[OOC] Converting Your Character: Tome of Magic

This supplement presented three entirely new forms of magic—almost like self-contained power sources with limited mechanical similarity to those found in other books. Thus, converting characters using these rules is much more about recapturing the flavor of your character rather than finding new versions of the precise mechanical abilities he possessed.

Binder
With his odd combination of powers and abilities, the binder doesn’t fit neatly into any of the class roles described in 4th Edition. What’s more, his ability to switch out his power set makes him a true oddity… and makes a simple conversion to any 4th Edition character class impossible.

That said, a player looking to “convert” a binder into a 4th Edition class has two basic options. You can retain the flavor of the character as someone who gains powers through his pacts with supernatural beings, or you can try to retain the mechanical benefits and effects that your character is capable of generating.

The first option is by far the easier. The new warlock class shares this pact flavor with the binder, and some judicious multiclassing and feat selection can allow you to pick up abilities that you might have gained from your favorite vestiges.

If you choose the second option, you’re best off working with your DM to build your character as a compilation of powers from a variety of classes. This completely throws the class role concept out the window—and also threatens to marginalize other characters in the group as you infringe on their specialties—so follow this path with care. For instance, you might try to select most of your powers from classes occupying the same role in order to avoid stepping on other characters’ toes too much.

Shadowcaster
The shadowcaster’s power set matches the controller role most closely, as it includes a variety of effects that hinder or damage multiple foes. Flavor-wise, however, the class is closest to the warlock (a striker). Consider selecting either the deceptive warlock build (Player's Handbook p130) or the control wizard build (p157), using multiclassing in the opposite class to add flavor and options.

Truenamer
The truenamer’s powers focus on enhancing allies and hindering individual foes, so the closest match is to the leader role. It’s not too much of a stretch to imagine your truenamer as a cleric or a warlord, flavoring his utterances as supernatural commands rather than divine prayers or martial exploits. Consider throwing in a warlock power or two via multiclassing to add some bizarre flavor to your power set.