More D&D Geekery
A prestige class I designed a while back that I wanted to see what you guys thought of it. The idea is to introduce some fighter pilot flavor to a magic-heavy culture.
Ombiterran Air Guard
While the United City-States of Ombite do not share in a national army, important people and places are still protected by small militias of combat wizards. These units, known collectively as the Air guard, typically operate in squadrons of 4 to 6 members, and are stationed to protect key targets such as the universities, merchant fleets, and so on.
Hit Die: d6
Requirements
To qualify to join the Ombiterran Air Guard, a character must fulfill the following criteria:
Spells: Must be able to cast Fly
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Dodge, Mobility
Class Skills
The Ombiterran Air Guard skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge: Arcana (Int), Knowledge: Geography (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialSpells per Day
1st+0+0+2+0Tactical Domains, Shot on the Run, Dogfight (+1d6)+1 level of existing class
2nd+1+0+3+0+1 level of existing class
3rd+2+1+3+1Dogfight (+1d6, +1 AC)+1 level of existing class
4th+3+1+4+1+1 level of existing class
5th+3+1+4+1Dogfight (+2d6, +1 AC)+1 level of existing class
6th+4+2+5+2+1 level of existing class
7th+5+2+5+2Dogfight (+2d6, +2 AC)+1 level of existing class
8th+6+2+6+2+1 level of existing class
9th+6+3+6+3Dogfight (+3d6, +2 AC)+1 level of existing class
10th+7+3+7+3+1 level of existing class
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Ombiterran Air Guard:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Ombiterran Air Guards gain no proficiency with any weapons, armor, or shields.
Spells per Day: When a new Ombiterran Air Guard level is gained, the character 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 any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming an Ombiterran Air Guard, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.
Tactical Domains: In addition to the spells he can cast per day granted by his original spellcasting class, an Ombiterran Air Guard gains access to the following domains:
Spell LevelFlight DomainInterceptor DomainBomber DomainRecon Domain
1Feather FallMagic MissileMagic MissileDetect Magic
2InvisibilitySilenceScorching RaySee Invisibility
3FlyDispel MagicFireballArcane Sight
4HasteDimensional AnchorLightning BoltInvisibility Purge
5Overland FlightFeeblemindFlame StrikePrying Eyes
6Find the PathDispel Magic, GreaterDisintegrateTrue Seeing
7Wind WalkDelayed Blast FireballScrying, Greater
8Reverse GravityAntimagic FieldFire StormPrying Eyes, Greater
9Mage’s DisjunctionMeteor Swarm
Domain Abilities:
Flight - You can spontaneously cast Feather Fall in place of any of your other spells, even if the spell is not normally on your list of spells known.
Interceptor - You cast abjuration spells at +1 caster level.
Bomber - You cast evocation spells at +1 caster level.
Recon - You cast divination spells at +1 caster level.
All Air Guards take the Flight Domain upon taking their first class level, and may select a second domain among Interceptor, Bomber, and Recon. For each spell level that the Air Guard already has access to, he gets an extra spell slot. The Air Guard prepares and casts his domain spells as he would any other spell of his original spellcasting class, but the extra spell slot can only be used for one of the spells granted by his chosen domains.
If a domain spell is not on the Air Guard’s original spellcasting class’ spell list, the Air Guard can only use it for his domain slot.
An Air Guard only obtains new levels of domain spells when taking a level in the Air Guard class.
Bonus Feat: At 1st level, an Ombiterran Air Guard receives Shot on the Run as a bonus feat.
Dogfight: An Ombiterran Air Guard relies on mobility to deal extra damage and improve his defense. He deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on all attacks he makes during a turn in which he uses his Shot on the Run feat (moving 5’ before and 5’ after) while flying. The extra damage increases by 1d6 every four levels.
The extra damage applies only against living creatures which have a discernible anatomy. Undead, constructs, oozes, plants, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to extra damage from critical hits are not vulnerable to this additional damage. The Air Guard must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach that spot. Owing to the nature of Shot on the Run, this damage can only be applied to ranged attacks, and only if the target is within 30’.
At 3rd level, the Air Guard receives a +1 competence bonus to Armor Class during any round in which he flies at least 10 feet. The bonus applies as soon as the Air Guard has moved 10’, and lasts until the start of his next turn. The bonus also applies against any attacks of opportunity against him while using his Shot on the Run feat, even if he hasn’t technically completed moving the full 10’ yet. This bonus improves by 1 for every four levels gained above 3rd.
An Air Guard loses this ability when wearing medium of heavy armor or when carrying a medium of heavy load.
MULTICLASS NOTE: This ability is similar to the Scout class feature, Skirmish, which only requires that the scout move 10’ (regardless of how the movement is spent), but is otherwise the same. The bonuses from both abilities stack whenever both would apply, and should be considered equivalent when qualifying for other prestige classes.
Haven't done any playtesting yet, but it looks like it'd multi-class really awesome with Arcane Archer depending on how someone decided to play it.
What do people think? Does it look balanced, or does it need tweaking?
Ombiterran Air Guard
While the United City-States of Ombite do not share in a national army, important people and places are still protected by small militias of combat wizards. These units, known collectively as the Air guard, typically operate in squadrons of 4 to 6 members, and are stationed to protect key targets such as the universities, merchant fleets, and so on.
Hit Die: d6
Requirements
To qualify to join the Ombiterran Air Guard, a character must fulfill the following criteria:
Spells: Must be able to cast Fly
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Dodge, Mobility
Class Skills
The Ombiterran Air Guard skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge: Arcana (Int), Knowledge: Geography (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialSpells per Day
1st+0+0+2+0Tactical Domains, Shot on the Run, Dogfight (+1d6)+1 level of existing class
2nd+1+0+3+0+1 level of existing class
3rd+2+1+3+1Dogfight (+1d6, +1 AC)+1 level of existing class
4th+3+1+4+1+1 level of existing class
5th+3+1+4+1Dogfight (+2d6, +1 AC)+1 level of existing class
6th+4+2+5+2+1 level of existing class
7th+5+2+5+2Dogfight (+2d6, +2 AC)+1 level of existing class
8th+6+2+6+2+1 level of existing class
9th+6+3+6+3Dogfight (+3d6, +2 AC)+1 level of existing class
10th+7+3+7+3+1 level of existing class
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Ombiterran Air Guard:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Ombiterran Air Guards gain no proficiency with any weapons, armor, or shields.
Spells per Day: When a new Ombiterran Air Guard level is gained, the character 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 any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming an Ombiterran Air Guard, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.
Tactical Domains: In addition to the spells he can cast per day granted by his original spellcasting class, an Ombiterran Air Guard gains access to the following domains:
Spell LevelFlight DomainInterceptor DomainBomber DomainRecon Domain
1Feather FallMagic MissileMagic MissileDetect Magic
2InvisibilitySilenceScorching RaySee Invisibility
3FlyDispel MagicFireballArcane Sight
4HasteDimensional AnchorLightning BoltInvisibility Purge
5Overland FlightFeeblemindFlame StrikePrying Eyes
6Find the PathDispel Magic, GreaterDisintegrateTrue Seeing
7Wind WalkDelayed Blast FireballScrying, Greater
8Reverse GravityAntimagic FieldFire StormPrying Eyes, Greater
9Mage’s DisjunctionMeteor Swarm
Domain Abilities:
Flight - You can spontaneously cast Feather Fall in place of any of your other spells, even if the spell is not normally on your list of spells known.
Interceptor - You cast abjuration spells at +1 caster level.
Bomber - You cast evocation spells at +1 caster level.
Recon - You cast divination spells at +1 caster level.
All Air Guards take the Flight Domain upon taking their first class level, and may select a second domain among Interceptor, Bomber, and Recon. For each spell level that the Air Guard already has access to, he gets an extra spell slot. The Air Guard prepares and casts his domain spells as he would any other spell of his original spellcasting class, but the extra spell slot can only be used for one of the spells granted by his chosen domains.
If a domain spell is not on the Air Guard’s original spellcasting class’ spell list, the Air Guard can only use it for his domain slot.
An Air Guard only obtains new levels of domain spells when taking a level in the Air Guard class.
Bonus Feat: At 1st level, an Ombiterran Air Guard receives Shot on the Run as a bonus feat.
Dogfight: An Ombiterran Air Guard relies on mobility to deal extra damage and improve his defense. He deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on all attacks he makes during a turn in which he uses his Shot on the Run feat (moving 5’ before and 5’ after) while flying. The extra damage increases by 1d6 every four levels.
The extra damage applies only against living creatures which have a discernible anatomy. Undead, constructs, oozes, plants, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to extra damage from critical hits are not vulnerable to this additional damage. The Air Guard must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach that spot. Owing to the nature of Shot on the Run, this damage can only be applied to ranged attacks, and only if the target is within 30’.
At 3rd level, the Air Guard receives a +1 competence bonus to Armor Class during any round in which he flies at least 10 feet. The bonus applies as soon as the Air Guard has moved 10’, and lasts until the start of his next turn. The bonus also applies against any attacks of opportunity against him while using his Shot on the Run feat, even if he hasn’t technically completed moving the full 10’ yet. This bonus improves by 1 for every four levels gained above 3rd.
An Air Guard loses this ability when wearing medium of heavy armor or when carrying a medium of heavy load.
MULTICLASS NOTE: This ability is similar to the Scout class feature, Skirmish, which only requires that the scout move 10’ (regardless of how the movement is spent), but is otherwise the same. The bonuses from both abilities stack whenever both would apply, and should be considered equivalent when qualifying for other prestige classes.
Haven't done any playtesting yet, but it looks like it'd multi-class really awesome with Arcane Archer depending on how someone decided to play it.
What do people think? Does it look balanced, or does it need tweaking?