Arcane Hierophant (Pathfinder)

The Arcane Hierophant prestige class is mix of divine and arcane magic, largely focused around druids, first introduced in the Races of the Wild. This page updates this class for use with the Pathfinder system. (Notes at the end of the page provide details of the goals of this conversion.)

Hit Die: d6

Requirements

• Base Attack Bonus: +4
• Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5
• Spells: Able to cast 2nd level arcane spells and 2nd level divine spells
• Special: Trackless Step or Crowd Walker class feature

Class Skills

The Arcane Hierophant's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Ride (), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special	Spells per day
1st	+0	+0	+0	+1	Strong bond, ignore arcane spell failure, wild shape	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class
2nd	+1	+1	+1	+1	Channel animal 1/day	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+2	-	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class
4th	+2	+1	+1	+2	Channel animal 2/day	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class
5th	+2	+2	+2	+3	-	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class
6th	+3	+2	+2	+3	Channel plant 1/day	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class
7th	+3	+2	+2	+4	-	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class
8th	+4	+3	+3	+4	Channel animal 4/day	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class
9th	+4	+3	+3	+5	-	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class
10th	+5	+3	+3	+5	Channel plant 2/day	+1 level of arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of divine spellcasting class

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Arcane hierophants gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Strong Bond: At first level, the arcane hierophant strengthens his connection to a special animal. When taking this level, choose either an existing animal companion or an existing familiar. Levels in arcane hierophant stack with the those of class the provided the companion or familiar for the purposes of determining the creature's special abilities, stats, tricks and so on.

Ignore arcane spell failure: At 1st level, the arcane hierophant can ignore the chance of arcane spell failure due to any non-metallic light or medium armor.

Wild Shape: Levels in arcane hierophant stack with druid levels to determine the limits of wild shape ability. You must have at least one level in druid to take advantage of this ability.

Channel animal: Starting at 2nd level, you gain the ability to establish magical contact between yourself and any animal you touch. This ability can also work (without requiring physical contact) through your companion (regardless of type), familiar or any any animal summoned by summon nature's ally. While in effect, as long as you have line of sight and line of effect on the creature, you can deliver a spell with range of touch or greater through the creature. Only one spell can be cast like this per day, until level 4, when a second channel is added, and level 8, where two more are added per day.

Channel plant: Starting at 6th level, you may channel a spell through plants as well as animals, though the rating remains the same. You can a second channel at 10th level.

Spells per Day: At the indicated levels, an arcane hierophant gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in both an arcane spellcasting class and a divine spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for additional spells per day, spells known (if he is a spontaneous spellcaster), and an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a spellsword, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Design Notes

This class stays fairly close to the Pathfinder mystic theurge, as well as the original arcane hierophant. The rules regarding companions are a bit less complicated and, in some ways, weaker; however, this is in keeping with the changes to the Sorcerer and Wizard classes, where familiars are no longer mandatory.