
tejón RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16 |

Iron Mage
Role: Iron mages are warriors first and foremost, but they use magic to supplement their attacks and bolster defenses. Though individual specialties might vary, any iron mage is a stalwart ally in battle.
Starting Gold: As fighter (5d6x10).
Starting Age: As wizard.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die / BAB: d10 / Full
Good Saves: Fortitude, Will
Class Skills: Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str)
Skill Ranks per Level: 2 + Int modifier
Spell progression as Paladin/Ranger.
1st: Arcane initiate, prestidigitation, school focus, witching 1
2nd: School power, warding 1
3rd: Craft Magic Arms and Armor
4th: Read magic, weapon component
5th: Warding 2, witching 2
6th: Spell fluency
7th: School power
8th: Warding 3
9th: Spell fluency
10th: Witching 3
11th: School power, warding 4
12th: Spell fluency
13th: Greater warding
14th: Warding 5
15th: Spell fluency, witching 4
16th: Sudden Warding
17th: Warding 6
18th: Spell fluency
19th: Greater witching
20th: Warding 7, witching 5
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Iron mages are proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with light and medium armor and shields (except tower shields). An iron mage does not incur the normal arcane spell failure chance from wearing light or medium armor, or from wearing a shield. Like any other arcane spellcaster, an iron mage wearing heavy armor incurs a chance of spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component. A multiclass iron mage still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.
Arcane Initiate: Though they progress slowly and never master high-level spells due to their pursuit of specialized techniques, iron mages study the same craft as wizards. An iron mage draws his spells from the sorcerer/wizard list and is considered to have full access to that list, granting him the ability to use spell completion and spell trigger items containing sorcerer/wizard spells of any level.
Prestidigitation (Sp): An iron mage with an Intelligence score of at least 10 can use prestidigitation, the neophyte wizard's practice spell, at will. Unlike most spell-like abilities, the spell's normal components are required, and the iron mage suffers a chance of failure if he attempts to use this ability in heavy armor.
School Focus: Every iron mage selects a primary school of arcane magic from which he draws the majority of his power. He may choose Abjuration, Evocation, Necromancy or Transmutation, and gains the benefits of the Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus feats when casting iron mage spells from that school. When casting a spell from his school of focus, an iron mage gains a +3 bonus to his caster level (effectively causing his caster level to become equal to his iron mage level for spells of that school). At 2nd, 7th and 11th levels the iron mage gains additional powers from his school of focus.
Witching (Su): At 1st level, an iron mage gains Arcane Strike as a bonus feat. The extra damage this feat generates is equal to the iron mage's witching rank, initially 1, instead of being based on his caster level. In addition to its normal effect, the iron mage's Arcane Strike imbues his weapons with an effect determined by his school of focus. For every 5 levels he attains, the iron mage gains another rank of witching.
Warding (Su): A 2nd level iron mage learns to weave magic into potent defenses. As a free action, he can raise a warding of the first rank which lasts for one round, gaining an effect depending on his school of focus. At 5th level, and every 3 levels thereafter, the iron mage's warding improves by one rank, increasing its effects; see the individual school descriptions for details. At 2nd level he can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 6 + his Intelligence modifier. For each level he gains after 2nd, the iron mage can raise his warding for 2 additional rounds.
Craft Magic Arms and Armor: Iron mages gain Craft Magic Arms and Armor as a bonus feat at 3rd level, ignoring the normal caster level prerequisite. For the purpose of satisfying caster level prerequisites when crafting enhancement bonuses to armor and weapons, you can use your iron mage level in place of your caster level.
Read magic (Sp): At 4th level, an iron mage with an Intelligence score of at least 10 can use read magic at will. Unlike most spell-like abilities, the spell's normal components are required, and the iron mage suffers a chance of failure if he attempts to use this ability in heavy armor.
Spells: Beginning at 4th level, an iron mage gains the ability to cast a small number of arcane spells which are drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list. An iron mage must choose and prepare his spells in advance.
To learn, prepare or cast a spell, the iron mage must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an iron mage's spell is 10 + the spell level + the iron mage's Intelligence modifier.
Like other spellcasters, an iron mage can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on (see Table: Paladin). In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score. When (see Table: Paladin) indicates that the iron mage gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Intelligence score for that spell level.
An iron mage may know any number of spells. He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook. While studying, the iron mage decides which spells to prepare.
Through 3rd level, an iron mage has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, his caster level is equal to his iron mage level – 3.
Spellbooks: An iron mage must study his spellbook each day to prepare his spells. He cannot prepare any spell not recorded in his spellbook. A character with levels in both iron mage and wizard can use a single spellbook, and does not need to keep track of which class a recorded spell belongs to.
Upon gaining 4th level the iron mage obtains a spellbook containing one 1st level spell from his focus school, and an additional number of 1st level spells equal to his Intelligence bonus, which can be of any school. At each new iron mage level, he gains one new spell of any spell level that he can cast (based on his new iron mage level) for his spellbook. At any time, an iron mage can also add spells found in other spellbooks to his own.
Weapon Component: The iron mage carefully refines his martial techniques in tandem with spellcasting, working them into a single cohesive discipline. When wielding a melee weapon with which he is proficient, he gains the benefit of the Eschew Materials feat and can use the weapon in place of any non-costly focus component. Additionally, he can perform somatic components using the weapon as if it were a free hand.
Spell fluency: To more effectively utilize them in combat, an iron mage practices certain spells until casting them is second nature. At 6th level, he chooses one spell he knows. From that point on, he can prepare this spell without referring to a spellbook and does not provoke attacks of opportunity when casting it. When cast, this spell is treated as one level higher for all purposes. Finally, if he prepares it with metamagic other than Heighten Spell, the iron mage subtracts 1 from the final level of the spell slot required to cast the modified spell. (This benefit does not apply to metamagic which doesn't increase the spell's effective level.) He gains this benefit again at 9th, 12th, 15th and 18th levels.
Greater Warding (Su): A 13th level iron mage gains an additional benefit from his warding, as dictated by his school of focus.
Sudden Warding (Su): At 16th level the iron mage can activate his warding as an immediate action, fast enough to guard against an incoming attack. This ability can be used even when flat-footed, but not during a surprise round in which the iron mage does not act. Sudden warding lasts only until the beginning of the iron mage's next turn, and counts as using 4 rounds of warding.
Greater Witching (Su): At 19th level the iron mage can perform a greater witching attack as a standard action. He makes a single attack which is imbued with Arcane Strike and his witching effect, plus an additional effect depending on his school of focus.
Schools
Abjuration
Your specialize in hindering the enemy's offense, both magical and physical.
Witching: For one round, the target suffers penalty equal to your witching rank to attack rolls, CMB, and the DC of any saving throws generated by its spells or abilities. Additionally, your weapons overcome any damage reduction based on alignment.
Greater Witching: A creature damaged by your attack finds itself pacified for one round. When so affected, it treats all other creatures as if they were protected by the sanctuary spell. The Will saving throw DC to overcome this protection is equal to 12 + 1/2 your iron mage level + your Intelligence modifier.
Warding: You gain a deflection bonus to AC equal to your warding rank.
Greater Warding: While your warding is active, you gain spell resistance equal to your iron mage level + 12.
School powers:
- Dampening Field (Su): At 2nd level, once per round as a free action, you can create a 10-foot-radius field of protective magic centered on you that lasts for 1 round. Choose acid, cold, electricity, fire or sonic; all creatures in the area gain resist energy 5 against that energy type. For every 4 iron mage levels you possess, the resisted amount increases by 5. Using this ability counts as using 1 round of warding.
- Unfettered (Su): Beginning at 7th level, as a swift action, you can touch a creature to bestow the benefits of the freedom of movement spell for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your iron mage level. You can use this ability once per day for every 4 iron mage levels you possess.
- Greater Dispel Magic (Sp): You can use greater dispel magic as a spell-like ability once per day at 11th level and twice per day at 16th level, so long as you have an Intelligence score of at least 16. This is considered an abjuration spell, meaning you use your full iron mage level as your caster level. Unlike most spell-like abilities, the spell's normal components are required, and the iron mage suffers a chance of failure if he attempts to use this ability in heavy armor.
Evocation
Yours is the magic of raw energy and destruction, but also of controlled force.
Witching: Your weapons deal +1d4 force damage per witching rank, and are considered to have the ghost touch enhancement.
Greater Witching: A wave of force follows your weapon, brutally impacting against any creature struck. This attack doubles your normal witching bonus (including the bonus damage from Arcane Strike), and grants you a free bull rush against the target with a circumstance bonus equal to your witching rank. If your bull rush is successful the subject flies away from you and falls prone. The target moves the full distance indicated by your bull rush result unless an obstacle prevents it, in which case it falls in the nearest square adjacent to that obstacle, and both your target and the obstacle take 1d6 points of damage. Unlike a normal bull rush, you cannot follow your target.
Warding: A floating disk of force grants you a shield bonus to AC equal to 1 + your warding rank. This force shield also blocks all damage from magic missiles.
Greater Warding: Whenever you take damage from a physical attack while your warding is active, the impact triggers a burst of force which streaks back to the attacker, dealing 1d4 damage per warding rank.
School powers:
- Force Missile (Su): At 2nd level, once per round as a free action, you can release a can unleash a force missile that automatically strikes a foe within 120 feet. The force missile deals damage equal to 1/2 your iron mage level. Any effect which absorbs or prevents damage from magic missile also affects the force bolt. Using this ability counts as using 1 round of warding.
- Spell channeling (Su): Beginning at 7th level, as a move action, you can imbue your weapon with any evocation spell you have prepared. The spell is expended as if cast. The next successful attack made with that weapon delivers the spell's effects to the creature struck, allowing no saving throw or spell resistance. Regardless of the spell's normal targets or area of effect, only the creature struck is affected. If a successful attack is not made with that weapon within a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your iron mage level, the imbued spell is lost. You can use this ability once per day for every 4 iron mage levels you possess.
- Forceful Hand (Sp): You can use forceful hand as a spell-like ability once per day at 11th level and twice per day at 16th level, so long as you have an Intelligence score of at least 16. This is considered an evocation spell, meaning you use your full iron mage level as your caster level. Unlike most spell-like abilities, the spell's normal components are required, and the iron mage suffers a chance of failure if he attempts to use this ability in heavy armor.
Necromancy
You weave dire curses to confound your foes, and fortify your own body with negative energy.
Witching: For one round, the target suffers a penalty equal to your witching rank to AC, CMD and saving throws. Additionally, your weapons overcome any damage reduction based on the type of damage dealt.
Greater Witching: A creature damaged by your attack suffers a severe curse of unluck for one round. Any time the creature makes an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result.
Warding: You gain DR X/—, where X is your warding rank.
Greater Warding: During any round in which your warding is active, you can choose to radiate an aura of necromantic energy as a free action which causes all creatures within 30 feet to become shaken for one round unless they succeed on a Will saving throw with a DC equal to 12 + 1/2 your iron mage level + your Intelligence modifier. You can exclude a number of creatures equal to your warding rank from this effect, and you are immune to your own fear aura.
School powers:
- Stifling Touch (Su): At 2nd level, once per round as a free action, you can make a melee touch attack that causes a living creature to become fatigued for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your iron mage level. Using this ability counts as using 1 round of warding.
- False Flesh (Su): Beginning at 7th level, as an immediate action, you can gain temporary hit points equal to twice your iron mage level. This ability can be activated in time to absorb the damage from an incoming attack or spell. These temporary hit points vanish at the beginning of your next turn. You can use this ability once per day for every 4 iron mage levels you possess.
- Eyebite (Sp): You can use eyebite as a spell-like ability once per day at 11th level and twice per day at 16th level, so long as you have an Intelligence score of at least 16. You can activate Arcane Strike in the same round as you spend a swift action to target a foe with eyebite. This is considered a necromancy spell, meaning you use your full iron mage level as your caster level, and it gains a +2 bonus to its save DC from the Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus feats. (The total save DC is therefore 18 + your Intelligence modifier.) Unlike most spell-like abilities, the spell's normal components are required, and the iron mage suffers a chance of failure if he attempts to use this ability in heavy armor.
Transmutation
Your subtle art manipulates time and matter, providing tactical advantages.
Witching: All of the target's movement speeds are reduced by 5 feet + 5 feet per witching rank, to a minimum of 5 feet, for one round. Additionally, you gain a bonus to attack rolls equal to your witching rank, and your weapons overcome any damage reduction based on special materials.
Greater Witching: Your weapon momentarily passes through parallel planes as you attack, bypassing physical defenses. You ignore any armor, natural armor or shield bonuses to your target's AC, unless those bonuses arise from force effects. Critical hits threatened by this attack are automatically confirmed. On a successful hit, you cause the target to become slowed for one round (as the slow spell). This effect is applied after the speed reduction from your witching effect, and can reduce a creature's movement speed to 0.
Warding: You gain an enhancement bonus to natural armor equal to your warding rank.
Greater Warding: Your natural reach increases by 5 feet and you cannot be flanked.
School powers:
- Expedience (Su): At 2nd level, once per round as a free action, you can increase all of your base movement speeds by 5 feet per 2 iron mage levels you possess. This adjustment is treated as an enhancement bonus, and lasts for 1 round. Using this ability counts as using 1 round of warding.
- Distortion (Su): Beginning at 7th level, once per day as a move action, you can change the size of yourself or one creature within 30 feet of you, increasing or decreasing it by one size category. This effect last for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your iron mage level. An unwilling creature is entitled to a Fortitude saving throw, DC = 12 + 1/2 your iron mage level + your Intelligence modifier. Except as noted above, this ability is equivalent to enlarge person or reduce person and does not stack with similar effects. You can use this ability once per day for every 4 iron mage levels you possess.
- Mage's Lucubration (Sp): You can use mage's lucubration as a spell-like ability once per day at 11th level and twice per day at 16th level, so long as you have an Intelligence score of at least 16. This is considered a transmutation spell, meaning you use your full iron mage level as your caster level. Unlike most spell-like abilities, the spell's normal components are required, and the iron mage suffers a chance of failure if he attempts to use this ability in heavy armor.

A Man In Black RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32 |
Just go ahead and make the Arcane Strike a free action. It doesn't make any sense that FOM or Sudden Warding or False Flesh would take away your Arcane Strike damage, and the latter two take it away in such an obscure way that most people won't even realize that it works that way. It's needless complication.
Transmutation's Greater Witching, as written, sounds like it should hit ethereal or incorporeal creatures. Go ahead and just make it an incorporeal touch attack, then add reminder text to summarize how incorporeal touch attacks work. It works with the rules in a way people already (more or less) understand, adds the ability to wreck incorporeals with it, and takes away the ability to Power Attack with it (which I think is only fair).

tejón RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16 |

Just go ahead and make the Arcane Strike a free action. It doesn't make any sense that FOM or Sudden Warding or False Flesh would take away your Arcane Strike damage, and the latter two take it away in such an obscure way that most people won't even realize that it works that way. It's needless complication.
Yeah... I've been agonizing over that. Even searched through the list of feats to see if there was anything I'd forgotten about that would suck away that swift action with any significant frequency. There weren't any, which is why I felt that leaving it as-is might be the better decision... just to avoid screwing with things already in the rules. But yeah, it does seem like more trouble than it's worth. Especially because those 2nd-level abilities should rightly be swift, not free.
Transmutation's Greater Witching, as written, sounds like it should hit ethereal or incorporeal creatures. Go ahead and just make it an incorporeal touch attack, then add reminder text to summarize how incorporeal touch attacks work. It works with the rules in a way people already (more or less) understand, adds the ability to wreck incorporeals with it, and takes away the ability to Power Attack with it (which I think is only fair).
Hmm... as I recall, the reason I didn't just do that was to avoid stepping on evocation's toes. I'm not sure it would save any text, either. And I'm not sure I want to take away power attacks, for that matter; transmutation is already the weakest focus for both output and resilience, so without solid skirmishing options they'd really suck. (However, whoops: I thought I'd removed the auto-confirming criticals when I added +hit to transmutation's witching.)
Counterpoint?
I havent build one yet(but i will) but my initial impression is that this is a divine paladin right? well it looks to me like hes just straight up better than a pladin. Im going to withhold final judgement till i build one and send him against my players but im worried hes just to good.
I didn't check every possible angle, but I did some pretty extensive clean-room comparisons with a fighter. The fighter came out ahead every time. (I was pitting them against the "suggested average attributes" for a CR-appropriate enemy.) Since paladins beat fighters against evil, and fighters beat iron mages against everything, I don't think there's an issue.
(Iron mages have loads of extra utility through their spells, of course; and in real-world situations they'll be slightly better equipped due to Craft Arms. Fighters aren't strictly better. They're just better at... fighting.)

A Man In Black RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32 |
Hmm... as I recall, the reason I didn't just do that was to avoid stepping on evocation's toes. I'm not sure it would save any text, either. And I'm not sure I want to take away power attacks, for that matter; transmutation is already the weakest focus for both output and resilience, so without solid skirmishing options they'd really suck. (However, whoops: I thought I'd removed the auto-confirming criticals when I added +hit to transmutation's witching.)
Counterpoint?
Put some sort of throughput on the witching. Speed modifiers don't seem very transmute-y to me. I dunno, possibly flat extra crit damage? Keen is transmutation. You could just give them free Greater Magic Weapon scaling on their weapon but that's bo-ring.
I just don't like "Almost exactly like a standard special rule, only it's not that standard special rule" because that means it doesn't properly interact with things that have special interactions with incorporeal touch attacks, like incorporeal creatures, ghost touch, etc. Don't make people house rule the corner cases when you can easily cover them in a standard way.

tejón RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16 |

Put some sort of throughput on the witching. Speed modifiers don't seem very transmute-y to me.
Really? I see them as one of the school's most iconic tricks. Expeditious retreat, slow, haste, time stop, even fly in its own way -- various temporal and spacial distortion effects, rather than material ones. I was actually a little surprised when I looked up freedom of movement and found that it was abjuration. Honestly, the slow effect is one of my favorite things in the class regardless of school, even if it's the got the least numbers-power of the witching options. That bit stays. :)
I just don't like "Almost exactly like a standard special rule, only it's not that standard special rule" because that means it doesn't properly interact with things that have special interactions with incorporeal touch attacks, like incorporeal creatures, ghost touch, etc. Don't make people house rule the corner cases when you can easily cover them in a standard way.
On this, you're probably right. Though really, it makes me want to change that aspect entirely: again, I just don't like stealing evocation's ghost touch mojo. I suppose some crossover is okay, though... I'll have to mull it over.

tejón RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16 |

Y'know, now that transmutation has a hit bonus rolled in to the base witching I'm not sure the armor-bypassing attack is particularly important at that level. Is a no-save slow good enough to sometimes choose over a full attack? I'm pretty sure it is. That would clean things up nicely.
One of my players is looking at the Necromancy school for his Iron mage in that game. I will let you know how it goes.
Aha, cool! Looking forward to seeing how that plays out. Necromancy is supposed to be "the hexblade that actually works." ;)
I think I'm going to heed MiB's suggestion of just giving Arcane Strike on all attacks, no swift action required; that means the 2nd-level powers are swift actions, not free. (And that extra text on eyebite can go away.) I don't see anywhere that this breaks anything.

tejón RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16 |

OK, how's this:
Witching (Su): An iron mage imbues his physical attacks with arcane power, granting a bonus to his weapon damage rolls. The amount of this bonus is equal to his witching rank, initially 1 and increasing by 1 every 5 iron mage levels. This ability counts as the Arcane Strike feat, and extra damage from that feat does not stack with witching. In addition, an iron mage's witching produces an effect determined by his school of focus.

xorial |

OK, how's this:
Witching (Su): An iron mage imbues his physical attacks with arcane power, granting a bonus to his weapon damage rolls. The amount of this bonus is equal to his witching rank, initially 1 and increasing by 1 every 5 iron mage levels. This ability counts as the Arcane Strike feat, and extra damage from that feat does not stack with witching. In addition, an iron mage's witching produces an effect determined by his school of focus.
Sounds good. I would probably let it stack with the feat, though. Enough things in 3.5 & PFRPG do that.

Kolokotroni |

OK, how's this:
Witching (Su): An iron mage imbues his physical attacks with arcane power, granting a bonus to his weapon damage rolls. The amount of this bonus is equal to his witching rank, initially 1 and increasing by 1 every 5 iron mage levels. This ability counts as the Arcane Strike feat, and extra damage from that feat does not stack with witching. In addition, an iron mage's witching produces an effect determined by his school of focus.
So witching is inherant and the second level powers are a swift action? Does warding also remain a free action?

tejón RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16 |

Sounds good. I would probably let it stack with the feat, though. Enough things in 3.5 & PFRPG do that.
Every iron mage is going to be hitting things with a weapon: Arcane Strike is even more universally appropriate to this class than it is to a bard. That's the reason it's rolled in; otherwise it would be a feat tax. It's gussied up a little to make it a proper class feature, but that doesn't change the original reason for putting it there, and I don't think the class needs any extra universally-stacking damage at this point.
Does warding also remain a free action?
Yes, and nothing prevents you from using warding and the school power in the same round... it just costs double.

tejón RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16 |

Okay... now that the DPR calculator is up and running, I've done some crunching and come to a decision.
Evocation is sitting on a very annoying line. If I give it 1d4 force damage plus the 1 from Arcane Strike, it's just too juicy as a one-level dip: same output as a rogue or cavalier, with no condition or downside. But if I take the Arcane Strike damage away and only give it the 1d4, Evocation soon falls behind Transmutation and Necromancy for damage output, which is terribly inappropriate. Since the goal is to stab dudes in the face with magic at first level, I could only come up with one solution, which led to a fair bit of restructuring.
Here's draft 6. Warding and witching have switched mechanics. You get warding all the time (from 2nd level), but have rounds per day of witching. The base Arcane Strike, however, is still on all the time for free. Naturally, the 2nd level powers now consume witching rounds.
Because it's no longer infinite in use, Transmutation's movement reduction scales faster now. Also, mage's lucubration was terribly underwhelming compared to the competition, and has been replaced by juicy juicy disintegrate.
Sudden Warding vanishes in a puff of logic. Having seen that the power level isn't nearly as high as I'd worried, I've gone with something I wanted to do in the first place: Greater Witching shows up at 16th level, and you get a 9th-level spell-like school power at level 19. I also increased the uses per day of the 11th level power, giving 2 at 15th and 3 at 19th.
Arcane mark is in at 3rd level. It's the other universal cantrip, and it seems appropriate to gain at the same time as Craft Arms.
Finally, I've put in a class ability which allows you to sacrifice spells for a free round of witching, with your rank increased by the spell level.