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I've recently been putting some work into making a new base class for my own campaign, and I figured that the good people at paizo could lend me some assistance.
The class is called Elementalist, and it is an off-shoot of the warlock in a manner of speaking. Upon choosing this class you will choose an element (fire, water, air, or earth) and this will shape the entire class. Each will have it's own list of invocations, which I am slowly building, as well as other benefits, much like the warlock class. What this means, though, is that I am basically making four classes.
I need some help building this list of invocations, as I don't have as much time as I would like to work on it, and I tend to have a short attention span. I've been using the spell compendium for ideas, but my list is still a little pathetic.
I was thinking about giving the Air Elementalist some lightning related invocations, and thereby justifying making their energy resistance electricity. Fire will be fire, obviously, and water will have cold resistance, but earth will have damage reduction. I already have a good idea of the static powers, like each will get some other minor spell-like ability related to their element instead of detect magic, and so on.
As it stands, fire really only has attack invocations, and I'm not sure if that really can change, or if I want it to, but I would like some ideas for utility invocations for any of the elements if you can think of any, spell-based or made-up.
When I have a more solid idea of the class, I will post the class progression chart and invocation list, but this level is still realatively in theory mode.
I thank you in advance because I only ever get good advice when I ask for it here.
Maybe include some light, quench, blindness, unburn/unrust abilities to the fire elementalist? Maybe even some heat expansion and hot air rising powers?
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Rather than detect magic, the fire elementalist will gain the ability to manipulate fire, either making it burn brighter and hotter but last half as long, or the exact opposite, last twice as long but burn half as bright/hot.
Maybe I'll give them some sort of light invocation akin to a daylight spell, maybe some invocations having to do with smoke. Pyrotechnics would make a very nice invocation, and that deals with both (in a way, it can create bright light or choking smoke.) Maybe blindness in the form of a smokescreen, or maybe a blast of smoke that could be directed at the eyes to inflict temporary blindness?
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I was thinking about giving the Air Elementalist some lightning related invocations, and thereby justifying making their energy resistance electricity. Fire will be fire, obviously, and water will have cold resistance, but earth will have damage reduction. I already have a good idea of the static powers, like each will get some other minor spell-like ability related to their element instead of detect magic, and so on.
As it stands, fire really only has attack invocations, and I'm not sure if that really can change, or if I want it to, but I would like some ideas for utility invocations for any of the elements if you can think of any, spell-based or made-up.
I usually use acid resistance when I have earth-based themes. Works better if you want everyone to have energy resistance. Alternatively, give each elementalist a choice:
Air: electricity resist or sonic resist
Earth: acid resist or damage reduction (make sure it balances)
Fire: fire resist or poison resist
Water: cold resist or disease resist
Trying out a few invocations that might work (based or similar to related spell effect in brackets - some require heavy modification to grant as at will effects):
Air: airwalk (windwalk), bouyant (feather fall + levitate), catlyst (pyrotechnics + gust of wind)
Earth: stonehand (stone fist or earthen grasp), stonebody (stoneskin), stonemeld (stoneshape)
Fire: nimbus of flames (fireshield or balor nimbus), firestep (dimension door through flames), fire-eye (ebon eyes)
Water: flood (create water), drown (drown, severely limited), slippery slope (grease + obscuring mist?)
Cool idea for a class!
Maybe a scrying power through water and/or flames?
A good source of ideas is the shugenja alternate base class in Complete Divine. The spell lists can be used as inpirations for warlock invocations appropriate for each element. The elemental savant prestige class from Complete Arcane can also be used as a source of ideas.
It may be easier to base the class on a shugenja/elemental savant progression (or just use the shugenja and rename/tweak it) than retrofitting the warlock class into the concept.
Hunterofthedusk,
i also was going the same route as you last year, making an elementalist based off the warlock. It actually was harder than i thought it was going to be. in the end i gave up and went another route, i designed a new class from scratch. the challenge of making all new invocations took too much time. besides that i just wasn't happy with the results and didn't quite accomplish the feel i was going for. The new class is soon (1-2 more months) to be completed with all 4 elements and i will post the PDF for free for all users-if there's interest,when it's complete.
The class was asked to be created by one of my players and he is in the middle of play testing right now. Overall there was some issues making a spellcaster class focused around one element and still keeping it viable. after all, energy immunity can easily shut down a mage built around one type of energy. while the class only has access to 1 element (his specialty) this makes him a lot more limited and less versatile, but my player is happy as the class was built for flavor and not munchkin power playing. i got the the name copywrote and may seek an outside publisher and have it published. here's a general idea and teaser.
Transmentalist- an ancient order of sorcers focused so strongly on tranmutation and elemental magic that it changed there very being. over centuries it altered there form and gave them powers over one of the four elements. They have magic abilities that give them mastery over there specialty element and make spells of that element harder to resist. Over time as they grow in power they can alter ther forms into para-elemental beings and fight with devistating force.
In game terms they have up to 6th level spells, access to almost any elemental spell of there specialty(including arcane and divine). while most are energy spells many are not and are themed around an element. ex earth= stoneshape, summon earth elemental, fist of stone etc. they also have a large selection of transmutation spells. this gives them decent buffing spells to make use of to aid the party and not be nulified when they can't blast there energy on foes. they also have a unique shapechange similar but stronger than elemental body spells. this makes them good front rank fighters if there elemental energy is ineffective, and because there spell focus is so less diverse.
overall the class is proving very interesting and unique. though very specialized this also gives the class a strong flavor. The making of the class was inspired by Avatar:the last airbender meets dragon ball Z. Think going super saiyan with elemental power ;)
so hunterofthedusk, if i could give you any advice i would say design your own class. it's much more rewarding than modifiying a different one to match what you want it to be.
A very good place to look for inspiration would be the shugenja spell list. They have a lot of unique spells and are organized by element. Most of the Warlock invocations are simply at will versions of spells. Just remember that whatever invocations you give them are ones they can use hundreds of times a day.
By the way RunebladeX there is already a class for spellcasters to specialize in one and only one element. It's called the Elemental Savant. It was okay in 3.5, but awesome (and not broken) in 3.0.