Not all who aspire to control arcane energies are content to spend their lives poring over tomes and debating ether theory. Some relish the thrill of combat just as much as any sword wielding soldier. Walking a fine balance between arcane study and martial prowess, war mages are equally capable of tearing foes apart with steel and spell.

Hit Die: d6

Requirements

The following are all required to become a war mage Weapon Proficiency: Must be proficient with all martial weapons.
Spells: Able to cast 3rd level arcane spells.
Feats: Combat Casting

Table: The War Mage

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	Bonus feat, spell combat	--
2nd	+2	+3	+1	+3	--	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3	--	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4	Medium armor	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5th	+5	+4	+2	+4	Soldier training	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th	+6	+5	+2	+5	Improved spell combat	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th	+7	+5	+2	+5	--	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th	+8	+6	+3	+6	--	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
9th	+9	+6	+3	+6	Heavy armor	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th	+10	+7	+3	+7	--	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class

Class Skills

The war mage’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (combat and war) (Int), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are features of the war mage prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A war mage gains no proficiency with any weapons or armor. However, a war mage can now cast arcane spells in light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. A war mage wearing medium or heavy armor still incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component (most do).

Bonus Feat

At 1st level, a war mage may choose a bonus feat from the list of feats available to soldiers. This is in addition to the feats that a character of any class normally gets from advancing levels. The character must still meet any prerequisites for these bonus feats, including levels of soldier for the Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Focus, and Greater Weapon Specialization feats.

Spell Combat

At 1st level, a war mage learns to cast spells and wield his weapons at the same time. This functions much like two-weapon fighting, but the off-hand weapon is a spell that is being cast. To use this ability, the magus must have one hand free (even if the spell being cast does not have somatic components), while wielding a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other hand. As a full-round action, he can make all of his attacks with his melee weapon at a –2 penalty and can also cast any spell from the his spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty). If he casts this spell defensively, he can decide to take an additional penalty on his attack rolls, up to his Intelligence bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on his concentration check. If the check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attacks still take the penalty. A war mage can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if he has more than one attack, he cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks.

Spells

From 2nd level on, when a new war mage level is gained, the character gains new spells per day or umbra points as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of war mage to the level of whatever other arcane spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly.

If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before she became a war mage, he must decide to which class he adds each level of war mage for the purpose of determining spells per day.

Medium Armor (Ex)

At 4th level, a war mage gains proficiency with medium armor. A war mage can cast spells while wearing medium armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a war mage wearing heavy armor or using a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component.

Soldier Training (Ex)

At 5th level, a war mage counts any war mage levels as soldier levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats or other conditions that require levels of soldier. If he has levels in soldier, these levels stack.

Improved Spell Combat (Ex)

At 6th level, the war mage’s ability to cast spells and make melee attacks improves. When using the spell combat ability, the war mage receives a +2 circumstance bonus on concentration checks, in addition to any bonus granted by taking an additional penalty on the attack roll.

Heavy Armor (Ex)

At 9th level, a war mage gains proficiency with heavy armor. A war mage can cast spells while wearing heavy armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a war mage using a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component.