DJ Scrub
2008-01-18, 09:57 PM
I created this prestige class this week as a tie-in to the fluff of a setting I will be using for a campaign beginning next Saturday. I wanted to run it by the forums to see what people think of the build. Further information about the setting is not really needed, but there are some terms used in the description which are needed. Mynod was the first of the Great Kingdoms to be founded, and the people of the world at the time of the campaign think of it much the same way we think of pyramid-era Egypt. The ancient culture comes from some time before that. Also, I am using these spells (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/STcFi6l45eoAbaxiYPn.html) in the setting, with a descriptor called "ancient" added to the bottom two, as the secrets supposedly come from the ancients. Other than that, I hope the class is fairly straightforward.
Long ago, before the Great Kingdoms of the world were built, a culture of much greater magical power ruled the world. Little is known of their culture or their magic in the present, but a few of their artifacts remain along with scattered documents detailing word-of-mouth accounts from sources themselves as old as myth. A select few choose, through a combination of intense study and magical divination, to pursue these narrow, difficult paths to wisdom, and they are set apart from other wizards by the peculiarity of their ways.
Walkers of ancient ways come in a variety of forms, but most fall into one of two broad groups: aloof members of cloistered orders who hoard precious volumes of ancient lore and travellers who seek knowledge of the scattered artifacts. This latter type of walker is most likely to be found in an adventuring group, where the unusual abilities obtained through these special studies can often be quite useful.
Hit Die: d4.
Requirements
To qualify to become a walker of ancient ways, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (history) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 4 ranks.
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast 2nd-level arcane spells.
Special: Must be specialized in divination.
Special: Must have been exposed to an artifact made before the founding of Mynod while aware of the object's age.
Walker of Ancient Ways
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Ordered mind (insanity, confusion, ancient), ancient study|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Spontaneous divination 1/day|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|terrible secret|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Spontaneous divination 2/day|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Observational affinity|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Spontaneous divination 3/day, ordered mind (charm)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Practiced researcher|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|Spontaneous divination 4/day|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|Ordered mind (mind-affecting)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Spontaneous divination 5/day, terrible revelation|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class [/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the walker of ancient ways prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Walkers of ancient ways gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Spells per Day/Spells Known At each level, a walker of ancient ways gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class to which he belonged before adding the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (such as the bonus feat sometimes gained by a wizard). If he had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a walker of ancient ways, he must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.
Ordered Mind (Su): Study of the lost magic causes a walker of ancient ways to quickly begin ordering his thoughts very precisely in order to process the strange information. As a result, his mind is no longer affected normally by certain things. He gains immunity to confusion and insanity spells and effects as well spells with the ancient descriptor. At 6th level, this immunity extends to charm spells and effects, and at 9th level, a walker of ancient ways becomes immune to all mind-affecting effects.
Ancient Study (Ex): Because of his special familiarity with the ancient culture, a walker of ancient ways adds his class level to all Knowledge (history) checks pertaining to creatures, objects, and events from prior to the founding of Mynod.
Spontaneous Divination (Su): At 2nd level, a walker of ancient ways has become accustomed to studying ancient lore through divination, a process which results in a bond between his understanding of the two. Because of this, the small bits of ancient wisdom accumulated begin to provide him with insight into the workings of his divination spells. As a result, he is able to replace any arcane spell he has memorized with a divination spell of the same level from his spellbook as a free action. A walker of ancient ways can use this ability once per day at 2nd level, increasing by one at every other level after that to a maximum of five times per day at 10th level.
Terrible Secret: A 3rd-level walker of ancient ways adds terrible secret to his spellbook as a 4th-level arcane spell. He can prepare and cast the spell just like any other spell he knows.
Observational Affinity (Ex): At 5th level, a walker of ancient ways has become sufficiently acquainted with the lore of the ancient artifacts that contemporary magic items seem very simple to him. As a result, he can copy the component spells of any magic item he studies into his spellbook as though copying from a scroll. He must first cast identify on the object, after which the process requires double the amount of time needed to copy a scroll of the same spell. If an item has more than one component spell, the walker of ancient ways must copy each spell seperately, although after using identify only once on an item he can always copy spells from that item.
Practiced Researcher (Ex): At 7th level, research of both mundane and arcane forms has become second nature to the walker of ancient ways. Through this experience, his necessary time is halved for all Gather Information checks, library research, spell research, and casting of the spell legend lore.
Terrible Revelation: A 10th-level walker of ancient ways adds terrible revelation to his spellbook as an 8th-level arcane spell. He can prepare and cast the spell just like any other spell he knows.
Long ago, before the Great Kingdoms of the world were built, a culture of much greater magical power ruled the world. Little is known of their culture or their magic in the present, but a few of their artifacts remain along with scattered documents detailing word-of-mouth accounts from sources themselves as old as myth. A select few choose, through a combination of intense study and magical divination, to pursue these narrow, difficult paths to wisdom, and they are set apart from other wizards by the peculiarity of their ways.
Walkers of ancient ways come in a variety of forms, but most fall into one of two broad groups: aloof members of cloistered orders who hoard precious volumes of ancient lore and travellers who seek knowledge of the scattered artifacts. This latter type of walker is most likely to be found in an adventuring group, where the unusual abilities obtained through these special studies can often be quite useful.
Hit Die: d4.
Requirements
To qualify to become a walker of ancient ways, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (history) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 4 ranks.
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast 2nd-level arcane spells.
Special: Must be specialized in divination.
Special: Must have been exposed to an artifact made before the founding of Mynod while aware of the object's age.
Walker of Ancient Ways
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Ordered mind (insanity, confusion, ancient), ancient study|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Spontaneous divination 1/day|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|terrible secret|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Spontaneous divination 2/day|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Observational affinity|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Spontaneous divination 3/day, ordered mind (charm)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Practiced researcher|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|Spontaneous divination 4/day|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|Ordered mind (mind-affecting)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Spontaneous divination 5/day, terrible revelation|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class [/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the walker of ancient ways prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Walkers of ancient ways gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Spells per Day/Spells Known At each level, a walker of ancient ways gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class to which he belonged before adding the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (such as the bonus feat sometimes gained by a wizard). If he had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a walker of ancient ways, he must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.
Ordered Mind (Su): Study of the lost magic causes a walker of ancient ways to quickly begin ordering his thoughts very precisely in order to process the strange information. As a result, his mind is no longer affected normally by certain things. He gains immunity to confusion and insanity spells and effects as well spells with the ancient descriptor. At 6th level, this immunity extends to charm spells and effects, and at 9th level, a walker of ancient ways becomes immune to all mind-affecting effects.
Ancient Study (Ex): Because of his special familiarity with the ancient culture, a walker of ancient ways adds his class level to all Knowledge (history) checks pertaining to creatures, objects, and events from prior to the founding of Mynod.
Spontaneous Divination (Su): At 2nd level, a walker of ancient ways has become accustomed to studying ancient lore through divination, a process which results in a bond between his understanding of the two. Because of this, the small bits of ancient wisdom accumulated begin to provide him with insight into the workings of his divination spells. As a result, he is able to replace any arcane spell he has memorized with a divination spell of the same level from his spellbook as a free action. A walker of ancient ways can use this ability once per day at 2nd level, increasing by one at every other level after that to a maximum of five times per day at 10th level.
Terrible Secret: A 3rd-level walker of ancient ways adds terrible secret to his spellbook as a 4th-level arcane spell. He can prepare and cast the spell just like any other spell he knows.
Observational Affinity (Ex): At 5th level, a walker of ancient ways has become sufficiently acquainted with the lore of the ancient artifacts that contemporary magic items seem very simple to him. As a result, he can copy the component spells of any magic item he studies into his spellbook as though copying from a scroll. He must first cast identify on the object, after which the process requires double the amount of time needed to copy a scroll of the same spell. If an item has more than one component spell, the walker of ancient ways must copy each spell seperately, although after using identify only once on an item he can always copy spells from that item.
Practiced Researcher (Ex): At 7th level, research of both mundane and arcane forms has become second nature to the walker of ancient ways. Through this experience, his necessary time is halved for all Gather Information checks, library research, spell research, and casting of the spell legend lore.
Terrible Revelation: A 10th-level walker of ancient ways adds terrible revelation to his spellbook as an 8th-level arcane spell. He can prepare and cast the spell just like any other spell he knows.