Faerûnian Prestige Class : Spellsinger
Spellsingers (not to be confused with spelldancers), are rare practitioners of an ancient elven bardic tradition. Like bards, spellsingers work magic with song and poetics, but, whereas bards draw on the Weave through singing and poetry, spellsingers are truly part of the Weave. As such, spellsingers can work magic through music with greater effect and flexibility than other bards.
Most spellsingers are bards or wizard/bards, particularly enchanter/bards, although sorcerer/bards and cleric/bards (the latter known as circle dancers) are not unknown. Characters of other classes almost never become spellsingers. Likewise, most spellsingers are elves, or, more rarely, half-elves. At least one human with a trace of elven heritage, Danilo Thann, is known to have mastered the art as well.
NPC spellsingers are usually found in traditional elven homelands where they play a role not unlike bards in other cultures. They garner a great deal of respect among elves and half-elves raised among the Fair Folk, but their unique talents and abilities are little understood outside the ranks of the Tel-quessir.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Spellsinger, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Perform (any hand instrument, singing, and others) 8 ranks.
- Feats: Improved Counterspell, Skill Focus (Perform).
- Spellcasting: Ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells without preparation.
Class Skills
The spellsinger's class skills are Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Knowledge (any), Perform, Profession, Speak Language, Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are Class Features of the spellsinger prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Spellsingers gain no proficiency in any weapons or armor.
Bardic Music: Spellsingers continue to increase their skill in creating magical effects thorough song and poetics. A character's spellsinger levels and bard levels (or levels in another class with the same ability) stack for the purpose of using bardic music.
Compelling Song (Su): Spellsingers have an intrinsic understanding of the links between magic and music. They add their class level to all Perform checks when using their bardic music ability. Likewise, they add their class level to the DCs of their bardic music fascinate and suggestion abilities.
Spellsong: Spellsingers can "lose" a prepared arcane spell in order to cast any arcane enchantment spell of one or more levels lower that is on their spell list. This works just as a cleric's spontaneous casting class feature. Arcane spells that do not need to be prepared can also be "lost" in this fashion, although spellsong simply grants the ability to. replace a spell slot with a lower-level arcane enchantment spell from the character's spell list. All spellsongs require verbal (singing) and somatic (playing an instrument) components, regardless of whether the spell was prepared or not. These components replace the spell's normal verbal, somatic, material, and focus components, but not any experience point costs or expensive material components.
The saving throw DC for spellsongs is equal to the caster's Cha modifier + the enchantment's level +2, regardless of whether the spell was originally prepared or not.
Improved Countersong (Su): At 3rd level and above, spellsinger are particularly adept at using their countersong ability to disrupt spells, gaining a +10 bonus on Perform cheeks when attempting to countersong.
Amplified Music (Su): At 5th level, spellsingers become particularly adept at producing magical effects on those around them. They increase the range of most bardic music effects (countersong, fascinate, inspire courage, and inspire greatness) by a number of feet equal to five times their class level. This increase is tripled for the bardic music fascinate ability.
Spells per Day: When a new spellsinger level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of spellsinger to the level of whatever other arcane spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly.
If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before he became a spellsinger, he must decide to which class he adds each level of spellsinger for the purpose of determining spells per day.
| Spellsinger | Hit Die: d6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Bardic music, compelling song, spellsong | +1 level in existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | +1 level in existing arcane spellcasting class | |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Improved countersong | +1 level in existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | +1 level in existing arcane spellcasting class | |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Amplified Music | +1 level in existing arcane spellcasting class |
Source: Races of Faerûn