High Mage

High Mages are spellcasters who grab basic spells by their throat and twist them until spectacular effects emerge. By channeling and warping common spells they accomplish feats of magic beyond their complete understanding - or total control. This makes them particularly dangerous in battle, but also exhausts their spell reserves far more quickly than ordinary magic would.

Properties

• Hit Die: d4.
• AB Progression: Low.
• Primary Save: Will.
• Skill Points: 2 + Int Modifier.
• Class Skills: Concentration, Heal (skill), Intimidate, Knowledge and Spellcraft.
• Arcane Spell Progression at levels 1 and 4.

Requirements

• Feats: Combat Casting
• Skills: Spellcraft 8.
• Spellcasting: 3 levels in an arcane class.

Progression

Available

Lvl	BAB	Saves			Feats	HP range
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Conversion I, Scholar I	4±CON Modifier
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Conversion II, Spell Penetration	8±CON Modifier
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Conversion III, Experimentation	12±CON Modifier

Not Accessible

Lvl	BAB	Saves			Feats	HP range
		Fort	Ref	Will
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Conversion IV, Scholar II	16±CON Modifier
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Conversion V, Greater Spell Penetration	20±CON Modifier

Feats

• Conversion - A 'combat mode' allowing the High Mage to reinterpret certain spells as higher level magic. Starting with cantrips, this adds one spell level for each level of High Mage, up to level 4 spells at High Mage level 5.
• Scholar - The High Mage is practiced in mental relaxation and gains a +1 bonus to resting conditions in wilderness and dungeon environments. This bonus increases to +2 at level 4.
• Experimentation - The High Mage can rememorize spells more often than others. They only have a 50 minute delay between rests.

While Conversion mode is active, the High Mage can turn a set of memorized spells into one of greater power. They have the following possibilities:

• Conversion I
  • 3x Acid Splash: Mestil's Acid Breath (3)
  • 3x Daze: Slow (3)
  • 3x Electric Jolt: Lightning Bolt (3)
  • 2x Light: Remove Blindness/Deafness (3)
  • 4x Resistance: Protection from Elements (3)
  • 5x Prestidigitation: Polymorph Self (4)

• Conversion II
  • 2x Burning Hands with 2x Flare: Wall of Fire (4)
  • 3x Charm Person: Charm Monster (4)
  • 3x Endure Elements: Elemental Shield (4)
  • 2x Ice Dagger with 2x Ray of Frost: Ice Storm (4)
  • 3x Magic Missile: Isaac's Lesser Missile Storm (4)
  • 3x Ray of Enfeeblement: Bestow Curse (4)
  • 2x Scare with 2x Animate Hinge: Fear (4)
  • 2x Shield with 2x Detect Magic: Minor Globe of Invulnerability (4)

• Conversion III
  • 2x Cloud of Bewilderment: Cloudkill (5)
  • 3x Fox's Cunning with 2x Identify: Legend Lore (6)
  • 2x Gedlee's Electric loop: Ball Lightning (5)
  • 4x Ghostly Visage: Ethereal Visage (6)
  • 2x Lesser Dispel: Dismissal (5)
  • 2x Resist Elements: Energy Buffer (5)
  • 3x Stone Bones with Bear's Endurance: Stone To Flesh (6)

• Conversion IV
  • 3x Animate Dead: Control Undead (7)
  • 2x Clairaudience / Clairvoyance with 2x See Invisibility: True Seeing (6)
  • 4x Clarity: Mind Blank (8)
  • 3x Dispel Magic: Greater Dispelling (6)
  • 4x Fireball: Delayed Blast Fireball (7)
  • 2x Flame Arrow: Firebrand (5)
  • 4x Greater Magic Weapon: Blackstaff (8)
  • 3x Gust of Wind with 2x Balagarn's Iron Horn: Great Thunderclap (7)
  • 3x Haste with 1x Expeditious Retreat: Mass Haste (6)
  • 2x Hold Person: Hold Monster (5)
  • 3x Lightning Bolt: Chain Lightning (6)
  • 3x Mestil's Acid Breath: Acid Fog (6)
  • 3x Scintillating Sphere with 2x Colour Spray: Prismatic Spray (7)
  • 3x Stinking Cloud: Acid Fog (6)
  • 4x Vampiric Touch: Finger of Death (7)

• Conversion V
  • 2x Charm Monster: Mass Charm (8)
  • 2x Enervation: Horrid Wilting (8)
  • 3x Lesser Spell Breach: Mordenkainen's Disjunction (9)
  • 3x Minor Globe of Invulnerability: Greater Spell Mantle (9)
  • 3x Phantasmal Killer: Weird (9)
  • 2x Stoneskin with 2x True Strike: Premonition (8)
  • 3x Wall of Fire: Meteor Swarm (9)

The following spells will need to be memorised (Wizards) or known (Sorcerers and Bards) as they will be consumed alongside their corresponding higher tier Conversions as noted below. This is especially relevant when planning for the High Mage prestige class as opposed schools of magic or lack of spells known will limit your range of conversions available.

For example, in order to use Conversion to cast Wall of Fire, the High Mage must cast Burning Hands thereby consuming two spell slots of Burning Hands alongside two spell slots of Flare as indicated in the formula listed under Conversion II above (2x Burning Hands with 2x Flare: Wall of Fire (4)). Thus 'See Burning Hands' under the listing for Flare below in this context means to review how Flare spell slots will be consumed when Burning Hands is cast to activate a Conversion II forumla. Casting Flare itself while Conversion is active will not actually result in activating a Conversion into Wall of Fire and will simply cast the Flare cantrip as usual. Think of the spells below as merely components required by the High Mage to produce more powerful spell effects from lower level spell slots.

Cantrips

• Ray of Frost: See Ice Dagger
• Flare: See Burning Hands
• Detect Magic: See Shield
• Animate Hinge: See Scare

1st Circle Spells

• Colour Spray: See Scintillating Sphere
• Expeditious Retreat: See Haste
• Identify: See Fox' Cunning
• True Strike: See Stoneskin

2nd Circle Spells

• Balagarn's Iron Horn: See Gust of Wind
• Bear's Endurance: See Stone Bones
• See Invisibility: See Clairaudience / Clairvoyance

Class Route to Prestige

This assumes the character has only a single class to meet the requirements and is non-human before taking the prestige class (PrC). Human characters will have greater flexibility in regards to feat progression due to the extra feat granted at character creation by their racial bonus, Quick to Master. Some class routes to prestige may also favour multi-classing in order to more effectively meet pre-requisites or to better synergise the character's skill set to suit the PrC, however caution is advised as most PrCs have strict skill requirements and the wrong combination of classes (due to cross-classing of skills) may result in further delaying and reducing the levels of a prestige class obtainable or render it entirely unobtainable for the character.

Base Class	Minimum Base Class Level	Maximum Prestige Class Level	Spellcraft	Combat Casting
Bard	5th Level	3rd Level	5th Level	3rd Level
Sorcerer	5th Level	3rd Level	5th Level	1st or 3rd Level
Wizard	5th Level	3rd Level	5th Level	1st or 3rd Level

Notes

All prestige classes require a PC to met the real (unmodified) rank of a skill, refer to Skills for clarification, in order to progress into the prestige class.