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Arq Kujos
2010-09-10, 12:12 AM
Hi everyone! I'm building an Archivist for a campaign for a friend of mine, but I have hit a wall. She loves the flare and flavor behind the Archivist and really wants to play one. What I need is help building it for her from levels 1-20. I've been playing a ton of 4E and I am really really out of practice. Can someone please help?

holywhippet
2010-09-10, 12:17 AM
Is she starting at level 1 or level 20? I'm assuming you mean she wants a plan to take it from level 1 to level 20.

The main problem is it depends on what spells the DM lets her get hold of. In theory any cleric, druid, paladin or ranger spell is valid, but she has to be able to get a scroll of it which could be problematic.

HunterOfJello
2010-09-10, 12:36 AM
Archivists are an amazing and fun class to play that are quite limited in their abilities based on DM interpretations.


1. She needs to find out which spell lists her Archivist will be able to learn spells from and which books are allowed for use.

RAW dictates that any Divine Spells may be learned by an archivist. This gives them a massive and heavily customizable spell list. If the character can take spells from the Cleric, Druid, Ranger and Paladin lists from the PHB and Spell Compendium alone, then that will make them very fun. However, if the DM won't allow at least those 4 classes and 2 books, then the Archivist could become too limited for their own purposes.

Other spell lists include the Assassin, Blackguard, Cleric Domains and Divine Bard. Really, any divine spell list should allow the Archivist access to those types of spells, but even if I was DMing, I probably wouldn't allow every list.

The Point: Find out which spell lists are allowed for the Archivist to learn from. Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Paladin and Cleric Domains would be ideal as a minimum from the Player's Handbook and Spell Compendium lists.


2. As a character who learns spells from scrolls, a way to find and gain regular access to divine scrolls must be available. It's no use being able to potentially cast every divine spell in the game if the Archivist can't find any scrolls for them. If an Archivist is limited to the Cleric spell list and three or four spells from other lists total, then there's little point in playing an Archivist at all.

There are several methods for obtaining scrolls and this should be discussed with the DM before gameplay begins. An archivist organization that supplies scrolls to the PC would be great. Shops that sell divine scrolls in different locations would also be a good method.

3. The player should try to convince the DM to allow them to take a modified version of the Collegiate Wizard feat. The feat is designed specifically for wizards, but gives the exact same benefit to Archivists, no more, no less. Being able to gain 4 new cleric spells per level will be very useful.

4. The Archivist Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=3545.0)

This shouldn't require an explanation.

5. There are many good races for playing an Archivist. My personal favorite is some type of gnome along with the Trivial Knowledge feat which allows all knowledge checks to be rolled as 2d20 with the higher roll used for the check.

Whisper Gnomes are great for this, so are Tinker Gnomes from Dragonlance. Either of these races could be banned, or disliked by the DM or Player so more info is needed.

Arq Kujos
2010-09-10, 09:06 AM
WOW! That was both very in depth and well thought out.

You see, our DM is a very man. I have no doubt that he will allow her to learn any spell from the Paladin, Ranger, or Druid list. Probably not anything from the Assassin or Blackguard list, but I doubt she wants to play that anyway.

Also, she is playing a human so all other races as of right now are not worth considering.

Our campaign does start at level 1, but in my OCDness, I want to go ahead and make it from level 1 to level 20.

Leon
2010-09-10, 11:47 AM
The main problem is it depends on what spells the DM lets her get hold of. In theory any cleric, druid, paladin or ranger spell is valid, but she has to be able to get a scroll of it which could be problematic.

Let me assure you playing one under a DM who doesnt get the class and its need for a diverse range of divine spells is not much fun - may aswell play a cleric and then have some freedom to re choose spells daily
My archivist has 18 spells (not inc osrins), one is a Druid spell that now has absolutly no use unless someone becomes a werewolf again and one is from a Cleric Scroll all the rest are from the initial spells or from the 2 per lvl...

In the 8 lvls that we have adventured through 5 Arcane Spellbooks have been found compared to 2 Cure Wounds scrolls.
This is despite the Dm being remined almost every game that im not a cleric and that my "thing" is to collect varied divine magic.

If the next Encounter doesnt TPK us im changing the PC into a Cloistered Cleric - pretty much Archivist Lite with a flexible spell list.

zaulsiin
2010-09-10, 12:43 PM
Other spell lists include the Assassin, Blackguard, Cleric Domains and Divine Bard.

Just a quick correction. Assassin spells are arcane, and are therefore not available to Archivists (unless the spell also appears on a divine list, of course).