Battle-Mage

ight had fallen on the countryside, but Leandra was determined to keep moving. Though she was nervous traveling after dark, she kept her wits about her, knowing that she was capable enough to handle whatever the night’s journey might bring her way. She was not surprised, then, when she saw the band of orcs approaching. While they bore all the stealth of an ettin throwing a tantrum, it was clear to see that they hoped to sneak up on the mage. They came from both sides of the road, brandishing clubs and spears. One of them growled something in orcish, then another spoke in a broken common tongue. “Girl travel alone? Not smart. We say you make good entertainment for evening.” He smiled with a toothy grin and brandished his club, slowly moving toward her. “I’ve been a slave and I’ve wrestled with gnolls. None of them could keep me. What makes you think you’ll fare any better than they did?” The mage clenched her teeth and crouched slightly, ready to maneuver if she had to. Though the orcs didn’t seem amused by her question, she half-hoped that they would have the good sense to just leave. But she knew her luck wasn’t that good. A moment later, as expected, one of the orcs let out a growl and charged her. Leandra was ready for it, and was already activating the warrior markings on her forearm when she ducked the incoming orc. He passed by her, confused by her speed, and she touched him gently on the shoulder. As she did, sparks left her hand and the creature hit the ground, his body convulsing from the shocking grasp that had filled his body. She managed to dodge another orc, but was caught by the third. He wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug, expecting to disable the mage’s effectiveness. But with a quick twist of her body, Leandra effortlessly slipped free of his grasp. She recognized this orc as the one who had spoken to her, and with a quietly uttered word she reached out to him with an enchantment spell. He heard the whisper and knew the threat, but the two swings of his club landed harmlessly on the ground next to the mage. Leandra ducked past one more incoming orc and dove out of the way of another, before turning to the one she had enchanted. With a sweet, yet devious grin, she called to it. “Oh noble orc, these bandits are trying to kill me!” Without hesitation, the orc lifted his club and crushed the skull of one of his comrades. The others froze in confusion as their partner now charged them. Meanwhile, Leandra was already uttering another spell...

Battle-mages command respect wherever they travel, shedding the perception that magic-users are weak and incapable of defending themselves. They are highly valued both in organized military structures and among mercenary groups, and it is not uncommon for adventuring parties to favor battle-mages over pure mages, simply because of their ability to keep themselves out of harm’s way.

There is often some unspoken resentment from educated mages, viewing the battle-mages’ combat pursuits as a unsavory. Despite this, battle-mages are quite content with their role in the scheme of things. The notion of rotting away behind dusty tomes is abhorrent to them, and they make no secret of it. Of course, that only serves to fuel the resentment between the two groups.

Wizards and sorcerers are both equally likely to become battle-mages, making good use of the class’ survival skills. Bards are less inclined to pursue the path, if only because their pursuits already offer a great deal of skill and diversity; they also suffer more from the loss of spellcasting levels.

Hit Dice: d6.

Requirements

To qualify to become a battle-mage, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Concentration: 8 ranks.
Escape Artist: 6 ranks.
Feats: Combat Casting.
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells.

Class Skills

The battle-mage’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Alchemy (Int), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Listen (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Spot (Wis). See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The battle-mage is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, but no type of armor or shield.

Spells per Day: A battle-mage continues to study standard magic as well as pursuing her martial studies. At 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th levels, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before becoming a battle-mage. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved familiar abilities, bonus metamagic feats, and so on).
     If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before she became a battle-mage, she must decide to which class she adds each level of battle-mage for purposes of determining spells per day when she adds the new level.

Eschew Materials: A battle-mage gains the Eschew Materials feat for free, even if he does not meet the requirements.

Focused Mind (Ex): Training as a battle-mage teaches the ability to remain focused on her spellcasting while being mindful of her combat defense. As a result, a battle-mage gains a competence bonus to her Concentration checks equal to her levels of battle-mage.

War Paint (Ex): At 2nd level, the battle-mage learns how to store spells in the form of colored markings on her body. Effectively, she gains the Brew Potion feat using an alternate medium. All rules, XP costs, and expenses that apply to Brew Potion also apply to this ability. Like a potion, only spells of 3rd level and lower can be scribed using war paint. The battle-mage can store a number of these markings equal to her levels in battle-mage. Her war paint can only be drawn on herself.
     To activate the spell contained within the war paint, a battle-mage must touch the location of the marking she wishes to activate. This is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity, like drinking a potion. Others can activate the war paint only if the battle-mage allows it.

Bonus Spells: When a battle-mage reaches 3rd level, she adds bonus spells to her list of spells known. These are selected from her normal spell list as if she had gained more spells from level advancement. These bonus spells can only be selected from spell levels that the battle-mage can already cast. Once her bonus spells are chosen, they cannot be exchanged.
     At 3rd level, the battle-mage chooses 2 bonus spells, and an additional 2 bonus spells at 6th and 9th levels.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 4th level, a battle-mage retains her Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if she is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, she still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If a battle-mage already has uncanny dodge from a different class, she automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead.

Slippery (Ex): A 5th level battle-mage is exceedingly hard to manhandle. As a result of her training, she receives a +5 bonus to her checks when being grappled. This bonus applies to both the initial grapple attempt and to subsequent attempts to escape the grapple, and stacks with ranks of skill if using Escape Artist.

Improved War Paint (Ex): When the battle-mage reaches 7th level, her skill at making war paint advances, so that she is able to duplicate 4th level spells with the markings. The base price for making a 4th level war paint marking is 25 gp per level of the spell times the level of the caster.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 8th level and higher, a battle-mage can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the battle-mage by flanking her, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has battle-mage levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue must be to flank the character.

Maneuverability (Ex): A 10th level battle-mage becomes so skilled at maneuvering in the confines of battle, that she no longer provokes at attack of opportunity when casting a spell or activating her war paint while engaged in combat.

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 This page was last updated on January 27, 2006 .