War Mage
Miniature's Handbook p14

War Mages were a puzzle. The way in which they cast magic is completely at odds with my established rationale for magic. They were basically described as wizards who did not have to prepare spells in advance because of their tiny spell-list. I consider the fact that wizards have to prepare magic in advance (and are indeed the only class that has to do so) as fundamental to the way magic works, therefore a different tact was required for the war mage. A tact that did not turn him into a clone of a sorcerer. The changes below make use of the rules for Recharge Magic (UA p153).

Game Rule Information

The following changes have been made to the powers and abilities of the War Mage. Any published rules for the war mage that do not directly contradict the contents of this page still apply.

Class Features

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: I use the rules for Weapon Group Feats (UE p94). At 1st level the War Mage gains the Basic Weapons feat and any other two weapon group feats of his choice. This replaces the weapon proficiencies listed for the class. The war mage is also proficient in light and medium armour and with shields (although not tower shields).

Skills: Remove Spellcraft, add Use Magic Device.

Spellcasting: The war mage is not a spellcaster, in fact he doesn't have a great understanding of magic. War mages make use of the rules for recharge magic, a particular branch of Arcane Magic. See the section on arcane magic for more information on how this particular form of magic functions. The War Mage gains access to cantrips and first level spells at level 1, second level spells at level 4 and to each successive level of spells at every even-numbered level thereafter to a maximum of ninth level spells at level 18. The war mage 'casts' spells at a cast level equal to his class level.

Armoured Mage (Ex): Because the effects conjured forth with recharge magic are spell-like abilities and not, the war mage can wear any sort of armour and carry any sort of shield he likes with no chance of spell failure.

War Mage Edge (Ex): The warmage's spells do more damage than those cast by normal mages. The war mage may add his Intelligence bonus to the damage inflicted by his spells.

Bonus Feats: At third level and every odd numbered level thereafter, the war mage receives a bonus feat. The feat must be taken from the following list and the war mage must qualify for the prerequisites of each feat. Heavy Armour Proficiency, Combat Expertise (Impoved Disarm, Improved Feint, Improved Trip, Whirlwind Attack), Combat Reflexes, Dodge (Mobility, Spring Attack), Empower Spell-like Ability (6th; -2 levels), Enlarge Spell-like Ability (4th; -1 level), Extend Spell-like Ability (4th; -1 level), Heighten Spell-like Ability (2nd or more; +0 levels), Improved Critical, Improved Initiative, Maximise Spell-like Ability (8th; -3 levels), Power Attack (Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Improved Sunder), Quicken Spell-like Ability (10th; -4 levels), Weapon Focus, Widen Spell-like Ability (8th; -3 levels).

The "metaspell-like ability" feats in the list above each have the prerequisite of a war mage's class level. This is shown in parenthesis after each feat for convenience. These feats must be applied to a specific spell after which they cannot be changed (although the feat can be selected a second time and applied to another spell). Also in parenthesis is the maximum level of spell this feat can be applied to in relation to the highest level spell the war mage can cast. For example, a 12th level warmage can cast sixth level spells. If he selects the Quicken Spell-Like ability feat he can only apply it to spells of second level or less. Players can alter other metamagic feats into "metaspell-like abilities" for the purpsoes of this class.

Spell List: The warmage can take his spells from the war mage spell list on p16 of the Miniature's Handbook and any spell of the Invocation school from any published source. However, he cannot have more spell-levels tattooed onto his body than his Maximum Spell Levels figure (see section on Spell Points).

See Also:

• Magic
• Arcane Magic
• Spell Points
• Spell Failure
• Languages
• War-mages of Iourn