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Valwyn
2011-07-12, 08:42 AM
This is NOT MY design, it was created by Obsidian Entertainment for the PC game Mask of the Betrayer (the first expansion for Neverwinter Nights 2). I think that it's a good class and I thought that some of you may like it.

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Arcane Scholars seek to raise the study of magic to the level of an academic discipline. Their interest is not in researching new spells or finding more specialized uses for their craft, but in understanding the fundamental processes of magic and the inner workings of the Weave, which is the fabric that underlies all magic.

The first Arcane Scholars emerged from the dusty libraries of Candlekeep, where they pored through the writings of a thousand long-dead mages, seeking the unifying principles that underlie all magic. But even the archives of Candlekeep have their limits, and not all practitioners of magic have the means or desire to record their experiences with the Art. So Arcane Scholars dispersed into the wider world, observing and recording all the various expressions of magic they could find. Their tradition has gradually spread, and some mages who have never set foot in Candlekeep have adopted their disciplined and systematic approach to magic.

By gaining a deeper understanding of magic, and by discerning its underlying principles, arcane scholars become specialists in metamagic. Their spells are more powerful, last longer and can be cast more quickly than those of their peers. Arcane Scholars have also become especially adept at explaining the workings of magic to ordinary folk. Those who travel with Arcane Scholars gain the benefit of their considerable knowledge and are better able to avoid hostile magic.

Arcane Scholars do not limit themselves to studying particular sorts of arcane magic. To truly understand the Art, they believe that one must understand all its expressions. Thus all arcane casters are equally welcome to join their fellowship. Indeed, the insights of sorcerers and bards are particularly prized by Arcane Scholars, as such casters rarely have the patience to discuss the deeper workings of magic.


Requirements:

Skills: Spellcraft 8 ranks

Feats: Empower Spell, Skill Focus (Concentration), Skill Focus (Spellcraft)

Spellcasting: Able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells.


Class Features:

Hit die: d4

Proficiencies: None

Skill points: 2 + Int modifier

Class skills: Appraise, Concentration, Craft Alchemy*, Craft Armor*, Diplomacy, Lore*, Search, Spellcraft

Base attack bonus progression: Low

Saving throws:
high: Will
low: Fortitude, Reflex

Spells Per Day/Spells Known: When a new Arcane Scholar level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as though he had gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class gave him access to 3rd-level arcane spells. If the character has more than one applicable arcane spellcasting class, he must pick one to improve.

Class Progression:

Level Features Gained
1 Maximize Spell
2 Spell Knowledge + 1
3 Improved Empower Spell
4 -
5 Quicken Spell
6 -
7 Improved Maximize Spell
8 Spell Knowledge + 2
9 -
10 Improved Quicken Spell

Bonus Feats:

Spell Knowledge: At 2nd Level, the Arcane Scholar and any party members gain a +1 bonus to their saves versus spells. This bonus increases to +2 at 8th level.

Improved Empower Spell: At 3rd level, the Arcane Scholar becomes especially adept at empowering spells. Empowered spells now only use a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.

Improved Maximize Spell: At 7th level, the Arcane Scholar becomes especially adept at maximizing spells. Maximized spells now only use up a spell slot two levels higher than the spell's actual level.

Improved Quicken Spell: At 10th level, the Arcane Scholar becomes especially adept at quickening spells. Quickened spells now only use up a spell slot three levels higher than the spell's actual level.

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* A note on skills: NWN uses a different set of skills than normal PnP games. All Knowledge (X) skills are merged into Lore. Also, there is a limited number of Craft (X) skills to take, namely Craft Alchemy, Craft Armor, Craft Trap and Craft Weapon. You should ask your DM which are apropiate.

As for feats, you earn the normal and improved versions of the feats, which saves you a lot of feats for Spell Focus, Spell Penetration and the like. This class is a godsend for sorcerers :smallbiggrin:.

Remember that you can only take ten levels in this class and that you don't get the benefits of your base class (no bonus feats for wizards, your familiar doesn't level up, your bard song stays the same) other than spellcasting progression, which counts as if you had leveled in you base class.

The game originally only allowed Bards, Sorcerers and Wizards to take this class, but I guess that another arcane caster could take it (except for Warlocks, the game said that Invocations don't count as real spells, so they can't take this class).

DracoDei
2011-07-12, 11:09 AM
Well, time to tell you what most first-time posters in the homebrew section get told:

Clear formating greatly increases the chances of feedback (Also, put PEACH in the title, it stands for Please Examine And Critique Honestly... or don't if you are very thin-skinned).

What is that you say? Don't know how to format any better than what you did? Despair not! For we have a thread for that (and general homebrewing guidelines to ponder before shattering into a million pieces).
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10313 . The section that is relevant to this specific situation would be near-ish the bottom of the first post.

For less basic concerns, see THIS (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10433) and THIS (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150609).

The other "Notable Threads" that are in the sticky at the top of the homebrew forums are also worth reading, if only to see what has gone before.

JoshuaZ
2011-07-12, 05:54 PM
This has almost no flavor. It gets a bunch of metamagic feats and gets really good at them. There's nothing that compelling in that.

The other serious issue is balance. Assuming that the entry intended is a wizard, a fifth level wizard can use two of their feats and their bonus feat to get in easily.

They then pick up two more metamagic feats. Ok. A wizard would get that normally. So at 15th level, feat wise they are essentially a wizard with specific metamagic feats and two of their other feats selected, both of which are decent for wizards anyways. But they get other goodies too. Reducing metamagic is one of the easiest ways to make wizards broken, and this wizard gets it for three of the most effective metamagic feats.

Then, at 16th level, they can easily PrC into Archmage (assuming they picked up the Spell Focus feats) since they already have the least useful requirement for that.

So yeah, this needs both some flavor and some toning down.

Nitpick:
Also, I have no idea how in real games one is supposed to decide what it means to give a bonus to the party. Can I declare a whole army to be in my party? What about actual party members who are far away? The most sensible thing there if one were to use this for a game would be to modify it so that it applied to allies within some set distance.

Overall, this would need a lot of changes before it could be used in a normal game.