This archetype package for the wizard alters or replaces the following class features: spell list, arcane bond, arcane school, Scribe Scroll, and bonus feats.

Blasting is never an optimal goal in character-building. Many spellcasters can accomplish decent blasting on top of their battlefield control, utility, and other god spells, but only sorcerers can really blast, and even then, it's a poor choice of resources. The black mage is a wizard archetype that stars when damaging and debuffing. To balance out his amazing firepower, his spell list lacks the typically overpowered wizard repertoire. As he gains levels, the black mage masters offensive spellcasting, denying even the most evasive foes their defenses against his spells.

This black mage is based on the Final Fantasy job.

Black Magic: Black mages study harmful magic exclusively. As a result, they can access only a small and violent subsection of the wizard spell list, detailed below.

In exchange, the black mage's blasting prowess is unrivaled. Starting at 1st level, he gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, and spell penetration checks with all spells he casts. These bonuses increase by +1 at 5th level, and again every four levels thereafter, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level. This ability, along with focused blast, sudden spell, and intense blasting, replaces arcane school.

Elemental Variation: Black mages can research elemental variants of spells they already know. For every spell in his spellbook with an energy descriptor, a black mage is capable of adding analogous spells to his spellbook with the fire, cold, acid, or lightning descriptors. These spells are functionally identical to the original spell, save that their descriptor and damage type change to that of the new element. Elemental variants are totally separate spells from the original once researched: each elemental variant occupies its own pages in the black mage's spellbook, must be prepared independently, and can be selected for feats that select individual spells, such as Preferred Spell.

Adding a variant spell to a spellbook costs the same as adding any other spell to a spellbook. Whenever the black mage adds free spells to his spellbook from leveling up, he may choose for one or both of these spells to be elemental variants of spells he already knows. Otherwise, he must add elemental variants by paying the prices described in the Arcane Magical Writings section of the Core Rulebook (p.219).

Focused Blast (Su): As a swift action, the black mage may add his wizard level to the damage dealt by the next spell he casts in a round. If the spell has recurring or ongoing effects, this bonus damage is dealt only once per target. It is multiplied on a critical hit if the spell is capable of scoring critical hits. The black mage can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Intelligence modifier.

Arcane Fighter (Ex): The black mage's levels stack with any fighter levels he possesses for the purposes of meeting the prerequisites for feats that specifically select his spells, such as Weapon Specialization (ray). The black mage treats his spells as weapons for the purposes of taking feats like Improved Critical, or using feats like Arcane Strike. This ability replaces arcane bond.

Bonus Feats: The black mage gains a bonus feat at 1st level, and every three levels thereafter (1st, 4th, 7th, etc.). These must be metamagic feats, combat feats, or feats selected from the following list: Arcane Blast, Arcane Shield, Combat Casting, Greater Spell Focus, Greater Spell Penetration, Spell Focus, Spell Mastery, and Spell Penetration. The black mage must qualify for these feats normally. The black mage cannot take item creation feats as bonus feats, and never qualifies for arcane discoveries. This ability replaces Scribe Scroll and the normal wizard bonus feats.

Sudden Spell: Starting at 8th level, the black mage's combat spells manifest themselves so rapidly and violently that they are almost impossible to avoid. Creature with evasion do not count as having evasion against the black mage's spells; creatures with improved evasion count as only having evasion. At 16th level, the black mage's spells completely ignore both evasion and improved evasion.

Intense Blasting: At 20th level, the black mage treats all his spells as though they were affected by Intensify Spell. This does not increase their spell level or casting time. Additionally, he can now use his focused blast ability at will.


Black Magic

0-Level Black Mage Spellsacid splash, arcane mark, bleed, dancing lights, detect magic, flare, light, ray of frost, read magic, spark, touch of fatigue.

1st-Level Black Mage Spellsbreak, burning hands, cause fear, chill touch, corrosive touch, feather fall, flare burst, grease, hydraulic push, magic missile, magic weapon, mount, obscuring mist, shocking grasp, ray of enfeeblement, ray of sickening, shock shield, sleep, snapdragon fireworks.

2nd-Level Black Mage Spellsacid arrow, blindness/deafness, burning gaze, continual flame, darkness, defensive shock, dust of twilight, elemental touch, fiery shuriken, fire breath, flaming sphere, fog cloud, frigid touch, frost fall, ghoul touch, glitterdust, gust of wind, pyrotechnics, resist energy, scare, scorching ray, shatter, spectral hand, stone call, unshakable chill, web.

3rd-Level Black Mage Spellsaqueous orb, ash storm, daylight, deep slumber, dispel magic, draconic reservoir, elemental aura, fireball, flame arrow, hydraulic torrent, keen edge, lightning bolt, magic weapon (greater), pain strike, protection from energy, ray of exhaustion, sleet storm, slow, stinking cloud, vampiric touch, wind wall.

4th-Level Black Mage Spellsball lightning, black tentacles, calcific touch, contagion, detonate, dragon's breath, enervation, fear, fire shield, firefall, ice storm, poison, shout, solid fog, telekinetic charge, vitriolic mist, volcanic storm, wall of fire, wall of ice.

5th-Level Black Mage Spellsacidic spray, baleful polymorph, blight, cloudkill, cone of cold, fickle winds, fire snake, geyser, lightning arc, pain strike (mass), sonic thrust, suffocation, telekinesis, wall of sound, wall of stone, waves of fatigue.

6th-Level Black Mage Spellsacid fog, chain lightning, circle of death, cold ice strike, contagion (greater), contagious flame, control water, disintegrate, dispel magic (greater), enemy hammer, eyebite, flesh to stone, freezing sphere, sirocco, wall of iron.

7th-Level Black Mage Spellsarcane cannon, caustic eruption, control weather, delayed blast fireball, finger of death, firebrand, ice body, ki shout, mage's sword, power word blind, prismatic spray, reverse gravity, vortex, waves of exhaustion.

8th-Level Black Mage Spellshorrid wilting, incendiary cloud, orb of the void, polar ray, power word stun, protection from spells, shout (greater), stormbolts, sunburst, wall of lava.

9th-Level Black Magicclashing rocks, energy drain, fiery body, suffocation (mass), mage's disjunction, meteor swarm, power word kill, ride the lightning, transmute blood to acid, tsunami, wail of the banshee.