The Spellslinger Prestige Class

Level    Base Attack Bonus Fortitude Save Reflex Save Will Save Special Abilities 1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Quick mind, +1 spellcasting level 2 +1 +0 +3 +3 Spellcasting feint, +1 spellcasting level 3 +1 +1 +3 +3 Counter school (1 st school), +1 spellcasting level 4 +2 +1 +4 +4 Counter school (2 nd school), +1 spellcasting level 5 +2 +1 +4 +4 Counter school (3 rd school), +1 spellcasting level 6 +3 +2 +5 +5 Counter school (4 th school), static counterspell, +1 spellcasting level 7 +3 +2 +5 +5 Counter school (5 th school), +1 spellcasting level 8 +4 +2 +6 +6 Counter school (6 th school), quick metamagic, +1 spellcasting level 9 +4 +3 +6 +6 Counter school (7 th school), +1 spellcasting level 10 +5 +3 +7 +7 Counter school (8 th school), free counterspell, +1 spellcasting level

In a world of honor and violence, where magic is common, mages are as likely to settle scores with spells as warriors are to settle theirs with steel. And just as there are warriors who specialize in dueling rather than open warfare, there are mages specializing in the magic duel to the exclusion of academic arts and the inner workings of magic.

As a spellslinger is a spellcaster you focuses on fighting other spellcasters, developing your spellcasting speed and powers of counterspelling greatly. Your focus on combat magic might help you a bit in a mundane encounter, but it is in the arcane duel that you excel. Spellslingers are often duelling wizards or champions of magic schools. A spellslinger can also support a group of mundanes going after a powerful mage. Elite bounty hunters and lawmen that enforce the strictures on magic may also want to choose this class.

Most spellslingers are arcane spellcasters, especially sorcerers who often turn to the path of the duelist. Specialist wizards that become spellslingers will find that their spell defences have blind spots. Some divine spellcasters choose this path, and usually work to police the use of magic or assist mundanes in apprehending spellcasters, but they will find that many of their more physical abilities develop poorly in this class.

The spellslinger scorns arcana, focusing instead on immediate problems and immediate solutions. They have no time for scholarly pursuits or the deep secrets of higher magic. They learn what they must know as combat mages; to know of their enemies, see them, hear them and be able to interpret the signs given by enemies and allies alike in order to react quickly and decisively. This gives them a somewhat menacing demeanor.

All spellslingers have to be at least somewhat indimidating to keep incompetent challengers at bay. Famous spellslingers often have to watch their back for pretenders to their fame who would stalk and slay them just for the notoriety. Regular spellcasters, especially learned wizards, often hold spellslingers in contempt as vicious brutes. But this contempt is tempered by fear; spellslingers have a well-deserved reputation for short temper with foolish mages.

Death in a duel is a risk all spellslingers must face constantly, but most professional spellslingers will avoid killing unless they absolutely have to. Duels can be decided by many means, and most dueling codes have prearranged signals or conditions for surrender. A humiliated opponent downed with a harmless spell is often far less dangerous than the relatives of someone you killed. Building a reputation as tough but mercyful may also promt another to let you live the day your luck runs out.

Hit Die: d4

Requirements

To qualify as an spellslinger, the character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Spellcasting:
Ability to cast third level spells.

Skills:
Spellcraft: 9 ranks

Feats:
Alertness, Improved Initiative.

Deed:
Must have won a magical duel or contributed significantly to the defeat of a powerful spellcaster by successfully using counterspells. Getting off even a single successful spell in a one-on-one duel against a spellslinger also qualifies.

Class Skills

Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Innuendo (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Listen (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis).

Skill points at each level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the spellslinger prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The spellslinger gains no new ability to use weapons or armor.

Spellcasting: A spellslinger continues training in magic as well as her new class abilities. Thus, when a new spellslinger level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that she adds the level of spellslinger to the level of some other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.

If a character had more than one spellcasting class before she became a spellslinger, she must decide to which class she adds each level of spellslinger for purposes of determining spells per day when she adds the new level.

Quick Mind: Your combat trained reflexes react instantly to danger of all kinds. You get to add a +2 bonus to your initiative.

Spellcasting Feint: When an opponent tries to counterspell one of your spells, you can try to feint to prevent it. When he tries to use his Spellcfraft skill identify your spell, you can make a Bluff roll. Use the higher of your roll and the normal difficulty as the final difficulty of identifying your spell. This does not prevent him from using dispel magic to try and counter your spell.

Counter School: You have mastered counterspelling against one school of magic. If you have successfully identified a spell as it is cast, using Spellcraft, you can then use a spell slot of the same or a higher level than the spell you are trying to stop and use it as a counterspell, regardless of whether you know, have prepared or even have access to the spell you wish to counter.

When you get this ability, choose a school of magic; for each later level you advance, you can pick an additional school until you have learned them all at tenth level. A specialist wizard cannot pick a prohibited school, and may thus have to forfeit some counter schools at higher levels. The eight schools of magic are: abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, and transmutation.

Static Counterspell: You can ready an action for use with a counterspell as a move-equivalent action rather than a standard action. This works just like an action readied for counterspelling, but it only costs you a move-equivalent action to prepare, and does not affect your initiative for the next round. Your action in the next round will be on the initiative you main action took place, not at the time you did your counterspell. You can only use this with specific spell counterspells, not with spells that cause a dispel check, such as dispel magic. It does work with the Counter School ability, above.

Quick Metamagic: You have trained and trained with your metamagical abilities and honed them to perfection. If you are a spontaneous spellcaster (such as a bard or sorcerer), you only need to use a normal action to cast a metamagiced spell, ignoring the normal rule on metamagic in this regard. If you do not use spontaneous casting, you instead learn the Quicken Spell feat for free.

Free Counterspell: An improvement on Static Counterspell, you can now prepare a counterspell as a free action once per round. Otherwise all rules from Static Counterspell applies. This replaces the Static Counterspell ability, above, you cannot use both in one round.