I was looking at possible prestige classes for my Warlock, and I thought I may have come across a really fun combo:
Shadowcraft Mage + Flee the Scene
If I am reading this right, I would eventually have a copy of myself that lasted 2 full rounds that could act like me and blast the everloving crap out of everything. Is that how this would work?
From page 122 of Races of Stone:
A shadowcraft mage can apply shadow illusion to any of the following figment spells: silent image, minor image, major image, persistent image, and programmed image.
From page 134 of Complete Arcane's description of Flee the Scene:
When you use this ability, you leave behind a major image of yourself in your place that lasts for 1 round. The image reacts appropriately to attacks as if you were concentrating on it.
Since Flee the Scene is level 4, then I could mimic any level 3 or less ability and have it function appropriately, right? Including brimstone blasts, summon swarm, wall of gloom (yay!), etc.
Sorry if that's not how things work, but it seems really cool to me if it does.
Best Answer
Yes We Can...
On page 72 of Complete Arcane, the 'Specific Spell Requirements' section states:
Thus, with the lesser invocations Flee the Scene (Complete Arcane, p134)(replicating both dimension door and major image), Wall of Gloom (Complete Arcane, p129, 136), a gnome warlock would qualify partly via its own racial Spell-like abilities (dancing lights, ghost sound). This satisfies the racial and illusion spell requirements of Shadowcraft Mage (Races of Stone, p120-122).
To satisfy the 4th level Shadow subschool spell requirement, the warlock could take the Heighten Spell-like Ability (Complete Arcane, p80) feat, with Wall of Gloom as the targeted spell-like ability. It's eligible by 9th level, as it's 2 levels lower than half the warlock's caster level by then.
The warlock could become a Shadowcraft Mage at 10th level, and gets the Shadow Illusion ability by 12th level.
...Maybe
As to what would happen, if the DM agreed with the interpretation that the PC is casting the major image from Flee the Scene, then the PC would get all 3rd level Sorcerer/Wizard Evocations and Conjuration (Creation/Summoning) spells as at-will Spell-like abilities, at 40% efficacy at 12th level. This would increase to 60% reality by 14th level, at Shadowcraft Mage 5th, with the Powerful Shadow Magic ability.
Taking Heighten Spell-like Ability again at 12th for Flee the Scene would the warlock could mimic a 5th level Sorcerer/Wizard Evocation or Conjuration (Summoning/Creation) spell at 60% (eventually 80% at Shadowcraft Mage 5, level 14) reality 3/day.
As the Flee the Scene invocation would be a [Shadow] spell of 4th level, at that point, Wall of Gloom could be traded out for another invocation that mimics an illusion spell, such as Walk Unseen (Complete Arcane, p136). This should only be done if feat retraining (Player's Handbook II, p193) were allowed, in which case the Heighten Spell-like Ability feat should be retrained to focus on Flee the Scene at that time as well, saving a feat.