Magic-User
Class description goes here.“I'm an independent self-starter with--”“Delusions of Grandeur!”
“That's not what I was going to say...”
Abilities: Magic-Users have some abilities that depend on intelligence, so that might be important, but it doesn't give you more spells per day or anything, so it's not strictly necessary. Constitution is important for any adventurer, and dexterity might help too.
HD: d4
BAB: Half level (as Wizard)
Saves: Good Will
Skills: 4+Int
Class Skills: Whatever. If you must, the Wizard's class skills plus the Sorcerer's class skills is probably fine.
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A Magic-User is proficient with all simple weapons, and with the trident, because that looks a bit like a staff, as well as the scythe, because it's cool.
OLD VERSION. REVISIONS POSTED LATER IN THREAD.
| Lv | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Class Features | Spell Progression |
| 1 | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | L33T Multiclassing | Cantrips, Magic Missiles |
| 2 | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | All the King's Horses..., Smoke and Mirrors | |
| 3 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Least Planar Binding, Secure Storage | |
| 4 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Master of the Mind, Minimap | |
| 5 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Enchanting | Runes of Power |
| 6 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Flight | |
| 7 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | ...and All the King's Men | |
| 8 | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Scry | |
| 9 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Anti-Anti-Magic Field | Dispel, Plane Shift |
| 10 | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Pseudo-Lich | Great Balls of Fire, Permanency |
| 11 | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Contingency, Planar Binding | |
| 12 | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Grand Illusions | |
| 13 | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Greater Teleport | |
| 14 | +7/+2 | +4 | +4 | +9 | Restore | |
| 15 | +7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +9 | Unfindability | Dispel Army |
| 16 | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Greater Runes of Power | |
| 17 | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Fisher King's Kingdom | |
| 18 | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Shapechange | |
| 19 | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Doomsday | |
| 20 | +10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | Win D&D | Supreme Magic |
Note: Unless otherwise noted, all of the Magic-User's spell-like abilities have caster level equal to her character level, take as long to cast as the corresponding spell, have Intelligence as their casting stat, and if they aren't an actual spell, they have a spell level equal to the highest level spell a Wizard could cast at the level she obtains the ability. All references to her level refer to her character level.
L33T Multiclassing: The Magic-User's spell-like abilities count as an arcane spellcasting progression for purposes of prestige classes that advance that sort of thing.
Cantrips (Sp): A Magic-User has the following spell-like abilities usable at will: Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Read Magic.
Magic Missiles (Sp): As a standard action, a Magic-User can shoot bolts of magic. This bears a great resemblance to the Magic Missile spell, and counts as it for purposes of prerequisites, item creation, activating magic items, and the like, but differs enough to be spelled out more-or-less from scratch here. Each bolt does 1d4+1 force damage, and this ability produces a number of bolts equal to the Magic-User's character level. As with the spell, each bolt strikes unerringly out to medium range (barring total cover or total concealment), but unlike the spell, the bolts may be divided among any targets in range. Unlike the spell, the damage is not subject to spell resistance, although the targetting is -- against targets that successfully resist the targetting, the Magic-User must make a normal ranged attack roll (not touch) in order to hit (range increment 10ft).
All the King's Horses... (Sp): A second level Magic-User can cast Mount and Unseen Servant at will. She may not have more of each summoned at a time than her level, but may dismiss them as normal (well, normal except for the fact that Unseen Servant can't normally be dismissed). At 7th level, this limit goes away, and at 11th level, she can summon mounts for an entire mass combat unit with a single casting.
Smoke and Mirrors (Sp): A second level Magic-User can cast Silent Image and Disguise Self at will. At her option, she may have her disguise be physical rather than illusionary.
Least Planar Binding (Su): A third level Magic-User has taken her first steps on the path to calling up a demonic army to destroy the world. She gains a cohort that could have been called by Planar Binding. If her cohort dies or suchlike, she may call a new one at least 24 hours later with a 10 minute ritual. She may also call her existing cohort with the same a ritual at any time, even if it is on the prime material plane, or she is not.
Secure Storage (Sp): A third level magic user can keep things safe. She can cast Alarm, Arcane Lock, and Rope Trick at will.
Master of the Mind (Sp): A fourth level magic user can cast Detect Thoughts and Hypnotic Pattern at will.
Minimap (Sp): A fourth level magic user knows where things are. She can cast Detect Poison, Detect Secret Doors, Detect Undead, Find Traps, Locate Object, and See Invisibility at will.
Enchanting: A 5th level Magic-User can make magic items. She gains a spellbook and the ability to learn spells like a wizard (but no ability to actually cast those spells), and may create items using those spells as though she were expending them (but she isn't). By default, her spellbook contains every spell that is referenced in her spell-like abilities that a wizard of her level could cast. This otherwise uses the standard magic item creation rules. If your magic item creation system uses item creation feats or the like, she gains a bonus one of those things. In addition, she may create temporary versions of magic items that last for 24 hours with a ten-minute ritual, instead of the usual kind the usual way.
Runes of Power (Sp): A 5th level Magic-User can make use of a variety of magics having to do with the written word. She can cast Explosive Runes, Illusory Script, Magic Circle against [Alignment], Secret Page, and Sepia Snake Sigil at will. She may only use the “diagram” version of Magic Circle.
Flight (Sp): A 6th level Magic-User can fly. She gains a fly speed of 60ft (Good), and can cast Fly and Feather Fall at will.
...and All the King's Men(Sp): A 7th level Magic-User has many “willing” servants. She gains followers, with a leadership score equal to her level plus her intelligence modifier. She may also cast Charm Monster at will, but on any creatures at or above cohort level, its duration is shortened to 1 minute/level. Those who fail their saves do not realize anything is or was amiss with this, even after the duration ends, and will resist attempts to convince them otherwise. At 11th level, her followers swell in number to that of an army.
Scry (Sp): An 8th level Magic-User can cast Scry at will.
Anti-Anti-Magic Field(Ex): A 9h level Magic-User radiates a 60ft Anti-Antimagic field that suppresses all Antimagic effects in its area. It also allows the use of magic normally in Dead Magic or Wild Magic zones and the like, because that is fuckery up with which she will not put.
Dispel (Sp): A 9th level Magic-User can cast Greater Dispel Magic at will.{1}
Plane Shift (Sp): A 9th level Magic-User can Plane Shift at will. At 13th level, she can arrive at a precise location (as with Greater Teleport).
Pseudo-Lich: A 10th level Magic-User can make a token of immortality. This requires an 8-hour ritual, and when a new one is created, all of her previous ones are destroyed. While it is intact, whenever she dies, is destroyed, or whatever, she can return in 1d10 days. She also stops aging, doesn't need to eat, sleep, or breathe, and becomes immune to disease and poison. Ability drain and permanent hit point damage heal like normal ability and hit point damage, respectively. Dismemberment, level drain, and the like wear off “naturally” after 1d10 days. She is not otherwise changed. A token of immortality is a magic item associated with the school of necromancy.
Great Balls of Fire (Sp): A 10th level Magic-User can cast Quickened Fireball at will. This is considered a 5th level spell.
Permanency (Sp): A 10th level Magic-User can cast Permanency three times per day. She may only have a number of effects permanent at a time worth 1000XP times her level, but may dismiss an existing Permanency as is normal for dismissing spells.
Contingency (Sp): An 11th level Magic-User can cast Contingency at will.
Planar Binding (Sp): An 11th level Magic-User can cast Planar Binding once per day, with an HD limit equal to her level. Welcome to the wish economy.
Grand Illusions (Sp): A 12th level Magic-User can cast Permanent Image, Programmed Image, and Mirage Arcana at will.
Greater Teleport (Sp): A 13th level Magic-User can perform teleport-ambushes. She can cast Greater Teleport at will, and her accuracy with Plane Shift improves to that of Greater Teleport.
Restore (Sp): A 14th level Magic-User can fix people up. This spell-like ability is usable at will as a standard action, and can remove harm to one person to the same extent that a Greater Restoration or Limited Wish spell could. It works out to close range, and otherwise is kind of like Lesser Restoration.
Unfindability: A 15th level Magic-User, her cohort, and her token of immortality are all permanently under the effects of Mind Blank. Actually, it's better -- any attempt to even indirectly use divination-type abilities to find their location automatically fails -- you have to lure them out, conduct an exhaustive search, or hear about it from someone who knows. Additionally, calling spells and other such effects that affect specific beings whose location is not known to the user fail to find them.
Dispel Army (Sp): A 15th level Magic-User can attempt to dispel an army. This is a spell-like ability usable once per minute as a full-round action that affects any number of creatures she can see. Targets at least 8 levels below her are dead with no save. Targets from 3 to 7 levels below her may survive by making a fortitude save with the usual DC (10 + 1/2 level + Intelligence modifier). Targets of higher level than that are stunned for 2d4 rounds if they fail the save. No spell resistance is allowed, and the killinating part of this affects undead, constructs, and the like normally. The bodies of creatures slain in this way are disintegrated into a fine powder. This is a spell-like ability associated with the school of abjuration. She may also cast Finger of Death at will.
Greater Runes of Power (Sp): A 16th level Magic-User can cast any Symbol spell{2} at will, as well as Instant Summons and Simulacrum once per day. She may only have one Simulacrum active at a time. Creating a new Simulacrum destroys all previous ones. The Simulacrum bears her Arcane Mark.
Fisher King's Kingdom (Su): The 17th Magic-User can alter any area she or her party rules or conquers in the same manner that a deity can alter a divinely morphic plane. She also knows facts about the area as though she had maximum ranks in every knowledge skill, rolled a 20, and had an enchanted masterwork tool in that skill.
Shapechange (Sp): The 18th level Magic-User can assume whatever form she wishes, and cause others to assume whatever form she wishes them to. She is permanently under the effects of the Shapechange spell, and can cast Polymorph any Object at will. She is also immune to any hostile form-altering effects.
Doomsday: All of the 19th level Magic-User's abilities can affect anything and everything on the same plane as though it were 5ft away. Things immune to divination magic or the like are immune to this ability.
Supreme Magic (Sp): The 20th level Magic-User can cast any spell ever from any edition of any game, twinned and/or repeating at her discretion, as a spell-like ability as a standard, move, swift, or immediate action. Her Wishes and Miracles are cast as though they had unlimited XP behind them. She also gains Weapon Focus (Quarterstaff) as a bonus feat, even if she doesn't meet the prerequisites.
Win D&D: You've stuck it out, you've made it to the end, there are no more levels after this one. As a consolation prize, you win D&D.
Footnotes:
{1}: Greater Dispel Magic may be a 6th level spell, but below level 11 it's just Dispel Magic (a 3rd level spell) with Remove Curse (a 4th level spell) glued on.
{2}: The Symbol spells in the core rulebooks are Symbol of Death, Symbol of Fear, Symbol of Insanity, Symbol of Pain, Symbol of Persuasion, Symbol of Sleep/i], Symbol of Stunning, and Symbol of Weakness.
EDIT 20130911: Some revisions based on comments later in the thread, so the initial version is spoilered.
