The Archmage prestige class never made it into Pathfinder (and I'm glad for that), but I do miss some of the special abilities it offered, so I've remade them as feats. Let me know what you think.
Arcane Fire
You can channel stored spell energy into arcane fire, manifesting as a bolt of pure magical energy.
Prerequisites: Skill Focus (Spellcraft), ability to cast 5th level arcane spells
Benefit: You can expend a prepared spell (or unused spell slot) of 1st level or higher to shoot a bolt of arcane fire as a standard action. This is a ranged touch attack with long range (400 ft. + 40 ft./arcane caster level). The bolt deals 1d6 damage per level of the spell or spell slot expended to power it, plus your Intelligence or Charisma modifier, whichever ability governs your spellcasting. This is a supernatural ability, so spell resistance does not apply.
Arcane Reach
You can use your touch spells at a distance.
Prerequisites: Skill Focus (Spellcraft), ability to cast 7th level arcane spells
Benefit:You can use arcane spells with a range of touch on targets at up to short range (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 arcane caster levels). You must make a ranged touch attack to hit an unwilling target. Using this ability increases the spell's casting time. If the spell normally requires a standard action, its casting time is increased to a full-round action, and a spell with a longer casting time takes an extra full-round action to cast.
Mastery of Counterspelling
You can turn hostile magic back against its source.
Prerequisites: Improved Counterspell, Skill Focus (Spellcraft), ability to cast 7th level arcane spells
Benefit: When you counterspell a spell, you can turn it back against the caster as if it were fully affected by a spell turning spell. If the spell cannot be affected by spell turning, then it is merely counterspelled.
Mastery of Elements
You can substitute one element for another.
Prerequisites: Spell Focus in two schools of magic, ability to cast 8th level arcane spells
Benefit: You can alter an arcane spell when cast so that it utilizes a different element from the one it normally uses. This ability can only alter a spell with the acid, cold, electricity, fire or sonic descriptor. You decide whether to alter the spell's energy type and choose the new energy type when you begin casting. Using this ability increases the spell's casting time. If the spell normally requires a standard action, its casting time is increased to a full-round action, and a spell with a longer casting time takes an extra full-round action to cast.
Mastery of Shaping
You can unleash area spells without harming your allies.
Prerequisites: Spell focus in two schools of magic, ability to cast 6th level arcane spells
Benefit: You can alter arcane area and effect spells that utilize one of the following shapes: burst, blast, cylinder, emanation or spread. The alteration consists of creating spaces within the spell's area that are not subject to the spell. The minimum dimension for these spaces is a 5-foot cube. Furthermore, any shapable arcane spells have a minimum dimension of 5 feet instead of 10 feet. Using this ability increases the spell's casting time. If the spell normally requires a standard action, its casting time is increased to a full-round action, and a spell with a longer casting time takes an extra full-round action to cast.
Spell Power
Your favored spells are paticularly potent.
Prerequisites: Spell Focus, ability to cast 5th level arcane spells
Benefit: Choose a school of magic for which you have taken the Spell Focus feat. You gain a +1 bonus to your effective caster level for spells of that school (for level dependent variables such as damage or range, and caster level checks only).
Special: You can take this feat more than once. Its benefits do not stack. Each time you take this feat, its benefits apply to another school of magic for which you have taken Spell Focus.
A few comments:
You'll notice that, unlike the old prestige class, these abilties do not require the permanent sacrifice of spell slots. This was deliberate. I always hated that, especially since the Heirophant got similar abilities at no cost. These abilities cost feats and have fairly steep requirements - that should be enough. Also, some of them aren't as powerful as they used to be.
I'd suggest either the SF(Spellcraft) prereq for the Master of Counterspelling, or some levels in the skill itself, since it seems that counterspelling requires advance recognition of the spell being cast.
Cool, though Arcane erach and mastery of elements already exist as metamagic feats in other books (Complete Arcane would be my guess).
I'd suggest either the SF(Spellcraft) prereq for the Master of Counterspelling, or some levels in the skill itself, since it seems that counterspelling requires advance recognition of the spell being cast.
Done.
Several of these were already feats, though not core.
Sculpt Spell and Energy Substitution were Metamagic Feats in Complete Arcane
Reach Spell was a Metamagic Feat in Complete Divine
Acidic Splatter and Clap of Thunder were Reserve Feats in Complete Mage