Tales tell of sorcerers with skin like leather - or maybe even like stone. Every inch of these sorcerer's skin is covered in tattoos, sigils, runes, and other markings. They have, quite literally, transformed themselves into living magic items. To do so, however, they undergo painful rituals that strengthen their flesh and make them hardier individuals.

Wizards and sorcerers become graven ones most frequently, but the occasional bard does as well.

NPC graven ones wander alone, though sometimes their abilities are seen as a such a boon, they become military leaders or enforcers for powerful master.

Role: Spell Utility

Characteristics: Etched with powerful runes in their skin and tattoos, these casters runes have a wide variety of effects

Source: Book of Eldritch Might 1

Game Rule Information

The Graven One has the following game statistics.

Abilities: Intelligence is needed for determining what magic tattoos and runes you have available, and constitution for augmenting that d6 hit die further

Alignment: Any

Hit Die: d6

Starting Gold: N/A

Class Skills

The Graven One's class skills are Concentration (Con), Craft (any) (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Search (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Spot (Wis).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Graven One.

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

Spells per Day: When a character reaches an odd-numbered graven one level, she gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in her previous spellcasting class. She does not, however, receive any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic, or item creation feats,and so on). This essentially means that she adds the level of graven one to the level of her other spellcasting class, then determines spells per day (and caster level) accordingly.

For example, if Canabula, a 9th-level wizard, gains a level in graven one, she receives new spells as if she had risen to 10th level in wizard, and she casts them at 10th level. However, she uses the other graven one aspects of level progression, such as base attack bonus and save bonus. If she next takes a level of wizard, making her an 10th-level wizard/1st-level graven one, she gains spells as if she had risen to a 11th-level wizard. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before she became a graven one, she must decide which class receives each level of graven one for the purposes of determining spells per day.

Rune Circumstances: In cultures where skin markings are strange, or among those who fear or distrust magic, the obvious flesh runes, tattoos of power, and graven images give the graven one a –2 circumstance penalty to Diplomacy, Bluff, and other Charisma-related skill checks. One possible exception is Intimidate, which the DM may rule gets a +2 circumstance bonus in some situations.

Flesh Rune Sp: The graven one gains the ability to etch runes into her own flesh using the Etch Object Rune feat. The graven one’s body can bear as many as four runes at once, no matter what her size.

Tattoo of Power Su: A graven one can inscribe a tattoo on her body that lasts for 24 hours. It requires 10 minutes to inscribe it, and she can bear only one tattoo of power at a time (this in no way interacts with any flesh runes she might have). When she gains this ability at 2nd level, she chooses a tattoo of power inscription that she knows from the table on this page. The graven one’s level plus her Intelligence modifier determine which of the tattoos she can learn. When she gains this ability again, at 3rd level and at alternating levels after that, she can choose another tattoo.

Graven Image Su: Starting at 4th level, the graven one can inscribe one image of an animal or magical beast onto her flesh (this in no way interacts with any flesh runes or tattoos of power she might have). Inscribing this image takes 10 minutes, and it can be activated at any time afterward as a free action. When activated, the image leaps from the graven one’s body and becomes a real version of that creature. It remains for one minute per level or until slain, obeying the graven one’s mental commands (issued as free actions). As the graven one goes up in level, the number of Hit Dice of the creatures she can make into graven images increases.