In the long past days of Netheril, practioners of the Art once were able to bend arcane powers in ways no one today still can; except a few. A small number of people from the time of Netheril, mostly liches and the ruling shades from the Shade Enclave, are direct survivors of that fallen empire. Some few others have researched the past thuroughly enough that they have uncoverd the secrets of the ancient Netherese.
Hit Die: d4
Requirements:
To qualify to become a Netherese Arcanist, the character must meet the following criteria.
• Race: Human (Netherese, Shade or Undead are all appropriate)
• Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 25 ranks, Spellcraft 25 ranks.
• Feats: Improved Metamagic, Improved Spellcasting.
• Spellcasting: Able to cast 13th-level spells.
• Special: Tradition of Netheril: Must have access to the lore of Netheril, either by finding an individual who already does, or by researching the information themselves. Most sources of knowledge are the shade rulers of Shade Enclave and a few Neherese liches, most notably Larloch, the Shadow King.
Class Skills: The Netherese Arcanist's class skills are Concentration (Con), Decipher Script(Int), Knowledge (Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int), Speak Language (none), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points per Level: 2 + Intelligence modifier.
| Class Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | |||||
| 1 | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Epic Spellcasting, Field Specialization | |||||
| 2 | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Spell Focus (epic) | |||||
| 3 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Backlash Resistance (5) | |||||
| 4 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Epic Spell Artisan | |||||
| 5 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Greater Spell Focus (epic) |
CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are class features of the Netherese Arcanist prestige class.
Epic Spellcasting: If the character does not already possess the Epic Spellcasting feat, they now receive it as a bonus feat, assuming they meet the requirements.
Field Specialization: At 1st level, the Netherese Arcanist chooses from among the Invention, Mentalism, and Variation fields a major, minor, and prohibited field.
--Invention: afflict, armor, conjure, destroy, energy, slay, summon.
--Mentalism: banish, compel, conceal, contact, delude, forsee, reveal.
--Variation: animate, animate dead, dispel, fortify, reflect, transform, transport, ward.
Seeds contained within your chosen Major field are all counted as -5 base DC for using them in epic spells. However, the seeds in your Prohibited field are inaccessible to you. Seeds in the Minor field are unaffected.
Spell Focus (epic): The character receives the benefits to his epic spells as if he had chosen epic spells as a specialization from wizards. All epic spells that the arcanist casts have a +1 to their save DCs. The caster level, however, remains unaffected.
Backlash Resistance (5): The Netherese Arcanist is so familiar with the ways of epic spellcasting that the energies they require take less of a toll on him. Any epic spell that would do backlash damage to the arcanist does 5 points less to the arcanist, he absorbs those points like Damage Reduction. If the spell would do continual backlash over the course of several rounds, each round of damage benefits from the 5 points reduction.
Epic Spell Artisan: Netherese Arcanists have learned how to make more for less with their epic spells. When creating an epic spell, the gold piece cost is figured by muliplying the Spellcraft DC by 7,000 gp, rather than the usual 9,000 gp. Figure the XP costs accordingly.
Greater Spell Focus (epic): The character receives an additional +1 to the saves against his DCs for epic spells, as Spell Focus (epic) above, but it stacks with that ability, granting a combined total of +2.
This prestige class can be found in the Player's Guide to Faerun, on page 176, or there abouts. I wish to here give credit to Wizards of the Coast, as this is their prestige class, and I do not seek to claim credit for it.
Picture of Netherese Arcanist, from Player's Guide to Faerun, copyright Wizards of the Coast (www.wizards.com).
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