[3.5] Illithid Savants and absorbing class features

[Alleran]

(Prelude: Illithid Savant, blah blah overpowered blah blah broken blah blah game-shattering blah blah.)

Specifically, the "Absorb Class Feature" ability that it gains. It states (should be fine to reprint at least some of it):

...an illithid savant permanently gains one class feature of a consumed brain's owner, as a character of the creature's level in that class. If the former character was a spellcaster, the illithid savant is able to cast one spell of each level available to the character (*snip*), as well as any bonus spells provided by the illithid savant's ability scores...
Spellcasting is presumably a class feature, so you could absorb it specifically if you so chose. However, the way it seems to be (badly) worded, it sounds as though you could absorb any class feature from a character that has spellcasting and get that spellcasting as pretty much a free bonus. It doesn't say you have to absorb spellcasting, just a class feature. And if the character whose brain you're eating has spellcasting, then you get that in addition to the class feature you gain by chowing down on his brain.

Am I missing something, or is the class just that badly worded and/or broken?

[Aspenor]

It's just that badly worded. Don't try and pull that over on a DM unless you want to get a black eye from a flying book. Illithid Savant is broken beyond comprehension even without such things.

[PlzBreakMyCmpAn]

An online article (or example) clarifies this, though I thought the text itself said that you only gain 1 spell per level. Either way its true fromage tha

[awa]

the class is certainly powerful but in practice i would say a teir 1 class is better and my reasoning is unless you are saving these brain abilities until you meet the perfect foe to eat then you are going to end up with some very subpar drained powers. and if you do save them you have are going to be very vulnerable until you find that perfect foe (who will be very hard to beat if you are effectively loaded with dead levels.)

[The Glyphstone]

the class is certainly powerful but in practice i would say a teir 1 class is better and my reasoning is unless you are saving these brain abilities until you meet the perfect foe to eat then you are going to end up with some very subpar drained powers. and if you do save them you have are going to be very vulnerable until you find that perfect foe (who will be very hard to beat if you are effectively loaded with dead levels.)

The thing is, full casters can qualify just by PaO'ing into a Mind Flayer. So you're still a Tier 1, but with brain-eating powers - if you delay entry till Wiz17, you don't even lose any spellcasting.

[Demons_eye]

How powerful is the class if you enter without casting in mind and don't actively run at spellcasters?

[Private-Prinny]

How powerful is the class if you enter without casting in mind and don't actively run at spellcasters?

Chow down on diplomats and take their ranks in Diplomacy. You can now have everyone everywhere agree to everything you say forever.

[Volthawk]

Chow down on diplomats and take their ranks in Diplomacy. You can now have everyone everywhere agree to everything you say forever.

Eh, if the diplomat is optimised that much, yeah.

Hmm...wouldn't eating an initiator's brain give full initiating (not with the spellcasting limitation), since it isn't actually casting?

[faceroll]

Chow down on diplomats and take their ranks in Diplomacy. You can now have everyone everywhere agree to everything you say forever.

Or just be a diplomat and do that 5 levels earlier....

[FMArthur]

Unless you're eating the brains of a BBEG who is has far more levels than you or you're starting an illithid cult where you get to eat the brains of other Illithid Savants and use your Acquire Class Feature to acquire their Acquire Class Feature after they've acquired a class feature and gained another usage of Acquire Class Feature as a endless power-grab scheme, Illithid Savant isn't really that broken. I'd even allow Polymorphed or Mind Switched entry in my games.