Archmage (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, the archmage is a prestige class originally found in the 3.5 edition Dungeon Master's Guide. An archmage is an arcane magic user who has become an expert at manipulating and altering their spells. Most archmages are pure wizards or sorcerers, rarely multiclassing, so they may become masters in their study of magic.
Archmage Requirements
The Dungeon Master's Guide stipulates the follwing requirements for entry into the Archmage prestige class:
- At least 11 ranks in the Knowledge (arcana) and Spellcraft skills.
- The Skill focus (Spellcraft) feat and at least two Spell Focus feats in any two schools of magic
- The ability to cast 7th-level arcane spells and knowledge of 5th level of 5th-level or higher spells from at least five schools.
Class Features of the Archmage
The archmage recieves the same amount of skill points as the wizard and has Concentration, Craft (alchemy), all Knowledges, Profession, Search and Spellcraft as class skills. Each level, the archmage gains spells per day for his/her primary spellcasting class as if he/she had gained a level in that class. Each level, the archmage also gains a High Arcana ability. Each ability requires the archmage to give up a single spell slot from a certain level of spells he/she can cast. The following High Arcana abilities are availible:
- Arcane Fire: The archmage can turn prepared spells into a bolt of magical energy that deals damage based on the level of the spell sacrificed. This ability costs one 7th-levels spell slot.
- Mastery of Counterspelling: The archmage turns a countered spell back upon its caster as if it were affected by the spell turning spell. If the spell cannot be affected by spell turning, it is merely countered. This ability costs one 7th-level spell slot.
- Mastery of Elements: The archmage can alter any spell to utilize a different element than it normally does. For example, an archmage could alter a lightning bolt so that it deals fire damage instead of electricity. This ability can only be used with spells that have the acid, cold, fire, electricity or sonic descriptor. One 8th-level spell slot must be sacrificed for this ability.
- Mastery of Shaping: Area and effect spells that have burst, cone, cylinder, emanation or spread areas can be altered to create spaces within the spell's area that are not subject to the spell. These spaces have to be at least a square 5 feet in diameter. An archmage could cast a fireball and leave spaces where his allies stand, preventing any damage from being done to them. This ability also allows shapeable spells to have minimal dimensions of 5 feet instead of 10 feet. A 6th-level spell slot must be sacrificed for this ability.
- Spell Power: The effective caster level is increased by +1 for the archmage. This ability costs one 5th-level spell slot, and may be selected multiple times.
- Spell-Like Ability: The archmage is able to cast one of his/her spells as a spell-like ability twice per day. The spell does not require material components, but a spell with an XP cost still requires the XP sacrifice, and a spell with an expensive material components requires spending ten times the cost in XP when casting the spell. This ability costs one 5th-level spell slot.
Because the Archmage is only a five level prestige class, it does not have an epic progression, and cannot be taken beyond five levels.