Loremaster
Loremasters gather and keep secrets. They love folios, facts, figures, formulae, and forbidden knowledge. Most loremasters believe that the only worthwhile goal in life is to deeply understand the multiverse and to use the power that flows from that understanding. After all, wealth is spent, passions fade, and the power of the body is limited by age, while the mind's capacity to grow greater with time is infinite.
Loremasters' lives are spent in study, research, and fieldwork. Some adventure to seek out the unknown on voyages of discovery; they also use their lore to pursue their own ends, whether for personal profit, for noble purposes, or simply to enjoy the company of their party. With the rise of the Universal System, sages and scholars have sought the ultimate secrets to grasp how it all works.
Role: Knowledge benefits every undertaking, from melee to exploration, from socialization to spellcasting, wherever luck or fate or destiny leads. Thus, any class may enjoy the benefits of this prestige class. Loremasters may be of any alignment and any walk of life. From poor students to rich nobles, all value and respect the heights offered by this prestige class.
Requirements: The Universal System tends to offer the Loremaster prestige class to characters who have demonstrated remarkable curiousity and a love of learning ...
- You have ranks in Scrivening, Gather Information, Language, and Knowledge skills.
- You have chosen class features that focus on uncovering information.
- Your feats and traits reflect your love of scholarship.
- You have learned a number of divination spells.
- You have ventured into danger because you sought knowledge and learning.
- You have heard many tales and read many books.
- You have used obscure lore to help your party defeat a foe.
Base Attack Bonus: +0.25 / level.
Caster Level: +1 / level, see below.
Will Save: +1.0 / level.
Fort Save: +0.5 / level.
Reflex Save: +0.5 / level.
Hit Die: d4.
Table: Loremaster Advancement Level Base Attack Bonus Caster Level Will Save Fort Save Refx Save Special 1st +0.25 +1 +1.0 +0.5 +0.5 Prestige Signature: Secret Lore 2nd +0.5 +2 +2.0 +1.0 +1.0 Language Lore or Noble Lore 3rd +0.75 +3 +3.0 +1.5 +1.5 Arcane Lore or Divine Lore 4th +1.0 +4 +4.0 +2.0 +2.0 Dungeon Lore or Geographic Lore 5th +1.25 +5 +5.0 +2.5 +2.5 Prestige Tier Choice 6th +1.5 +6 +6.0 +3.0 +3.0 Master Signature: Forbidden Lore 7th +1.75 +7 +7.0 +3.5 +3.5 Monster Lore or Local Lore 8th +2.0 +8 +8.0 +4.0 +4.0 Natural Lore or Engineering Lore 9th +2.25 +9 +9.0 +4.5 +4.5 Planar Lore or History Lore 10th +2.5 +10 +10.0 +5.0 +5.0 Master Tier Choice
Skill Proficiencies
The loremaster's proficient skills (and the ability scores used to boost each skill) are Appraise (Int), Diplomacy (Chr), Gather Information (Chr), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all) (Int), Language (Int), Profession (Wis), Scrivening (Int), Search (Int), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Ranks per Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies
You gain no new proficiency with weapons or armor.
Spells and Spell Casting
As a loremaster, you add one caster level each time you progress in the prestige class. When you gain a caster level, you add two divination school spells to your known spells list; select these spells from the arcane, divine, and natural spell lists, so long as the spell level listed is not greater than your own caster level. The spell level of these spells varies from loremaster to loremaster -- see these rules on prestige class spell aquisition. When you cast spells gained through this prestige class, those spells are divine by type, ignoring the list from which they came. The casting ability score for this prestige class is intelligence; use your even (column B) intelligence modifier for loremaster spell DCs, and, if it is your highest casting ability score, to set concentration checks and bonus spells per day.
KNOWN SPELLS LIST: When you add a caster level, add two divination school spells of your choice, as detailed above.
Class Abilities
PRESTIGE TIER
Level 1 Loremaster Prestige Tier Signature Ability: Secret Lore (Sp): You have insight into the workings of the Universal System that lesser minds cannot master. When you use a standard action to appraise a person of a lower tier, you learn their character level, class or classes, class levels, and caster level. You also choose one of the following to learn: max hit points, class abilities, feats, ability scores, traits, racial abilities, or languages known. If you use this ability on a person of the same tier as yourself, they get a Will save against a DC equal to your appraise skill check, but save or fail, they do not know that you appraised them. If you appraise a person of higher tier than your own, they sense the attempt if they make the save. You can use this ability once per day when you take your first level in loremaster, gaining an additional use per day each time you gain a character level. You cannot inspect the same person more than once per day.
Level 2 Loremaster Prestige Tier Interaction Ability (pick one):
- Language Lore (Ex): Select a number of languages equal to twice your odd (column A) intelligence modifier (minimum 1). You now speak those languages fluently.
- Noble Lore (Ex): You gain the Aristo signature ability of the aristocrat secondary class. This stacks with other Aristo signature abilities you may have.
Level 3 Loremaster Prestige Tier Combat Ability (pick one):
- Arcane Lore: You add any one arcane spell to your known spells list; the spell cannot have a spell level greater than your caster level. Alternately, you add two arcane spells to your known spells list; these two spells cannot have a spell level greater than half your caster level. For you, these spells have a spell level equal to your current caster level or half your caster level if you pick two.
- Divine Lore: You add any one divine spell to your known spells list; the spell cannot have a spell level greater than your caster level. Alternately, you add two divine spells to your known spells list; these two spells cannot have a spell level greater than half your caster level. For you, these spells have a spell level equal to your current caster level or half your caster level if you pick two.
Level 4 Loremaster Prestige Tier Exploration Ability (pick one):
- Dungeon Lore (Su): Once per day, if your current quest or adventure brings you to an underground setting (labyrinths, basements, tunnels, sewers, caves, and below-surface locales), you may concentrate for a number of minutes equal to your odd (column A) intelligence modifier (minimum 1). For the period of that time, the game master will physically hand you the map of the underground area, also indicating your location. You (the player) may inspect the map for the duration; no other player can look at it. You may not make notes or copy the map until after you hand it back to the GM. The game master may prepare an incomplete map to hand to you; this prepared map may have information missing, but no errors. In a digital context (for example, in a play-by-post or virtual-tabletop setting), the game master will offer a very incomplete map, given that there is no way to enforce viewing time or duration limits.
- Geographic Lore (Su): Once per day, if your current quest or adventure brings you to an outdoor setting, you may concentrate for a number of minutes equal to your odd (column A) intelligence modifier (minimum 1). For the period of that time, the game master will physically hand you the map of the outdoor area, also indicating your location. You (the player) may inspect the map for the duration; no other player can look at it. You may not make notes or copy the map until after you hand it back to the GM. The game master may prepare an incomplete map to hand to you; this prepared map may have information missing, but no errors. In a digital context (for example, in a play-by-post or virtual-tabletop setting), the game master will offer a very incomplete map, given that there is no way to enforce viewing time or duration limits.
Level 5 Loremaster Prestige Tier Choice: Select a Loremaster Prestige Tier Interaction, Combat, or Exploration ability that you have not yet chosen, or choose any magic feat for which you qualify.
MASTER TIER
Level 6 Loremaster Master Tier Signature Ability: Forbidden Lore (Su) You have transgressed mundane limits and probed beyond the bounds of what mortls were meant to know. Choose one of the following rule-breaking pieces of lore when you gain this signature ability, and then pick an additional different one every time you gain an odd character level afterwards.
- Disciplined Mind: You are immune to insanity, confusion, and attacks that drain or damage intelligence, wisdom, or charisma.
- Divinity: You have learned the secret ways that mortals can use to become divine. When you retire from play, you ascend and become a demigod. You may select your associated Emotion, Alignment, Symbol, Ethos, Favored Weapon, and two Domains. After you ascend, you become an NPC controlled by the game master, available to other PCs for worship in future games.
- Eldritch Secrets: Your exposure to horrific truth has inured you to terror. You are immune to shaken, fear, and panic effects.
- Immortality: You do not age, you are never penalized for the passage of time, and you are immune to aging effects. You apply your odd (column A) intelligence bonus to saves against thirst, hunger, tiredness, fatigue, and exhaustion in addition to normal bonuses.
- Lion Lore I: You understand the hidden link between lionheart points and the soul. As a standard action, you can spend a lionheart point to touch a neutral or evil creature with less than zero hit points and change that portion of its alignment to good.
- Lion Lore II: As a standard action, you can spend five lionheart point to touch a creature and remove a temporary negative level, or spend ten to remove a permanent negative level.
- Studied Genius: You gain a +1 bonus to your intelligence ability score.
- Transmute Base Metals to Gold: You may convert copper or lead to gold at a cost of one experience point per gp. You may not use this ability if it would make you lose a character level. Created gold does not count against the usual "Weath By Level" limit.
- Truthteller: You know whenever any creature is lying, as well as whether the lie is baldfaced or nuanced. You yourself may never tell a lie, except by omission.
- Universal Hack: Your deep and unnatural understanding of the Universal System allows you to break the rules in one of the following ways: Gain any one feat for which you do not meet the prerequisites; OR gain any one racial ability for a race not your own; OR gain any one Exploration ability of a class you do not have.
Level 7 Loremaster Master Tier Interaction Ability (pick one):
- Monster Lore (Ex): You may make untrained Knowledge checks to identify monsters and their special powers or vulnerabilities. If you are trained, you gain a +4 on such checks, and you gain an extra bit of useful information for every 2 points by which your check result exceeds the DC, not 5.
- Local Lore (Su): Tapping into supernatural sources of information, you may make Knowledge Local checks about places you have never been, so long as you know the name by which locals call the area.
Level 8 Loremaster Master Tier Combat Ability (pick one):
- Natural Lore (Su): You gain the Wild Shape I signature ability of the druid class. This stacks with other Wild Shape signature abilities you may have.
- Engineering Lore (Ex): You add any one "engineering" spell to your known spells list; the spell cannot have a spell level greater than your caster level. Alternately, you add two of these spells to your known spells list; these two spells cannot have a spell level greater than half your caster level. "Engineering" spells are those that have one of these words in the name: wall, barrier, shelter, or door. For you, these spells have a spell level equal to your current caster level or half your caster level if you pick two.
Level 9 Loremaster Master Tier Exploration Ability (pick one):
- Planar Lore (Ex): You add any one conjuration (teleportation) spell to your known spells list; the spell cannot have a spell level greater than your caster level. For you, this spell has a spell level equal to your current caster level.
- History Lore (Sp): You may cast Retrocognition once per day as a spell-like ability.
Level 10 Loremaster Master Tier Choice: Select a loremaster Master or Prestige Tier Interaction, Combat, or Exploration ability that you have not yet chosen, or choose any magic feat for which you qualify.