Fatespinner prestige class

What an awesome concept; a wizard who harnesses his natural arcane talent to manipulate the forces of fate and luck. Of course I speak of the Fatespinner prestige class from Complete Arcane. Obviously. Unfortunately the actual mechanical execution of the class seems a bit on the weak side, sure it has some luck based powers but I’m not sure it’s enough to warrant an entire prestige class around it. The requirements for entry are pretty simple. Ability to cast 4th level spells (including at least one divination spell), 10 ranks of Knowledge (Arcana), and five ranks of Profession (Gambler). I love the gambler requirement. Seriously, I do. The class vitals are standard wizard; poor BAB, good Will, d4 HD, and 2+ skill points. Spell level advances at all levels except 5th.

The Fatespinner is only a five level class so I wouldn’t expect it to be loaded with goodies. And it is not. In fact, it’s a bit underwhelming. At first level they get what amounts to their signature ability Spin Fate. A Fatespinner has a number of “spin” points equal to their fatespinner class level. So at most they have five points of spin. Spin allows them to raise the DC of a spell by the number of spin points spent. Really? That’s it? A third level Fatespinner can increase a DC from 15 to 18! It’s a wonder that they haven’t taken over the world yet with that ability. At 2nd level they receive Fickle Finger of Fate which, as a free action, allows them to make any other creature reroll any roll they just made. This is usable once a day and it never improves. A 1st level Cleric with the Luck Domain has a similar power but it only affects the cleric. The Fatespinner is probably level 9 by now.

Spin Destiny comes into play at 3rd level. Identical to Spin fate but can also be used to alter skill, attack, or saving throw rolls. Unfortunately the spin points come from the same limited pool, severely placing limitations on the use of this ability. A Fatespinner automatically succeeds on a roll to become stable when placed into negative hitpoints at 4th level, this mighty ability is called Deny Fate. The capstone ability at 5th level is Seal Fate, appropriate because any PC foolish enough to go 5 levels in this class has sealed their fate as a mediocre character. Once a day as a free action the Spinner can grant a -10 or +10 on a targets next save. However, it does not work on any creature with more HD than the fatespinner, meaning that it will never be useful in a really tough battle. I see how it could work well with Spin Fate. Jack up the DC of a spell, Seal Fate, and watch the creature fail. But it that really necessary for something weaker than the character? And the fact that no new spells are gained at 5th level is sort of weird. It’s like the folks over at Wizards are trying to talk you out of this class. I don’t get it.

I do think that the idea is very cool, but the class is sort of lame. I would rather see more random effects or more rerolls. Increasing the DC of a spell doesn’t seem all that fate related. And honestly any wizard casting Fox’s Cunning on himself before a fight has already done more for himself than the Fatespinner, especially since it will last the entire battle.