Savant (3.5e Class)

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This is a remake of the Savant class from Dragon Compendium. You may be looking for the original, this is homebrew.


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Author: Eiji-kun (talk)
Date Created: 3-29-18
Status: Complete
Editing: Mechanical changes on Talk
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A jack of all trades, who can share their skills with allies and provide support in almost any situation. 20 0 Moderate Poor Poor Good Prepared Arcane Spellcasting, Prepared Divine Spellcasting, Sneak Attack Other


Savant

Good at whatever they set their mind to, savants are jacks of all trades who trade absolute mastery for versatility and options.

Making a Savant

Abilities: A savant must be either intelligent or wise, having the skills or the will and observation to perform their tasks. These tasks may call upon their Strength or Dexterity, and if they intent not to die they will require a strong Constitution as well.

Races: Any.

Alignment: Any.

Starting Gold: 5d4×10 gp (125 gp).

Starting Age: As fighter.

Table: The Savant

Hit Die: d8

Level Base
Attack Bonus
Saving Throws Special Spells per Day
Fort Ref Will 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Academic Lore, Skill Assistance (5 ft), Trapfinding
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Talent Lore, Renaissance Man
3rd +2 +1 +1 +3 Ranged Aid Another, Skill Assistance (10 ft), Sneak Attack +1d6
4th +3 +1 +1 +4 Arcane Lore, Mental Talent 2 1
5th +3 +1 +1 +4 Skill Assistance (15 ft) 3 2
6th +4 +2 +2 +5 Ability Assistance 4 3
7th +5 +2 +2 +5 Talent Lore, Skill Assistance (20 ft) 4 3 1
8th +6 +2 +2 +6 Divine Lore 5 3 2
9th +6 +3 +3 +6 Sneak Attack +2d6, Skill Assistance (25 ft) 5 4 3
10th +7 +3 +3 +7 Featured Ability 5 4 3 1
11th +8 +3 +3 +7 Skill Assistance (30 ft) 5 4 3 2
12th +9 +4 +4 +8 Talent Lore 5 4 4 3
13th +9 +4 +4 +8 Skill Assistance (35 ft) 5 5 4 3 1
14th +10 +4 +4 +9 Rapid Aid Another 5 5 4 3 2
15th +11 +5 +5 +9 Sneak Attack +3d6, Skill Assistance (40 ft) 5 5 4 4 3
16th +12 +5 +5 +10 Certain Ability 5 5 5 4 3 1
17th +12 +5 +5 +10 Skill Assistance (45 ft), Talent Lore 5 5 5 4 4 2
18th +13 +6 +6 +11 Mass Aid Another 5 5 5 4 4 3
19th +14 +6 +6 +11 Skill Assistance (50 ft) 5 5 5 5 4 4
20th +15 +6 +6 +12 Better Than Average 5 5 5 5 5 5

Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Appraise (Int), Autohypnosis (Wis), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Martial Lore (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Psicraft (Int), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (None), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Truespeak (Int), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), Use Psionic Device (Cha), Use Rope (Dex).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Savant.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A savant is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. Savants are proficient with light armor and all shields save for the tower shield.

Academic Lore: The savant studies a wide variety of disciplines, from the physiology and lore of plants to the genealogy of ancient noble lines. The savant may make a special academic lore check with a bonus equal to his savant level + his Intelligence modifier to see whether he knows some relevant information about a particular situation, person, item, historical event, or other subject. If the savant fails this check, he must gain at least one level in this class before attempting to use this ability to answer the specific question again.

If the savant has ranks in a Knowledge skill relevant to the situation, he can use both this ability and his normal Knowledge check to answer the same question. A failure with one method has no effect on his attempt with the other. If both checks fail, he cannot attempt another Knowledge or academic lore check on that particular subject until he gains a level in savant or rank in the appropriate Knowledge skill.

Skill Assistance: The savant's broad range of talents and insights into dozens of areas of knowledge grant him the ability to lend his knowledge to others. If, for example, a savant sees an approaching ogre, he knows how to deliver a swift warning that alerts his allies before the ogre is upon them. If he and his friends must slip into a blackguard's fortress, his intense study of stealth and reconnaissance allows him to mask the clanks of his paladin ally's armor. At 1st level and every odd level after, the savant selects a skill from which he has at least 1 rank.

The savant can choose to replace an ally's skill attempt with his own efforts as a non-action. Rather than make a skill check, the ally can use the result of a special check made with a bonus equal to the savant's skill ranks + the ally's ability score modifier, armor check penalty (if any), and other modifiers. In effect, the ally replaces her ranks in the particular skill with those of the savant and adds all other modifiers as normal. The savant makes the d20 roll on this check and cannot take 10 or take 20.

The savant can replace the skill checks of a number of allies equal to his Intelligence modifier. The allies must be within 5 feet of the savant at 1st level. This range increases by 5 feet every odd level (up to 50 feet at 19th level). A target of this ability must choose whether to use the savant's result or make his own, and he must choose before he knows the savant's die roll. In any case, the targets of this ability never use their own ranks in addition to the savant's ranks. They must either make a check as normal or substitute the savant's ranks and die result for their own.

The savant cannot use this ability if his allies wish to make a skill check as part of an attempt to aid another's check.

Trapfinding: A savant gains the trapfinding ability of a rogue.

Talent Lore: The 2nd level savant gains a bonus feat you qualify for at 2nd level and every five levels thereafter.

Renaissance Man: At 2nd level the savant gains Renaissance Man as a bonus feat.

Ranged Aid Another: A 3rd level savant can now aid from afar. They may attempt an aid another check to any target within the range of their skill assistance.

Sneak Attack: Beginning at 3rd level, the savant gains the ability to sneak attack as a rogue. They gain 1d6 sneak attack at 3rd, and an additional +1d6 at 9th and every six levels beyond (15th, 21st, and so forth).

Arcane Lore: Savants study magic with the same curiosity and intellectual rigor they use to approach other topics. Through an understanding of the basic theories of magic, the savant learns to cast a limited number of arcane spells.

At 4th level the savant gains access to arcane spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list. The savant must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time. To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, a savant must have an mental ability score (see Mental Talent) of at least 10 + the spell's level. The DC for a saving throw against a savant's arcane spell is 10 + the spell's level + the savant's selected mental ability modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a savant can cast only a certain number of spells of each level per day. His base allotment of spells is given below. In addition, the savant receives bonus arcane spells if he has a high selected mental ability score.

At 4th level, the savant gains all 0th level spells known and chooses two 1st level spells from his lists that he has acquired through research and diligent study. Each level afterward, he selects two more arcane spells from the savant arcane spell list up to the highest level spells they can cast. The savant cannot select spells from a given level until he is high enough level to cast them.

The savant must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting a good night's sleep and spending 1 hour in study. While studying, the savant decides which spells to prepare. The savant does not need a spellbook or similar item. Instead, he focuses on the arcane lore he has learned and sorts through his notes, and may add additional spells to them as if writing in a spellbook.

The savant's caster level equals his savant class level.

Mental Talent: The 4th level savant must decide if his spellcasting is based on Intelligence or Wisdom. One grants additional skills, useful to the savant, while the other ensures a powerful Will save and keen perception. Once selected this cannot be changed.

Ability Assistance: The savant's ability to help now extents to ability checks instead of just skill checks, excluding initiative rolls. At 6th level, the savant may roll a d20 and any relevant modifiers from BAB or feats and ability, but use the ally's ability score modifier as normal. For example a savant trained in grappling could use this to replace the party wizard's pitiful grapple score with their own, though it still uses the wizard's strength modifier. This has the same range and limitations as Skill Assistance.

Divine Lore: At 8th level, the savant's broad range of study and research allows him to unlock the secrets of divine magic. He learns to manipulate deific energy and use it to cast spells much like a cleric. He now gains access to the cleric and druid class spell lists, and are prepared in the same spell slots as their arcane spells and are prepared at the same time as preparing their arcane spells. Spells on both arcane and divine lists count as either one, whichever is most beneficial.

Featured Ability: The 10th level savant obtains the ability to mimic the powers of other classes, to a small extent at least. When he prepared his spells, he can also obtain a single class feature from any 1st level base class such as Smite Evil from paladin or an additional Sneak Attack from rogue. He cannot select any form of spellcasting or manifesting, although supernatural or spell-like abilities are fine (such as a warlock's eldritch blast). These abilities cannot be used as pre-requisites, and they must still provide any requirements to use said abilities. The featured ability lasts until the next time they prepare spells at which point they can change it.

For abilities which scale with class level, treat their effective level as 1/2 their class level for the purpose of their featured ability.

Rapid Aid Another: A 14th level savant can now aid in an instant. They may use Aid Another as an immediate action.

Certain Ability: The 16th level savant always succeeds, usually. They can choose to simply roll a natural 20 without rolling on any ability or skill check. They may use it at will as a non-action, however every time it is used the die result drops by -4 (to a natural 16, 12, 8, and so forth) meaning practically they can only go down to a natural 4 before it is unusable.

Mass Aid Another: The 18th level savant may now aid another as many targets as allowed by Skill Assistance.

Better Than Average: At 20th level the savant achieves a nigh perfection of their skills. No matter the result of their roll on a ability or skill check they treat any d20 roll under a 10 as a 10.

Half-Elf Savant Starting Package

Weapons: Longsword.

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 6 + Int modifier.

Skill Ranks Ability Armor
Check
Penalty
Bluff 4 Cha
Concentration 4 Con
Disguise 4 Cha
Knowledge (arcane) 4 Int
Listen 4 Wis
Spellcraft 4 Int

Feat: Improved Initiative.

Gear: Chain Shirt.

Gold: 5 gp.

Campaign Information

Playing a Savant

Religion: Savants may be religious, but their dabbling nature could never amount to that of the faith of a cleric.

Other Classes: Other classes surely rely on you to fulfill the role of anything they happen to lack. You're not quite at their level, but you can hold your own when the party needs you to double up on a role.

Combat: What role you take largely depends on you. Some may focus their spellcasting to being a utility caster, while others may go all in with combat and employ sneak attack to its highest potential.

Advancement: While some may decide to focus on other classes and use the savant to compliment it, pure savants have the most options on what they can be.

Savants in the World

Anything you can do, I can do okay.
—Jun, Human Savant

Savant Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge Local can research Savants to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge Local
DC Result
10 Savants are a jack of all trades, and are very skillful. In fact they can help others in their party be skillful too!
15 Savants can learn basic but useful spellcasting, and are even able to fight in melee to an extent.
20 Powerful savants never seem to fail their checks easily, and can pull off the most unusual class features.
30 Those that get this result can learn about specific savants, their trivia and motives, recent adventures, and preferred abilities.
REMOVE THIS LINE WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE "... LORE" SECTION -->



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Facts about "Savant (3.5e Class)"
Article BalanceModerate +
AuthorEiji-kun +
Base Attack Bonus ProgressionModerate +
Class AbilityPrepared Arcane Spellcasting +, Prepared Divine Spellcasting + and Sneak Attack +
Class Ability ProgressionOther +
Fortitude Save ProgressionPoor +
Identifier3.5e Class +
Length20 +
Minimum Level0 +
RatingUndiscussed +
Reflex Save ProgressionPoor +
SkillAppraise +, Autohypnosis +, Balance +, Bluff +, Climb +, Concentration +, Craft +, Decipher Script +, Diplomacy +, Disable Device +, Disguise +, Escape Artist +, Forgery +, Gather Information +, Handle Animal +, Heal +, Hide +, Intimidate +, Jump +, Knowledge +, Listen +, Martial Lore +, Move Silently +, Open Lock +, Perform +, Profession +, Psicraft +, Ride +, Search +, Sense Motive +, Sleight of Hand +, Speak Language +, Spellcraft +, Spot +, Survival +, Swim +, Truespeak +, Tumble +, Use Magic Device +, Use Psionic Device + and Use Rope +
Skill Points6 +
SummaryA jack of all trades, who can share their skills with allies and provide support in almost any situation. +
TitleSavant +
Will Save ProgressionGood +