All drow party - purely role-playing

[Luvian]

It's a prestige class. Are you familiar with prestige class? Those are class that you can't take before you meet certain requirements.

Here is a part of the class description:

Archmage The highest art is magic, often refered to as the Art. It's most advanced practioners are frequently archmages, bending spells in ways unavalaible to other spellcasters. The archmage gains strange powers and the ability to alter spells in remarkable ways, but must sacrifice some of her spell capabilities in order to master these arcane secrets. Hit Die: d4 Requirements To qualify to become an archmage, the character must fulfill all of the following criteria. Spellcasting: Ability to cast 7th level arcane spells, knowledge of 5th level or higher spells from at least five schools. Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 15 ranks, Spellcraft 15 ranks. Feats: Skill focus (Spellcraft), Spell Focus in two schools of magic.

I won't quote all of the class abilities, because there are 2 pages, but basically, they can permanently give up a spells slot to earn special powers.

There are lots of abilities you could take, but you can only take 5 ever, so you must chose wisely.

Here are the abilities, but I won't explain them in details.

Arcane fire: (It's like spellfire, you will know what it is if you read the forgotten realm novels "Spellfire" and "Crown of fire"). It's a very powerfull ability that allow you to use magical energies to shoot powerfull bolt of fire. You must give up a 9th level spell slot.

Arcane Reach: You can now use touch spells up to 30 feets away. It cost a 7th level spell slot.

Mastery of Counterspelling: When you counter a spell, it's turned back on it's caster. This cost a 7th level spell slot.

Mastery of Elements: This ability is nice. It allow you to change the element of of any elemental spell you are casting to one of the following elements: Acid, cold, fire, electricity, sonic. So let's say you have fireball memorised, and you are fighting fire elementals. You cast your fireball, but decide that instead it's going to do cold damage. You chose the element you want to use just before casting an elemental spells. This ability cost a 8th level slot.

Mastery of shaping: This ability allow you to change area of effect on spell. You could cast a fireball, but designate some spaces in it that would not be affected, for example. Usefull when you have allies in the fray. This cost a 5th level slot.

Spell power +1,+2 and +3: Raise your caster level and the DC to resist your spells by +2,+2 or +3, depending on the skill. You can only take each one once. They cost a 5th, 7th and 9th slot, in that order.

Spell like ability: This one is the best, in my opinion. Every time you take thie ability, it cost a 5th level spell slot, and then you can chose another of your spell slot to assign it a permanent spell like ability that can be cast 2 times per day.

Here is an example. Lets say you want fireball as a spell like ability, you give ut the 5th level spell slot, and now one of your third level spell slot is a permanent fireball Spell like ability that can be cast twice per day, you can chose to use up a slot higher in level than the one really needed. For every 3 slots above the needed level, you can use the ability one more time per day. In that example, it would mean 3 times if using a level 6 slot, or 4 times if using a 9th level one.

You can turn any of your spell as a spell like ability that way. Wish, Stoneskin, anything. That make it very usefull.

The max level in the Achmage class is 5. You can chose one of the above abilities per level as an archmage.

[ 12-03-2002, 02:41 AM: Message edited by: Luvian ]

[Lucifer Lord of demons]

Why can't we be Archmages (in IWD 2 of course). Its not as if we can't reach the required stats.

Wot about an ARCHDRUID. What do they do?

Does a sorc become archmage or something else...

[arion windrider]

drow was always a race to fear in the forgotten realms... but that doesnt mean they are a more powerful race than others... drizzt was an exception to the rule when it came down stats.. salvatore needed a all around character for his books and made him very special... eliminster on the other hand was a very gifted mage. he started out a rogue/fighter when he was much younger and gradually found his skill was in magic.. to boot he was a prince of once dead nation... authors love to make their characters somewhat powerful, but when u look at the advantages of being powerful, the characters do have flaws.. that what makes them likeable and HUMAN!!!! just have fun with the game no matter what level u are on... its only as fun as u make it....

[Dreamer128]

Drizz't himself is indeed around lvl17 (his ranger class), Elminister is a level 29 wizard, Irenicus was lvl30 (in the books he was a Necromancer, in the game a Sorcerer) and Drizz't father Zaknafein was around level 25 (I think). Level 30, therefor, is way overpowered. There are deity's with less power then that

[Malavon's Rage]

what book was Irenicus in?

[Luvian]

They made novels on the Bladurs's Gate saga.

[Malavon's Rage]

what are there titles? i think i'd like to read them

[Dreamer128]

Originally posted by Malavon's Rage: what are there titles? i think i'd like to read them

No you don't
Trust me, its complete and utter [censored].

[Malavon's Rage]

I'll take your word for it

[Imrahil]

Take my word for it as well. [img]smile.gif[/img] The books were horrible, the main character kind of unlikeable, & they left out anything relating to the side quests. That's part of my life I wish I'd just spent playing the game. [img]smile.gif[/img]

- Imrahil