Rage Mage (3.5e Prestige Class)

Summary::What one gets when the fury of a barbarian and the spellcasting of a sorcerer mix. Minimum Level::4 Class Ability::Other Class Ability Progression::Other

Rage Mage
"What kind of wizard froths at the mouth while weaving together intricate spells!?"

Tales are often told of fury pushing mortal men beyond their limits, allowing them to break the bonds that hold others and use their muscles to their maximum potential regardless of the risks and strain it places on themselves. The rage mage is one who's learned to do the same, but not simply to his mundane muscles; no, the rage mage is so much more, having learned to infuse his rage into his very spellcasting, allowing him to mix martial and magical might simply by willing it strongly enough and allowing his rage to consume him.

Becoming a Rage Mage
Both mages and barbarians are often drawn to this class, and generally there are two major types of rage mages, the rest falling somewhere in the middle. The first is the rager, who dabbles a little in magic to supplement his impressive might, and the second is the caster, who focuses primarily on spellcasting and sometimes falls into a rage during which his spells become truly impressive.

For the first type of rage mage, Strength is usually their primary ability score, with their casting ability score being of little concern, while for the latter the opposite is true.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the rage mage.

You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a rage mage, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known.

Furthermore, the duration of your Rage spell is increased by a number of rounds equal to twice the number of class levels you possess in rage mage.

 : Upon gaining your first level in rage mage you gain the ability to cast spells in any Light or Medium armor that you are proficient with while under the effects of a Barbarian Rage or the Rage spell, and may cast spells normally (and make use of the Concentration class skill) even when under the effects of a Barbarian Rage or the Rage spell. Finally, add the Rage spell to your class list of spells as a second-level spell, and when you cast it, treat it as though it were permanently affected by the Still Spell metamagic feat without any change in its level.

 : At second level of rage mage, you learn how to infuse your very emotions into your spellcasting, making bigger and more damaging spells the stronger your rage. Gain a bonus to the damage dealt to creatures when casting spells and spell-like abilities that deal damage (though not ability damage) for each die you would deal according to the table below.

 : At the pinnacle of your career as a rage mage you gain the ability to boost your spellcasting by virtue of your anger. At third level, choose a spellcasting class which you have levels in. Treat your effective caster level when casting spells from that class as though it were equal to your BAB (without the bonus to BAB below), and treat your spells per day for that class as though you had a number of levels in that class equal to one-half your character level. However, this does not let you cast higher spells than you would normally know, forcing you to fill those slots either with metamagic versions of the spells you already know (for a prepared spellcaster) or simply with lower-level spells.

For example, a Barbarian 16 / Wizard 1 / Rage Mage 3 would have an effective caster level of 18 (equal to his BAB) and a number of spells per day equal to what a level 10 Wizard would have (one-half his character level), but would only be able to fill them with first- and second-level spells (with metamagic feats). For example, said character could prepare a Silent Maximized Magic Missile, which would take a 5th level spell slot, but would be unable to prepare a Fireball.

If your BAB is lower than your caster level, instead increase your caster level by a number equal to the number of levels you possess in classes that grant you Rage that don't increase your caster level (including, for example, one from rage mage itself). Lastly, while under the effects of a Barbarian Rage or the Rage spell, your effective BAB becomes equal to your character level (though this does not affect the above spellcasting bonuses from this class ability).