White Arcanist
Original Tabletop source: Heroes of Light
Note: The below describes a class not yet fully implemented in Time of Unparalleled Darkness, and thus may change in its final implementation.
The white arcanists possesses great knowledge and power, along with the responsibility that this entails. He dares to fathom the secrets of necromancy, but rather than most necromancers, he is careful to preserve the sanctity of his own soul while doing so. The white arcanist not only risks the possibility of corruption by dabbling in the necromantic arts, but is painfully aware of the temptation he and others face with such powers. Only the very virtuous and scrupulous can walk the narrow path between these two fates. If the white arcanist can complete the dangerous journey of mastering his skills, he may overcome the limitations of life and death.
Class Niche
The white arcanist is the safer, but less overtly-powerful cousin of the necromancer. While they do not have as deep a progression, and cannot command undead like the necromancer can, for they dare not bandy that close to the sun, so to speak, they gain a greater ability over necromancy spells per se than the necromancer. The necromancer's dread touch is beyond them, but their rigorous practice of that school allows them to overcome magical defences more easily, and they can foil their more evil-adjacent cousins with their ability to elude detection of the undead and rebuke them.
Uniquely, the white arcanist gains the ability to speak to the souls of the recently deceased, which allows them to speak to ghost creatures in certain dungeons, and communicate with player ghosts (subject to the other usual rules of keeping things in character.) This makes them invaluable in rescue teams or entrenched defenders, for they can coordinate finding and retrieving fallen comrades. This also offers a great deal of roleplay opportunities, since there is a great deal of mysticism around speaking to the dead.
Roleplaying a White Arcanist
Backgrounds of a White Arcanist
Those whom study necromancy in this way without seeking to command the undead are often those whom seek more metaphysical understanding. From Ezran esoterics whom seek a greater understanding of the nature of the Mists to the scholar delving deeper into these waters than most, the chief proponent uniting them is study. In this, the white arcanist offers an interesting contrast: on one hand, their magic is intuitive, and comes not from learned and prepared spells, but from a deep understanding of the Mists. On the other hand, to achieve such an understanding entails a great deal of research. They are pretty much fated to be an academic or self-taught scholar from some corner or another.
White arcanists are a tradition of the Core. While outlanders may learn it once they come to Ravenloft, they would not have prior knowledge of such arts, saving perhaps existing preconceptions of necromancy as it is in their place of origin.
Alignment and Religion
The white arcanist lives on a knife's edge. The art they seek to refine, practice, and turn to goodly ends is one that is deeply corruptive, and invites the attention of the Dark Powers. To achieve these arts, they must keep a fairly scrupulously virtuous soul. While their methods for keeping to that straight and narrow path vary, they must nonetheless strive for that. Those seeking more neutral or evil ends are better served seeking the more openly dark arts of the white arcanists cousins, the necromancer.
Most white arcanists find themselves drifting from religions they may have held in their youth as they grow deeper in their studies, as the faiths of the Divine of the Core offer little explanations for the phenomenon they will witness and explore as white arcanists. The one exception to this is the Church of Ezra, whose Third Sect is known to have some dalliances with such arts in the past. It should be noted that the Eternal Order considers white arcanists just as misguided-at-best as necromancers, and will chafe and grow hostile at the expressions of their power. To the Eternal Order priest, a white arcanist in living death is just another undead whom must return to the Grey prior to the Hour of Ascension, and they will react accordingly.
The White Arcanist as an Adventurer
White Arcanists occupy a strange spot as a member of an adventuring party. They are often the "plan B" - the guy who might not be in the front-line and might not be the first spellcaster you'd want, but they are absolutely the one they want if things go awry. Between the ability to communicate with the dead, and the master white arcanists ability to go incorporeal, they are the best candidates around to retrieve fallen comrades if the danger was too great - or to find one if they are slain and separated form the party.
That isn't to say they aren't powerful arcane casters in their own right: their ability to spontaneously cast spells, and their Major Arcana as they cultivate them, give them a great deal of latitude as a support caster. They may never achieve the complete diversity of a wizard, or the sheer power of a warmage, but they are still not a force to be trifled with when it comes to their spellcasting, especially since the ability to spontaneously cast spells gives them the same lateral ability as a sorcerer, albeit tempered in one school at the cost of another.
White arcanists find themselves neither loved nor hated by other casters, their unusual mix of an intuitive casting they still must dedicate great study to both foreign and familiar to them, but they tend to get along well with the more disciplined martials such as monk, and warmages tend to respect their disciplined study, if not understand their focus. Paladins and clerics tend to tolerate them when they do not accept them, since it is moderately-common knowledge such arcanists must scrupulously adhere to their own virtuosity. Their one true rival is their darker cousin, Necromancers, whom they abhor as representing all they try not to be, while necromancers tend to view white arcanists as shallow dabblers whom do not and cannot understand the true power of necromantic magic.
White Arcanists in Society
While relatively rare to begin with, the white arcanist would not be terribly unwelcome in scholarly circles so long as the domain permits such; Dementleiu is famous - or infamous, if you prefer - for outlawing any necromancy, so the chief academic institution in the Core is not a place for it. They generally find themselves in scholarly circles whereever they thrive; or in the Third Sect of the Ezran church, which constitutes the one religious institution where the art finds some purchase. Such studies, while not openly accepted, are not rebuked either by the Third Sect, which ever seeks to understand their Goddess, and rules out little knowledge gained in the pursuit of such.
Differences from tabletop Ravenloft
- The morality requirement for White Arcanist is virtuous in Ravenloft. For Time of Unparalleled Darkness, it has been lowered to Moral.
- Knowledge (Arcana) is considered part of the Occultism meta skill in Time of Unparalleled Darkness, and the requirement for and class skill of Occultism is its replacement.
- Time of Unparalleled Darkness adds the pitfall that a level 10 white arcanists who falls will die in a difficult-to-revive fashion, reflecting the unusual and unique state their body is in with Living Death.
- Skill points have been increased from 2 per level to 4 per level.
- The restrictions on spell penetration are technically demanding to add, so a more general application of giving spell penetration as a simple bonus feat has been substituted.
- The domain requirement for Arcane Knowledge has been dropped. It is now given as applying the Occultism skill bonus to certain Lore checks.
- In Time of Unparalleled Darkness, unlike tabletop, a white arcanist who falls loses the Arcane Knowledge ability; to counter-balance the domain restriction removal.
- Due to the engine limitations, Necromantic Focus cannot be implemented as described in tabletop (forcing necromancy or a chosen school). We implement this instead as them having the Necromancy school as a specialist school, and they cannot learn spells from its school of opposition, and lose all spells learnt from that school.
- The white arcanist whom is Blessed can cast gentle repose on any other, not just other Blessed characters, unlike tabletop.
- "Resistant to Mind-Affecting Spells" has been named Steel Mind for the sake of some flavour. The actual affect remains the same.
- All per day abilities have been changed to per rest, per NWN's engine and making the experience more pleasant for players.
Class Requirements
To qualify to become a white arcanist (WhA), a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Base Attack Bonus: +2
- Occultism: 5 ranks
- Feats: Spell Focus: Necromancy
- Morality: The white arcanist must be Moral or above to gain the class, and must maintain that to retain it.
A white arcanist whom falls below moral to penitent or below loses most [1] their white arcanist abilities and cannot progress further in their class. A white arcanist whom does not regain their virtue beyond a certain window of time (see Redemption) reverts to sorcerer, and forever loses those white arcanist abilities. They cannot regain white arcanist beyond this point.
[1]: The white arcanist retains their Major Arcana abilities if they fall, even if they fail redemption, but if they no longer have their white arcanist levels, these abilities' use may gain the Dark Powers' attention, and risk Dark Powers#Checks.
A level 10 arcanist in Living Death whom falls, dies, and cannot be raised or resurrected normally, nor can they be animated as an undead corpse, due to their unique state between life and death. They must be brought back with true resurrection, at which point if the player accepts resurrection, they instantly revert their white arcanist levels to sorcerer as if they had failed Redemption.
Class Features
- Hit Dice: d4
- Skills: Alchemy (Int), Concentration (Int), Metalworking (Int), Lore (Int), Occultism (Int), Spellcraft (Int)
- Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int Modifier
- Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The white arcanist is proficient with simple weapons. They have no proficiency with shields or armour. As an arcane spellcaster, they are subject to Arcane Spell Failure for spells with a somatic components, which can cause their spells to fail.
Class Abilities
Arcane Knowledge
Extraordinary Ability
Beginning at 1st level, just as a Bard picks up stray knowledge while wandering the land, the white arcanists learn a vast amount of arcane and occult lore while travelling the land. A white arcanist adds their Occultism skill to Lore checks to identify magic items, and to certain lore checks to identify marks and sites in the world.
Spell Penetration
Bonus Feat
At 1st level, the white arcanist gains spell penetration as a bonus feat if they do not already possess it.
Necromantic Focus
Extraordinary Ability
Beginning with the 2nd level, the disciplined focus of the white arcanists studies leads them into specialization of the school of Necromancy. They gain bonuses to their Necromancy school spells, and can no longer gain spells from its school of opposition.
If the white arcanist is Blessed, they can cast gentle repose at will on others, without inviting the attention of the Dark Powers.
Major Arcana
Spell-Like Ability
As they pursue their abilities, white arcanists gain the ability to cast certain spells, alongside their usual spell preparations. These spells are known collectively as his Major Arcana and the white arcanist does not invite the attention of the Dark powers or chance a Dark Powers Check casting them. The white arcanist retains their Major Arcana if they "fall", but they lose the protection, and at that point would be at risk of drawing the Dark Powers. Note that continuing to use Major Arcana after a failed Redemption period is more risky of the Dark Powers' attention than the mere casting of spells that attract them.
At 2nd level, the white arcanist gains the fear Major Arcana, and can cast fear three times per rest, as if a sorcerer of their combined arcane caster level (ie, adding up all their caster levels).
At 4th level, the white arcanist gains the disrupt undead Major Arcana, and can cast disrupt undead three times per rest.
At 8th level, the white arcanist gains the invisibility to undead Major Arcana, and can cast invisibility to undead 24 times per rest. If their invisibility is broken by detection, they cannot cast it again until the next rest.
At 9th level, the white arcanists gains the ethereal jaunt Major Arcana, and can cast ethereal jaunt once per rest.
Darkvision
Supernatural ability
At 3rd level, the white arcanist gains darkvision of 60 feet. If they already have darkvision, they add another 60 feet to their range.
Steel Mind
Supernatural Ability
At 5th level, the white arcanist gains a +6 sacred bonus to spells with the mind-effecting descriptor (such as command, hypnotism, or suggestion.)
Living Death
Supernatural Ability
At 10th level, the white arcanists command of necromancy becomes so great, that they in essence become an intelligent undead, though not entirely - an incorporeal, somewhat material being not unlike a Ghost whom can manifest. To represent this state, the following changes occur:
- The character's type changes to undead. It gains the incorporeal subtype.
- All current hit dice become d12s, future hit dice are as per class progression.
- A white arcanist that manifests in the flesh has a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus, or +1, whichever is higher.
- Unarmed attacks only affect ethereal creatures unless they are manifested.
- Attacks with weapons only affect ethereal creatures unless the weapon is magic in nature.
They also gain three special abilities:
- Rejuvenation (Su): Due to their nature, white arcanists are difficult to destroy through simple combat. The "destroyed" or "killed" white arcanist can return after a short time. To represent this, they do not suffer any respawn penalty, and they do not leave a body. They must return in a Safe Area. If they return in the presence of NPCs, those NPCs are subject to a Horror Check (with certain exceptions such as guards), and all the consequences that entails. A white arcanist in the Living Death state can only be killed through a Destruction spell, certain powerful artifacts, death at the hands of a Darklord or certain other powerful beings, or by casting a true resurrection spell while they still are present and not discorporated. If they are killed in this manner, they do not leave a corpse, and can only resurrect through respawning with the normal restrictions and penalties of respawning.
- Turn Resistance (Su): The white arcanist is effectively undead, and can be turned like undead, but they gain +4 on all saves to resist this effect.
- Ghostly Beauty (Su): The white arcanist while incorporeal gains 50% concealment, a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Search, Move Silently, and Spot checks, and +4 to their Charisma. In their manifested form, they retain their Charisma bonus, but not the other effects.
A white arcanist gains the following special attacks. The DC is 10 + 1/2 the white arcanists overall level + their Charisma modifier.
- Corrupting Gaze (Su): A white arcanist can blast living beings with a glance, up to a range of 30 feet. Creatures that meet their gaze must succeed at a Fortitude save or take 2d10 points of magic damage and 1d4 points of ability damage to their Charisma. They may use this ability once per rest.
- Draining Touch (Su): A white arcanist whom hits a living target with a touch attack when they are not Manifested drains 1d4 points of the target's strength. On each such successful attack, they heal 5 points of damage. They may use this ability 5 times per rest.
- Frightful Moan (Su): While most spirits whom try to communicate with the living cause mere disquieting moans, the white arcanist can weaponize this to cause terror in them around them. A white arcanist can emit this moan within a 30-foot radius. All creatures within that radius must succeed on a Will save or become panicked for 2d4 rounds. This is a sonic necromantic mind-effecting fear effect. They may use this ability once per rest.
- Manifestation (Su): The white arcanist can travel freely between the near ethereal and the Demiplane of Dread. Practically speaking, this means they can choose to be incorporeal or flesh-and-blood at will. To manifest is a standard action which can be interrupted if they are damaged. A white arcanist that is incorporeal cannot cast spells that target anything but itself. Any NPCs that witness a Manifestation (with certain exceptions such as guards) are subject to a Horror Check, and all the consequences this entails.
A white arcanist in the near ethereal plane is not considered extra-planar. They are a being of two homes, belonging both to the Demiplane of Dread, and the near ethereal.
