Monster Prestige Class : Illithid Savant
Mind flayers are connoisseurs of brains, but some take this taste to the next level. The illithid savant is an academic who deals in applied science, acquiring new knowledge from the brains he consumes.
Often an illithid savant specializes in the arcane arts, usually as a wizard since he tends toward scholarly pursuits. Bards, with their insatiable quest for knowledge, frequently gravitate to this career. Less often, a non-classed mind flayer stumbles onto the path of the savant through consuming a particularly noteworthy brain.
Illithid savants make excellent support members for just about any group, although they prefer the company of other mind flayers. They usually bring several thralls of desired classes or creature types for consumption as needed. A savant often heads up an inquisition or even a cult to pursue his ends.
Requirements
To qualify to become an Illithid Savant, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Race: Mind flayer
- Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 10 ranks
- Special: Must have consumed the brain of a creature of CR 9 or greater.
Class Skills
The illithid savant's class skills are Bluff, Concentration, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (any), Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are Class Features of the illithid savant prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Illithid savants neither gain nor lose proficiency with any weapons, armor, or shields by gaining levels in this class.
Acquire Skill (Ex): At 1st level, an illithid savant can acquire one skill known by a creature whose brain he has consumed, chosen at the time of consumption. He permanently gains all of the creature's ranks in that skill (but not racial or ability score bonuses to the skill modifier) even if his new total is more ranks than the illithid savant's current character level would normally allow. This skill becomes a class skill for the illithid savant, and he may buy more ranks in the skill if the new ranks do not cause him to exceed his maximum ranks in the skill.
At 4th, 6th, and 8th level, the illithid savant can acquire and use one additional skill from a brain.
Lore (Ex): At 1st level, an illithid savant gains the ability to make a special lore check twice per day to recall esoteric information from the brains of those he has consumed. Just as with a bardic knowledge check (see Chapter 3 of the Player's Handbook for more on this ability and typical check DCs), the illithid savant adds his level in this prestige class and his Intelligence modifier as bonuses on any attempt to learn something unusual.
At 2nd, 5th, and 9th level, the illithid savant can make a special lore check two additional times per day
Acquire Feat (Ex): At 2nd level, an illithid savant permanently acquires one of the feats of a consumed creature, provided he meets that feat's prerequisites. At 4th, 6th, and 8th level, the illithid savant can acquire and use one additional fear from a consumed brain.
Acquire Class Feature (Ex): At 3rd level, an illithid savant permanently gains one class feature of a consumed brain's owner, as a character of that creature's level in that class. If the former character was a spellcaster, the illithid savant is able to cast one spell of each level available to the character (if the victim was a wizard, the mind flayer must still consult a spellbook or learn from scrolls), as well as any bonus spells provided by the illithid savant's ability scores. If the illithid savant already has spellcasting levels, these spells are in addition to those granted by the illithid savant's spellcasting class levels.
At 7th level and again at 10th level, the illithid savant can gain another class feature from a consumed brain.
Acquire Special Attack or Special Quality (Ex): At 5th level, the illithid savant permanently gains one special attack or special quality of a consumed brain's owner. The chosen ability must not rely on a physical feature of the consumed creature, such as a gaze attack, a breath weapon, flight, or a natural attack with an appendage not possessed by the mind flayer. If the ability allows a saving throw, the illithid savant uses his own ability score modifier to determine the DC.
At 9th level, the illithid savant can gain another special attack or special quality from a consumed brain.
| Illithid Savant | Hit Dice: d4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Acquire skill 1, lore 2/day |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Acquire feat 1, lore 4/day |
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Acquire class feature 1 |
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Acquire skill 2, acquire feat 2 |
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Acquire special attack or special quality 1, lore 6/day |
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Acquire skill 3, Acquire feat 3 |
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Acquire class feature 2 |
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Acquire skill 4, acquire feat 4 |
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Acquire special attack or special quality 2, lore 8/day |
| 10th | +5 | +4 | +3 | +7 | Acquire class feature 3 |
Source: Savage Species