Faerûnian Prestige Class : Elven High Mage
Elves study magic with a matchless passion. But even among the elves, the high mages are regarded as obsessed with the accumulation of arcane power.
Elven high mages are the masters of creating their own epic spells - mythals that can grow to engulf entire cities. Learning the secrets of epic magic is the culmination of any arcanist's career, and the elves are very selective about who can learn such potent lore. Existing high mages often observe high mage candidates for a decade or more, probing for the faintest hint of unworthiness. So far, their extreme secrecy has worked. Less than a dozen elves even know where the lore of elven high magic is even kept, much less how to actually cast an epic spell.
All elven high mages are sun elves, moon elves, or wood elves, and all are powerful wizards or sorcerers. No one else can learn the elves' greatest magical secrets.
NPC high mages spend their time developing new epic spells, organizing searches for lost elven lore, or taking steps to ensure that elven secrets stay secret. PC high mages will find that being a high mage is a full-time job, making adventuring a challenge. But due to their considerable personal power, elven high mages often wind up on the front lines of the defense of the elven people.
The elven high mage prestige class makes use of material found in Epic Level Handbook, since any elven high mage is by definition an epic-level character.
Requirements
To qualify to become an Elven High Mage, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Race: Sun elf, moon elf, wood elf
- Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 25 ranks, Spellcraft 25 ranks.
- Feats: Epic Skill Focus [Knowledge (arcana)], Epic Skill Focus (Spellcraft).
- Spellcasting: Able to cast 9th-level arcane spells.
- Special: Must survive scrutiny and meet with the approval of all existing elven high mages.
Class Skills
The Elven high mage's class skills are Concentration, Craft (any), Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Knowledge (any), Profession, Sense Motive, Speak Language, and Spellcraft.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the elven high mage.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The elven high mage gains no proficiencies in weapons or armor.
Spells Per Day/Spells Known: Starting at 1st level and every other elven high mage level thereafter (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th), the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class to which she belonged before adding the prestige class level. If already an epic spellcaster, the character gains only the benefit noted under the Spells entry for that epic class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit that a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of turning or destroying undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on). If the character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming an elven high mage, the player must decide to which class to add the new level for the purpose of determining spells per day.
Seed Affinity (Ex): The elven high mage's studies have provided insight into the finer points of epic spell creation. Whenever this class feature is attained (at 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 8th levels), the elven high mage chooses an epic spell seed from the list in Chapter 2 of the Epic Level Handbook. The base Spellcraft DC for epic spells created with this seed is two lower, so the elven high mage can achieve powerful epic spells at lower levels. For example, an elven mage who chooses the banish seed (normally DC 27) will gain quicker access to all epic spells that use the banish seed, because the base Spellcraft DC will be 25, not 27, and the elven mage will be able to achieve a given effect two levels earlier than other epic spellcasters.
Mythal Invention (Ex): Whenever the elven high mage attains this class feature (at 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 9th levels), she may develop a single epic spell for 75%. of the normal development cost in gold, time, and experience points. The elven high mage doesn't have to develop an epic spell right away, but if she attains this class feature again before she develops an epic spell, the previous benefit is lost. For example, an elven high mage who attains a mythal invention at 2nd level must use it before 4th level, when the next mythal invention is available.
Bonus Feat (Ex): The elven high mage gains a bonus feat at 5th level and an additional bonus feat every five levels thereafter. These bonus feats must be selected from the following list: Augmented Alchemy, Automatic Quicken Spell, Automatic Silent Spell, Automatic Still Spell, Combat Casting, Craft Epic Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Epic Rod, Craft Epic Staff, Craft Epic Wondrous Item, Efficient Item Creation, Enhance Spell, Epic Spell Focus, Epic Spell Penetration, Epic Spellcasting, Familiar Spell, Forge Epic Ring, Ignore Material Components, Improved Combat Casting, Improved Heighten Spell, Improved Metamagic, Improved Spellcasting, Intensify Spell, Multispell, Permanent Emanation, Scribe Epic Scroll, Spell Focus, Spell Knowledge, Spell Mastery, Spell Opportunity, Spell Penetration, Spell Stowaway, Spontaneous Spell, Tenacious Spell.
| Elven High Mage | Hit Die: d4 | |
|---|---|---|
| CL | Special | Spells Per Day/Spells Known |
| 1st | Seed affinity | +1 level of existing class |
| 2nd | Mythal invention | - |
| 3rd | Seed affinity | +1 level of existing class |
| 4th | Mythal invention | - |
| 5th | Bonus Feat | +1 level of existing class |
| 6th | Seed affinity | - |
| 7th | Mythal invention | +1 level of existing class |
| 8th | Seed affinity | - |
| 9th | Mythal invention | +1 level of existing class |
| 10th | Bonus Feat | - |
Source: Races of Faerûn