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Thread: Arcanist & Epic Arcanist [PEACH]

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    Jun 2012

    confused Arcanist & Epic Arcanist [PEACH]

    Preface:
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    I've seen this class been attempted dozens of times and they've always appeared unbalanced to me. In 2nd edition the Arcanist had access to all their spells known 24/7... You can obviously see why that would be a little unfair... So I decided to implement a Spells known system that can be changed every day. Effectively it still needs to prepare as a Wizard prepare as many spells of whatever level it wants or needs and cast those spells whenever it wants (or is able to). In essence I wanted the Arcanist to be a class that prepared like a Wizard, but casted (or Manifested) as a Psion.

    Hopefully the playground will be gentle so please, feel free to edit and comment in this thread to tell me what is troubling you... on this class

    I'm a little nervous about sharing my ideas... so be as harsh and as brutal as you possibly can. If I'm bad at this I wanna know


    The Arcanist

    Alignment
    Any.

    Hit Die
    d4.

    Table 1-1
    {table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special|Arcs/day|Unique Spells/day|Weave Depth

    1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Field Specialization, Spellbook, Scribe Scroll|2|1|1st|

    2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3||6|2|1st|

    3rd|+1|+1|+1|+3||11|3|1st|

    4th|+2|+1|+1|+4||17|3|2nd|

    5th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Bonus Feat|25|4|2nd|

    6th|+3|+2|+2|+5||35|5|3rd|

    7th|+3|+2|+2|+5||46|6|3rd|

    8th|+4|+2|+2|+6||58|6|4th|

    9th|+4|+3|+3|+6||72|7|4th|

    10th|+5|+3|+3|+7|Bonus Feat|88|8|5th|

    11th|+5|+3|+3|+7||106|9|5th|

    12th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8||126|9|6th|

    13th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8||147|10|6th|

    14th|+7/+2|+4|+4|+9||170|11|7th|

    15th|+7/+2|+5|+5|+9|Bonus Feat|195|12|7th|

    16th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10||221|12|8th|

    17th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10||250|13|8th|

    18th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11||280|14|9th|

    19th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11||311|15|9th|

    20th|+10/+5|+6|+6|+12|Bonus Feat|343|15|10th|[/table]
    Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level,x4 at 1st level) Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int) and Use Magic Device (Cha)

    Class Feature

    Weapon and Armor Proficiency
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    Arcanists are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with a Arcanist’s movements, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail.


    Arcs
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    An Arcanist’s ability to cast spells is limited by the arcs he has available. his base daily allotment of arcs is given on Table 1–1. In addition, he receives bonus arcs per day if he has a high Intelligence score (see Table 1–4). Certain feats and items may also provide bonus arcs per day.

    Each spell costs a certain number of arcs to cast. The higher the level of the spell, the more arcs it costs. Table 1–2 describes each spell’s cost.

    Table 1-2
    {table=head] Spell Level |
    Arcs Cost

    0th | 0*|
    1st | 1 |
    2nd | 3 |
    3rd | 5 |
    4th | 7 |
    5th | 9 |
    6th | 11 |
    7th | 13 |
    8th | 15 |
    9th | 17 |
    10th | 19 |
    11th | 21 |
    12th | 23 |
    [/table]
    and so on...**

    *0th-level spells (cantrips) cost no arcs, consume no Unique Spells per day, and may be casted an unlimited number of times.

    **All spells beyond 1st cost twice the spell level -1.

    In order to replenish his store of arcs, the Arcanist must rest for at least eight hours. Any arcs spent within the last eight hours count against the Arcanist’s daily limit and are not restored.


    Field Specialization
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    Arcanists differ from other spellcasters in their division of magic into three fields—invention, mentalism, and variation—rather than the traditional eight schools. Every Arcanist must select at 1st level one field as his major field of specialization, and one as his minor field. The Arcanist gains a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks to identify and scribe spells from his major field. Spells of the third field are not available to the Arcanist and he may not cast them. He may not change his choice of specialization later.

    Fields of magic are treated just like schools where feats such as Spell Focus are concerned. Effects that specifically target a certain school only affect those spells of a field that fall into that school. So, for example, a character can gain Spell Focus (mentalism) as a feat, but an item that specifically blocks enchantment spells and effects would not necessarily block all mentalisms.

    Table 1-3
    {table=head]
    Field
    |
    School

    Invention | Conjuration, Evocation |
    Mentalism | Divination, Enchantment, Illusion |
    Variation | Abjuration, Necromancy, Transmutation |

    [/table]


    Due to the Netherese use of an entirely different system of magic then that was casted before the Fall of their Empire. Spells casted by Arcanist were considered to only be limited in power by the caster. Spells that would normally have been inhibited by a cap are instead uncapped. For example a Fireball spell casted by an Arcanist with a caster level of 44 dealt 44d6 damage instead of being limited to a lowly 10d6 as if it were casted by a regular Wizard. In addition to this when casting a spell, an Arcanist may use more Arcs then necessary for the spell to increase the DC to resist the spell by 1 for every additional Arc also, when casting a spell you may increase the caster level of the spell by 1 for every 2 additional Arcs added to the spell. You may not add more Arcs to a spell then twice your caster level using this. You may not use excessive Arcs for the different functions. A Spell modified to have a +2 to bonus to the DC did not also confer a +1 bonus to the caster level of the spell.

    It is possible to obtain spells from your forbidden school with the Extra Spell feat (CArc).


    Spellcasting
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    The Arcanist cast arcane spells derived from the Wizard/Sorcerer Spell list. Arcanist do not need to prepare there spells in advance instead taking the Arcane energy from the environment around them and producing the desired effect, however the Arcanist does possess a spellbook for the purpose of recording which spells they are allowed to cast. To cast a spell the Arcanist must possess an intelligence score of 10 + the spell level and have the required Arcs for the spell.

    Once a spell is casted it takes up a tiny portion of the Arcanist mind and remains there until either the Arcanist takes 8 hours of rest to refresh their mind. An Arcanist may cast as many spells as the amount of Arcs he possess allows, however once he cast his limit of different spells he is unable to cast any different spells save the ones that are saved in his mind.

    The difficulty class for resisting an Arcanist spells is 10 + the Spell level + the Arcanist int modifier.


    Weave Depths
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    The more complex a spell is, the deeper an Arcanist must reach into the Weave to cast it. An Arcanist begins play with the ability to cast cantrips and 1st-level spells. As he attains higher levels, the Arcanist may gain the ability to cast more complex spells.


    Bonus Languages
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    An Arcanist may substitute Draconic and Loross for one of the bonus languages available to the character because of his race.


    Scribe Scroll
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    At 1st level, an Arcanist gains Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat.


    Bonus Feats
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    At 5th level and every 5 levels after that until 20th level, an Arcanist gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity, he can choose a metamagic feat, an Item creation feat, Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus and Extra Spell (CArc). The Arcanist must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including caster level minimums.

    These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. The Arcanist is not limited to this list when choosing these feats.


    Bonus Arcs
    Just as common spellcasters receive bonus spells per day due to high ability scores, gifted Arcanists gain bonus arcs. To determine the number of bonus arcs gained from a high Intelligence score, first find the row for the Arcanist’s Int on table 1–4. Next, find the column for the highest level of spell the character is capable of casting based on his Arcanist level (even if he doesn’t have a high enough Int to cast spells of that level). At the point where the row and column intersect, you find the bonus arcs the character gains. This value can change each time his Int score undergoes a permanent change (such as from an acquired template, a wish spell, or due to character level) and each time his level changes.

    How To Determine Bonus Arcs
    Your key Int score grants you additional Arcs equal to your key ability modifier × your Caster level ×˝.

    Table 1-4:Bonus Arcs per level
    {table=head] Ability Score |
    1st
    |
    2nd
    |
    3rd
    |
    4th
    |
    5th
    |
    6th
    |
    7th
    |
    8th
    |
    9th
    |
    10th
    |
    11th
    |
    12th
    |
    13th
    |
    14th
    |
    15th
    |
    16th
    |
    17th
    |
    18th
    |
    19th
    |
    20th

    10-11|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|
    12-13|0|1|1|2|2|3|3|4|4|5|5|6|6|7|7|8|8|9|9|10|
    14-15|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19 |20|
    16-17|1|3|4|6|7|9|10|12|13|15|16|18|19|21|23|24|25|27 |28|30
    18-19|2|4|6|8|10|12|14|16|18|20|22|24|26|28|30|32|34| 36|38|40|
    20-21|2|5|7|10|12|15|17|19|22|25|27|30|32|35|37|40|42 |45|47|50
    22-23|3|6|9|12|15|18|21|24|27|30|33|36|39|42|45|48|51 |54|57|60
    24-25|3|7|10|14|17|21|24|28|31|35|38|42|45|49|52|56|5 9|63|66|70
    26-27|4|8|12|16|20|24|28|32|36|40|44|48|52|56|60|64|6 8|72|76|80
    28-29|4|9|13|18|22|27|31|36|40|45|49|54|58|63|67|72|7 6|81|85|90
    30-31|5|10|15|20|25|30|35|40|45|50|55|60|65|70|75|80| 85|90|95|100
    32-33|5|11|16|22|27|33|38|44|49|55|60|66|71|77|82|88| 93|99|104|110
    34-35|6|12|18|24|30|36|42|48|54|60|66|72|78|84|90|96| 102|108|114|120
    36-37|6|13|19|26|32|39|45|52|58|65|71|78|84|91|97|104 |110|117|123|130
    38-39|7|14|21|28|35|42|49|56|63|70|77|84|91|98|105|11 2|119|126|133|140 [/table]

    The Arcanist's Spellbooks and adding spells to it

    An Arcanist must learn spells before he can cast them, and part of this process is scribing them into one of his Spellbooks.

    An Arcanist begins play with a Spellbook containing all 0-level sorcerer/wizard spells from his major and minor fields, plus three 1st-level spells of your choice. For each point of Intelligence bonus the Arcanist has, the Spellbook holds one additional 1st-level spell of your choice. At each new Arcanist level, he gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that he can cast (based on his new Arcanist level) to his Spellbook.

    Arcanists can add new spells to their Spellbooks through several methods. An Arcanist can only learn new spells that belong to the wizard/Sorcerer spell lists.

    Spells Gained at a New Level:

    Arcanists perform a certain amount of spell research between adventures. Each time a character attains a new Arcanist level, he gains two spells of his choice to add to his Spellbook. The two free spells must be of spell levels he can cast. One of the two free spells must be from his specialty school.

    Spells Copied from Another Spellbook or Scroll:

    An Arcanist can also add a spell to his Spellbook whenever he encounters one on a magic scroll or in another Arcanist's or Wizard's Spellbook. No matter what the spell's source, the Arcanist must first decipher the magical writing. Next, he must spend 1 hour studying the spell. At the end of the hour, he must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell's level). Arcanist gain a +2 spellcraft bonus to the spells under their field of specialization. If an Arcanist studies a spell and fails his Spellcraft check to learn it, that spell is out of his reach—forever. he can never attempt to learn the spell again, unless he receives an increased rank in Spellcraft, the use of Wish, Limited Wish, or Miracle or any other method (though it’s possible that Mystra or another deity of magic could bypass this restriction by placing the spell directly in the Arcanist’s mind).

    Arcane Spells and Armor
    Due to the particular and unique way that the Arcanist cast spells, the Arcanist's spells are casted as if they were all stilled. This does not affect caster level or spell level. This allows an Arcanist to cast spells while tied and bind, without Arcane Spell Failure, however while the Arcanist is gagged they may not cast spells unless they apply the Silent spell metamagic to them.
    Last edited by Arcanist; 2013-04-13 at 08:33 PM.
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