Chapter 4: Character OptionsAll spellshapers are slightly different. They are defined and separated not merely by class, but by formula selection, circle specialization, feats, and career paths. Every choice a spellshaper makes during her advancement—and every choice a player or DM makes in designing a character—shapes and molds her into something unique.
This chapter begins by focusing on skills and feats that complement the use of spellshaping material, in some cases improving one's ability to use spellshaping powers. Some of these feats also make it possible for characters other than spellshapers to gain access to arcane formulae. The remainder of the chapter contains a selection of alternative class features and racial substitution levels for the spellshaping classes and races introduced in this book, which focus on different approaches to those classes' concepts.
New Skills UsesThe following uses for two existing skills showcase the abilities and talents commonly cultivated by spellshapers.
Knowledge (Arcana)
(Int; Trained Only)You can use the Knowledge (arcana) skill to answer questions about various spellshapers and spellshaping traditions. For example, you can attempt a Knowledge (arcana) check to identify a particular school known to practice a particular circle of spellshaping, to recall basic facts about the philosophy or teaching practies of a particular circle, or to recall the adventures or exploits of famous spellshapers.
Spellcraft
(Int; Trained Only)You can use this skill to identify arcane formulae as soon as they are shaped.
Check: You can identify arcane formulae used by a combatant. The DCs for Spellcraft checks relating to various tasks are summarized below.
DC | | Task |
10 + formula level | | Identify a formula being shaped by someone you can see. No action required. No retry. |
10 + formula level | | Identify a formula recorded on a spellshaping scroll. One try per day. Requires a full-round action. |
20 + target's shaper level | | Determine all circles to which a particular creature has access by watching it shape at least one formula. No action required. Retry only if the creature shapes another formula. |
Action: Varies, as noted above.
Try Again: See above.
FeatsWhile formulae are certainly the defining characteristic of spellshapers, feats rank a close second. The methodology of spellshaping is an intricate, personal, and vital element of playing a spellshaper. Feats that represent and modify techniques of spellshaping define the differences between one shaper and another and grant characters significant advantages in combat and other encounters.
Metashaping Feats: The
Spellshaping Codices present a new category of feats: metashaping feats. Just as other casters enhance their spells through metamagic, spellshapers can modify their formulae and spellshape attacks with metashaping feats.
Every metashaping feat has a degree, which indicates how powerful it is. Applying a metashaping feat takes no action, but the sum of the formula's level and the degrees of all metashaping feats applied to it cannot exceed ½ your shaper level (rounded up).
Modifying a formula with a metashaping feat does not change the amount of time required to shape that formula unless the feat description specifically says otherwise.
Spellsoul Feats: This category of feats is restricted to characters of the spellsoul armor race. Spellsoul feats allow a suit of spellsoul armor to modify aspects of its constuctions and gain construct features.
Companion FeatsIn addition to the previously described feats, the
Spellshaping Codices present another new category of feats: companion feats. These feats are designed for companion creatures that increase in Hit Dice as their masters advance in level. As such creatures gain feats normally for their Hit Dice, companion feats are intended to allow for a certain level of customizability and utility, at the cost of the companion's normal feat opportunities.
All companion feats have as a prerequisite that the creature taking the feat must be a companion, with different feats requiring masters of different classes, levels, or other qualifications. For the purpose of companion feats, a companion is any creature that is tied to a character as its companion. A druid's animal companion, an elemental adept's elemental companion, and a paladin's special mount are all examples of companion creatures. If a companion creature ceases to be a character's companion, it loses all benefits of any companion feats that it might possess.
Many companion feats grant additional benefits and abilities to a companion. Activating one of these abilities is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise specified in the feat description, and most companion abilities do not provoke attacks of opportunity. Activating a companion feat is not considered an attack unless the feat's activation could be the direct cause of damage to a target.
Alternative Class FeaturesYour choice of a class delineates some of the most important aspects of your D&D character. With a class comes a specific role in the party, essential mechanical attributes such as base attack bonus and base save bonuses, and a host of special abilities that define the character. It is possible, however, to alter a class slightly to provide a new playing experience.
This section provides alternative class feature options for the spellshaper classes introduced in this book. Many of these alternative class features focus on providing a different take on the concepts behind a class, while others are focused on providing mechanical difference.
These abilities replace class features found in the original class description. If you have already reached or passed the level at which you can take the ability, you can use the retraining option described in
Player's Handbook II to substitute the alternative class feature for the normal one gained at that level.
Alternative Class Feature NameA general description of the variant and why you should consider it.
Class: The class or classes that can select this class feature
Level: The alternative class feature can be selected only at this level.
Cost: Every alternative class feature has a cost of some form. Most costs take the form of an ability or abilities that you must sacrifice to gain the alternative class feature, but some alternative class features have costs that reduce the number of circles that you can access or restrict you from selecting specific circles.
Benefit: The mechanical effects of the new abilities. If an alternative class feature provides multiple new class features, they will be listed separately in this section.
Arcane Meditation Class: Impulse Mage
Battle Sage Class: Spellsage
Chronarch Class: Savant
Dark Impulses Class: Impulse Mage
Divine Gift Class: Spellsage
Idiosyncratic Shaper Class: Any spellshaper
Invoking Sage Class: Spellsage
Keeper of Songs Class: Savant
Numinous Anchorite Class: Anchorite
Paraelemental Adept Class: Elemental Adept
Primal Champion Class: Spellshape Champion
Shaman of the Elements Class: Elemental Adept
Soulbound Companion Class: Anchorite
Spellshape Paragon Class: Spellshape Champion
Spellsoul Weapon Class: Spellshape Champion
Tinkering Savant Class: Savant
Trance Mage Class: Impulse Mage
Weird Spirit Class: Elemental Adept
Wild Ascetic Class: Anchorite
Racial Substitution LevelsA substitution level is a level of a given class that you take instead of the level described for the standard class. Selecting a substitution level is not the same as multiclassing—you remain within the class for which the substitution level is taken. The class features of the substitution level simply replace those of the standard level.
To qualify to take a racial substitution level, you must be of the proper race. For instance, to select a racial substitution level of living spellshape spellsage, you must be a living spellshape.
The six spellshaping races introduced in this book each have racial substitution levels for one of the standard spellshaping classes. Essentially, each set of substitution levels presents a racially flavored variant standard class for your game. The DM can add more racial substitution level options as desired, using the ones presented here as guidelines.
For each class with racial substitution levels, you can select each substitution level only at a specific class level. When you take a substitution level for you class at a given level, you give up the class features gained at that level for the standard class, and you get the substitution level features instead. You can't go back and gain the class features for the level you swapped out—when you take your next level in the standard class, you gain the next higher level as if you had gained the previous level normally.
For instance, if you take the masked one savant substitution level for 4th level, you forever lose the class features normally gained by a standard savant at 4th level (such as a still mind), gaining instead the racial substitution class features for a 4th-level masked one savant (such as the dark mind ability; see table 4–5). When you gain another level in savant, you gain the normal 5th-level benefits of the standard savant class, as given in Table 3–4: The Savant, page XX.
Unless noted otherwise in the description of a racial substitution level class feature, a character who takes a racial substitution level gains spellshaping ability (increases in formulae prepared and formulae known, if applicable) as if she had taken this level in the standard class.
A character need not take all the substitution levels provided for a class. For instance, a stoichen elemental adept might decide to take only the racial substitution level at 1st level, ignoring the other substitution level.
The description of each substitution level class feature explains what occurs to the standard class ability not gained, if that ability would normally increase at a specific rate.
When a substitution level changes the standard class's Hit Die or class skill list, the change applies only to that specific substitution level, not to any other class levels.
Cambian Impulse MageCaymir AnchoriteLiving Spellshape SpellsageMasked One SavantSpellsoul Armor Spellshape ChampionStoichen Elemental Adept