Phosphate
2012-05-09, 04:32 PM
So lately I was wondering how to make a full spellcaster that has access to high spells, AND is somewhat weak at the same time, but without being useless. Here's what I got.
And I'm not specifically intending to plummet the full caster to tier 3, although I don't mind if this ends up as tier 3.
The Arcane Student
Alignment
Any.
Hit Die
d4
Class Skills
The arcane students class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at 1st Level
(2 + Int modifier) Χ 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level
2 + Int modifier.
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |
Metamagic Limit|
Retention Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th
1st|+0|+0|+0|+2||
0|
0|4|1|||||||
2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3||
0|
0|4|2|||||||
3rd|+1|+1|+1|+3||
0|
0|4|2|||||||
4th|+2|+1|+1|+4||
1|
0|4|3|1||||||
5th|+2|+1|+1|+4||
1|
1|4|3|2||||||
6th|+3|+2|+2|+5||
1|
1|4|3|2||||||
7th|+3|+2|+2|+5||
1|
1|4|4|3|1|||||
8th|+4|+2|+2|+6||
2|
1|4|4|3|2|||||
9th|+4|+3|+3|+6||
2|
1|4|4|3|3|||||
10th|+5|+3|+3|+7||
2|
2|4|4|4|3|1||||
11th|+5|+3|+3|+7||
2|
2|4|4|4|3|2||||
12th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8||
3|
2|4|4|4|3|2|1|||
13th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8||
3|
2|4|4|4|4|3|2|||
14th|+7/+2|+4|+4|+9||
3|
2|4|4|4|4|3|2|1||
15th|+7/+2|+5|+5|+9||
3|
3|4|4|4|4|4|3|2||
16th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10||
4|
3|4|4|4|4|4|4|2|1|
17th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10||
4|
3|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|
18th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11||
4|
3|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1
19th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11||
4|
3|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2
20th|+10/+5|+6|+6|+12||
5|
4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2
[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the arcane student.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
The arcane student is proficient with the quarterstaff, no armor, and no shields.
Spells: The Arcane Student is a prepared caster that casts arcane spells.
To cast a spell, an Arcane Student must have both a Con score and a Wis score of 10+spell level or higher. The DC of his spells is equal to 10+spell level+Cha mod.
He receives bonus spell slots from having a high Int score, but in a restricted fashion: he only gains bonus slots to spell levels equal to his Retention Level or lower, no matter how high his Int mod is.
To regenerate his spell slots and prepare new spells, an Arcane Student must sleep for 8 hours, and concentrate for 1 hour afterward. He may leave slots open.
Spell sources: At level 1 an Arcane Student must decide where he will get the bulk of his spells from. Thus, he must choose a school of magic, except conjuration (also, if he chooses illusion, he cannot learn the spell shadow conjuration).
A level 1 Arcane Student starts with all cantrips and 5 level 1 spells know, which must all be from his chosen school. Then, whenever he gains a new spell level, he learns 5 spells from his chosen school of that level, and 2 additional spells. These additional spells must be from the sor/wiz spell list, must be any spell level the arcane student can already cast and must not be conjuration spells, or the spell shadow conjuration.
Every level, the arcane student may unlearn one of his spells to learn a spell of the same level or lower in its place: however, if the spell he unlearned is from his chosen school, the spell he learns must be from there as well.
Metamagic: Arcane Students may only prepare a small number of spells modified with metamagic per day, as shown in the table above. In addition to the requirements of con and wis, to cast a spell altered with metamagic an arcane student must also have an int score of 10+modified spell level or higher. Every time the table signifies that the arcane student may use metamagic an additional time per day, he also gains a metamagic feat as a bonus feat.
And I'm not specifically intending to plummet the full caster to tier 3, although I don't mind if this ends up as tier 3.
The Arcane Student
Alignment
Any.
Hit Die
d4
Class Skills
The arcane students class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at 1st Level
(2 + Int modifier) Χ 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level
2 + Int modifier.
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |
Metamagic Limit|
Retention Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th
1st|+0|+0|+0|+2||
0|
0|4|1|||||||
2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3||
0|
0|4|2|||||||
3rd|+1|+1|+1|+3||
0|
0|4|2|||||||
4th|+2|+1|+1|+4||
1|
0|4|3|1||||||
5th|+2|+1|+1|+4||
1|
1|4|3|2||||||
6th|+3|+2|+2|+5||
1|
1|4|3|2||||||
7th|+3|+2|+2|+5||
1|
1|4|4|3|1|||||
8th|+4|+2|+2|+6||
2|
1|4|4|3|2|||||
9th|+4|+3|+3|+6||
2|
1|4|4|3|3|||||
10th|+5|+3|+3|+7||
2|
2|4|4|4|3|1||||
11th|+5|+3|+3|+7||
2|
2|4|4|4|3|2||||
12th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8||
3|
2|4|4|4|3|2|1|||
13th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8||
3|
2|4|4|4|4|3|2|||
14th|+7/+2|+4|+4|+9||
3|
2|4|4|4|4|3|2|1||
15th|+7/+2|+5|+5|+9||
3|
3|4|4|4|4|4|3|2||
16th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10||
4|
3|4|4|4|4|4|4|2|1|
17th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10||
4|
3|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|
18th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11||
4|
3|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1
19th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11||
4|
3|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2
20th|+10/+5|+6|+6|+12||
5|
4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2
[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the arcane student.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
The arcane student is proficient with the quarterstaff, no armor, and no shields.
Spells: The Arcane Student is a prepared caster that casts arcane spells.
To cast a spell, an Arcane Student must have both a Con score and a Wis score of 10+spell level or higher. The DC of his spells is equal to 10+spell level+Cha mod.
He receives bonus spell slots from having a high Int score, but in a restricted fashion: he only gains bonus slots to spell levels equal to his Retention Level or lower, no matter how high his Int mod is.
To regenerate his spell slots and prepare new spells, an Arcane Student must sleep for 8 hours, and concentrate for 1 hour afterward. He may leave slots open.
Spell sources: At level 1 an Arcane Student must decide where he will get the bulk of his spells from. Thus, he must choose a school of magic, except conjuration (also, if he chooses illusion, he cannot learn the spell shadow conjuration).
A level 1 Arcane Student starts with all cantrips and 5 level 1 spells know, which must all be from his chosen school. Then, whenever he gains a new spell level, he learns 5 spells from his chosen school of that level, and 2 additional spells. These additional spells must be from the sor/wiz spell list, must be any spell level the arcane student can already cast and must not be conjuration spells, or the spell shadow conjuration.
Every level, the arcane student may unlearn one of his spells to learn a spell of the same level or lower in its place: however, if the spell he unlearned is from his chosen school, the spell he learns must be from there as well.
Metamagic: Arcane Students may only prepare a small number of spells modified with metamagic per day, as shown in the table above. In addition to the requirements of con and wis, to cast a spell altered with metamagic an arcane student must also have an int score of 10+modified spell level or higher. Every time the table signifies that the arcane student may use metamagic an additional time per day, he also gains a metamagic feat as a bonus feat.