User:Luigifan18:Viewtiful Monarch (3.5e Prestige Class)
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A Viewtiful Warrior who supplements her VFX with spellcasting. 10 8 Moderate Poor Good Good
Prepared Arcane Spellcasting Separate
Contents
Viewtiful Monarch
| “ | Do you think you can harm me, worm? | ” |
| —Queen Heinderella, human Viewtiful Monarch, The Return of Junko Black | ||
Viewtiful Warriors tend to be fascinated by magic, but most are unwilling to give up their martial arts training and VFX usage to dabble in wizardry or sorcery. But to some, the lure of magic is irresistible. To gain access to magic without losing their physical combat capabilities, these Viewtiful Warriors may become Viewtiful Monarchs.
Becoming a Viewtiful Monarch
The Viewtiful Monarch represents a compromise between continuing to advance as a Viewtiful Warrior and multiclassing into wizardry. A Viewtiful Monarch can cast arcane spells, just like a wizard, and also isn't at all incompetent at physical combat. However, a Viewtiful Monarch isn't quite as good at physical combat as a Viewtiful Warrior, Shogun, or Captain would be, and she also tends to be a bit frailer than the default Viewtiful Warrior. In addition, she gets fewer spell slots than a wizard would, though she does develop access to advanced spells more rapidly (which is offset by the fact that Viewtiful Monarch is a prestige class whose prerequisites are designed to be met by an 8th-level character, resulting in the development of 9th-level spells occurring at about the same time that a non-multiclassed wizard would get them). It's also rather odd for a prestige class in that a couple of the prerequisites are cross-class skills for the main class this prestige class is designed for. Their prerequisites can still be met by 8th level, even without multiclassing, because the Viewtiful Monarch has its own spellcasting progression instead of building upon the progression of another spellcasting class (which makes dipping into wizard to take this class somewhat of a bad idea).
Charisma is actually much more important for a Viewtiful Monarch than it is for any other Viewtiful class, as it governs her spellcasting as well as her VFX. Constitution is also important, as it makes up for the Viewtiful Monarch's poor hit die, and as always, Dexterity is important for dodging things. Intelligence is actually quite important, if only for Spellcraft checks to learn spells. However, a Viewtiful Monarch can get by with less Strength than the other Viewtiful classes, unless she wants to try her hand at melee touch spells. She shouldn't neglect her Strength, as she's still meant to be competent in melee, but she doesn't have to engage in melee combat if she really doesn't want to. Wisdom is always helpful for Will saves, but it's the least necessary ability score of them all.
| Alignment: | Any. |
|---|---|
| Base Attack Bonus: | +7. |
| Skills: | Concentration 11 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Martial Lore 6 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks. |
| Feats: | Leadership, Magical Aptitude, VFX Drama Focus. |
| Weapon Proficiency: | Quarterstaff, staff, spear, or lance. |
| Special: | Must be able to use VFX. |
| Special: | Must be someone in a position of great social power (e.g. royalty, nobility, guildmaster, academy principal, criminal ringleader, town mayor, senator, high priest, warlord, etc.), have once held a position of great social power at some point during your life, or be directly related by blood or marriage to someone in a position of great social power OR must be an outsider with a CR greater than 9. |
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | Spells per Day | Maximum VFX Points |
VFX Recharge Rate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | 0 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | VFX, Viewtiful Dodge, VFX Shot, Spell Shot, VFX Missile, Staff Stinger | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | Staff Churn, VFX Split | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +3 | VFX Magic, VFX Magicharge, VFX Scratch | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +4 | +4 | VFX Wave, Spell Wave, VFX Mirage | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Tactical Staff Churn, Spell Churn | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +5 | +5 | VFX Mirage II, Copy Crown | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | +1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +4 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Mach Magic or Replay Magic | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 3 | +1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +5 | +2 | +6 | +6 | VFX Mirage III | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 3 | +1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +6 | +3 | +6 | +6 | Steal Heroism | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +6 | +3 | +7 | +7 | VFX Mirage IV | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | Special | Maximum VFX Points |
|---|---|---|
| 11th | 4 | |
| 12th | VFX Rearrange | 4 |
| 13th | Bonus Feat | 5 |
| 14th | Dramatic Presence | 5 |
| 15th | Mach Magic or Replay Magic | 5 |
| 16th | Bonus Feat | 6 |
| 17th | VFX Heal | 6 |
| 18th | 6 | |
| 19th | Bonus Feat | 7 |
| 20th | VFX Refresh, Royal Charisma | 7 |
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Viewtiful Monarch.
Spells: To cast a particular spell, the Viewtiful Monarch must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell's level. Her bonus spells are based on her Charisma. Saves to avoid the effects of her spells have a DC of 10 + the spell's level + her Cha bonus (if any). Her caster level is normally equal to her class level (but see VFX Magic below).
| Wait, why Charisma?!? |
| The Warmage[1] breaks the trend of spontaneous arcane spellcasting being Charisma-based, so I see no reason why the Viewtiful Monarch shouldn't break the trend of prepared arcane spellcasting being Intelligence-based. The entire Viewtiful class family is largely Charisma-based, so the Viewtiful Monarch is the same. |
A Viewtiful Monarch casts spells as a wizard does. Just like a wizard, she prepares spells to be cast ahead of time. However, instead of storing spells in a spellbook, she stores them within her crown, which is a headgear item costing at least 10,000 gp which is enchanted to hold spells. The crown can hold an infinite number of spells, but it cannot already have magical properties before being claimed by the Viewtiful Monarch as her spell receptacle. (A Viewtiful Monarch candidate chooses a sufficiently valuable non-magical headgear item as her "crown" upon taking her first level in Viewtiful Monarch, and it is automatically enchanted to hold spells when the candidate becomes a Viewtiful Monarch.) When preparing her spells, the Viewtiful Monarch simply wears the crown and meditates; the process is otherwise identical to how a wizard prepares spells, including the requirement for 8 hours of rest beforehand and the 1-hour length of time required for spell preparation. She does not need to wear the crown except when she prepares her spells; once her spells are prepared for the day, the Viewtiful Monarch may remove the crown and wear a different magic (or non-magic) item on her head (or, if she has soulmelds, bind a soulmeld to her crown chakra) if she so chooses. The Viewtiful Monarch automatically learns all 0-level Viewtiful Monarch spells and 2 1st-level spells upon taking her first level in this class, and she learns 2 new spells for free every time she gains a Viewtiful Monarch level afterwards. Alternatively, at any time, she may also copy spells from scrolls and spellbooks into her crown through a ritual in which she essentially wills the crown to absorb the spell. To do this, she must first decipher the spell in question with a Spellcraft check, just like a wizard or wu jen would. She must then cast extract spell upon the crown, to prime it to absorb the magic. Once the extract magic spell is cast, she must place her crown upon the surface holding the spell (usually paper or parchment, but other materials aren't unheard of; if it's mounted to a wall, another spell may be necessary to get the crown to stick) and succeed on a Spellcraft check (the DC is 5 points higher than normal, and 10 points higher than it would be for a wizard, wu jen[1], etc. to learn the spell using extract spell, because of the unconventionality of this spell-learning system). It takes 1 hour for the crown to absorb the spell, and the Viewtiful Monarch does not know whether she actually learned the spell until the hour is up; however, if the crown is disturbed, she fails to learn the spell regardless of her Spellcraft check result, and knows that she failed because the crown was disturbed. If she successfully learns the spell, it is absorbed into the crown and may be selected whenever the Viewtiful Monarch prepares her spells from that point on; the spell is erased from a scroll or other one-use magical writing, since the magic is expended, but a spellbook is unharmed. If she fails, she may not try to learn that spell again until 30 days have passed or she gains a rank in Spellcraft, whichever comes first; a scroll is unharmed, as the magic was not successfully absorbed in the first place. It isn't normally possible to copy a spell from a crown, due to the crown not actually being a magical writing or symbol. This procedure may only be used to learn Viewtiful Monarch spells; if she multiclasses into a different class with the ability to learn spells, she learns spells for that class in its usual fashion.
Just like other arcane spellcasters, a Viewtiful Monarch finds it difficult to execute the somatic components of her spells while wearing armor. She incurs arcane spell failure chances from armor just like a wizard or sorcerer does. If a spell fails because of this arcane spell failure chance, it is wasted to no effect, but the Viewtiful Monarch does not use up any amount of time greater than a full-round action in the attempt (a spell whose casting time is equal to or less than a full-round action uses up its normal casting time).
An epic Viewtiful Monarch’s number of spells per day does not increase after 10th level, though she continues to learn 2 new spells per level, and may take the Spell Knowledge feat to accelerate her spell acquisition rate and/or learn spells that she would otherwise have a hard time accessing.
For Viewtiful Monarch spells drawn from the SRD and other official sources, see this page. For the homebrew spell list, see this page. As a general rule, Viewtiful Monarch spells tend to be flashy and expressive, or to be designed to help the Viewtiful Monarch (and/or her allies, if applicable) do impressive things; spells with subtle effects are right out.
VFX: A Viewtiful Monarch uses VFX, just like a Viewtiful Warrior does. The VFX pool of a Viewtiful Monarch (as seen in the above tables) stacks with the VFX pool of any other VFX-using class to determine total VFX pool size. A Viewtiful Warrior who takes levels in Viewtiful Monarch will have a smaller VFX pool than one who doesn't, due to the Viewtiful Monarch's slower growth rate; however, the Viewtiful Monarch's spells can make up for this shortcoming, if used wisely. Just like any other Viewtiful Warrior, if a Viewtiful Monarch's VFX pool runs out completely, she loses most of her class features (including her spellcasting) until her VFX pool has recharged to at least 4 VFX points.
Viewtiful Monarch levels stack with Viewtiful Warrior levels to influence numerical variables of VFX Slow, VFX Mach Speed, VFX Replay, and VFX Zoom; however, Viewtiful Monarch levels do not contribute to gaining more Mach Speed clones or enhancing critical hits in VFX Replay, nor do they contribute to developing more features of VFX Slow.
Viewtiful Dodge (Ex): Viewtiful Monarch levels stack with Viewtiful Warrior levels (and levels in other Viewtiful classes) to determine the dodge bonus of Viewtiful Dodge.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Viewtiful Monarch levels do not stack with Viewtiful Warrior levels to influence unarmed strike damage or damage reduction bypassing, and they count equally to any other non-monk class to determine how many times per day Stunning Fist can be used (that is, 4 levels of Viewtiful Monarch allow one usage of Stunning Fist). In fact, the Viewtiful Monarch doesn't even have Stunning Fist unless she takes the feat or gains it from another class (such as monk or Viewtiful Warrior). She also can't use VFX to get extra uses of Stunning Fist in a day unless she has at least 10 levels of Viewtiful Warrior.
VFX Shot (VFX): As a standard action, the Viewtiful Monarch can spend spend a number of VFX points up to ½ her class level plus her Charisma modifier (minimum 1) to launch a ranged touch attack that does 1d6 damage per VFX point spent. The range increment is 50 feet.
Spell Shot (Sp): As a standard action, the Viewtiful Monarch can expend a spell slot to launch a ranged touch attack that does 3d6 points of damage per level of the spell slot lost (expending a 0-level spell slot means the attack does 1d6 damage). The range increment is 50 feet. Only a Viewtiful Monarch spell slot can be expended in this manner.
VFX Missile (Sp, VFX): The Viewtiful Monarch can use magic missile as a spell-like ability at the cost of 2 VFX. This is subject to the usual limitations of magic missile (including a caster level cap of 9 for the purpose of increasing the number of missiles).
Staff Stinger (Ex): Whenever the Viewtiful Monarch charges while wielding a staff, quarterstaff, spear, or lance, she gets a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls (instead of the usual +2 bonus).
Staff Churn (Su): At 2nd level, any staff, quarterstaff, spear, or lance wielded by the Viewtiful Monarch is treated as through it had a special variant of the returning[2] property. Whenever she throws such a weapon, one copy of the weapon appears per two class levels, and all of them, including the original, fly towards the target from her space and attempt to strike it, making a single attack each. Alternatively, she may have each staff attack a separate creature. After the attacks are resolved, the conjured weapons disappear and the original weapon reappears in the Viewtiful Monarch's hand.
Tactical Staff Churn (Su): At 5th level, the Viewtiful Monarch gains the ability to arrange the weapons conjured by her Staff Churn in intricate, yet deadly patterns that are hard to escape from, and her own staff gains the ability to teleport into position to aid in the intricate assault. Once she's reached this level of skill, the staffs she conjures with this ability can appear anywhere within Medium range, and as they close in on the target, they can grant each other flanking bonuses (and she can use them to make sneak attacks, if she has that ability).
VFX Magic (VFX): Starting at 3rd level, a Viewtiful Monarch can use VFX to enhance her spellcasting. While this VFX power is in effect, her caster level for Viewtiful Monarch spells is her Viewtiful Monarch level plus any levels she may have in other Viewtiful classes (Viewtiful Warrior, Viewtiful Shogun, and Viewtiful Captain). This VFX power costs 1 VFX point per round to maintain. VFX does not recharge while VFX Magic is in effect.
VFX Magicharge (VFX): Starting at 3rd level, a Viewtiful Monarch can sacrifice a spell slot as a swift action to gain a number of VFX points equal to the level of the lost spell (sacrificing a 0-level spell confers no VFX points). Alternatively, she can sacrifice a spell slot as a standard action to gain a number of VFX points equal to twice the level of the lost spell (a 0-level spell sacrificed this way confers 1 VFX point). The Viewtiful Monarch may do this even while using a long-term VFX power, enabling her to extend its effects. Only a Viewtiful Monarch spell slot can be sacrificed in this manner. Sacrificing a spell slot in this way is not considered the same process as casting that spell, and does not trigger effects set off by casting a spell. VFX Magicharge does not provoke attacks of opportunity, regardless of the type of action used to perform it, and cannot be interrupted.
VFX Wave (VFX): Starting at 4th level, as a standard action, the Viewtiful Monarch can spend a number of VFX points up to ½ her class level plus her Charisma modifier to unleash a 15-foot-wide, 2-foot-tall wave of energy along the ground that travels up to 120 feet. The wave of energy does 1d6 damage per VFX point spent to all in its path, with a Reflex save allowed for half. The save DC is 10 + Viewtiful Monarch's class levels up to 10th + ½ Viewtiful Monarch's class levels after 10th + Viewtiful Monarch's Charisma modifier.
Spell Wave (Sp): Starting at 4th level, as a standard action, the Viewtiful Monarch can expend a spell slot to unleash a 15-foot-wide, 2-foot-tall wave of energy along the ground that travels up to 120 feet. The wave of energy does 3d6 damage per spell level of the expended spell to all in its path, with a Reflex save allowed for half. (The wave does 1d6 damage if a 0-level spell slot is expended). The save DC is 10 + Viewtiful Monarch's class levels up to 10th + ½ Viewtiful Monarch's class levels after 10th + Viewtiful Monarch's Charisma modifier. Only a Viewtiful Monarch spell slot may be expended in this manner.
VFX Mirage (VFX): Starting at 4th level, whenever the Viewtiful Monarch is reduced to ⅔ of her maximum hp (rounded down), she instantaneously warps away to a personal demiplane; not even dimensional anchor, dimensional lock, or any other nonepic anti-teleportation effect can hold her. The Viewtiful Monarch is frozen as if in temporal stasis and completely immune to all damage, healing, and other effects that would alter her condition, so even if the Viewtiful Monarch's opponent somehow follows her to her demiplane, it cannot actually harm her. As the Viewtiful Monarch warps away, a simulacrum of herself appears 50 feet away from her former position in a random direction; thus, to a casual observer, it appears that the Viewtiful Monarch has simply executed a short-range teleport. The simulacrum has 1/20th of the Viewtiful Monarch's maximum hp, but also has all of her abilities except for VFX Mirage. (The simulacrum usually maintains a distance from the enemy and spams VFX Shot or VFX Missile). The simulacrum has infinite VFX, but finite spell slots; it enters play with all spell slots that the Viewtiful Monarch had unexpended at the start of the encounter. The simulacrum's actions do not consume the Viewtiful Monarch's resources. The simulacrum cannot be dispelled, nor is it suppressed by an antimagic field, and it never expires on its own. However, the simulacrum cannot be repaired in any way. When the simulacrum is destroyed, the Viewtiful Monarch reappears in her former position, freed from the temporal stasis effect and no longer invulnerable. The ability is triggered again when the Viewtiful Monarch is reduced to ⅓ of her maximum hp. Even if the Viewtiful Monarch is healed past an hp threshold, this ability cannot be triggered more than twice in any given encounter. If the Viewtiful Monarch begins an encounter already past an hp threshold, she loses that use of VFX Mirage for that encounter. Nonlethal damage triggers VFX Mirage as though it was lethal damage. If the simulacrum still exists when the encounter ends, it fades away, ending VFX Mirage, and the Viewtiful Monarch reappears in her former position, freed from the temporal stasis effect and no longer invulnerable. This ability can be triggered even if the Viewtiful Monarch was out of VFX when reduced past an hp threshold; however, as VFX does not recharge while in temporal stasis, the Viewtiful Monarch will still be weakened and vulnerable when the VFX Mirage ends.
When the Viewtiful Monarch reaches 6th level, 2 simulacra of her appear when this ability activates. When she reaches 8th level, 3 simulacra of her appear when this ability activates. When she reaches 10th level, 4 simulacra of her appear when this ability activates.
At 6th level and beyond, no attack can reduce the Viewtiful Monarch's hp further than would be required to push her to an hp threshold to use VFX Mirage. For instance, if an 8th-level Viewtiful Warrior/6th-level Viewtiful Monarch had 149 max hp, had 114 hp remaining, and sustained 27 points of damage (enough to reduce her to 87 hp), she would instead be reduced to 99 hp, triggering her first VFX Mirage. If she began the encounter with 99 or less hp or had already been reduced to 99 hp in the current encounter, VFX Mirage would not trigger and she would be reduced to 87 hp. As long as the Viewtiful Monarch has at least one use of VFX Mirage remaining, she is immune to death effects and petrification; an effect that would instantly kill or petrify her instead reduces her to the next hp threshold, triggering a VFX Mirage. Once the Viewtiful Monarch has no uses of VFX Mirage remaining, death and petrification effects affect her normally. In addition, a simulacrum that is reduced to 0 hp becomes an ethereal presence and continues to fire VFX Shots, VFX Missiles, or spells at enemies. Only when all of the simulacra are destroyed does the VFX Mirage attack cease.
At 8th level and beyond, this ability can be triggered up to 3 times per encounter, at the thresholds of ¾, ½, and ¼ of the Viewtiful Monarch's maximum hp.
At 10th level, this ability can be triggered manually with an immediate action, but can still only be activated up to 3 times per encounter. A manual triggering expends the closest hp threshold as if the Viewtiful Monarch had been pushed to that point, but does not actually reduce her hp. (For instance, if a 10th-level Viewtiful Warrior/10th-level Viewtiful Monarch had a maximum of 200 hp, currently had 170 hp, and manually triggered a VFX Mirage, she would not get to use a VFX Mirage when reduced to 150 or less hp.) A Viewtiful Monarch cannot manually trigger VFX Mirage if she is out of VFX (but it can still be automatically triggered).
| What the hell is this?!? |
| I'd like to answer that question here, but when I tried, I ended up with an extremely bloated sidebar. I'll take the discussion of VFX Mirage to the talk page instead. |
Spell Churn (VFX): Starting at 5th level, the Viewtiful Monarch can use her VFX to augment her spellcasting. She can spend VFX on a spell or spell-like ability to achieve the following effects:
- Increase caster level by 2 per spent VFX point
- Increase save DC by 1 per spent VFX point
- Apply any metamagic feat(s) that she knows to her spells spontaneously, without raising their spell slot level or extending their casting time, by expending 1 VFX point per spell level to be added through metamagic as she casts the spell (for instance, empowering and quickening a spell would cost 6 VFX points). A Viewtiful Monarch may not use this to elevate a spell's effective level above the highest-level spell that she can actually cast, nor may she repeatedly apply the same metamagic feat to a single spell unless the metamagic feat itself allows itself to be applied in such a manner (for instance, empowering a spell twice to increase numeric variables by 200% is not allowed).
Only Viewtiful Monarch spells or spell-like abilities may be augmented in this way. Each VFX point can only be spent to achieve one of the above effects.
Copy Crown (Su): A 6th-level Viewtiful Monarch who has the Scribe Scroll feat can use extract spell to copy spells directly from a Viewtiful Monarch's crown (whether it is her own or someone else's) and place them on a scroll, without needing to prepare them and cast them into the scroll. Alternatively, with the assistance of a wizard or wu jen[1], she can copy spells from the crown into a spellbook. If creating a scroll, she does not need to pay any cost, and the scroll requires 1 hour to create; once finished, she can use the scroll as is or use extract spell again to copy the spell into a different crown (or she can allow a wizard or wu jen to use the scroll to learn the spell themselves). If copying a spell into a spellbook, the process still requires 1 hour, and once done, the spellbook's owner (if a wizard or wu jen) is free to prepare the spell. The Viewtiful Monarch may also use another extract spell to copy the spell into another crown, and may do so as many times as she pleases (since a spell in a spellbook is not erased by a Viewtiful Monarch learning it). Finally, as the ability name implies, she can copy spells directly from one crown to another by placing them within 5 feet of each other and concentrating on them for 1 hour as if preparing spells.
The DM can (and should) veto any attempts to copy a spell that is on the Viewtiful Monarch spell list but not on the wizard or wu jen spell list into a spellbook.
At 7th level, depending on whether she took VFX Mach Speed or VFX Replay as a Viewtiful Warrior, the Viewtiful Monarch gains either Mach Magic or Replay Magic. (If she has not yet advanced to 6th level in Viewtiful Warrior, the Viewtiful Monarch does not gain either of these class features until she advances to 6th level in the Viewtiful Warrior class and selects Mach Speed or Replay. The upgrade applies only to the VFX power gained via Viewtiful Warrior levels, even if the Viewtiful Monarch has also reached level 6 in the Viewtiful Captain class and taken the other VFX power.)
At 15th level, if the Viewtiful Monarch has also advanced to level 6 in the Viewtiful Captain class, she gains access to her magic upgrade (Mach Magic/Replay Magic) for the VFX power gained through that class.
- Mach Magic (VFX): While VFX Mach Speed is active, the Viewtiful Monarch gains 3 additional swift actions per round. These extra swift actions can only be used to cast Viewtiful Monarch spells (whether these spells are quickened in advance, quickened through Spell Churn, or have a natural casting time of 1 swift or immediate action does not matter). A Viewtiful Monarch spell that is considered an attack for purposes of other magical effects (such as ending the effect of invisibility) is also considered an attack for the purposes of generating or refreshing the fire aura from VFX Mach Speed.
- Replay Magic (VFX): The Viewtiful Monarch's Viewtiful Monarch spells can benefit from VFX Replay (normally, only the Viewtiful Warrior/Monarch's physical attacks are replayed). Replaying a spell effectively triples the spell's effects and forces the target to make 3 saving throws against it. As normal for a replayed attack, a replayed spell deducts 1 VFX point from the Viewtiful Monarch's VFX pool, whether she wants the spell to be replayed or not, and this VFX cost is incurred once per creature the spell affects. (An area-of-effect spell, like a fireball, could end up costing her a lot of VFX if used recklessly.) Using a spell in conjunction with VFX Replay also generates or refreshes the lightning aura from VFX Replay.
Steal Heroism (Sp): A 9th-level Viewtiful Monarch can take a 1-round action to drain the heroism from a single character within Medium range. This suppresses all class features of the victim, including spellcasting, power use, maneuvers, and VFX, unless it succeeds on a Will save (DC 19 + Viewtiful Monarch's Charisma modifier) to negate the effect. The heroism is drained for 24 hours. This does not affect a creature's feats, but may render them unusable if they are dependent on class features. Alternatively, the Viewtiful Monarch may use this ability to replicate the effect of monstrous thrall[3] with a duration of 24 hours. The Viewtiful Monarch can only use this ability once per hour (either version counts as one use). It is the equivalent of a 9th-level spell.
A character with a code of conduct who falls victim to the first version of this ability is considered to have violated that code of conduct, and cannot regain his or her abilities until he or she atones. The victim knows this when the ability is used on them, and therefore gains a +2 bonus to its Will save to avoid falling victim to it in the first place. This does not apply to the monstrous thrall version of the ability.
VFX Rearrange (VFX): A 12th-level Viewtiful Monarch can spend 2 VFX points to swap any one spell she has prepared for another spell she knows as a standard action. Alternatively, she can spend 4 VFX points to do this as a swift action. The standard rules of spell preparation apply; that is, a spell cannot be prepared in a spell slot of a lower level (but preparing a spell in a higher-level spell slot is fair game). She must be wearing her crown in order to use this ability, and she may not use it to refresh an expended spell slot. This ability can only be used once per round.
Dramatic Presence (Ex): A Viewtiful Monarch of 14th level or higher adds her Charisma modifier to her maximum number of VFX points. This class feature can only be gained once from any source; it does not stack with itself.
VFX Heal (Ps, VFX): As a swift action, a Viewtiful Monarch of level 17 or higher can spend a number of VFX points up to ½ her class level plus her Charisma modifier and heal herself or one other willing creature for 1d4 points of damage per VFX point spent. If healing another creature with this ability, the Viewtiful Monarch has to touch the creature in question, just like a paladin laying on hands (and just like a paladin laying on hands, she uses a standard action rather than a swift action to do so). She can also heal herself as a standard action in the same manner. A Viewtiful Monarch may not use VFX Heal more than once per round. Just like any other form of healing, VFX Heal cannot give a Viewtiful Monarch additional uses of VFX Mirage in a given encounter if used during that encounter. (Healing herself before an encounter is fair game, though.)
| Lame! |
| This ability is supposed to be rather inefficient, as healing is not the Viewtiful Monarch's primary job... still, it gives the Viewtiful Monarch some extra survivability. Also, without the restriction on usage, a Viewtiful Monarch could theoretically use this twice in a round — once as a standard action and once as a swift action — which could be a little imbalanced. (Now, if I ever made a Viewtiful Medic class, this could be their primary class feature, and would probably be obtained much sooner and be much more efficient. But there's no precedent for such a class in the Viewtiful Joe games, so I dunno if I'll go to the trouble.) |
VFX Heal counts as an alternative prerequisite to the Azure Touch[4] feat. Essentia invested into Azure Touch is added to the Viewtiful Monarch's class level to determine the maximum number of VFX points spendable on VFX Heal.
VFX Refresh (Ps, VFX): At 20th level, the Viewtiful Monarch fully integrates her VFX and her magic. As a standard action, she may refresh one of her expended Viewtiful Monarch spells by paying 2 VFX points per level of the spell to be refreshed (treating a 0-level spell as having a level of ½, and therefore paying 1 VFX point). Alternatively, she may do this as a swift action by paying 4 VFX points per level of the spell to be refreshed. These VFX costs are doubled if the Viewtiful Monarch isn't wearing her crown. This ability can only be used once per round. The refreshed spell is the same one that occupied the spell slot when it was expended; if the Viewtiful Monarch wants a different spell, she will have to follow up her VFX Refresh with a VFX Rearrange.
| Wait, what?!? |
| Yes, you're reading that right. A 20th-level Viewtiful Monarch can refresh expended spell slots at will (though she can't do it repeatedly while in combat, or she'll run out of VFX, and that isn't going to end very well for her). As it's the direct inverse of VFX Magicharge, I wanted to include this ability somewhere. I know full well how powerful regaining spell slots as often as desired in a single day is, and placed this ability accordingly. Note that Viewtiful Monarch is a prestige class, which lasts for the standard prestige class length of 10 levels. Therefore, the 11th level taken in Viewtiful Monarch must be at least the character's 21st character level — in other words, becoming an epic character. This means that a character with 20 levels in the Viewtiful Monarch class must have a character level of at least 30 — pretty far into the epic levels. By this point, regaining spell slots at will is no longer overpowered, it's par for the course. Also, without VFX Magic, her caster level will be at least 10 levels lower than a non-multiclassed wizard or sorcerer, and as a long-term VFX power, VFX Magic costs VFX at a steady rate while in use and — more importantly — stops VFX from recharging while in use. Managing both VFX Magic and VFX Refresh can quickly become cumbersome, especially as the Viewtiful Monarch's VFX pool isn't as large as the other Viewtiful classes. In addition, the VFX costs of refreshing a spell slot with VFX Refresh are double the VFX gain from expending a spell slot for VFX Magicharge (or quadruple that gain if the Viewtiful Monarch isn't wearing her crown). All in all, I think this ability is rather well-balanced. |
Royal Charisma: Upon reaching 20th level, a Viewtiful Monarch's Charisma score increases by 4. This is treated as an ability score increase from leveling up.
Bonus Feats: The Viewtiful Monarch gains VFX Split as a bonus feat at 2nd level and VFX Scratch as a bonus feat at 3rd level.
The Viewtiful Monarch's Viewtiful Monarch levels stack with Viewtiful Warrior levels (as well as levels in other Viewtiful classes) to determine the potency of VFX Split and VFX Scratch (including whether or not VFX Scratch generates an earthquake).
The epic Viewtiful Monarch gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic Viewtiful Monarch feats) every 3 levels after 10th.
Epic Viewtiful Monarch Bonus Feat List: Additional Magic Item Space, Automatic Quicken Spell, Automatic Silent Spell, Automatic Still Spell, Blinding Speed, Certain Spell, Craft Epic Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Epic Rod, Craft Epic Staff, Devastating Critical, Dire Charge, Energy Resistance, Enhance Spell, Epic Dodge*, Epic Endurance, Epic Leadership, Epic Prowess, Epic Reputation, Epic Spell Focus, Epic Spell Penetration, Epic Spellcasting, Ignore Material Components, Improved Combat Casting, Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved Heighten Spell, Improved Metamagic, Improved Spell Capacity, Improved Spell Resistance, Intensify Spell, Legendary Commander, Legendary Spellcasting, Master Staff, Master Wand, Multispell, Permanent Emanation, Polyglot, Scribe Epic Scroll, Spell Knowledge, Spell Opportunity, Spell Knowledge, Spellcasting Harrier, Spontaneous Spell, Superior Initiative, Tenacious Magic, Ultimate Find the Weak Spot, VFX Turbo Charger
*VFX Slow (more specifically, its narrow dodge ability) counts as the defensive roll class feature for the purpose of feat and prestige class prerequisites; however, all other prerequisites must be met as is.
Campaign Information
Playing a Viewtiful Monarch
Combat: The Viewtiful Monarch can play the same burst-damage role as a regular Viewtiful Warrior in melee combat, though she's not quite as good at it as a Viewtiful Warrior would be. However, she also has access to magic, allowing her to perform a similar role to a wizard in a fight.
Advancement: While Combo Maker is as always an excellent choice, it's not quite as good for a Viewtiful Monarch as it is for other Viewtiful classes due to the Monarch's reduced emphasis on melee combat. However, the Viewtiful Monarch's ability to cast spells — including the ability to cast 9th-level spells (eventually) — enables her to take prestige classes that build upon arcane spellcasting ability. Archmage isn't a good idea due to the Viewtiful Monarch's scarcity of high-level spell slots, but other than that, the sky's the limit. Enlightened fist[1] could make for an especially good choice, despite the Viewtiful Monarch's tendency to not use unarmed attacks.
Resources: As suggested by the name, the Viewtiful Monarch is probably the leader of her organization. (In fact, the "great social power" requirement is explicitly there to make sure the Viewtiful Monarch is some sort of leader.) This means the organization's resources are hers to command, for better or for worse. (As Hopper says in "A Bug's Life", "First rule of leadership - everything is your fault.")
Viewtiful Monarchs in the World
| “ | <-Some quote from a character of this class-> | ” |
| —Queen Heinderella, human Viewtiful Monarch | ||
The class name says it all. Viewtiful Monarchs are royal Viewtiful Warriors with a knack for the arcane. And thanks to their VFX Mirage ability, they're notoriously difficult to assassinate; many who have tried have been found dead in the throne room days later, having been blasted to bits by simulacra.
NPC Reactions: NPCs regard Viewtiful Monarchs with fascination, awe, and more than a little bit of nervousness. Then again, they generally have the same reactions to any royalty, and Viewtiful Monarchs are kind of like wizards with a penchant for indiscriminately showing off their powers.
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