Homebrew Class: The Magewrite

[Vascant]

I know I am coming into this one late but here I go anyways....

The idea behind the class is stated as "he is a master craftsmen of magical items" and yet there are three solid abilities focused on evasion and dodging?

At first level you award Spell Emulation which is geared towards the focus of the class (which needs a bit more depth to the description, such as do you need to roll once per day or once per spell per item time being created), then at 9th level you award New Arcana? Just an idea (I have not looked at how much this will effect the game), but perhaps at 9th allowing the Magewrite to select an additional list to add to what it can emulate?

Also one thing that stuck out to me is the fact this class really does not offer anything that unique, I mean anything a magewrite creates will basically be the same thing anyone else could create.

Anyway, just some thoughts after first read...

 

[Glade Riven]

Forgot to mention that New Arcana was dropped as well - which leaves lvl 9 empty, too. I'm working on thinking up a way to fill those dead levels. The special type of homunculus (avatar?) that the class has seems to be where the uniqueness comes in. I'm going to have to give this some careful thought.

 

[Chronologist]

Okay, so the class features seem geared towards doing 3 things.
1) Recharging/empowering wands
2) Crafting magical items
3) Having a mechanical pet

Other focuses mentioned include magical item disruption and infusion-like spells.

I think the class should do one thing better than any other class - make and use magical items. The class should look, feel, and play very different from a Wizard, so I think focusing on items is key.

Here's a thought: why not remove spellcasting capability in lieu of greatly enhanced class features? Intelligence based, magic oriented, but no spells, that would definitely set the class apart from Wizards.

 

[Vascant]

I think the class should do one thing better than any other class - make and use magical items. The class should look, feel, and play very different from a Wizard, so I think focusing on items is key.

Here's a thought: why not remove spellcasting capability in lieu of greatly enhanced class features? Intelligence based, magic oriented, but no spells, that would definitely set the class apart from Wizards.

I am in complete agreement here, in fact after I walked away from posting previously I thought about cutting down the spell list available to this class. I do think they should have some spell casting ability but it the spells it has should be focused on the reason this class exists. When you do this, you will then need to expand Spell Emulation ability to handle the lack of general spells available to the class.

I also came up with an idea that may fit well here, much like the Archmage prestige class has High Arcana and as it raises in level you get to select from a list. Why not go with Item Creation Arcana. Then you can start to build a list of different focused abilities for a class to select from. This would then give you a class that could handle the great many different aspects of item creation and allow for no two Magewrite's to be the same (providing your Item Creation Arcana list has enough depth).

 

[GlassEye]

I think Chronologist and Vascant have really summed up nicely and clearly the things the class lacks and needs to be a unique and (hopefully) fun class. Focus on the crafting & use of magic items. Anything else can fit into Vascant's Creation Arcana, if you should choose to go that route.

 

[Glade Riven]

Some good advice. I've worked today on rebuilding the class, although some of the higher levels are not finished. The magic crafter who can't cast is an interesting twist that I think I can use. Earlier posts were starting to pull it in all sorts of directions, so I refocused it. The purpose of the Magewright is two-fold: 1. Craft & Use magical items, and 2. build his own personal mini-army of constructs.

Spark of Genius: At 1st level, the magewright uses his intelligence modifier for Use Magical Device checks.

Spell Emulation: At 1st level, the magewright gains the ability to mimic the spell requirements for the purpose of magical item creation. She must succeed on a Use Magical Device Check equal to 20 plus the spell’s caster level. This spell is to craft as a wizard of the same level, and all spells must be from the Sorcerer/Wizard spell list. A magewright may also use this ability to use spell completion items such as scrolls. The magewright uses his level to determine the caster level for the item crafted.

Bonus Craft Feat: At 2nd level and every 4 levels afterwards the magewright gains a bonus Craft Magical Item feat. He must still meet the prerequisites for the feat. The magewright uses his level for the caster level.

Construct Leadership: At 3rd level, the magewright’s technical knowledge allows for him to maintain control over constructs. This functions similarly to the Leadership feat found in the Pathfinder Role Playing Game Core Rulebook. The leadership score for this ability is always equal to the magewright’s level. Mechanical cohorts are always two levels lower than the magewright.

Construct Myrmidon: At 3rd level, thanks to the spark of genius the magewright has the capacity to create an artificial cohort known as a Myrmidon, even though they do not have the Craft Construct feat. The magewright can only have one Myrmidon at any one time. Myrmidons advance according the myrmidon advancement chart. This is a representation of the constant tinkering a Magewright does to maintain and upgrade his myrmidon.

Recharge: At 4th level, 1/day the magewright can recharge any magical item for 1d6 charges. This requires a successful Use Magical Device check of 20 + spell level of item + caster level of the item. If the item is capable of casting multiple spells (such as a stave), the UMD check uses the highest level spell to determine the check. The item must have multiple charges (such as a wand or a stave), and cannot be charged beyond the maximum number of charges the item had when crafted. No consumable items can be recharged. Every four levels the magewright can recharge +1/day. A magewright cannot recharge the same item more than once in a single day.

Metamagic Burst: At 5th level, the magewright can apply a single metamagic feat to an item with spell charges (typically a wand or a staff). Doing this uses up a number of extra charges equal to the increase in spell slot of the metamagic feat times the amount of charges used for the spell (for instance, using Widen Spell on a stave that casts a spell that requires 2 charges would use up an additional 6 charges for a total of 8). At 12th level, a Magewright can apply two feats to an item with spell charges. At 16th level, he can apply 3 metamagic feats.

Craft Marionette: At 7th level, the magewright can craft up to 3 marionettes from the marionette list.

Puppeteer: At 9th level, the magewright can telepathically command his myrmidon and minions

Metamagic Mastery: At 20th level, the magewright masters the ability to get the most out of magical items with charges. Whenever you use magic items that require charges, you can instead expend spell slots to power the item. For every three levels of spell slots that you expend, you consume one less charge when using a magic item that expends charges. Up to 4 metamagic feats can be applied at a single time.

Levels 9, 13, 17, and 19 are currently empty. Hopefully, putting the limitations on recharge with the dice checks and how often one can charge per day will help keep this from being too powerful. Recharge will also help with this class being a big money sink.

The homunculus became the Myrmidon (and there can be only one per Magewright), and the Marionettes are a new set of minions. Right now I am looking at the Myrmidons advancing by NPC classes, with the stats 12, 11, 10, 9, & 8 (no con, as it is a construct). The player will decide the NPC class and just where those stats go. Myrmidons gain +1 ability score every 5 levels, and are always 2 levels behind the Magewright. Marionettes will be cannon-fodder, with a progression chart of 5 levels. I havn't statted them yet, but I'm working on it. I'm thinking that there will be four main "chassies" to choose from, and then it is just a matter of how the individual droids-er-puppets are equipped. There will be a monetary figure invovled with the intial creation of all of these constructs. The Myrmidon won't have upgrade costs per level (except what gear the magewright buys for it), while the marionettes will have upgrade costs.

So...yeah. Puppet master and mad scientist rolled into one.

 

[Vascant]

Perhaps it might make a better prestige class..kind of like the Imaskar Portal Lords from Forgotten Realms. I guess my problem with your class right now is I really see no reason for it to exist.

It could be my mindset and how I view classes and prestige classes, I feel they are almost like social cultures in how the class/prc and the special abilities they have are developed over time (generations).

Hopefully I will get some free time today (or over the next few days) and create the Magewrite I described above and demonstrate how it can handle your goals as well. Time is the big question, my wife wanted me to renovate her kitchen as a xmas present (I should never have asked what she wanted and just bought her a gift blindly)

 

[Glade Riven]

Well, I'm open to seeing it, although I am digging the direction that I am is going. The stuff I've posted in thread, though, is getting rather messy and probably confusing. Right now I'm working on the myrmidon and marionette descriptions, and later today I hope to have things complete/clear enough that I'll post a PDF version that's easier to read.

 

[GlassEye]

Perhaps it might make a better prestige class..kind of like the Imaskar Portal Lords from Forgotten Realms. I guess my problem with your class right now is I really see no reason for it to exist.

I agree with this for the most part. IMO a magewright should be able to craft and maybe use magic items better than anyone else. Right now it seems its main shtick is getting a construct cohort. Crafting constructs is a very specialized branch of item crafting and not every magewright will likely want to specialize in that fashion.

It could be that the name 'Magewright' set up certain expectations that weren't necessarily intended (or maybe the initial concept has changed a bit). Looking back over the posts I see reference to a few different ideas: "magical crafter" "mad scientist" and, recently, "puppeteer". Paizo's Alchemist covers the mad scientist idea adequately unless you, Transbot9, were wanting a more mechanical-minded 'crazed tinker' sort of thing. Archetypes I think of when I see 'Magewright' are Wayland the Smith, Hephaestus, and dwarves from Norse sagas (those dudes could make anything from just about anything!).

Hopefully I will get some free time today (or over the next few days) and create the Magewrite I described above and demonstrate how it can handle your goals as well.

Lol, I was thinking of doing a similar thing and stealing all the ideas I liked best from the thread.

Time is the big question, my wife wanted me to renovate her kitchen as a xmas present (I should never have asked what she wanted and just bought her a gift blindly)

Dang, that is some Christmas present. Good luck!

Well, I'm open to seeing it, although I am digging the direction that I am is going.

Glad that you are excited about your project! I hope my comments don't detract from that in any way and maybe are at least a little useful to you.

 

[Glade Riven]

Eh, I'm a graphic artist - I know how to take constructive criticism - and unconstructive criticism .

Update: PDF! http://www.secondpulsar.net/roleplaying/Magewrightv3.pdf

I think I may need to drastically cut back on the number of marionettes the class can eventually get...I realized after I exported this to PDF format that it is going to cause me some serious DM headaches as it'll slow pacing by a lot. Casters(bots) may need an increase in initial & upgrade costs beyond the wand, or dropped all together. I also forgot to list their traits, which are basically normal construct traits except the cheaply made little twirps are subject to crits.