The splitting of the atom is a test by which the might of nations is judged. Magical practitioners who have learned to manipulate nuclear energy are known as atomic adepts and they are feared for their mastery of such a verboten power. Atomic energy is a cruel mistress, powerful and seductive but deadly to those who court her.
HIT DICE: D8
| SIDEBAR: RADIATION IN A FANTASY SETTING
All things “atomic” are typically the purview of science fiction rather than traditional fantasy setting. This class assumes that nuclear energy can be tapped into by magical means. Adding this element to your game can impart a new thematic aspect to your game. Is your game a post-apocalyptic wasteland? Do you have a high-tech magocracy where magic is a stand in for military power? If so an atomic adept will fit right in. However, that being said, an atomic adept does not fit into every game thematically so check with you GM prior to playing one. |
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ROLE: Atomic adepts are masters of inflicting debilitating status effects and come with a suite of radioactive spells to back them up. Their attacks blight areas, leaving them radioactive for hours afterwards. They also retain the ability to wear up to heavy armor, making them able to survive on the front line. Atomic adepts work on the principle of risk vs reward. They gain radiation, flirting with oblivion when they cast spells or use class features, and always risk a critical meltdown that can kill them if they are not careful!
ALIGNMENT: Any
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 atomic adept’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Dex), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Profession (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 atomic adept.
| Class Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Reflex Save | Will Save | Special | Max Spell Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Nuclear strike +1d6, spells | 1 |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +0 | Atomic talent | 1 |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +1 | +1 | Alpha radiation, nuclear strike +2d6 | 1 |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Atomic talent | 2 |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Nuclear strike +3d6 | 2 |
| 6th | +4 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Atomic talent, beta radiation | 2 |
| 7th | +5 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Nuclear strike +4d6 | 3 |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +6 | +2 | +2 | Atomic talent | 3 |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +6 | +3 | +3 | Gamma radiation, nuclear strike +5d6 | 3 |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +7 | +3 | +3 | Atomic talent | 4 |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +7 | +3 | +3 | Nuclear strike +6d6 | 4 |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +8 | +4 | +4 | Atomic talent | 4 |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +8 | +4 | +4 | Nuclear strike +7d6 | 5 |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +9 | +4 | +4 | Atomic talent | 5 |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +9 | +5 | +5 | Nuclear strike +8d6 | 5 |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +5 | Atomic talent | 6 |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +5 | Nuclear strike +9d6 | 6 |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +11 | +6 | +6 | Atomic talent | 6 |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +11 | +6 | +6 | Nuclear strike +10d6 | 6 |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +12 | +6 | +6 | Atomic talent, doomsday | 6 |
WEAPON AND ARMOR PROFICIENCY[]
The atomic adept is proficient with all simple weapons and with all armor (heavy, light, and medium) but not with any shields. An atomic adept does not suffer arcane spell failure chance in light armor.
RADIATION[]
The atomic adept uses a new mechanic known as radiation. Whenever they cast a spell or use a class feature that causes radiation damage it inflicts “rads” on both the target of the ability and the caster, although typically the caster receives a lower dose. The amount is specified in the spell or ability. Rads do not decrease naturally, though magic may be employed to reduce a creature’s rad count. The total number of rads a target has is called a “rad count”. If the rad count of a creature reaches a certain level it is inflicted with some negative conditions (see Table 2-2: Radiation Effects).
| RAD
COUNT |
EFFECT |
|---|---|
| 0-199 | No ill effects. |
| 200-499 | The creature is sickened |
| 500-999 | The creature is nauseated. |
| 1000-1999 | 1 negative level* and the creature is nauseated. |
| 2000-2999 | The creature is nauseated and takes 1 negative level*. Once below 2000 rads
they heal these negative level at a rate of 1 per hour. |
| 3000+ | The creature must make a Fortitude save (DC 30) once per hour or be killed.
For every 100 rads over 3000 the DC is improved by 1. |
*Negative levels caused by this are temporary rather than permanent negative levels.
REDUCING RADS[]
The following spells have the following impact on the rad count of a creature.
- Cure Disease: Removes 100 x caster level of rads per casting.
- Neutralize Poison: Removes 500 x caster level of rads per casting.
- Delay Poison: Removes all ill effects of rads for the duration of the spell but does not reduce the rad count.
- Poison Immunity: A creature that is immune to poison cannot gain rads.
- Detect Poison and Deathwatch: This spell tells the caster how many rads the target has.
- Rest: You drop a number of rads per day equal to the amount healed from bed rest.
RESISTING RADS[]
A creature with a combined armor and shield bonus to their AC of 3 or greater or a natural armor bonus of 4 or greater takes half the normal dose of rads from an attack. This reduction can also reduce rads normally imparted to the caster.
NUCLEAR STRIKE (SP)[]
As a standard action an atomic adept can let loose a ray of atomic energy to vaporize a target within 30 feet (+ 5 feet per atomic adept level after 1st level). A nuclear strike inflicts 1d6 radiation damage at 1st level - this damage increases by an additional 1d6 at every odd level thereafter to a maximum of 10d6 at 19th level. This is a ray attack and additionally inflicts a number of rads on the target equal to x2 the atomic adept’s level. The atomic adept also receives a number of rads equal to his atomic adept level. An atomic adept may safely perform a nuclear strike once per day per atomic adept level +1 additional time per day equal to his Intelligence modifier. Each time thereafter he takes x2 his atomic adept level in rads in place of the normal amount.
| SIDEBAR: RADIATION DAMAGE
Attacks that deal damage due to radiation deal negative energy damage that does not heal undead. It may be referred to as radiation damage, though this is simply shorthand to state that it is negative energy damage with those specific qualities. For example, things with negative energy resistance would still apply. |
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SPELLS[]
An atomic adept casts arcane spells drawn from the atomic adept’s spell list. An atomic adept can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time and he knows all spells an atomic adept of his level has access to.
An atomic adept can cast as many atomic adept spells as he wishes per day. Casting a spell inflicts 10 x spell level in rads on him, unless otherwise stated. The rads are inflicted before a spell goes off.
Every time an atomic adept casts a spell he rolls a d100 and adds the spell level to the roll. If the result is ever 100 or higher, he goes into “meltdown” (see below). If the result is less than 100, the spell is cast without issue, but he adds the spell’s level to the “meltdown modifier”. He always adds his meltdown modifier to the d100 rolls he makes to cast spells. His meltdown modifier resets when he goes into a meltdown or when he rests for 8 hours.
If he ever goes into a meltdown, his spell fails and he suffers a nuclear strike (as if cast by himself) and gains 10 x his atomic adept level in rads. In addition, he creates an irradiated zone with a radius of 20 feet centered on him. Creatures who enter the irradiated zone gain 20 rads per round at the start of their turn. A zone remains irradiated for 2 hours per atomic adept level.
To cast a spell, the atomic adept must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. An atomic adept knows any spell on his spell list that he can cast. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an atomic adept’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the atomic adept’s Intelligence modifier.
ATOMIC TALENTS[]
Starting at 2nd level and every even level thereafter, the atomic adept gains an atomic talent.
(Atomic Talents can be found here)
ALPHA RADIATION[]
At 3rd level, the atomic adept’s radiation pierces through thicker armor. Only a combined armor and shield bonus of 4 or greater or a natural armor bonus of 5 or greater reduce rads by half if cast by an atomic adept of 3rd level or higher. This affects the caster’s rad gain as well.
BETA RADIATION[]
At 6th level, the atomic adept’s radiation pierces through thicker armor. Only a combined armor and shield bonus of 6 or greater or a natural armor bonus of 7 or greater reduce rads by half if cast by an atomic adept of 6th level or higher. This affects the caster’s rad gain as well.
GAMMA RADIATION[]
At 9th level, the atomic adept’s radiation pierces through thicker armor. Only a combined armor and shield bonus of 9 or greater or a natural armor bonus of 10 or greater reduce rads by half if cast by an atomic adept of 9th level or higher. This affects the caster’s rad gain as well.
DOOMSDAY (SU)[]
At 20th level, when an atomic adept goes critical he may chose to instead cause a doomsday explosion. This is an atomic detonation that causes 2d6 damage per atomic adept level to all creatures and objects within 1 mile per atomic level. Creatures destroyed by this are disintegrated (as per the disintegrate spell). This leaves an irradiated zone equal to half the size of the explosion. Creatures in this irradiated zone take a number of rads equal to the atomic adept’s level per round.