Talk:Electric Mage (3.5e Class)

Help me out here - first time I've ever made a full class, let alone a magic-user. I've also only played 3.5 twice, so I'm perhaps not the most familiar with the system. Aelaris 19:08, April 5, 2010 (UTC)

What I have.

I brainstormed abilities, which are really not written for DnD. I've converted ten levels of them, and put them up, but for levels 11-20 I don't have them converted. I have no idea what power level balance-point-rogue is at those levels, nor do I have enough brain-stormed materials. I've looked at some CR 20 opponents, or even CR 16 opponents, and I'm torn between buffing to have a fighting chance against those and mimicking other rogue-level classes.

Please advice on what to put into the class.

Part of this is that I don't know about magic items people use. Without help, I'm having a hard time imagined an Electric Mage going toe-to-toe with, say, a Planetar. What else should I be mindful of, outside of the class itself?

Overcharge

Have you thought about making Overcharge deal ability burn rather than damage? As it is, the cost is inconsequential as soon as anyone with UMD picks up a wand of lesser vigor, making "ability expenditure" meaningless and allowing the electric mage to constantly count as twice his level for his abilities. --Ghostwheel 11:11, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

Didn't know about ability burn vs. damage, now I do. Definitely Burn - I was trying to figure out a mid-way between Damage and Drain, but went with damage. Of course, I wanted healing to be useful, but I was assuming some sort of fancy healing spell from a caster, not a wand. -- Aelaris 15:41, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

Charge Object

Have you thought about the stacking possibilities of this ability? For example, at level 10 you could deal 10d6+9d6+8d6+7d6+6d6+... to a creature by each round charging a different object, and then throwing them all at a single target. Might be problematic--perhaps add that you can only have one charged object at a time? --Ghostwheel 11:14, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

This was a concern brought up by Foxwarrior - a bag of charged nuts and bolts that someone inverts on some poor shmuck. Since then, that strategy has been nerfed: It's a move action to charge but also a swift action to maintain, now. I think this cuts down on charging a good deal.

The abuse you are posing is potent as well, but I am unsure how many situations people could sit around for 10 rounds charging items directly before combat, and then be able to throw all this stuff at people effectively and before it is too late in the combat. How would you go about effectively throwing these things, too? Improvised ranged weapon attacks? (This is meant to be more of a archer and booby-trap ability that a direct damage ability, just as Charged Body is a melee combatant ability.) -- Aelaris 15:57, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

You woudn't have to spend 10 rounds charging different objects--just keep rotating objects that you charge every round when not in combat, charging a different one each round until combat starts. Pretty easy, and you get the same effect. Like I said, a solution would be to only be able to charge one object at a time. --Ghostwheel 05:00, May 2, 2010 (UTC)

Made the restrictions harder - effectively only one object at a time currently. Aelaris 02:38, May 18, 2010 (UTC)

Absorb Electricity

Just wondering, is this ability supposed to make Ability Expenditure not matter at all? I'm thinking that the mage would target himself for 1d6 damage with Lightning Shock, Leaping Lightning, or whatever else (voluntarily fail the save on leaping lightning, since he's not going to take any damage anyway) and bring himself up to full ability with no harm done. --Ghostwheel 11:19, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

I was confusing 4E immediate actions with the 3.5 version. 4E ones can't be done on your own turn, all that. Also was thinking that shooting a spell at yourself would be about a standard action, would be only slightly less than a full round action. Forgot that everything manages to split for this class. Pity. I do hate non-subtle "Don't self target" clauses. Your ideas on fixing this nicely? -- Aelaris 16:14, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

A start might be to make it so that you can't benefit from the ability when you're the origin that the electricity damage comes from... but that doesn't really stop someone from getting a Shocker Lizard pet and having it shock them every round... --Ghostwheel 04:59, May 2, 2010 (UTC)

Messed with it - what do you think? -- Aelaris 02:45, May 18, 2010 (UTC)

Might wanna read what you wrote out loud. Last sentence doesn't make sense. If you made the damage have to beat the EM's electricity resistance (no ability to "lower" it), I think that could make it be better. --Ghostwheel 03:00, May 18, 2010 (UTC)

Brainfry

Might be problematic with Lightning Shock--every round, it allows you to effectively stun three enemies, no save. Perhaps have lightning shock be unable to target the same creature it had targeted before? --Ghostwheel 11:23, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

Mmm... I wrote Lightning Shock assuming people would assume that new targets are targets thus-far unzapped. That's the way Jewbear assumed and played it. More than just the Brainfry problem (Which is really meant to go off of charged body / charged object), multi-targeting the same people at, say, 5th level would go: 1d6+5, (Other person: 1d6+5), 1d6+5, (1d6+5), 1d6+5. This is more than 3d6+5, (2d6+5). Added a reminder just to be certain. -- Aelaris 18:49, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

Electrical Magic Disruption

Might wanna remove the ability modifier on this check, since caster level checks don't add their ability modifiers. In essence, by level 20 it can give you around a DC of 2 higher than an equal-level character could ever roll, even on a 20. --Ghostwheel 11:26, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

Copy that. Only played one character in 3.5, never messed with 'real' magic. Fixed it to class level or chosen ability score, since we have a variable class level. Thanks. -- Aelaris 18:55, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

Prospective New Abilities

Overshock (Su): The electricity generated by an Electric Mage is potent and dangerous already, yet relatively efficient in terms of damage output relative Electrical Mage exhaustion. By sacrificing efficiency, the Electric Mage can output damage at a higher rate. As compared to Overcharge, this is using what the Mage has, but using it faster - not using what the Electric Mage doesn't actually have. As a free action, the Electric Mage can enhance the next damage dealing ability which causes ability expenditure: By expending twice as many levels, the Electric Mage can increase it's dice size by one size. Expending two class levels for 1d8 damage dice, four class levels for 1d10, and eight for 1d12. Beyond this is impossible without resorting to Overcharge. (Level 4?)

Class ability at level 4? Earlier? Later? As a feat that only Electric Mages can use? -- Aelaris 19:37, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

Potential Pic

Might like this. --Ghostwheel 07:25, September 2, 2010 (UTC)

Ratings

	Foxwarrior likes this article and rated it 3 of 4.
	It is one of the more diverse and exciting mage classes, and a good fit for High-level.

	Ghostwheel favors this article and rated it 4 of 4!
	A good class overall settling right into the rogue-level of balance. On one hand, anyone can pick up this class and be good, while people who know how to optimize well won't out-perform those who don't. Furthermore, it gets a lot of cool abilities that get better with time, allowing an electric mage to be viable in many different ways throughout his entire career.