Escalation Mage

Description:

The Shadow is only one of many dark powers in the world of Eberron, but it has been one of the oldest and most influential. It is said that every source of infernal, nefarious or wicked magic first comes from the mind of the Shadow before it is 'discovered' by mortal casters. Whether that is true or not, many arcanists have been known to worship the Shadow in secret to gain inspiration on magical works, particular when the desperation of war or financial competition drives research to its breaking point. Occasionally, the Shadow responds in kind, providing a constant pledge of power in exchange for the caster's life energy. Those that accept this binding deal are known as Escalation Mages.

Role: Escalation mages are extreme arcanists, looking for the biggest bang for the buck. Given the nature of their deals with the Shadow, many look for either methods to improve their Constitution or feed on the lives of others in order to get even more to spend on their magic.

Source: FoE, pg. 52

Alignment: There is nothing that specifically requires escalation mages to be evil, but given the severe nature of their bargains, it would be hard for an escalation mage to be anything else after long.

Hit Dice: d6

Requirements:

To qualify to become an escalation mage, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks.

Feats: Any one metamagic feat.

Special: Ability to cast 3rd level arcane spells, Worshiper of the Shadow.

Class Skills:

The escalation mage's class skills (and the key abilities for each skill) are Bluff (Chr), Craft (Int), Intimidation (Chr), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Spellcraft (Int) and Use Magic Device (Chr).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: The Escalation Mage

Class Features:

All of the following are class features of the escalation prestige class.

Weapons and Armor Proficiency: Escalation mages do not gain any new proficiencies with weapons or armor.

Spells per Day / Spells Known: At the indicated levels, an escalation mage gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain other benefits a character of that class would have gained, except for additional spells per day, spells known (if he is a spontaneous caster), and an increased effective level of spellcasting. If he had more than one spellcasting class before becoming an escalation mage, he must decide to which class she adds the new level for the purpose of determining spells per day. Once this decision is made, it cannot be changed.

Bonus Feat: At 1st level, escalation mages gain the Toughness feat as a bonus feat.

Caster Escalation (Su): At 1st level, escalation mages learn how to bargain small parts of their physical health to better cast their spells. As a swift action, the escalation mage can intentionally sacrifice a certain number of hit points before casting a spell. For every 2 hit points sacrificed in this manner, the escalation mage gains a single +1 untyped bonus to apply to any one d20 roll that he makes in relation to the casting that spell, chosen before the roll is made. This can be a concentration check, caster level check (but not actual caster level), attack roll, etc, provided that the escalation mage is the one making the roll. If he sacrifices enough hit points to have more than one +1 untyped bonus, he can decide which bonuses are applied to which roll, but they must be allocated at a 1 to 1 ratio before any die rolls are made.

For example, if an escalation mage sacrifices 18 hit points to escalate the casting of a Scorching Ray, he has a total of +9 untyped bonus to apply. He can split that into a +3 untyped bonus to his concentration check for casting defensively and then a +2 to each attack roll of three rays from the spell.

Metamagic Escalation (Su): Starting at 2nd level, escalation mages learn how to bargain even more of themselves in order to better their magic. As a swift action, the escalation mage can intentionally sacrifice 5 hit points before casting a spell to instantly apply a metamagic feat that he knows with a spell level adjustment no greater than +1 to the spell without having expend a higher spell slot or an increased casting time.

At 3rd level, this ability expands to cover metamagic feats of +2 spell level adjustment for a cost of 10 hit points. At 4th level, this ability expands to cover metamagic feats of +3 spell level adjustment for a cost of 15 hit points and at 5th level, it finishes with covering metamagic feats of +4 spell level adjustment for 20 hit points. Metamagic feats with variable spell level adjustments, like Heighten Spell, are determined by the amount of spell level adjustment at the time they are used, but no metamagic feat of a +5 spell level adjustment or higher can be purchased with hit points from this class ability.

In order to use this ability, the escalation mage must be wearing or wielding a holy symbol of the Shadow. There is no limit to the number of hit points that can be sacrificed in this way, but all sacrifices and appropriate metamagic feats must be determined before the spell is actually cast. This damage is untyped and bypasses all damage reduction or resistances. If desired, the escalation mage can use both the Caster Escalation and Metamagic Escalation class features in the same swift action.