White Arcanist
Original Tabletop source: Heroes of Light
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 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
Alignment and Religion
The White Arcanist as an Adventurer
White Arcanists in Society
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.
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 their white arcanist abilities. They cannot regain white arcanist beyond this point.
[1]: The regain 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
Spell Penetration
Bonus Feat
At 1st level, the white arcanist gains spell penetration as a bonus feat if they do not already possess it.
