Non caster with access to arcane spells

[ithildur]

Player's Guide to Faerun has a regional feat (Magical Training) that allows non casting classes access to 3 cantrips; are there other feats out there that do something similar? I'm specificly looking for access to arcane spells or spell like abilities. I'm not looking for a significant power boost so much as flavor, i.e. a lvl 1 ftr with rudimentary magical training who is supposed to represent something like the old 2e 1st lvl ftr/mage multiclass without gestalt rules.

[Forged Fury]

I believe there are several feats in Complete Arcane that provide thmatically-linked SLAs with 0 to 1st level spells.

[Waker]

Communicator: 1/day Arcane Mark, Comprehend Language, Message
Insightful: 1/day Detect Magic, Detect Secret Doors, Read Magic
Necropolis Born: 1/day Cause Fear, Ghost Sound, Touch of Fatigue
Night Haunt: 1/day Dancing Lights, Prestidigitation, Unseen Servant
Soul of the North: 1/day Chill Touch, Ray of Frost, Resistance
Spell Hand: 1/day Mage Hand, Open/Close Door, Tenser's Floating Disk

Saves for all of the spells are 10 + spell level + Cha

[veven]

A bit more restrictive than feats but the Arcane Stunt alternate class feature for Swashbucklers (replaces grace iirc) is nice. Lets you pick a few useful spells as SLA's with short durations (jump, feather fall, spider climb, and a couple other choices like that). To me it's a great deal useful than a small boost to reflex saves (a grand total of +3 over 20 levels, and who takes swashbuckler for 20 levels? blegh). Even if you are just doing the standard 3 level dip for Int to damage you can grab a useful (and swift action!) SLA.

[Devmaar]

You could always see if the DM would let you have a Dragonmark

[dextercorvia]

If you already have Magical Training, you can take Precocious Apprentice. If this is for a low level campaign a possible Alter Self 1/day won't get old.

[imperialspectre]

Factotum isn't bad.

[DLoFunk]

I did something like this as a fun little experiment and got 4th level spells as a lvl 20 commoner. Enjoy.


Race: Illumian
Class: Commoner 20

F1 Magical Training
F2 Arcane Disciple
1 Improved Sigil Krau
3 Heighten Spell
6 Easy Metamagic (Heighten Spell)
9 Extra Slot 1
12 Extra Slot 2
15 Extra Slot 3
18 Extra Slot 4

Lvl 1: Magical Training gives 0th level spells
Arcane Disciple grants 0th level spell known (and another slot)

Lvl 3: Imp. Krau increases its effective spell level to 1st.

Lvl 6: Easy Heighten increases effective spell level to 2nd.

Lvl 9: Extra Slot gives 1st level spell slot since we can cast 2nd level spells.
Arcane Disciple grants 1st level spell known (and another slot)
Apply Imp. Krau to the Domain Spell increasing effective spell level to 2nd
Easy Heighten increases its effective spell level to 3rd.

Lvl 12: Extra Slot gives 2nd level spell slot since we can cast 3nd level spells.
Arcane Disciple grants 2nd level spell known (and another slot)
Apply Imp. Krau to the Domain Spell increasing effective spell level to 3rd
Easy Heighten increases its effective spell level to 4th.

Lvl 15: Extra Slot gives 3rd level spell slot since we can cast 4th level spells.
Arcane Disciple grants 3rd level spell known (and another slot)
Apply Imp. Krau to the Domain Spell increasing effective spell level to 4th
Easy Heighten increases its effective spell level to 5th.

Lvl 18: Extra Slot gives 4th level spell slot since we can cast 5th level spells.
Arcane Disciple grants 4th level spell known (and another slot)
Apply Imp. Krau to the Domain Spell increasing effective spell level to 5th
Easy Heighten increases its effective spell level to 6th.


0 1 2 3 4
Lvl1 3+1
Lvl3 3+1
Lvl6 3+1
Lvl9 3+1 1+1
Lvl12 3+1 1+1 1+1
Lvl15 3+1 1+1 1+1 1+1
Lvl18 3+1 1+1 1+1 1+1 1+1

[FMArthur]

I seem to recall that Easy Heighten doesn't work. I've looked into similar Heighten shenanigans and it doesn't work due to Heighten being worded to count as whatever slot it is cast from. Effectively the cause-and-effect for normal metamagic is reversed in Heighten's case; for normal metamagic feats, adding the metamagic causes the level of the spell slot you use to increase; for Heighten, increasing the level of the spell slot you use is what powers up your spell.

But Earth Spell from Races of Stone does let you get an extra spell level out of Heighten. It requires Earth Sense and contact with the ground.

[dextercorvia]

Arcane Disciple grants neither spells known nor spell slots, and there aren't 0-level domain spells.

Heighten may or may not work with reducers. It is worded funny, but some reducers explicitly work with it (naenhoon for instance explains how to use it with heighten). Some explicitly don't (Arcane Thesis IIRC), that leaves those in the middle as gray area. If heighten already didn't work that way, then why would they specifically disallow it for this one reducer -- that sort of thing.

[Jack_Simth]

Player's Guide to Faerun has a regional feat (Magical Training) that allows non casting classes access to 3 cantrips; are there other feats out there that do something similar? I'm specificly looking for access to arcane spells or spell like abilities. I'm not looking for a significant power boost so much as flavor, i.e. a lvl 1 ftr with rudimentary magical training who is supposed to represent something like the old 2e 1st lvl ftr/mage multiclass without gestalt rules.

The combination of Magical Training, Precocious Apprentice, and Practiced Spellcaster give you two or three cantrips and one 2nd level spell that you can cast reliably (Well, that you can cast reliably once you've got five hit dice, anyway). Takes three feats, but Invisibility, Mirror Image, or some other useful defensive spell can be quite useful, even if only once per day.

[DLoFunk]

Arcane Disciple grants neither spells known nor spell slots, and there aren't 0-level domain spells.

I just checked the wording from CDiv and you are correct. I was going by Crystal Keep's description of the feat and it's worded weirdly to suggest otherwise.

[gbprime]

The combination of Magical Training, Precocious Apprentice, and Practiced Spellcaster give you two or three cantrips and one 2nd level spell that you can cast reliably (Well, that you can cast reliably once you've got five hit dice, anyway). Takes three feats, but Invisibility, Mirror Image, or some other useful defensive spell can be quite useful, even if only once per day.

Three feats is a very large investment for what you're getting out of it. The swashbuckler alt class feature or one level in Duskblade is a much smaller cost.

[ericgrau]

Generally a 1 level dip into wizard gives you what you want. It's not quite dual class but you don't have to dedicate much to wizardry either. Many 1st level spells are handy, especially true strike and feather fall which have no spell failure chance in armor (no somatic component). Wands likewise have no spell failure chance in armor. 1 level of wizard effectively (not actually) gives you a +20 modifier on use magic device, granting automatic success on wands of any level and a decent chance of success on scrolls. You can even use wizard staffs, even those with high level spells, with automatic success. I wonder if the magical training feat gives you wand and staff use. Since even the most powerful ones only require a rudimentary understanding of magic, it would make sense. Many potions, oils and wondrous items, especially expendable ones, get you pretty far too. Use magic device could work too of course but generally it's pretty poor at level 2.

[gbprime]

I wonder if the magical training feat gives you wand and staff use. Since even the most powerful ones only require a rudimentary understanding of magic, it would make sense.

Nope, that's a different feat. Arcane Schooling (PGtF). Lets you activate spell trigger items as if you had a level in the class, and that class also becomes a favored class for you.

[Darrin]

There's also the Dragonsblood Pool magical location (Complete Mage p. 149). Anyone who can cast spells spontaneously (including divine casters) can qualify. Magical Training also lets you qualify. This gives you a 1st, 2nd or 3rd level arcane spell slot. The slot lasts for 1 year, but during that year you can use it to take the Extra Spell Slot feat if need be.

It gets a bit wonky if you don't actually have any arcane spells to put in that slot, however. You can use Heighten Spell to bring up a cantrip to the necessary level, though.

[ithildur]

Communicator: 1/day Arcane Mark, Comprehend Language, Message
Insightful: 1/day Detect Magic, Detect Secret Doors, Read Magic
Necropolis Born: 1/day Cause Fear, Ghost Sound, Touch of Fatigue
Night Haunt: 1/day Dancing Lights, Prestidigitation, Unseen Servant
Soul of the North: 1/day Chill Touch, Ray of Frost, Resistance
Spell Hand: 1/day Mage Hand, Open/Close Door, Tenser's Floating Disk

Saves for all of the spells are 10 + spell level + Cha

Sources? [edit] NM, found 'em, Complete Arcane.

Yes, the arcane stunt is extremely nice for swashbuckler; makes playing one at lvl 1 much more tolerable.

Wizard 1 is an obvious option, except I'm talking about a lvl 1 character, non gestalt. Duskblade is also good, except you may as well keep leveling in duskblade if you go that way at least for a few levels, which is not what I'm going for.

Thanks for responses regardless, including ones that were posted by folks who clearly didn't read the OP.

[Tyndmyr]

I seem to recall that Easy Heighten doesn't work. I've looked into similar Heighten shenanigans and it doesn't work due to Heighten being worded to count as whatever slot it is cast from.

Replace Easy Heighten with Sanctum Spell, rinse and repeat.

[Curmudgeon]

Nope, that's a different feat. Arcane Schooling (PGtF). Lets you activate spell trigger items as if you had a level in the class, and that class also becomes a favored class for you.

Note that both of these are Faerûn regional feats, and you can only select one such feat. You've got to choose between Magical Training and Arcane Schooling; you can't have both.

[grimbold]

Communicator: 1/day Arcane Mark, Comprehend Language, Message
Insightful: 1/day Detect Magic, Detect Secret Doors, Read Magic
Necropolis Born: 1/day Cause Fear, Ghost Sound, Touch of Fatigue
Night Haunt: 1/day Dancing Lights, Prestidigitation, Unseen Servant
Soul of the North: 1/day Chill Touch, Ray of Frost, Resistance
Spell Hand: 1/day Mage Hand, Open/Close Door, Tenser's Floating Disk

Saves for all of the spells are 10 + spell level + Cha

yes these are all correct, just dont choose a feat with the damage dealing ones because they do nothing compared to a good fighter

[Prime32]

You could always see if the DM would let you have a Dragonmark

Dragonmark. Yes. There's a lot of support for them too.

[Tvtyrant]

Binders have access to some really good SLAs and they aren't casters.