In days long past, there existed an occult and arcane art known as black magic—a potent magic of pure destructive force born forth by a sorceress of unparalleled power. Those who learned to wield this instrument of ruin came to be called black mages, out of both fear and respect for their gift. Yet great power served to corrupt the judgment of mortal man, and so he unknowingly set out upon the path of ruin. Adventurers who take the black will become agents of devastation, capable of annihilating those who oppose them through little more than the force of their will.
Class Traits
Role: Controller. You exert control through magical effects that cover large areas—sometimes hindering foes, sometimes consuming them with fire.
Power Source: Arcane, Limit Break. You channel arcane forces through extensive study, hidden knowledge, and intricate preparation. To you, magic is an art form, an expressive and powerful method by which you seek to control the world around you.
Key Abilities: Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity
Armor Proficiencies: Cloth
Weapon Proficiencies: Dagger, Quarterstaff
Implements: Orbs, staffs, wands
Bonus to Defense: +2 Will
Hit Points at 1st level: 10 + Constitution score
Hit Points per Level Gained: 4
Healing Surges per Day: 6 + Constitution modifier
Trained Skills: Arcana. From the class skills list below, choose three more trained skills at 1st level: Diplomacy (Cha), Dungeoneering (Wis), History (Int), Insight (Wis), Nature (Wis), Religion (Int).
Class Features: Arcane Implement Mastery, Cantrips, Ritual Casting, Spellbook.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the black mage.
Arcane Implement Mastery
You specialize in the use of one kind of implement to gain additional abilities when you wield it. Choose one of the following forms of implement mastery.
-
Orb of Imposition: Once per encounter as a free action, you can use your orb to gain one of the following two effects. You can designate one creature you have cast a black mage spell upon that has an effect that lasts until the subject succeeds on a saving throw. That creature takes a penalty to its saving throws against that effect equal to your Wisdom modifier. Alternatively, you can choose to extend the duration of an effect created by a black mage at-will spell that would otherwise end at the end of your current turn. The effect instead ends at the end of your next turn. You must wield an orb to use this ability.
-
Staff of Defense: A staff of defense grants you a +1 bonus to AC. In addition, once per encounter as an immediate interrupt, you gain a bonus to defense against one attack equal to your Constitution modifier. You can declare the bonus after the Dungeon Master has already told you the damage total. You must wield your staff to benefit from these features.
-
Wand of Accuracy: Once per encounter as a free action, you gain a bonus to a single attack roll equal to your Dexterity modifier. You must wield your wand to benefit from this feature.
Cantrips
Cantrips are minor spells you gain at 1st level. You can use the ghost sound, light, mage hand, and prestidigitation cantrips as at-will powers.
Ritual Casting
You gain the Ritual Caster feat as a bonus feat, allowing you to use magical rituals.
Spellbook
You possess a spellbook, a book full of mystic lore in which you store your rituals and your daily and utility spells.
-
Rituals: Your book contains three 1st-level rituals of your choice that you have mastered. At 5th level, and again at 11th, 15th, 21st, and 25th level, you master two more rituals of your choice and add them to your spellbook. Any ritual you add must be your level or lower.
-
Daily and Utility Spells: Your spellbook also holds your daily and utility spells. You begin knowing two daily spells, one of which you can use on any given day. Each time you gain a level that lets you select a daily spell or a utility spell, choose two different daily spells or utility spells of that level to add to your book. After an extended rest, you can prepare a number of daily and utility spells according to what you can cast per day for your level. You can’t prepare the same spell twice. If you replace a spell because of gaining a level or through retraining, the previous spell vanishes from your spellbook and is replaced by the new spell.
-
Capacity: A typical spellbook has 128 pages. Each spell takes up 1 page. A ritual takes up a number of pages equal to its level.