An architect is a master of converting natural resources into freestanding magical structures capable of attacking enemies and blocking their movement. An architect does not see the world as you or I do; where you see a tree he sees material for an enchanted crossbow tower, where you see a pond he sees the basis for an automated frost cannon.
Most architects begin their lives as civil engineers or as siege weapon operators before applying to join an academy. Properly trained architects are often charged with providing engineering and defensive insights for military structures. Their magic, not being as utilitarian as that of other casters, is best suited to this kind of work. During a siege or assault they lead defenders and help maintain defensive structures.
Architects are skilled craftsmen that often come from the upper crust of society-as they are the ones who can afford the schooling necessary
HIT DICE: D8
ROLE: Architects create small, temporary, automated, offensive, towers to assault the enemy and halt their advance. Their options are limited by the availability of nearby resources they can transmute and the schematics they know.
ALIGNMENT: Any: Architects tend towards lawful alignments as many are engineers at heart but a chaotic one works just as well, typically taking on the persona of mad engineer.
STARTING WEALTH: 5d6 × 10 gp (average 175 gp.). In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
CLASS SKILLS: The architect’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Profession (Wis), Perception (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
SKILL RANKS PER LEVEL: 4 + INT MODIFIER
CLASS FEATURES[]
The following are the class features of the architect.
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | # of Active Towers at Once |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Architectural genius, tower magic, tower schematics | 2 |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Architect talent, mobile weapons platform | 2 |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Eye for detail +1 | 2 |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Architect talent, tower schematics | 2 |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Improved tower | 2 |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Architect talent, eye for detail +2 | 3 |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Terraforming, tower schematics | 3 |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Architect talent | 3 |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Eye for detail +3 | 3 |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Architect talent, tower schematics | 3 |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Efficient Construction | 3 |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Architect talent, eye for detail +4 | 4 |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Tower schematics | 4 |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +4 | +4 | +9 | Architect talent | 4 |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +5 | +5 | +9 | Eye for detail +5 | 4 |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Architect talent, tower schematics | 4 |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Improved terraforming | 4 |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Eye for detail +6 | 5 |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Architect talent, tower schematics | 5 |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | Citadel Cannon | 5 |
WEAPON AND ARMOR PROFICIENCY[]
The architect is proficient with all simple weapons, crossbows (any weapon from the fighter’s crossbow weapon group), siege weapons, and with light and medium armor as well as shields other than tower shields. An architect can cast architect spells in light or medium armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance.
ARCHITECTURAL GENIUS (EX)[]
At 1st level, an architect gains a competence bonus on all Knowledge (engineering) and Profession (architect), checks equal to 1/4th his architect level.
TOWER MAGIC (SU)[]
At 1st level, the architect can convert raw materials into a fully functional, automated, offensive tower about 5 feet tall. A tower is created as a standard action action and must be placed on a square containing the appropriate resource within 30 feet of the architect. The tower remains functional for 1 minute.
A 1st level architect can create any number of towers he wishes per day, but he may only have a number of towers active at one time equal to the value show on Table 1-1: The Architect. In order to summon a tower beyond this capacity the architect must select one of his current towers to prematurely deactivate. Furthermore, a tower is prematurely deactivated if the architect moves further than 200 feet from its square.
As a move action an architect can cause one active tower he has created to attack (or use another action specified in the tower’s entry). A given tower can only be activated once per round, unless the architect assumes direct control of the tower (see below). As a full-round action he can make an attack (or other action specified in the tower’s entry) with each tower he has active using his full BAB. A tower uses the architect’s BAB and ability scores for the purposes of attack and damage rolls when relevant. A tower has the Perception of the architect but not any special senses other than sight and hearing.
An architect can assume direct control as a swift action that requires concentration. During direct control the architect must close his eyes but can see as though their eyes were located at the top of the tower. While directly controlling a tower the architect can only make attack actions with that tower. However, he may make multiple attacks per round if his BAB is high enough to do so.
Towers, by default, do not block line of effect and do not block line of sight. They are typically about 5 feet tall and are only about as thick as a man. This typically provides soft cover (unless otherwise noted).
Architects and their towers are immune to damage and effects from other towers created by the same architect (both beneficial and detrimental).
For the purpose of the tower magic class feature, the architect has an effective caster level equal to his architect level (for things like dispelling their towers, concentration checks, etc).
Towers cannot be crafted out of any material that is man made; only natural, raw, unattended, material (such as dirt, grass, trees, water, ice, etc). A tower cannot be crafted out of anything that would require a check to overcome with a spell like dispel magic or anything magical. Once a tower’s duration expires, it cannot be activated again but it remains formed- allowing for use as cover. A square previously used as a tower is considered depleted of natural resources (a null square) and is unable to be used for towers for a period of 24 hours. Knowing how to create tower that can cast a spell does not count as the architect knowing how to cast a spell.
A tower has an AC of 10, hardness equal to 1/3rd the architect’s level (minimum 1) and HP equal to 5 x his architect level. An architect may voluntarily deactivate any tower as a free action. The caster level of the architect is considered to be equal to his architect level for the purpose of dispelling (such as by dispel magic) his towers. A dispelled tower instantly deactivates
RESOURCES[]
Each square holds different sorts of resources depending on what is in them. The types of resources are earth, water, and plant. Each square holds 1 resource by default. The resources contained in each square is ultimately at the GM’s discretion but the following is a guideline for determining what kind of resource a square holds:
EARTH: A 5 foot square whose primary feature is dirt, cobblestone, paved road, clay, short grass, weeds, mud, leaves, or otherwise does not fall into one of the other two types of resources.
WATER: A 5 foot square that is covered in at least some liquid, typically water, is considered a water square. Squares covered in deep snow or thick ice (thick enough to support a medium creature) also count as water squares.
PLANT: A 5 foot square that is covered in thick vegetation, the trunk of a tree, soil currently being used for growing, a heavy covering of flowers, high grass (up to the waist of a human), etc provides plant resource.
NULL: Squares occupied by creatures, man-made objects (houses, fences, buildings, fountains, etc) or whose primary feature is that they were shaped synthetically provide no resources. Squares that have been used within the last 24 hours are also “null” and cannot provide resources.
| SIDEBAR: GMING RESOURCES (MADE EASY)
At first, as a GM, you might take a look at the resource section and cringe at the thought of having to pre-place all sorts of special squares. Don’t pre-plan it, the system is organic enough that the architect should be able to tell if it is plant, earth, or water pretty easily. If all else fails, when an architect goes to place a tower down have a quick back and forth about whether or not the spot he selected qualifies as the required resource. |
|---|
TOWER SCHEMATICS[]
At 1st level an architect can create an arrow tower, pillar, and one other tower of his choosing by default. At 4th level and every 3 levels thereafter he learns how to make a new tower
(Architect Towers can be found here)
MOBILE WEAPONS PLATFORM (SU)[]
At 2nd level, an architect gains the service of a small floating crystalline automated weapons platform. Once per round a mobile weapons platform makes a single attack against a target within its first range increment, dealing damage as a light crossbow. This attack is made at the architect’s full BAB and adds his Dexterity modifier to the attack roll but does not benefit from any of the architect’s abilities (such as class features or feats like Point Blank Shot). This attack does not count against the number of attacks an architect can make per round. The mobile weapons platform is able to be mentally directed by the architect and only functions while he is conscious and able to maintain focus (though he doesn’t have to maintain concentration). A mobile weapons platform can fire without consideration for ammunition or reloading. The weapon is a conjured weapon and thus is not forged or able to be modified by mundane means. The architect can upgrade the mobile weapons platform with architect talents. At 6th level the damage increases to that of a heavy crossbow. A mobile weapons platform may be dismissed or conjured back into existence as a swift action.
ARCHITECT TALENT[]
At 2nd level and every even level thereafter an architect gains a talent.
(Architect Talents can be found here)
EYE FOR DETAIL (EX)[]
Architects are detail-oriented individuals whose keen eyes is cultivated in their earliest education. At 3rd level, an architect gains the following bonuses:
- +1 on Perception checks to notice unusual features in buildings or hallways, such as traps and hidden doors located in walls or floors. In addition, if the architect is at least 6th level, they receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking. This stacks with the bonus provided by the stonecunning racial ability of dwarves in instances where the unusual feature is in stone.
- +1 on checks to identify objects and spells or the quality of equipment or spells. This includes things like identifying magic items, discerning the origin or nature of an item/ object (Example: A Knowledge [local] check to know that the sword they are looking at came from a nearby blacksmith of some renown). At 6th level and every 3 levels thereafter the bonus this provides improves by 1 to a maximum of +6 at 18th level.
IMPROVED TOWER (SU)[]
At 5th level, when an architect creates a tower he may summon a superior version of that tower. The benefit of this is listed in the “improved” section of each tower. An improved tower counts as 2 towers the purpose of determining how many towers an architect may have out on the field.
TERRAFORMING (SU)[]
At 7th level, if a tower is placed in a location that the resources cannot support, the architect may pay 20 gp (held on his person) in order to bypass the requirement.
EFFICIENT CONSTRUCTION (SU)[]
At 11th level, improved towers count as 1 tower when determining the maximum number of towers an architect may have active at one time rather than 2.
IMPROVED TERRAFORMING (SU)[]
At 17th level, an architect may ignore resource requirements for free.
GRAND TOWER[]
At 20th level, the architect gains one of the following three towers: hyper tower, gateway tower, or dragon tower. Once the choice is made it cannot be changed.