2002-08-02 - 10:46 a.m.
The Mage
In the modern occult setting of Dark Ascension, the Sorcerer class, with its flashy, innate magic, does not really fit in very well. For that reason, it is not permitted as a PC class and is not recommended as an NPC class, either. The Mage prestige class, as described herein, should be used, instead.
Magi are both more versatile and more limited than Sorcerers and Wizards, having some of the strengths of each but, in general, having fewer powerful spells. A Mage learns spells in the same manner as a Wizard but is assumed to truly memorize them and, thus, needs bulky spell books only during his initial studies. To learn a spell, he must either obtain it from another Mage or have access to it in an arcane tome. In the latter case, he will often have to translate the spell into his own language, since true works of sorcery are seldom found in any modern tongue. This may require knowledge of the appropriate language or appropriate skill checks (Decipher Script or even Spellcraft, at the DM's discretion). Once the spell has been deciphered, the Mage must try to understand and learn it. This requires a Spellcraft check, with a DC equal to 14 plus three times the level of the spell minus the character's Mage level, e.g. 19 for a 3rd level spell being memorized by a 4th level Mage. Unlike most Spellcraft checks, this one can be made untrained (as an Int check), as long as the character possesses ranks in Knowledge (arcana) at least equal to the level of the spell. A non-Mage with some occult training can learn spells - he simply will not be able to cast them. Note, also, that it is possible (if not easy) to learn very powerful spells even at low level, but they will be difficult, if not impossible, to cast. In any event, only one check is permitted, and, if it fails, the character cannot make the attempt again for that spell until he has gained at least one more level as a Mage.
Once a spell is known, it can be cast at will. The Mage need not memorize it each day, like a Wizard. There is a limit to the amount of arcane energy that a Mage can harness each day, however. This capacity is measured in Mana Points (MP), which are refreshed after a good night's sleep. The Mage's MP "potential" (i.e. the number of points he starts with each day) is based on his level and may be increased if he has a good key ability score. In this sense, a Mage's spell use is very similar to a Psion's use of psionic powers. The Mage tends to be more versatile, since he can cast any spell that he has ever learned; however, at any given level, his spells tend to be weaker (note, for example, the lack of flashy attack spells).
To find a Mage's MP potential, at any given level, simply add the base score, found on the Mage advancement chart, to the bonus provided by the Mage's key ability score, as indicated on the chart below. Note that the numbers on the charts are not additive between levels. In other words, a 5th level Mage with a key ability score of 17 has an MP score of 21 (12 base, plus 9 bonus), not 49 (30 base, plus 19 bonus). The key ability is usually Intelligence; however, the DM may rule that certain traditions of magic use Wisdom or even Charisma, instead.
| Ability | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ | Level | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ | |
| Score | 1-2 | 3-4 | 5-6 | 7-8 | 9-10 | 11-12 | 13-14 | 15-16 | 17-20 | |
| 1 - 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 - 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 14 - 15 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| 16 - 17 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 18 - 19 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | |
| 20 - 21 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | |
| 22 - 23 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 20 | 29 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | |
| 24 - 25 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 58 | 58 | |
| 26 - 27 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 32 | 41 | 52 | 65 | 80 | 80 | |
| 28 - 29 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 33 | 51 | 62 | 75 | 90 | 107 | |
| 30 - 31 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 36 | 54 | 76 | 89 | 104 | 121 | |
| 32 - 33 | 3 | 12 | 27 | 41 | 59 | 81 | 107 | 122 | 139 | |
| 34+ | 3 | 12 | 27 | 48 | 66 | 88 | 114 | 144 | 151 |
The base MP cost to cast a spell depends upon its level and that of the Mage, as indicated on the following chart:
| Mage | ------ | ------ | ------ | Spell | Level | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------- |
| Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 1-2 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 28 | 45 | 66 | 91 | 120 | 153 |
| 3-4 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 36 | 55 | 78 | 105 | 136 |
| 5-6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 27 | 44 | 65 | 90 | 119 |
| 7-8 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 33 | 52 | 75 | 102 |
| 9-10 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 39 | 60 | 85 |
| 11-12 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 26 | 45 | 68 |
| 13-14 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 30 | 51 |
| 15-16 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 34 |
| 17+ | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 |
Metamagic feats work with Mage spells in much the same manner as they do with Sorcerer spells, including the usual increase in casting time. A level increase simply causes the spell to use more MP - often, a lot more. For example, a 2nd level spell cast using the Enlarge Spell feat would count as 3rd level, for this purpose, and would cost a 4th level Mage 10 MP, instead of 3.
As previously noted, the Mage spell list is not as flashy or destructive as that of a Sorcerer or Wizard, although it is quite large (since it must account for most of the magic found in the world of Dark Ascension). It focuses more on subtle spells, abjurations, divinations, and the like. Note that, in the Dark Ascension campaign (only), spells that have a particular effect on extra-dimensional creatures are considered to have much the same effect on alien creatures that possess innate psionic powers, e.g. Onjina, Sheloth, and Vasloi, but not Gunda and Surd. The only exception applies to spells that would banish a creature to its "home plane". These have a slightly different effect, depending on the target:
- Onjina are forced fully into the other dimension they inhabit and, thus, disappear from the corporeal plane for 4d6 hours.
- Sheloth are driven off and will always retreat into their subterranean lairs. They will not return for at least a day.
- Vasloi sahtrri (spirits) are banished into the astral plane and cannot influence the corporeal plane again for 4d6 hours. Rare corporeal Vasloi will flee the presence of the spell caster, by the most direct route, but are free to return after about an hour.
Level 1: alarm, arcane mark, dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect secret doors, detect poison, detect undead, disrupt undead, endure elements, erase, expeditious retreat, feather fall, flare, ghost sound, jump, know direction, light, guidance, mage hand, magic weapon, mending, message, Nystul's magical aura, Nystul's undetectable aura, open/close, prestidigitation, protection from chaos/evil/good/law, purify food and drink, read magic, resistance, ventriloquism
Level 2: animate rope, bane, bless, blur, burning hands, cause fear, change self, charm person, chill touch, command, continual flame, darkvision, detect thoughts, doom, hold portal, hypnotism, identify, locate object, mage armor, misdirection, obscure object, obscuring mist, ray of enfeeblement, remove fear, resist elements, sanctuary, see invisibility, shield, silent image, sleep, spider climb, whispering wind
Level 3: alter self, arcane lock, augury, blindness/deafness, clairaudience/clairvoyance, cure light wounds, darkness, daylight, dispel magic, displacement, flaming sphere, fog cloud, greater magic weapon, halt undead, hypnotic pattern, illusory script, invisibility, keen edge, knock, levitate, magic circle against chaos/evil/good./law, minor image, mirror image, nondetection, protection from arrows, protection from elements, pyrotechnics, rope trick, scare, shatter, spectral hand, summon swarm
Level 4: arcane eye, blink, cure moderate wounds, detect scrying, dimensional anchor, discern lies, dominate animal, explosive runes, flame arrow, fly, gaseous form, gust of wind, haste, hold person, invisibility sphere, locate creature, major image, minor globe of invulnerability, phantom steed, remove curse, remove paralysis, scrying, sepia snake sigil, sleet storm, slow, stinking cloud, suggestion, tongues, vampiric touch, water breathing, web, wind wall
Level 5: bestow curse, dimension door, dismissal, charm monster, confusion, contagion, dream, emotion, Evard's black tentacles, false vision, fear, fire shield, fire trap, hallucinatory terrain, illusory wall, improved invisibility, lesser geas, minor creation, neutralize poison, Otiluke's resilient sphere, phantasmal killer, polymorph self, prying eyes, rainbow pattern, Rary's telepathic bond, remove disease, sending, shout, solid fog, stoneskin, wall of fire, wall of ice
Level 6: analyze dweomer, animate dead, antimagic field, death ward, dominate person, fabricate, feeblemind, find the path, globe of invulnerability, greater dispelling, guards and wards, hold monster, ice storm, lesser planar binding, magic jar, major creation, mind fog, mirage arcana, nightmare, passwall, persistent image, seeming, spell resistance, spellstaff, stone shape, telekinesis, transmute mud to rock, transmute rock to mud, true seeing, wall of force, wall of iron, wall of stone
Level 7: acid fog, banishment, control undead, control water, control winds, Drawmij's instant summons, eyebite, geas/quest, greater scrying, mass haste, mass suggestion, mislead, move earth, permanency, permanent image, planar binding, programmed image, project image, repulsion, sequester, spell turning, teleport, veil, vision
Level 8: Bigby's grasping hand, control weather, discern location, ethereal jaunt, flesh to stone, forcecage, heal, holy aura, insanity, mass invisibility, mind blank, Mordenkainen's sword, phase door, power word: stun, protection from spells, regenerate, reverse gravity, screen, shadow walk, simulacrum, statue, stone to flesh, summon Onjina (as summon monster VIII but always calls one Onjina), unholy aura
Level 9: antipathy, astral projection, binding, clone, demand, etherealness, foresight, freedom, gate, greater planar binding, horrid wilting, imprisonment, iron body, mass charm, maze, Mordenkainen's disjunction, power word: blind, prismatic spray, prismatic wall, symbol, sympathy, sunburst, temporal stasis, weird
Important Note for DMs
Because there is no limit to the number of spells a Mage can learn, an important part of balancing the class revolves around making certain that arcane tomes and teachers are neither too common nor too rare. A Mage never receives any spells "for free" - he must track down, decipher, and absorb every one he wishes to use. Thus, if the DM is too stingy with arcane lore, the Mage will be crippled, but, if he is too generous, the Mage will probably be disproportionately powerful at any given level. As a rule of thumb, try to arrange things so that the Mage has access to enough arcane lore that he is able to learn between one and two times as many spells as a Wizard of the same level would be able to cast each day. For example, a 4th level Mage should probably know 3 to 6 1st-level spells and 2 to 4 2nd-level ones. Of course, the DM need only provide the Mage with opportunities for arcane advancement - he need not force the issue. If the Mage character is not interested enough in his art to make the effort to track down the proper tools, then he deserves to be a poor sort of spellcaster.
For this same reason, it is strongly recommended that the Mage class not be used in a normal fantasy campaign. It has been designed to be balanced in a world where magic is rare and low-powered but spell casting is restricted only by available knowledge and energy. A Mage placed in a typical D&D world would be both too strong (since such a world would allow innumerable opportunities to expand his repertoire) and too weak (since most of his spells would be non-combative and of limited use to a typical party of adventurers). On the other hand, this class could be added to most modern occult-type campaigns, usually acting as a replacement for the Sorcerer and/or Wizard classes. In a supers campaign, the Mage's versatility will offset his relatively weak spells, at any given level, and, in a more realistic campaign, the fact that he can use any magic at all will make him rather unique.
Hit Points
1d6 plus Constitution modifier per level.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Mage, a character must fulfill the following criteria:
Knowledge (arcana): The character must have at least 6 ranks in the Knowledge (arcana) skill. Since Knowledge (arcana) is not a default class skill for any Paragon class (other than Sorcerer, which is not permitted in Dark Ascension), this means that most Magi come from a class that allows the character to choose one or more of his class skills (usually, Expert). In this way, it is possible to have 6 ranks by 3rd level (otherwise, one would to wait until at least 9th).
Special: The character must firmly believe in the existence of magic. As proof of this, he must either possess a metamagic feat or (more often) have learned at least one spell, using the procedure described above. Of course, neither one will be of any use until he actually becomes a Mage, but it is in the striving to use this lore, however frustrating it may be, that the character will awaken his potential as a true practitioner of the arcane arts.
Class Skills
The Mage's class skills (and the key ability for each) are Alchemy (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int), Speak Language, Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Mage prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Magi gain no additional proficiency in any weapon or armor.
Spell Use: Magi can cast spells, as previously explained. In most campaigns that feature Magi, they will be the only characters who can do so.
Summon Familiar: At 2nd level, the Mage can summon a familiar in exactly the same manner as a Sorcerer. See pages 50 and 51 of the PH.
Bonus Feats: At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, the Mage gains a bonus metamagic or item creation feat. These feats are in addition to those granted to every character, by level, regardless of class. Feats granted by overall character level (as opposed to class level), and the starting bonus feat for Human characters, need not be metamagic or item creation feats.
| Class | Base | Fort | Ref | Will | Mana | ||
| Level | Attack | Save | Save | Save | Points | Special | |
| 1 | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | 2 | Spell Use | |
| 2 | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | 3 | Summon Familiar | |
| 3 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | 5 | - | |
| 4 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 8 | - | |
| 5 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 12 | Bonus Feat | |
| 6 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | 17 | - | |
| 7 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | 23 | - | |
| 8 | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | 30 | - | |
| 9 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | 38 | - | |
| 10 | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | 47 | Bonus Feat | |
| 11 | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | 57 | - | |
| 12 | +6 | +4 | +4 | +8 | 68 | - | |
| 13 | +6 | +4 | +4 | +8 | 80 | - | |
| 14 | +7 | +4 | +4 | +9 | 93 | - | |
| 15 | +7 | +5 | +5 | +9 | 107 | Bonus Feat | |
| 16 | +8 | +5 | +5 | +10 | 122 | - | |
| 17 | +8 | +5 | +5 | +10 | 138 | - | |
| 18 | +9 | +6 | +6 | +11 | 155 | - | |
| 19 | +9 | +6 | +6 | +11 | 173 | - | |
| 20 | +10 | +6 | +6 | +12 | 192 | Bonus Feat |
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