The work contained on this page is copyright Phillip Wallace and is used with permission.

Arcane Prestige Classes

By Phillip Wallace

Arcane Transformist
Darkfire Cabalist
Mystical Disperser

Arcane Transformist

Amongst the orders of the arcane, it is well known that oftentimes an opponent may not be as defenseless as he looks. Many spellcasters have contingent effects designed to come up and transport them from danger, bring up wardings to stop magical effects, or turn spells back upon their enemy. The arcane transformist seeks to find out what effects are waiting for him and either disables them or changes them into a nasty trick. This group is primarily comprised of wizards due to the numbers of feats required to enter the class, but the occasional sorcerer is seen amongst the ranks, especially since the number of times you can use these special effects is based on charisma.

Requirements:

Feats: scribe scroll, attune gem, craft contingent spell, magical artisan (contingent spell)
Skills: knowledge arcana (14), spellcraft 14
Spellcasting ability: Ability to cast 6th lvl arcane spells, one of which must be contingency
Hit Die: d4

Class Features:

Read Contingent Conditions – An arcane transformist who is able to see an opponent or area (whether through normal sight, scrying, arcane eye, etc…) may spend one minute trying to find any contingent effects (such as glyphs, symbols, contingency spells, etc…) within a 10 foot square. At the end of this time, the arcane transformist must make a spellcraft check against a DC of 15 + level of the spell to detect the waiting magical effect(s). If successful, the arcane transformist can detect the contingent conditions. If the arcane transformist beats this check by 5 or more, he can determine the effect(s) that will be triggered. If the arcane transformist beats this check by 10 or more, he can determine the trigger(s) as well. An arcane transformist can perform this ability 5 + charisma modifier times per day.

Contingent Cost reduction: at 2nd lvl, the cost for making a contingent spell via the craft contingent spell feat is reduced by half. This stacks with the benefits of the magical artisan feat, such that contingent spells cost only 25% of the normal cost to create. Note, this is only for spells created with the contingent spell feat.

Change Contingent Conditions (simple) – By using a ranged touch attack on an object or creature, the arcane transformist is able to change the triggering conditions for the waiting magical effect that he has determined the trigger for with his read contingent conditions ability. The arcane transformist can set the contingent condition to either happen immediately or be unable to occur. The range of this ability is 30 feet. An arcane transformist can perform this ability 2 + charisma modifier times per day.

Speed Detect Contingencies – The arcane transformist has gotten adept enough at reading contingent effects that he can determine where they are much more quickly. Given a single round the arcane transformist can now detect all contingent effects in an area. If he wants to attempt to determine their effects and triggers, he must still spend the full minute studying the area.

Change Contingent Conditions (complex) – The arcane transformist has become better at changing conditions, and as result this ability simply replaces the one gained at 3rd lvl. As a result of further training the arcane transformist is able to change the trigger to anything that could be set with a contingency spell. Also, he may replace the waiting effect to any spell effect that is 4 or more levels below the containing spell (minimum 1st lvl) (example, a contingency spell could be changed to hold a new spell of 2nd lvl or less, or a chain contingency could have 2 spells changed out to both be 5th lvl or less). Any spell effect changed out is always centered on the area or creature which held the waiting spell. In order to change out a spell effect, the new spell must be cast into it (and thus oftentimes sneaky casters use silenced, stilled versions of their spells so as not to tip off opponents). Once the changed effect is triggered once with the new spell, the contingent effect is removed, even if it were an effect that normally resets itself. Each use of this ability counts against the number of uses per day (thus, changing a trigger and 2 spell effects counts as 3 uses of this ability).

Arcane Transformist Spell List – many of the spells on the arcane transformist spell list are spells that they could normally cast. However, because of their studies they are able to cast them at lower levels than other casters would normally be able to do.

2nd level – Khelben’s Suspended Silence (source MoF)
3rd level – Darsson’s Potion (source MoF), Backlash (source MoF)
5th Level – Spell Phylactery (source PGtF)
6th Level – Suppress Glyph (MoF),
7th level – Transcribe Symbol (source PGtF)

Darkfire Cabalist

The Darkfire Cabalist specializes in learning how to not only bypass the energy resistance and immunity of creatures, he learns to turn their resistances against them. By studying how energy is transformed in the elemental planes, the character learns how to change the essential basis of his spells so that they are assured to affect his foes. Eventually, the Darkfire cabalist learns how to modify his own protections to stop others like himself. The name for this secretive group comes from the fact that most Darkfire cabalists specialize in fire magics.

Requirements:

Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 14, knowledge (the planes) 10,
Spellcasting ability: ability to cast 6th lvl spells (arcane or divine)
Special: the ability to change the energy descriptor of a spell using either the energy substitution feat or the Mastery of Elements High Arcana ability
Hit Die: d4

Class Features:

Darkfire Mystery I – the character learns how to modify a spell with an energy descriptor into a dark energy version of itself. The character must pick one type of energy descriptor (fire, cold, electricity, acid, or sonic) and he is only able to modify this particular type of energy. A dark energy spell is able to bypass any and all energy resistance or immunity to the particular type of energy. In fact, if a being possesses either resistance or immunity, the dark energy spell affects the individual as though the spell were empowered. Individuals with no resistance or immunity are effected by the spell normally. It should be noted that dark energy is invisible to normal vision but can be seen with darkvision as easily as normal energy of its type can be seen in the dark (thus darkfire and darklightning are very well seen in the dark by those with darkvision).

Darkfire Weapon – Any melee weapon that the darkfire cabalist wields that does energy damage of the type that the darkfire cabalist has picked is modified while in the hands of the cabalist. All energy damage is treated as dark energy (and thus is empowered against individuals with resistance or immunity, but normal against others).

Darkfire Mystery II – the character learns how to modify another type of energy (fire, cold, electricity, acid, or sonic).

Darkfire Immunity - the character has learned to modify his own protections (whether natural, item, or spell) against energies of the types that he has studied. Thus, a darkfire cabalist who specialized in fire and acid magic would be protected from both a fireball and a darkfire fireball if he possessed a ring of fire elemental resistance or a fireshield spell.

Mystical Disperser

Many mages believe that the ultimate way to fight an arcane battle is to simply strip the magical protections from the enemy. The mystical disperser not only believes this, he seeks to understand the processes that cause magic to fall apart. By learning these processes, he learns to better protect himself and assault his opponents. Many of these mages also tend to take levels in the archmage prestige class in order to gain the mastery of counterspelling ability.

Requirements:

Feats: improved counter spell, reactive counterspell, spell girding
Skills: Spellcraft 10, knowledge (arcana) 10
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 4th lvl arcane or divine spells, one of which must be dispel magic

Class Features:

Spell Stripper – Any dispel checks you make against another caster’s spells are given an additional +2 competence bonus

Improved Spell Girding – Any dispel checks against your spells are made with a -5 penalty rather than the normal -2 provided from the spell girding feat.

Improved Spell Stripper – Any dispel checks you make another caster’s spells are given an additional +4 competence bonus

Dispel magic 1/day – the character is able to cast dispel magic once per day

Master Spell Girding – Any dispel checks against your spells are made with a -8 penalty rather than the normal -2 provided from the spell girding feat.

Improved Spell Stripper – Any dispel checks you make another caster’s spells are given an additional +6 competence bonus

Duplicate Spell 1/day – the mystical disperser is able to cause a spell that was cast in the previous round to occur again exactly as it did before (same area effect, dmg, etc… although new saving throws and/or spell resistance rolls are required). The spell must be one which the mystical disperser himself cast, but he need not make the choice of duplicating the spell until the following round. Duplicating the spell can be done as a move equivalent action, allowing the caster to use his standard action to cast another spell.

Disperser Secret:

At the 5th and 10th lvl of mystical disperser, the character delves deeper into the secrets of anti-magic and counterspelling than most wizards. As a result, each time they learn a secret they are allowed to choose one ability from among the four presented presented below:

Divine Counterspell – the mystical disperser gives up a turn attempt to dispel a spell as if casting greater dispel magic. This ability can only be used in a counterspell attempt.

Creative Counterspell – the mystical disperser has a small chance to not lose a spell used to counterspell. Roll percentile dice (d100) and add the caster level of the character while subtracting the level of the spell. If this total is more than 85 then the spell is recovered (example: 18th lvl caster counterspelling with a 6th lvl spell would need to roll a 74 or higher on percentile dice).

Magic Conduit – You can attempt to cast spells even within a dead magic zone or an antimagic field or aura (or similar effect that temporarily nullifies rather than dispersing or absorbing magic). In a dead magic zone, you must make a successful caster level check against a DC equal to 20 + the level of the spell you are trying to cast. In an antimagic field, you must make a successful caster level check against a DC equal to 11 + the caster level of the antimagic field. If this check is successful, your spells function normally. NOTE: this does not allow you to maintain spells cast prior to being exposed to the antimagic field, only cast new ones.

Magic Battery – Using your uncast spells, you create a magical source that your spells can draw upon to resist instantaneous magical dispersing effects such as Dispel Magic and Mordenkainen’s Disjunction. The mystical disperser must temporarily give up a spell slot for the day greater than or equal to the highest level effect that the character is trying to maintain (example: a mystical disperser with 2 2nd lvl, a 4th lvl, and a 6th lvl spell on him that is exposed to Mordenkainen’s Disjunction would have to give up a 6th lvl or higher spell slot to maintain his spells). In the case of epic spells that cause dispersing effects, the mystical disperser must give up an epic level spell slot and beat an opposed caster level check against the enemy epic spellcaster.

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