Scholar

“Knowledge is power.”

Scholars are adventurers who use their brains instead of their brawn. Through identifying the enemy’s weaknesses, laying dangerous traps, and leveraging their diverse knowledge, they can turn the tide of battle in their favor.

Quick Build

You can make a scholar quickly by following these suggestions. First, choose the Sage background, with Machinist (Int), Ruin Delver (Cha), or Staff Master (Wis) as your martial tradition. The martial tradition you choose determines your highest ability score. Your next-highest score should be Strength or Dexterity, depending upon whether you want to focus on melee weapons or ranged combat (or finesse weapons).



Class Features

Table: Scholar
Level Proficiency Bonus Features Martial Talents Studies Known
1st +2 Martial Training, Careful Packer, Problem Solver 0
2nd +2 Scholastic Specialty 1
3rd +2 1 1
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 2 1
5th +3 2 2
6th +3 Scholastic Specialty ability 3 2
7th +3 3 3
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 4 3
9th +4 4 4
10th +4 Scholastic Specialty ability 5 4
11th +4 5 5
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 6 5
13th +5 6 6
14th +5 Scholastic Specialty ability 7 6
15th +5 7 7
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 8 7
17th +6 8 8
18th +6 Scholastic Specialty ability 9 8
19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 9 8
20th +6 Scholastic Specialty ability 10 9
Scholar.png

As a scholar, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d6 per scholar level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per scholar level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: Gain proficiency with alchemist’s supplies
Saving Throws: Dexterity and Intelligence
Skills: Choose any four.

Equipment

You start with equipment granted by your background, and either the following equipment or the equipment granted by your martial tradition; You must be proficient with the chosen class equipment to select it as part of your starting equipment:

  • (a) a scholar’s pack, (b) a diplomat’s pack, or (c) an explorer’s pack
  • (a) a martial or simple weapon, or (b) a shield
  • Alchemist’s supplies
  • Healer’s kit

Tradition

If this is your first level in any class, you can select a martial tradition.

Martial Training

You gain a martial talent at 2nd level and every two levels thereafter, as listed on Table: Scholar.

Careful Packer

You know that being prepared for any eventuality with a variety of useful tools is essential to success. You can use your key ability score in place of your Strength score when determining your carrying capacity. Additionally, When you spend a long rest inside a settlement and you have a backpack, belt pouches, a wagon, or another container you are traveling with, you can spend up to 5 times your scholar level in gp to create a ‘careful packer’ fund in that container. At any time when you need a mundane item that reasonably would have been found in that settlement, you can spend an action to search the container and produce that item. Subtract that item’s market value from the money in your careful packer fund. If you do not have enough money in your careful packer fund or the item simply couldn’t fit inside the container, you cannot produce the item. If you lose that container, you lose the careful packer money in that container.

Several Scholar class features provide you with the ability to create particular items. So long as you have a container on hand with at least 5 gp in its ‘careful packer’ fund, you are considered to have all the materials needed on hand to make and maintain these items.

Problem Solver

Your keen powers of observation and experimentation grant you canny abilities. You gain the Scout sphere and your choice of the Alchemy, Tinkerer, or Trap spheres.

Scholastic Specialty

At 2nd level, you choose a particular type of scholarship to specialize in: Archaeologist, Natural Philosopher, or Occultist, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your scholastic specialty grants you special benefits at 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th, 18th, and 20th levels.

Study

As a scholar, you gain knowledge wherever, whenever, and however you can. At 3rd level, you gain a single study of your choice. Your study options are detailed at the end of the class description. When you gain certain scholar levels, you gain additional studies of your choice, as shown in the Studies Known column of Table: Scholar. You cannot gain the same study twice. If a study calls for a saving throw, the DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your key ability modifier.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature



Scholastic Specialties

Three scholastic specialties are common among scholars. Although many variations exist, most of these specialists fall into one of three types: archaeologists, natural philosophers, and occultists.

Archaeologist

Archaeologists specialize in the study of history and culture, seeking adventures in dungeons not only for the glory that can be won but equally for the knowledge that might be uncovered. They study people and places to learn everything they can about the world and often master a significant number of skills to help them delve into ancient ruins in search of that knowledge.

First Study

You gain one study of your choice at 2nd level. The study doesn’t count against your number of studies known.

Jack of All Trades

Starting at 2nd level, you can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn’t already include your proficiency bonus.

Expertise

At 6th level, choose two of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.

At 14th level, you can choose another two skill proficiencies to gain this benefit.

Relic Hunter

At 10th level, you have gained a powerful understanding of the various magical relics that populate the world. You can attune up to four magic items at once. At 14th level, this increases to five magic items, and you ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of magic items. At 18th level, you can attune six magic items at once.

Rigorous Knowledge

At 20th level, you gain a +2 bonus to all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma checks and saving throws.

Natural Philosopher

Natural philosophers are scientists, studying anything they can discover about the workings of the wondrous world around them. They study mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, and sciences both magical and mundane, ever seeking a greater understanding of the workings of the world.

First Study

You gain the chemistry study at 2nd level. The study doesn’t count against your number of studies known.

Material Impositions

As a natural philosopher, you have learned that certain mundane materials, plants, or even creatures, properly utilized, can have unusual effects.

At 2nd level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain knowledge of a material imposition, chosen from the list below. So long as you have alchemist supplies available or a container within reach that contains any amount of careful packer fund, you have the materials needed to activate any material imposition if you have at least one hand free.

All material impositions have a special means of being activated. Activating a material imposition requires an action and that you spend your martial focus. Because of the precise handling required, activating a second imposition while a first is still active causes the first to immediately deactivate. If a material imposition calls for a saving throw, the DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your key ability modifier.

All material impositions also give you a means of adding effects to the flashbangs from your chemistry study. You cannot augment a single flashbang with more than one material imposition.

Ammonium Nitrate

Advanced research into various chemical reactions has taught you how to create substances that can drastically lower temperatures.

Activate: You cool the environment around you. For 10 minutes, you and all creatures within 30 feet of you gain resistance to fire damage and advantage on saving throws versus extreme heat or similar situations.

Flashbang: Your flashbang deals 1d4 cold damage. The damage increases by +1d4 at 5th (2d4), 11th (3d4), and 17th (4d4) level. The target must pass a Constitution save or have their movement speeds reduced by 10 feet for 2 rounds. This stacks if a target is hit multiple times.

Belladonna

Belladonna is a powerful poison, but in your careful hands can have many beneficial effects.

Activate: You grant a willing creature you can touch immunity to lycanthropy (suppressing any transformation they might be under). They also gain resistance to damage from natural weapons such as claws, fangs, spines, or horns. This lasts for a number of rounds equal to your key ability modifier.

Flashbang: The target must make a Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 round.

Brimstone

Brimstone, also known as sulfur, can ward off illness and disease when used in small and controlled amounts.

Activate: You fortify a target you can touch with brimstone, granting proficiency on Constitution saving throws for 1 minute. Any time a creature attempts to bite them or swallow them whole, that creature must succeed at a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 round.

Flashbang: You infuse the flashbang with brimstone, causing it to burn and smoke. The target suffers 1d6 points of fire damage, increasing by 1d6 at 5th (2d6), 11th (3d6), and 17th (4d6) level. In addition, the 5 ft. square where the flashbang exploded fills with smoke, becoming lightly obscured. The smoke dissipates naturally after 1 minute, or is dispersed in 1 round by strong winds.

Lodestone

Lodestone’s unusual properties often seem like magic to the uninitiated, but to you, it is a predictable and reliable tool.

Activate: You draw one primarily metal item or creature within 30 feet and no more than Medium size directly towards yourself or directly away from yourself. If it is a living creature or an item held or worn by a living creature, you must succeed on a key ability check contested by the target’s Strength check. Items are pulled into your hand or thrown 30 feet away, while creatures (or the creature inside metal armor) instead move 10 feet towards or away from you. This movement provokes opportunity attacks.

Flashbang: Your flashbang magnetizes the target. For 1 round, attacks against the target made with metallic weapons or by metal creatures are made with advantage.

Magnesium

You have learned to manipulate magnesium, which burns at extreme temperatures and sheds a brilliant white light.

Activate: You can create a brilliant magnesium torch in your hand that lasts for 1 hour and can be wielded as a club, dealing 1d6 fire damage in addition to its normal damage. This torch sheds bright light for a 30 feet radius and normal light for an additional 30 feet. On a critical hit, the target of your attack catches fire. The target takes 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can end this damage by using its action to make a DC 10 Dexterity check to extinguish the flames.

Flashbang: The target is blinded for 2 rounds on a failed saving throw instead of 1.

Ooze

Your alchemical studies branch out into learning how to cultivate, manipulate, and establish mastery over the strange creatures known as oozes.

You can grow a creature of the ooze type in a specially prepared vial during a long rest. The ooze must have an intelligence of no greater than 2 and a CR of no greater than 1/4 your class level. You can only have a total number of domesticated oozes equal to half your proficiency bonus.

Activate: You release an ooze from its vial, allowing it to quickly reconstitute and aid you on the battlefield. The ooze understands basic commands such as “attack,”, “defend,” or “move” from you and follows them to the best of its ability, but otherwise can’t be commanded. You can re-capture an ooze as a bonus action.

These domesticated oozes are volatile; if an ooze moves more than 100 feet away from you or if you release a new ooze without reclaiming the old one, the first ooze begins to lose cohesion and dissolves 2 rounds later, regardless of whether or not it returns to your side during that time. If an attack splits an ooze, you retain control of one of the oozes (chosen at the time the split occurs), and the other also dissolves 2 rounds later.

Flashbang: Your flashbang deals 1d6 points of acid damage, increasing by 1d6 at 5th (2d6), 11th (3d6), and 17th (4d6) level. The flashbang’s normal Constitution saving throw to avoid being blinded and deafened is replaced with a Dexterity saving throw.

Salt

Salt is known for its ability to ward off demons, undead, and other magical creatures.

Activate: You carefully lay out a 10 feet diameter circle of salt around yourself, creating a protective circle. While within this circle, a creature gains advantage on saving throws against magical effects originating from outside the circle. Summoned creatures and incorporeal undead cannot cross the circle of salt and cannot physically touch creatures if they must cross the circle to do so unless a creature inside the circle takes a hostile action against them, in which case they can touch that target normally. Summoned creatures cannot break the circle, though other creatures can do so as an action. Once the circle is broken, all of its benefits end.

Flashbang: The flashbang disrupts magical energies. Make a key ability check against a DC of 10 + the spell level of the lowest level magical effect on the target. On a successful check, the magic effect ends.

Mastered Imposition

At 20th level, you choose any one material imposition you know; you no longer need to expend your martial focus to activate the imposition. Your flashbangs created with that imposition have any damage increased by 1 die and its save DC increases by +1.

Occultist

Occultists specialize in the study of magic and the supernatural as an academic exercise, the way a natural philosopher might study math or chemistry, through rigorous observation and experimentation. While a wizard or a cleric might spend their time accumulating spells, the occultist questions everything, even the gods and the nature of magic itself, ever seeking more obscure truths. While an occultist might commune with gods and demons, their power comes from neither worship nor pacts but rather through the rigorous application of science to the supernatural.

First Study

You gain the arcane studies study at 2nd level. The study doesn’t count against your number of studies known.

Esoteries

At 2nd level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain a bit of supernatural knowledge. You gain an esotery from the following list. Each esotery gives you a series of spells you can add to your ritual book when your scholar level is equal to or greater than twice the spell’s level. You can use these spells as rituals, even if they don’t have the ritual tag.

  • Esotery of Bonds: Zone of Truth, Geas, Sequester
  • Esotery of Contact: Sending, Scrying, Telepathy
  • Esotery of Divination: Augury, Commune, Foresight
  • Esotery of Exorcism: Detect Evil and Good, Banishment, Imprisonment
  • Esotery of Manipulation: Suggestion, Mass Suggestion, Antipathy/Sympathy
  • Esotery of Mysteries: Detect Thoughts, Arcane Eye, True Seeing
  • Esotery of Necromancy: Unseen Servant, Speak With Dead, Create Undead
  • Esotery of Shadow: Nondetection, Seeming, Mind Blank
  • Esotery of Summoning: Find Familiar, Planar Binding, Gate
  • Esotery of Warding: Protection from Evil and Good, Magic Circle, Hallow

Master of Rituals

At 20th level, you only require 1 minute of work rather than 10 minutes to use a ritual.



Studies

If a study has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the study at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.

Aerodynamics

You gain the Athletics sphere. Additionally, you can build and maintain a number of gliders equal to your proficiency bonus, which grant a target a limited form of flight. Building and maintaining a glider can be done during a long rest, but they break after being used for a number of rounds equal to your scholar level.

Attaching or removing a glider from a willing target requires an action. While attached, the target’s land speed is cut in half, but they gain the ability to glide. The target falls 60 feet per round and suffers no falling damage, and can move 1 foot horizontally for every 2 feet they fall.

At 5th level, this improves to falling 30 feet per round and moving 2 feet horizontally for every foot they fall. At 11th level, this improves to a fly speed of 30 feet, and at 17th level this becomes a fly speed of 60 feet.

Arcane Studies

You have learned a number of spells that you can cast as rituals. These spells are written in a ritual book, which you must have in hand while casting one of them. You acquire a ritual book holding two 1st-level spells of your choice from any spell list. The spells you choose must have the ritual tag. You use your key ability modifier as your spellcasting ability for these spells. If you come across a spell in written form, such as a magical spell scroll or a wizard’s spellbook, you might be able to add it to your ritual book. The spell’s level can be no higher than half your scholar level (rounded up), and it must have the ritual tag. The process of copying the spell into your ritual book takes 2 hours and 50 gp per level of the spell. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it.

Astrology

You can observe the stars or study star charts during a long rest to gain insight into the events of the following day. You can choose to gain advantage on any one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw of your choice. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your key ability modifier, which resets the next time you take a long rest in which you can see the stars or study your star charts.

Biology

You gain a bonus talent from the Scout sphere. Whenever you have successfully used the scout ability on a creature, you can use your key ability in place of Strength or Dexterity when making attack rolls and damage rolls against the target.

Botany

You gain proficiency with the Survival skill. If you have or gain this proficiency from another source, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check that uses this skill.

You can move through any sort of non-magical undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at normal speed without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. You leave no trail in natural surroundings unless you choose to, and you cannot be tracked.

Chemistry

You know how to combine salts and minerals with a negligible cost to create unstable concoctions called flashbangs. You need alchemist’s supplies and both hands free to make flashbangs. A flashbang is an improvised thrown weapon with a range of 20 feet, similar to alchemist’s fire.

You can create a flashbang as an action, which explodes at the end of your next turn if not used to make an attack first, affecting whoever might be holding it. You can spend your martial focus to produce and throw a flashbang as part of the same Attack action.

If you hit a target with a flashbang, that target must pass a Constitution saving throw against your sphere DC or be blinded and deafened for 1 round. Whenever a creature fails their saving throw against one of your flashbangs, you can recover your martial focus as a bonus action.

Dowsing

You are adept at the art of dowsing, using crystals, rods, and other otherwise mundane objects to point to the location of a person, place, or thing. You become proficient with cartographer’s tools.

As an action, you can learn the direction to a specific thing of your choice, though you do not know the distance nor what natural obstacles might be in the way. You must have seen the thing you seek or an accurate representation of it (such as a detailed portrait) for this ability to work. If searching for something general (such as the nearest body of water, the nearest city, etc.), you need not have seen it or a representation before, but you also have no control over where the dowsing leads you (for example, seeking the nearest body of water could lead to a puddle or the ocean, and seeking the nearest city could lead to a bustling metropolis or the ruins of an ancient civilization). You cannot detect targets protected by a nondetection spell or a similar effect that blocks divinations.

Field Studies

Gain proficiency in three tools or skills of your choice.

Geometry

You can create amulets during a long rest out of special materials containing specific geometric designs that disrupt magic and protect their wearers. These amulets are fragile and require constant repair and fine-tuning to work correctly; you cannot maintain more amulets than your proficiency bonus, and an amulet can only aid its wearer once before it must be realigned, which can be done during a short rest. The amulet can be used a second time at 11th level and a third time at 17th level. Amulets also interfere with each other; if someone tries to use more than one at a time, neither function at all.

When you create an amulet, you can decide whether it is created out of crystal, gold, lead, or silver. Each material gives the amulet different properties:

  • Crystal: The creature gains advantage on saving throws made to maintain concentration and on Insight checks.
  • Gold: The creature gains advantage on saving throws against disease and magic from the Necromancy school or the Death sphere. Undead creatures have disadvantage to hit it with natural weapons.
  • Lead: The creature gains advantage on saving throws against Divination school and Divination sphere effects. Such effects don’t reveal information on the target unless the caster makes a spellcasting ability check against a DC of 10 + 1/2 your scholar level.
  • Silver: The creature has resistance to damage dealt with magic.

Linguistics

Learn any four languages.

Marine Studies

You gain the Athletics sphere. Additionally, you can build and maintain a number of nautical devices equal to your proficiency bonus, which can grant a target the ability to breathe underwater. This also protects the wearer from other sources of suffocation or harmful gasses or smoke. Building and maintaining a device can be done during a long rest, but they break after being used for a number of hours equal to your scholar level.

Attaching or removing a nautical device from a willing target requires an action. At 5th level, targets using a nautical device gain a 30 ft. swim speed. At 11th level, this improves to a swim speed of 40 feet, and at 17th level this becomes a swim speed of 50 feet.

Medicine

You become proficient with the Medicine skill. If you have or gain this proficiency from another source, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check that uses this skill.

As an action, you can spend a use from a healer’s kit to aid a creature you can touch, either ending the poisoned condition on them or allowing the creature to expend a hit die to heal, treating the die as if it rolled its maximum and adding your class level to the total hit points restored.

Meteorology

You can spend a long rest augmenting a quarterstaff with mechanical and alchemical attachments that allows you to channel, store, and redirect electrical energy. While wielding this quarterstaff, you can spend a reaction whenever you would be damaged by lightning to negate an amount of damage up to 5 x your class level. You can also spend an action to create a small localized storm around yourself that can be maintained each round as a bonus action. So long as the storm is present, on your turn you can choose one target within 60 feet to strike with lightning, dealing 1d8 lightning damage.

This damage increases by +1d8 at 5th (2d8), 11th (3d8), and 17th (4d8) level, and a successful Dexterity saving throw negates this damage.

Physics

You understand motion in ways few can comprehend. You gain the Brute sphere, and you can use your key ability in place of Strength when making opposed checks to shove a creature, to begin, maintain, or escape a grapple, and for all opposed checks and damage called for by the Brute sphere.

Planar Studies

You gain the Calling and Diagram advanced Conjuration talents (from Spheres of Power), as well as a pool of 2 spell points that can only be used with the Calling talent. This study is only available if the DM allows the use of the Calling and Diagram advanced talents.

Psychology

You know the science behind behavior. You gain the Warleader sphere and can use your key ability in place of Charisma when making Persuasion, Deception, and Intimidation checks.

Superstition

You have studied the science of luck and coincidence. You can cast find familiar as a ritual. The familiar gained always takes the form of an animal associated with bad luck, such as a black cat.

As an action, you can spend your focus to command your familiar to use its action to set off a series of minor events that result in remarkably bad luck for anyone affected; all creatures within 20 feet of the familiar other than you subtract 1d4 from all attack rolls, Dexterity checks, and Perception checks for a number of rounds equal to your key ability modifier (minimum 1).

Zoology

You gain the Beastmastery sphere. You can add your key ability modifier to your effective level when determining the total Challenge Rating of creatures you can tame. If this would push your effective level above 20, you increase your total by +1/2 CR (rounded down) per additional effective level. If you possess the Beast Companion variant, you can either tame two beasts (instead of one) whose individual challenge rating doesn’t exceed 0 or tame a single beast whose challenge rating doesn’t exceed 1. In either case, the maximum challenge rating of the beasts you can tame increases by 1 step at 5th level (CR 1/8, CR 2), 11th level (CR 1/4, CR 3), and 17th level (CR 1/2, CR 4).



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