powerful new feats from Complete Mage

[kerbarian]

There are a couple feats that stood out to me in Complete Mage as being extremely powerful -- one for wizards and one for sorcerers.

Wizards get Alacritous Cogitation. Once/day, you can spontaneously cast any spell you know from an open (unprepared) spell slot. The feat also has the poor wording that "Casting the spell requires a full-round action." I'm sure that will be be ruled to add something like "or the spell's normal casting time, whichever is longer."

Sorcerers get Rapid Metamagic. It requires 12 ranks in Spellcraft (so it's not available until 9th level), but it completely removes the increase in casting time for spontaneous metamagic.

A couple other items of note: Abjurant Champion is a full-BAB, full-casting-progression, d10 HD prestige class with some nice class abilities. Prerequisites aren't too bad: BAB +5, combat casting, proficiency with one martial weapon. The BAB requirement probably makes it a second prestige class rather than a first, though.

There's also a sorcerer variant that could work well with it. You lose one spell known, but you get +2hp per sorcerer level and martial weapon proficiency plus weapon focus with a melee weapon of your choice.

 

[Legildur]

All sounds good to me! But I'm not sure that my DMs would go for it.... I'll wait for a review of the book and then make a decision about purchasing before I bother my DMs.

 

[Crothian]

none of those feats seem that bad to me.

 

[Someone]

A couple other items of note: Abjurant Champion is a full-BAB, full-casting-progression, d10 HD prestige class with some nice class abilities. Prerequisites aren't too bad: BAB +5, combat casting, proficiency with one martial weapon. The BAB requirement probably makes it a second prestige class rather than a first, though.

That's supposing you're approaching it from the wizard perspective; it's a really good class for a Ftr 5/sor-wiz 1.

The Ultimate Mage class has a powergaming trick with practiced spellcaster.

 

[Victim]

There are a couple feats that stood out to me in Complete Mage as being extremely powerful -- one for wizards and one for sorcerers.

Wizards get Alacritous Cogitation. Once/day, you can spontaneously cast any spell you know from an open (unprepared) spell slot. The feat also has the poor wording that "Casting the spell requires a full-round action." I'm sure that will be be ruled to add something like "or the spell's normal casting time, whichever is longer."

Yeah, being able to technically use the feat to cast slow spells in a full round action is rather problematic. But I don't see the problem otherwise. If someone is leaving slots open, they can already cast any one of their spells (limited by slot level) given 15 minutes. Being able to accelerate that once per day doesn't seem like that big of a deal for the cost of a feat.

Sorcerers get Rapid Metamagic. It requires 12 ranks in Spellcraft (so it's not available until 9th level), but it completely removes the increase in casting time for spontaneous metamagic.

Again, seems fine except in conjunction with the 2 sorc only spells in the book. Either sorcerers should be using Quicken, or they should be using their Fusion spells. Not both.

A couple other items of note: Abjurant Champion is a full-BAB, full-casting-progression, d10 HD prestige class with some nice class abilities. Prerequisites aren't too bad: BAB +5, combat casting, proficiency with one martial weapon. The BAB requirement probably makes it a second prestige class rather than a first, though.

There's also a sorcerer variant that could work well with it. You lose one spell known, but you get +2hp per sorcerer level and martial weapon proficiency plus weapon focus with a melee weapon of your choice.

Yeah, you'd almost think they designed that variant and the PrC to go together.

The prereqs do seem rather light, especially since top level ability suggests that champions should be fighter heavy rather than caster heavy. As it stands, the only thing keeping a high level caster from picking it up easily is the martial weapon proficiency - Combat Casting is a pure prereq feat for FIGHTER/mages as well as pure mages or MAGE/fighters. Of course, a pure caster type picking up the class probably only derives a minor benefit from the full bab.

Also, the fact that mage armor is conjuration rather than abjuration tends to cramp the class's style.

I'm planning on picking up the class with my Duskblade since my character gets all the prereqs just by being a DB. While many of the abilities are less useful considering the duskblade's spell list, the ability to quicken my Resist Energies seems like it could come in handy.

 

[Cedric]

I'm playing a barbarian 1, fighter 2, ranger 1 melee character. But, I have a solid int (14) and was thinking about taking a level of wizard.

Now that I've seen Abjurant Champion...5 levels of that and then Eldritch Knight might be kind of nice. At the very least, I'm thinking about it.

 

[boolean]

The prereqs do seem rather light, especially since top level ability suggests that champions should be fighter heavy rather than caster heavy. As it stands, the only thing keeping a high level caster from picking it up easily is the martial weapon proficiency - Combat Casting is a pure prereq feat for FIGHTER/mages as well as pure mages or MAGE/fighters. Of course, a pure caster type picking up the class probably only derives a minor benefit from the full bab.

If I take five levels of Abjurant Champion instead of five levels of wizard I lose:

• 3 feats (One for Combat Casting, one for Martial Weapon Proficiency assuming I haven't gotten that from somewhere else, one less bonus feat from wizard levels)
• Familiar special abilities (Wiz 15 has +3 nat. armor, +3 Int, Scry on familiar and spell res. vs. Wiz10 AbjCh5)
• Skills (AbjCh loses all the knowledge skills except arcana as class skills)

I gain:

• +3 base attack
• Approximately 15 hit points (5d10 avg 27.5 vs. 5d4 avg 12.5)
• +5 AC with the Shield spell, and one or two others (but not Mage Armor )
• Free Extended abjuration spells
• Abjuration spells of up to third level as swift actions
• Skills (Abjurant Champion has a number of class skills wizards don't get, Climb, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Ride, Swim)

I'd definately consider spending a second feat for MWP to access this class with a straight caster.

 

[Wish]

I'd consider it, but it's not an automatic. Those feats are a big price to pay, and losing knowledge skills as class skill is somewhat problematic. The familiar thing isn't a big deal at all. The abilities are nice, but I don't think they're so good that you have to take it.

 

[Rystil Arden]

one for Martial Weapon Proficiency assuming I haven't gotten that from somewhere else

Doesn't it require MWP: All? I forget. If so, you can't get that with a feat and have to take a class that offers them all, which typically shorts you a spellcasting level.

 

[Joker]

Doesn't it require MWP: All? I forget. If so, you can't get that with a feat and have to take a class that offers them all, which typically shorts you a spellcasting level.

Well, technically, you can get it with feats. It's just gonna take awhile. Especially with new books coming out .

Though at 234th level, that full-casting progression wizard probably wished he had taken one level of fighter instead of all those Martial Weapon Proficiencies .