The flickering flames of the fireplace cast dancing shadows across the study, its lone occupant paying no heed to the twisted shapes as it sunk deeper into the high backed leather bound chair. The wine glass beside him untouched on the side table Arctas's attention lay fully on the twisting black oak staff he caressed in his hands, the silver runic patterns across its surface coming to life in a dull white glow as the power within them both was now channelled into the orb of crystal at its tip. The clear transparent gem slowly filling with a growing swirl the colour of morning mist, focusing his mind he narrowed this thoughts to a ring studded with sapphire engraved with the rune of his house. Twisting and inspecting the ring in his minds eye the swirling mist within the orb twisted like moulded clay, a low buzz of noise beginning to grown drowning out the crackle of burning wood from the fireplace. "..his clans hospitality. " the words reverberating from the crystal the mist finally took form focusing upon a  young Enchantress as a single word slipped from his lips "Ah Granddaughter."

Welcome to the first edition of 3rd Party Show Case, this series of articles aims to highlight some of the more interesting 3rd party and homebrew creations available online. When able to we will credit the original creators and post links directly to the material.
The first 3rd party class I’ll be highlighting is a personal favourite of mine the Heartless Mage prestige class which can be found on the D&D Wiki and was created by Surgo, an alternative to lichdom the Heartless Mage gains immortality and powerful spell like abilities at the cost of emotional sterility and a obsidian box containing their heart.

Becoming a Heartless Mage

The Heartless Mage is quite an easy prestige class to enter as the skill requirements can be gained at either level 7 in D&D 3.5 or level 10 in Pathfinder, while the Magic Jar can be gained at 9th for a Wizard or 10th level sorcerer.  However due to Charisma skill penalty this class gains each level it is not recommended for any social characters which means most sorcerers will not want to enter it.  
The base attack bonus remains poor as does reflex saves but the Heartless Mage is one of the fewer spell casting prestige classes which gains a improved fortitude save while retaining full spell casting. It does suffer however from poor skill points and limited class skills.

Requirements:

Skills: Knowledge (Arcana) 10 ranks, Knowledge (Religion) 10 ranks.
Spell Casting: Must be able to cast 5th level arcane spells, including magic jar.

Class Features

Well once again Christmas is catching up with us all but that's no reason to give up on the gaming, so for those still struggling to fill their parties loot sack here are some of my favourite ideas for gifts this year. 

If your Dungeon Master is anything like me they have mountains of maps which they have spent hours drawing and never seem to have the right on, for them I recommend the Ye Olde Map Maker a cheap little program that is a great time and space saver. 
Alternatively no space on the table, tired of cocked dice or accusations of roll fudging perhaps a Dice Tower will help and some of the designs for these are becoming quite impressive and entertaining. Though my own firm favourite has always been the classic Leather Dice Cup,  I've linked to one of the more expensive and ornate examples but there are plenty available at much cheaper price.  While I used to use normal cups or a plastic containers these both made a horrible racket and I've known dice to chip in ceramic cups but if  neither of them suit you perhaps you just need Smaller Dice.

I've found dice have always been a popular gift amongst role players ranging from the Ornate Pieces of Art to the Plentiful Lucky Dip but two rather unique examples have been brought to my attention (as well as heavy hinting) by my gaming group.
The DICE+ at Firebox is a electronic dice that can Bluetooth to various tablet games, the list of which seems to slowly and steadily growing. Unfortunately the Firebox site doesn't provide much information but there is a review available at The Verge.
The second little piece that caught the eye of my group was the D20 Spinner Dice Ring, I know if had one of these I would most likely not be able to stop playing with the thing though I can't seem to find anyone who has tried one of these so if anyone has any first hand experience of using one let us know in the comments.
Of course for those wishing personalisation of their tools of the trade you could always give them the means to make their own with a Blank Set Of Dice.

While our focus is on jewellery I recently been hearing a lot from the ladies in my group about Chainmaille, which appears to be chainmail jewellery and other assorted items. With a bit of help I was directed to Etsy and found a rather nice Dice Bag made in the style though I do think the plastic lock spoils it slightly, there are a few other examples of the style but I think the next item I saw was far more my tastes.
Clockwork Firebird's collection of leatherwork and costume pieces really caught my eye but for a cheap little Christmas stocking filler the Made To Order Runic Snap Bracelets seem to perfect. Personally I think I will be getting one of these for each of my group and there will be a challenge to see who can translate it first and write it out with the Feather Quill Pens they will also be getting. I only wish these were available as pencils more regularly but for those games where a character isn't likely to change these biros will do.

Now my group likes to give presents based on the characters we've played (or at least the most memorable and amusing one) but for Dungeons and Dragons people always seem to struggle with ideas for Rangers and Druids players so I suggest a nice Microwaveable Warmer of their animal companion to snuggle up to over the cold winter period.
Now not everyone likes fluffy toys and that's understandable but in the spirit of my first series of articles perhaps they might enjoy Canned Unicorn Meat or Insectilix Lollies?

Finally what to give the more naughty players for Christmas, the rogue that pick-pocketed the party and pawned off the valuable plot item, the wizard that experiments on the local village or the fighter that just won't stop punching the vital NPC contact? What better than some Christmas Coal Popcorn which is tasty as well as giving a slight hint.

Well I hope at the very least I've helped give you all some ideas so now I guess its time for the mail article. Initially I had hoped to post this on Halloween but I decided not to interrupt the posting of the "Survival Out In The Wilds" series so I guess here is my very own nightmare before Christmas the heartless mage.