Archivist

Magic comes in many shapes and forms. Some invoke the power of their deity, while others find magic within their ancestry. An archivist, however, looks to a magic form more ancient than others. Both scholar and student, archivists delve into the mysterious art of runic magic, meticulously etching glyphs of wondrous possibilities to invoke eldritch powers once long forgotten. The archivist learns to harness the strength of these runes, mastering one of six designs of runic script to evoke primal energies, wreak havoc upon foes, or alter the very fabric of reality to suit their needs. Each script an archivist casts imparts lingering power upon his person, building in strength until it is unleashed with incredible result.

Role: While the abilities of runic magic are diverse, archivists must choose where the focus of their study lies. Whether mastering destructive forces or creative energies, an archivist proves a valuable member to any adventuring team by making the seemingly impossible a reality.

Alignment: Any

Hit Die: d6

Starting Age: Trained

Starting Wealth: 2d6 × 10 gp (average 70 gp). In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

CLASS SKILLS: The archivist’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points Per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

CLASS FEATURES[]

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1st	+0	2	0	2	Bonus Feat, Fundamentals, Study, Study Synergy
2nd	+1	3	0	3	Study Ability
3rd	+1	3	1	3	Focused Rune
4th	+2	4	1	4	Altered Script 1/day
5th	+2	4	1	4	Enhanced Fundamentals (4 charges)
6th	+3	5	2	5	Bonus Feat
7th	+3	5	2	5	Focused Rune
8th	+4	6	2	6	Study Ability
9th	+4	6	3	6	Enhanced Fundamentals (4 charges)
10th	+5	7	3	7	Altered Script 2/day
11th	+5	7	3	7	Focused Rune
12th	+6/+1	8	4	8	Bonus Feat
13th	+6/+1	8	4	8	Enhanced Fundamentals (4 charges)
14th	+7/+2	9	4	9	Study Ability
15th	+7/+2	9	5	9	Focused Rune
16th	+8/+3	10	5	10	Altered Script 3/day
17th	+8/+3	10	5	10	Enhanced Fundamentals (4 charges)
18th	+9/+4	11	6	11	Bonus Feat
19th	+9/+4	11	6	11	Focused Rune
20th	+10/+5	12	6	12	Study Ability

All of the following are class features of the archivist.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency[]

Archivists are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor and shields, however, do not interfere with the casting of runic scripts.

Rune Magic[]

An archivist’s arcane power comes through his understanding of scripts, an esoteric form of magic that involves the creation and empowering of mystic symbols called “runes”.

An archivist is a major scribe (see Scribe Types), which determines the number of runic scripts the archivist can learn and prepare each day, as well as how many scripts he can use. Refer to Table: Scripts Known (Major) to determine how many scripts he learns (and what level), as appropriate for his archivist level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an archivist’s script is 10 + the script’s level + the archivist’s Intelligence modifier.

Unlike a typical spellcaster that has spell slots each day, an archivist can cast each script he prepares a number of times each day based on the level of the script, as shown in Table: Castings per Script (Major). In addition, he receives bonus scripts per day if he has a high Intelligence score (see Casting a Script). These extra castings can be applied to any script he has prepared of the appropriate level.

An archivist must choose and prepare his scripts ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and scribing his runes. While scribing, the archivist decides which scripts to prepare. Once a script is written, it remains prepared until the archivist chooses to replace it.

The full rules of Rune Magic can be found here.

The list of runic scripts (i.e. rune magic "spells") can be found here.

Bonus Feat[]

At 1st level, 6th level, and every six levels thereafter, an archivist gains a bonus feat. This bonus feat must be chosen from Design Focus, Greater Design Focus, an item creation feat, or a metascript feat. He must meet the prerequisites, as normal.

Fundamentals[]

All archivists learn a number of fundamentals, scripts that are so simple that they require little effort to cast. An archivist begins play knowing any three fundamentals of his choice. He continues to learn more fundamentals as he advances, as shown on Table: Scripts Known (Major) under “Fundamentals Known” (see Scribe Types). Unlike other runic scripts, a fundamental can be cast an unlimited number of times per day. While fundamentals can be overloaded like any other runic scripts, the magic is too weak to generate much energy: casting a fundamental does not grant the archivist any runic charges.

Study[]

Rather than attempt to master all runic magic, archivists instead focus on a specific script design. An archivist must decide his study at 1st level. Choosing a study grants a number of abilities to the archivist, which are obtained at 2nd, 8th, 14th, and 20th levels. The abilities granted are described in each study’s entry. The archivist’s chosen study also determines his study synergy ability (see below).

A list of archivist studies can be found here.

Study Synergy (Su)[]

At 1st level, an archivist’s ability to overload his runic power into a script gains new function, as described in his chosen study’s entry. The archivist’s study synergy only functions when overloading a script of 1st level or higher.

Focused Rune (Ex)[]

Beginning at 3rd level, an archivist’s expertise with his chosen study allows him to utilize it more frequently. He gains an additional script known, which, in turn, grants him an additional script he can prepare each day (as described in Casting Rune Magic). The chosen script must be of a level he is capable of casting, and its design must match his study’s design.

The additional prepared rune each day he gets from this ability must also come from his chosen study’s design, but it does not have to be the same bonus scripts he learned from focused rune.

The archivist learns an additional script of his choice (following the above guidelines) for every four levels past 3rd, to a total of five bonus scripts known and prepared each day at 19th level.

Altered Script (Su)[]

At 4th level, the archivist learns to adapt his rune magic to the situation at hand. As a swift action, the archivist gains a single runic charge of his choosing. In addition, the archivist may exchange any number of his runic charges out for charges of a different rune design. The new charges can be of any design, not just those that are available to the archivist through his runic scripts. Starting at 16th level, the archivist gains two runic charges of his choice when using this ability, instead of only one. The archivist can use this ability once per day, plus an additional time per day for every six levels past 4th, to a maximum of three times per day at 16th level.

Enhanced Fundamentals (Ex)[]

At 5th level, the archivist can imbue additional runic energy into his fundamentals. When casting a fundamental whose design matches his chosen study, he treats that fundamental as having one runic charge overloaded into it without spending his actual charges. The design of charge always matches the design of the fundamental cast. The archivist can still overload his actual runic charges into the script, should he desire to do so, but in such a case he must provide all of the runic charges (he cannot mix the free charges from this ability along with his own).

For every four levels gained after 5th, the archivist’s fundamentals within his chosen study are treated as overloaded with an additional charge, until reaching a full four charges at 17th level.

Favored Class Bonuses[]

Aasimar: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting manipulation (conviction) scripts.
Catfolk: Gain 1/3 of a new fundamental script.
Changeling: Gain 1/6 of a bonus metascript feat.
Dhampir: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting destruction (affliction) scripts.
Drow: Add a +1 bonus on concentration checks to cast archivist scripts.
Duergar: Add +1/2 on checks made to craft magic items.
Dwarf: Gain 1/6 of a bonus item creation feat.
Elf: Gain 1/6 of a bonus metascript feat.
Fetchling: The archivist gains energy resistance 1 against cold or electricity, which stacks with his inherent resistances from his race. Each time the archivist selects this reward, increase his resistance to one of these energy types by +1 (maximum 15 for any one type).
Gillmen: Gain 1/3 of a new fundamental script.
Gnome: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting revelation (thought) scripts.
Goblin: Add +1/2 point of bonus damage dealt with destruction scripts.
Grippli: Gain 1/6 of a bonus metascript feat.
Half-Elf: The archivist gains 1/6 of an additional daily use of his altered script ability.
Half-Orc: Add a +1 bonus on concentration checks to cast archivist scripts.
Halfling: Add a +1/4 luck bonus to saving throws against language-dependent effects and symbol spells.
Hobgoblin: Add a +1/4 to caster level when casting destruction (ruin) scripts.
Human: Add +1/2 bonus to Spellcraft and Use Magic Device checks.
Ifrit: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting invocation (primordial) scripts.
Kitsune: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting revelation (thought) scripts.
Kobold: Add a +1/4 luck bonus to saving throws against language-dependent effects and symbol spells.
Merfolk: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting invocation (blessing) scripts.
Nagaji: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting alteration (polymorph) scripts.
Orc: Add a +1/4 to caster level when casting destruction (ruin) scripts.
Oread: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting invocation (primordial) scripts.
Ratfolk: Gain 1/6 of a bonus feat, which must be either Design Focus or Greater Design Focus.
Samsaran: Gain 1/3 of a new fundamental script.
Strix: Gain 1/6 of a bonus metascript feat.
Suli: The archivist gains energy resistance 1 against acid, cold, electricity, or fire, which stacks with his inherent resistances from his race. Each time the archivist selects this reward, increase his resistance to one of these energy types by +1 (maximum 10 for any one type).
Svirfneblin: Add a +1/4 luck bonus to saving throws against language-dependent effects and symbol spells.
Sylph: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting invocation (primordial) scripts.
Tengu: Gain 1/6 of a bonus feat, which must be either Design Focus or Greater Design Focus.
Tiefling: Add +1/2 point of bonus damage dealt with destruction scripts.
Undine: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting invocation (primordial) scripts.
Vanara: Gain 1/6 of a bonus metascript feat.
Vishkanya: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting alteration (debilitation) scripts.
Wayang: Add +1/4 to caster level when casting invocation (celestial) scripts.