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Thread: The Blades of Keran [Setting]

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    Default Re: The Blades of Keran [Setting]

    Gramarist
    This is my world, it follows my rules.
    -- The True Mind, god of the Koumarn

    In a world as arcane and frightening as keran, knowledge is a valuable commodity. Many marvels seem eldritch to the uneducated, but some know that all phenomena must follow certain rules and laws, even if we don't quite understand them. The mechanisation of the magical is collectively known as gramarie, and thus one who learns the skills to use and control it is a gramarist.

    In order to take even a single level of Gramarist, you must possess the Alter Subtype.

    Role: Gramarists can fill any combat role utilising amazingly powerful devices, but their true calling is a non-combat one. By using gramarie, people are able to commit amazing acts of magic for nearly any purpose.

    Alignment: Gramarists can be of any alignment.

    Hit Die: d6.

    Starting Gold: As Rogue.

    Class Skills
    The Gramarist's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Autohypnosis (Wis), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all, taken individually) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis) and Use Magic Device (Cha).
    Skill Points per level: (6 + Int modifier)

    The Gramarist
    {table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |
    Principles Known

    1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Baccalaureate principles, eldritch wick, specialization|
    1

    2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3|Eldritch blast +1d6|
    2

    3rd|+1|+1|+1|+3|Spectroconstruction|
    3

    4th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Bonus feat, eldritch blast +2d6|
    3

    5th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Spectroconstruction (2/day)|
    4

    6th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Eldritch blast +3d6|
    5

    7th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Spectroconstruction (3/day), magisterial principles|
    6

    8th|+4|+2|+2|+6|Bonus feat, eldritch blast +4d6|
    6

    9th|+4|+3|+3|+6|Spectroconstruction (4/day)|
    7

    10th|+5|+3|+3|+7|Eldritch blast +5d6|
    8

    11th|+5|+3|+3|+7|Spectroconstruction (5/day)|
    9

    12th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8|Bonus feat, eldritch blast +6d6|
    9

    13th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8|Spectroconstruction (6/day)|
    10

    14th|+7/+2|+4|+4|+9|Doctorate principles, eldritch blast +7d6|
    11

    15th|+7/+2|+5|+5|+9|Spectroconstruction (7/day)|
    12

    16th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10|Bonus feat, eldritch blast +8d6|
    12

    17th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10|Spectroconstruction (8/day)|
    13

    18th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11|Eldritch blast +9d6|
    14

    19th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11|Spectroconstruction (9/day)|
    15

    20th|+10/+5|+6|+6|+12|Bonus feat, eldritch blast +10d6, the architect|
    15

    [/table]

    All of the following are class features of the gramarist.

    Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: As a gramarist you are proficient in all simple weapons and light armour. You are not proficient in shields of any kind.

    Eldritch Wick (Sp): The study of gramarie is very closely related to the study of pure magic. Arcane energy is one of the purest forms of puissance, and as you learn about the principles that govern the flow of magic, you also learn to generate that energy yourself. At 1st level you gain an eldritch wick, which is a touch attack that deals 1 point of damage. This ability can be used at will, and is treated like as a spell-like ability whose caster level is equal to your Hit Dice. Your eldritch wick is the equivalent of a 0th level spell.

    Your caster level for your eldritch wick (and, later, your eldritch blast) qualifies you to take feats, prestige classes, and other such venues which require a generic caster level. It does not count as arcane, divine, or anything else more specific than a caster level.

    Specialization: All initiates of gramarie tend to gravitate towards one discipline or another; at 1st level you must pick one discipline to specialize in. You gain a competence bonus of half your class level on the key skill of your chosen discipline, and can select principles from that discipline which are marked with the [Specialist] tag. A specialist cannot select any doctorate-level principles from other fields of study than their specialization.

    You can choose "general studies" as your specialization, in which case you have chosen to major in "the universe". These gramarists are known as universalists, and while their guidance counselors might say they lack direction, they actually know exactly what they're doing. A universalist can select magisterial-level (200-level) specialist principles from any discipline as doctorate-level principles, but can never select doctorate-level specialist principles. They can, however, learn any non-specialist doctorate-level principle once they gain access to that tier. If you are a universalist, you also never qualify for prestige classes or other venues that require specialization.

    A universalist adds this competence bonus to Knowledge (architecture and engineering) checks.

    Principles of Gramarie: As a student of gramarie, you have many avenues of learning available to you. At 1st level, and again whenever indicated on your class table, you learn a new principle. Principles are supernatural (Su) abilities which bend or break the laws of physics, but not quite in the same way that most magic does. Principles can be used whenever you have the time, materials and inclination; they are effectively usable at-will if you are in an appropriate situation. Principles come in three grades: Baccalaureate, Magisterial, and Doctorate. You gain access to these higher grade principles as shown on your class table. Once you achieve the Doctorate level (at your 14th class level) you may refer to yourself as a doctor of your that discipline. You cannot put off learning a principle; if you do not qualify for one when you would otherwise receive it, it's lost. If a principle is marked [Specialist], it can only be learned by a specialist in that discipline.

    A principle is not cast, it is prepared. By preparing a principle multiple times, you can change the volume or size of the target affected. For example, if a principle targets 1 cubic foot of material, by preparing it twice (and thus spending twice as long on it) you could target 2 cubic feet of the material instead. A special case is made for bubbles, which are spherical effects. For more information on the size of bubbles, refer to the miscellaneous section at the end of this document.

    If a principle requires materials, you need extra materials every time you prepare it. You can also improve a principle later on my adding more materials to it (if applicable) and by spending more time on it. This also forces you to make a new skill check on it. Speaking of skill checks, you can always choose to use Knowledge (architecture and engineering) as the skill to prepare a principle instead of the discipline key skill, but you take a -10 penalty on the check. In the same vein, you can take 20 on key skill checks made to prepare a principle, but you can never take 10 on them. Bear in mind that taking 20 means taking 20 times as long as you normally would, which for gramarie can be very long indeed. To prepare a principle you must be within range of touch of the structure or object or location on which you are setting the principle for the duration of the preparation.

    If multiple gramarists know the same principle, they can work simultaneously on the same project. For example, two gramarists could prepare the same principle at the same time, and the principle would count as having been prepared twice. Later a third gramarist who also knows that principle could show up and prepare it again, and the principle would then have been prepared three times. A gramarist can choose to 'lock' a principle that has been prepared, meaning that only he can continue work on it later. Bypassing the lock requires making a key skill check (based on the discipline) which beats the principle's current skill check by 5 or more.

    Eldritch Blast (Sp): Once you move beyond a simple cursory understanding of arcana, you can learn to project your power in the same way as those whose magic is in their blood. At 2nd level your eldritch wick becomes an eldritch blast, which is a ranged touch attack that must be made within 60ft. Your eldritch blast deals 1 damage, plus 1d6 damage for every two class levels as shown on your class table. Aside from the small difference in damage, this blast is interchangeable with that gained from other classes, and additional eldritch blast damage from other sources adds to this eldritch blast. Your eldritch blast has an equivalent spell level of half your Hit Dice, and the caster level of the effect is equal to your Hit Dice.

    Spectroconstruction (Su): Building super awesome architecture would take a while if you had to do it all yourself. Luckily you have at your beck and call an army of spectral labourers willing to take one for the team. Starting at 3rd level, every day you can cause an effect equivalent to a lyre of building (building effect) for 30 minutes. You gain an extra daily use of this ability at 5th level and every 2 levels thereafter. You can use this effect on its own merits, or as part of a project, as you see fit.

    No Perform check is required to initiate this effect, but instead you must make a DC 18 Knowledge (architecture and engineering) check every time you activate it (+3 to the DC for every additional time per day you activate it). Failure indicates the daily use is wasted. You cannot split up individual uses of this ability; if you do not use all 7,200 man-hours during the activation period, they're lost.

    Spoiler
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    It's not always entirely clear how useful a man-hour is, because it's not always clear how to quantify labour. The lyre of building is an ambiguous wondrous item at best, so while it's the only reference that exists in this case, it's not exactly helpful in the strictest sense. So for your convenience here is a small list of commonly manufactured items and an estimate of the number of man-hours required to build them in the real world. This should provide a decent starting point for you to determine how many man-hours you'll need for a given project.

    {table=head]Man-hours|Project
    20|A well-made cart
    50|One 5ft. cube of a tunnel
    300|A gypsy's carriage
    5,000|A nice house
    7,200|Maximum labour from one spectroconstruction
    44,000|A small boat
    200,000|A large building
    300,000|Industrial factory
    600,000|A viking ship
    1,000,000|The Colossus at Rhodes
    2,000,000|A fortified castle
    7,000,000|The Empire State Building
    15,000,000|The Titanic
    650,000,000|The Great Pyramid of Giza[/table]

    It should also be prominently mentioned that the work from this effect is akin to unskilled labour. You can use it to build, essentially, anything that doesn't require a Craft check of any kind.


    Bonus Feat: As a student, you inevitably pick up a few lessons along the way which aren't necessarily taught in a classroom. At 4th level, as well as every four levels thereafter, you gain a bonus feat you qualify for. A universalist can instead choose a principle which they qualify for in place of a feat.

    The Architect (Ex): An amateur could do something right; a professional never does it wrong. At 20th level, you're far beyond being a master of magical engineering. Every Knowledge (architecture and engineering) check you make is maximised (treated as a natural 20), as well as the rolls for your specialization's key skill.

    The true revelation at this level, however, is the perfect understanding you have achieved of the connection between magic rules and the convential laws of physics. Knowing how these principles of weird science interact allows you to transcend the normal preconceptions of what is and what is not 'possible'. All of your principles are now extraordinary in nature, and for all intents and purposes any machine or structure you build out of them is considered nonmagical in every way.
    Last edited by Milo v3; 2013-02-18 at 08:43 PM.
    Spoiler: Old Avatar by Aruius
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