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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe

USA
485 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2013 :  16:47:45  Show Profile Send Galuf the Dwarf a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
One part of that book I liked the most was the whole spellcaster archetype section. I was looking at all of them, only to feel that there was one type at least that was missing, one that dealt with debuffing opponents, which would essentially make him the opposite of the 'booster' as it was presented.

What I came up with I called the 'malefactor.' I came up with much of the information in the presentation style of the book. I have yet to think of feats or spells to avoid, but I don't think that is too hard to come by. Overall, I was hoping to see what you folks thought about it.


Malefactor
Sometimes, the only way to get through your opponents is by bringing their defenses down, especially in situations where damaging spells can be quite dangerous. This is the malefactor’s job, and quintessentially, an equal opposite to the booster. Malefactors specialize in spells that make enemies weaker in combat, whether by ruining their chances to strike players, softening their defensive capabilities, or making them completely incapable of fighting back.

Personality: Malefactors come in two types: cruel or strategically minded. As a cruel malefactor, you revel in your opponents’ agony. You prefer to see them suffer by making them become unfit to fight while the rest of your party tears them apart. A strategic malefactor is more like the booster where you hope to see your allies win, though in that case by wearing your opponents down.

Strengths: You easily turn a fight in the favor of the rest of the party, especially when dealing with certain targets. By whittling down the opposition’s capabilities at melee or defense, they become far less challenging than initially presented.

Weaknesses: Whereas your repertoire of spells that hinder opponents help, it can also be your own hindrance. A resisted spell is a wasted spell, for one, which can cause major headaches for a malefactor. Also, you likely lack the firepower of the blaster or sniper, so when arcane spell damage is necessary, you’re just bringing the party down. Finally, you also likely lack the battlefield control of the strategist, so multiple opponents can easily gang up on you or the party.

Best Classes: Bards are often an ideal choice for malefactors due to their access to many enchantment and illusion spells that tend to be part of its retinue. What they lack in spells, though, could be supplemented with some of their songs. Sorcerers have access to more different spells that bards can only dream of, but must choose their selections wisely. Wizards, particularly specialists in enchantment, illusion, necromancy or transmutation, however, outshine even sorcerers with the wide array of spells they may cast in a day, turning various situations to their advantage.

Best Prestige Classes: For Bards, the Sublime Chord provides access to both different as well as higher-level spells so that they can further enhance their arcane capabilities, all at the cost of the utilitarian efforts with their music, which may or may not be a decent trade-off. For sorcerers, there is the Dread Witch (Heroes of Horror) for those who want to enhance fear effects. Though it is Forgotten Realms-specific and has special requirements, the Red Wizard of Thay gives specialist wizards more potential with spells of a certain school. Finally, for those who want to dabble in divine magic for more spells that hinder opponents, there is the Mystic Theurge.

Best Feats: These feats help augment a malefactor in the chosen role and are strongly recommended.
Extend Spell: Making your spells last longer can help for tougher opponents.
Spell Focus (Enchantment, Illusion, Necromancy or Transmutation): Nothing is worse than a targeted enemy resisting your spells. This, and the appropriate Greater Spell Focus feat to follow both prevent this.
Spell Penetration: Spell resistance often comes into play and can be an annoyance. Take this and Greater Spell Penetration later to circumvent this.

Feats to Avoid: TBD

Best Spells:
1st – Ray of Enfeeblement: Nothing like making a moderately powerful creature become weak, or making an even weaker humanoid with considerable loot on them become helpless. Cause Fear is a decent second choice.
2nd – Blindness/Deafness: This can turn any fight to your favor by all but denying a target the ability to attack or cast spells. Scare is another idea.
3rd – Slow: This can make any enemy a sitting duck, especially if your allies are hasted. You also might want to consider Ray of Exhaustion.
4th – Bestow Curse: This easily causes serious disadvantages for any enemy. Assay Spell Resistance (SC) is another good choice. Fear works as well.
5th – Baleful Polymorph: Nothing worse for your opponents than being turned into a harmless animal. Symbol of Pain is another good idea.
6th – Eyebite: This can easily turn any target into a sickened, incapacitated mess. Symbol of Fear also poses some possibilities.
7th – Symbol of Weakness: Taking the strength out of a few opponents can really ruin their day.
8th – Maddening Whispers (SC): This spell pretty much takes an opponent out of the fight by making them unable to make rational actions. Scintillating Pattern also presents possibilities, namely if a target is also stunned.
9th – Energy Drain: Want to make your opponent exceptionally weak? Drain some levels out of them! Mass Hold Monster can be a good idea too.

Spells to Avoid: TBD


Galuf's Baldur's Gate NPC stats: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8823
Galuf's 3.5 Ed. Cleric Domains: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14036
Galuf's Homebrew 4th Edition Races: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13787
Galuf's Homebrew Specialty Priest PrCs: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14353
Galuf's Forgotten Realms Heralds and Allies thread: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8766

Edited by - Galuf the Dwarf on 09 Jan 2014 04:00:19

Ayrik
Great Reader

Canada
7966 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2013 :  22:38:56  Show Profile Send Ayrik a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Don‘t forget spells like Minor Malison, Greater Malison, and - my favourite - Enervation. All found in the 2E Tome of Magic. I suppose any “metamagic“ spells which suppress or negatively modify other spells might go well with the theme.

Malefactor is a nice name. I also like Banecaster, though it sounds a bit corny. The class seems to overlap harmful necromancers and gypsy/witch curses and common dispelling/proofing magics a lot, so I can‘t see it being very popular with PCs. Perhaps grant a unique class debuffing ability which works something like a counterspell but instead of neutralizing buffing spells it reverses them; turn Haste into Slow, Berserk Rage into Emotion (Apathy), that sort of stuff.

[/Ayrik]

Edited by - Ayrik on 27 Nov 2013 22:39:51
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe

USA
485 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2013 :  22:51:33  Show Profile Send Galuf the Dwarf a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik

Don‘t forget spells like Minor Malison, Greater Malison, and - my favourite - Enervation. All found in the 2E Tome of Magic. I suppose any “metamagic“ spells which suppress or negatively modify other spells might go well with the theme.

Malefactor is a nice name. I also like Banecaster, though it sounds a bit corny. The class seems to overlap harmful necromancers and gypsy/witch curses and common dispelling/proofing magics a lot, so I can‘t see it being very popular with PCs. Perhaps grant a unique class debuffing ability which works something like a counterspell but instead of neutralizing buffing spells it reverses them; turn Haste into Slow, Berserk Rage into Emotion (Apathy), that sort of stuff.



Two things, Ayrik:
1) You realize this is an archetype, like the ones in the 3.5 edition supplement Complete Mage, not a class or such?
2) I don't see the big different between, say, Greater Malison and Bestow Curse, save for the penalty against magic of a certain school. Overall, though, I don't

Galuf's Baldur's Gate NPC stats: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8823
Galuf's 3.5 Ed. Cleric Domains: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14036
Galuf's Homebrew 4th Edition Races: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13787
Galuf's Homebrew Specialty Priest PrCs: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14353
Galuf's Forgotten Realms Heralds and Allies thread: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8766
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe

USA
485 Posts

Posted - 04 Dec 2013 :  03:22:41  Show Profile Send Galuf the Dwarf a Private Message  Reply with Quote
No other comments, anyone?

Galuf's Baldur's Gate NPC stats: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8823
Galuf's 3.5 Ed. Cleric Domains: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14036
Galuf's Homebrew 4th Edition Races: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13787
Galuf's Homebrew Specialty Priest PrCs: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14353
Galuf's Forgotten Realms Heralds and Allies thread: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8766
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Diffan
Great Reader

USA
4425 Posts

Posted - 08 Dec 2013 :  06:20:50  Show Profile Send Diffan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I like the initiative you've done. Some of the suggestions in CM were pretty helpful, though the Necromancer write-up they did was horrible because it didn't even mention the Dread Necromancer which was, by far, tbe best way to get into that style.

Keep up the good work!

EDIT: I'd clean up the original post a bit. The bolded part is sort of hard to read with no spaces between paragraphs or segments.

Edited by - Diffan on 08 Dec 2013 06:21:44
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe

USA
485 Posts

Posted - 09 Jan 2014 :  03:59:15  Show Profile Send Galuf the Dwarf a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks for the input, Diffan. Much appreciated.

Anyways, after getting through the upheaval of the holidays and resettling the household, here's another archetype I came up with.

Warder
While the strategist focus on controlling the battlefield, you focus more on keeping certain areas protected from intrusion. You’re especially helpful for guarding resting places, camps or friendly dwellings (including houses or fortresses under the control of the party or allied NPCs). You also may be in part responsible for protecting the party’s valuables.
Personality: You are very defensive or protective, being concerned of the well-being of yourself and/or others first and foremost. Some may look at you as a broody mother hen at worst, or as a caring parental figure at best, depending on your attitude towards others.
Strengths: You are exceptional at making sure either the party or a certain location is safer against intrusion, whether through physically holding enemies back or causing them havoc by passing through. This can make defensive situations a breeze, since protective spells around an area can make ambush or assault situations harrowing for your enemies.
Weaknesses: Depending upon how many spell slots you have and how many spell slots you devote to your archetype, you can cut yourself short where other types of spells may be necessary. You’re likely far outclassed when it comes to firepower or with spells that improve your allies or remove detrimental effects.
Best Classes: Wizards, particularly Abjurers or Conjurers, or – to a lesser extent –Transmuters are the ideal Warders, given their broad access to spells and amount of various spells per day. Sorcerers can make decent Warders, but they can only cast certain spells of any given level, so they would be left to make harsh choices, even though they can switch out spells as they gain levels in the class.
Best Prestige Classes: The Geometer from Complete Arcane offers the abilities to make glyphs for spells so they can be cast silently as well as the ability to cast the divine spell Glyph of Warding. For dwarven arcane spellcasters, the Runesmith from Races of Stone offers the ability to place spells as runes on various surfaces as well as being able to wear heavy armor. Finally, for those who also covet warding spells from divine spellcasting, there is the Mystic Theurge.

Best Feats: These feats help augment a warder in the chosen role and are strongly recommended.
Craft Wondrous Item: With the right spells, you can also create items that serve protecting purposes beyond your normal spells.
Extend Spell: If you potentially expect company beyond the duration of this spell, you’ll want it.
Quicken Spell: A faster casting of certain ward spells can possibly mean the difference between life and death if you’re expecting pursuit from enemies.

Feats to Avoid:
Spell Penetration: Most – if not all – of the spells in your special repertoire are not prone to spell resistance.
Spell Focus: Your spells are generally not prone to being resisted via saving throws either.

Best Spells:
1st – Alarm: A means of telling a place or object of concern is being breached can often lead to quick capture or defeat of the offender.
2nd – Arcane Lock: Making sure that an opening stays shut under normal circumstances can possibly buy your more time to do what you need to do.
3rd – Explosive Runes: Sometimes there’s nothing worse for an enemy than an explosive surprise waiting for them.
4th – Wall of Sand (Sandstorm): This spell hampers both movement and projectile attacks, making it ideal for disadvantaging enemies.
5th – Mordenkaiden’s Faithful Hound: A little extra help goes a long way. Wall of Stone is also a decent option.
6th – Wall of Iron: Unless a creature can deal massive amount of damage in one hit or can make metals rust, this is a highly effective barrier. You can also conjure the wall up in the air and make it smash down on your enemies. Be careful about using the latter option when your allies are in melee combat.
7th – Reverse Gravity: Any hostile entity that relies on ground-based movement that enters the area where you have cast this is likely going to be stuck helpless. You also might want to consider Symbol of Weakness.
8th – Prismatic Wall: This effectively blocks off an area from any intrusion. Antipathy, Dimensional Lock or Symbol of Death are also likely options.
9th – Prismatic Sphere: The ultimate spell in warding an area. You can either use it as a barrier to keep your party protected or use it to cage enemies inside of it so they cannot pursue you any further.

Spells to Avoid:
Antimagic Field: This spell is risky at best, because if you center this around yourself, all the party’s spellcasting within that area is forfeit. There’s also no guarantee that casting it on your enemies can be that effective if they can somehow escape the area of effect.
Wall of Force: This spell doesn’t affect incorporeal or ethereal creatures at all, and can be easily destroyed by effects such as Disintegrate, Mordenkaiden’s Disjunction or a Sphere of Annihilation.
Wall of Fire or Wall of Ice: Either spells are useless against creatures that are immune to the respective type of damage. The chance that you will meet a creature that is weak against one or the other is not always great, so it’s best to leave these spells alone.

Galuf's Baldur's Gate NPC stats: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8823
Galuf's 3.5 Ed. Cleric Domains: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14036
Galuf's Homebrew 4th Edition Races: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13787
Galuf's Homebrew Specialty Priest PrCs: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14353
Galuf's Forgotten Realms Heralds and Allies thread: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8766
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 14 Feb 2014 :  17:40:16  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I like both of these so far, keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to your next installment. Now, to delve into those other threads in your siggy...

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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