My GM and I are working together on getting a character built for his game in a custom setting.  The Jade Phoenix Mage Prestige class is being adapted to progress Maneuvers and Binding, rather than Maneuvers and Arcane Casting.

There are a deceptively large number of changes that need to happen, and while the GM approves of the concept and I've had some ideas on how to accomplish it, he asked me to put it to the community for feedback and more ideas.

1-The big and obvious one is to switching the casting progression at all levels but 1 + 6 to binding progression.  My idea was putting in "+1 level to effective level of binder for number and level of vestiges that can be bound, and effects of those vestige's abilities, but no other abilities of that class" instead of arcane casting advancement.

2-A simpler one is changing Empowering/Quickening Strike to empower/quicken a supernatural or spell-like ability once per encounter instead of a spell once per encounter.

3-The tougher ones, which I'm much more tentative in my ideas for, are the stance.  For Mystic Phoenix Stance, it could just run on highest current vestige bound (still keeping the max of lv 5), as it's a relatively small sacrifice for a member of the original prestige class to just blow a level 5 slot to have that stance's alternate power active all day (as it lasts until the stance ends, which is when you sleep or are knocked unconscious).  Each time the ability is reactivated in the same day, it would apply a -2 effective level penalty to the vestige, to a minimum of 1.

4-For the Arcane Wrath, I've had several thoughts, most of which center around once or twice per vestige bound, with an additional use either via being locked into that vestige for the day and losing a power from it until the next day, or by having it expel the vestige and leaving the Binder unable to recontact that vestige until a new day.  An alternate was gaining uses of slots just for this ability, perhaps two per level of vestige that one could possibly Bind, but only one of the highest level (so with an effective Binder level 8, there would be 2 0's, 2 1's, 2 2's, 2 3's, and 1 4th level slot to use for Arcane Wrath).

5-The last problem spot that I'm aware of is Firebird stance, and I'm not sure what to do with it.  Perhaps shift the caster level bonus and slot sacrifice to work for Desert Wind maneuvers?  Or give a bonus to effective Binder Level with one or two chosen vestiges, and drop the aura?

Questions, criticisms, suggestions, and pointers on what I've missed would all be appreciated.
This message was last updated by a moderator, as it was the wrong forum, at 16:20, Mon 23 Feb 2015.

As the GM my main concern is that this keeps everything working as it should and the class neither spikes in power or suddenly becomes useless