The history of the Iznet sages is as strange as it is wondrous. A solitary aboleth was ferried up through the dark tunnels and hidden in the cistern of the old temple the Order had "acquired" from the surface dwellers. Those recruits who exhibited skill in the arcane arts were secretly subjected to hypnotic suggestion, sensory deprivation, and psychic surgery to strengthen their minds. Eventually, the instructors began fusing bits of the aboleth’s brain to those of the Order’s more promising students, granting them supernatural perception at the expense of their normal eyesight. Those less adept at their art found themselves as food for their instructors.An Iznet sage is a silent, watchful figure of terrible devotion. These spellcasters give up their lives in the sunlit world above and eventually sacrifice their sight to their righteous cause. Iznet sages are trained in absolute darkness and drilled day and night on the tactics and methods of their enemy. Sages are typically assigned to units of Iznet avengers and Cloaks of Iznet, protecting their compatriots from summoned demons and vermin, shielding them from the spells favored by dark elves, and maintaining a cloak of illusion or invisibility around them. In more dire situations, Iznet sages are able to unleash terrible destructive magic upon their enemies.
Hit Dice: d4
Requirements
In order to qualify to become an Iznet Sage, a character must meet the following criteria.
Feats: Blind-Fight, Spell Penetration
Language: Undercommon
Spellcasting: Ability to cast third level arcane spells
Special: The character must be accepted into the Esoteric Order of Iznet, and undergo at least six months of training.
Class Skills
The Iznet Sage’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Knowledge (all) (Int), Listen (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str). See Chapter 4 of the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special Spellcasting 1 +0 +0 +0 +2 Handreading, Focused - 2 +1 +0 +0 +3 Sixth Sense +1 caster level 3 +1 +1 +1 +3 Psionic Symbiont I - 4 +2 +1 +1 +4 Improved Spell Penetration (+4) +1 caster level 5 +2 +1 +1 +4 Transmute Rock to Mud - 6 +3 +2 +2 +5 Psionic Symbiont II +1 caster level 7 +3 +2 +2 +5 Resist Dark Magic - 8 +4 +2 +2 +6 Improved Spell Penetration (+6) +1 caster level 9 +4 +3 +3 +6 Psionic Symbiont III - 10 +5 +3 +3 +7 Punish the Fallen +1 caster level
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Iznet Sage prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An Iznet sage gains no new weapon or armor proficiency.
Spellcasting: An Iznet sage continues training with magic. Thus, at every even-numbered Iznet sage level, the character gains new spells per day and spells known as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class he belonged to prior to adding this prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that level would have gained (improved familiar abilities, metamagic or item creation feats, etc).
Handreading (Ex): As part of their training, Iznet sages spend months in total darkness while they hone their craft. One side effect of this training is the preternatural ability to read script with the tips of their fingers. This allows wizards to study their spellbooks without a light source, and allows all casters to use scrolls in the darkness. Glyphs of warding and similar traps activate normally when read “by hand.”
Focused (Ex): The constant drilling and hypnotic suggestions which make up much of the Iznet sage’s training are grueling, but carry an important lesson. After learning to concentrate under such a mental and physical assault, he has little need to fear the more “mundane” distractions of adventuring life. The Iznet sage gains the ability to take 10 on any Concentration check, regardless of the distractions around him.
Sixth Sense (Su): Upon reaching 2nd level, the Iznet sage is deemed worthy of receiving a “gift” from his instructors. The next time the sage is in an Order facility, he is placed into a deep coma while his mind flayer superiors excise and remove parts of his brain’s occipital lobe, replacing it with grey matter taken from an aboleth’s brain. Though this process leaves the sage completely blind, he soon discovers that he is able to sense magical auras around him, allowing him to perceive the world in a new way. The Iznet sage becomes permanently blinded, but gains the ability to “see” magical auras.Functioning spells radiate magic within their area of effect, allowing the Iznet sage to “see” everything within this area as if he possessed the blindsight ability. Functioning spells without an area of effect (or an area of effect that targets a single or multiple creatures) or magical items radiate a magical aura proportional to their strength, as per the detect magic spell; faint auras radiate magic in a 10 foot radius, moderate auras radiate magic in a 30 foot radius, and strong auras radiate magical in a 50 foot radius. Overwhelming auras bathe the surrounding areas in magical energy, radiating magic in a 100-foot radius As with functioning spells, the Iznet sage is able to “see” everything within these areas as if he possessed the blindsight ability.
Casting instantaneous spells also creates magical auras, but only on the initiative count during which they were cast. To the Iznet sage, this is the equivalent of a brief flash of light in a darkened area, possibly giving him a brief glimpse of the area in question. Instantaneous spells radiate an aura proportional to their aura strength, as mentioned above.
Note that the Iznet sage’s sixth sense, coupled with his natural blindness, typically creates “islands of sight” for the sage; he may be able to see perfectly in an area around himself (due to his own spell effects or magical items) as well as areas illuminated by the auras of magical items or spells, but any area void of magical auras is unknown to him; lacking magical auras to read, the sage is treated as if he were blind with regards to these areas.
While in the presence of a lingering aura, the sage’s sixth sense suffers from the rapidly decaying magical auras. The sage is treated as if he possessed the blindsense ability, rather than then blindsight ability, while within these areas.
The Iznet sage may attempt a Spellcraft check, DC 15 + spell level, or 15 + half caster level for a nonspell effect, to determine the school of magic involved with each aura. He may attempt this check only once per aura.
Though the sage is able to read magical writing as easily as a normal human reads a book though the use of this ability, nonmagical writing is still undecipherable to him; he must rely upon his handreading ability to read words of this sort.
The sage’s brain fuses completely with the fragments of the aboleth’s brain, accepting them as part of itself. Thus, spells such as cure blindness, regeneration, or heal have no effect on the sage’s blindness; for all intents and purposes, the sage’s brain is “complete.”
Psionic Symbiont I (Su): As the Iznet sage advances, the small bit of aboleth grey matter within his skull begins to send small tendrils through the remainder of his brain. Though this subjects the Iznet sage to frequent headaches (causing a -2 penalty to all skill checks the sage makes), the mucus secreted by the grey matter begins to saturate the sage’s occipital lobe, granting him powerful psionic abilities.Beginning at 3rd level, the Iznet sage gains the ability to manifest the false sensory input (one target per two class levels, DC 13 +Cha mod), read thoughts (DC 12 + Cha mod), and thought shield powers at will as psi-like abilities, at a manifester level equal to his class level. In addition, he gains telepathy to a range of 30 feet, allowing the sage to communicate mentally with any intelligent creature within range, so long as they share a common language.
Improved Spell Penetration (Ex): Iznet sages are skilled at overcoming the innate spell resistance of dark elves. Beginning at 4th level, the Iznet sage’s bonus on caster level checks improves to +4. At 8th level, this bonus improves further, increasing to +6.
Transmute Rock to Mud (Sp): An Iznet sage who has reached 5th level gains the ability to transmute rock to mud as a spell-like ability. This ability is usable three times per day, as if cast by a sorcerer of the sage’s class level.
Psionic Symbiont II (Su): At 6th level, the aboleth grey matter plunges its tendrils deeper into the sage’s brain, and begins slowly pulling itself towards the sage’s frontal lobe. Though this ends the sage’s headaches, the movement of the grey matter begins to cause permanent brain damage, resulting in the deterioration of his motor skills The Iznet sage begins to suffer from uncontrollable twitching, trembling, and spasms. The sage is treated as if he were permanently sickened, granting him a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.The grey matter’s tendrils, as well as the mucus it continues to secrete, have the beneficial side effect of greatly stimulating the Iznet sage’s frontal lobe, increasing his higher cognitive functions. The sage’s Intelligence score increases by +2, and his telepathic powers strengthen, allowing him to communicate with creatures to a range of 60 feet. His psionic powers also improve, granting him the ability to manifest the psionic suggestion (DC 12 + Cha mod), psionic modify memory (DC 14 + Cha mod), id insinuation (DC 12 + Cha mod), and ego whip (DC 12 + Cha mod) abilities three times per day each as psi-like abilities, at a manifester level equal to his class level.
Resist Dark Magic (Ex): An Iznet sage of at least 7th level has studied the magic of the dark elves, and has steeled himself against its effects. He gains a +2 bonus on saves to resist the spells and spell-like abilities of dark elves, a bonus which increases to +4 against spells of the enchantment school.
Psionic Symbiont III (Su): At 9th level, the aboleth grey matter attaches itself to the Iznet sage’s corpus callosum, the structure of the brain which divides the right hemisphere from the left. Situated thus, with its tendrils twisting through the sage’s brain, the grey matter is able to force its consciousness onto the sage’s own. The sage is essentially treated as if he had two minds, which, in essence, he does. Each mind functions in complete autonomy, like two characters in one body.The aboleth grey matter does not control his physical body, but is free to take one standard action in each round if the action is purely mental (such as manifesting one of the Iznet sage’s psi-like abilities, casting one of his spells (provided there are no verbal, somatic, or material components), or communicating telepathically with another character) in the same the sage takes his normal actions. The aboleth grey matter does not have complete mastery of the sage’s mind, though, and casts or manifests all spells, powers, and spell- or psi-like abilities as if it were six levels lower than the sage’s character level. The second mind does not provoke attacks of opportunity for actions it takes, because doing so doesn’t distract your primary mind. The character may communicate with his aboleth grey matter mind telepathically.
If the sage is subject to a compulsion or charm effect, he may attempt a second saving throw if he fails the first; should he succeed at either saving throw, he are treated as if he had made the initial save. The sage must fail both saving throws for the charm or compulsion to affect him.
The aboleth grey matter mind is not initially hostile to the Iznet sage, and is mentally independent of the aboleth which spawned it. A few sages have described their second minds as curious about the world, likening them to creatures which only recently gained awareness of their environment. It should be noted, however, that, while the sage’s second mind tends to agree with his primary mind in most cases, it is its own, separate entity, with its own opinions and beliefs.
In addition, the Iznet sage’s psionic abilities reach their peak, allowing him to manifest the psionic dominate (DC 14 + Cha mod), mind probe (DC 15 + Cha mod), and mindwipe (DC 12 + Cha mod) abilities once per day each as psi-like abilities, at a manifester level equal to his class level.
Punish the Fallen (Su): An Iznet sage who has reached 10th level is able to harness the hatred burning in his dual minds and direct it outward in a torrent of raw magical and psionic energy. This wave of energy lashes out at all dark elves within a 50 foot burst, centered on the Iznet sage, wracking their bodies with unbelievable pain. Every dark elf within this area takes 1d4 points of damage for every class level the sage possesses (Fortitude save for half, DC 10 + the Iznet sage’s class level + his Charisma modifier). This energy may be of any type the Iznet sage chooses.Dark elves who fail this Fortitude save must then succeed at a Will saving throw at the same DC or fall under the effects of a feeblemind spell. This ability is usable once per day, at a caster level equal to the Iznet sage’s class level.
Back to the Order of Iznet
Back to Prestige Classes
Migdalia Home
