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Antiquarian
Seekers of ancient lore, miners of forbidden truths, and discoverers of distant vistas, antiquarians are obsessed with all facets of the past. Not satisfied with mundane histories and quotidian archeology, the antiquarian is driven to learn the true nature of nature and to understand his place in the cosmos. Some acquire unique forms madness in their quests, more often a sign of success than of failure. Beyond the wall of sleep they commune with cosmic entities that cannot yet take form in the material plane. From these entities secret knowledge is gleaned and star-spawned helpers come to the antiquarian's aid. When others would be too fearful of the unknown, the antiquarian plods on, reinforced by a curiosity that will lead to either his doom, salvation, or both.
Role: Antiquarians strive to learn because they want to, not for scholarly status or societal recognition. They typically shun modern standards, preferring a small circle of peers with which to share their findings and love of old things. While not averse or incompetent to action, they prefer indirect methods when dealing with danger. Most are sensitive in mind, allowing them to recognize portentous correlations and to achieve singular levels of madness and/or eccentricity.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d8.
Alternate Classes: Alchemist and Summoner
Starting Wealth: 3d6 × 10 gp (average 105gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
Class Skills
The antiquarian’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (any) (Int), Disable Device (Dex), Fly (Dex), Knowledge (all) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int),Survival (Wis), Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
BAB: Medium
Fort: Good
Relex: Good
Will: Poor
Class Features
Weapon And Armor Proficiencies
An antiquarian is proficient with all simple weapons and light armor, but not with shields.
Alchemy
Antiquarians are not only masters of creating mundane alchemical substances such as alchemist’s fire and smokesticks, but also of fashioning magical potion-like extracts in which they can store spell effects. In effect, an antiquarian prepares his spells by mixing ingredients into a number of extracts, and then “casts” his spells by drinking the extract. When an antiquarian creates an extract or bomb, he infuses the concoction with a tiny fraction of his own magical power—this enables the creation of powerful effects, but also binds the effects to the creator. When using Craft (alchemy) to create an alchemical item, an antiquarian gains a competence bonus equal to his class level on the Craft (alchemy) check. In addition, an antiquarian can use Craft (alchemy) to identify potions as if using detect magic. He must hold the potion for 1 round to make such a check.
Extracts are the most varied of alchemical substances. In many ways, they behave like spells in potion form, and as such their effects can be dispelled by effects like dispel magic using the antiquarian’s level as the caster level. Unlike potions, though, extracts can have powerful effects and duplicate spells that a potion normally could not.
An antiquarian can create only a certain number of extracts of each level per day. His base daily allotment of extracts is given on Table: antiquarian. In addition, he receives bonus extracts per day if he has a high Intelligence score, in the same way a wizard receives bonus spells per day. When an antiquarian mixes an extract, he infuses the chemicals and reagents in the extract with magic siphoned from his own magical aura. An extract immediately becomes inert if it leaves the antiquarian’s possession, reactivating as soon as it returns to his keeping—an antiquarian cannot normally pass out his extracts for allies to use (but see the “infusion” discovery below). An extract, once created, remains potent for 1 day before becoming inert, so an antiquarian must re-prepare his extracts every day. Mixing an extract takes 1 minute of work—most antiquarians prepare many extracts at the start of the day or just before going on an adventure, but it’s not uncommon for an antiquarian to keep some (or even all) of his daily extract slots open so that he can prepare extracts in the field as needed.
It is a standard action to use an extract. This action includes retrieving the necessary materials from the antiquarian's supplies, in the same manner as retrieving a material component is included in the act of spellcasting.
Although the antiquarian doesn’t actually cast spells, he does have a formulae list that determines what extracts he can create. An antiquarian can utilize spell-trigger items if the spell appears on his formulae list, but not spell-completion items (unless he uses Use Magic Device to do so). An extract is “cast” by drinking it, as if imbibing a potion—the effects of an extract exactly duplicate the spell upon which its formula is based, save that the spell always affects only the drinking antiquarian. The antiquarian uses his level as the caster level to determine any effect based on caster level. Creating extracts consumes raw materials, but the cost of these materials is insignificant—comparable to the valueless material components of most spells. If a spell normally has a costly material component, that component is expended during the consumption of that particular extract. Extracts cannot be made from spells that have focus requirements (antiquarian extracts that duplicate divine spells never have a divine focus requirement). An antiquarian can prepare an extract of any formula he knows. To learn or use an extract, an antiquarian must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the extract’s level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an antiquarian’s extract is 10 + the extract level + the antiquarian’s Intelligence modifier. An antiquarian may know any number of formulae. He stores his formulae in a special tome called a formula book. He must refer to this book whenever he prepares an extract but not when he consumes it. An antiquarian begins play with two 1st level formulae of his choice, plus a number of additional forumlae equal to his Intelligence modifier. At each new antiquarian level, he gains one new formula of any level that he can create. An antiquarian can also add formulae to his book just like a wizard adds spells to his spellbook, using the same costs and time requirements. An antiquarian can study a wizard’s spellbook to learn any formula that is equivalent to a spell the spellbook contains. A wizard, however, cannot learn spells from a formula book. An antiquarian does not need to decipher arcane writings before copying them.
Cosmic Entity
When the antiquarian sleeps his mind is called by a cosmic entity whose form transcends time, space, and matter. These nightly visits usually take the form of dreams where the dreamer beholds alien shapes, cyclopean cities, or hauntingly beautiful starscapes. From these dreams the antiquarian is inspired with portentous visions and erudite insights. The antiquarian must get at least 8 hours of sleep to gain the benefits of this spell-like ability.
At 1st level, the antiquarian can cast of one of the following divinations at will: detect magic, read magic, comprehend languages, detect secret doors, detect undead, identify.
At 5th level, the antiquarian may select from the following divinations: detect thoughts, locate object, see invisibility.
At 10th level, he adds arcane sight, clairaudiance/clairvoyance, and tongues to his choices.
At 15th level, he adds arcane eye, detect scrying, locate creature, and scrying to his choices.
Only one spell-like ability can be selected per day. The GM may allow the player to select other spells of equal levels from the divination school as optional effects. An antiquarian can end or resume an effect at anytime as a standard action.
In addition, the cosmic entity imparts a small portion of its power to the antiquarian, granting him a +1 to all saving throws and +1 to natural armor. At 7th and 15th level these bonuses increase by 1.
Summon Star-Spawn
Though still unable to take physical form, the antiquarian's cosmic entity can give birth to its own thoughts, creating matter from energy and sending it to the antiquarian's aid. These star-spawn only exist in reality for the duration they are summoned, after which they dissolve into oblivion. Their alignment is always true neutral no matter what form they take. This functions exactly like the summoner's Summon Monster ability, but only oozes and aberrations can be called forth. Below is a list of choices of what cosmic horrors can be called according to challenge rating. Certain oozes and aberrations are allowed at the GM's discretion.
I: CR1/2 or Lower
II: CR1
III: CR2
IV: CR3 or CR4
V: CR5 or CR6
VI: CR 7
VII: CR8
VIII: CR9, CR10, CR11, or CR12.
IX: CR13 or CR14
Discoveries
At 2nd level, and then again every 2 levels thereafter (up to 18th level), an antiquarian makes an incredible alchemical or cosmic discovery. Unless otherwise noted, an antiquarian cannot select an individual discovery more than once. Some discoveries can only be made if the antiquarian has met certain prerequisites first, such as uncovering other discoveries. Discoveries that modify ability scores such as mutagen and cognatagen, as well as bomb-related discoveries cannot be selected. A list of new discoveries accessible to the antiquarian can be found below. The DC of any saving throw called for by a discovery is equal to 10 + 1/2 the antiquarian’s level + the antiquarian’s Intelligence modifier.
Curiosity
Driven by the maddening need to know, the antiquarian learns to resist the pangs of horror. At 2nd level he gains a +2 bonus versus fear. This increases to +4 at 5th level and +6 at 8th level.
Madness
At 10th level, whenever the antiquarian fails a save versus a mind-influencing affect he may reroll. If he fails a second time the effects and duration are doubled.
Persistent Dreams
At 14th level, the cosmic entity who calls the antiquarian now also gives him dreams when he is awake. As a full round action the antiquarian can change his current divination effect to another. Doing so causes 2 points of wisdom damage that can only be healed with 8 hours of sleep.
Cosmic Aspect
Like his cosmic entity the antiquarian begins to transcend time, space, and matter. At 18th level, he is under a constant blur effect and adds his intelligence score to the miss chance. He can end and begin this effect at as a standard action.
Grand Arrival
When reaching 20th level, in a complex ritual or series of fatalistic events the antiquarian finally summons his cosmic entity to his native plane, giving it form and stability. One of three things happen (player's choice):
Apocalyptic Herald
A CR20 aberration or ooze appears and wreaks havoc and destruction on every living thing for 30 +2d6 days and nights. The antiquarian has a %50 chance of being spared the cataclysm.
Horrific Birth
The cosmic entity erupts from the antiquarian's body, killing him instantly. It takes the form of an eidolon with 20 HD, an Evolution pool of 30, and an Intelligence score equal to that of the antiquarian before his moment of death. It possesses all the antiquarian's skills and memories, but not class abilities. The player takes control of this creature.
Avataral Possession
The cosmic entity bonds with the mind, body, and soul of the antiquarian to better understand the mortal condition. The antiquarian becomes a native outsider and gains a +2 bonus to the ability score of his choice. Furthermore, this ability score cannot be damaged or drained.
Antiquarian Discoveries
Impure Bloodline
Your genealogical research has led you to make a startling discovery in your ancestry. Select one racial trait from a race other than your own. You gain this trait. The trait must be worth no more than 4 Race Points. This discovery can be selected up to 3 times.
Evolve Star-Spawn
When summoning a star-spawn you may enhance it with evolutions worth no more than 3 EP.
Devolve Degenerate
By expending one use of Summon Star-spawn, you can cause a single target to lose the benefits of its racial traits for a number of minutes equal to the antiquarian's intelligence modifier. This does not effect ability scores. This can be dispelled by a remove curse spell or similar magic.
Ex Oblivione
Through various forms of experimental meditation and dosing of certain drugs you can visit sweet Oblivion as you rest. When you go to sleep for 8 hours you can cease to exist. During this time, you and your gear disappear from reality and do not reappear until you wake up. In this state you are aware of nothing. This ability cannot be used when you are forced asleep or rendered unconscious. This discovery cannot be selected until at least 9th level.
Cosmic Link
Through various rites and incantations you have established a deeper connection with your cosmic entity, linking your mind to it. Whenever you take Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage or drain the effect is always halved (round up).
Esoteric Lore
In your studies you have learned things, things that you, or perhaps nobody, should know. This discovery functions just like the Bardic Knowledge class feature, but only applies to arcana, engineering, history, local, planes, and religion. The antiquarian must be at least 5th level to select this discovery.
Demoniac Visage
The star-spawn you summon gain the fiendish template. Once per day, when summoning an aberration it gains the half-fiend template. The antiquarian must be evil and at least 5th level to select this discovery.
Singular Quality
Your eclectic taste in rare items grants you an affinity for them. The antiquarian gains a +4 bonus to appraise items of unique or unusual craftsmanship, perception rolls to notice such items, and use magic device checks if it is a rare or unique magic item. This bonus also applies to knowledge (architecture) checks on structures of a singular quality.
Colloquial Adept
Your familiarity with out-dated customs and antique vernacular gives you an endearing advantage when conversing with ancient beings. You gain a +6 bonus to diplomacy checks when addressing sentient beings 100 years or older.
Blasphemous Formulae
You discover a synthetic arcane formulae version of a cleric spell of equal level, and add it to your formulae book. This discovery can be selected up to three times. Each time it applies to a different cleric spell.
Aberrant Aspect
While a star-spawn is summoned and within 30 feet, the antiquarian gains 3 points worth of evolutions. When the star-spawn is gone the evolutions disappear. The antiquarian must be at least 3rd level to select this discovery.
Architectural Expert
You gain a peculiar affinity for buildings and other structures, viewing them almost as living, breathing creatures or distant relatives. You gain a +4 bonus to climb and perception checks in or on man-made structures.
Disable Magic Device
You have learned the links and bindings that connect magic to the mundane, and know how to undo them. By making a use magical device check on a magic item you can render it inert and mundane for the purposes of use. The item still gives off a magical aura; it just does not function. The magic item can be “fixed” by making a use magic device check higher than the check that disabled it.
Bump :)
This seems pretty awesome, ill give it a bump :)
I will give this one last bump as I am very proud of it.
It seems to be incredibly well-thought out, very cool flavor, similarly cool abilities... I like it! I'd personally like to do some homebrew additions to it, if you'd give me the opportunity. Feats, archetypes, and so on.
Feel free to do whatever you want, Lindley. I'm glad you like it. The Bestiaries are full of Lovecraftian monsters, so I built this hybrid class to create a playable dynamic for them.
I'm not sure if this is brilliant, or madness.;)
Seems pretty well written. There isn't much to critique.
Alchemy
I assume you used copy & paste, and forgot to remove a mention of bombs. I couldn't find mention of what list the antiquarian chooses extracts from. I assume it is the alchemist list?
Madness
This ability is somewhat unclear. I assume that if he succeeds on the re-roll he counts as having succeeded on the saving throw. Since you specify what happens if the re-roll is failed, I suggest specifying what happens on a succcess. Also, you typed "affect" where it should be "effect".
Persistant Dreams
I don't like that it is two points of wisdom damage with a stipulation on how it is healed. Taking a cue from the language used in Ray of Enfeeblement, you could use "Doing so causes him to take a -2 penalty to Wisdom that lasts until he gets 8 hours of rest." However, this may also require further clarification.
Grand Arrival
Best capstone ever!
Thank you, Ciaran Barnes. All your input is most helpful. I'll be sure to make the proper adjustments. And yes, I am big on cut and pasting to make my homebrews fit the Pathfinder mold as much as possible.
Awesome class, thematically and in appearance. My only gripe would be that the class would have a good Will save: despite being unstable, the characters often make it to the end of the tale before finally succumbing to the Will effects.
You took care of most of the failed Will saves already, so it isn't direly important.
All told, I really like the class.
Awesome class, thematically and in appearance. My only gripe would be that the class would have a good Will save: despite being unstable, the characters often make it to the end of the tale before finally succumbing to the Will effects.
Thank you, Fig, for your positive critique. The reason I gave it poor Will saves is because Lovecraft's "gods" were typically attracted to "sensitive minds". This was just a game mechanics interpretation on that. Either way, glad you liked it!
And yes, I am big on cut and pasting to make my homebrews fit the Pathfinder mold as much as possible.
I do the same thing. It makes them easier to understand, I find.
EXCELLENT! This might just be the best "Lovecraft" class (in terms of successfully capturing his essence and making it into a D&D character class) I've seen to date.
Thank you, Hiding. I read many of his stories over the last year and just had to make it.
bump, for the heck of it
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I'm considering playtesting this class (assuming I can sell the DM on it, he presently says he's "torn") in an online game I've been invited to.
Is its formula list at all different from the Alchemist's? You don't really specify. Also, you refer to a formula progression table, but don't seem to have actually provided it. Is there any reason that should be different from an Alchemist's?
I also have to say: I hated the idea that you needed to take a special Discovery just to share your "potionettes" since the very first time I opened up the Advanced Player's Guide to read about the Alchemist - why should that be necessary, or make sense (I don't like the "siphoned from their own magical aura" thing at all)?
This looks pretty cool. I've got my own Lovecraft-inspired class, the Alienist, up on these boards, though you've taken rather a different approach here, mechanically speaking.
This is definitely very interesting and I love the flavor. I think the combination of summoner SLA-summoning with extracts is a far better match than the preservationist archetype (I think those guys should've exchanged bombs for the SLAs rather than having to blow extracts on summoning), so kudos.
The discoveries are pitch perfect as far as flavor goes. As a huge fan of old Haitch-Pea I absolutely love Colloquial Adept. Some of them do seem a tad underpowered though, almost verging on the level of traits. Both that one and 'Singular Quality' seem like they'd have only rather niche uses in your average adventure path. Then again, they are selectable abilities, and I don't really mind such favoring flavor over mechanics. Overall I love this and it seems like it'd be a blast to play. The capstones are wonderfully demented, although I'm not quite sure I grasp how the apcalyptic herald one's supposed to work exactly.
Anyway, nicely done! There can never be too much eldritch horror about!
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There's absolutely nothing wrong with a specialized ability, so long as the power it grants you in that pursuit makes up for its narrow scope. With the fact that it grants a +4 bonus to several situations (ones which could make all the difference in the world - we're talking about a bonus to the kind of Perception check Bilbo made to find the One Ring, for Goodness sake), I'd say Singular Quality is more or less on the mark - twice what a trait would give, which would typically be a +2 bonus in two or three situations.
P.S.: Am I the only one who finds the term "flavor" downright toxic? The game should be taking place in our mind's eyes, not in our mouths.
Is its formula list at all different from the Alchemist's? You don't really specify. Also, you refer to a formula progression table, but don't seem to have actually provided it. Is there any reason that should be different from an Alchemist's?
I would say that the formula list is the same, but you may want to limit yourself as to which ones you can use for the sake of theme. As for the table, yeah, forgot about that. Thank you once again for your kind words and feedback, Closet! Good luck on getting the class approved!
This looks pretty cool. I've got my own Lovecraft-inspired class, the Alienist, up on these boards, though you've taken rather a different approach here, mechanically speaking.
This is definitely very interesting and I love the flavor. I think the combination of summoner SLA-summoning with extracts is a far better match than the preservationist archetype (I think those guys should've exchanged bombs for the SLAs rather than having to blow extracts on summoning), so kudos.
The discoveries are pitch perfect as far as flavor goes. As a huge fan of old Haitch-Pea I absolutely love Colloquial Adept. Some of them do seem a tad underpowered though, almost verging on the level of traits. Both that one and 'Singular Quality' seem like they'd have only rather niche uses in your average adventure path. Then again, they are selectable abilities, and I don't really mind such favoring flavor over mechanics. Overall I love this and it seems like it'd be a blast to play. The capstones are wonderfully demented, although I'm not quite sure I grasp how the apcalyptic herald one's supposed to work exactly.
Anyway, nicely done! There can never be too much eldritch horror about!
Thank you so much for the praise, Gears. It's wonderful to meet a fellow LoveCrafter (see what I did there?) I'm going to give your alienist a look now. Very intrigued!
Wow... I'll never get to play this unless its published in an official pathfinder book, and this makes me sad because this class is so damn good.
Wow... I'll never get to play this unless its published in an official pathfinder book, and this makes me sad because this class is so damn good.
Paizo/Pathfinder can HAVE IT! I want NOTHING FOR IT! I created this class in hopes that it could battle all the cool Lovecraftian monsters in the Bestiary 4. James Jacobs! Jason Bulmahn! I lay all my homebrew at your feet, that you may do with it as you please :)
And thank you, Harakani!
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"If you're good at something, never do it for free."
- The Joker
Seriously, Arcanemuses - I think you can do a bit better than that. I myself have been discouraged from posting all my own cool ideas here by this site's exploitative "flypaper rule", and even discouraged (at least to a degree) from previous ambitions of working at Paizo after an instructive private conversation with Sean K. Reynolds, but seriously - even if you don't feel as strongly, you should be trying to get paid. I'm inclined to say this thing's better than any of the new classes in the Advanced Class Guide.
"If you're good at something, never do it for free."
- The Joker
Thank you, Closet, but my professional ambition is writing speculative fiction, not game content. Gaming and game design is just a hobby for me, just a fun creative exercise. Besides, I save all my best ideas for my books. In the end, the Antiquarian is just a mix of two classes created by Paizo and flavored by a mythos created by "The Dark Prince of Providence" over 80 years ago. I put my homebrew out for the fun of it, pure and simple. Thank you, nonetheless, for telling me I'm good at something.
And since you like my writing, I recommend you check out my "Four Winds - One Storm" science fantasy series.
Wow, this class is amazing! The Impure bloodline and ex oblivione discoveries are great. I wish I could play an antiquarian.
You have great flavor, but I'm honestly not impressed with it. It's basically an alchemist that trades mutagen and bombs for a few little questionable abilities. I do have to give credit for the capstone ability's creatvity, though basically most of them are essentially free tickets to derail the campaign. I hoped for deeper mechanics. It makes me pine for an investigator mechanic that takes Wisdom damage to use inspiration for greater effect, representing the character making a huge relevation at the cost of their sanity.
You have great flavor, but I'm honestly not impressed with it. It's basically an alchemist that trades mutagen and bombs for a few little questionable abilities. I do have to give credit for the capstone ability's creatvity, though basically most of them are essentially free tickets to derail the campaign. I hoped for deeper mechanics. It makes me pine for an investigator mechanic that takes Wisdom damage to use inspiration for greater effect, representing the character making a huge relevation at the cost of their sanity.
Thank you for the honest and straight-forward critique. As with the Alienist thread, I challenge you to make something you'd think would be a better fit for a Lovecraftian class. I've read several of your posts, and it is clear to me you have a deep and thorough understanding of the system. I do not know what you mean by "deeper mechanics". I admit that my math is pretty shallow, but I hope that your hopes and expectations can be fulfilled as new, satisfactory ideas flood your mind. Once more, good luck and happy homebrewing :)
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I have made a few alterations for the game I'm about to play this in (including flipping the saving throws, tossing in limited true spellcasting at nominal expense to infusions per day, and renaming it the "Occultist"), but I find myself disagreeing with the gist of Cyrad's comment (although I do like their suggestion for a SAN loss Investigator mechanic - I suppose you could even make that an extra Discovery for this class). I wouldn't mind seeing (maybe 2) more options for Grand Arrival, and probably some kind of alteration to Apocalyptic Herald. You may also want to clarify that Cosmic Aspect doesn't actually "blur" you all the time (it's harder for others to appreciate how eldritch and gibbous I am if I go around looking like a COPS goon), probably just by citing the mechanics without directly referencing the blur spell.
Ia!
I have made a few alterations for the game I'm about to play this in (including flipping the saving throws, tossing in limited true spellcasting at nominal expense to infusions per day, and renaming it the "Occultist"),
Ia!
Thank you for the suggestions, Skiron. I hope your game goes well.
Are you going to post an updated version of the class?
Are you going to post an updated version of the class?
Probably not anytime soon. I'm too busy with writing projects at present. I invite anyone and everyone to steal/use my ideas to make their own versions of this class. Thank you for asking, though.
This is great! Well done.
Thank you. I'll get to work on it.
I love this. Good work, Arcanemuses. If I were a player right now I'd be begging my GM to let me build a new PC. Luckily for me, I'm the GM, and this might fit an upcoming NPC perfectly! Thanks for your hard work.
Thank you, Shaun! That means a lot!
I love this class a disgusting amount, and I'll definitely be putting it on my master list of allowed classes. I'm honestly not sure which I'd prefer more - playing one, or DMing for one! This is hands-down one of the mechanically sound AND most flavorful classes I've seen come to Pathfinder, including many of the classes in published books.
I wouldn't mind seeing a few more options for the capstone ability. I adore the options presented (although as a DM, I must confess I'm not certain how I would feel about the Apocalyptic Herald capstone wreaking havoc on my campaign), but a few more could round out the class a bit.
When it comes to the summon list, as clarification, is ANY aberration or ooze of the appropriate CR treated as being on the Antiquarian's SM list? Does this substitute oozes and aberrations for the current list, or does it add them to the list in addition to the preexisting options?
Is the Antiquarian allowed to select any other discovery off the Alchemist's discovery list so long as it isn't mutagen or bomb-related?
Does the Summon SLA still run off of CHA, or does it use a different ability score? I think that maybe having it based off INT might make more sense from a flavor-perspective, since the class emphasizes studying and learning, in addition to the fact that someone influenced by a Lovecraftian deity probably would have a terrible Charisma score. In a related note, personally I would probably give them a hair more skill points to throw around, as they are all about learning (though in the interests of full disclosure, I usually give bonus skill points when I DM anyway - I think most classes could use more).
Do they use the Alchemist's spell list for accessible extracts?
Thank you for the kind feedback, Plague. As for your questions...
Aberrations - I had a hard time compiling a list of oozes and aberrations that matched the CR scaling of the Summon Monster spell options. So, I just put down that same scaling for others to go by. I would say that ANY should be allowed as long as they match the CR. Of course, GM should have some say so.
Discoveries - I would say YES, anything that is not bomb or mutagen related.
INT vs CHA - I agree that INT is a better fit thematically.
Alchemist Spell List - Yes :)
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Pathfinder has published several specifically Lovecraftian monsters in its Bestiaries - so long as the DM's Lovecraft lore is up to snuff, the Antiquarian (which I had been calling the Occultist, but have returned to the name you gave it in deference to the upcoming and not-bad-looking official Occultist class) should be able to summon specifically Lovecraftian stuff even if they aren't technically Aberrations or Oozes (the Hound of Tindalos, for instance, is designated an Outsider). For the truly sophisticated, one should even be willing to open the door (in more ways than one) for other monsters that are simply "in that vein," like the Mothman - I've always wanted to summon a Mothman!
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Hello again; as already stated, I'm presently playtesting an adjusted version of this class (pitted against the Tomb of Horrors, no less!), and will definitely have a report to give you when we're done (I'm not positive when that will be, mind you; I guess we're mostly through, but it's been slow going).
Love the idea, love the flavor... love the madness... I'll give it a go in my game next week and I will see how it goes...
First, I just want to say that I love this class! It has very good flavor and seems balanced enough.
I would Like to discuss the Capstones however (not to cause trouble, but legitimate questioning):
Apocalyptic Herald
A CR20 aberration or ooze appears and wreaks havoc and destruction on every living thing for 30 +2d6 days and nights. The antiquarian has a %50 chance of being spared the cataclysm.Horrific Birth
The cosmic entity erupts from the antiquarian's body, killing him instantly. It takes the form of an eidolon with 20 HD, an Evolution pool of 30, and an Intelligence score equal to that of the antiquarian before his moment of death. It possesses all the antiquarian's skills and memories, but not class abilities. The player takes control of this creature.Avataral Possession
The cosmic entity bonds with the mind, body, and soul of the antiquarian to better understand the mortal condition. The antiquarian becomes a native outsider and gains a +2 bonus to the ability score of his choice. Furthermore, this ability score cannot be damaged or drained.
Apocalyptic Herald - I'm assuming this can be done at anytime and any place upon reaching level 20 (once?). Also, would the aberration or ooze attack an area or literally every living thing?
The time limit also doesn't make a lot of sense to me... Thematically I mean. If this is a capstone that is uncontrollable (the equivalent of a nuke centered on oneself) and there is also a good chance that you have to try and defend yourself against such a creature should it turn on you, then why the time limit? Also, what happens when the time limit is up? Does it disappear? Die? Sleep?
Lastly, I am to assume that that this is the entity that gave you some of your powers and your mission to summon it? What happens when you summon it - your "granted" powers/abilities/boons (do they go away?) and it came here for a purpose, even to go as far as to invest a mortal with these powers/abilities/boons (why does it only rampage for 32+ days? Is that out of its hands or a choice of its).
When I picture this capstone, I see a powerful cthulhu-esque entity finally being summoned after a long and patient wait and either killing the mortal that summoned it outright/driving him/her totally insane because it would be a hindrance for him/her to be alive/sane or having the mortal serve it as it's rightful retainer of the new order of things and then going on to reek its bloody vengeance. (not really: "I'm here, flip a coin to see if I kill my summoner, cause some destruction and stop after 32+ days...")
Horrific Birth - Makes a lot of sense and the negative part of it isn't too negative... though you do lose a lot of your power from your "Previous" class.
Avataral Possession - Also makes sense, but seems a lot weaker than the other capstones... maybe a little bit more like a Sorcerer's usual bloodline capstone?
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Apocalyptic Herald is a worthy idea, but without much reason to choose it as stands. There's got to be a way to make it viable, though (maybe it manifests as an ongoing, but unreliable, powerful ally that wanders around sowing chaos most of the time but can show up to aid the Antiquarian on semicontrollable occassions?).
Horrific Birth does suffer from depriving you of all your class features up to that point - maybe if you weakened what the Entity gets, but got to keep your Starspawn summoning and some (if not all) of your Discoveries?
Avataral Possession is certainly the tamest - but maybe that ought to be fixed. I'd give it something a little more (maybe, as a nod to 3.0/3.5's Pseudonatural creatures, you also get an alien presence that imposes a penalty on all attack rolls against you).
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Looking at the Impure Bloodline Discovery again, I'm pretty sure it's overpowered as stands. It should be reduced to allowing a feature worth no more than 2 Race Points. Also, it should stipulate that it doesn't permit additional racial ability modifiers - that would be WAY too powerful.
I'd also change Colloquial Adept so that it only applies to beings 250+ years old. A mere 100 years old is still juvenile for an Elf.
Esoteric Lore is also too powerful for a Discovery. I'd limit its scope - maybe make it instead grant Skill Focus in two of the Knowledge skills mentioned.
I'd suggest Cosmic Link have a level minimum (5th or 7th, I guess).
Arcanic Drake. my best reply to your rant/question is a quote from H.P. Lovecraft.
"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."
So, basically, enjoy the chaos :)
Thank you for your feedback.
To I'm Hiding in Your Closet. You bring up some good points about balance issues. Thank you, as always.
BTW. Confession time! I forgot to add something from my orgininal draft notes. That is the Antiquarian's 19th level special ability.
Gate (Su):
Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. At 19th level, the antiquarian can cast gate as a spell-like ability once per day. When using this ability for calling creatures, there is no material cost and only a Spawn of Yog-Sothoth (see Bestiary 4) can be called forth. While the Spawn of Yog Sothoth is called forth, the antiquarian cannot have any summoned star-spawn. The Spawn of Yog-Sothoth will remain in the antiquarian's service for 1 hour per level until returning to its home plane. However, it will demand the sacrifice of at least one living large creature (such as a cow or bound ogre) to feast upon.
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I gotta sy that is one heck of a capstone, in practical terms only one of the three options is really good for a player character. The eidolon as PC one doesn't really work because anything you've been doing with respect to gear, progression, character development all goes poof in a fit of tentacles sprouting from where you head once was. The end of the world one is kind of the end of the campaign, great NPC ability, less so for PC. One can't do much for the end of the world ability, but the eidolon one, I wonder if you could emulate that by say giving the PC a fixed pool of evolution points that then can change daily and call it mutable form. Want tentacles today, boom tentacles, tomorrow flippers, all yours.
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So! My adventure playtesting the Antiquarian has come to its unsatisfactory conclusion (then again, my character alone survived, although that was ultimately due to luck), and I definitely have some things to say about the class.
It's overpowered as stands, for various reasons. Someone with a really good grasp of the Bestiaries could summon an Ooze or Aberration for just about any contingency. I suggest rectifying this by having a limited list of "Starspawn Known" kind of deal, I guess about 4 per tier, and perhaps you want to work on a custom list of appropriately Lovecraftian monsters to draw from, since not all such are found in the categories of Ooze or Aberration.
I also took your Evolve Starspawn Discovery, and let me be the first to say that it's overpowered as stands, especially combined with the Augment Summoning and Evolved Summoned Monster feats. My suggestion is to remake this Discovery into a 3-parter, rather like Preserve Organs: The first grants the Evolved Summoned Monster feat as a bonus feat without need for prerequisites, the second grants an additional Evolution point (just 1) beyond that, and the third, which grants a final 2 Evolution points, has a minimum level requirement of 11th.
A few alterations beyond that I'd endorse:
- customize their weapon proficiencies rather than just "all simple weapons"; while I realize that's what both Alchemists and Summoners get, I don't see a Lovecraft protagonist or villain fighting with a spear, while I could see them using a one-handed sword (and I kind of think just granting all these classes "proficiency in all simple weapons" is an uninspired approach on Paizo's part anways).
- toggle their saving throws; I see your reasoning, but that just doesn't translate well to D&D. This is one of the "nerd" classes, so it should have strong Will and not be so great at the other two - that, and giving the class one good save instead of two also helps temper its power.
- Looking at the Cosmic Entity class feature, it strikes me as awkward (for want of a better word) that you'd have to forego staples like detect magic and read magic in order to utilize the higher-level divinations offered later, so what I suggest is that at 7th level, the Antiquarian is able to select any two spell-like abilities available to them at once, any 3 at 13th level, and any 4 at 19th (the better to represent the entity's closing proximity). The Persistent Dreams ability will still only enable you to change one of these (though you can change more if you're really willing to take that much Wisdom damage for the day).
- New item: Antiquarian's paraphernalia, the class's functional combination of alchemy crafting kit and spell component pouch (see below; cost and weight is the same as the former item).
- add the following formulae to their list:
1st level: inflict light wounds
2nd level: inflict moderate wounds
3rd level: inflict serious wounds, poison, contagion
4th level: inflict critical wounds
6th level: harm
For when you care to heal the undead, or give someone the ultimate "mickey!"
- Give the class limited arcane spellcasting ability (with no failure chance for casting in light armor) - a Lovecraft homage class SHOULD be able to cast black tentacles, shouldn't it?
Make the Antiquarian use the Alchemist's formulae per day table, but as we see in some archetypes, the Antiquarian can brew 1 fewer infusion per day per formula level than an Alchemist can (like the limitation the Kensei Magus, among other Archetypes, faces) - but they also gain 1 non-alchemical spell per day (visualize the Cleric spell table with its "X+d" schema), these spells being pulled from the Wizard/Sorcerer list, but only from the Conjuration, Illusion, and Necromancy schools. An Antiquarian can choose whether the bonus slots they gain from Intelligence go toward their infusions for a day, their spells, or a little of both (for instance, a 1st-level Antiquarian with an Intelligence of 20 enjoys 0 infusions, 1 spell, and 2 bonus slots per day, and so can choose 2 infusions/1 spell for the day, 1 infusion/2 spells, or 0 infusions/3 spells). They are learned in the same manner as the Antiquarian's formulae, and go in the same book(s), called grimoires (the Antiquarian's labyrinthine mind can tell the difference, but any Wizard, Witch, or Alchemist trying to learn spells from an Antiquarian's grimoire will probably have a harder time of it). An Antiquarian knows a number of 1st-level spells equal to their Intelligence modifier at 1st level, and learns 1 additional spell for free at every even-numbered level thereafter. At least as a rule, spells transferred from the Wizard list to the Antiquarian's more limited list tend to be lower-level than they would be according to the Wizard's more expansive schema, as follows:
1st-level on Wizard list: 1st-level on Antiquarian list
2nd or 3rd-level on Wizard list: 2nd-level on Antiquarian list
4th-level on Wizard list: 3rd-level on Antiquarian list
5th-level on Wizard list: 4th-level on Antiquarian list
6th or 7th-level on Wizard list: 5th-level on Antiquarian list
8th-level on Wizard list: 6th-level on Antiquarian list