Sorcerous Scholar (3.5e Class)
Sorcerous Scholar
These highly gifted sorcerers were found to have talent with magic at a young age and were apprenticed under wizards. While most sorcerers dislike the rules and study associated with studying under a wizard, a few had the patience to learn the arcane arts properly. Sorcerous Scholars are considered savants by their teachers showing great skill in a specialized school of magic while struggling to grasp the basic concepts of others.
Making a Sorcerous Scholar
Sorcerous Scholars are unique in that they memorize a new set of spells known from their spellbooks each day but otherwise spontaneously cast like a sorcerer or bard. They use their CHA bonus for various class features that power one school of magic that they have prodigious talent with.
Abilities: INT is the spellcasting stat. However CHA bonuses are applied to Savant features ranging from bonus effective caster levels on spells from strong schools to times/day uses on features. DEX is good for unarmored defense as usual and WIS prevents backlash from dualcasting.
Races: As any race can have sorcerous talent the limiting factor is ability to learn and the availability of schooling. As such Dwarves and Halflings are rare because their society has few wizards that can teach the arcane arts. Half-orc Sorcerous Scholars are nearly-impossible because of their lesser intellect and charisma.
Alignment: Any. But rarely Chaotic.
Starting Gold: 3d4×10 gp (75 gp).
Starting Age: As sorcerer.
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | Spells per Day | Power Points/Day |
Powers Known |
Maximum Power Level Known | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | 0 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Summon Familiar, Savant | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Savant | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Savant | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Savant | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Savant | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14th | +7/+2 | +4 | +4 | +9 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15th | +7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +9 | Savant | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Savant | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20th | +10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Sorcerous Scholar.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: All simple weapons.
Spells: A Sorcerous Scholar casts arcane spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list (page 192 PHB v3.5). A Sorcerous Scholar must memorize a spell list when receiving spells/day. They then cast spontaneously from this list for the day. The maximum spells a Sorcerous Scholar can memorize in a day is in the table below. To learn, memorize, or cast a spell, the Sorcerous Scholar must have an INT score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. Sorcerous Scholars learn two(2) new spells per level of any school or level that they can cast and are NOT from one of their weak schools(for more rules on this Spellbooks pg 179 PHB v3.5). The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Sorcerous Scholar’s spell is 10 + the spell level + their INT modifier. They receives bonus spells per day if they have a high INT score (see Table 1–1: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells, page 8 PHB v3.5).
| Level | Memory Slots | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | |
| 1st | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6th | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7th | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8th | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9th | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 10th | 9 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 11th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 12th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 13th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — |
| 14th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — |
| 15th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 16th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 17th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 18th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 19th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Summon Familiar: Same as sorcerer/wizard feature.(pg 52 PHB v3.5)
Savant: At 1st level the Sorcerous Scholar picks a school of magic that he understands at a purely instinctual level, this is called his strong school. He also must choose two(2) weak schools that he has great difficulty in understanding the theory behind. He cannot learn spells from his weak schools unless otherwise stated in a Savant power below. The Sorcerous Scholar casts spells from his strong school at a higher than normal caster level (caster lvl + CHA mod). At third (3rd) level, and every three (3) after that, the Sorcerous Scholar may choose a Savant power from the list below.
Hard Practice: When this power is chosen one of the spells learnt this level can instead be a spell from a weak school. It doesn't get written into the spellbook; however it permanently uses a memory slot of its spell level and cannot be swapped out at the start of each day. To learn this spell you must have have an INT score of at least (12 + level of spell). This may be taken several times and applies to a different spell each time.
Prodigy: When this power is chosen the Sorcerous Scholar learns an ADDITIONAL spell from his strong school. It does not get written into the spellbook but doesn't counts toward memory slots. It cannot be swapped out at the start of the day. Learning and casting this spell does not require you to be able to cast spells of its level only a high enough INT score to earn bonus spell(s) of that level. This may be taken several times and applies to a different spell each time; however only one such spell can be memorized into the Prodigy slot.
Meta Memory (Sp): This power allows the Sorcerous Scholar to memorize any metamagic feat he knows into a memory slot (excluding Quicken). He may then apply it to any spell from his strong school spontaneously without increasing the spell's effective level. He can apply the meta magic a number of times per day equal to (CHA mod. + level of memory slot used - metamagic level augmentation). If Heighten Spell is used for this then you may increase the spell level by up to your CHA mod. The metamagic memorized can be swapped out or shifted to a different level slot at the start of the day. This cannot be taken more than once.
Counterspell Special (Sp): This power allows the Sorcerous Scholar to use a spell from his strong class to counterspell ANY spell when he would other wise be unable to do so. The spell level required to counterspell a spell varies. When using the same spell to counter if you are targeted by the spell you may change the target to the caster(spell level burned=(spell level-CHA mod.)). If you counterspell with an opposite effect type spell of a lower level than the spell being countered(such as a 2nd level Light spell countering 3rd level Deeper Darkness) or the other way around the spell level burned is (spell level + (spell level being countered - spell level countering) - CHA mod.) When spell is of the same school add (1 - CHA mod.) to the spell level burned. When spell is of a different school (2 - CHA mod.) or from a weak school (4 - CHA mod.). For the same spell or an opposite effect spell you must have it memorized that day and the augmentation uses a different spell per day than normal. For the other three cases add the augmentation to the spell level being countered and you use a spell that is memorized in that slot or higher. If there are no spells from the strong school in those slots than you cannot counter that spell with this power. This does not stack with the feat improved counterspell. You cannot choose this power more than once.
Dualcasting (Sp): This power allows the Sorcerous Scholar to split a spell into two smaller spells of the strong school an amount of times per day equal to his CHA mod. For this purpose treat level 0 spells as 1/2 level. Both spells can and must be cast in the same round. Both spells are identical to each other. A 1st lvl spell can be split into 2 0th lvl spells, a 2nd or 3rd into 2 1st, a 4th or 5th into 2 2nd, a 6th or 7th into 2 3rd, or a 8th or 9th into 2 4th lvl spells. A spell that is augmented with metamagic bestows the metamagic onto both smaller spells with the exception that heighten spell merely increases the levels of spells cast. When used in tandem with Meta Memory this allows for higher dualcasting without increasing the cost of the spell. At the end of the round in which this power is used the Sorcerous Scholar must make a Will save with DC (10+ spell level split + total level of metamagic augments) or falls unconscious for 1d4 rounds and takes 1d4 nonlethal damage and loses 1 spell level worth of spells/day(2 lvl 0 or 1 lvl 1 spell) for every 5 below the DC they failed. This power cannot be taken more than once.
Good Notes: Get a wizard bonus feat. This can be taken more than once.
Epic Sorcerous Scholar
| Level | Special | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21st | Savant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22nd | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23rd | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24th | Savant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 25th | Bonus feat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27th | Savant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30th | Savant, Bonus feat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2 + Int modifier skill points per level. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Familiar: Same as sorcerer/wizard(pg 209 DMG v3.5)
Savant: Continues to choose powers every three (3) levels.
Bonus Feats: The epic Sorcerous Scholar gains an Epic bonus feat every 5 levels after 20th.
Human Sorcerous Scholar Starting Package
Weapons: Shortspear, Dagger, Sling (20 bullets).
Skill Selection: Pick a number of these equal to 4 + INT mod.
| Skill | Ranks | Ability | Armor Check Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concentration | 4 | (CON) | — |
| Craft(Alchemy) | 4 | (INT) | — |
| Decipher Script | 4 | (INT) | — |
| Knowledge(Arcana) | 4 | (INT) | — |
| Knowledge(Nature or Dungeoneering) | 4 | (INT) | — |
| Spellcraft | 4 | (INT) | — |
Feat: Eschew Materials.
Bonus Feats: Spell Focus (strong school).
Gear: Backpack, Bedroll, Scroll Case(empty) x2, parchment x2, ink, inkpen, flint and steel, Rations, Trail (day) x3, Rope, Hempen (50ft.), waterskin.
Gold: 56 gp, 8 sp
Playing a Sorcerous Scholar
Religion: Sorcerous Scholars tend to spend more time mastering their gifts than praying to gods, but if you were to ask one they mostly likely would worship one of the gods of magic; Wee Jas, Boccob, Vecna, or Nerull, based on their alignment and/or strong school.
Other Classes: A Sorcerous Scholar might look down on sorcerers for their lack of education and possibly their attention span whereas sorcerers think of the Scholar as weak. They consider themselves to be wizards; however wizards tend to be annoyed or threatened by a younger caster understanding more about their specialty than the wizard does (essentially the PhD in physics getting told they are mistaken by one of their students).
Combat: The Sorcerous Scholar is very good at dueling other casters using dualcasting to overwhelm counterspell defenses and using their own counterspells to negate and even turn spells back to the caster. The dualcasting ability is also good for taking out larger groups of weak enemies quickly.
Sorcerous Scholars in the World
| “ | Wait...what do you mean people can't just do that? | ” |
| —Mateu, Human Sorcerous Scholar | ||
Sorcerous Scholars tend to become either adventurers, teachers, or spellcaster services.
Daily Life: In the morning (or twilight if they are night owls) they review their notes gaining their spells memorized per day and possibly working on spell research before going to whatever job they do to earn their bread.
Notables: Mateu is the best known Sorcerous Scholar, famous for defeating the evil cleric necromancer Oscar with a counterspelled Inflict Serious Wounds despite being outclassed by the cleric in every way. He went on to develop many epic level spells that few could understand including the creation of Wisplings, a race of creatures made of pure solidified energy.
Organizations: In the rare occasion that two Sorcerous Scholars of the same strong school meet, they usually become great friends unless their alignments are radically different in which case they consider each other arch-enemies. They may try (and fail) to help their friends understand their weaker schools better or otherwise share notes on schools they have similar skill with (see spells copied from another's spellbook pg 179 PHB v3.5). Sorcerous Scholars cannot stand other Scholars with their strong school being one of the first Scholar's weak schools. They hate seeing that someone treats those spells as second nature when they cannot comprehend the very basics of them.
Sorcerous Scholar Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) can research Sorcerous Scholars to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 5 | Arcane spellcaster. |
| 10 | Spontaneous casting. |
| 15 | Memorizing spell mechanics. |
| 20 | Savant powers. |
Adaptation: If someone wants to use the general idea of this class for a psionics class that would be great as I don't really understand psionics.
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