Wizard Archetype: Alienist
- Details
- Category: Class Options
- Published on Monday, 15 October 2012 12:31
- Written by Ben Percy
Wizards who specialise in the magic of the far realm gain power over the chaotic at the cost of their sanity and their specialisist school. They also form special bonds with aberrations who are ancient decedents of the denizens of the Far Realm.
Sometimes, during their studies, a wizard will stray across a piece of lore or a long lost tome that would have been left untouched. The tome no doubt holds arcane secrets from a most horrifying place known as the Far Realm, a plane beyond planes, where insanity is logic and trivialities such as good and evil fade from existence, as in the Far realms there is only chaos. The realm is ruled by alien entities whose minds dwarf those of Gods, they work tirelessly in endless schemes, and many focus their attention on the multiverse.
Class Features Modifications
Alignment: An Alienist must be of chaotic alignment and loses all class features and spells if their alignment changes from non-chaotic until they atone for their desertion of the basic principles of the far realm with an atonement spell cast by a chaotic spellcaster.
Banned Spells (Su): Due to their supernatural link to the chaotic insanity of the Far Realm Alienists are unable to cast spells that are linked to any other alignment other than chaos. They are also unable to specialise is a school or gain the abilities of the Universalist school. Whenever an Alienist summons a creature that could have a fiendish or celestial template using a Summon Monster Spell, the creature appears as a horrible monstrosity of the Far Realm that has the Entropic Template (Bestiary 3).
Alien Blessing (Su): Beginning at 1st level an Alienist can channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + their Intelligence modifier, but only to command aberrations as per the Command Undead feat (Core Rulebook). They can take other feats to add to this ability, such as Extra Channel and Improved Channel, but not feats that alter this ability, such as Elemental Channel and Alignment Channel. The DC to save against these feats is equal to 10 + 1/2 Alienist’s wizard level + their Charisma modifier. At 20th level the Alienist gains true power over chaotic being and can command any creature with the chaotic subtype in the same way they command aberrations.
Madness Bolt (Su): At 1st level an Alienist can, as standard action, unleash a madness targeting any living creature within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The bolt causes the target to become dazed for 1 round. The target is unaffected by this ability if they succeed a will save (DC 10 + ½ Alienist level). The Alienist can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + their Intelligence modifier. A dazed creature is not stunned (so attackers get no special advantage against it), but it can’t move, cast spells, use mental abilities, and so on. This attack ignores spell resistance.
Insane Intellect (Su): At 8th level an Alienist gains the ability to draw on their maddening knowledge of the unknown to boost his mind at the cost of their sanity. For a number of rounds per day equal to their wizard level they can take 1d4 points Wisdom damage but gain 1d8 Intelligence points. Once these rounds end the Alienists Wisdom and Intelligence scores revert back to their original value. Alienists do not gain any additional bonus spells for the increased intelligence, but the save DCs for their spells increase. The rounds do not have to be consecutive but each nonconsecutive use new wisdom and intelligence rolls must be taken.
Author's Note: This is basically an archetype version of the Alienist prestige class, with a couple of changed abilities. All constructive criticism is highly welcomed.
Additional Ratings  |
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| Balance: | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.20 (5 Votes) |
| Utility: | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.00 (4 Votes) |
| Clarity: | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.50 (4 Votes) |