Epic Prestige Class : Arcane Lord

When wizards dream, they dream of becoming arcane lords. The arcane lord is a true master of spellcasting, able to shape her arcane magics in ways that lesser beings can only dream of doing. In the arcane lord's opinion, if there is anything about arcane spells that she doesn't already know, it probably isn't worth knowing. Some might call this arrogance, but the arcane lord doesn't care what others think. To her, all that matters is the pursuit of the arcane and the mastery of all things magical.

As the name suggests, the arcane lord prestige class is most appealing to arcane spellcasters. Generally speaking, sorcerers and wizards have the most to gain from this class. A bard highly dedicated to spellcasting possibly understand their pursuits. Since so few exist, congregations of arcane lords are rare. Of course, if the situation warrants, an arcane lord stands ready to defend herself, her home, and her allies. While most arcane lords might care little for those around them, even they see the benefits of strategic alliances with local emperors, princes, and high priests.

Requirements

To qualify to become an Arcane Lord, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

Class Skills

The arcane lord's class skills are Concentration, Knowledge (arcana), and Spellcraft.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Characters gain no new proficiency in armor or weapons when they take a level of arcane lord.

Spells per Day/Spells Known: At every level, the arcane lord gains new spells per day and spells known as if she had also gained a level in an arcane lord spellcasting class to which she belonged before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (such as bonus metamagic or item creation feats). If already an epic spellcaster, the character gains only the benefit noted under the Spells entry for that epic class. If the character possessed more than one arcane spellcasting class before she became an arcane lord, she must decide which class will receive the additional spellcasting level for purposes of determining spells per day when she adds the new level (although she must choose a class in which she can cast 10th level arcane spells).

Bonus Metamagic Feat: A 1st level arcane lord gains a bonus metamagic feat, which can be either epic or non-epic. Every 5 levels thereafter (6th, 11th, 16th, and so on), the arcane lord gains another bonus metamagic feat.

New Spell (Ex): At 2nd level and every other level thereafter, the arcane lord may learn one new arcane spell of any level she can cast. If she uses a spellbook, she may scribe this spell into her spellbook at no cost. Otherwise, the spell is simply added to the arcane lord's list of spells known. This spell knowledge is in addition to any she might gain from other sources.

Recall Spell (Su): At 3rd level, the arcane lord can use a standard action to recall any spell she has already cast within the past hour. Essentially, the character regains the prepared spell (in the case of characters who prepare spells) or the spell slot (in the case of characters who don't prepare spells). The arcane lord gains one additional use of this ability per day for every three levels after 3rd gained in this class (1/day at 3rd, 2/day at 6th, 3/day at 9th, and so on).

Expanded Spell Power (Ex): Beginning at 5th level, the arcane lord can (once per day) cast any spell that has an effect that is capped by level (such as fireball) as if the cap were twice the listed amount. For example, an arcane lord could cast a fireball that dealt 20d6 damage, rather than the normal maximum of 10d6, or a magic missile that fired 10 missiles, rather than the normal maximum of 5. The arcane lord's caster level still applies to such limits; for instance, even though a delayed blast fireball cast with expanded spell power has a new maximum damage of 30d8, an arcane lord whose caster level is 25 would only deal 25d8 points of damage with the spell.

For every 5 levels gained after 5th (10th, 15th, and so on), the arcane lord can use this ability one additional time per day. This power does not stack with the effects of the Enhance Spell epic feat.

Gauge Weakness (Su): At 7th level, the arcane lord may spend a standard action to analyze any single foe that he can see (even via a scrying effect). The arcane lord instantly knows all of that foe's current save bonuses (Fortitude, Reflex, and Will), thus allowing the arcane lord to better tailor her spell choice for the encounter. If the target's save bonuses change at a later time, the arcane lord is not automatically privy to this information. For every 10 levels beyond 7th (17th, 27th, and so on), the arcane lord may use this power one additional time per day.

Recognize Spell (Ex): At 9th level, the arcane lord instantly knows when an arcane spell is cast within line of sight, even if she can't see or hear the caster. The arcane lord also knows with unerring precision exactly what the spell is (including any metamagic effects). This ability doesn't grant any bonus to saves, but it can help the arcane lord's counterspell efforts immensely.

Arcane Mastery (Su): At 10th level, the arcane lord may, once per day, re-roll a random effect of any arcane spell she has just cast. For instance, she could re-roll damage from a meteor swarm, the effect of a confusion spell, or any other effect determined by a random roll of the dice. The character may then use either result. For every 10 levels beyond 10th (20th, 30th, and so on), the arcane lord may use this power one additional time per day, but not more than once per day.

Arcane LordHit Die: d6
CLSpecial
1stBonus metamagic feat
2ndNew spell
3rdRecall spell 1/day
4thNew spell
5thExpanded spell power 1/day
6thNew spell, bonus metamagic feat, recall spell 2/day
7thGauge weakness 1/day
8thNew spell
9thRecognize spell, recall spell 3/day
10thNew spell, arcane mastery, expanded spell power 2/day

Source: Web

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Epic Prestige Classes