Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kalthandrix 09-15-05, 11:42 PM	FINAL VERSION Arcane Specialist “You believe that you know what magic can do? Phah, you know nothing of the true path of power!” -Alekzander, Master of Evocation For the last several millennia, arcane magic has been a source of fear and hatred, driving normally calm and passive people into a howling and blood-thirsty mob. Arcane magic is outlawed in the city-states and those whom practice these forbidden arts are hunted by the sorcerer-kings and their minions. Schools of magic are unheard of. But now, many of the city-states rulers are dead or missing and those who live strive to retain their hold on the power they have and have therefore called in their hunters to preserve their seats of power in the wake of this chaos, allowing a school, far to the north of the Tyr Region to begin to thrive. In the most unlikely of places, a secret college of arcane magic has begun to grow, sheltered underneath the ruins of the city ironically named Magehome that is perched on the lip of the Lava Gorge. It is here that those who seek to master the art of magic and become arcane specialists receive their training. Arcane specialists are some of the most elite wizards on the face of Athas, focusing and dedicating their lives to the study of one school of magic in which they can become the undisputed masters of. Those wizards who are found to be worthy of entering the school at Magehome are carefully screened and subject to intense mundane and arcane scrutiny to insure that defilers and active members of the Veiled Alliance are not allowed into the school. Arcane specialists tend to be rather arrogant, but in most cases they maintain the same relationships with other classes as standard wizards. Much of what an arcane specialist does depends upon their school of specialization; evokers tend to go in blazing, while diviners tend to be more inquisitive. Hit Dice: d4 Requirements: To qualify to become an arcane specialist, a character must fulfill the following criteria. Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcane) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks Feats: Combat Casting, Spell Focus (specialized school), one item creation feat, one metamagic feat. Spells: Cast 3rd level arcane spells Special: Must be a preserver. Candidates need to be sponsored by a current member and pass the Test. Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Bonus Spell 1 +0 +0 +0 +2 Specialization 0 +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 2 +1 +0 +0 +3 Lore 1st +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 3 +1 +1 +1 +3 School Secret I 2nd +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 4 +2 +1 +1 +4 3rd +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 5 +2 +1 +1 +4 Lore 4th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 6 +3 +2 +2 +5 School Secret II 5th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 7 +3 +2 +2 +5 6th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 8 +4 +2 +2 +6 Lore 7th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 9 +4 +3 +3 +6 8th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 10 +5 +3 +3 +7 School Secret III 9th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class Class Skills: The arcane specialist’s class skills (and key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). Some arcane specialists gain an additional class skill depending on their school of specialization as follows; Abjuration- Survival (Wis) , Conjuration- Intimidate (Str), Divination- Gather Information (Cha), Enchantment- Diplomacy (Cha), Transmutation- Disguise (Cha). Skill points at each level: 2+ Int modifier. Class Features: All of the following are class features of the arcane specialist prestige class. Weapons and Armor Proficiency: The arcane specialist gains no proficiency with any weapon or armor. Spells Known: A arcane specialist gains a the spells per day as if he had gained a level in what ever arcane spellcasting class that he belonged to before he gained the prestige class. If he has more than one arcane spell class then he must choose only one to which to apply the increase. He does not gain any other benefit that a character of that class would normally gained, such as bonus feats or metamagic feats. Specialization: You choose a school of magic to devote yourself to from the table below. That school is now your specialist school. The school listed as the opposed school and one school of your choice from the two listed as secordary opposed schools now become the schools of magic that your are restricted from. For example, a wizard selectes transmutation for his specialized school. Abjuration automatically becomes one of his restricted schools. For his secord restricted school, the wizard may select either conjuration or necormancy. In this case, he selects necromancy as his second restricted school. Once specialized and opposed schools are selected they may never be changed. Spells from the arcane specialist's restricted schools my no longer be learned nor can they be cast or utilized from potions, rods, scrolls, staffs, or wands. In addition, the arcane specialist my not use items that mimic spell completion effects. For example, any arcane specialist with conjuration as a restricted school could not use a helm of teleportation, but would be able to use a area enchanted with the spell teleportation circle due to the effect needing no activation command or action on the arcane specialists part. Permanent, continuous effect magical items may always be used regardless of restricted schools One exception to this rule is 0-level spells. Arcane specialists retain the ability to cast all 0-level spells, but spells from restricted schools may not be enhanced with metamagic feats to take up a higher level spell slot Your devotion to your specialized school of magic provieds you with a +2 spellcraft checks to learn spells from specialized school. In addition to this, countless hours of pouring over old tomes, scrolls, other arcane material has enabled you to advance your arcane studies. Upon gaining 1st level as an arcane specialist and every level thereafter within this class, you may scribe an additional spell within your spellbook in addition to the two that you already gain. At least one of the spells selected must be from your specialized school of magic. Specialist School Directly Opposed Secondary Opposed School Abjuration Transmutation Divination or Illusion Conjuration Divination Evocation or Transmutation Divination Conjuration Enchantment or Abjuration Enchantment Evocation Divination or Necromancy Evocation Enchantment Conjuration or Illusion Illusion Necromancy Abjuration or Evocation Necromancy Illusion Enchantment or Transmutation Transmutation Abjuration Conjuration or Necromancy Bonus Spell: Your dedication and focused study within your specialized school of magic has enabled you to hold within your mind a greater amount of arcane power. At 1st level, the arcane specialist gains an extra 0 level spell that they can memorize per day. The bonus spell must be selected from the arcane specialist‘s specialized school of magic. Every level the arcane specialist progresses within this class grant him a additional bonus spell of the next higher level. So at 2nd level, he gains a bonus 1st level spell, at 3rd he gains a 2nd, and so on. The arcane specialist must be able to cast spells normally from that level in order to gain the bonus spell. Lore: Upon gaining 2nd, 5th, and 8th level as an arcane specialist, you are able to chose and ability from the following choices as long as you meet the requirements. Mastery of Spell Lore: Over time and constant repetition, you have been able to memorize and visualize spells within your chosen school of magic so will that you are no able to prepare spells from your school without the need of a spellbook. With this lore, the arcane specialist, you choose a number of spells that you already know equal to you Int bonus plus your arcane specialist class level. From this point on you may prepare these spells without referring to a spellbook. You may only have one spell of your highest level known in this manner, with the remaining amount being of lower level spells. Specialist Focus: You have a deeper knowledge of the unique make up of the spells within your chosen schools allowing you to shape the arcane energy of your spells to be more difficult for others to avoid the effects of your magic. When you select this lore you add +1 to the DC of the spells that you cast from your specialized school. Arcane Application: Your studies into your school of magic has revealed secrets that you had never before dreamed were possible before, allowing you to enhance your spells much more easily then normal wizards. At 5th level, the arcane specialist reduces the cost of enhancing his spells that are within his specialized school of magic with metamagic feats. The cost may never be reduced to less then one. Specialist Resilience: Prolonged exposure to the arcane energies of your specialized school has strengthened you your body and mind against assaults of a similar nature. With this lore, the arcane specialist gains a +2 inherent bonus to resist spells and effects of magic from their specialized school. Specialist Counter: Required- Mastery of Spell Lore. As you have studied, you have come to realize that the forces that are harnessed for the different schools are use the same basic components for each spell and that by knowing and adapting those key areas in specific spells you can nullify another wizards spells as they are being cast. Upon gaining access to this lore, the arcane specialist is now able to use spells from their specialized school to as counter spells that their opponents cast as long as they are from the same school of magic. The arcane specialist may use any of the spells from their specialized school that they have memorized to counter a spell of the same school that is being cast by an opponent. For example, a Transmuter has a readied action and successfully determined that his opponent is preparing to cast a baleful polymorph spell. The specialist could use any of his transmutation spells of 5th level or higher to counter his opponent’s spell. Metamastery: Required- Arcane Application. You are now so intimately familiar with the spells within your specialized school that you are able to increase their effectiveness without the need of prior preparation. With this lore, the arcane specialist learns to enhance the spells within his school of specialization with any metamagic feats that he knows on the fly without the added level cost. He may do this as many time per day as half his Int bonus, but may not apply more then one metamagic feat on the fly to any spell nor may he do so to a spell that he has already prepared that has been modified with by a metamagic feat. Arcane Infusion: Required- Specialist Focus and Specialist Resistance. The arcane energies of your specialized school virtually course through your veins and the raw power you wield is staggering. Upon gaining access to this lore an arcane specialist, you now have a spell resistance against spells from your specialized school that equals 11+ half your caster level+ Int bonus. School Lore Secret I: Further study within your school of magic has application outside of those of the arcane. Upon gaining 3rd level as an arcane specialist, you have learned how better to apply your other skills better depending upon your specialized school of magic. • Abjuration: +4 competence bonus to Survival checks • Conjuration: +4 competence bonus to Intimidate checks • Divination: +4 competence bonus to Gather Information checks • Enchantment: +4 competence bonus to Diplomacy checks • Evocation: +4 competence bonus to Concentration checks • Illusion: +4 competence bonus to Bluff checks • Necromancy: +4 competence bonus to Knowledge (religion) checks • Transmutation: +4 competence bonus to Disguise checks School Secret II: Your dedication to your art has been further rewarded, as you uncover another potent secret that only those truly dedicated to their specialized school ever attain. Upon gaining 6th level as an arcane specialist you gain a special ability depending upon your specialized school of magic. • Abjuration: Enduring Wards. The wards and protections that you being forth are much more tenacious than those of other spellcrafters. Abjuration spells cast by you are much more resilient to attempts made by others to dispel. As such, your opponents must beat a DC 15 + your caster level to dispel any abjuration spells cast by you. • Conjuration: Strengthen Servants. Creatures that you summon are the strongest and most durable of their kind and have maximum hit points when you summon them. • Divination: Key of Secrets. You have become very adept at discerning and ferreting out information and then moving on to gather more. When using your divination spells to gather information, you may always take 10 on any skill checks required for the spell. You may also switch the focus of you divination spells as a swift action. • Enchantment: Unearthly Charm. Undead and other creatures are not automatically immune to spells you cast from the enchantment school. • Evocation: Lay them Low. The energy of destruction is at your beck and call, allowing you to level opponents with greater ease. You now add +1 to each die of damage you deal with evocation spells. • Illusion: See Through Deception. You have become very familiar with the way that illusions interact with reality and have trained you mind to notice small nuances that allow you to recognize illusions. Whenever you are subject to a spell from the school of illusion that allows a save, you may roll twice, taking the better of the two dice rolls. If the spell effect is one that does not allow a save, you may make one, but the DC to see through the spell is 15 + spell level + ability modifier used for spellcasting. • Necromancy: Infusion of the Grey. Undead creatures that you create are infused with negative energy, giving them maximum hit points when you make them. • Transmutation: Throw Off the Change. You knowledge of the arts of transmutation allow you to more easily avoid the effects of transmutation spells used against you. Whenever you fail your initial saving throw against any transmutation spell or effect, you are allowed a second save the following round to try and avoid the effect. Any spell that has an instantaneous duration you are not allowed a second save, but instead you may add your Int modifier as a circumstance bonus to your save. School Secret III: You have attained a level of mastery within your specialized school that is almost unmatched and have unlocked secrets that few are privy to. Upon reaching 10th level, an arcane specialist gains a special ability depending upon their specialized school of magic. • Abjuration: Spell Ward. Your ability to ward off opponent’s spells is legendary and there are few wizards whom would willingly enter into a battle of the arcane with you. Utilizing your knowledge of the school of abjuration, you are able to shape the arcane energies of your specialized school into a shield to ward off your opponents spells and redirect them. As a standard action, the specialist may use one of his prepared abjuration spells and create an arcane shield of energy before them that will reflect spells or spell-like effects cast at the specialist to any target within range, taking into account the distance the spell has already traveled. The spell ward will reflect as many spell levels as the original spell that was used to power this effect. If the spell ward does not have enough levels remaining to reflect an opponent’s spell, the spell ward is shattered and the spell may affect the specialist normally. This effect lasts for 1 round per level of the spell used to power the spell ward or until it’s energy is used. • Conjuration: Master’s Call. No creature may resist your call when you require aid. Whenever you cast a summoning spell that allows for multiple creatures to be summoned you call forth the maximum number that you are allowed. • Divination: Unseen Presence. When using your spells or an item to observe other locations (i.e., when scrying or using a crystal ball) you are able to establish a link that is very subtle and yet amazingly strong. Attempts to detect your scrying, such as detect scrying, do not always work. You are allowed a check against a DC of 11 + half your opponent’s caster level + your opponents Wis modifier. You roll a d20 and add half your caster level + Int modifier. If you secede, those your observe remain unaware of your mystical presents and any warding or detect scrying spells are left in place and undisturbed. This link also allows you to cast a single spell through your divination spell. The spell cast may not exceed your Int modifier in level. • Enchantment: Grandeur of Charm. You are a master at crafting enchantments, and your ability to do so has allowed you to make your school spells much more potent. You now add you Charisma modifier to the DC of all your enchantment spells and three times a day, you may modify an enchantment spell you cast as if you had applied the Extend metamagic feat to it. This does not affect the spell level and does not use up a higher spell slot. • Evocation: War Master. You may now power the destructive energies found within rods, staffs, and wands by expending a spell you currently have memorized from your specialized school. If the item requires multiple charges for specific effects then the memorized spell you expend must be of at least equal power, i.e. a staff requires three charges to cast a chain lightning bolt the arcane specialist must expend a memorized evocation spell of at least 3rd level to power the staff. • Illusion: Veil of Reality. Your ability to blend illusion and reality is the stuff of legend and few are able to pierce the veil of deception that you weave. Spells and effects such as true sight now longer automatically see through illusions that you cast. The creature must make a Will save equal to 10 + half your caster level + your Int bonus to see through your illusions. • Necromancy: Master of the Undying. The dead now hail you as their master and obey your every command. Your gain the ability to command or rebuke undead creature as a cleric four levels lower then your caster level. If you have a class that allows you to turn/destroy undead, you lose that ability and may now only command/rebuke them and you use the higher of your levels to determine how effective your command/rebuke ability is. You may also have three times your caster level of undead under your control at any time. • Transmutation: Mold the Arcane. So deeply have you delved into the arts of transmutation that you have learned to mold your spells like clay, forming it into the prefect tool for any task you have on hand. You gain the ability to change any of the transmutation spells that you have memorized into another spell from the transmutation school that you know. By using a memorized transmutation spell of any level, you may cast any other transmutation spell of at least one level lower then the memorized spell used to power this ability. The casting time of the new spell is now a full round action. Titles given to member of the arcane specialist PrC; 1st level-Apprentice 3rd level -Novis 5th level-Adept 7th level -Master 10th level-Grand Master The Test The hard lesions of being mercilessly hunted and killed had distilled within the members of the school in Magehome, which is simply called Home to those who dwell there, a very high level of caution before allowing anyone entrance to the school and their ranks. First, a wizard must come to the attention of one of the Masters of the school, usually by providing aid or proving that they are a person of some moral integrity. The Master will then, if he deems the wizard might be a good addition to Home, engage the wizard to perform several tasks or missions in order to gage the wizard’s ability. If it is found at anytime that the wizard is a defiler or a member of the Veiled Alliance then contact is broken off. After the first observational period, the Master will then report to the Grand Masters that they have found a likely candidate. The Grand Masters and several other Masters will then begin gathering more intelligence on the possible candidate, using mundane and magic means to do so. The second observational period could go in for months as the Grand Masters decide if the wizard should be approached. If at any time the Grand Masters decide that the wizard will not be admitted, all contact is broken off. Those who pass the second observation will then be approached by the Master whom made initial contact, with some discreet backup in place in the form of another Master and several Adepts in case things go badly. The Master will offer the wizard a chance to join the school and enter the ranks of the arcane specialists. If the wizard is not willing to join, The Master departs and contact is broken off, though in most cases the wizard is watched carefully for several months by the schools agents and by magical means. Those whom decide to join are told to gather all of their belongs and come with the Master, who will teleport or have another wizard do so, the candidate and himself to a location out side of the Dead Lands, where the candidate will prepare himself to be Tested. During the night, the Master will explain several things to the candidate, such as the division of magic into specific school and some minor things about Home and the training they will receive. At the crack of dawn the following day, eight Grand Masters, one from each school of magic and several aids appear at the location, to administer the Test. The candidate is taken several miles into the Dead Lands to a place that has been prepared with potted plants to provide energy for the spells. The candidate is then told to remove all items and material from their person, all of which is subject to intense magical observation to insure that there is no malevolent item in the candidate’s possession. The candidate wizard is then required to cast all of the spells that they know, in order that that Grand Masters may gage the wizard’s abilities and to insure that no defiler is admitted into Home. If the spell casting portion is passed, the Grand Masters will then ask the candidate wizard many questions about himself and his magical teaching, during which several other wizards will be watching and listening to the wizard using their magic to determine if the candidate is telling the truth. If all of this is passed, the wizard is offered a place at Home and asked to select a school to which they will focus their studies. When this done, the candidate is required to divest himself of all magical items and spells that belong to those areas of magic that are now restricted. Then the Grand Masters, aids, and candidate leave the Dead Lands and magically travel to the school below Magehome. Notable NPC’s Nogard Der’Live, Founder and Grand Master of Abjuration Preserver 4/ Ex-Veiled One 8/Arcane Specialist 10/ Arch Mage 3
Pennarin 09-15-05, 11:53 PM	I'll reserve thoughts until its more complete. :) Does this PrC exist because you want ordinary specialist wizards to not exist on Athas, or do you accept that specialist wizards exist on Athas? (I asked because people have voiced their opinion and I can't recall who said what...)
Kalthandrix 09-16-05, 07:21 AM	I'll reserve thoughts until its more complete. :) Does this PrC exist because you want ordinary specialist wizards to not exist on Athas, or do you accept that specialist wizards exist on Athas? (I asked because people have voiced their opinion and I can't recall who said what...) Sorry about it not being finished- but this project has been just sitting around and now I have to finish it. My take on the 'core rule' specialist is that they really do not exist within DS, due to several factors (hiding, no schools of magic, ect) that would allow for specialists to exist. Add to that that the PH version is just really boring IMO and the trade off of benefits and restrictions is not really that good. With the specialist being a PrC, you get the ability to decide to become one when you have gotten to know your character better and the trade off is much more rewarding I think.
Ruhl-Than Sage 09-16-05, 02:17 PM	How do the restricted schools work though? It says you choose restricted schools, but you don't explain what the means in this case. If you already know spells of those schools, can you no longer cast them? Or, can you merely not learn any more? Plus, I really don't like the least access and lesser access abilities, if you can already cast up to forth level spells from those schools that you learned before becoming a specialist, isn't that enough? Why have one of the schools become mostly unrestricted again? Also, I think it would be really cool if some of the powers varied based on the school choosen. I know its a lot more work, but maybe a series of PrCs (one for each school) would be better, or making this an early entry 5 level PrC that retains its generic bent. Just some thoughts ;)
Kalthandrix 09-17-05, 04:50 PM	How do the restricted schools work though? It says you choose restricted schools, but you don't explain what the means in this case. If you already know spells of those schools, can you no longer cast them? Or, can you merely not learn any more? Plus, I really don't like the least access and lesser access abilities, if you can already cast up to forth level spells from those schools that you learned before becoming a specialist, isn't that enough? Why have one of the schools become mostly unrestricted again? Also, I think it would be really cool if some of the powers varied based on the school choosen. I know its a lot more work, but maybe a series of PrCs (one for each school) would be better, or making this an early entry 5 level PrC that retains its generic bent. Just some thoughts ;) I am thinking about totally removing the least and lesser abilities- the restricted schools are there to balance out the PrC and I got a little wild with the idea. As for already being able to cast the spells- well when you pick up the PrC you make the sacrifice of vesting yourself of those items and spells that are from the restricted schools. I like the idea of school specific abilities- so I am sneaking into your house and taking it :D I will work on some stuff, like three to five specific school abilities and then you will be able to choose from them as you progress.
Ruhl-Than Sage 09-17-05, 07:10 PM	:) , sounds good. I know its a work in progress, but you should specifically note that a character who takes this PrC loses the spells he already knows from his restricted schools, if that is your intention.
Kalthandrix 09-17-05, 10:03 PM	:) , sounds good. I know its a work in progress, but you should specifically note that a character who takes this PrC loses the spells he already knows from his restricted schools, if that is your intention. It is and I will be adding material and stuff soon- I already have soem things worked out for the specialist school specific abilities.
Kalthandrix 09-19-05, 10:39 PM	Okay- I have a majority of the PrC finished, all I need to do now is detail out some of the school specific specialist abilities and add the flavor text. Look it over and let me know what you think so far or if there are some issues you can see that need fixing.
Ruhl-Than Sage 09-20-05, 01:36 AM	Here are some possiblities for school abilities... come up with some more ideas later. • Abjuration: (NEED) Some options: -You gain Improved Counterspell as a bonus feat Or-You gain a +1 bonus to all of your Saving Throws Or-Once per day can automatically suceed at any one saving throw, or cause an opponent to automatically fail at anyone attack, trip attempt, bull rush, disarm attempt, or grapple against you. • Divination: (NEED) Some options: -You no longer need to concentrate to maintain divination spells that require concentration, such as detect magic and detect thoughts. You are now able to direct the focus of your divination spells as a swift action. Or-You gain the effects of Detect Magic permanently Or-You gain a +4 to save vs. all illusion spells and effects. Or-You can learn divination spells from any class' spell list as though they were an arcane spell of one level higher • Illusion: (NEED) -You gain the effects of Disquise Self permanently and can change your appearance with the ability as a standard action
Kalthandrix 09-20-05, 09:41 AM	Here are some possiblities for school abilities... come up with some more ideas later. • Abjuration: (NEED) Some options: -You gain Improved Counterspell as a bonus feat Or-You gain a +1 bonus to all of your Saving Throws Or-Once per day can automatically suceed at any one saving throw, or cause an opponent to automatically fail at anyone attack, trip attempt, bull rush, disarm attempt, or grapple against you. • Divination: (NEED) Some options: -You no longer need to concentrate to maintain divination spells that require concentration, such as detect magic and detect thoughts. You are now able to direct the focus of your divination spells as a swift action. Or-You gain the effects of Detect Magic permanently Or-You gain a +4 to save vs. all illusion spells and effects. Or-You can learn divination spells from any class' spell list as though they were an arcane spell of one level higher • Illusion: (NEED) -You gain the effects of Disquise Self permanently and can change your appearance with the ability as a standard action Thanks for the input Sage. Here are my thoughts in reply to what you posted- All of the abilities that they get strictly focus on their schol of specialization, therefore I do not think that your suggestions for the Abjuration school will work as they like- improved counter spell and a +1 on all saves is very simular to the ability they already get. I also wanted to stay away from giving out spell-like abilities, but that is just my personal preference. I do like the idea you had for the Dinination school- being able to shift your focus while using divination spells as a swift action would be very cool- I will most likely use this or something very close to it for the School Lore Secret II for the divination school. On another note- what does everyone think about how I set up the restricted schools? I pulled out my old 2e Wizards handbook and found a chart that had opposed schools on it and went from there with it. I really think that making the choices of restricted schools limited in regard to the arcane specialists school of magic is a pretty fair trade-off. I just wanted something in place that would stop some of the power gaming that I have seen with being able to freely select your restricted schools. I would really like any thoughts that you all may have and am very open to suggestions. :D
Kalthandrix 09-20-05, 06:35 PM	:confused:
Kalthandrix 09-22-05, 07:52 PM	Here is a version that is close to being complete- I am still having problems with a few of the specialist abilities, but other then those few marked (NEED) it is finished. I just decided to re-post it here at the bottom for now- the finished and final version will be placed at the top of the thread. Please, if you have any suggestions let me know- I will be play testing this PrC class soon myself but I would like to hear from all of you guys to see if things could be better. Arcane Specialist “You believe that you know what magic can do? Phah, you know nothing of the true path of power!” -Alekzander, Master of Envocation Hit Dice: d4 Requirements: To qualify to become an arcane specialist, a character must fulfill the following criteria. Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcane) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks Feats: Combat Casting, Spell Focus (specialized school), one item creation feat, one metamagic feat. Spells: Cast 3rd level arcane spells Special: Must be sponsored by a current member and pass the Test. Class Skills: The arcane specialist’s class skills (and key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). Some arcane specialists gain an additional class skill depending on their school of specialization as follows; Abjuration- Survival (Wis) , Conjuration- Intimidate (Str), Divination- Gather Information (Cha), Enchantment- Diplomacy (Cha), Transmutation- Disguise (Cha). Skill points at each level: 2+ Int modifier. Class Features: All of the following are class features of the arcane specialist prestige class. Weapons and Armor Proficiency: The arcane specialist gains no proficiency with any weapon or armor. Spells Known: A arcane specialist gains a the spells per day as if he had gained a level in what ever arcane spellcasting class that he belonged to before he gained the prestige class. If he has more than one arcane spell class then he must choose only one to which to apply the increase. He does not gain any other benefit that a character of that class would normally gained, such as bonus feats or metamagic feats. Bonus Spell: Your dedication and focused study within your specialized school of magic has enabled you to. At 1st level, the arcane specialist gains an extra 0 level spell that they can memorize per day. The bonus spell must be selected from the arcane specialist‘s specialized school of magic. Every level the arcane specialist progresses within this class grant him a additional bonus spell of the next higher level. So at 2nd level, he gains a bonus 1st level spell, at 3rd he gains a 2nd, and so on. Specialization: You choose a school of magic to devote yourself to from the table below. That school is now your specialist school. The school listed as the opposed school and one school of your choice from the two listed as secordary opposed schools now become the schools of magic that your are restricted from. For example, a wizard selectes alteration for his specialized school. Abjuration automatically becomes one of his restricted schools. For his secord restricted school, the wizard may select either conjuration/summoning or necormancy. In this case, he selects necormancy as his second restricted school. Once specialized and opposed schools are selected they may never be changed. Your devotion to your specialized school of magic provieds you with a +2 spellcraft checks to learn spells from specialized school. In addition to this, countless hours of pouring over old tomes, scrolls, other arcane material has enabled you to advance your arcane studies. Upon gaining 1st level as an arcane specialist and every level thereafter within this class, you may scribe an additional spell within your spellbook in addition to the two that you already gain. At least one of the spells selected must be from your specialized school of magic. Specialist School Directly Opposed Secondary Opposed School Abjuration Transmutation Divination or Illusion Conjuration Divination Evocation or Transmutation Divination Conjuration Enchantment or Abjuration Enchantment Evocation Divination or Necromancy Evocation Enchantment Conjuration or Illusion Illusion Necromancy Abjuration or Evocation Necromancy Illusion Enchantment or Transmutation Transmutation Abjuration Conjuration or Necromancy Mastery of Spell Lore: Over time and constant repetition, you have been able to memorize and visualize spells within your chosen school of magic so will that you are no able to prepare spells from your school without the need of a spellbook. As a 2nd level arcane specialist, you choose a number of spells that you already know equal to you Int bonus plus your arcane specialist class level. From this point on you may prepare these spells without referring to a spellbook. You may only have one spell of your highest level known in this manner, with the remaining amount being of lower level spells. School Lore Secret I: Further study within your school of magic has application outside of those of the arcane. Upon gaining 3rd level as an arcane specialist, you have learned how better to apply your other skills better depending upon your specialized school of magic. • Abjuration: +4 competence bonus to Survival checks • Conjuration: +4 competence bonus to Intimidate checks • Divination: +4 competence bonus to Gather Information checks • Enchantment: +4 competence bonus to Diplomacy checks • Evocation: +4 competence bonus to Concentration checks • Illusion: +4 competence bonus to Bluff checks • Necromancy: +4 competence bonus to Knowledge (religion) checks • Transmutation: +4 competence bonus to Disguise checks Specialist Focus: You have a deeper knowledge of the unique make up of the spells within your chosen schools allowing you to shape the arcane energy of your spells to be more difficult for others to avoid the effects of your magic. When you advance to 4th level as an arcane specialist, you increase the DC of the spells that you cast from your specialized school. Arcane Application: Your studies into your school of magic has revealed secrets that you had never before dreamed were possible before, allowing you to enhance your spells much more easily then normal wizards. At 5th level, the arcane specialist reduces the cost of enhancing his spells that are within his specialized school of magic with metamagic feats. The cost may never be reduced to less then one. School Lore Secret II: Your dedication to your art has been further rewarded, as you uncover another potent secret that only those truly dedicated to their specialized school ever attain. Upon gaining 6th level as an arcane specialist you gain a special ability depending upon your specialized school of magic. • Abjuration: Enduring Wards. The wards and protections that you being forth are much more tenacious than those of other spellcrafters. Abjuration spells cast by you are much more resilient to attempts made by others to dispel. As such, your opponents must beat a DC 15 + your caster level to dispel any abjuration spells cast by you. • Conjuration: Strengthen Servants. Creatures that you summon are the strongest and most durable of their kind and have maximum hit points when you summon them. • Divination: Key of Secrets. You have become very adept at discerning and ferreting out information and then moving on to gather more. When using your divination spells to gather information, you may always take 10 on any skill checks required for the spell. You may also switch the focus of you divination spells as a swift action. • Enchantment: Unearthly Charm. Undead and other creatures are not automatically immune to spells you cast from the enchantment school. • Evocation: Lay them Low. The energy of destruction is at your beck and call, allowing you to level opponents with greater ease. You now add +1 to each die of damage you deal with evocation spells. • Illusion: See Through Deception. You have become very familiar with the way that illusions interact with reality and have trained you mind to notice small nuances that allow you to recognize illusions. Whenever you are subject to a spell from the school of illusion that allows a save, you may roll twice, taking the better of the two dice rolls. If the spell effect is one that does not allow a save, you may make one, but the DC to see through the spell is 15 + spell level + ability modifier used for spellcasting. • Necromancy: Infusion of the Grey. Undead creatures that you create are infused with negative energy, giving them maximum hit points when you make them. • Transmutation: (NEED) Specialist Resilience: Prolonged exposure to the arcane energies of your specialized school has strengthened you your body and mind against assaults of a similar nature. At 7th level, the arcane specialist gains a +2 inherent bonus to resist spells and effects of magic from their specialized school. Specialist Counter: As you have studied, you have come to realize that the forces that are harnessed for the different schools are use the same basic components for each spell and that by knowing and adapting those key areas in specific spells you can nullify another wizards spells as they are being cast. At 8th level the arcane specialist is now able to use spells from their specialized school to as counter spells that their opponents cast as long as they are from the same school of magic. The arcane specialist may use any of the spells from their specialized school that they have memorized to counter a spell of the same school that is being cast by an opponent. For example, a Transmuter has a readied action and with determined that his opponent is preparing to casting a baleful polymorph spell. The specialist could use any of his transmutation spells of 5th level or higher to counter his opponents spell. Metamastery: Are now so intimately familiar with the spells within your specialized school that you are able to increase their effectiveness without the need of prior preparation. At 9th level the arcane specialist learns to enhance the spells within his school of specialization with any metamagic feats that he knows on the fly without the added level cost. He may do this as many time per day as half his Int bonus, but may not apply more then one metamagic feat on the fly to any spell nor may he do so to a spell that he has already prepared that has been modified with by a metamagic feat. Arcane Infusion: The arcane energies of your specialized school virtually course through your veins and the raw power you wield is staggering. Upon reaching 10th level as an arcane specialist, you now have a spell resistance against spells from your specialized school that equals 11+ half your caster level+ Int bonus. School Lore Secret III: You have attained a level of mastery within your specialized school that is almost unmatched and have unlocked secrets that few are privy to. Upon reaching 10th level, an arcane specialist gains a special ability depending upon their specialized school of magic. • Abjuration: (NEED) • Conjuration: Master’s Call. No creature may resist your call when you require aid. Whenever you cast a summoning spell that allows for multiple creatures to be summoned you call forth the maximum number that you are allowed. • Divination: Unseen Presence. When using your spells or an item to observe other locations (i.e., when scrying or using a crystal ball) you are able to establish a link that is very subtle and yet amazingly strong. Attempts to detect your scrying, such as detect scrying, do not always work. You are allowed a check against a DC of 11 + half your opponent’s caster level + your opponents Wis modifier. You roll a d20 and add half your caster level + Int modifier. If you secede, those your observe remain unaware of your mystical presents and any warding or detect scrying spells are left in place and undisturbed. This link also allows you to cast a single spell through your divination spell. The spell cast may not exceed your Int modifier in level. • Enchantment: (NEED) • Evocation: War Master. You may now power the destructive energies found within rods, staffs, and wands by expending a spell you currently have memorized from your specialized school. If the item requires multiple charges for specific effects then the memorized spell you expend must be of at least equal power, i.e. a staff requires three charges to cast a chain lightning bolt the arcane specialist must expend a memorized evocation spell of at least 3rd level to power the staff. • Illusion: Veil of Reality. Your ability to blend illusion and reality is the stuff of legend and few are able to pierce the veil of deception that you weave. Spells and effects such as true sight now longer automatically see through illusions that you cast. The creature must make a Will save equal to 10 + half your caster level + your Int bonus to see through your illusions. • Necromancy: Master of the Undying. The dead now hail you as their master and obey your every command. Your gain the ability to command or rebuke undead creature as a cleric four levels lower then your caster level. If you have a class that allows you to turn/destroy undead, you lose that ability and may now only command/rebuke them and you use the higher of your levels to determine how effective your command/rebuke ability is. You may also have three times your caster level of undead under your control at any time. • Transmutation: Mold the Arcane. So deeply have you delved into the arts of transmutation that you have learned to mold your spells like clay, forming it into the prefect tool for any task you have on hand. You gain the ability to change any of the transmutation spells that you have memorized into another spell from the transmutation school that you know. By using a memorized transmutation spell of any level, you may cast any other transmutation spell of at least one level lower then the memorized spell used to power this ability. The casting time of the new spell is now a full round action. Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Bonus Spell 1 +0 +0 +0 +2 Specialization 0 +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 2 +1 +0 +0 +3 Specialist Focus+1 1st +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 3 +1 +1 +1 +3 Mastery of Spell Lore, School Lore Secret I 2nd +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 4 +2 +1 +1 +4 Arcane Application 3rd +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 5 +2 +1 +1 +4 Specialist Resilience 4th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 6 +3 +2 +2 +5 School Lore Secret II 5th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 7 +3 +2 +2 +5 Specialist Counter 6th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 8 +4 +2 +2 +6 Specialist Focus+2 7th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 9 +4 +3 +3 +6 Metamastery 8th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 10 +5 +3 +3 +7 Arcane Infusion, School Lore Secret III 9th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class Titles given to member of the arcane specialist PrC; 1st level-Apprentice 3rd level -Novis 5th level-Adept 7th level -Master 10th level-Grand Master The Test The hard lesions of being mercilessly hunted and killed had distilled within the members of the school in Mageholm, which is simply called Home to those who dwell there, a very high level of caution before allowing anyone entrance to the school and their ranks. First, a wizard must come to the attention of one of the Masters of the school, usually by providing aid or proving that they are a person of some moral integrity. The Master will then, if he deems the wizard might be a good addition to Home, engage the wizard to perform several tasks or missions in order to gage the wizard’s ability. If it is found at anytime that the wizard is a defiler or a member of the Veiled Alliance then contact is broken off. After the first observational period, the Master will then report to the Grand Masters that they have found a likely candidate. The Grand Masters and several other Masters will then begin gathering more intelligence on the possible candidate, using mundane and magic means to do so. The second observational period could go in for months as the Grand Masters decide if the wizard should be approached. If at any time the Grand Masters decide that the wizard will not be admitted, all contact is broken off. Those who pass the second observation will then be approached by the Master whom made initial contact, with some discreet backup in place in the form of another Master and several Adepts in case things go badly. The Master will offer the wizard a chance to join the school and enter the ranks of the arcane specialists. If the wizard is not willing to join, The Master departs and contact is broken off, though in most cases the wizard is watched carefully for several months by the schools agents and by magical means. Those whom decide to join are told to gather all of their belongs and come with the Master, who will teleport or have another wizard do so, the candidate and himself to a location out side of the Dead Lands, where the candidate will prepare himself to be Tested. During the night, the Master will explain several things to the candidate, such as the division of magic into specific school and some minor things about Home and the training they will receive. At the crack of dawn the following day, eight Grand Masters, on from each school of magic and several aids appear at the location, to administer the Test. The candidate is taken several miles into the Dead Lands to a place that has been prepared with potted plants to provide energy for the spells. The candidate is then told to remove all items and material from their person, all of which is subject to intense magical observation to insure that there is no malevolent item in the candidate’s possession. The candidate wizard is then required to cast all of the spells that they know, in order that that Grand Masters may gage the wizard’s abilities and to insure that no defiler is admitted into Home. If the spell casting portion is passed, the Grand Masters will then ask the candidate wizard many questions about himself and his magical teaching, during which several other wizards will be watching and listening to the wizard using their magic to determine if the candidate is telling the truth. If all of this is passed, the wizard is offered a place at Home and asked to select a school to which they will focus their studies. When this done, the candidate is required to divest himself of all magical items and spells that belong to those areas of magic that are now restricted. Then the Grand Masters, aids, and candidate leave the Dead Lands and magically travel to the school below Mageholm. Notable NPC’s Nogard Der’Live, Founder and Grand Master of Abjuration Preserver 4/ Ex-Veiled One 8/Arcane Specialist 10/ Arch Mage 3
Kalthandrix 09-23-05, 09:07 AM	:confused: I am super confused- I thought that there were some people out there who was interested in seeing this PrC and as of this post I have only have Sage comment on it! I am not trying to be pushy or anything, but come on, I worked my tail off writing this thing up would really like to hear some feedback- good, bad, anything.
Sysane 09-23-05, 10:47 AM	Very Wizard of High Sorcery like. Cool idea. Wasn't there a Order PrC that was similar to this posted awhile back?
Pennarin 09-23-05, 12:48 PM	:confused: I am super confused- I thought that there were some people out there who was interested in seeing this PrC and as of this post I have only have Sage comment on it! I'm sorry to say that it doesn't boast the right kind of "wizard specialisation" for me. Its also not a good thing IMHO that you discard there being specialist wizards already on Athas; a PrC on that subject could have worked from there. Maybe I'll do an attempt myself later, if I get good ideas. The darn direction the PrC should take is what I find difficult to fathom.
Kalthandrix 09-23-05, 01:25 PM	Very Wizard of High Sorcery like. Cool idea. Wasn't there a Order PrC that was similar to this posted awhile back? I don't have that much experience with DL, having only bought the books on a whim a few weeks ago, but I never even looked in to it until last night- I was rather surprised to see that I had at least one ability that was very simular to on that the Red Robe gets- I was really shocked. I don't recall any PrC for the Order so I would not be able to say if they were similar or not. I'm sorry to say that it doesn't boast the right kind of "wizard specialisation" for me. Its also not a good thing IMHO that you discard there being specialist wizards already on Athas; a PrC on that subject could have worked from there. Maybe I'll do an attempt myself later, if I get good ideas. The darn direction the PrC should take is what I find difficult to fathom. I am not really following what you mean with "the right kind of wizard specialization", every ability that they have is keyed directly to their specialized school. The reason that I think that specialization is not something for a 'core' class is just that 1) there are no schools of magic, 2)wizards hide their skill and very infrequently IMO seek out people to teach due to -> 3) wizards, at least perservers, have been hunted like dogs by the SK's and arcane magic is against the law in every city-state, or at least in the one controlled by SK's depending on which era you play in 4)how many people would even seek out a wizard to get training, most common people beleave that the world it in the shape it is due to all arcane spellcasters, so that would really limit the number of people even looking to become one, and 5)the kind of super focuses training that a specialist needs is really hard to do when you are on the run and have to hide all arcane material so the templars do not find it. All of these reasons are pretty well supported by events in the canon material IMO, and even though there are some 2e specialists in the that were written into the games, I feel that they did that only due to the fact that they could without really thinking about the reality of what a specialist wizard needs in the way of training. I am only trying to give you the validation behide the reasoning I had for making this PrC- not trying to start an argument with you. What I could use is feedback on the mechanical and overall playability of the PrC- if people want to use the PH specialist that is fine- but I am sure that there are others who would like something that is a bit more rewarding for the restrictions placed on the class- so I made this and would like to get it as tight and blanced as possible. Thanks- you know I like many of your suggestions Penn so if you have some ideas then throw them out there.
Pennarin 09-23-05, 02:56 PM	I agree that your examples are present in the novels, that's a fact. What I don't agree on is that a specialist wizard should require more "study" than another wizard. The main argument against this is simple: specialists are a base class, and don't require any prerequisites that a generalist wizard doesn't, and that's that. Specialisation in the PHB, besides using the term "specialist", does not indicate that the student makes greater efforts, or takes longer to learn. I can argue you could find as many, perhaps even more, specialists on Athas than in other campaign settings: For example, those few defilers and preservers in the cities or the wastes that accept apprentices will more likely be without a full set of magical documents partaining to spells from all schools. A city defiler might be limited to a document on evocation spells and another on a bunch of spells that don't cover more than three schools between them, so it would be in the apprentice's best interest to specialise (that is, focus on) on one of the schools in those documents, that way he can maximize the presence of said spells (learning more of them, filling those extra spell slots) and won't suffer more than others would have from the lack of the other schools, since if he'd been a straigth defiler he still wouldn't have had access to spells from those missing schools, on the account of their being missing. I find it unlikely that the majority of documents containing spells would contain a nice, distributed selection from among all the schools. Since those documents (scrolls, books, i.e. spellbooks) are rare on Athas (wizards don't drink at the local pub) I would surmise that, whenever some are found, fractions of those documents are sold, i.e. those necklaces of colored beads are chopped up and sold in fragments, so as to get more buyers out of it and thus higher prices from competition among them. And since defilers tend to focus on 2 schools due to their Path Sinister feat, and the same for preservers, its more likely that spells from those 4 schools will be the most often encountered spells on Athas, and also more likely that the specialists out there happen to be specialized in one of those 4 schools, to take advantage of the more bountiful spell selection from all those documents out there that have spells from those 4 schools. I also surmise that those wizards with full selections of spells are royal defilers with access to a royal library, and veiled alliance members with access to the magic library of the organization.
Kalthandrix 09-23-05, 05:22 PM	Well there is also this- even if specialists do exist on DS- I really do not care either way- this PrC allows wizards to pick up specialization later on in their career, whereas the basic specialist must be selected at 1st level. I think that this pigion-holeing a character that early is not all that fun- you have not even really started developing the character at that point and do not really know what you want him/her to do. Also, there is noting to say that a specialist could not take up this PrC as well- some of the things would not apply to them like the bonus spells and stuff, but the added abilities would be a great addition, because you have to agree with me on the point that the basic specialist is kinda ripped off in that they have to give up two schools of magic and all of the materials and items that go with it for one extra spell per spell level and a +2 to spellcraft checks to learn spells from their own school. Either way, o think that this PrC is pretty well balanced against some of the others out there is is perfect for perservers- whom are seriously lacking in DS setting PrC's.
The PeaceBringer 09-29-05, 02:45 PM	As an aside to you PeaceBringer- do you have any ideas for the missing abilities of the Arcane Specialist PrC- I need a few more and have kinda run into the perverbial brickwall in my efforts to think up something that is cool and in line with the other specialists abilities. Honestly, I'm not that strong at creating PrCs... but I try. :D How's this? School Lore Secret II: • Illusion: Vision of truth. Your eyes know the difference between what is real and what is not. You don't need to actively disbelieve illusions that are not your own; you get an automatic save even if one would not be allowed. • Transmutation: Mind over body. You've experienced many changes in your body practicing your art and so have acquired unparraled control. Every time you are forced into changing (petrification, polymorph, etc.) and you miss your first save, you get a second chance to fight off the changes. School Lore Secret III: • Abjuration: Undying aura. You've dabbled in protective energy so much that it permanently surrounds your body. You gain protection from [chaos, evil, good or law] permanently. You must choose which form and may not change it from then on. Hope this inspires you. :)
Kalthandrix 09-29-05, 04:05 PM	Honestly, I'm not that strong at creating PrCs... but I try. :D How's this? School Lore Secret II: • Illusion: Vision of truth. Your eyes know the difference between what is real and what is not. You don't need to actively disbelieve illusions that are not your own; you get an automatic save even if one would not be allowed. • Transmutation: Mind over body. You've experienced many changes in your body practicing your art and so have acquired unparraled control. Every time you are forced into changing (petrification, polymorph, etc.) and you miss your first save, you get a second chance to fight off the changes. School Lore Secret III: • Abjuration: Undying aura. You've dabbled in protective energy so much that it permanently surrounds your body. You gain protection from [chaos, evil, good or law] permanently. You must choose which form and may not change it from then on. Hope this inspires you. :) Nice :D - I plan on using these items, with some minor changes, but overall they are exactly what I was looking for. Now if only I could get some additional ideas for School Lore Secret III:Transmutation (NEED), Abjuration (NEED)
The PeaceBringer 09-30-05, 08:20 AM	Nice :D - I plan on using these items, with some minor changes, but overall they are exactly what I was looking for. Now if only I could get some additional ideas for School Lore Secret III:Transmutation (NEED), Abjuration (NEED) Well I see a permanent form (tweeked so as to not be too powerful) of alter self to simulate more control over your body (claws to fight, wings to fly, special gills to breathe silt, etc). It could be a spell-like power, 3/day cast as a mage of that level or somethin'. As for enchantment, how about a lesser thrall of some kind, like a charmed bodyguard. I was also thinking you could get magic resistance in your school at some point. All in all, I can see your PrC working even if "small time" core class specialists are accepted in a campaign; just makes them more specialized. Nice work Kal! :)
Kalthandrix 09-30-05, 08:58 AM	Well I see a permanent form (tweeked so as to not be too powerful) of alter self to simulate more control over your body (claws to fight, wings to fly, special gills to breathe silt, etc). It could be a spell-like power, 3/day cast as a mage of that level or somethin'. As for enchantment, how about a lesser thrall of some kind, like a charmed bodyguard. I was also thinking you could get magic resistance in your school at some point. All in all, I can see your PrC working even if "small time" core class specialists are accepted in a campaign; just makes them more specialized. Nice work Kal! :) Thanks PB If you look at the Arcane Infusion ability you will see that they arcane specialists do get SR against their own school of magic. For the abilities, I really am trying to stay away from anything that is a spell-like ability, but it is something I am considering as not other ideas come to me. I agree that this PrC would also be great to use for the core specialist wizard, their core specialist bonus spells would take precidence over the PrC's progression and the specialist material at 1st level in the PrC would not apply either, but it would be a great way to spice up the 'regular' specialist class- which was why I made this PrC- because the core specialist was too boring and the trade off of rewards and restrictions were not that great. Thanks again for your input- let me know if you decide to use this PrC- I have one character in my group that will be taking this class soon and even though he has not seen it yet, he told me that he was looking forward to playing it.
The PeaceBringer 09-30-05, 12:07 PM	If you look at the Arcane Infusion ability you will see that they arcane specialists do get SR against their own school of magic. Oops! Right. :D Thanks again for your input- let me know if you decide to use this PrC- I have one character in my group that will be taking this class soon and even though he has not seen it yet, he told me that he was looking forward to playing it.No problem, will do.
Kalthandrix 10-05-05, 06:31 PM	Okay- here is the finished version. I am hoping to get some additional feedback at this point and then when everything is hammered out I will post the whole entry at the top of the thread. This PrC does not, and I would like to stress, does not replace the specialist core class- this is a PrC that will enable preserver wizards of higher levels to specialize, and if the DM wishes, this PrC is open to specialist preservers too, with some modifications like those wizards whom are already specialists would not get another bonus spell nor would they get the bonus spells for their spellbooks or and additional +2 to Spellcraft checks. Actually, this PrC could be made into a core class, all that would habe to be donne is the special ability accumulation would be every other level. Arcane Specialist “You believe that you know what magic can do? Phah, you know nothing of the true path of power!” -Alekzander, Master of Evocation Hit Dice: d4 Requirements: To qualify to become an arcane specialist, a character must fulfill the following criteria. Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcane) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks Feats: Combat Casting, Spell Focus (specialized school), one item creation feat, one metamagic feat. Spells: Cast 3rd level arcane spells Special: Must be a preserver. Candidates need to be sponsored by a current member and pass the Test. Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Bonus Spell 1 +0 +0 +0 +2 Specialization 0 +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 2 +1 +0 +0 +3 Lore 1st +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 3 +1 +1 +1 +3 School Secret I 2nd +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 4 +2 +1 +1 +4 3rd +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 5 +2 +1 +1 +4 Lore 4th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 6 +3 +2 +2 +5 School Secret II 5th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 7 +3 +2 +2 +5 6th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 8 +4 +2 +2 +6 Lore 7th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 9 +4 +3 +3 +6 8th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 10 +5 +3 +3 +7 School Secret III 9th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class Class Skills: The arcane specialist’s class skills (and key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). Some arcane specialists gain an additional class skill depending on their school of specialization as follows; Abjuration- Survival (Wis) , Conjuration- Intimidate (Str), Divination- Gather Information (Cha), Enchantment- Diplomacy (Cha), Transmutation- Disguise (Cha). Skill points at each level: 2+ Int modifier. Class Features: All of the following are class features of the arcane specialist prestige class. Weapons and Armor Proficiency: The arcane specialist gains no proficiency with any weapon or armor. Spells Known: A arcane specialist gains a the spells per day as if he had gained a level in what ever arcane spellcasting class that he belonged to before he gained the prestige class. If he has more than one arcane spell class then he must choose only one to which to apply the increase. He does not gain any other benefit that a character of that class would normally gained, such as bonus feats or metamagic feats. Bonus Spell: Your dedication and focused study within your specialized school of magic has enabled you to. At 1st level, the arcane specialist gains an extra 0 level spell that they can memorize per day. The bonus spell must be selected from the arcane specialist‘s specialized school of magic. Every level the arcane specialist progresses within this class grant him a additional bonus spell of the next higher level. So at 2nd level, he gains a bonus 1st level spell, at 3rd he gains a 2nd, and so on. The arcane specialist must be able to cast spells normally from that level in order to gain the bonus spell. Specialization: You choose a school of magic to devote yourself to from the table below. That school is now your specialist school. The school listed as the opposed school and one school of your choice from the two listed as secordary opposed schools now become the schools of magic that your are restricted from. For example, a wizard selectes alteration for his specialized school. Abjuration automatically becomes one of his restricted schools. For his secord restricted school, the wizard may select either conjuration/summoning or necormancy. In this case, he selects necormancy as his second restricted school. Once specialized and opposed schools are selected they may never be changed. Your devotion to your specialized school of magic provieds you with a +2 spellcraft checks to learn spells from specialized school. In addition to this, countless hours of pouring over old tomes, scrolls, other arcane material has enabled you to advance your arcane studies. Upon gaining 1st level as an arcane specialist and every level thereafter within this class, you may scribe an additional spell within your spellbook in addition to the two that you already gain. At least one of the spells selected must be from your specialized school of magic. Specialist School Directly Opposed Secondary Opposed School Abjuration Transmutation Divination or Illusion Conjuration Divination Evocation or Transmutation Divination Conjuration Enchantment or Abjuration Enchantment Evocation Divination or Necromancy Evocation Enchantment Conjuration or Illusion Illusion Necromancy Abjuration or Evocation Necromancy Illusion Enchantment or Transmutation Transmutation Abjuration Conjuration or Necromancy Lore: Upon gaining 2nd, 5th, and 8th level as an arcane specialist, you are able to chose and ability from the following choices as long as you meet the requirements. Mastery of Spell Lore: Over time and constant repetition, you have been able to memorize and visualize spells within your chosen school of magic so will that you are no able to prepare spells from your school without the need of a spellbook. With this lore, the arcane specialist, you choose a number of spells that you already know equal to you Int bonus plus your arcane specialist class level. From this point on you may prepare these spells without referring to a spellbook. You may only have one spell of your highest level known in this manner, with the remaining amount being of lower level spells. Specialist Focus: You have a deeper knowledge of the unique make up of the spells within your chosen schools allowing you to shape the arcane energy of your spells to be more difficult for others to avoid the effects of your magic. When you select this lore you add +1 to the DC of the spells that you cast from your specialized school. Arcane Application: Your studies into your school of magic has revealed secrets that you had never before dreamed were possible before, allowing you to enhance your spells much more easily then normal wizards. At 5th level, the arcane specialist reduces the cost of enhancing his spells that are within his specialized school of magic with metamagic feats. The cost may never be reduced to less then one. Specialist Resilience: Prolonged exposure to the arcane energies of your specialized school has strengthened you your body and mind against assaults of a similar nature. With this lore, the arcane specialist gains a +2 inherent bonus to resist spells and effects of magic from their specialized school. Specialist Counter: Required- Mastery of Spell Lore. As you have studied, you have come to realize that the forces that are harnessed for the different schools are use the same basic components for each spell and that by knowing and adapting those key areas in specific spells you can nullify another wizards spells as they are being cast. Upon gaining access to this lore, the arcane specialist is now able to use spells from their specialized school to as counter spells that their opponents cast as long as they are from the same school of magic. The arcane specialist may use any of the spells from their specialized school that they have memorized to counter a spell of the same school that is being cast by an opponent. For example, a Transmuter has a readied action and successfully determined that his opponent is preparing to cast a baleful polymorph spell. The specialist could use any of his transmutation spells of 5th level or higher to counter his opponent’s spell. Metamastery: Required- Arcane Application. You are now so intimately familiar with the spells within your specialized school that you are able to increase their effectiveness without the need of prior preparation. With this lore, the arcane specialist learns to enhance the spells within his school of specialization with any metamagic feats that he knows on the fly without the added level cost. He may do this as many time per day as half his Int bonus, but may not apply more then one metamagic feat on the fly to any spell nor may he do so to a spell that he has already prepared that has been modified with by a metamagic feat. Arcane Infusion: Required- Specialist Focus and Specialist Resistance. The arcane energies of your specialized school virtually course through your veins and the raw power you wield is staggering. Upon gaining access to this lore an arcane specialist, you now have a spell resistance against spells from your specialized school that equals 11+ half your caster level+ Int bonus. School Secret I: Further study within your school of magic has application outside of those of the arcane. Upon gaining 3rd level as an arcane specialist, you have learned how better to apply your other skills better depending upon your specialized school of magic. • Abjuration: +4 competence bonus to Survival checks • Conjuration: +4 competence bonus to Intimidate checks • Divination: +4 competence bonus to Gather Information checks • Enchantment: +4 competence bonus to Diplomacy checks • Evocation: +4 competence bonus to Concentration checks • Illusion: +4 competence bonus to Bluff checks • Necromancy: +4 competence bonus to Knowledge (religion) checks • Transmutation: +4 competence bonus to Disguise checks School Secret II: Your dedication to your art has been further rewarded, as you uncover another potent secret that only those truly dedicated to their specialized school ever attain. Upon gaining 6th level as an arcane specialist you gain a special ability depending upon your specialized school of magic. • Abjuration: Enduring Wards. The wards and protections that you being forth are much more tenacious than those of other spellcrafters. Abjuration spells cast by you are much more resilient to attempts made by others to dispel. As such, your opponents must beat a DC 15 + your caster level to dispel any abjuration spells cast by you. • Conjuration: Strengthen Servants. Creatures that you summon are the strongest and most durable of their kind and have maximum hit points when you summon them. • Divination: Key of Secrets. You have become very adept at discerning and ferreting out information and then moving on to gather more. When using your divination spells to gather information, you may always take 10 on any skill checks required for the spell. You may also switch the focus of you divination spells as a swift action. • Enchantment: Unearthly Charm. Undead and other creatures are not automatically immune to spells you cast from the enchantment school. • Evocation: Lay them Low. The energy of destruction is at your beck and call, allowing you to level opponents with greater ease. You now add +1 to each die of damage you deal with evocation spells. • Illusion: See Through Deception. You have become very familiar with the way that illusions interact with reality and have trained you mind to notice small nuances that allow you to recognize illusions. Whenever you are subject to a spell from the school of illusion that allows a save, you may roll twice, taking the better of the two dice rolls. If the spell effect is one that does not allow a save, you may make one, but the DC to see through the spell is 15 + spell level + ability modifier used for spellcasting. • Necromancy: Infusion of the Grey. Undead creatures that you create are infused with negative energy, giving them maximum hit points when you make them. • Transmutation: Throw Off the Change. You knowledge of the arts of transmutation allow you to more easily avoid the effects of transmutation spells used against you. Whenever you fail your initial saving throw against any transmutation spell or effect, you are allowed a second save the following round to try and avoid the effect. Any spell that has an instantaneous duration you are not allowed a second save, but instead you may add your Int modifier as a circumstance bonus to your save. School Secret III: You have attained a level of mastery within your specialized school that is almost unmatched and have unlocked secrets that few are privy to. Upon reaching 10th level, an arcane specialist gains a special ability depending upon their specialized school of magic. • Abjuration: Spell Ward. Your ability to ward off opponent’s spells is legendary and there are few wizards whom would willingly enter into a battle of the arcane with you. Utilizing your knowledge of the school of abjuration, you are able to shape the arcane energies of your specialized school into a shield to ward off your opponents spells and redirect them. As a standard action, the specialist may use one of his prepared abjuration spells and create an arcane shield of energy before them that will reflect spells or spell-like effects cast at the specialist to any target within range, taking into account the distance the spell has already traveled. The spell ward will reflect as many spell levels as the original spell that was used to power this effect. If the spell ward does not have enough levels remaining to reflect an opponent’s spell, the spell ward is shattered and the spell may affect the specialist normally. This effect lasts for 1 round per level of the spell used to power the spell ward or until it’s energy is used. • Conjuration: Master’s Call. No creature may resist your call when you require aid. Whenever you cast a summoning spell that allows for multiple creatures to be summoned you call forth the maximum number that you are allowed. • Divination: Unseen Presence. When using your spells or an item to observe other locations (i.e., when scrying or using a crystal ball) you are able to establish a link that is very subtle and yet amazingly strong. Attempts to detect your scrying, such as detect scrying, do not always work. You are allowed a check against a DC of 11 + half your opponent’s caster level + your opponents Wis modifier. You roll a d20 and add half your caster level + Int modifier. If you secede, those your observe remain unaware of your mystical presents and any warding or detect scrying spells are left in place and undisturbed. This link also allows you to cast a single spell through your divination spell. The spell cast may not exceed your Int modifier in level. • Enchantment: Grandeur of Charm. You are a master at crafting enchantments, and your ability to do so has allowed you to make your school spells much more potent. You now add you Charisma modifier to the DC of all your enchantment spells and three times a day, you may modify an enchantment spell you cast as if you had applied the Extend metamagic feat to it. This does not affect the spell level and does not use up a higher spell slot. • Evocation: War Master. You may now power the destructive energies found within rods, staffs, and wands by expending a spell you currently have memorized from your specialized school. If the item requires multiple charges for specific effects then the memorized spell you expend must be of at least equal power, i.e. a staff requires three charges to cast a chain lightning bolt the arcane specialist must expend a memorized evocation spell of at least 3rd level to power the staff. • Illusion: Veil of Reality. Your ability to blend illusion and reality is the stuff of legend and few are able to pierce the veil of deception that you weave. Spells and effects such as true sight now longer automatically see through illusions that you cast. The creature must make a Will save equal to 10 + half your caster level + your Int bonus to see through your illusions. • Necromancy: Master of the Undying. The dead now hail you as their master and obey your every command. Your gain the ability to command or rebuke undead creature as a cleric four levels lower then your caster level. If you have a class that allows you to turn/destroy undead, you lose that ability and may now only command/rebuke them and you use the higher of your levels to determine how effective your command/rebuke ability is. You may also have three times your caster level of undead under your control at any time. • Transmutation: Mold the Arcane. So deeply have you delved into the arts of transmutation that you have learned to mold your spells like clay, forming it into the prefect tool for any task you have on hand. You gain the ability to change any of the transmutation spells that you have memorized into another spell from the transmutation school that you know. By using a memorized transmutation spell of any level, you may cast any other transmutation spell of at least one level lower then the memorized spell used to power this ability. The casting time of the new spell is now a full round action. Titles given to member of the arcane specialist PrC; 1st level-Apprentice 3rd level -Novis 5th level-Adept 7th level -Master 10th level-Grand Master The Test The hard lesions of being mercilessly hunted and killed had distilled within the members of the school in Mageholm, which is simply called Home to those who dwell there, a very high level of caution before allowing anyone entrance to the school and their ranks. First, a wizard must come to the attention of one of the Masters of the school, usually by providing aid or proving that they are a person of some moral integrity. The Master will then, if he deems the wizard might be a good addition to Home, engage the wizard to perform several tasks or missions in order to gage the wizard’s ability. If it is found at anytime that the wizard is a defiler or a member of the Veiled Alliance then contact is broken off. After the first observational period, the Master will then report to the Grand Masters that they have found a likely candidate. The Grand Masters and several other Masters will then begin gathering more intelligence on the possible candidate, using mundane and magic means to do so. The second observational period could go in for months as the Grand Masters decide if the wizard should be approached. If at any time the Grand Masters decide that the wizard will not be admitted, all contact is broken off. Those who pass the second observation will then be approached by the Master whom made initial contact, with some discreet backup in place in the form of another Master and several Adepts in case things go badly. The Master will offer the wizard a chance to join the school and enter the ranks of the arcane specialists. If the wizard is not willing to join, The Master departs and contact is broken off, though in most cases the wizard is watched carefully for several months by the schools agents and by magical means. Those whom decide to join are told to gather all of their belongs and come with the Master, who will teleport or have another wizard do so, the candidate and himself to a location out side of the Dead Lands, where the candidate will prepare himself to be Tested. During the night, the Master will explain several things to the candidate, such as the division of magic into specific school and some minor things about Home and the training they will receive. At the crack of dawn the following day, eight Grand Masters, on from each school of magic and several aids appear at the location, to administer the Test. The candidate is taken several miles into the Dead Lands to a place that has been prepared with potted plants to provide energy for the spells. The candidate is then told to remove all items and material from their person, all of which is subject to intense magical observation to insure that there is no malevolent item in the candidate’s possession. The candidate wizard is then required to cast all of the spells that they know, in order that that Grand Masters may gage the wizard’s abilities and to insure that no defiler is admitted into Home. If the spell casting portion is passed, the Grand Masters will then ask the candidate wizard many questions about himself and his magical teaching, during which several other wizards will be watching and listening to the wizard using their magic to determine if the candidate is telling the truth. If all of this is passed, the wizard is offered a place at Home and asked to select a school to which they will focus their studies. When this done, the candidate is required to divest himself of all magical items and spells that belong to those areas of magic that are now restricted. Then the Grand Masters, aids, and candidate leave the Dead Lands and magically travel to the school below Mageholm. Notable NPC’s Nogard Der’Live, Founder and Grand Master of Abjuration Preserver 4/ Ex-Veiled One 8/Arcane Specialist 10/ Arch Mage 3
Pennarin 10-05-05, 07:39 PM	Nitpicking: Envocation = Evocation Lesions = Lessons Mageholm = Magehome Question: Moral integrity? A master of abjuration is a former VA member? This points to the exclusion of defilers...which would be thematically unrelated to specialization, and going against the fact you didn't include "Must be a preserver" in the requirements.
Ruhl-Than Sage 10-06-05, 12:41 AM	This is just my first run over the class, I'll get to critiquing it for balance in greater detail later. Bonus Spell: Your dedication and focused study within your specialized school of magic has enabled you to. At 1st level, the arcane specialist gains an extra 0 level spell that they can memorize per day. The bonus spell must be selected from the arcane specialist‘s specialized school of magic. Every level the arcane specialist progresses within this class grant him a additional bonus spell of the next higher level. So at 2nd level, he gains a bonus 1st level spell, at 3rd he gains a 2nd, and so on. You should add that the character must already be capable of casting spells of the appropriate level before gaining the bonus spells from this ability. This wouldn't be an issue at lower levels in the class, but it is cocievable that it would at later ones. A character with Wizard 5th/Arcane Specialist 10th as a 15th level caster would only be able to cast 8th level spells and so shouldn't yet recieve the bonus 9th level spell. Specialization: You choose a school of magic to devote yourself to from the table below. That school is now your specialist school. The school listed as the opposed school and one school of your choice from the two listed as secordary opposed schools now become the schools of magic that your are restricted from. For example, a wizard selectes alteration for his specialized school. Abjuration automatically becomes one of his restricted schools. For his secord restricted school, the wizard may select either conjuration/summoning or necormancy. In this case, he selects necormancy as his second restricted school. Once specialized and opposed schools are selected they may never be changed. You should probably to alter the rules for Divination Specailists and some of the entries in the chart of opposed schools. Divination is a universal form of magic that cannot be restricted, without divination you cannot even cast detect magic and read magic, spells that are essential to being a wizard. You cannot learn new spells without read magic. Divination specailization is generally considered to be a lesser form of specailization causing the loss of only one school under traditional specailist rules. Metamastery: Are now so intimately familiar with the spells within your specialized school that you are able to increase their effectiveness without the need of prior preparation. At 9th level the arcane specialist learns to enhance the spells within his school of specialization with any metamagic feats that he knows on the fly without the added level cost. He may do this as many time per day as half his Int bonus, but may not apply more then one metamagic feat on the fly to any spell nor may he do so to a spell that he has already prepared that has been modified with by a metamagic feat. This ability needs to be toned down a bit. Put some sort of limit on the spell level adjustment that the metamagic feat can have. I would suggest two (or three if you really want to push it). Remember there are metamagic feats that can have huge spell level adjustments like Heighten Spell for instance. With the rules as they stand, you could use this ability to cast a Charm Person spell as though it were a Ninth level spell, for free.
Kalthandrix 10-06-05, 12:45 PM	Nitpicking: Envocation = Evocation Lesions = Lessons Mageholm = Magehome Question: Moral integrity? A master of abjuration is a former VA member? This points to the exclusion of defilers...which would be thematically unrelated to specialization, and going against the fact you didn't include "Must be a preserver" in the requirements. Thanks Pennarin- I thought I had caught all of those Envocation/Evocation things. BTW- I think that Mageholm is correctly spelled, I will have to refer to the map to be sure though. There is a background story on Norgard Der'Live which explanes why he is an ex mamber of the VA and why active members of the VA are not allowed to join the school- that is another project though. I have added the requirement that the wizards needs to be a preserver to take up this PrC.
Kalthandrix 10-06-05, 01:00 PM	[Bonus Spells] You should add that the character must already be capable of casting spells of the appropriate level before gaining the bonus spells from this ability. This wouldn't be an issue at lower levels in the class, but it is cocievable that it would at later ones. A character with Wizard 5th/Arcane Specialist 10th as a 15th level caster would only be able to cast 8th level spells and so shouldn't yet recieve the bonus 9th level spell. Originally- the character needed to be 7th level (cast 4th lvl spells) to take up this PrC- so the bonus spell aquisition worked out perfectly- I only just changed to to 5th lvl (cast 3rd lvl spells)- I though about adding it before, but wanted to see if anyone else though that the language need to be there first. [Specialization] You should probably to alter the rules for Divination Specailists and some of the entries in the chart of opposed schools. Divination is a universal form of magic that cannot be restricted, without divination you cannot even cast detect magic and read magic, spells that are essential to being a wizard. You cannot learn new spells without read magic. Divination specailization is generally considered to be a lesser form of specailization causing the loss of only one school under traditional specailist rules. I thought about this, and I am torn. I was following closely to the 2e books, and it is there I got the chart that showed me the opposed schools and stuff. Some ideas I had to fix this was 1) have each school devolope their own versions of detect magic and read magic- necromancy would use the skull of a creature and the dead would tell them if something was magic, or the transmuters would have a spell that altered their eyes in such a way that allowed them to read the language of magic. 2) make detect/ read magic universal spells. 3) make those two zero level spells the exception to the rule The 2e books broke divination into lesser and greater- and a wizard could specialize in the greater form. I will need to do more thinking on this matter- but what does everyone else think? [Metamastery] This ability needs to be toned down a bit. Put some sort of limit on the spell level adjustment that the metamagic feat can have. I would suggest two (or three if you really want to push it). Remember there are metamagic feats that can have huge spell level adjustments like Heighten Spell for instance. With the rules as they stand, you could use this ability to cast a Charm Person spell as though it were a Ninth level spell, for free. Done- added some restriction to the metamastery ability- I am not sure if the material I added is clear enough though, but I think it does a good job of placing some restriction to this ability. Thanks for the F.B. Sage
The PeaceBringer 10-06-05, 02:29 PM	Cool! You used some of my ideas and I think you managed pretty well in the end with the rest of your missing powers. I'd say it's not overpowered but I have chaotic good tendencies so I'm not really good with balance. :P
Kalthandrix 10-06-05, 02:37 PM	Cool! You used some of my ideas and I think you managed pretty well in the end with the rest of your missing powers. I'd say it's not overpowered but I have chaotic good tendencies so I'm not really good with balance. :P Thanks- I don't think it i overpowered either, but then again my perspective is biased. I told you that I liked your suggestions- in fact the idea of the Abjuration ability Spell Ward was a spin off of the idea you had given me of the permanent protection aura- my train of though is often chaotic and untraceable so I would understand if someone cannot see the connection. Next week, one of the PC's in my group will be taking up this PrC and I am hoping to have it all hammered out by then so if anyone has any suggestions, or praise for my genius :D , let me know.
Ruhl-Than Sage 10-07-05, 01:26 AM	Thanks- I don't think it i overpowered either, but then again my perspective is biased. I have to disagree, right now I'd say that the PrC is rather overpowered. But, before I make my argument as to how to rebalance the class, I need to look over some PrCs for comparison and take some more time to look at the features of the class in depth. Right off I can say that, you are simply giving away too many specail abilties. My initial judgement is that you need to drop about half of them. I mean you're effectively giving away the equivilent of 11 feats without any loss in caster levels. I think you've got a lot of great ideas here, but its just too much.
Kalthandrix 10-07-05, 11:38 PM	I have an idea to fix, I hope, the overpoweredness (<= I don't know if it is a word but I will use it :D ). I have kinda redid the aquisition of abilities and made some dependent on others to gain. This does two things 1) reduces the number of abilities the class gets and 2) makes each arcane specialist a little different from another one. As for taking away the Divination school, I thought of this, make all zero level spells the exception to the rule for specialists school restrictions on casting spells from their restricted spells. Cantrips are the most basic, simplistic magic a wizard learns, and it would be reasonable to assume that they are learned so well that they could still be cast as a specialist. In my campaign I do not even require that wizards have the zero level spells recorded as I believe that they have mastered them after years of practice. Look over the stuff and let me know. I have not made the changes to the big post that has all of the PrC info in it. Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Bonus Spell 1 +0 +0 +0 +2 Specialization 0 +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 2 +1 +0 +0 +3 Lore 1st +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 3 +1 +1 +1 +3 School Secret I 2nd +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 4 +2 +1 +1 +4 3rd +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 5 +2 +1 +1 +4 Lore 4th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 6 +3 +2 +2 +5 School Secret II 5th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 7 +3 +2 +2 +5 6th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 8 +4 +2 +2 +6 Lore 7th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 9 +4 +3 +3 +6 8th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class 10 +5 +3 +3 +7 School Secret III 9th +1 level in existing arcane spellcaster class Lore: Upon gaining 2nd, 5th, and 8th level as an arcane specialist, you are able to chose and ability from the following choices as long as you meet the requirements. Mastery of Spell Lore: Over time and constant repetition, you have been able to memorize and visualize spells within your chosen school of magic so will that you are no able to prepare spells from your school without the need of a spellbook. With this lore, the arcane specialist, you choose a number of spells that you already know equal to you Int bonus plus your arcane specialist class level. From this point on you may prepare these spells without referring to a spellbook. You may only have one spell of your highest level known in this manner, with the remaining amount being of lower level spells. Specialist Focus: You have a deeper knowledge of the unique make up of the spells within your chosen schools allowing you to shape the arcane energy of your spells to be more difficult for others to avoid the effects of your magic. When you select this lore you add +1 to the DC of the spells that you cast from your specialized school. Arcane Application: Your studies into your school of magic has revealed secrets that you had never before dreamed were possible before, allowing you to enhance your spells much more easily then normal wizards. At 5th level, the arcane specialist reduces the cost of enhancing his spells that are within his specialized school of magic with metamagic feats. The cost may never be reduced to less then one. Specialist Resilience: Prolonged exposure to the arcane energies of your specialized school has strengthened you your body and mind against assaults of a similar nature. With this lore, the arcane specialist gains a +2 inherent bonus to resist spells and effects of magic from their specialized school. Specialist Counter: Required- Mastery of Spell Lore. As you have studied, you have come to realize that the forces that are harnessed for the different schools are use the same basic components for each spell and that by knowing and adapting those key areas in specific spells you can nullify another wizards spells as they are being cast. Upon gaining access to this lore, the arcane specialist is now able to use spells from their specialized school to as counter spells that their opponents cast as long as they are from the same school of magic. The arcane specialist may use any of the spells from their specialized school that they have memorized to counter a spell of the same school that is being cast by an opponent. For example, a Transmuter has a readied action and successfully determined that his opponent is preparing to cast a baleful polymorph spell. The specialist could use any of his transmutation spells of 5th level or higher to counter his opponent’s spell. Metamastery: Required- Arcane Application. You are now so intimately familiar with the spells within your specialized school that you are able to increase their effectiveness without the need of prior preparation. With this lore, the arcane specialist learns to enhance the spells within his school of specialization with any metamagic feats that he knows on the fly without the added level cost. He may do this as many time per day as half his Int bonus, but may not apply more then one metamagic feat on the fly to any spell nor may he do so to a spell that he has already prepared that has been modified with by a metamagic feat. Arcane Infusion: Required- Specialist Focus and Specialist Resistance. The arcane energies of your specialized school virtually course through your veins and the raw power you wield is staggering. Upon gaining access to this lore an arcane specialist, you now have a spell resistance against spells from your specialized school that equals 11+ half your caster level+ Int bonus.
Ruhl-Than Sage 10-08-05, 07:22 AM	Everything seems very reasonable with your latest proposal :) . As for taking away the Divination school, I thought of this, make all zero level spells the exception to the rule for specialists school restrictions on casting spells from their restricted spells. Cantrips are the most basic, simplistic magic a wizard learns, and it would be reasonable to assume that they are learned so well that they could still be cast as a specialist. In my campaign I do not even require that wizards have the zero level spells recorded as I believe that they have mastered them after years of practice. That sounds perfectly fine, and saves a bit of a headache on trying to balance the rules for oppositional schools. Just note that change in the description of specailization. Great class Kal! :D
Kalthandrix 10-08-05, 11:55 AM	Thanks Sage- I will get the revised version up tonight sometime so everyone can see who whole piece. There are aosl a few other areas that need some clarification- e.i. the specialist area and that will be fixed too.
Kalthandrix 10-08-05, 10:21 PM	final version at beginning of thread.
Kalthandrix 10-10-05, 04:57 PM	If no one has any further comments then I will do a final read through and edit and make this the final version to repost at the top of the thread- so if you want to seen any other changes then get your suggestions to me in the next couple of days.
Kalthandrix 10-18-05, 11:35 PM	final version posted at begining of thread.