Maximum Spell DC

[Aelcar]

Ask a DM for the Blood Magic feat on your arcanist. +4 CL and DC.

You cannot have the Blood Magic Feat on an Arcanist. It's SS only.

[mrm3ntalist]

I seen this thing being mentioned before, about asking the dms giving that feat for arcanists. Maybe the description of the feat needs to be updated, unless it is given out by dms. In that case where do i sign up?

Blood Magic
Type of Feat: Spellcasting
Prerequisites: Spirit Shaman or Magical Discovery*
Benefit:
You have learned the ancient skill of blood magic and can now supplement the raw magical power of your spells with the life force present in your blood. Your spells become notably more potent and gain +4 effective casterlevel and +4 DC. The effective casterlevel increase does not affect the DC of the spell. Upon casting you inflict damage upon yourself to fuel the spell equal to 3 + d8 per spell level. Spells enhanced in this way can still be cast in metamagic form as well, at no additional health cost. In civilized areas the use of such magic is frowned upon and considered barbaric as well as dangerous because of the harm its diciples often inflict upon others to fuel their horrid spells and rituals. Students of this profane form of magic often do so in isolation for fear of discovery although the ability itself it is not innately evil. The most common forms of blood magic encountered are monstrous rituals of sacrifice practiced by Orcs and Goblins or the more benign forming of blood bonds and promises between warriors by cutting their hands and shaking it or by consuming their comrade's blood. In some backward regions it is also still custom to sign important contracts and deeds in blood or to drink the blood of slain enemies to take their strength.
[User note: Magical Discovery implies a roleplayed event after which the DM awarded this feat. Use of this form is very visible to other players as the caster will leak blood.]
Use: Selected as a mode

[Xanfyrst]

It's the "or Magical Discovery", Mental.

[mrm3ntalist]

Ye but is this "Magical descovery" available for every class? even arcanists? For example, can i write a nice application about a Sorc/Asoc/AM/Shadow adept, then RP very nicely about "Magically discovering" Blood Magic?

It is not a simpe feat. It is +4DCs +4cls. That on an arcanist is huge

[Rasael]

The DM's have said they don't give them out. At least not on request. It might be available to PC's who end up as villains in a plot I suppose? Something like that perhaps.

The Shadow Weave discovery was granted a small number of times. But also not on request, only with long roleplay with DM overview involved. Since the release of the Shadow Adept class that's also stopped. But they may still consider it. I don't know.

[Xanfyrst]

Aye, it is.

But I don't think you can just request it and they then hand it out like candy. I'd imagine your character will have to go down a certain RP path with your Blood Mage or something.

[Rasael]

So, 44DC for Necromancy is max one on arcane caster?

It sounds like it. But in practice that specialization comes at a cost

Arcane casters are a bit easier when you spread your options and focus on decent DC's in more than one school. And ofcourse spells to keep yourself alive instead of blasting.
Summoning is very viable.

[mrm3ntalist]

Aye, it is.

But I don't think you can just request it and they then hand it out like candy. I'd imagine your character will have to go down a certain RP path with your Blood Mage or something.

Oh yes, i am certain it is not given out like candy. that thing is very easy to notice and i am sure whoever gets it deserves it. I am speaking more from a mechanics point of view. The feat makes sense for SSs to boost their underwhelming casting powers. But arcanists, even clerics?

They dont need such power boost. I am curious what DCs can be reached with that thing. 50s might be possible

[Rasael]

Theoretically maybe, but I imagine you'd have a very hard time persuading a Dungeon Master that such a character is truly roleplay oriented. It would be a difficult thing to pull of because the Spirit Shaman feat is the opposite of the path the Blood Magus treads. It doesn't feed on others, only on the caster himself.

That also makes it unsuited to arcanists with their small HP pool. Even Spirit Shamans find it a bit costly as it is.

Its also never happened before. That appears to be a DM team policy: no discovery of the blood magic feat. They might consider Shadow Weave discovery though. That feat helps your illusion and necromancy DC's.

But either way is far fetched.

[mireigi]

I find it hilarious how you can get 10 levels in Blood Magus, which relies on using Blood to empower their magic, but not find out about Blood Magic.

That's like designing, building and installing a Nitrous System in your car all on your own, but not actually knowing what it does for the engine's performance, nor how to optimize it

[mrm3ntalist]

You got it the other way around. What would be hilarious is if a BM (the most powerful arcane PRC ) qualified for that feat. Anyway, by taking a level in BM you already now about blood magic, so you cannot discover it again

[Rasael]

I find it hilarious how you can get 10 levels in Blood Magus, which relies on using Blood to empower their magic, but not find out about Blood Magic.

That's like designing, building and installing a Nitrous System in your car all on your own, but not actually knowing what it does for the engine's performance, nor how to optimize it

Why? It requires 10 spirit shaman levels to get that feat. You only need around 6 Blood Magus feats for the blood casting modes.

If you were to overlook the level requirement then I can see your point. But to me that's comparing apples and oranges because both sets of feats have requirements.

[Aelcar]

Let me clarify. The feat was approved the way it is balance-wise, JUST TO HELP SS OUT. It's not a feat for Arcanes. Shadow Magic has been granted to a few players before the SA release (testing reasons being among the motives, obviously), and the characters it has been granted to have been GUTTED by it power-wise. No DC wizard got Shadow Magic from a DM. The mages who got it relied on force spells, and the feat is catastrophic for those builds (for obvious reasons).

The feat was one of a serie of measures (like Telthor Companion, for instance, or Storm Avatar working on it) to increase the appeal of the Spirit Shaman class, deemed slightly underpowered. It would never have been approved otherwise. The fact you lose HP is largely irrelevant, because you need to cast ONE spell with it as an arcanist. One. It can be that Dominate you really want to succeed, or that Wail that really has to kill, but also much more subtle spells (like clouds, which do not grant Spellcraft bonus to saves) which were not designed to have certain DCs. Plenty of arcane spells grant temporary HPs. Not an issue.