Phantasmal Mage – Arcanist Archetype

Design Notes: adapted from Owlcat Games’ Wrath of the Righteous computer RPG.

The strong affinity gnomes have with the school of Illusion is often seen in the works of their illusionists. Once in a while, this affinity reaches such an apex that a gnome taps into the very essence of the shadowstuff that fuels his magic, and he can morph and meld his spells to his liking as easily as he can conjure forth the glamers that are his forté.

Racial Requirements: To be a phantasmal mage, the arcanist must be a gnome.

Spell Focus: The phantasmal mage gains Spell Focus (Illusion) as a bonus feat at 1st level; this replaces the arcanist’s ability to increase the caster level of a spell she casts using her arcane reservoir.

Phantasmal Metamagic (Su): A phantasmal mage gains a number of powerful metamagic abilities at 5th, 11th, and 17th levels. These abilities modify the spell cast as if it were prepared or cast with the specified feat, without affecting the casting time or effective level of the spell. She may use any combination of these abilities a number of times per day equal to her 3 + her Charisma modifier (minimum +1).

At 5th level, the phantasmal mage can spend 1 point from her arcane reservoir as a swift action to give an arcanist spell of the Illusion school that she casts in the same round the benefits of Extended Spell, Reach Spell, Selective Spell even though she may not know the corresponding feat. She can add an additional 1 point to the cost of this or later abilities to also grant an affected spell the benefits of the Solid Shadows metamagic feat.

At 11th level, the phantasmal mage can spend 2 points from her arcane reservoir as a swift action to give an arcanist spell of the Illusion school that she casts in the same round the benefits of Persistent Spell or Empowered Spell, as per the corresponding metamagic feat.

At 17th level, the phantasmal mage can spend 3 points from her arcane reservoir as a swift action to give an arcanist spell of the Illusion school that she casts in the same round the benefits of Maximize spell, or spend 4 points to give a spell the benefits of Quickened Spell, as per the corresponding metamagic feat.

This replaces the arcanist’s 5th, 11th and 17th level exploits.

Metamagic Supremacy (Su): At 20th level, the costs for activating the phantasmal mage’s Phantasmal Metamagic ability are reduced by 1 point (to a mimimum of 0 points). This replaces Magical Supremacy.