| quest-master |
Here's a homebrew design for a Pathfinder-style base class. I'm thinking about limiting the spell selection but it might be balanced as is. This is an arcane ranged attacker class with modest skill support. Enjoy and critique at your leisure.
P.S. A crosshair lock shows (in the eyes of the mage) two glowing lines intersecting with the point of intersection overlaid over the target. If you've ever seen any of the Predator movies, use the Predator's "target lock vision" for imaginative purposes.
Crosshair Mage
Hit Die: d8
Class Skills
Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy(Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int)
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier
Saving Throws: Poor Fort, Good Reflex, Good Will
Spell Levels (1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th/6th)
Table: The Crosshair Mage
Level 1 (+0) (2/--/--/--/--) - Arcane shot, cantrips, crosshair lock +1
Level 2 (+1) (3/--/--/--/--) - Bonus feat
Level 3 (+2) (4/--/--/--/--) - Imbue ammo
Level 4 (+3) (5/--/--/--/--) - Pierce barrier +2
Level 5 (+3) (5/2/--/--/--) - Arcane shot (distance)
Level 6 (+4) (6/3/--/--/--) - Crosshair lock +2
Level 7 (+5) (6/4/--/--/--) - Bonus feat
Level 8 (+6/+1) (7/5/--/--/--) - Arcane shot (new damage type)
Level 9 (+6/+1) (7/5/2/--/--) - Pierce barrier +3
Level 10 (+7/+2) (7/6/3/--/--) - Arcane shot (aligned)
Level 11 (+8/+3) (8/6/4/--/--) - Crosshair lock +3
Level 12 (+9/+4) (8/7/5/--/--) - Bonus feat
Level 13 (+9/+4) (8/7/5/2/--) - Arcane shot (new damage type)
Level 14 (+10/+5) (8/7/6/3/--) - Pierce barrier +4
Level 15 (+11/+6/+1) (8/8/6/4/--) - Arcane shot (powerful critical)
Level 16 (+12/+7/+2) (8/8/7/5/--) - Crosshair lock +4
Level 17 (+12/+7/+2) (8/8/7/5/2) - Bonus feat
Level 18 (+13/+8/+3) (8/8/7/6/3) - Arcane shot (new damage type)
Level 19 (+14/+9/+4) (8/8/8/7/4) - Pierce barrier +5
Level 20 (+15/+10/+5) (8/8/8/7/5) - Crosshair master
Table: Crosshair Mage Spells Known
Level 1 - 2 0-level, 1 1st
Level 2 - 3 0-level, 1 1st
Level 3 - 3 0-level, 2 1st
Level 4 - 4 0-level, 2 1st
Level 5 - 4 0-level, 2 1st, 1 2nd
Level 6 - 5 0-level, 3 1st, 1 2nd
Level 7 - 5 0-level, 3 1st, 2 2nd
Level 8 - 6 0-level, 3 1st, 2 2nd
Level 9 - 6 0-level, 4 1st, 2 2nd, 1 3rd
Level 10 - 6 0-level, 4 1st, 3 2nd, 1 3rd
Level 11 - 6 0-level, 4 1st, 3 2nd, 2 3rd
Level 12 - 6 0-level, 5 1st, 3 2nd, 2 3rd
Level 13 - 6 0-level, 5 1st, 4 2nd, 2 3rd, 1 4th
Level 14 - 6 0-level, 5 1st, 4 2nd, 3 3rd, 1 4th
Level 15 - 6 0-level, 5 1st, 4 2nd, 3 3rd, 2 4th
Level 16 - 6 0-level, 5 1st, 5 2nd, 3 3rd, 2 4th
Level 17 - 6 0-level, 5 1st, 5 2nd, 4 3rd, 2 4th, 1 5th
Level 18 - 6 0-level, 5 1st, 5 2nd, 4 3rd, 3 4th, 1 5th
Level 19 - 6 0-level, 5 1st, 5 2nd, 4 3rd, 3 4th, 2 5th
Level 20 - 6 0-level, 5 1st, 5 2nd, 5 3rd, 3 4th, 2 5th
CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A crosshair mage is proficient with all simple weapons as well as bows, shuriken, and guns (if available). Crosshair mages are proficient with light armors, but not with any shields.
Spells: Crosshair mages cast arcane spells like sorcerers, and can learn their spells from the sorceror's spell list. Crosshair mages are limited in the number of spells they can cast per day and the number of spells they can learn according to Table: The Crosshair Mage and Table: Crosshair Mage Spells Known, respectively. The crosshair mage casts these spells without needing to memorize them beforehand or keep a spellbook. The crosshair mage’s pistol can substitute as an arcane spell focus for any spell requiring a focus. Crosshair mages receive bonus spells for high Charisma, and to cast a spell a crosshair mage must have a Charisma score at least equal to 10 + the level of the spell. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a crosshair mage's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the crosshair mage's Charisma modifier.
Cantrips (Sp): Crosshair mages know a number of cantrips. They can cast these spells at will as a spell-like ability. the number of cantrips a crosshair mage knows is noted on Table: Crosshair Mage Spells Known under 0-level spells known. Cantrips are treated like any other spell cast by the crosshair mage in terms of duration and other variables based on level.
Arcane Shot (Su): At 1st level, a crosshair mage must choose acid, cold, electricity, or fire. The extra damage dealt by this ability is the same as the chosen type. A crosshair mage can expend an unused spell slot as part of a standard action performed to make a single attack with a ranged weapon. The weapon deals an extra 1d6 points of damage per level of the spell slot expended (1d3 for 0-level spells).
The d6s of extra damage dealt by using arcane shot change to d8s on a critical hit (the 1d3 damage for spending a 0-level spell becomes 1d4).
At 8th, 13th, and 18th levels, the crosshair mage chooses another type of damage. Whenever she uses arcane shot, she uses one damage type of her choice from those that she has chosen for this ability.
At 5th level, every piece of ammunition or thrown weapon used by the crosshair mage in an arcane shot attack gains the distance special ability until the attack resolves.
At 10th level, the crosshair mage must choose good, evil, law, or chaos. Every piece of ammunition or thrown weapon used by the crosshair mage in an arcane shot attack is treated as having the chosen alignment for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. A crosshair mage can not choose an alignment opposed to her alignment (A Lawful Good crosshair mage can not choose chaotic nor evil).
At 15th level, the crosshair mage's arcane shot creates an even stronger effect on a critical hit. The surge changes the d6s of extra damage dealt by using arcane shot to d10s instead of d8s (the 1d3 damage for spending a 0-level spell becomes 1d6 instead of 1d4).
Crosshair Lock (Su): A crosshair mage can focus her perception of a single target creature or object within line of sight, granting her an increased ability to track the target's movements. As a result, the crosshair mage receives a +1 competence bonus to attack rolls and Perception checks made against the target. Only one target may be chosen with this ability at any given time. This effect remains active until the crosshair mage dismisses it, until the crosshair mage loses sight of the target, or until the crosshair mage uses this ability on another target. Using this ability is a swift action.
A crosshair lock can not remain active on a target that has concealment or cover or if the crosshair mage is blinded.
At every 5th level after 1st (6th, 11th, 16th), the bonus increases by 1.
Bonus Feat: A crosshair mage gains a bonus feat at 2nd level and every 5th level after 2nd (7th, 12th, 17th). The bonus feat must be chosen from the following:
Deadly Aim, Far Shot, Greater Spell Penetration, Greater Weapon Focus (any ranged or ranged spells), Greater Weapon Specialization (any ranged or ranged spells), Improved Precise Shot, Manyshot, Mounted Archery, Pinpoint Targeting, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload, Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run, Weapon Focus (any ranged or ranged spells), Weapon Specialization (any ranged or ranged spells).
***Feats mentioned here requiring levels of fighter treat crosshair mage class levels as fighter levels (crosshair mage levels stack with fighter levels in this case). All other requirements must also be fulfilled.
Imbue Ammo (Su): At 3rd level, the crosshair mage can place a touch spell on a piece of ammunition or a thrown weapon as part of a ranged attack. The crosshair mage casts the spell and makes a single ranged attack. This requires a full round action. If the ranged attack hits the target, the touch spell is also applied to the target of the ranged attack. If the ranged attack misses, the spell is wasted.
Pierce Barrier: At 4th level, the crosshair mage's training with combining magic with her ranged attacks improves, allowing her to break through an enemy's defenses more easily when using her special abilities. When making a ranged attack using the arcane shot or imbue ammo class feature, the crosshair mage receives a +2 bonus to opposed checks made to overcome spell resistance.
At every 5th level after 4th (9th, 14th, 19th), the bonus increases by 1.
Crosshair Master (Su): At 20th level, all threats made against any target that the crosshair mage has a crosshair lock against are automatically confirmed. If the target is incorporeal, the 50% miss chance no longer applies against ranged attacks made by the crosshair mage while the crosshair lock remains active.
In addition, the crosshair mage can now see invisible creatures within 30 feet, allowing her to use her crosshair lock feature on an invisible creature within that range.