During the Fourth Age of Migdalia, the Walacian archmages placed a stranglehold on arcane magic, guarding their spells and magical items from commoners and other wizards alike. A dark age fell upon the continent, and much knowledge of the arcane arts faded from the world. A small number of wizards, mostly idealistic apprentices or battle-hardened veterans of the Arcane War, disagreed with this practice, realizing that their Art would wither and die in such an environment.Seeking to escape the ever-watchful eyes of the archmages, the small gathering of arcanists fled Walacia, traveling east and north through the relatively unpopulated eastern lands. Crossing the northern ocean, the mages arrived on a small island secluded enough for their purposes. Within a few years, rumors began to surface of a group of rogue wizards who shared their knowledge openly with any who would seek it. Many made the trip into the eastern lands, including spies and assassins sent by the irate archmages. The relatively untamed lands claimed many lives, but just as many awoke to find a robed mage sitting next to them, curious as to whether the aspiring apprentice was prepared to begin their training. The assassins and spies sent by the archmages were never heard from again.
Centuries later, a number of unknown wizards waged a lightning-fast assault on a Walacian vault, which had been sealed away to prevent artifacts from the Arcane War from ever being used again. Though the Rune Knights repelled the attackers, the wizards, in actuality the current headmasters of the growing school, managed to escape with a powerful artifact capable of channeling and redirecting arcane energy. Armed with this new weapon, and having stunned the Walacian archmages with their power, the wizards of Camarak ensured that their one-time oppressors would think twice about attacking the school.
Relations between Walacia and Camarak have since improved, and the two now exist in an uneasy alliance. The school operates openly, and stands as a symbol of knowledge and learning to the people of Migdalia.
Hit Dice: d4
Requirements
In order to qualify to become a Scholar of Camarak, a character must meet the following criteria.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks.Feats: Any metamagic feat.
Spellcasting: Ability to prepare and cast 3rd level arcane spells.
Special: The character must be accepted as a faculty member at the Camarak School for the Arcane Arts. This typically requires the character to be considered both responsible and professional in his or her dealings, and good standing with at least one professor at the school expedites the process considerably.
Class Skills
The Scholar of Camarak’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (any) (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (N/A), and Spellcraft (Int). 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 Faculty, Arcane Matrix I +1 caster level 2 +1 +0 +0 +3 Higher Learning +1 caster level 3 +1 +1 +1 +3 Message +1 caster level 4 +2 +1 +1 +4 Arcane Matrix II +1 caster level 5 +2 +1 +1 +4 Higher Learning +1 caster level 6 +3 +2 +2 +5 Apprentice +1 caster level 7 +3 +2 +2 +5 Arcane Matrix III +1 caster level 8 +4 +2 +2 +6 Higher Learning +1 caster level 9 +4 +3 +3 +6 Scry +1 caster level 10 +5 +3 +3 +7 Professor +1 caster level
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Scholar of Camarak prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A scholar of Camarak gains no new weapon or armor proficiency.
Spellcasting: A scholar of Camarak continues training with magic. Thus, at every level, the character gains new spells per day and spells known as if she had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class she belonged to prior to adding this prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that level would have gained (improved familiar abilities, metamagic or item creation feats, etc).
Faculty (Ex): As a member of the faculty at the largest mage school in Migdalia, a scholar enjoys a number of unique benefits, but must also shoulder new responsibilities to match her new status. The scholar is required to appear on campus for at least one week every two months to assist in teaching new students the basics of the arcane arts. Should the scholar fail to meet this requirement, she loses her position as a faculty member, and her access to the school’s arcane matrix is revoked. Reinstating a scholar’s status as a faculty member is difficult, though not out of the question, should the ex-scholar have a valid reason for her absence.A scholar in good standing with the school may board at the campus, receiving common-quality meals and lodging at no charge. At her leisure, she may browse the school’s well-respected library, which is stocked with tomes on both mundane and arcane lore (though no spellbooks are kept here). Scholars are allowed limited access to the school’s vast collection of spellbooks, and are able to draw upon the notes and notations of generations of wizards before them. As a result, each time a scholar of Camarak gains a new class level, she may add five new spells to her spellbook, rather than the two she would otherwise receive.
Likewise, she may use the school’s facilities when creating magical items, though material costs remain strictly out-of-pocket. The school does, however, offer to provide anywhere from 5% to 15% of a magical item’s base materials in exchange for allowing less experienced students view and take notes on the enchantment procedure. The rarer the magical item in question, the larger the amount the school tends to provide.
Furthermore, the scholar gains professional access to many fellow wizards, allowing her to form lasting friendships or alliances with powerful, and influential, spellcasters across Migdalia.
Arcane Matrix (Su): Scholars of Camarak are able to call spells from a special magical artifact housed deep within the school itself, which is referred to as the arcane matrix. Faculty members receive a special ring at the time of their acceptance by the school, which allows its owner access to the matrix. These rings are useful only those who have been designated as faculty members by the school; to everyone else, such rings are a curiosity, at best. The ring takes up one of the scholar’s two ring slots, and must be worn continuously for 24 hours in order to attune itself to the scholar.The scholar can call upon the spells stored in matrix at any distance, but she must have an open, unused spell slot of the appropriate level to do so. The scholar may call a number of spell levels per day equal to or lesser than her caster level.
When the scholar calls upon a spell, she takes a full-round action to concentrate upon her ring and establish contact with the arcane matrix (which provokes attacks of opportunity). The spell appears in the scholar’s mind at the beginning of the next turn, and may be used immediately. If she does not cast this spell in a number of minutes equal to her class level, the spell fades from her memory as if cast. A scholar may not attempt to learn a called spell, though she may do so later through the standard means.
Each time a scholar calls a spell through the matrix, she incurs a debt. In order to repay this debt, she must return an amount of magical energy to the matrix. When the scholar prepares her spells for the day, she may choose to siphon spell energy back to the matrix. She selects any number of unused spell slots, and loses access to those spell slots for a period of 24 hours. Her debt is then lessened by an amount equal to the combined levels of the siphoned spell slots. A scholar may pay off debt to the matrix before she incurs it, essentially running a “positive balance.” This balance may not exceed her class level, however.
The scholar’s debt must be repaid in a number of days equal to her class level; otherwise, her access to the arcane matrix is suspended. Once the debt is repaid, a suspended scholar immediately regains access to the matrix. Failure to repay a debt to the matrix within a year typically results in the scholar’s expulsion from Camarak.
At 1st level, the scholar has access to spells of 1st to 3rd level. At 4th level, she gains access to spells of 4th to 8th level, and at 7th level, she gains access to spells of 7th to 9th levels. The arcane matrix is capable of providing access to 0-level spells, but they are considered to be 1st level for the purposes of this ability.
Higher Learning (Su): As the scholar studies ancient magical texts and consults with her peers, she gains a greater understanding of magical theory. At 2nd, 5th, and 8th levels, the scholar receives a bonus metamagic or item creation feat of her choosing.
Message (Su): At 3rd level, the scholar is allowed greater access to the arcane matrix, allowing her to communicate with each other wizard joined to the artifact. She gains the ability to send a message to any other scholar capable of accessing the matrix (possessing an active ring, and not suspended due to a long-standing debt). Doing so is a standard action, and is otherwise treated as a message spell cast by a wizard of the scholar’s caster level.
Apprentice (Su): Once a scholar of Camarak reaches 6th level, she is assigned an advanced student, who is to assist her in her studies as she deems necessary. Essentially, the scholar gains a cohort, as if she possessed the Leadership feat. This cohort is almost always a wizard, though the school occasionally assigns “special” students, such as sorcerers, warmages, and other out-of-place arcane casters, to scholars whose politics are particularly troublesome or embarrassing to the school.Should the scholar’s apprentice die, flee for his life, or vanish into an unknown extraplanar dimension, the school assigns another apprentice to the scholar, though the standard penalties for allowing a cohort to die still apply.
Scry (Su): At 9th level, the scholar gains access to some of the more closely guarded secrets of the matrix, and learns how to scry upon her colleges. She gains the ability to scry (as per the spell of the same name) upon any creature that had, at one time or another, been linked to the arcane matrix. She is treated as if she were an intimate acquaintance of the subject, and does not require a focus. A crystal-clear image of the creature and its surroundings appears in the scholar’s mind, and she may teleport to that location as if it were very familiar to her. This ability is usable at will as a standard action, at a caster level equal to her own.
Professor (Su): Upon reaching 10th level, the scholar is awarded the status of professor. A professor gains a +2 competence bonus on Charisma-based skill checks made when interacting with students, faculty, and other professors of Camarak.A faculty meeting is held each month in Camarak, and a professor is required to attend at least six meetings each year, or she loses her professor status (she loses no other benefits of this prestige class). During these meetings, members of the faculty discuss current curriculums, elect new department heads to fill vacant posts, make changes to school policies, and hand out commissions to alumni and current faculty members.
A professor is expected to spend at least two months each year teaching classes, though many of the more adventuresome scholars have been known to make frequent use of teleport spells to continue their teaching careers without having to completely abandon their busy lives.
In return for these responsibilities, the scholar receives numerous boons; she is considered exempt from Walacian sanctions against the use of arcane magic, gains access to the restricted sections of the Camarak archives (containing numerous spellbooks, as well as rare or dangerous arcane tomes), and may petition the current headmaster for access to the school’s arcane vaults, allowing her to borrow rare or unique magical items for up to a week at a time.
Back to Arcane Classes
Back to Prestige Classes
Migdalia Home
