User:Quantumboost/Rebalanced White Mage (3.5e Class)

White Mage

“

Moon healing activation!

”

The Positive Energy Plane is the source of all life, and channeling its power heals and restores the living. Normally channeling its power to focused effect is the providence of very skilled necromancers and devotees of the gods after great training, focus, and experience, but sometimes a person just rips open a portal through their soul and runs with it. These are known as White Mages. White Mages use their powers to reverse or prevent afflictions, and their single-minded focus on channeling positive energy allows them to exceed even the most devoted priests in that regard.

Making a White Mage

White Mages are specifically designed to let people actually play a character whose primary job is healing. They mostly fire off Healing and occasional Abjuration effects all over the place, and look all shiny. Occasionally there may be [Light] effects involved, but usually only when the White Mage is solo or there's nobody who actually needs healing.

They're balanced around the idea that healing is fundamentally action denial, and the baseline comparison for what a 5th-level White Mage does is casting hold person on whatever comes along.

Races: Every group of humanoids has individuals who walk the path of healing, and some of them become White Mages. The same is true of most monsters that get class levels, with the exception of undead, tomb-tainted and creatures like xeg-ya which are powered by or made of negative energy. Offspring of celestials are more likely to become white mages than most people, due to their connection to planes such as Elysium and Ysgard, as are the occasional genasi tied to positive-aligned planes.

Alignment: White Mages' powers come directly from positive energy, so their alignment tendencies depend on how negative energy is treated. That said, every side has use for people who can heal, and white mages can be of any alignment if they really try, even if you use The Crawling Darkness (an evil White Mage in that case would just have to be an incredible bastard).

Starting Gold: 6d6×10 gp (210 gp).

Starting Age: "As rogue".

Table: The White Mage

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+2	+2	+2	Armored Casting, Shining Fingers, Brilliance (uncapped level bonuses, Reach), Turn Undead
2nd	+1	+3	+3	+3	Brilliance (Chain), Equilibrium (positive energy), Planar Immunity (sleep)
3rd	+2	+3	+3	+3	Instant Ward, Inner Fire
4th	+3	+4	+4	+4	Status Check, Mettle, Brilliance (Empower)
5th	+3	+4	+4	+4	Lifesense (blindsense 40 ft.), Planar Immunity (paralysis, fear)
6th	+4	+5	+5	+5	Friggin' Lasers, False Divinity
7th	+5	+5	+5	+5	Flashes of Light, Equilibrium (negative energy), In Brightest Day
8th	+6/+1	+6	+6	+6	Pew Pew, In Darkest Night, Brilliance (Heighten)
9th	+6/+1	+6	+6	+6	Planar Immunity (disease, poison, hunger, thirst)
10th	+7/+2	+7	+7	+7	Brilliance (Maximize), Lifesense (blindsight 40 ft.)
11th	+8/+3	+7	+7	+7	Improved Mettle
12th	+9/+4	+8	+8	+8	Ascension, Planar Aura (minor positive-dominant)
13th	+9/+4	+8	+8	+8	Reraise 3/day
14th	+10/+5	+9	+9	+9	Planar Bubble
15th	+11/+6/+6	+9	+9	+9	Planar Aura (major positive-dominant), Lifesense (blindsight 120 ft.)
16th	+12/+7/+7	+10	+10	+10	Reraise 5/day
17th	+12/+7/+7	+10	+10	+10	Instant Brilliance
18th	+13/+8/+8	+11	+11	+11	Still Alive
19th	+14/+9/+9	+11	+11	+11	Reraise at will
20th	+15/+10/+10	+12	+12	+12	Aspect of the Wolverine
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Int), Listen (Wis) Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the White Mage class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: White Mages are proficient with all simple weapons, as well as the warhammer, the sap, and the sandvich. White Mages are proficient with light armor but not with shields of any kind.

Spellcasting: The White Mage is an Arcane Spellcaster with the same spells per day progression as a Sorcerer. A White Mage casts spells from the White Mage Spell List (below). A White mage automatically knows every spell on her spell list. She can cast any spell she knows without preparing them ahead of time, provided that spell slots of an appropriate level are still available.

To cast a White Mage spell, she must have a Charisma at least equal to 10 + the Spell Level. The DC of the White Mage's spells is Wisdom based and the bonus spells are Charisma based. White Mages' spells come from the following list:

0—dancing lights, detect magic, disrupt undead, flare, light, mending, purify food and drink, resistance, virtue

1st—avoid planar effects, bless water, delay disease, endure elements, faerie fire, greater dispel magic, produce flame, protection from chaos/evil/good/law, remove fear, shield of faith

2nd—aid, calm emotions, close wounds, cure moderate wounds, delay poison, gentle repose, lesser restoration, make whole, protection from negative energy, rainbow beam, remove paralysis, resist energy, shield other

3rd—attune form, create food and water, daylight, tiny hut, magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law, neutralize poison, protection from energy, remove blindness/deafness, remove disease, searing light, spark of life, vigor

4th—death ward, delay death, freedom of movement, good hope, planar tolerance, mass shield of faith, resilient sphere, restoration, revenance, spell immunity, stoneskin

5th—greater vigor, life's grace, lucent lance, mass cure light wounds, plane shift (willing targets only), raise dead, revivify, spell resistance, undeath to death, wall of force

6th—animate objects, bolt of glory, contingency, energy immunity, globe of invulnerability, heal, heroes' feast, mass cure moderate wounds, ray of light, revive outsider, stone to flesh, word of recall

7th—fortunate fate, greater restoration, mass cure serious wounds, mass restoration, mass spell resistance, spell turning, radiant assault, regenerate, resurrection

8th—greater spell immunity, mass cure critical wounds, mass death ward, mind blank, protection from spells

9th—freedom, mass heal, true resurrection, unbinding

Armored Casting: A White Mage uses arcane spell-like abilities, but she is not affected by the arcane spell failure of any armor or shield she is proficient with. This ability only applies to her White Mage abilities; if she is able to cast any other arcane spells, those are affected by arcane spell failure as normal.

Shining Fingers (Sp): As a standard action, the White Mage may either deal damage or restore hit points equal to 1d6 for every two character levels she has, plus her Wisdom modifier, to a touched target. This is a positive energy-based effect, and thus cannot heal undead (unless they have spark of life applied), does not affect many constructs, and cannot damage Positive Energy Plane natives. If the White Mage so wishes, they may use their Dexterity to determine the attack bonus instead of Strength.

Although spell-like, Shining Fingers does have verbal and somatic components, but does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Shining Fingers is a (Healing) effect when used to heal, and a [Light] effect when used to damage. Shining Fingers counts as a first-level spell for the purposes of prestige classes.

Brilliance: White Mages are directly linked to a dimension of raw energy, and this makes them very shiny. It also means their energy powers get all over the place. A White Mage's (Healing) spells and abilities are not subject to limits on their level-based scaling (i.e., if they cast a Cure Light Wounds spell at caster level 10, it heals 1d6+10 rather than 1d6+5). At 2nd level, any of a White Mage's (Healing) spells or effects which are Touch-range are extended out to 30 feet, and any (Healing) spells or abilities are able to affect a number of additional targets up to her Wisdom modifier (subject to the restrictions of Chain Spell). At 4th level all (Healing) spells and abilities are treated as if affected by Empower Spell and all previous effects of the Brilliance ability (uncapped bonuses, Reach, and Chain) apply to Abjuration spells. At 8th level all (Healing), [Light], and Abjuration effects are Heightened to the highest castable White Mage spell level, and at 10th level all (Healing) spells are Maximized.

Metamagic effects applied via this ability do not cause the spells to require a higher-level slot nor do they increase the casting time. Brilliance effects apply to the White Mage's abilities whether or not they were given by the White Mage class; a Cleric X/White Mage 1 can cast all their cure spells cast from Cleric spell slots without level-based limits, for example.

Turn Undead (Su): The White Mage can turn undead as a Cleric of her class level. If she gains turning or rebuking from more than one class, the levels stack.

Radiant Magic (Ex): A White Mage is considered to have every spell of the (Healing) Subschool or [Light] Subtype on her spell list for the purpose of activating magic items.

Equilibrium (Ex): At 2nd level, the White Mage's body is accustomed to way more positive energy than most people can handle. She is treated as native to the Positive Energy Plane in addition to planes where she is already a native. She is unaffected by any harmful effect due to positive energy (including spells such as bolt of glory or exploding due to being on a Major Positive-Dominant plane). However, she also does not gain temporary hit points from the Major Positive-Dominant trait. At 7th level, the White Mage equilibriates just as well with surrounding negative energy and is under a continuous death ward effect.

Planar Immunity (Ex): A White Mage's physiology starts off fairly normal, but it slowly shuts down and discards systems that are redundant due to her overwhelming lifeforce. At 2nd level, a White Mage no longer needs to sleep and gains immunity to sleep effects. At 5th level, this immunity extends to paralysis and fear, and at 9th level she is immune to disease and poison and also no longer needs to eat, drink, or breathe.

Instant Ward (Su): At 3rd level, the White Mage may grant any ally within 30 ft. a +5 bonus to AC and saves for one round as an immediate action. Instant Ward counts as a second-level spell for purposes of prestige classes.

Inner Fire: At 3rd level a White Mage learns to channel healing power into herself without the normal gestures and words. Any ability or spell which removes or suppresses a harmful status effect may be used by the White Mage on herself, without requiring any physical motion (including verbal and somatic components), and may be used even while dazed, unconscious, or any non-death conditions which remove actions. Any effect used in this way only affects the White Mage and does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Anything that requires the expenditure of any XP or material components, or the use of a focus, does so as normal; such components must be in the White Mage's possession, i.e., within or in contact with attended objects associated with the White Mage, but do not need to be physically manipulated.

Mettle (Ex): At 4th level, the White Mage gains Mettle, as the Hexblade ability.

Status Check (Sp): At 4th level, the White Mage gains a supernatural intuition about how her allies are faring. She may cast status at will as a swift action spell-like ability.

Lifesense (Su): At 5th level, the White Mage is familiar enough with the flow of positive energy that she can see it in other beings, even when her other senses fail. She gains blindsense out to 40 ft. to detect living or undead creatures, and knows how healthy they are as with deathwatch. At 10th level, this ability is equivalent to blindsight. At 15th level, this sense extends out to 120 ft.

Friggin' Lasers: At 6th level, any [Light] spells or abilities the White Mage uses gain a +2 bonus to caster level.

False Divinity: A White Mage's magic is similar to many sources of divine power, close enough that the universe gets a little confused by it. At 6th level her White Mage spell-like abilities count as both arcane and divine for the purposes of taking prestige classes. She does not gain more than one White Mage caster level from any given level of a prestige class using this ability; a White Mage 6/Mystic Theurge 5 would only cast as an 11th-level White Mage. You probably shouldn't try to do that.

Flashes of Light: At 7th level, the White Mage can channel her positive energy even more quickly; as a swift action, she can project a burst of radiant positive energy within 30 feet that heals living beings and damages undead for 1d6 hit points per four levels; this is a (Healing) effect. Also, as a swift action, she can fire a [Light] effect in a 120-foot line, which deals 1d6 damage per four White Mage caster levels to all in the area.

In Brightest Day (Su): At 7th level, the White Mage emits a constant radiance equivalent to a daylight effect which may be suppressed or resumed as a swift action. She gains the Sun domain, giving greater turning 1/day and either adding Sun domain spells to her spell list. Alternatively, if she does not have spell slots, the White Mage may instead choose to gain the spells of the Sun domain which would be accessible to a Cleric of her class level as though it were a Fiendish Sphere she had Basic access to (i.e., usable 1/day).

If she has already added the Sun domain's spells from some other selectable source, such as Attune Domain or Arcane Disciple, she may select a different valid domain for that source. If she already has the Sun domain from a non-selectable source, she instead gains another domain as if she had taken Attune Domain (this does not count against the total of 3 Attuned Domains/Spheres).

Pew Pew: At 8th level, the White Mage's ability to siphon raw light energy has become natural and almost effortless; she can cast any [Light] or Cure spell, or her Shining Fingers, as an attack action.

In Darkest Night (Su): At 8th level, the White Mage's death ward effect extends to all allies within 30 feet. This may be suppressed or resumed as a swift action.

Improved Mettle (Ex): At 11th level, the White Mage gains Improved Mettle. This functions as Mettle, except that if the White Mage fails on a Will partial or Fortitude partial saving throw, she still only takes the partial effect.

Ascension (Ex): At 12th level the White Mage ascends to supernatural power and becomes immune to petrification. She gains the Outsider type, the Native or Extraplanar subtype as appropriate for her home plane, and her previous type as an Augmented subtype.

Planar Aura (Su): At 12th level, the White Mage may radiate the Minor Positive-Dominant trait out to 60 feet. This ability can be activated and deactivated as a move action. At 15th level, this may be increased to the Major Positive-Dominant trait, and the White Mage can freely switch between Major, Minor, and no aura as a move action.

Reraise (Sp): A 13th level White Mage gains the ability to cast a contingent true resurrection on a target creature, which is triggered by their death. When she first gains this ability, the White Mage may cast it 3/day, which increases to 5/day at 16th level and becomes usable at-will at 19th level. The White Mage may not have more such effects active at a time than they may cast per day or her Wisdom score, whichever is lower, and no more than one active on any given creature. This effect is dismissible as normal for contingency. These do not count against the "You can use only one contingency spell at a time" restriction of the contingency spell.

Planar Bubble (Su): At 14th level the White Mage gains the ability to create even more conduits to the Positive Energy Plane. As a swift action, she can create a Planar Breach to the Positive Energy Plane as with precipitate breach.

Instant Brilliance: At 17th level, the White Mage may use any of its specialized abilities as an Immediate Action. This affects anything which is affected by Brilliance and nothing else.

Still Alive (Ex): A true White Mage doesn't die, even if he's killed! At 18th level, for 1 minute per character level after they die, the White Mage may still use any of their abilities so long as it doesn't require actual movement to perform. This includes (but is not necessarily limited to) their spell-like abilities, and anything which is used via Inner Fire. Inner Fire can now be used even while dead, and death counts as a harmful status effect for that purpose (for example, casting an inner fired true resurrection).

Aspect of the Wolverine (Ex): The White Mage is now almost completely composed of essentially cancerous cells, but doesn't lose things like viability as an organism. She gains Regeneration 10, which is not bypassed by any form of damage, and so long as some portion of her body still exists she can't actually die, and will regenerate from that portion in one minute as with a clone spell. At this point the White Mage has pretty much won D&D.

"Spellcasting" Abilities

Shatter Enchantment (Sp): At 9th level, a White Mage may cast break enchantment as a spell-like ability. This retains its somatic and verbal components, and counts as a 5th level spell for purposes of prestige classes and spellcasting advancement. (Note: is an Abjuration)

Planar Ward (Sp): hour/level, Avoid Planar Effects + Protection from Negative Energy (3)

Radiant Shield (Sp): minute/level, Shield of Faith

Energy Ward (Sp): Resist Energy

Planewalk (Sp): Plane Shift (positive energy only)

Campaign Information

White Mage Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (the planes) can research White Mages to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (the planes)

DC	Result
5	Positive Energy heals people.
10	Some people can cast spells which heal people, and not all of them are clerics. Some of them are arcanists who channel positive energy directly.
15	Powerful White Mages can heal large numbers of people at once, and learn techniques that are normally only available to people who draw on divine power.
20	White Mages have immunity to many harmful effects, and eventually they have so much healing power that they don't need to eat or breathe.

References

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