Mark of Autochthon and Arcane Hierophant (Pathfinder): Difference between pages

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{{ExaltedArtifact
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 [[system::Pathfinder]] system. (Notes at the end of the page provide details of the goals of this conversion.)
|summary = A magical mark over the heart, marking you as selected by Autochthon
|description = ''As the flash washes over you, you feel a slight burning sensation inside your heart. You hear your own voice inside your head, saying: "You have been selected for a task of great importance by the Great Maker. He offers you this mark on your heart to aid you, but this mark cannot be forced. Accept it now and be part of the Maker's Design forever more, or deny it now to make your way without His divine aid." As you decide what to do, you instinctively know what this mark will do. Read its effects below, and decide if you want to accept this mark or not.''


The mark is considered to be an insubstantial artifact, with no commitment cost. Once accepted, it is a permanent change to the character and cannot be transferred. It is normally invisible to the naked eye, but under some conditions, it will appear on your chest as a series of spectral gears, in colors matching your anima. The conditions where it can be seen are:
'''Hit Die''': d6


* Any time your caste mark shows, Autochthon's mark is equally visible.
'''Requirements'''
* Essence sight of any kind can perceive the mark on a Perception + Occult (5) roll.
* Alchemical exalted will notice the mark on a Perception + Occult (2) roll.
* Spirits of Autochthonia will notice the mark automatically.
* You can spend 2 motes to make the mark obvious to any onlookers.


The mark provides the following benefits and drawbacks:
* 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


'''Emissary of the Maker''': Any entity native to Autochthonia (mortal, spirit, alchemical) who sees your mark immediately knows its significance, and will consider you to be highly connected to the Machine God. This will generally result in a highly favorable reaction. Older gods in Creation may also recognize the mark; their reaction will depend on their opinion of Autochthon.
'''Class Skills'''


'''Will of Autochthon''': You gain an additional Nature of "Avatar". This allows you to make an immediate check for regaining Willpower any time you accomplish a goal significant to Autochthon's plans. You will get this check whether you know Autochthon's plans or not. Your original Nature continues to work as normal. In addition, for any tests that directly further the goals of Autochthon, you may channel Virtues without spending Willpower.
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).


'''Five-Fold Synchronicity''': All five of the magical materials are now considered your "favored" material; you no longer need to commit double the motes to attune to non-favored materials. If you have particular abilities that work specifically on your favored material, they expand to work on all five materials. (For example, various shapeshifting rules interact specifically with moonsilver; these now interact with all five metals.)
'''Skill Ranks at Each Level''': 4 + Int modifier.


'''Cog in the Wheel''': When confronted with a situation that clearly advances the goals of Autochthon, if you want to act counter to those goals, you must ''fail'' an appropriate Virtue test to do so. This works like normal virtue suppression (core.130), so if you get any successes on this test, you either need to work toward Autochthon's goals or spend a point of Willpower to avoid doing so (solars and lunars also gain a point of Limit when they do this).
{| class="wikitable"
!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
|}


'''Lost in the Machine''': You gain a Background called "Precision", representing the depth of your connection to the Great Maker, and generally measuring how much humanity you have lost. Unlike most backgrounds, your Precision rating will likely change quite a bit, both up and down. This is explained in more detail below. You gain Precision at one dot immediately upon agreeing to the mark.  
'''Weapon and Armor Proficiency''': Arcane hierophants gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.


'''Infinite Variety in Infinite Forms''': You gain the ability to learn combos instantaneously. You must still pay their xp cost, but learning a new combo takes no training time at all. You can even create them on the fly during combat. In addition, the xp cost of adding favored charms to a combo changes: you pay xp equal to either the minimum Ability or minimum Essence, whichever is lower. Each time you learn a combo in this way, you gain a dot of Precision (see below).
'''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.


'''Opening the Mind's Eye''': You may name an additional Ability as a favored ability upon agreeing to take the mark.
'''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.


'''Deep Resonance''': You may enter an eight-hour trance that allows you to learn rapidly. While in the trance, each point of Willpower you spend compresses 100 hours of training into the trance. In any given trance, you may pay as much Willpower as you like, but may only train toward a single goal (e.g. learning one charm, improving a trait by one dot, etc.). Such training is done, necessarily, without a teacher; however, see "Tapping the Source", below. After each trance, you gain a dot of Precision (see below).
'''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.


'''Tapping the Source''': You gain five dots in a Background called "Source", representing your ability to exploit the connection to Autochthon for knowledge. Dots in this background can be spent to gain enlightenment in several ways. Spending a dot of Source permanently reduces its rating by one and buys any one of the following:
'''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.


* Immediately gain a specialty of your choice without paying xp or training costs.
'''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.  
* Reduce the xp cost of any training by four.
* You gain access to training in any one improvement that you would normally be able to learn without a trainer.
* Gain a "virtual trainer" for learning one restricted terrestrial or celestial martial arts charm (including forms, pinnacle charms, initial style charms and the Immaculate martial arts). Spending a dot in this way also gains a dot of Precision (see below).
* Solar exalted gain a "virtual trainer" for improving a [[Forgotten Suns: Science|Science]] by a dot, including any First Age science. Spending a dot in this way also gains a dot of Precision (see below).
* Sidereal exalted gain a "virtual trainer" for learning one sidereal martial arts charm. Spending a dot in this way also gains a dot of Precision (see below).
* Lunar exalted may drink the heart's blood of one standard size spirit, demon, elemental, wyld creature, or construct to add its form into their shapeshifting library. Spending a dot in this way also gains a dot of Precision (see below).


== Precision ==
'''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.


Being connected to the Great Maker tends to make you more machine like. While this provides some benefits, you also run the risk of losing your humanity entirely. Even creatures like the Alchemical Exalted, who are built for such things, can loose themselves to the machine. They measure this with a trait called Clarity, but it works a bit differently for you, being born human. Your loss of humanity is measured by a Background called Precision.
'''Design Notes'''


Precision is increased by tapping into the connection to Autochthon (as outlined above). Any time you gain a point of precision, you ''also'' gain a point of Limit or Paradox, as appropriate.
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.


Embracing your humanity and human emotion in significant ways decreases Precision, represented as follows:
[[Category:Prestige Class]]
 
* Any time you spend Willpower to channel a Virtue (core.129), and the resulting action is successful, you automatically loose a dot of Precision.
* Any time you use a stunt of two dice or more that reaffirms your humanity or expresses genuine emotion (joy, rage, pity, love), if the stunt succeeds, instead of regaining motes or Willpower, you may choose to loose a point of Precision.
* Significant emotional or social experiences may reduce Precision by a point.
 
Precision acts as both a blessing and a curse, with the following general effects:
 
* Precision rating is added to initiative rolls.
* Precision rating dice are added to any Temperance checks or Temperance channels.
* Precision rating dice are subtracted from any Compassion checks or Compassion channels.
* Precision rating dice are subtracted from any social tests. This ''always'' includes tests involving Charisma, Manipulation, Socialize, Performance and Presence, but may include any test with a social component as well.
* Precision rating dice are subtracted from any defenses against social attacks.
* Precision rating dice are subtracted from any attempts at artistic self expression. This would include poetry, dance, painting, and any Craft test meant primarily to convey emotion, manipulate the viewer or make a social point.
* Precision rating dice are added to any meticulous, detailed, but not particularly emotional work. In addition to most complex repair work, this also explicitly includes calligraphy tests targeted at Pattern Spiders.
 
In addition, as the rating increases, the more mechanical your personality becomes:
 
: {{Dots|1}} - No noticeable changes, but the character's thoughts are often more coldly logical.
: {{Dots|2}} - Mannerisms convey a sense of distraction and a faint disdain for mortals and mortal frailty. Less patience for people.
: {{Dots|3}} - Notably inhuman. Movements and speech become clipped and laconic, replacing courtesy with efficiency. Mortals are never pitied and are largely ignored. At this level, the character's original Nature is ignored, no longer capable of regenerating Willpower.
: {{Dots|4}} - Humanity is a distant memory. Mortals are treated like resources, to be used as efficiently as possible. Enjoyment, desire and other feelings no longer exist. At this level, the character loses the ability to channel Valor and Compassion entirely.
: {{Dots|5}} - An utterly alien extension of the Machine God. The character has free will and is not a drone, but will consider the needs of the Machine God over its own. At this level, the character automatically fails Compassion rolls and can no longer roll to resist the Will of Autochthon (see above).
 
Precision can be reduced to zero, but the trait itself will remain as long as the mark does. Precision may not increase over five dots; attempts to do so simply fail.
 
|instances =
|rating = 5
|commitment = 0
}}

Revision as of 15:24, 22 January 2013

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.