Netherese Arcanist
Requirements
Spells: Able to cast 13th-level arcane spells.
Special: Traditions of Netheril: The candidate must have access to the ancient magical traditions of Netheril. A lich of a shade character from the Empire of Shadow meets this criterion, or (at the DM’s discretion) another character who has unearthed ancient Netherese lore might also qualify.
- Hit Die
- —
- Skill Points
- 2+ Int
Class Skills
Advancement
| Level | Special |
|---|---|
| 1st | Epic Spellcasting, field specialization |
| 2nd | Spell Focus (epic) |
| 3rd | Backlash resistance 5 |
| 4th | Epic spell artisan |
| 5th | Greater Spell Focus (epic) |
All the following are class features of the Netherese arcanist.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Netherese arcanists gain no proficiency with any weapon, armor, or shiled. Armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble, and double the normal armor check penalty applies to Swim checks.
Epic Spellcasting: At 1st level, the Netherese arcanist gains Epic Spellcasting as a bonus feat if he does not already have it.
Field Specialization: Every Netherese arcanist chooses one of three "fields" of magic—invention, mentalism, or variation—for his major field of specialization. He also chooses one of the remaining two fields as his minor field. He cannot cast spells based on seeds from the third field.
The epic spell seeds covered by each field are given in the table below.
| Field | Seeds |
|---|---|
| Invention | afflict, armor, conjure, destroy, energy, slay, summon |
| Mentalism | banish, compel, conceal, contact, delude, foresee, reveal |
| Variation | animate, animate dead, dispel, fortify, reflect, transform, transport, ward |
The base Spellcraft DC for developing spells in the arcanist’s major field of specialization is reduced by 5, as though it were within the caster’s specialist school. If it already is withing the caster’s specialist schoo, there is no additional benefit.
Spell Focus (Epic): At 2nd level, the saving throw DC for each of a Netherese arcanist’s epic spells increases by 1, but the Spellcraft DC does not increase.
Backlash Resistance (Su): At 3rd level, a Netherese arcanist gains resistance 5 to backlash damage from casting epic spells. Each time he casts an epic spell with a backlash, that damage is reduced by 5 points. If the backlash damage continues for more than 1 round, the reduction is 5 points each round.
Epic Spell Artisan: At 4th level, a Netherese arcanist gains the ability to develop epic spells with less expense in time and resources. When determining the cost of raw materials for researching an epic spell, he multiplies the Spellcraft DC by 7,000 gp instead of the development time and XP cost accordingly.
Greater Spell Focus (Epic): At 5th level, the saving throw DC for each of a Netherese arcanist’s epic spells increases by 1, but the Spellcraft DC does not increase. The increase stacks with that provided by his Spell Focus (epic) ability, for a net increase of +2.