Battlecaster class for Mystara
The second optional class from the Dawn of the Emperors1 is Forester — elven-trained Thyatian humans who acquire most (but not all) benefits of the Elf class. Just like with the Rake class, Foresters suffer from being a weaker copy of the "source" class with no benefits covering the loss.
Battlecaster class from the Dragon Magazine #243,2 "In a class by themselves" provides a more balanced approach to a fighter-wizard hybrid class idea.
The battlecaster is a human warrior who has incorporated magical study into his usual martial training. This could be because the battlecaster joined a military group, or perhaps it is the result of hobby-style study with a wizard mentor.
Battlecasters may be of any alignment. However, if a player selects a military background for his character, Lawful alignment should be seriously considered.
The class is designed for the AD&D 2e (Chapter 3, "Creating New Character Classes" in the DMG), but could be easily converted to BECMI/RC with the following changes:
- Hit Dice: One size lower than fighters, so it should be d6 with +1 hp per each level after the 9th (same as for the Elf class).
- Spellcasting: No magic schools exist here, so we'll just be using the Magic-User spell list for simplicity.
- Skills: Following the example, Battlecasters will have Maghic-User's general skills and weapon mastery progression.
Other aspects are kept as-is.
Battlecaster
📝 NOTE: This character class is designed to be used with BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia3 or its free clone Dark Dungeons4, but could be quite easily ported to any other edition of your choice.
Class Ability Requirements:
| Can Be Enhanced | Can Be Sacrificed | Min. Required | Experience Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | Wisdom | Strength 9 | Str 16+ or Int 16+ = +5% |
| Intelligence | Intelligence 12 | Str 16+ and Int 16+ = +10% |
Equipment Restrictions: Armor allowed — chain mail or worse.
Experience Progression: Until 4th level — as a Fighter, later — as a Magic-User.
Hit Points: 1d6/level, +1 hp/level after 9th level.
Attack Rolls: As a Fighter.
Saving Throws: As a Magic-User.
General Skills: As a Magic-User.
Weapon Mastery: As a Magic-User.
Spells: As a Magic-User.
Special Abilities: Fighter Combat Options.
Magical Items: All allowed to Fighters and Magic-Users.
The first character of the Battlecaster class — Justina Lascaris from Karameikos employs an effective combination of lightning-infused whip and Haste spell.
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https://www.dmsguild.com/product/16995/Dawn-of-the-Emperors-Thyatis-and-Alphatia-Basic?affiliate_id=850783↩
https://archive.org/details/dragon-magazine-270/Dragon%20Magazine%20243/page/84/mode/2up↩
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17171/DD-Rules-Cyclopedia-Basic?affiliate_id=850783↩
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/177410/dark-dungeons?affiliate_id=850783↩