Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 xlorepdarkhelm_dup Apr 29, 2004 13:14:03	I've been working on my own campaign setting, which actually is 4 separate worlds. One of which is a science-fiction/futuristic setting. I have been working on the base classes for that setting, and am looking for some input on an exerpt from one of the classes, my Technomancer. Basically, I want to see if this makes any sense to people other than myself: [quote]Except from the Class Technomancer write-up: Spells: A technomancer simulates the casting of arcane spells through the use of their technomagical devices and a bit of showmanship. The spells that they can duplicate are drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list found in the Player's Handbook, as well as possibly any other sor/wiz spell available in other books. In order to cast these spells, the technomancer first writes a spell program that utilizes the abilities of his various technomagical devices he has implanted on himself (or built onto his control center), compiles, and stores the program into his control center's database (referred to as “learning” a spell). He then can load a limited number of them them into active memory in his control center, which configures the technomagical devices to prepare to cast the spell (referred to as “preparing his spells”). Then, he expends energy from his technomagical power core (through the use of spell points) to cast one of the spells he has prepared (referred to as “casting” the spell). He can cast any of his prepared spells, as many times as he wants, in any combination, until he runs out of spell points. To learn, prepare or cast a spell, the technomancer must have an Intelligence score equal at least to 10 + the spell level (Int 10 for 0-level spells, Int 11 for 1st-level spells, and so forth). The Difficult Class for a saving throw against a technomancer's spell is 10 + the spell level + the technomancer's Intelligence modifier. During the casting, various spells may have different “components” - somatic, verbal, etc that are required. This is part of the showmanship built into the devices that keeps the mysterious atmosphere, and masques the reality of the technomancer's power from unknowing eyes. Some technomancers develop means to override this requirement (through the use of Metamagic feats), with the belief that it just isn't necessary to do such things. The technomancer must have a spell learned, and prepared ahead of time in order to cast it. Note that there is no material component required for any technomagical spell. Rather, the technomancer has something more akin to a “Divine Focus”, which replaces the requirement – their control center. Such spells must be cast with the control center present, or cannot be cast at all. The maximum number of spells each level that a technomancer can prepare is in Table: Prepared Spell Capacity below. He can also learn a number of extra spells if he has a high enough Intelligence, as noted in Table: Bonus Prepared Spell Capacity & Spell Points. This is the maximum storage capacity for prepared spells that they have. Some feats can grant extra spells they can prepare, with their appropriate restrictions as noted for each, this extends the technomancer's maximum prepared spell capacity accordingly. If a technomancer exchanges one spell for another, it takes 8 hours for the preparation to be complete. During that time, all of the affected spells (those that are being replaced, as well as those that are replacing the others) are unavailable to the technomancer. Most technomancers simply rest themselves during this time, so that they can have their full spell capacity available while they are awake (synthetic races simply wait it out). This isn't a requirement, and the technomancer still has access to all of his other spells, as long as he has spell points to use. The technomancer can only cast a certain number of spells each day, due to the power drain that spells have on the technomagical power core. This is represented by the technomancer's daily spell points. The technomancer need not prepare multiple copies of the same spell, and can cast any combination of those spells that day. Their spell points are listed on Table: The Technomancer above. They can also gain a number of bonus spell points if their Intelligence is high enough, as is found in Table: Bonus Prepared Spell Capacity & Spell Points below (the technomancer gets the number of spell points listed under the highest level spell he can cast, based on his score). Any technomancers with feats that grant extra spells per day, do not gain any extra spell points. The spell point costs for each spell level is found in Table: Spell Point Costs below. Metamagically enhancing a spell raises the spell's level, as well as the cost in spell points to cast that spell. Metamagic feats cannot increase a spell's level above 9th level in this fashion. A technomancer regains these spell points at a rate of 1 spell point per technomancer level, plus his Intelligence bonus (if any), per hour not casting any spell, up to their maximum number of spell points they can attain. If a technomancer casts any spells during that hour, the timer is reset, and must wait another hour to regain spell points. Many organic technomancers simply rely on their sleep cycles to keep their spell points recharged, while synthetic technomancers patiently wait it out, and find something else to do that doesn't require their spells. Technomancers use their full caster level for determinng the effects of spells, with one significant exception. Spells that deal a number of dice of damage based on caster level (such as magic missile, searing light or lightning bolt) deal damage as if cast at the minimum level capable of casting that spell. Spells whose damage is partially based on caster level, but don't deal a number of dice damage based on caster level (such as produce flame or an inflict spell – note, these examples are spells the technomancer can't cast anyway, but are merely provides as examples of this type of spell) use the technomancer's normal caster level to determine damage. Use the technomancer's normal level for all other effects, including range and duration. For example, a fireball deals a number of dice damage based on the caster's level, so when cast by a technomancer using this system, it deals 5d6 points of damage (as if cast by a 5th-level technomancer, which is the minimum level of technomancer capable of casting fireball). A technomancer can pay additional spell points to increase the dice of damage dealt by the spell. Every 1 extra spell point spent at the time of casting increases the spell's effective caster level by 1 for the purposes of dealing damage. A technomancer can't increase a damage-dealing spell's caster level above his own caster level, or above the normal maximum allowed by the spell. For example, even at 7th level, a technomancer's lightning bolt deals only 5d6 points of damage (just like a 5th-level technomancer) unless he spends extra spell points. If he spends 1 extra spell point (making the lightning bolt cost 6 points rather than 5), the spell deals 6d6 points of damage. A second extra spell point would increase the damage to 7d6 points, but he can't spend more points than this, since his caster level is only 7th. Were he 10th level or higher, he could spend a maximum of 5 extra spell points on this spell, raising the damage up to 10d6, the maximum allowed for a lightning bolt spell. Similarly, his magic missile spell only shoots one missile unless he spends extra spell points. An extra 2 spell points increases the caster level from 1st to 3rd, granting him one additional missile. He can spend a maximum of 6 additional spell points in this manner, increasing his effective caster level to 7th for damage purposes and granting him a total of four missiles. If he were 9th level or higher, he could spend a maximum of 8 extra spell points, granting him five missiles. Create Technomagical Device: The technomancer has the ability to make specialized pieces of technology that are used to create technomagical spells. These range from the basic implants that are needed to cast the spells themselves, to the technomancer's control center, the neural link that allows for communication to the control center, single-use spell chips that can store prepared spells that can be cast directly without taking up the normal spell preparation storage or spell points, and more. Each device constructed costs money for the materials, as well as having an experience point cost, representing the technomancer putting “some of himself” into the device (much as how an artist puts “some of himself” into his painting or sculpture). The technomancer devices are described more in detail below. The control center has it's own section, as it has many unique rules of it's own, which can be found after this section on Technomagical Devices. Technomagical Implants – These devices, when constructed, are implanted into the technomancer himself. This makes all organic technomancers cybernetic beings (synthetics are already composed of technology, so they aren't “cybernetic”, however these implants are rather unique to technomancers all the same). The most basic implant is the neural link – this remote connection to the technomancer's control center allows for communication between the technomancer and control center with a range of up to 1 mile. It uses a special encryption method that is devised baseed on the brainwave patterns and dna of the technomancer, as well as unique qualities of that technomancer's control center. This makes the link virtually impossible (DC 50) to crack. It also is nearly impossible to detect (DC of 40) by normal means, and non-technomancers are usually quite unlikely to even realize there is such a link between the two. At level 1, this link is primarily intuitive, with no conscious communication between the technomancer and the control center, but rather the control center simply does what the technomancer desires it to do automatically. See the write-up on the control center for detailed information about that device. Finally, the neural link has slots to load in spell chips, which are detailed later. Each of the different schools of magic have a different implant installed directly onto the technomancer. Abjuration uses a specialized personal forcefield generator; Conjuration uses a personal spacial compression system; Enchantment uses a remote network uplink/bridge to communicate to other computer networks; Evocation actually installs five different implants – energy emmiters for each energy type (acid, electricity, fire, cold and sonic); Illusion requires holographic emmiters; Necromancy requires a nanite manufacturing & control plant; Transmutation requires a matter/energy converter; divination doesn't install any implants directly, but rather uses the powerful artificial intelligence of the control center for problem-solving, as a secondary system of the control center itself. Each of these implants work their way through the technomancer's body, integrating themselves completely with his form. However, they are usually hidden from scrutinizing eyes by heavy clothing (namely cloaks and robes, which are popular for technomancers to wear), as technomancers feel a need to keep their tricks hidden from view. Some spells actually use the devices and implants of multiple schools to accomplish their tasks, but for the most part, the above list is the primary devices for each school of technomancy. Each implant costs 10,000 credits in components, and 800 xp to construct a replacement. A technomancer starts with all of the implants already installed on him. They have 10 hp and a hardness of 10, and are treated as size category: diminuative for medium sized technomancers (adjust the device sizes if the technomancer is larger or smaller than medium accordingly). Spell Chips – A technomancer can construct small technomagical datachips that are capacitors for spell point energy, as well as storage for a prepared spell within them. These spell chips are installed either in the technomancer's neural link spell chip ports, or onto the control center. They can be activated at any time, and do not use the power core of the technomancer to do so, meaning that a technomancer can use a spell chip while recharging their power core without halting the power core's recharge of spell points. These spells also do not take up any extra prepared spell capacity, and thus allow for the technomancer to have extra spells prepared in advance, above and beyond their “normal” prepared capacity. The base cost of a spell chip is it's spell level
#2 dawnstealer Apr 29, 2004 13:15:27	Looks pretty good.
#3 Pennarin Apr 29, 2004 14:35:24	"I see a great hand reaching out of the stars." - Elric, grand techomage
#4 xlorepdarkhelm_dup Apr 29, 2004 14:46:54	Well the class is kinda based off of the Technomages from Babylon 5, however I'm adjusting it quite a bit, and have basically made the class, and it's methods/means from scratch, using the PHB wizard as a base. Originally, I did it for a friend who wanted to play a technomage in one of my campaigns, and later, I decided to include it into this campaign setting. Basically, I'm working with the idea that technomagic is actually drawing on the same energies that arcane magic does on my other settings - which means that a technomancer's spells end up actually being the same spells that a wizard or sorcerer's spells are. so a fantasy-setting wizard could use dispel magic on a technomancer's spells, and vice-versa, even though their methods of using spells is different.
#5 superpriest Apr 29, 2004 15:00:58	It looks pretty neat, assuming the spell points are balanced with normal wizards. I'd probably borrow heavily from the XPH in that department. The components section needs work. It seems silly that the only reason components exist is that technomancers feel the need to use them. Plus, not needing any material components is probably too good. I would make them pay 1 XP per 5 gp of expensive material component that would normally be used. Messy areas: The spells that they can duplicate are drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list found in the Player's Handbook, as well as possibly any other sorcerer/wizard spell available in other books. Just say Sor/Wiz spells? Specialist technomancers, as well as some feats can grant extra spells they can prepare, with their appropriate restrictions as noted for each. This is pretty unclear.
#6 xlorepdarkhelm_dup Apr 29, 2004 15:40:11	The spell point system is provided in Unearthed Arcana, which, IMHO, is one of the best books that WotC has released for D&D/d20 yet - all these fun optional rules or rule variants to work with. It's pretty close to the XPH power point system. There's fewer spell points for the technomancer (well, the wizard in UA) than power points for a psion or wilder. There's also still the limit of how many spells per level can be prepared, which is just like you regular wizard. and spells that increase in dice of damage based on caster level cost extra spell points to increase the damage dice from the "base" number of dice. metamagic feats increase the spell's level, and thus, the number of spell points it costs to cast the spell as well. It's a pretty well-thought out idea from WotC, just not something I'd use for a normal spellcaster. but the technomancer's no normal spellcaster. Well, the lack of material components is replaced by the importance of the control center. a control center that is not near the technomancer (there is a 1-mile radius which the control center can be at and still have a secured remote communication link with the technomancer allowing for spells to be cast) can't be used as a "focus" for the spells. The technomancer is crippled significantly if his control center is taken away, or even worse, destroyed - the latter would make it impossible for the technomancer to cast any spells, as the control center really handles all the dirty work of activating the various implants at the right time & correctly. I'm still working out why somatic & verbal components are required. possibly to activate specific commands within each of the implants.... I dunno. I've erased the idea of specialist technomancers, and did clear up that section as well. I'll just say Sor/wiz, it would help. Thanks for the help, I wanted to get outside eyes looking in on the design of this class. --- I've added the section on technomagical devices (implants & spell chips). the implants are basically the core of the technomancer's ability to cast spells - excluding the control center. the spell chips are a replacement to scrolls.
#7 superpriest Apr 29, 2004 16:41:28	The spell point system is provided in Unearthed Arcana Sorry, I should have remembered that. But I don't have the book. Well, the lack of material components is replaced by the importance of the control center. That sounds fine for most material components, but some spells are pretty expensive to cast (as a balancing factor). Also, if a caster can't move more than a mile from his control center and still use spells, well... that's no fun. The characer will only take V and S spells in that case. I'm still working out why somatic & verbal components are required. possibly to activate specific commands within each of the implants.... I dunno. Well, that easily works for somatic components. I'm not sure about verbal, unless the caster has voice-activated equipment, like the Enterprise computer.
#8 xlorepdarkhelm_dup Apr 29, 2004 17:18:16	Originally posted by superpriest That sounds fine for most material components, but some spells are pretty expensive to cast (as a balancing factor). Also, if a caster can't move more than a mile from his control center and still use spells, well... that's no fun. The characer will only take V and S spells in that case. I think I'm not being quite clear with this. the control center is similar to the technomancer's spellbook & familiar rolled into one (among other things). They usually build these into objects associated with arcane wizards, like amulets, staves or rings, that they take with them, or the bodies of synthetic creatures appearing to be small animals, or other such things. Basically, the control center is mobile. It is called the control center, because it basically is the central controlling system that operates the various implants, like a technomagical CPU. It's probably the most valuable item the technomancer brings with him (besides the implants he has installed), as it is of central importance to their spellcasting. Without this control center, the technomancer is literally crippled in power, so generally speaking, they will keep the control centers most often within arm's reach, and occasionally let some control centers "scout" for them, with a range of 1 mile. Well, that easily works for somatic components. I'm not sure about verbal, unless the caster has voice-activated equipment, like the Enterprise computer. There could be voice-activated systems. But it seems contrieved. I dunno, still working on it.
#9 superpriest Apr 29, 2004 19:55:23	they will keep the control centers most often within arm's reach Then I would definitely impose a penalty for expensive material components. Expensive hardware bits or XP costs, whichever. There could be voice-activated systems. But it seems contrieved. I dunno, still working on it. You could make all verbal components into somatic components and just drop the extra component.
#10 xlorepdarkhelm_dup Apr 29, 2004 20:44:59	Originally posted by superpriest Then I would definitely impose a penalty for expensive material components. Expensive hardware bits or XP costs, whichever. I've considered that. However, there's an XP cost for every technomagic device they make, including replacing the ones that have been damaged/destroyed that allow them to cast spells. They have some different restrictions out there. But I might still include an XP cost, or something. I've considered a vitality point cost (I'm using vitality/wound points) You could make all verbal components into somatic components and just drop the extra component. I've considered that as well. I'm still toying with the components a bit, to make them make sense for a technomancer.