General Prestige Class : Heartseeker
by Keith Strohm with Dragon Staff, Dragon #296
Kin to the mystical arcane archers that protect and defend elven communities, heartseekers (or the quelaenvyn, as the elves name them in their ancient language) defend the hidden enclaves of their people from draconic invasion through the skillful blending of physical prowess and arcane might. Masters of the traditional elven art of archery and devotees of magic, heartseekers specialize in delivering ranged attacks designed to pierce the physical and magical defenses that make dragons and their kin such feared adversaries. They are often the elves' first line of defense against the depredations of a dragon.
Unlike the insular arcane archers, members of this renowned order have spread their special blend of archery and magic to other races. Because of this, heartseekers enjoy a special place in many communities, although they can still seem abrupt and standoffish to those outside the order. Despite their perceived haughtiness, they recognize acts of bravery and skill in battle no matter its source and members of the order are willing stretch out their hand in friendship to any who consistently demonstrate such traits. Once befriended by a heartseeker, a person can find no better companion.
Elven leaders often deploy heartseekers among bands of arcane archers to holster the former's magical abilities with the arcane prowess of these more spell-oriented elven defenders. Few non-elven communities boast more than a handful of heart-seeker's, making their role in large engagements somewhat limited.
Heartseekers have also been known to travel beyond the confines of their homeland and join with small bands of adventurers, usually to fulfill a perilous quest relating to the defense of an elven community.
Wizards and sorcerers (often with a few levels of fighter or ranger) who devote themselves to time martial side of combat are the most likely adventurers to become heartseekers. Fighters, rangers, and even rogues who dabble in arcane study occasionally find themselves members of this order. Monks, barbarians and paladins rarely become heartseekers.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Heartseeker, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Listen 5 ranks, Spot 5 ranks
- Feats: Combat Casting, Spell Penetration, Weapon Focus (any bow),
- Base Attack Bonus: +4
- Spellcasting: Ability to cast arcane spells.
Class Skills
The heartseeker's class skills are Climb, Concentration, Jump, Knowledge (all skills taken individually), Listen, Ride, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival, and Swim.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the heartseeker prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Heartseekers gain no new proficiency with weapons or armor.
Spells Per Day: Because heartseekers continue in the pursuit of magical knowledge and perfection, for every other level they gain in this prestige class, heartseekers gain new spells per day and spells known as if they gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class that they belonged to before adding the prestige class. If a character possessed more than one arcane spellcasting class before he became a heartseeker, he must decide which class will receive the additional spellcasting level for purposes of determining spells per day when he adds the new level.
Piercing Spell (Ex): The heartseeker's focus on creatures with the dragon type gives him a +2 bonus to his caster level checks against a dragon's spell resistance. This bonus increases to +4 at 5th level and +6 at 9th level. This bonus stacks with the Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration feats.
Lodestone Arrow (Su): Once per day, a 2nd-level heartseeker can imbue an arrow with the power of the very earth around him. On a successful attack roll, any winged or flying creature struck by the lodestone arrow must make a Fortitude save (base DC 15 + class level + Charisma bonus) or fall immediately to the ground, its ability to fly nullified by the arrow's magic. Grounded creatures take any applicable falling damage and cannot return to the sky until the duration of the effect expires - although they can still attack and move on the ground normally. The lodestone arrow lasts for round per every two heartseeker levels of the attacker.
Greater Enchantment (Ex): Whenever a heartseeker casts greater magic on his arrows, treat the spells as if it were cast by a spellcaster with a level equal to the heartseeker's class level plus his levels from his previous spellcasting class. For example, a 10th-level wizard/5th-level heartseeker, normally casts arcane spells as a 12th-level. However, when casting the spell as a 15th-level caster.
Bane Missile (Su): Once per day, as a full-round action, a 4th-level heartseeker can prepare and fire a special arrow called a bane missile. If a bane missile strikes a creature with the dragon type, it deals an additional 1d6 points of damage per three heartseeker levels and ignores damage reduction.
Spellgift Arrow (Su): Once per day, as a full-round action, a 6th-level heartseeker can prepare and fire a special arrow called a spellgift arrow. If the spellgift arrow inflicts damage on a creature with the dragon type, the heartseeker gains an enhancement bonus equal to the damage inflicted to his caster level checks made to penetrate the injured creature's spell resistance for the next round only.
Brilliant Energy Arrow (Su): Through his devotion to the arcane arts, a heartseeker can transform an arrow fired at a creature with the dragon type to a brilliant energy weapons. This arrow functions exactly as an arrow with the brilliant energy special quality. A heartseeker can use this ability as a free action on a total of three arrows per day.
Heartseeker (Su): Channeling his arcane power along with his love for the elven homeland he defends, a heartseeker can transform a single arrow per day into a greater slaying arrow keyed to any creature with the dragon type. It takes a full round for a heartseeker to transform an arrow in this way. The enchantment lasts no longer than a day and the character con only have one such arrow in existence at a time.
| Heartseeker | Hit Die: d6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day |
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Piercing spell +2 | - |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Lodestone arrow | +1 level of class |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Greater enchantment | - |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Bane missile | +1 level of class |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Piercing spell +4 | - |
| 6th | +4 | +5 | +2 | +5 | - | +1 level of class |
| 7th | +5 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Spellgift arrow | - |
| 8th | +6 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Brilliant energy arrow | +1 level of class |
| 9th | +6 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Piercing spell +6 | - |
| 10th | +7 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Heartseeker | +1 level of class |
Source: Dragon #296