The Magician (a campaign-specific core class)

[Ciaran]

robjh: Could you provide an example of how you anticipate the magician could abuse a particular spell or group of spells?

Nyaricus: Thanks for the compliment! Yes, the magician casts spontaneously as a sorcerer; this is specified in the "Spells" section of the writeup.

 

[Ciaran]

So we need to know how many spells a magician starts with. I'm thinking this:

[title]

At 1st level, the magician starts with five 0-level spells and three 1st-level spells for which he knows one or more appropriate runes. He also starts with detect magic (range: touch) and read magic.​

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Regarding runes, there should be some overlap between runes (such that most spells can be accessed by two or more runes), but no one rune should completely subsume another. What portfolios of spells look like they could use a new rune to cover them, and are there any runes that are too narrow, too wide, or excessively similar to one another?

 

[Ciaran]

Rune Secret [General]
You have unlocked a rune’s most esoteric mysteries.
Prerequisite: Caster level 8+, Greater Rune Focus.
Benefit: The benefits of each Rune Secret are unique to the chosen rune. Consult your DM for details.
Special: You can select this feat multiple times. You may choose the same rune to be modified in different ways by multiple Rune Secrets.

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This will allow magicians to customize their magical abilities with a sufficient investment of feats. It should also encourage specialization; feats devoted to racking up Rune Secrets are feats not spent on expanding one's spell repertoire by purchasing Extra Runes.

Some sample Rune Secrets:

Rune Secret (Æsir): You may turn undead as a cleric.
Rune Secret (Æsir): You may turn evil outsiders as a good cleric turns undead.
Rune Secret (Æsir): You permanently gain the benefits of detect evil.
Rune Secret (Æsir): You permanently gain the benefits of protection from evil.
Rune Secret (Æsir): When calling celestials with planar ally spells, halve the bargaining cost.
Rune Secret (Æsir): Each celestial creature you conjure with any summon spell gains a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and Constitution for the duration of the spell that summoned it.

 

[Quartz]

Feats: At 1st level, a magician gains the Eschew Materials feat

Why not simply say that most spells don't require material components?

Amplify Spell [Metamagic]

This is better than Heighten Spell; I'd suggest +2 levels. Ditto Potent Spell.

Metamagic Synergy

This seems a bit too good, especially with your increased number of feats. Can I suggest you modify it such that it reduces the spell level by 1, to a minimum of +1 per metamagic feat applied? Otherwise you'll get people automatically applying a +1 level metamagic feat to all other metamagicked spells (and some of your +1 level feats are rather good).

 

[Ciaran]

Why not simply say that most spells don't require material components?

Because this is clearer than "most spells". I could repeat the text of Eschew Components, but it's simpler and more concise to use the feat as is.

This is better than Heighten Spell; I'd suggest +2 levels. Ditto Potent Spell.

Amplify Spell increases caster level, while Heighten Spell increases spell level; I'm not sure why you are choosing Heighten Spell for purposes of comparison. Could you clarify?

As to Potent Spell, increasing spell level by 1 for an additional +1 DC seems a very heavy price, although I'm willing to be convinced otherwise. How often would you use a higher level slot for +1 DC, especially when you can use Rune Focus to gain +1 DC for a range of spells at no metamagic cost?

This seems a bit too good, especially with your increased number of feats. Can I suggest you modify it such that it reduces the spell level by 1, to a minimum of +1 per metamagic feat applied? Otherwise you'll get people automatically applying a +1 level metamagic feat to all other metamagicked spells (and some of your +1 level feats are rather good).

This doesn't make any sense to me. No matter how many metamagic feats you apply using Metamagic Synergy, you only reduce the modifier by 1. So applying a +1 level metamagic feat would result in... +1 level, for no benefit whatsoever. Or am I misunderstanding your point?

 

[Quartz]

Amplify Spell increases caster level, while Heighten Spell increases spell level; I'm not sure why you are choosing Heighten Spell for purposes of comparison. Could you clarify?

Because it's the nearest current analogue.

As to Potent Spell, increasing spell level by 1 for an additional +1 DC seems a very heavy price,

This is what Heighten Spell does.

This doesn't make any sense to me. No matter how many metamagic feats you apply using Metamagic Synergy, you only reduce the modifier by 1. So applying a +1 level metamagic feat would result in... +1 level, for no benefit whatsoever. Or am I misunderstanding your point?

Yes, though you do have half a point. Suppose you have MS and apply Still Spell to a spell. Under your system, you can now apply any other +1 level metamagic feat for free, because with MS, you get to deduct 1 level from the total, whereas with mine, you don't.

Example time:

Consider a Stilled Magic Missile (2nd level), and a Quickened Magic Missile (5th level).

With your Metamagic Synergy, you can apply any metamagic feat (e.g. Silent Spell) that raises the level by 1 without increasing the cost, so you'd end up with a Silent Stilled Magic Missile at 2nd level (1 (Base) +1 (Still) +1 (Silent) -1 (Synergy)), and a Silent Quickened Magic Missile at 5th level. That's far too good.

With my suggestion, the former becomes a 3rd level spell (synergy does not apply), but the second stays at 5th level, because Quickened costs more than +1.

It's still very good. Perhaps too good. You can still effectively apply a +1 level metamagic feat like Still or Silent for free when using a high-power metamagic feat. I'd be tempted to restrict the feat further by excluding those metamagic feats which only raise the level by one, but that would make it very complex.

Perhaps it might be better to ditch the synergy concept and replace it with something like this:

Metamagic Focus (Metamagic)
You are particularly apt with one metamagic feat.
Prerequisite: any metamagic feat.
Benefit: Pick one non-Epic metamagic feat you know (the base feat) that costs +2 levels or more. Reduce the cost of that feat by 1 level.
Special: This feat may be taken multiple times. The effects are cumulative (if applied to the same feat). You may not reduce the cost of the base feat below +1 level.

 

[Ciaran]

Because it's the nearest current analogue.

But it's not analogous at all. Empower, Enlarge and Extend all affect the spell parameters that Amplify increases; Heighten affects none of them.

This is what Heighten Spell does.

I suppose it does increase the DC, doesn't it? I usually think of Heighten Spell in terms of its ability to increase spell level to bypass Globes of Invulnerability and such.

In any case, this means that Potent Spell is completely inferior to Heighten Spell if its DC bonus equals its spell slot increase; Heighten Spell entirely subsumes its effects as a subset of its own capabilities. Unless Potent Spell is more effective within its narrower range, there's no point in taking it instead of Heighten Spell. And if making Potent Spell more effective is unbalanced, then the feat must be scrapped outright.

Yes, though you do have half a point. Suppose you have MS and apply Still Spell to a spell. Under your system, you can now apply any other +1 level metamagic feat for free, because with MS, you get to deduct 1 level from the total, whereas with mine, you don't.

You may be right about the power level. But if so, your fix only pushes the problem back onto the higher-powered metamagic feats; if a cheap Silent Stilled Magic Missile is bad, a cheap Silent Quickened Magic Missile is worse.

How about a limited-use feat, like this:

Improved Metamagic [Metamagic]
You are adept in the use of metamagic.
Prerequisites: Any two metamagic feats.
Benefit: Once per day, when applying one or more metamagic feats to a spell, reduce the spell slot modifier of the sum of all the metamagic feats by one level, to a minimum of +1.
Special: You can select this feat multiple times. Each time you take the feat, you may use it one more time per day. You cannot apply multiple uses of this feat to a single spell.

 

[Quartz]

You may be right about the power level. But if so, your fix only pushes the problem back onto the higher-powered metamagic feats; if a cheap Silent Stilled Magic Missile is bad, a cheap Silent Quickened Magic Missile is worse.

Yes. Hence my subsequent suggestion.

How about a limited-use feat, like this:

Improved Metamagic [Metamagic]
You are adept in the use of metamagic.
Prerequisites: Any two metamagic feats.
Benefit: Once per day, when applying one or more metamagic feats to a spell, reduce the spell slot modifier of the sum of all the metamagic feats by one level, to a minimum of +1.
Special: You can select this feat multiple times. Each time you take the feat, you may use it one more time per day. You cannot apply multiple uses of this feat to a single spell.

You know, I think this is too weak. I'll think on it.

 

[Ciaran]

You know, I think this is too weak. I'll think on it.

Please do; this discussion has been fruitful.

The most likely upgrades for this particular variant are either to increase the number of uses per day, or to remove the "minimum of +1" clause; a free use of a +1 level metamagic feat doesn't seem like a problem if you can only do it once per day.

Any comments on the Rune Secret idea? I'm currently considering a hierarchy of Rune Secret feats at ascending levels, which might be a bit tricky to balance.

 

[Quartz]

Glad to be of help. The basic problem I have with your Metamagic Synergy feat is that it's vastly too powerful. It's too broad. What happens when a mage who's taken Metamagic Synergy four times casts an 8th (base) level spell with 5 metamagic levels? He's now effectively casting a 13th level spell as 9th level. Look at the Epic Feats Automatic Still / Silent / Quicken / whatever Spell. Actually, doesn't Upper Krust or someone have an Epic Metamagic system very much on these lines?

But your Improved Metamagic feat goes the other way: by limiting it to once a day no-one will take it. It's too weak. And it's still too broad to be widened. Compare it with other feats: they're mostly specific and tie a character along a path - q.v. Weapon Focus / Weapon Specialisation, Dodge /Mobility etc - and enhance that path. So if you want it I suggest you make it apply to a specific feat of the player's choice, but don't limit its usage. But consider that a 5th level mage could be casting Quickened Truestrikes if you let it stack.