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Fax Celestis
2010-10-01, 02:07 PM
Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special
Expertise


1st
+0
+0
+2
+2
Lore, Gleaned Knowledge (Attack, Damage)
2


2nd
+1
+0
+3
+3
Intelligent Defenses (AC)
2


3rd
+2
+1
+3
+3
-
3


4th
+3
+1
+4
+4
Gleaned Knowledge (Pierce DR)
3


5th
+3
+1
+4
+4
Intelligent Defenses (HP), Favored Enemy
3


6th
+4
+2
+5
+5
-
4


7th
+5
+2
+5
+5
Skill Mastery, Gleaned Knowledge (Pierce SR)
4


8th
+6/+1
+2
+6
+6
Arcane Insight (2/day)
4


9th
+6/+1
+3
+6
+6
-
5


10th
+7/+2
+3
+7
+7
Intelligent Defenses (Saves), Favored Enemy, Gleaned Knowledge (Steal Spell)
5


11th
+8/+3
+3
+7
+7
Skill Mastery, Arcane Insight (4/day)
5


12th
+9/+4
+4
+8
+8
-
6


13th
+9/+4
+4
+8
+8
Gleaned Knowledge (Strip Resistances)
6


14th
+10/+5
+4
+9
+9
Arcane Insight (6/day)
6


15th
+11/+6/+1
+5
+9
+9
Skill Mastery, Intelligent Defenses (SR), Favored Enemy
7


16th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+10
+10
Gleaned Knowledge (Steal SLA)
7


17th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+10
+10
Arcane Insight (8/day)
7


18th
+13/+8/+3
+6
+11
+11
-
8


19th
+14/+9/+4
+6
+11
+11
Skill Mastery, Gleaned Knowledge (Shatter Defenses)
8


20th
+15/+10/+5
+6
+12
+12
Arcane Insight (10/day), Intelligent Defenses (Mind Blank), Favored Enemy
10



Hit Die: d8

Proficiencies: A savant is proficient with simple weapons and with one other weapon group. She is proficient with light armors and light shields.

Prowess: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99519) A savant gains 4 points of prowess per level.

Skills: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168879) A savant is trained in the Sage skill set and chooses two other sets.

Lore (Ex): A savant may make a special lore check with a bonus equal to her savant level plus her Intelligence modifier to see whether she knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. (If the savant is a journeyman in Knowledge (History), she gains a +2 bonus on this check.)

A successful lore check will not reveal the powers of a magic item but may give a hint as to its general function. A savant may not take 10 or take 20 on this check; this sort of knowledge is essentially random.


DC
Type of Knowledge


10
Common, known by at least a substantial minority of the local population.


20
Uncommon but available, known by only a few people legends.


25
Obscure, known by few, hard to come by.


30
Extremely obscure, known by very few, possibly forgotten by most who once knew it, possibly known only by those who don't understand the significance of the knowledge.



Expertise (Ex): At the beginning of each encounter, a savant gains a small pool of expertise. She gains an amount of expertise based on her level, as demonstrated on the table. She also gains an additional amount of expertise equal to her Intelligence modifier. Expertise is used to power some savant class features. If she has leftover expertise from a previous encounter, it is overwritten by the new pool.

Gleaned Knowledge (Ex): Starting at first level, a savant may spend expertise as a swift action to quickly gain a temporary effect against her enemies. Gleaned knowledge requires spending one point of expertise to activate. Unless otherwise noted, effects last for a number of rounds equal to the savant's Intelligence modifier.

Attack: At first level and beyond, a savant may use this ability to gain an insight bonus on attack rolls equal to her Intelligence modifier.

Damage: At first level and beyond, a savant may use this ability to gain an insight bonus on damage rolls equal to her Intelligence modifier.

Pierce DR: At fourth level and beyond, a savant may use this ability to lower the damage reduction of a creature she has just struck by an amount equal to her Intelligence modifier. Halve this value if the damage reduction cannot be overcome (DR/-).

Pierce SR: At seventh level and beyond, a savant may use this ability to lower the spell resistance of a creature she has just struck by an amount equal to her Intelligence modifier. Halve this value if the creature makes a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the savant's class level + her Intelligence modifier).

Steal Spell: At tenth level and beyond, a savant may use this ability to steal a spell from a creature she has just struck. The creature struck loses one spell of the highest level they have available to cast or of the savant's Intelligence modifier or lower (whichever is lower). The target loses the ability to cast that spell for one minute or until the savant casts the spell (whichever is shorter). The savant may choose a specific spell: if she does so and the target does not have access to that spell, this ability is used up with no effect. The savant retains a spell stolen for one minute or until cast (whichever is shorter), and substitutes her savant level for her caster level.

Strip Resistances: At thirteenth level and beyond, a savant may use this ability to lower the resistances of a creature she has just struck. The creature struck has any energy resistances it possesses lowered by an amount equal one and a half times the savant's Intelligence modifier. Any energy immunities the creature may possess instead become a resistance to the same energy for 30 points. This ability also removes save bonuses against poisons and disease, but does not break immunities to those attacks. Halve this value if the creature makes a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the savant's class level + her Intelligence modifier).

Steal Spell-Like Ability: At sixteenth level and beyond, a savant may steal a spell-like ability from a creature she has just struck. This ability functions like the Steal Spell ability, except that it steals a spell-like ability from the target.

Shatter Defenses: At nineteenth level and beyond, a savant may use this ability to lower the immunities of a creature she has just struck. Any immunities to non-damage effects (such as sleep, mind-affecting abilities, or fear) are instead decreased to a saving throw bonus equal to +15 minus the savant's Intelligence modifier (so that a creature immune to mind-affecting effects targeted by a savant with this ability who has an Intelligence of 30 would have its immunity decreased to a +5 bonus on saves against mind-affecting effects). Halve the savant's Intelligence modifier when determining the effects of this ability if the creature makes a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the savant's class level + her Intelligence modifier).

Intelligent Defenses (Ex): Starting at second level, a savant, through her superior insight and knowledge, gains the ability to better defend herself. At second level and beyond, she adds her Intelligence modifier to her Armor class as an insight bonus as long as she wears light or no armor; she may still use a shield, but is not required to, to gain this bonus. At fifth level and beyond, she adds her Intelligence modifier to her Hit Points instead of her Constitution modifier, if it would be advantageous to do so. At tenth level and beyond, she adds her Intelligence modifier to her saving throws as a resistance bonus. At fifteenth level and beyond, she gains spell resistance equal to 10 + 1/2 her class level + her Intelligence modifier. At twentieth level, she is constantly treated as if under a mind blank spell. As an extraordinary effect, the mind blank function is not dispellable.

Favored Enemy: At fifth level and every five levels thereafter (tenth, fifteenth, and twentieth), the savant gains the Favored Enemy feat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162194) as a bonus feat.

Skill Mastery (Ex): At seventh level and every four levels thereafter (eleventh, fifteenth, and nineteenth), the savant selects one skill she is a journeyman in: she becomes a master of that skill, which increases her options when using that skill and may have other benefits. See the individual skill descriptions for details.

Arcane Insight (Sp): At eighth level, a savant gains the ability to cast a very limited selection of arcane spells. She starts with two uses per day, and increases this value by two every three levels thereafter (four at eleventh, six at fourteenth, eight at seventeenth, and ten at twentieth). The spells that a savant may cast with this feature are limited by level, and are as follows:

Savant level 8th: comprehend languages, detect thoughts, identify

Savant level 11th: arcane sight, dispel magic, tongues

Savant level 14th: break enchantment, sending

Savant level 17th: analyze dweomer, legend lore

Savant level 20th: greater arcane sight, vision

ErrantX
2010-10-01, 02:12 PM
This is some good work, Fax. I've been toying with putting together a fusion of aspects of both Factotum and Bard and with the Savant, I totally do not have to now.

Your expertise system is solid like the Factotum's Inspiration, but more sensible with ability durations compared to factotum, as well as just better and more fitting. I love the Gleaned Knowledge class feature's versatility as well as the abilities presented. I see this as being the Indiana Jones type character class, and I really dig it. Your higher level inclusions of arcane magic are very fitting and flavorful, not to mention useful.

Again, this is some good work.

-X

Fax Celestis
2010-10-01, 02:14 PM
Thanks. Funnily enough, this was a sort of a spur-of-the-moment I-have-an-idea class.

ErrantX
2010-10-01, 02:18 PM
Thanks. Funnily enough, this was a sort of a spur-of-the-moment I-have-an-idea class.

That's how some of my better work's been done, honestly. My battle telepath class was something that came about in a conversation and 2 hours (mostly devoted to formatting the table!) of work. I'm gonna go through some books and see if I have anything more constructive to suggest to you other than just positive reaction. If anything, it may be additional divination spells I'd suggest for it. Otherwise, this is a tier 3-4 range class by my reckoning. It's versatile, definitely has some strong suits, but can make up for its weakness in other ways. Nothing world breaking.

-X

the humanity
2010-10-01, 02:39 PM
I've always been a fan of making smart characters.

I could imagine having fun with this guy.

One thing is, how would this guy know that the monster he struck has, say, a spell? or damage reduction?

it rewards the PC for knowing every creature, which is fine until the DM starts making stuff up.

I suggest adding a gleaned knowledge that gives him the ability to specifically find out the monster has spellcasting, immunities, and DR. not anything specific, but a checklist.

Fax Celestis
2010-10-01, 02:40 PM
One thing is, how would this guy know that the monster he struck has, say, a spell? or damage reduction?

it rewards the PC for knowing every creature, which is fine until the DM starts making stuff up.This is why he has Lore and gets the Sage skill set.

the humanity
2010-10-01, 02:42 PM
This is why he has Lore and gets the Sage skill set.

oh right. skills. :smallredface: