again, this is not considering any Constitution bonus or Skill Focus in the Concentration skill (though the latter is unlikely; the class already has to spend a feat on Combat Casting). The 10th-level ability to cast low-level spells with a standard action has a DC about the same as casting a 5th or 6th level spell with a full-attack for this class.

And note that skill checks don't auto-fail on a natural roll of 1 (unless your DM is mean and houserules it otherwise); a high-level Combat Weaver will always succeed at casting low-level spells during a full-attack action. Just for reference. So the DCs for your Concentration checks are rather easy to match or exceed.


Additionally....... You have a wierd clause at the end of the Improvised Casting ability's description. You say the spell is cast as a melee touch spell, but that can raise all kinds of problems. If the spell normally has a range beyond Touch, and normally affects multiple targets, then this is a problem. If the spell normally has an area of effect, then this is a problem. Etc. You seriously need to clarify or remove this clause about melee touch spells. I have no idea if this means a Fireball would only affect the target he touches, or explode right then and there, or what, for example. And that's just the first, most obvious problem with the melee touch spell clause.


I'm not quite sure about the 10th-level ability's balance anyway, in general. Also, regarding the Empowered Strike, my only beef with it is twofold: firstly, a 0-level spell would give way too big a boost for such a puny cost, and secondly, I don't get why the Empowered Strike makes the last attack of the round use the character's highest Base Attack Bonus instead of his lowest as normal (it's not called his total BAB, it's called his highest BAB, for reference; another terminology error in the class).

 

[Ioreck]

Hey, thanks for the comments. One of my critiques is that while I have good concepts, my classes generally turn out overpowered Help is always welcome.

I incorporated alot of your ideas. I skimped on sleight of hand and tumble because it would make reaching the class too difficult for ftr/wiz characters. Just too many skills required, not enough skills had.

I cleared up some of the rules and completely removed the melee touch spell clause. You're right, too complicated. I had it in my head, but didn't come out right. I also increased the concentration check DCs greatly, again, you're right, and "fixed" Empower Strike. I originally didn't even have Empower Strike, it was later added to give it a mid level appeal. The attack is made at the highest BAB because the idea is that its a "set up" strike, kind of like how feint "sets up" the foe and opens a weak spot. I could say the opponent loses his dodge bonus to AC instead?

 

[Quartz]

The prerequisites are far too hefty: too many feats. Weapon Focus, Combat Casting, and Dodge should be enough.

Full BAB is far too good; medium would be more appropriate.

The Improvised Casting ability is far too good. Firstly, it's the last attack - the one most likely to miss - and secondly, at very high levels, it synergises far too well with the Archmage's Arcane Fire ability. Similarly, the Arcane Strike ability is far too good, precisely because the last attack is most likely to miss, and you're replacing it with casting a spell at full BAB.

Weapon Specialisation should be given around L4 (q.v. Divine Crusader), but consider that a character may already have the feat. So substitute a choice from the list of Fighter feats, where the CW levels count for half - so a Ftr 4 / Wiz 3 / CW 4 would qualify as a 6th level fighter.

I'd suggest dropping the Ignore Spell Failure abilities and replacing them with feats.

 

[Flynn]

Have you looked at the Netbook of Feats and the Master Battlecaster feat? The mechanic for that feat was inspired by a prestige class from one of the Sword and Sorcery Path of the xxx books. I just can't remember, off-hand, which book or prestige class it was. Details on the feat are as follows:
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Master_Battlecaster_(DnD_General_Feat)

It's just a thought,
Flynn

 

[Ioreck]

Hey guys.

Thanks for commenting! I don't want to play with the last-attack-for-a-spell swap, simply because thats the flavor for the class. Same with the BAB.

Arcane Strike is something I added very last minute, simply to see the response, and I agree. Maybe it should simply add the damage to the last attack? Meaning that, should you be lucky enough to hit, you're going to deal some massive damage, but you need to be really lucky! Otherwise, I have no problem scrapping it.

I like having weapon specialization at first level, simply because it suggests that the character worked his but off to get there. I'll put a disclosure that, should the character already have weapon specialization, he may select a fighter feat etc. The only problem then (and still) is that it stays as a great one level dip... I'll put it at level 2, that should work fine. Also, if I remove Arcane Strike, I'll put another Bonus Feat (same mechanics) at levels 5 and 8. Or would that be just too much?

As to the prereqs... that's the price you pay for awesomeness hahaha. Besides, none of those feats are *not* desireable. But, thinking about it, I'll drop dodge. Adding combat expertise makes it seem more redundant.

Thoughts?

Flynn, as to the feat, I like this guys taste! Definately neat, and I'd never seen it before I think I'll stick with the class myself, but its mechanically sound, for sure.

And a HUGE thanks for telling me about the Netbook of Feats! I hadn't heard of it, and this is awesome. Thanks a ton!

 

[Arkhandus]

Bleh. I really don't like the Netbook of Feats. I consider it to be on par with the first few 3rd-party d20 System books put out, in terms of (the frequent lack of) balance and forethought before they put it out. Been a few years at least since I last even glanced at it.

Quartz: The prereqs are far from too severe. A non-human Fighter 2/Wizard 1 could easily have all of the necessary feats. A human Ranger 2/Bard 4 could likewise have all of them; and with the prerequisites of +5 BAB and 2nd-level arcane spells, a character already has to be at the very least 6th-level before they'll qualify, regardless of feats. Really, the class seems most geared towards Fighter/Wizards or Fighter/Sorcerers anyway.

And considering the prereqs, I don't see why the class should have to wait extra-long for Weapon Specialization; if they don't already have 4 Fighter levels beforehand, they'll at least be similar to a 5th-level Fighter in combat ability beforehand, due to the BAB and feat prereqs.

I don't see a problem with the spell failure reduction; it's minor and basically just allows light armor or a shield to be used without penalty (or both with just a minor penalty). No problem with that for a fighter-mage.

Ioreck: If anything, Dodge makes more sense than Combat Expertise. This is a mobile fighter-mage class, who casts and fights simultaneously with great dexterity; Dodge is a perfectly fine prerequisite under the circumstances. If Ambidexterity were still a feat in 3.5, I'd immediately suggest that instead as a prerequisite.

As others mentioned, and me too, the class is too powerful already. Taking out one or two abilities and replacing them with bonus feats would basically be the opposite of the right direction, since you don't want to change the BAB to average or lower the HD probably.

 

[Ioreck]

Actually the hit die had originally been d6. I can't remember why it was increased... but overall having lower hit die makes more sense to me. Thanks for pointing that one out.

Btw, he can only use a shield if the spell doesnt require somatic components, or a specific focus or components. Which would kind of limit his spell selection.

Ok, so I'm gonna ask specifically about Empower Strike. Should it be toned down (ie attack not at the highest BAB), or completely removed?

 

[Arkhandus]

The character could have the shield as his weapon, though, as well as his defense. With the right feats it's easy to become a shield-fighter with no weapon in the off-hand (carrying the shield in the primary hand). And without giving up the shield's AC bonus.

There are all kinds of feats in 3.0 and 3.5 for this; things like Shield Expert, Shield Charge, and the numerous shield-related feats in the Player's Handbook II for 3.5 D&D.

The shield bash, or shield spikes, are perfectly valid choices to apply Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization, in either edition.


Also: lowering the hit dice to d6 is still not enough powering-down for this class to be balanced with its full BAB, half spellcasting progression, and ability to fight at full strength in melee while casting spells simultaneously. (especially since, right at low levels, they can start sacrificing their last attack of the round to cast a True Strike, allowing their first attack of the next round to apply full Power Attack while holding a greatsword two-handed; and they could do this easily every round for quite a while, as long as they have slots of 1st-level or higher to spare).

 

[Ioreck]

Hmm okay. I decided on weakening Empower Strike (so that the attack isn't made with the highest BAB), but what else would you suggest?

I'd like to avoid an AB penalty while usin the ability... I'm thinking making the spell require the loss of two attacks, and then only one at the level 10 ability? Or possibly increasing the concentration check to cast the spell to 25+spell level?

What do you think?