Prestige Classes for Onomancy or Numerology

[petermcleod117]

Hello!

I've been working on some world-building for my custom setting, and I am in particular revisiting the functionality of arcane magic. in it, wizards rely on alchemy, herbalism, and Onomancy (true name magic) to cast their spells.

I already have prestige classes for the alchemy and herbalism aspects of magic (the Grand Alchemist and Master Herbalist prestige classes from Atlas Games' Occult Lore, representing the wizard seeking perfect knowledge of one or the other aspects of their magic). however, i do not have a good wizard prestige class for Onomancy.

I am aware there is a truenamer base class, and I am also aware that it is broken AF. I would like a wizard prestige class if you can find it.

Since Onomancy and Numerology have a good deal of overlap (and in some traditions depend on each-other), a numerology based prestige class would also work.



preferably the class would have full casting progression, but i suppose beggars can't be choosers.

[Tzardok]

There are two fixes for Truename magic around that may interest you. One is named "The Book of Words". It took the broken truenaming system and made it workable. The other is called "The Way Words Work" and did a complete rework, only keeping the basic concepts.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Having ranks in the Truenaming skill also allows you access to Truenaming spells; no need for the class itself.

I swear there was an Optimization Showcase (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24372982&postcount=2) that took advantage of that, but I can't remember which one, and it hasn't been any of the ones I've checked so far.

[Psyren]

Pathfinder has Arithmancy (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/arithmancy/) and Sacred Geometry (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/sacred-geometry/) (and Calculating Mind (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/calculating-mind/)) if you want a numerology-themed caster.

[Beni-Kujaku]

One way to make an Onomancer pretty easily is to juste take the incantatrix and replace all Spellcraft checks and requirements by Truespeak checks. You fluff it by saying you speak the true name of the spell (à la Eragon)‚ plus it automatically fixes the class since Truespeak is not a wizard skill‚ and it will be much more difficult to reach the required DC without making it a class skill somehow.

[ShurikVch]

For Numerology - can't remember anything but Geometer from Complete Arcane

For Onomancy - game use three separate implementations of "true name magic":
1) Truenaming from Tome of Magic (obviously); for this, no PrC outside of the book, but Dragon #346 have some feats
2) Words of Creation (Book of Exalted Deeds) includes the "True Name" option; Emissaries of Barachiel required it
3) The "Truenames and Fetishes" article in Dragon #317; no PrC there, but the Truename feat and some options for spellcasting and item creation

[Psyren]

Dracolexi from RotD also has an Onomantic theme

[Eldan]

I think the first Question I'd ask is: what do you want truenaming to do mechanically and in the fluff? Because in 3.5, it doesn't really do anything very new, except a wonky casting system with skill checks instead of spell slots.

So, how do you recognize an Onomancer? What can they do no one else can? What is their approach to magic?

Because I don't think there's really anything good in 3.5 that has built-in truenaming flavour. I'd recommend instead of first writing your truenaming fluff, then finding a class that fits that mechanically and changing its background.

[Telonius]

Pathfinder has Arithmancy (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/arithmancy/) and Sacred Geometry (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/sacred-geometry/) (and Calculating Mind (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/calculating-mind/)) if you want a numerology-themed caster.

I also found a Divine Numerologist (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/oracle/archetypes/paizo-oracle-archetypes/divine-numerologist-oracle-archetype/) archetype.

[Psyren]

I think the first Question I'd ask is: what do you want truenaming to do mechanically and in the fluff? Because in 3.5, it doesn't really do anything very new, except a wonky casting system with skill checks instead of spell slots.

So, how do you recognize an Onomancer? What can they do no one else can? What is their approach to magic?

Because I don't think there's really anything good in 3.5 that has built-in truenaming flavour. I'd recommend instead of first writing your truenaming fluff, then finding a class that fits that mechanically and changing its background.

Truenamer's flavor is fantastic, the big problems of the class are the math and the Laws. Kyeudo's fix in my sig corrects both while keeping the core skill-casting mechanic.

[Beni-Kujaku]

Truenamer's flavor is fantastic, the big problems of the class are the math and the Laws. Kyeudo's fix in my sig corrects both while keeping the core skill-casting mechanic.

Very much this. Truenaming is a classic of fantasy, and having it harnessed in a magic system is a very good thing in a world and game system as large as those from 3.5. Even mechanically, the Truenamer fits the niche of the "skill-based caster". This is apparently something that WotC wanted very much, and failed to balance several times. The first was of course the bard, which didn't really use skills for their casting, and only for their bardic music, which wasn't of much use in combat. The incantatrix was the first one, I think, to ask for skill checks when casting, and was broken beyond compare. The artificer was the second one, and wasn't much better, with its ability to use next to any spell with just UMD. The Truenamer was the third, and immensely too overbalanced to the point of uselessness. Finally, the next ones were the initiators of the Tome of Battle, who didn't rely as much on skills as Truenamers do, but still use a lot of them for their maneuvers, notably Concentration and Jump.

[petermcleod117]

I think the first Question I'd ask is: what do you want truenaming to do mechanically and in the fluff? Because in 3.5, it doesn't really do anything very new, except a wonky casting system with skill checks instead of spell slots.

So, how do you recognize an Onomancer? What can they do no one else can? What is their approach to magic?

Because I don't think there's really anything good in 3.5 that has built-in truenaming flavour. I'd recommend instead of first writing your truenaming fluff, then finding a class that fits that mechanically and changing its background.

In my setting, Wizardry is the harnessing of the natural laws of the universe to produce spell-like effects. This means that any given wizard is essentially a form of scientist, no matter how he decides to cast his spells.

There are three major traditions of Wizardry, which all borrow from each-other to some extent, mirroring the three major branches of hard science in our world: Alchemy (Chemistry), Herbalism (Biology), and Onomancy (Name Magic / Physics). A low-level wizard uses all three simultaneously to achieve their desired effects, and can continue to do so into their higher levels. Certain orders insist that the wizard specialize in one of the three, however, which means that after a time they are expected to enter a specific prestige class related to their area of study.

In my world, Onomancy is physics. In our world, physics involves the study of the movement and behavior of objects based on the interaction between matter and energy. Onomancy is rather similar. Onomancers believe that every object in the universe was given a name at the beginning of creation, and is constantly seeking to achieve it's true nature through that name, which is why things move and interact with each-other in the way that they do. Onomancy involves giving the matter in question the extra push it needs to achieve it's true potential.

To give you an example of how this works, consider a non-specialized Wizard who wants to cast the spell Fireball. He might use herbalism to create a clump of flammable matter using alchemy and herbalism and turn it into a grenade. He lights the grenade and then throws it, and while he does so he names the primordial name of fire. The flame that is lit on the grenade hears it's ancient name and is pushed to seek the perfection of itself. It explodes into a raging inferno, consuming all of it's fuel within a split second in a gigantic ball of flame.

Someone who specializes in Onomancy is able to produce such effects without preparing the grenade in the first place. He knows how to speak the name so that it brings the effect into being without something to come out of it.

Numerology is used in order to find these names. Some names are common knowledge, like the names of the classical elements. Others need to be approximated. This can be done by studying every aspect of the object or concept the Onomancer wishes to manipulate, putting this information into a mathematical formula, solving it, and then converting the answer into a word or sequence of words. In the language of names, numbers and consonants are interchangeable, so creating names from numbers is not too difficult. once all the names necessary are established, all the Onomancer needs to do to create his effect is to put these names into a sentence that describes what he wants to happen, and it happens.



During the last couple days I actually found a class which closely mirrors this effect in the green ronin supplement Testament, the Ren-Hekau. Unfortunately it does not offer full progression, so I might have to either edit it or doing something else to get it to function as one of the specialist schools.