Savant

Requirements

Feats: Lightning Reflexes Iron Will, Spell Focus (Divination)

(In preparation for taking this prestige class, any character can take the Spell Focus-Divination feat at the same time as their first level of Savant, even though technically they could not qualify for this class without it. This means that at any level after all the other requirements for this class are met in which the character can take a new feat, he can select Spell Focus – Divination and their first level of Savant at the same time.)

Base Attack Bonus: +3

Base Stats: DEX 12+, CON 12+, INT 12+, WIS 12+. At least one of these statistics must be at least 14+ while another must be 16+. Like the feat requirement for this class, if the same level the character would take his first level in Savant, the bonus statistic point for that level would allow the character to qualify, it can be selected at the same time.

Summary

Unique among the paths of the Diviner in that it does not necessarily require prior spellcasting experience, the skills of the savant can occur in anyone at any time in their lives. The only common factors that unify savants are an innate talent for divination magic, often latent, and the intellect to use it. The ranks of the savants are widely varied, from swordsmen and rogues to priests and minstrels. What characterizes a savant is not his past or his vocation but the incredible things he can accomplish once his savant abilities begin to manifest.

The first sign of a savant manifesting his inborn talent is usually the echoes of an opponent’s thoughts in his mind, an unnatural level of sensory awareness, and a seemingly psychic ability to guess the next few seconds of a battle. These are not well controlled at first and can be as much a hindrance as a help but with training and time, the powers expand to allow the savant to interact with the minds and essences of his foes while channeling his foresight into a preternatural dance of prescient destruction.

Savant powers are all based around a special, divinatory state of mind called ‘combat lucidity’. A form of precognition that gives the savant a glimpse into the near future of any conflict and grants subconscious guidance while the savant fights, this special state of mind can with time and experience make a savant nearly unstoppable in battle. Limited only in his physical ability to respond to the constant information that his magical talent provides, a savant is unlike other mages in their approach to fighting and their ability to defend themselves in physical situations.

The path of the Savant is not an easy one. It is physically and mentally demanding, making it suitable only for those who can maintain a strong balance between their bodies and their minds while learning the disciplines that fuel their martial spirit. With a well-developed body and a keen wit to match it, savants are a unique blend of warrior skills and wizardly acumen. While they do not possess the endurance of a focused soldier or the sheer magical power of a devoted arcane spellcaster, they define their own special role in a travelling party or as a solitary adventurer.

Role: Utility DPS

Characteristics: Innate diviners that fuel their fighting through this innate divination talent

Source: Encyclopedia Arcane: Divination

Game Rule Information

The Savant has the following game statistics.

Abilities: Intelligence for your spellcasting and other abilities, and Dexterity for your combat lucidity and being ready,

Alignment: Any

Hit Die: d6

Starting Gold: N/A

Class Skills

The Savant's class skills are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Listen (Wis), Scry (Int), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Tumble (Dex) and Spellcraft (Int)

Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) × 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Savant.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Savant is proficient with whatever they were already proficient with prior to taking levels in this class.

Spells per Day/Spells Known: Savants have the class ability to cast spells from its own class list, provided below. Savants cast arcane spells as a sorcerer and do not have to prepare spells beforehand. Savants gain knowledge of all of the spells of any level they can cast, knowing them and being able to cast them up to their normal number of spells per day.

Base DCs are as normal and the Savant’s Intelligence score determines bonus spells. Savant levels count towards the caster level total and developed familiar abilities for characters with previous levels in an arcane spellcasting class. If the character has more than one arcane spellcasting class, he must choose which one increases with each Savant level gained.

Combat Lucidity Ex: Whenever a savant enters combat, he begins to partially foretell the future as a constant, uncontrolled ability and perceives the world around him as a whirling mass of possible futures and fleeting opportunities. While the savant cannot hope to ever truly master this flood of nearly incomprehensible information, it grants him special insight into the nature of combat and the many ways he can interact with his opponents and allies.

All of a savant’s class abilities, and to a lesser extent his arcane spells, are based around this special perception. By itself, it acts as the first level of the Uncanny Dodge class feature, preventing the savant from ever losing his Dexterity bonus to his Armour Class, regardless of being caught flatfooted or being struck by an invisible opponent.

Attunement Ex: The connection between a savant and his opponents is a strong one, enhancing his ability to react to the ever-changing patterns of combat that develop between them during a fight. While savants foresee virtually everything that can possibly occur several seconds into the future and gain an instantaneous understanding of the intended actions of everyone around him, this overwhelming awareness is extremely difficult to make any sense of, even for them. One of the ways savants cope with this dizzying array of images is to focus on one foe at a time.

Once each round as a free action taken on the savant’s turn, he can choose any opponent within 120 feet. He does not need to be able to draw line of sight or effect on the opponent but it must be subject to mind-affecting magic. Thus, undead, constructs, and certain other creatures (including sentient foes protected by the mind blank spell) are not valid targets for this class ability, though a savant still gets the benefits of his other class abilities.

Against an appropriate target, the savant benefits from all the effects of a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls against the chosen target and the benefit of the Spring Attack feat. Any or all of these feats can be used simultaneously but they do not count as virtual feats for the purpose of qualifying to take real feats as part of the character’s class progression.

Battle Trance Ex: A form of advanced attunement, this is a more subtle divination of the surrounding battlefield. In the Battle Trance state, a savant allows his mystic perceptions to guide his actions through the best of all possible reactions to every motion, attack, and threat, even if he is unable to directly detect the danger under normal circumstances. A Battle Trance lasts one round per savant prestige class level and leaves the character feeling fatigued exactly as per the Barbarian rage class feature (-2 to Strength, -2 to Dexterity, and unable to run or charge for the duration of the encounter).

While in a Battle Trance, a savant cannot be flanked and gains his Intelligence modifier as an additional bonus to his armor class. If a Reflex save is required of the savant while he is in a Battle Trance and he would make the save if he rolled a 20 plus his current modifiers (i.e. could ‘take 20’ on the check), he automatically succeeds at the save without having to roll. Like Barbarian Rage, Battle Trance can be initiated at any time on the savant’s action but cannot be done as a reaction to someone else’s action.

Moment's Warning Ex: At fourth level the prescient mental images the savant sees during combat begin to echo a few moments before an engagement actually occurs. This split second’s alert always allows him to act during a surprise round, though it is not enough time for him to shout a warning of any kind. This sense of impending danger also allows the savant to add his intelligence bonus to his Initiative rolls unless circumstances somehow negate this ability from functioning, such as an anti-magic field.

Foretelling Blow Ex: The divinatory forces that guide the savant’s actions during battle can also provide him with the knowledge of how to launch the most devastating attacks possible. Once per day, the savant can choose one of the following effects to occur; Maximize Spell on one damage causing spell he has cast, Improved Critical on any weapon or ray spell he has just successfully hit with, or a +2 to the DC of any non-damaging spell or effect he has just inflicted upon an opponent.

An example of the latter might be to increase the Reflex save of a tanglefoot bag.

Master of the Dance Ex: At 10th level, a savant finally manages to integrate as much of the flow of future images, telepathic information, and spiritual sympathy as a mortal mind can possibly grasp. While his expertise over his special talent are still far from perfect, he can accomplish remarkable feats with it now that he has learned to truly focus his awareness into an effective and efficient fighting style. A Master of the Dance is a terror to behold in combat, reacting to blows before they occur and striking at vulnerabilities his opponent did not even know he possessed with all the prowess of a trained warrior.

A Master of the Dance replaces his base attack bonus with a +1 base attack bonus per character level up to a maximum of 20. This is a permanent effect that lasts for as long as the savant can freely work and interact magically with his environment; it is lost in anti-magic fields and other such effects. This replacement has all the normal effects, such as number of attacks per round and qualification for certain feats and other prestige classes. If the bonus is lost for some reason and the character no longer qualifies for the classes or feats chosen with the previous higher score, the feats or class features in question are suspended (but levels in those classes are not lost) until the bonus is restored.

Table 1-1: Savant Progression

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
						1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1st	+0	+2	+2	+2	Combat lucidity	—	—	—	—
2nd	+1	+3	+3	+3	Attunement (+1)	1	—	—	—
3rd	+1	+3	+3	+3	Battle trance 1/day	2	—	—	—
4th	+2	+4	+4	+4	Moment's warning	2	1	—	—
5th	+2	+4	+4	+4	Attunement (+2)	3	2	—	—
6th	+3	+5	+5	+5	Battle trance 2/day	3	2	1	—
7th	+3	+5	+5	+5	Foretelling blow	4	3	2	—
8th	+4	+6	+6	+6	Attunement (+3)	4	3	2	1
9th	+4	+6	+6	+6	Battle trance 3/day	5	4	3	1
10th	+5	+7	+7	+7	Master of the dance	5	4	3	2

Savant Spell List

1st level: Bless, Guidance, Magic Weapon, Resistance, True Strike, Virtue

2nd level: Aid, Cat’s Grace, Detect Thoughts, Death Knell, See Invisibility

3rd level: Eyes of the Cat, Greater Magic Weapon, Haste, Keen Edge, Vampiric Touch

4th level: Detect Scrying, Freedom of Movement, Status, Portents and Omens, Telepathic Assault