Gestalt Characters Revisited

New question! Initiate!

If you take fighter/warlock to 6th Then take a prestige class that grants +1 arcane spell caster bonus/warlock for another 6 levels. Now does this character have 12th caster level or 18th arcane caster level?

Excellent question. Let me make sure I have it straight.

1. Attain fighter/warlock 6
2. Attain warlock/PrC 6 where PrC is a prestige class that grants "+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class"

The first thing that catches my eye is that the warlock is not an arcane spellcaster. They use spell-like abilities which function very similarly to spells and indeed have their own caster level, but the fact remains that they do not cast spells and usually do not qualify for PrCs that grant bonuses to existing spellcasting classes.

Ignoring that, this character would have a warlock caster level of 12 and an arcane caster level of 6. This works the same way with other classes. For example, a fighter/cleric 6//cleric/wizard 6 would have a divine caster level of 12 and an arcane caster level of 6. Likewise, a fighter/sorcerer 6//sorcerer/wizard 6 would have a caster level of 12 when casting spontaneous spells as a sorcerer and a caster level of 6 when casting memorized spells from his spellbook as a wizard.

He responds:

Let's simplify it more. Wizard/fighter for 5 levels. Then wiz/prc (that grants a +1 arcane level) for another 3 levels. Does he have a effective caster level 8 or 11?

Ah, now that changes things. In my opinion, the wizard's spell progression and caster level progression and the PrC's "+1 to previous arcane spellcasting class" features would be "aspects that overlap" according to the gestalt RAW. Therefore, you would only get them from one class or the other and this character's caster level would be 8. I feel this provides some balance as you could easily have a character who is fighter/wizard 10//wizard/PrC 10 who casts spells as a level 30 wizard. That seems like a little much to me, but your DM may disagree and that's up to him or her.

Thanks again for the question, I'm always open!

Tags: gestalt, wizard, caster level, prestige class, PrC, Dungeons and Dragons, D&D, D20

HIGH-Magic Campaign

No, really... HIGH magic... beware....

This is an idea I came up with while thumbing through my copy of the Expanded Psionics Handbook. Yeah, psionics will be involved here so if you just can't stand 'em you won't get much from this post.

So I came upon the Cerebremancer PrC and thought "this looks familiar." Sure enough, it's exactly like the Mystic Theurge PrC except it involves an arcane spellcasting class and a psionic class instead of a divine spellcasting class. Well that's cool, I wonder if there's a divine/psionic PrC? Sadly, I was unable to find one. But, it's a pretty simple and straightforward PrC idea so I made one:

Enlightened Minds

Requirements:

Skills: Knowledge (psionics) 6 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 6 ranks.

Spells: Able to cast 2nd-level divine spells.

Psionics: Able to manifest 2nd-level powers.

Class Skills:

Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Psicraft (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Enlightened minds gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Spells per Day/Powers Known:

When a new enlightened mind level is gained, the character gains new spells per day and spells known as if he had also attained a level in any one divine spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if he had also gained a level in any one manifesting class he belonged to previously. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of either class would have gained (bonus metapsionic or item creation feats, psicrystal special abilities, and so on). This essentially means that he adds the level of enlightened mind to the level of whatever other divine spellcasting class and manifesting class the character has, then determines spells per day, caster level, power points per day, powers known, spells known, and manifester level accordingly.

For example, a 3rd-level cleric/3rd-level psion who takes a level in enlightened mind has the same access to spells as a 4th-level cleric and the same number of power points as a 4th-level psion. But he continues to turn undead as a 3rd-level cleric, and his psicrystal (if he has one) won’t gain any new abilities.

If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class or more than one manifesting class before he became a enlightened mind, he must decide to which class he adds each level of enlightened mind for purpose of determining spells per day, spells known, caster level, power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.

Got all that? Ok good. Now we have three PrCs that are slight variations on each other. But what good is making a new class if you're not going to use it? So I came up with a neat campaign idea, but sadly lack the players or a proper DM (I wouldn't do it justice) to pull it off. So I'll post it here and hopefully someone will like it enough to give it a try. If you do, let me know how it turns out. I'll even post some of your exploits up here if you want. Ok, down to business. First, there are two groups of three:

Group A:
Cleric/Wizard/Mystic Theurge
Wizard/Psion/Cerebremancer
Cleric/Psion/Enlightened Mind

Group B:
Favored Soul/Sorcerer/Mystic Theurge
Sorcerer/Wilder/Cerebremancer
Favored Soul/Wilder/Enlightened Mind

If you're like me, you're squealing with anticipation right now. What can I say? I like balance (in the cosmic sense).

The actual nature of the campaign can take on many forms. I suggest three OR six players.

With 3 players either:
Choose either group and the group left over is NPCed and becomes a rival group.

Choose either group and forget the other.

OR

Players play both groups in parallel (either competing or cooperating).

With 6 players either:
Play both groups as one large group.

OR

Play both groups in parallel (either competing or cooperating).

The only part of the character development that the players don't have control over is class progression. The characters alternate their base classes and take the requirements for their PrCs as soon as possible (yeah I know that controls some skill choices as well). As soon as they meet the requirements for their PrC they must take at least 1 level in it. They cannot gain more than 5 levels in either of their base classes and cannot take levels in any other class. This makes everyone end up as "Base class A" 5/"Base class B" 5/PrC 10. All other development choices can be made by the player (familiars, psicrystals, deities, domains, spell/power lists, etc.).

I know this isn't a campaign for everyone, but if you know people who would like to give it a shot then go for it. I know I'd love to play it. Along those lines, I do game over the internet on FantasyGrounds, so if you want to try to get it started on there I'd be up for it.

That's all for today.

Tags: high magic, campaign, mystic theurge, cerebremancer, enlightened mind, prestige class, cleric, wizard, psion, favored soul, sorcerer, wilder, Dungeons and Dragons, D&D, D20

Dee

Tonight, I'm going to be helping a friend playtest a campaign idea. Since this is only a test, I decided to expand my normal character choices. So, let me introduce Dee: my halfling monk.

I rarely play small races, I don't know why, but I thought this would be a fun character to try it with. As I started making Dee, I was a little disappointed with some aspects. Low damage (1d4 for unarmed strikes and a strength penalty), 20 ft. speed (starting at level 1 so no bonus speed yet), and a -4 penalty on grapple checks.

But! It's not all bad. My saves are +6 each, AC of 17 with no armor, +1 attack bonus for size, lots of skill bonuses, and I took Improved Grapple to cancel out that -4 penalty (still not as good as a medium or large character with Improved Grapple, but eh... I can just picture the little guy leaping onto his opponent's faces and taking them down).

We probably won't be getting too far in levels (might just be a one-shot adventure), but if it does turn into a moderate-level campaign, I plan to take the Drunken Master prestige class (Complete Warrior). Hehe, can't you just see a permanently drunk halfling, looking like a beggar, pummeling an ogre to the ground. Can't wait!

Tags: halfling, monk, drunken master, Dungeons and Dragons, D&D, D20

Half-Dragon Templates

No, I'm not going to wonder about the difference in power between a half-dragon and a true dragon. That works for me. No children, I come to you today with startling news.

I received my first question! WOOT!

Ok, so what was the question you ask? That's another question I respond.

Anyway, the first question comes to me from Amp and it concerns ways of granting the half-dragon template to a character that was not born with it , details are left out to protect the players (they'll need all the protection they can get), and they're irrelevant anyway. The details, not the players. Amp had considered using some form of a wish spell (which would have done the job), but thought that was a little overkill. So, I broke out my books and set to work.

The first thing that came to mind was the Dragon Disciple prestige class from the DMG (pg. 184). Gain 10 levels and you become a half-dragon, sweet. But, since Amp was considering a single spell for the job, I thought perhaps there wasn't enough time for all that. So, on I looked.

The next thing I came across was the spell Polymorph Any Object from the PHB (pg. 263). This spell, can be permanent if the change is not too drastic from the original form (there are tables to help with all that), and I would rule that polymorphing from a base race to a half-dragon/half-base race would qualify as permanent.

Now, I know some people have problems with the polymorph line of spells, so I decided to come up with a third option. Since Amp was already considering using powers of massive proportions, why not make an artifact? Artifacts are fun because they can do anything. They don't have to follow the normal rules, they don't have to work for everyone or in any kind of consistent manner at all if you don't want them too. Sure there are those that do, but an artifact with even a hint of intelligence can refuse to work if it doesn't want to. So, how about an Altar of Draconic Lineage, or a Statue of Draconic Perfection (or semi-perfection as the case may be) that grants the half-dragon template to those it deems worthy (or something). Here you can be as creative as you like.

So, I hope that was informative and not too confusing. You now have at least three different ways of granting the half-dragon template (by class, by spell, and by item).

So who's next?

Tags: dragon, half-dragon, template, artifact, polymorph, dragon disciple, Dungeons and Dragons, D&D, D20