Request: The Librarian Remix (3.5 Base Class)
Requested by the original creator, Amechra. The original class can be found here.
The Librarian
{table="head"]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |Liber Mentat
|Rote Erudition
1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Living Library, Knowledge Devotion, Librarian's Vow, Best at What I Do|1
||
2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3|Devotion to Learning, Walking Encyclopedia|2
||
3rd|+1|+1|+1|+3|Rote Erudition (1)|3
|1
|
4th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Supported Learning|4
|2
|
5th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Master Scribe|5
|3
|
6th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Rote Erudition (2)|6
|3
|
7th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Master Translator|7
|4
|
8th|+4|+2|+2|+6|Supported Learning|8
|5
|
9th|+4|+3|+3|+6|Rote Erudition (3)|9
|5
|
10th|+5|+3|+3|+7|So It Was Written So I Can Read It|10
|6
|
11th|+5|+3|+3|+7||11
|7
|
12th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8|Rote Erudition (4), Supported Learning|12
|7
|
13th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8|Perceive Handwriting|13
|8
|
14th|+7/+2|+4|+4|+9||14
|9
|
15th|+7/+2|+5|+5|+9|Rote Erudition (5)|15
|9
|
16th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10|Supported Learning|16
|10
|
17th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10||17
|11
|
18th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11|Rote Erudition (6)|18
|11
|
19th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11||19
|12
|
20th|+10/+5|+6|+6|+12|Supported Learning, One with the Knowldege|20
|13
|
[/table]
Alignment: Any nonchaotic
Hit Die: d4
Class Skills:
A Librarian's class skills and their corresponding ability score are: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Forgery (Cha), Knowledge (All Skills, taken individually) (Int), Martial Lore (Int), Profession (Librarian) (Wis), Speak Language (N/A), Spellcraft (Int)
Skill Points at 1st Level: (8 + Int modifier) × 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 8 + Int modifier
Class Features:
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A Librarian is proficient with all simple weapons and no armors (but see Supported Learning).
Living Library (Ex and Sp): A Librarian's duty is to defend and preserve books, and the best way to do so is to back up the books in one's memory. At 1st level, a Librarian gains the ability to use the spell Scholar's Touch at will as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to their librarian level; however, instead of merely reading the book, they internalize it.
They have perfect recall of any book they have memorized in this fashion, until they forget it by either making room for another book as a Full-Round action, or through the use of the Master Scribe ability; as such, they gain a bonus to any Knowledge skill the books would pertain to equal to half their class level (minimum 1). If the book did not pertain to any Knowledge skill, such as a book of poetry or a book on carpentry, they may instead treat themselves as having a number of ranks in a skill that that book pertains to equal to the bonus to Knowledge skills from this ability, as long as their ranks in that skill are less than the bonus.
They may keep a number of books memorized at any one time equal to the number in the Liber Mentat column on the table above; they may memorize other texts, such as letters and notices; if they do this, each memorized piece of writing counts as 1/3 of a book, which does not grant any of the benefits of a full book. They may only memorize non-magical texts in this way; any attempts to memorize a magical text results only in having read the text.
Knowledge Devotion (Ex): A Librarian has a singular ability to use their knowledge to defend themselves and their books; at 1st level, they gain an ability that closely resembles the feat of the same name, except the bonus to attack and damage is instead equal to the result of the check -11 divided by 5, rounded down. In addition, unlike the feat, the bonus is not capped.
Librarian's Vow (Ex): A Librarian has a deep and abiding passion for books. If they ever willingly allow a book to be destroyed, they lose all class features of the Librarian class for the next 24 hours; if they personally destroy the book, they lose all features of this class permanently. This is unless they receive an Atonement spell from a Cleric of a deity or the concept of Knowledge, which only returns their Living Library, Knowledge Devotion, and Master Scribe class features. Alternatively, they may apprentice themselves to another Librarian for a period of 1 month, after which they regain all features of this class.
Best at What I Do (Ex): A barbarian is good at pillaging and plundering. Paladins are good at smiting evil and being goody two-shoes pansies. Monks are good at...hmm. And a librarian is good at taking care of books. Librarians receive a perfection bonus equal to their class level on all Profession (Librarian) checks.
Devotion to Learning (Ex): A Librarian is so devoted to their books that they gain the ability to "think through" problems dealt with in their books, and gain more efficient ways to deal with problems that effect the mind. At 2nd level, a Librarian may use their Intelligence modifier instead of the normal modifier for every skill they would gain virtual ranks for from their Living Library ability. In addition, they may use their Intelligence modifier instead of their Wisdom modifier for the purpose of Will saves, and gain a Will save against any effect with the Mind Affecting descriptor.
Walking Encyclopedia (Ex): Librarians are pendantic know-it-all nerds, like bards but with glasses and a reading fetish instead of bagpipes. So in the end, you're not sure who's more annoying. This ability functions like the bardic knowledge class feature. A librarian with at least 5 ranks in the Knowledge (History) skill receives a +2 synergy bonus to all Walking Encyclopedia checks.
Rote Erudition (Su): A Librarian's special bond to knowledge is so intense that they learn how to make special magical items known as 'Rotes'. At 3rd level, a Librarian gains the ability to create special Rotes from scrolls of Arcane and Divine scrolls, and Martial Scripts; they may only create Rotes from scrolls or scripts of containing spells/maneuvers equal to 1/3 their class level, rounded down. The process to convert a scroll or script into a Rote takes 1 minute; thereafter, only Librarians may use them. The act of doing this is permanent, and the newly created Rote cannot be used except for with this class feature.
To use a Rote, a Librarian must first memorize it with their Living Library ability; this does not take up any slots from their Liber Mentat, but instead is limited to the number in the Rote Erudition column. This does not destroy the text, but may only be done a number of times per day equal to twice their Intelligence modifier, with a maximum of their class level. Thereafter, they may use a Rote using the same action as the scroll or script it was copied from; the caster/initiator level (hereafter the Erudition level) for the resulting effect is equal to the Librarian's class level. Rotes are Supernatural abilities, use Intelligence for all save DCs, and require the following components to use:
-Verbal Component for Rotes from Arcane scrolls (Arcane Rotes).
-Divine Focus Component for Rotes from Divine scrolls (Divine Rotes).
-Somatic Component for Rotes from Martial Scripts (Martial Rotes).
A librarian's Divine Focus for their Rotes may be any holy symbol for any deity that offers the Knowledge Domain.
Additionally, they learn to use different Rotes at different rates; they may add half their levels in the following classes to their Librarian levels for the purpose of what level Rotes they are able to access of a certain type:
-Arcane Spellcaster class levels, for the purpose of Arcane Rotes.
-Divine Spellcaster class levels, for the purpose of Divine Rotes.
-Initiator class levels, for the purpose of Martial Rotes.
Rotes can be used as many times per day as the Librarian wishes, but degrade through use. Every Rote starts with a single point of Degradation; every time the Librarian uses that Rote, there is a 5% chance per point of Degradation that the Rote will simply fail.
If the Rote does not fail, the Degradation is increased by 1 and the Rote is activated normally.
After the Degradation increases to 10 or higher, there is a 5% chance per point of Degradation beyond 9 that the Rote will be destroyed if activated.
*Note on Martial Rotes: Unlike Martial Scripts, the maneuver in a Martial Rote does not have to be readied to be used.*
Supported Learning: A Librarian takes more away from their books and Rotes than anyone else would think possible: at 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the Librarian may select an ability from the following list:
-Association with the Origin (Ex): When determining Erudition level for a rote, classes that would add to the effective Librarian level for Rote level usable count as 3/4 instead of 1/2. For example, a Librarian 4/Cleric 4 would have an Erudition level of 7 for originally Divine Rotes, and 6 for all other Rotes.
-Rote Conversion (Ex): When the Librarian selects this ability, they select one of the following: Arcane, Divine, or Martial. Whenever they create a Rote, they may elect to treat the Rote as being a Rote of that type; however, successful use of the Rote increases Degradation by 2 instead of 1. They may select this ability multiple times, each time selecting a different type to convert Rotes origin into.
-Retrieve from Ashes (Su): The Librarian may touch a book that is destroyed or burned and completely repair it, removing all damage from it and restoring any Hardness lost. In addition, any destroyed writing on the text is restored in full. They do not need to have the book memorized.
-Acquired Combativeness (Su): As long as the Librarian has a Martial Rote memorized, they are treated as being proficient in all the discipline weapons from the discipline the Maneuver on that Rote is from; this benefit extends to all Martial Rotes memorized. If this ability is taken a second type, as long as a Martial Rote is memorized, the BAB from Librarian levels is treated as 3/4s, not 1/2 (for example, a Librarian 8 with this ability twice would have a BAB of 6, not 4.)
-Defender of Libraries (Sp): A Librarian who selects this ability can use Silence as a spell-like ability at will. After they have reached 12th level, they may take this ability a second time to use Antipathy at will as a spell-like ability, but only may use it on objects pertaining to books. The caster level for these spell-like abilities is equal to their class level.
-Librarian's Walk (Sp): This ability may only be taken by a 12th level Librarian; the Librarian may use Greater Teleport (with no chance of error) at will as a spell-like ability, as long as the beginning and end of the teleport are within a library.
-Knowledgeable Fighting (Ex): A Librarian may use the table for highest maneuver level known for the purpose of using Rotes derived from the Open Tome discipline. (For example, a 9th level Librarian could have Rotes of up to 3rd level, or Martial Rotes derived from Open Tome maneuvers of up to 5th level.) Only a number of such Rotes equal to half the Librarian's Intelligence modifier can be memorized at once.
-Bonus Feat (Ex): The Librarian gains a Bonus feat they qualify for.
Master Scribe (Sp): A Librarian recognizes that a book kept in memory is not truly a book; a book must be readable by others. At 5th level, a Librarian gains the ability to use the Amanuensis spell at will as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to their class level; they may only copy out texts they have memorized with the Living Library ability, which are then forgotten. They may then use Living Library on the resulting book as normal.
Master Translator (Su): Starting at 7th level, a librarian is constantly treated as if under the effect of a comprehend languages spell, but it only applies to written documents, not verbal languages.
So it was Written So I Can Read It (Sp): Starting at 10th level, a librarian can cast read magic as the spell as a spell-like ability at will, with a caster level equal to their librarian class level.
Perceive Handwriting (Ex): Starting at 13th level, a librarian with at least 1 rank in the Forgery skill automatically succeeds all opposed Forgery checks made to identify a false document (but not to forge a document themselves).
One with the Knowledge (Ex): A Librarian eventually joins with the things they love best: books. At 20th level, a Librarian becomes a Scirelich, with the following changes:
- Their type becomes Living Construct.
-They do not have to create a phylactery; instead, they select a single piece of text to act as their phylactery. It is treated as having been 'updated' the last time the Librarian touched the text.
-They do not gain the Magic Missile spell-like ability.
Notes
[SPOILER]I decided to make an incredibly nerdy class. Yes, they gain power from reading! This is also my first time posting a homebrew class on GitP, so I abjure you...
Don't be gentle. If anyone can spare more ideas for the Supported Learning feature and for feats, please do.
Re: Request: The Librarian Remix (3.5 Base Class)
I like the additional class features.
And, I do have to say, you are FAST. Of course, you were just cleaning up a lot of wording, but hey, credit where it is due.
Re: Request: The Librarian Remix (3.5 Base Class)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Amechra
I like the additional class features.
And, I do have to say, you are FAST. Of course, you were just cleaning up a lot of wording, but hey, credit where it is due.
I'm glad you're happy with your remix. The real problem was all the supernatural class features that were clearly Sp instead. I suppose you did that for AoO reasons or something, but supernatural abilities don't have caster levels, and so having any kind of spell-like ability be (Su) is a bit of an odd choice (Continuous spells are (Su), activated spells are (Sp))
Re: Request: The Librarian Remix (3.5 Base Class)
The original class did not use any psionic material (autohypnosis is a skill that only psionic characters would have for example). Yet not one of its abilities is Psi nor did it have as much Tome of Battle material.
I'm not really proficient with incorporating that stuff into a base class but it strikes me that being a Librarian would not make one familiar with the skill Martial Lore other than as it would pertain to Rotes.
Quote:
Class Skills:
A Librarian's class skills and their corresponding ability score are: Autohypnosis (Wis), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Forgery (Cha), Knowledge (All) (Int), Martial Lore (Int), Profession, Psicraft (Int), Speak Language (N/A), Spellcraft (Int)
It does seem that adding Concentration is useful. You should probably change Knowledge (All) to Knowledge (Any). Profession (Librarian) is missing from that list (see Best At What I Do).
Although a Craft skill is listed, there are no special abilities that pertain to it. It really is a wasted skill since it would make sense to put ranks in Knowledge skills rather than Craft. However, it would make sense if you had specifically added Craft (bookmaking) or Craft (bookbinding) as specific skills.
Debby
Re: Request: The Librarian Remix (3.5 Base Class)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Debihuman
The original class did not use any psionic material (autohypnosis is a skill that only psionic characters would have for example). Yet not one of its abilities is Psi nor did it have as much Tome of Battle material.
Ah, yeah. That's left over from when I was going to add psionics to the the Rotes, then I realized that power stones weren't really books, so it didn't fit with the flavor of the class. I'll remove Psicraft and Autohypnosis.
Quote:
I'm not really proficient with incorporating that stuff into a base class but it strikes me that being a Librarian would not make one familiar with the skill Martial Lore other than as it would pertain to Rotes.
Martial Lore is about knowledge and recognition, same as Spellcraft. If you read books about maneuvers, you can easily tell. Plus, you need to make a Martial Lore check to use Martial Scripts, so it's a handy skill to have.
Quote:
It does seem that adding Concentration is useful. You should probably change Knowledge (All) to Knowledge (Any). Profession (Librarian) is missing from that list (see Best At What I Do).
Although a Craft skill is listed, there are no special abilities that pertain to it. It really is a wasted skill since it would make sense to put ranks in Knowledge skills rather than Craft. However, it would make sense if you had specifically added Craft (bookmaking) or Craft (bookbinding) as specific skills.
That's not how I do things. All base classes have Craft and Profession as class skills. I don't ever go against that. You don't need Profession (Librarian) as a specific skill, since you've got Profession (Any). Same with Craft.
Re: Request: The Librarian Remix (3.5 Base Class)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
NeoSeraphi
Ah, yeah. That's left over from when I was going to add psionics to the the Rotes, then I realized that power stones weren't really books, so it didn't fit with the flavor of the class. I'll remove Psicraft and Autohypnosis.
sounds good
Quote:
Martial Lore is about knowledge and recognition, same as Spellcraft. If you read books about maneuvers, you can easily tell. Plus, you need to make a Martial Lore check to use Martial Scripts, so it's a handy skill to have. [
Yeah, I wasn't sure about that.
Quote:
That's not how I do things. All base classes have Craft and Profession as class skills. I don't ever go against that. You don't need Profession (Librarian) as a specific skill, since you've got Profession (Any). Same with Craft.
Except the Best At What I Do only works if you have Profession (Librarian).
Just so you know, not all base classes have craft as a class skill. Barbarians and fighters don't have craft as class skills.
In this case, Craft does make sense.
Debby
Re: Request: The Librarian Remix (3.5 Base Class)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Debihuman
Except the Best At What I Do only works if you have Profession (Librarian).
You do have Profession (Librarian). You also have Profession (Baker), Profession (Cat-wrangler) and Profession (Mime). Every class can be every profession, it's just that a librarian gets a boon if they stick to their character.
Quote:
Just so you know, not all base classes have craft as a class skill. Barbarians and fighters don't have craft as class skills.
In this case, Craft does make sense.
*sighs* Really? From you, Debbie? I'm disappointed.
SRD (Took me two seconds to double-check)
Quote:
Originally Posted by SRD
The fighter’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Quote:
Originally Posted by SRD
The barbarian’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Emphasis mine. Though, thank you. I did get to see that they both don't have Profession, which surprised me. So I guess I'll change the Profession to Profession (Librarian). Still, I'm pretty sure every class has Craft.
Re: Request: The Librarian Remix (3.5 Base Class)
You're right, I should have written "profession" rather than "craft."
Mea Culpa.
Debby
