Faerûnian Prestige Class : Halruaan Elder
For a member of Halruaan society, being recognized as a wizard is not enough; the panache with which one utilizes magic is of equal importance. Halruaan elders are the very epitome of such ostentatious thinking, and their dazzling and unique displays of arcane force make them the most respected practitioners in the land. Their unparalleled talents are what earned them a seat on the revered and prestigious Council of Elders, where they participate in the policy-making of the country.
Arcane spellcasters are the only classes eligible to join the ranks of the Halruaan elders, and the vast majority are wizards. Neither bards nor sorcerers are respected in Halruaan society, so few of them ever stay in their homeland long enough to attain the level of talent necessary to become a member of the Council. No other classes have the necessary skills to become a Halruaan elder.
Though Halruaan elders are responsible for governing the country, the demands on their time in this capacity are not great. Thus, they are free to travel, experiment, and research new spells or craft items. A sizable number of elders rarely appear in the court of the netyarch (wizard-king), choosing instead to venture forth in search of wondrous magic elsewhere in Faerûn.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Halruaan Elder, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Diplomacy 5 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 10 ranks, Spellcraft 10 ranks.
- Feats: Halruaan Adept, Spell Thematics, any metamagic feat, any one item creation feat.
- Spells: Able to cast 4th-level arcane spells.
- Special: The character must petition for entry into the Halruaan Council of Elders and, after a divinatory background check by current elders, be accepted to that ruling body.
- Region: Halruaa
Class Skills
The Halruaan elder's class skills are Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Knowledge (all skills taken individually), Profession, Sense Motive, and Spellcraft.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are class features of the Halruaan elder prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Halruaan elders gain no proficiency in weapons or armor.
Spells Per Day/Spells Known: At each level, the Halruaan elder gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class to which he belonged before adding the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of turning or destroying undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on). If he had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a Halruaan elder, he must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.
Adroit Casting (Ex): The Halruaan elder has become so skilled at casting his spells with various metamagic feats that utilizing such feats has become easier for him. At 1st level, he picks a metamagic feat he knows. The cost in increased level of spell slots to use that metamagic feat is now permanently reduced by one level, to a minimum total modification of a spell's original level + 1. For example if a Halruaan elder with adroit casting 1 wishes to prepare an empowered magic missile, that spell takes up a slot only one level higher than its original level (instead of two). At 4th level, and every three levels thereafter, the Halruaan elder can choose another metamagic feat he knows. That feat gains the same benefit; spells altered by that feat take up a slot one level lower than normal (minimum of the spell's original level + 1). If the Halruaan elder doesn't have a metamagic feat to apply the ability to when he gains a level that grants adroit casting, or if he's has previously applied adroit casting to all of the viable metamagic feats he knows (any metamagic feats that require spells to occupy a slot two or more levels higher than normal), he gains no benefit from this ability until he acquires a new metamagic feat that adroit casting can affect. At that time, he can automatically designate that feat as altered by the unused application of adroit casting.
The elder cannot choose the same metamagic feat more than once with adroit casting. For example, a Halruaan elder who picks Quicken Spell at 4th level, reducing the cost in increased level of spell slots to three, cannot pick Quicken Spell against at 7th or 10th level to reduce the cost again.
The elder can prepare a spell with multiple metamagic feats altered through the adroit casting ability. For example, a 10th-level wizard/10th-level Halruaan elder who has selected Empower Spell and Maximize Spell as two of the metamagic feats altered by adroit casting can prepare 1st-level empowered, maximized spells in 4th-level spell slots, as opposed to 6th-level spell slots (2 - 1 [empowered] + 3 - 1 [maximized] = 3 [new spell slot used]).
Circle Link (Ex): A Halruaan elder has the ability to participate in Halruaan circle magic through the Halruaan Adept feat, a prerequisite for entry into the class. A Halruaan elder of at least 5th level can be a circle leader. He also goes through a ritual so he can be contacted via Halruaa's Crystal Orb.
Signature Spell: A Halruaan elder gains Signature Spell as a bonus feat at 2nd, 5th, and 8th levels. He need not meet the prerequisite for the feat, and thus can choose any spell he knows as a signature spell, rather than a spell he has mastered with the Spell Mastery feat.
| Halruaan Elder | Hit Die: d4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day/Spells Known |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Adroit casting 1, circle link | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Signature Spell | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | - | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Adroit casting 2 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Signature Spell | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | - | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Adroit casting 3 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Signature Spell | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | - | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Adroit casting 4 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
Source: Shining South