Metamage

Metamages, also known as Incantatrixes (female) and Incantatars (male), are an obscure form of specialist wizard from the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons & Dragons. These mages are a kind of dual-school specialist - not in the sense of the Dualist, but in the sense that they focus on mastery over two distinct schools of magic. Despite their name, metamages focus on the School of Incantation, a style of magic that combines abjuration with metamagic, allowing them to excel at countering and dispatching hostile spellcasters as well as extraplanar entities.

The Metamage as a class only appears in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons; it debuted in 1st edition as a "Magic-User Subclass", similar to the Illusionist or the Houri, in Dragon Magazine #90. It was then turned into a specialist wizard for AD&D 2e in Polyhedron Magazine #117; this version was made official, being printed in its own appendix in the Forgotten Realms splatbook on the Cult of the Dragon. They then managed to upgrade themselves into one of the Prestige Classes in the splatbook "Magic of Faerun" for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. This incarnation is notorious for being one of the most broken prestige classes in the system due to full casting advancement, easy qualifications (Iron Will as a feat tax aside, it's automatic for any 5th level wizard) while giving large amounts of one of the most unbalanced things in the system: Free Metamagic. Luckily, 1d4chan believes in sharing that kind of old, hard-to-find material.

School of Incantation Fluff

The Forgotten Realms are home to numerous practitioners of magic and many variations of the more common wizard and rogue spellcasting professions, including spellsingers and shadow walkers (detailed in Wizards and Rogues of the Realms). Numerous specialist wizards of different schools of magic practice their Art in the Realms, although all are rarer than the mage or bard. This appendix details a school of magic unique to the Realms whose rare practitioners are near legend in the lore of the Realms: the school of incantation.

Spells of the school of incantation affect the casting of magic. (This school subsumes the category/school of metamagic, briefly discussed in the Tome of Magic). Such spells may enhance or reduce the effectiveness of other spells (as do those of metamagic), disrupt the magic of other spellcasters, banish summoned creatures from other planes, or shield the spellcaster from magical attack. Although the school of incantation has a fairly limited spell selection of low-level spells, such spells are very effective when used in battle with other spellcasters. The school of incantation magic can be subdivided into four categories of spells, and only the spells copy and the Simbul's synostodweomer fall outside of these classifications.

These groups are: Metamagic Spells: This group includes spells that enhance or reduce the effectiveness of other spells such as alacrity; augmentation I & II; dilation I & II; far reaching I, II, & III; extension I, II, & III; greater malison; maladweomer; minor malison; Mordenkainen's celerity; Rary's mnemonic enhancer; Rary's spell enhancer; Rary's superior spell enhancer; and squaring the circle. Incantatrixes (specialist wizards in the school of incantation) have developed reversed versions of the augmentation, dilation, far reaching, and extension spells that can be used to minimize the effectiveness of an opponent's magic (a successful saving throw vs. spell negates the spell, and the range is 10 feet per level).

Disruptive Spells: This group includes spells that disrupt magical wards and a spellcasting opponent's ability to cast spells such as curse of forgetfulness, dispel magic, dispel possession, disruption, draincone, dweomer vortex, feeblemind, forget, knock, maze, Mordenkainen's involuntary wizardry, Otto's chime of release, power word stun, ruby ray of reversal, steal enchantment, stealspell, and unbinding.

Banishment Spells: This group includes spells that banish summoned creatures back to their own plane of existence such as banishment, dismissal, and power word banishment.

Shielding Spells: This group includes spells that shield an incantatrix from the magic of other spellcasters such as Bigby's interposing hand, Drawmij's marvelous shield, forcecage, globe of invulnerability, minor globe of invulnerability, minor spell turning, mystic shield, mystic sphere, prismatic sphere, prismatic wall, Rary's mind shield, shield, spell turning, wall of force, and weirdshield.

Metamage Fluff

Incantatrixes (or incantatars, the infrequently encountered male form) are specialist wizards in the school of incantation. Incantatrixes have been discovered only in western Faerûn, and rarely more than a handful are well-known in any generation. Currently there are only seven widely known living incantatrixes and two suspected incantatars (male incantatrixes) in the Realms, but probably a few hundred total labor in relative anonymity.

An incantatrix is a mysterious type of wizard who is weaker in many ways than some mages but is adept at countering and negating the magics of other spellcasting creatures and individuals and at dealing with creatures who exist simultaneously on more than one plane (such as certain undead beings). At the same time, incantatrixes are severely limited in their choice of offensive magics and are woefully weak in physical combat of any sort.

Incantatrixes tend to act independently, but because they have similar aims and interests, they sometimes join together in loose coalitions to combat common foes - notably those individuals who use magic in a dangerous, irresponsible manner. An incantatrix seeks to police the unrestrained use of magic about her abode, or challenge (not always openly) such uses that she observes elsewhere, much like a druid protecting his or her forest and other forests in the region. Incantatrixes seem to particularly dislike those who often create gates (or portals) or otherwise compel or allow creatures to enter the Prime Material Plane from other planes, and they thus often oppose specialist conjurers and elementalists.

Because of the large number of opposition schools barred to an incantatrix and the relatively small scope of the school of incantation, particularly at low levels, lowlevel incantatrixes rarely actively adventure, preferring to study, and may thus be more useful as NPCs. Incantatrixes who do adventure typically seek out only specific types of foes against whom their abilities are particularly suited. A few such spellcasters adventure with powerful groups of fighters and priests who can shield the incantatrix from physical combat, allowing the incantatrix to employ her skills against enemy spellcasters and creatures who exist simultaneously on more than one plane.

Metamage Class Crunch

Requirements: Human or Half-Elf Race, Intelligence 13, Wisdom 12

Barred Schools: Conjuration/Summoning, Invocation/Evocation, Illusion/Phantasm, Necromancy, Wild Magic - an Incanatrix/Incantatar can learn non-wild magic spells which are "cross-schooled" in Incantation, Alteration (Transmutation), or Abjuration.

Restrictions: A metamage can only have 2 weapon proficiencies, and cannot learn weapon style specialization proficiencies, weapon group proficiencies, or "combat" nonweapon proficiencies like Blindfight and Tumble.

Specialization Benefits: Enemies suffer a -1 penalty to their saves against the metamage's incantation school spells, the metamage gains a +1 bonus to saves against incantation school spells, can memorize one bonus incantation spell per level, +15% chance to learn incantation spells, automatically learns one incantation spell each time it gains a spell level, bonus to researching incantation school spells as per the specialist wizard.

Specialization Penalties: -15% penalty to all attempts to learn non-incantation spells from any school other than Abjuration or Lesser Divination.

Special Powers by level:

1st Level: Gain Spellcraft as a bonus non-weapon proficiency.

3rd Level: Can See Ethereal creatures within 30 feet.

4th Level: Can physically and magically attack creatures that are "out of phase", which includes ethereal creatures and those under the Blink spell.

6th Level: Immune to Level Draining effects originating from creatures tied to the Negative Energy Plane.

8th Level: +6 bonus to all Spellcraft checks.

20th Level: Can absorb charges from Charge-using magical items by holding the item in their hands and concentrating for 1 round per charge drained. Each charge drained heals the metamage by 1d8 HP; excess HP is retained as "phantom" HP - damage inflicted is first deducted from this pool of temporary hit points, which fade away 1 turn after being acquired.

Incantatrix Prestige Class

The incantatrixes are the practitioners of metamagic in Faerûn, studying spells that affect other spells and having a particular fondness for magic that thwarts extraplanar beings.

Most incantatrixes are skilled wizards or sorcerers, although a small number of bards study this type of magic. Few are multiclassed as clerics or druids because those classes often rely on extraplanar entities, which conflicts with the incantatrix’s focus.

Incantatrix NPCs usually act independently, but sometimes join together to solve a common problem. Since they dislike extraplanar intrusions on the Material Plane, most incantatrixes see the destruction of active gates to other planes as their responsibility, and an incantatrix is usually a knowledgeable source of information on functional gates in the area. Because they have little offensive combat magic against normal creatures, they prefer to avoid combat or travel with companions who balance their shortcomings.

Hit Die: d4.

REQUIREMENTS

To qualify to become an incantatrix, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Skills: Concentration 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 4 ranks.

Feats: Iron Will, any metamagic feat.

Spellcasting: Able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells.

CLASS SKILLS

The incantatrix’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Alchemy (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int), and Spellcraft (Int). See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

CLASS FEATURES

All the following are class features of the incantatrix prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Incantatrixes gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Spells per Day: An incantatrix continues to study standard magic as well as pursuing studies in metamagic. Thus, when a new incantatrix level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before becoming an incantatrix. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus metamagic or item creation feats, for example). If a character had more than one spellcasting class before she became an incantatrix, she must decide to which class she adds each level of incantatrix for purposes of determining spells per day when she adds the new level.

School Specialization: Upon becoming an incantatrix, the character chooses to focus her studies on protective and metamagic, forsaking other types of spells. In effect, the incantatrix is a specialist in the school of Abjuration (gaining all the benefits of specializing in a school), and the incantatrix must choose an additional prohibited school or schools using the rules on page 54 of the Player’s Handbook (although an incantatrix can never choose Transmutation as an opposed school). The incantatrix can never again learn spells from that prohibited school or schools. She can still use the prohibited spells she knew prior to becoming an incantatrix, including using items that are activated by spell completion or spell trigger. If the incantatrix already is a wizard specialized in Abjuration, she does not need to choose another prohibited school. A bard or sorcerer who becomes an incantatrix must still choose a prohibited school to gain the benefits of specialization.

Send Away (Ex): The incantatrix gains a +2 bonus to all dispel checks and caster level checks to harm, banish, or overcome the spell resistance of outsiders. This includes dispel checks to dispel a summon monster spell.

Bonus Metamagic Feat: At 1st, 5th, and 10th level, the incantatrix may select a bonus metamagic feat.

See Ethereal (Su): Once per day, an incantatrix of 3rd level or greater can see into the Ethereal Plane for a number of rounds equal to her class level. She can see ethereal creatures up to 60 feet away, although they appear gray and insubstantial (as objects on the Material Plane appear to ethereal creatures). This does not give her any additional ability to attack ethereal creatures, but she can utilize spells and effects that affect ethereal creatures (such as force effects and abjurations) normally, so she could cast a magic missile at an ethereal creature.

Strike Ethereal (Su): Beginning at 4th level, the incantatrix can alter her spells so they strike ethereal targets that she can see. Altering a spell in this way works similar to a sorcerer using a metamagic feat—spells with a casting time of one action become full-round spells, and spells with a longer casting time take an extra full-round action to cast. The altered spell takes effect on the Ethereal Plane instead of the Material Plane.

Hardy Spirit (Su): At 6th level, the incantatrix becomes immune to death effects and energy drain attacks.

Instant Metamagic (Su): Once per day, the 7th-level incantatrix can use a single metamagic effect of any metamagic feat she knows on a spell without preparing it beforehand (if a wizard) or increasing its casting time (if a sorcerer or bard). The wizard’s prepared spell works as if prepared with the metamagic feat except it uses the same spell slot. A sorcerer or bard’s spell is cast without the adjustment to the casting time but works as if cast with the metamagic feat. A 9th-level incantatrix can use this power twice per day.

Improved Metamagic (Su): At 8th level, the incantatrix has mastered metamagic to such an extent that whenever she uses a metamagic feat, the feat’s level increase upon a spell is reduced by one (this can’t reduce an increase to less than one level, or less than zero levels if the increase is already +0). For example, an incantatrix wizard could prepare a quickened fireball as a 6th-level spell instead of a 7th-level spell.

Drain Item (Sp): An incantatrix of 10th level can drain a charge from a charged magic item, using the magic to heal herself. If the item drained is a staff, the spell level is that of the lowest-level spell that uses a single charge. She gains 1d6 hit points per spell level of the charge drained. If the incantatrix has reached her maximum hit points, any additional hit points acquired are temporary hit points (maximum +20) that disappear after 10 minutes. A creature gets to make a Will save (DC 10) to prevent one of its held or carried items from being drained.

Incantatrix Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells Per Day
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Bonus Metamagic Feat	+1 level of existing class
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Send Away	+1 level of existing class
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	See Ethereal	+1 level of existing class
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Strike Ethereal	+1 level of existing class
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Bonus Metamagic Feat	+1 level of existing class
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Hardy Spirit	+1 level of existing class
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Instant Metamagic 1/day	+1 level of existing class
8th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Improved Metamagic	+1 level of existing class
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Instant Metamagic 2/day	+1 level of existing class
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Bonus Metamagic Feat, Drain Item	+1 level of existing class