Theeurth Classes

Published Classes

There are many arcane organizations in Theeurth.  In the northern land of Tirgonia, the most prestigious is the Arcaneum.  More than five hundred years old, it claims most of the powerful sorcerers and wizards of the city of Tirgon as its members, though it draws members from across Tirgonia and beyond.  Members of the Arcaneum are known as Thaumaturges.

The thaumaturges study new realms of knowledge, and share their learning with each other. Like many such guilds, the thaumaturges have a spell pool known as the Deepwell.

Hit Die:d4

Requirements:

Alignment: Any nonevil
Skills: Knowledge (arcana)(8 ranks), Scry (4 ranks), Spellcraft (8 ranks)
Feats: Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus, and any one metamagic feat
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 3rd-level arcane spells.
Special: Prospective members must pay an initiation fee of 1,000 T.

Class Skills:

The skills of an Arcaneum Thaumaturge (and the key ability for each skill) are: Alchemy (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int),  Knowledge (any)(Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill points at each level: 4+Int modifier.

Class Features:

All of the following are class features of the Arcaneum Thaumaturge prestige class:

Weapon and Armor: Arcaneum Thaumaturges gain no proficiency with any weapons or armor.

Spells per Day: An Arcaneum Thaumaturge's training focuses on magical learning.  Thus with each level, he advances in spell casting ability.  He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (metamagic or item creation feats, for instance).

Membership: The character becomes a full member of the Arcaneum, entitled to vote on issues before the entire membership, use the extensive facilities in Tirgon, including the library, laboratories and workrooms (though access to these facilities is based upon seniority) and replenish his store of common material components (these carry a nominal cost).  In addition, any Thaumaturge may reside at the Arcaneum for the cost of 5 T. per day.

Membership incurs the following duties and costs:

• Monthly membership dues of 25 T. (payable up to 5 years in advance).
• Obedience to the rulings of the Masters.
• Aid to other members in times of need.
• Devotion of personal time and energy to the Arcaneum (10% XP penalty).

This last is the cost of contributing to the Arcaneum by creating items, casting spells and performing maintenance on the Deepwell.

Improved Spell Acquisition: At each level of advancement in the Thaumaturge prestige class, a character gains three spells of his choice of any level he can cast to add to his spellbook.  If the character is a wizard, then one of these three spells must be from his specialist school.

Deepwell:  The Deepwell is a magical artifact at the center of the Arcaneum's headquarters in Tirgon.  It is a mighty battery of spell energies, and all thaumaturges of 2nd level or higher are given a Deepwell Amulet that allows them to draw upon its energies anywhere within Theeurth.  At 2nd level, a thaumaturge can can draw upon spells of 1st through 3rd level.  At 6th level, a thaumaturge can draw upon spells of 1st through 6th level.  At 10th level, a thaumaturge can draw upon spells of 1st through 9th level.  See the Deepwell description below for details.

Research Breakthrough: Through intense study of magical theory, the character has achieved a new insight into the uses of magic.  Select a new metamagic feat.

Aid Spellcasting: The cooperative nature of the Arcaneum has allowed the thaumaturge to learn the aid spellcasting feat.

Bonus Language: Thaumaturges study the knowledge of many lands, and need to use many languages.  As such, they learn new languages with some ease. The character may add one new language to the list of those he already knows.

Greater Spell Focus: The free exchange of ideas and techniques has resulted in the character achieving a deeper understanding of his chosen area of study.  The character gains the greater spell focus feat.

Deepwell Casting

The thaumaturges of the Arcaneum receive a Deepwell Amulet upon reaching 2nd level.  This token allows them to access the spell energies stored in the Deepwell.  It works only for the thaumaturge for whom it was created, and if lost, the thaumaturge loses the ability to draw from the Deepwell until another is forged for him.

Spells may be called from the Deepwell anywhere in Theeurth as a full-round action.  The caster must have a spell slot of the appropriated level open and unused to call upon a spell from the Deepwell.  Metamagic feats may not be added to spells cast from the Deepwell.  A thaumaturge can call a number of spells from the Deepwell per day whose spell level total is equal to or less than half the thaumaturge's total arcane levels.  Thus, an 8th-level caster could call two 2nd level spells or one fourth, or any combination that added up to four spell levels, provided he had open, unused slots of the appropriate levels.  Spells thus called must not be from a specialist's prohibited school(s).

The spell, if available, appears in the thaumaturge's mind at the beginning of his next round of action, and can then be used immediately.  If the called spell is not used within 1 minute per level of the spellcaster, it fades as if cast.  Neither sorcerers nor wizards can learn the spell thus called, despite its temporary residence in their minds.

The spells in the Deepwell change daily.  The percentage chance that a desired spell is available on any given day is 55% minus 5% per level of the spell.  Thus, a 1st-level spell is 50% likely to be available, while a 9th-level spell is only 10% likely to be available.  If a spell is available and called, the chance that another spell of the same type being available is reduced by 5%.  Spells not found in the Player's Handbook are less likely to be available (by an unknown factor).  If the spell is not available, the caster can continue checking for other available spells until one is found, which does not add to the time required for calling a spell.

Casters must replenish the spells they draw from the Deepwell with twice the number of spells of the same levels.  The excess spells go to power the Deepwell.  A caster may carry a "spell debt" of up to three times his total arcane spellcasting levels (that is, a 5th level wizard, 5th level thaumaturge could have a debt of up to 30 spell levels).  When the spell debt limit is reached, no more spells may be withdrawn from the Deepwell until the debt is reduced.  It is possible for one thaumaturge to pay the debt of another.  It is also possible for a thaumaturge to "pre-pay", adding a number of spell levels into the Deepwell up to three times his total arcane spellcasting levels.