A rough draft. Comments welcome.
The war wizards are a relatively new force in the world, strong-souled individuals who learn to bind spells directly into their flesh with magical inks and runes oddly reminescent of those of the dwarfs of old.
Prime Requisite: CHA.
Requirements: None.
Hit Dice: 1d4.
Maximum Level: 14.
Base XP: 2,450.
At first level, war wizards hit an unarmored foe (AC 0) with an attack throw of 10+. They advance in attack throws and saving throws by two points every three levels of experience (i.e., as fast as fighters), but use the saving throws of thieves. They may fight with all one-handed melee weapons and all missile weapons, and may fight with a weapon in each hand. They are unable to use shields or fight with two-handed weapons, or wear any kind of armor.
War wizards deal +1 damage with melee and missile weapons, and this increases by +1 at third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth level.
War wizards cannot use arcane magic items intended exclusively for mages (such as many wands and staffs); cannot read scrolls; and cannot engage in magical research - for most purposes, they are not casters! They can use any item usable by a fighter or thief.
They gain many abilities over the course of their levels.
Fan of Fire at first level. A ring of intense flames shoots forth from the war wizard’s hand, covering a line 5’ in diameter and 60’ long. All creatures within the fan suffer 1d4 damage per level (maximum 14d6). A successful save versus Blast halves the damage. The war wizard can activate this rune once per hour.
At ninth level, this increases to twice per hour.
Shield at first level. This functions as the first-level mage spell shield. The war wizard can activate this rune once per hour.
Tide of Life at second level. The war wizard can turn undead as a cleric of half level (rounded down).
War Strength at third level. For one turn per level, the war wizard gains the strength of a hill giant. If the war wizard’s attack throw is worse than an 8 HD monster, use that of an 8 HD monster. The war wizard can throw rocks 200’ for 3d6 damage; gains a +16 bonus to force open doors; and doubles the stone that can be carried. All muscle-powered attacks deal double damage dice. The war wizard’s normal Strength modifier to damage remains. The war wizard can activate this rune twice per day.
At seventh level, the war wizard can expend two daily uses of war strength at the same time. This has the effects above and also temporarily raises the war wizard’s Strength to 18 (+3 on attack throws and damage rolls, +3 stone carried, and so on).
At tenth level, the war wizard gains the ability to cast war strength three times per day.
War Aura at third level. The war wizard’s hands are imbued with mystical force. This reduces the penalty for brawling by 2, increases brawling damage to 1d4, and prevents damage to the war wizard when attacking hard armor. When attacking creatures not harmed by normal weapons, the war aura counts as a magical weapon. The war wizard can use this ability at will, and many war wizards (particularly the Guild of Winter) eschew mundane weapons at this point.
At eighth level, this improves to 1d6 damage and eliminates the brawling penalty entirely.
At tenth level, the war wizard can attack from the second rank with it.
At 12th level, it grants a +2 on disarm and knockdown special attacks.
At 14th level, the war wizard gains the ability to throw the war aura up to 60 feet with a normal attack throw.
(Note: I changed this: originally, it also increased to 1d8 at tenth level and 1d10 at 12th level.)
Command of Voice at fourth level. This grants a +2 bonus to reaction rolls when speaking. If this bonus results in a total of 12 or more, the subjects act as if charmed while in the war wizard’s presence. Creatures with a WIS greater than the war wizard’s CHA are immune to this power (and the character will know they are immune).
Fearless at fourth level. The war wizard becomes immune to fear effects, both magical and mundane.
Battle Prowess at fifth level. Any henchmen and mercenaries hired by the war wizard gain a +1 bonus to their morale score whenever led personally by the war wizard.
Fireball at fifth level. This functions as the third-level mage spell fireball. The war wizard can activate this rune once per day. This increases to two times per day at tenth level and three times per day at 14th level.
War Dance at sixth level. The war wizard gains a +1 to AC when wearing no armor; this bonus improves by a further +1 at seventh and 13th level.
Lead from Above at sixth level. For one turn, the war wizard gains a fly 120’ move. The war wizard can activate this rune twice per day.
Remove Curse at seventh level. Once per week, the war wizard can remove curse as the spell.
Deflecting Rune at eighth level. Damage to the war wizard from spells, spell-like abilities, and the war aura ability are all reduced by –1 per die. This increases to –2 per die at 13th level.
Castle at ninth level. The war wizard can establish a castle, attracting 5d10 zero-level mercenaries and 1d6 war wizards of level 1–3.
Shapeshifting at ninth level. The war wizard gains the ability to shapeshift into a particular 6** HD magical beast symbolizing the war wizard’s guild. This rune can be activated twice per day, and lasts for one turn per class level (this transformation cannot be ended early, but can be “set” for a lower duration when first cast). Two are given below:
Guild of Winter: Winter wolf, HD 6**, AC 3, Move 180'. Attack bite 2d8 or frost breath (three times per day, deals 1d6 cold damage per war wizard level to a 5' wide line 100' long). Immune to all cold damage. Winter wolves cannot be harmed by non-magical weapons. Winter wolves gain a +1 on initiative and surprise rolls; and in snowy settings, inflict a –1 on the surprise rolls of others.Guild of the Sun: Sun falcon, HD 6**, AC 9, Move 60’, fly 480’. Attack bite/claw/claw 2d6/1d4+1/1d4+1 or a swoop attack (claw/claw 1d10/1d10). If a sun falcon hits the same creature with both claws, the sun falcon automatically grabs the creature struck (no saving throw). If the creature is light enough for the sun falcon to carry, the grabbed creature may be carried off. To escape the talons, the creature must make a successful saving throw versus Paralysis at -4. Sun falcons can carry 15 stone at normal movement, or 30 stone at half movement.
While shapeshifted, the war wizard can still activate runes, but cannot use equipment or the war aura ability.
At 11th level, the war wizard gains the ability to end the shapeshifting early.
At 13th level, the war wizard can use war aura while in the alternate form, either in its usual fashion or to augment natural attacks (granting +3 on damage rolls and allowing the natural attack to function as a magical weapon).
At 14th level, the war wizard can shapeshift into the guild beast (or back) at will, but this takes one full turn of concentration.
Summon Beast at tenth level. The war wizard can summon the guild beast once per day; the beast appears within 10 feet of the war wizard, and remains for 1 turn per war wizard level. The beast is always friendly to the wizard’s goals.
At 12th level, the wizard can summon a pack of guild beasts (1d4+1) once per week; these will be led by a single guild beast with 8** HD instead of 6.