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Spellbane

Spellbane, Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553) Description German painter and printmaker Title Johann(es) Scheyring (Ziering) Year 1529
Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553) Description German painter and printmaker Title Johann(es) Scheyring (Ziering) Year 1529

Crime and Punishment
Author Keith Baker
Series Campaign Style
Publisher Atlas Games
Publish date 2003

Spellbanes can be of any alignment. Most tend to be lawful, as their studies require a disciplined and ordered mind. On the other hand, the spellbane by his nature breaks the bonds of magic; a chaotic spellbane may thrive on his power to disrupt the plans of others, preventing clerics from healing their charges and destroying the works of wizards.

The spellbane is an arcane spellcaster who has dedicated his talents to the destruction of magic; he uses the knowledge of arcane energies to disrupt the spells of others. A spellbane may work as a bodyguard, a bounty hunter, or even as part of a nation’s army —especially if magic is a major part of warfare. The path of the spellbane requires a deep understanding of the nature of magic, a strong will, and the knowledge of how to dispel magical energies.

Hit Die: d6

REQUIREMENTS

To become a spellbane, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.
Knowledge (arcana): 9 ranks Spellcraft: 9 ranks
Feats: Skill Focus (Spellcraft)
Will Save: +6 (including bonuses from Wisdom and Feats)
Special: The character must be able to cast arcane spells, including Dispel magic.

CLASS SKILLS

The spellbane’s class skills are Concentration (Constitution), Craft (Intelligence), Knowledge (all skills, taken separately)

(Intelligence), Profession (Wisdom), Spellcraft (Intelligence).

Skill points at each level: 4 + Intelligence modifier

THE SPELLBANE
LevelBABFSRSWSSpecial AbilitiesSpell Slots
1+0+0+0+2Spellblock, Sense Magic+1 level of existing class
2+1+0+0+3Improved Dispel+1 level of existing class
3+1+1+1+3Improved Counterspell+1 level of existing class
4+2+1+1+4Detect Magic+1 level of existing class
5+2+1+1+4Advanced Spellblock+1 level of existing class
6+3+2+2+5 +1 level of existing class
7+3+2+2+5Detect Magic Residue+1 level of existing class
8+4+2+2+6 +1 level of existing class
9+4+3+3+6Spellsense+1 level of existing class
10+5+3+3+7True Spellblock+1 level of existing class

CLASS FEATURES

All of the following are class features of the spellbane:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Lacking access to offensive magic, a spellbane devotes slightly more time to martial training. Spellbanes are proficient with all simple weapons and light armor. A spellbane suffers the standard arcane failure chance when actually casting a spell, but Spellblock and his other class abilities are not affected by armor.

Spell Use: As soon as a character takes a level in the spellbane class, he irrevocably loses his ability to cast arcane magic. Even if he increases his level in a class with arcane spellcasting abilities, he will not regain this power. However, he keeps the spell slots that he possessed due to his former class; in fact, if he is a traditional wizard he gets an additional slot per level, as if he had been a specialist mage. As his spellbane level increases, his spell slots and caster level will increase as if he was still pursuing his old arcane class. However, a spellbane can only use these slots in very limited ways. To begin with, he can use them to power special class abilities, like Spellblock and Advanced Spellblock. In addition, he can cast a limited set of spells, all related to detecting or disrupting magic. Regardless of his former class, the spellbane casts spells as a sorcerer; he does not have to prepare spells in advance, and he can sacrifice higher-level spell slots to cast lower-level spells. The spellbane can use metamagic feats with his spells, just as a sorcerer could. The complete list of spells that are available to a spellbane can be found at the end of this section. A spellbane has access to the entire list; he does not have to select spells as a sorcerer does.

Spellblock: The trademark of the spellbane is the ability to expend arcane energy to disrupt the spells or spell-like abilities of other creatures. If the spellbane has a readied action, he may attempt to counter any magical action taken by an enemy. To do this, the spellbane must sacrifice a spell slot of equal or higher level to the one that is being cast. When the spellbane uses his readied action, he learns the level of the spell that he is attempting to block. If he doesn’t have a spell of the necessary level, the block fails and the action is lost (though he does not lose a spell slot). Provided that the spellbane expends a spell slot of the required level, he makes an opposed dispel check. The DC of the check is 11 + the spell’s caster level; the spellbane rolls 1d20 and adds his Wisdom modifier, his spellbane level, and the class level from previous arcane classes he possessed (with a maximum bonus of +10 from previous classes). In addition, for every level that the spell slot dropped exceeds the enemy’s spell, the spellbane gets a +1 bonus to the check. If the check is successful, the enemy’s spell is completely negated.

Example: Til is a 3rd level spellbane who was formerly an 11th level wizard; he has a Wisdom score of 14. He attempts to block a 1st-level spell cast by a 12th-level sorcerer, and sacrifices a 2nd-level spell slot to do so. The DC of the check is 23. Til rolls 1d20 and adds 16 — +2 for his Wisdom modifier, +3 for his spellbane levels, +10 for his wizard levels, and +1 for the fact that the slot he dropped is one level greater than the opposing spell. He rolls a 10, for a total of 26, and succeeds in blocking the spell.

Sense Magic: By choosing the path of the spellbane, a character becomes a conduit for mystical energy. This makes him extremely sensitive to the flow of supernatural energies around him. When he comes within 30 feet of an active spell or spell-like ability, he may make a Wisdom check, adding his spellbane level to the roll. The DC is 15 minus the level of the spell. If the spellbane is successful, he senses the source of the mystical emanations. If he makes the roll by five or more points, he can determine if the spell is divine or arcane in nature. Unlike Detect Magic, this effect extends in all directions and does not require any sort of Concentration on the part of the character.

Improved Dispel: When using dispel magic or dispel magic, greater, the spellbane receives a bonus to the dispel check equal to 2 + his Wisdom Modifier. This bonus is also added to the DC of mage’s disjunction. Spellblock allows the character to negate spells as they are being cast, but Dispel magic is still the best way to remove enchantments that are already in place.

Improved Counterspell: At 3rd level, the spellbane receives Improved Counterspell as a bonus feat.

Detect Magic: A spellbane continues to hone his mystical senses as he rises in level. At 4th level he may use Detect Magic at will, as a spell-like ability.

Advanced Spellblock: At this point, a spellbane can attempt to block hostile magic as an intuitive action, without even being prepared for the casting. If an opponent casts a spell and the spellbane makes a successful Sense Magic check, he may immediately attempt to block the spell, even if he did not have a readied action. This still requires a standard action, so if the spellbane has already acted in the round he is out of luck; but if he has not yet had the opportunity to act, he can instinctively sacrifice his action in an attempt to block the spell. In addition, the bonus for sacrificing a higher-level spell slot increases from +1 to +3 per level of difference between the spells.

Detect Magic Residue: At 7th level, the spellbane may detect magic residue at will, as a spell-like ability.

Spellsense: By 9th level, the spellbane has become exceptionally sensitive to the flow of mystical energy. He immediately notices any spell or spell-like ability used within 30 feet (in any direction), and can make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level) to identify the spell. If the spellbane wants additional information about the spell, he will have to use Detect Magic or detect magical residue. This is an extraordinary ability that requires no effort on the part of the spellbane.

True Spellblock: At this level, the spellbane has attained true mastery of countering mystical forces. If he sacrifices a spell slot of equal or greater level to the spell he is attempting to block, the spell is automatically negated, with no need for a dispel check. It is as if the spellbane had used the identical spell as a counterspell.

SPELLBANE SPELL LIST

In addition to using their spell slots to power their class abilities, spellbanes can cast the following spells:

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