Prestige Class Spotlight 6: Arcane Savant
They say that anything can be accomplished with magic given enough time and patience, including the creation of powerful magical empires, and the deciphering of those arcane secrets in later ages when those empires are long gone.
Arcane savants are one of many specialists focused in learning the secrets of the past, and are particularly adept at using magical relics and the like. If you are entering the ruins of a civilization teeming with powerful magic, there are few better choices to take with you than these specialized mages.
I do, however, take issue with the name, for while these mages are indeed specialized geniuses, the word savant has become a charged term associated with stereotypes about neurodivergent people. Keep that in mind while choosing to play or allow this particular archetype in your game.
Despite the name, arcane savants need not be limited to arcane casters. Any spellcasting class can benefit from these techniques should they have the dedication and desire to.
Obviously, spellcasting is a big part of this class, though the initial training somewhat hampers their progress in that regard.
They start by learning much about the secrets of spellcraft and magical lore, and are quite adept at activating magical items.
They also tap into the magical lore associated with other disciplines, learning versions of spells appropriate to their discipline, though oftentimes, they take a bit more magic to cast than the original version.
They are also experts at finding, resisting, and disabling symbol-based magic or traps.
These mages also learn tricks to quickly analyze magical items they find with great detail using a small reserve of energy, even going further at later levels of mastery to fully process and identify such items.
Most magical items require command words, which can make them difficult to use when stealth is required, but these mystics learn more subtle methods of activation, doing so without uttering a word.
Finally, dealing with hostile magic from ancient defenses or rival explorers is extremely important, and these mages learn to convert their magic into dispelling with ease.
If you’re interested in a mage that specializes in dungeon crawling, this may be exactly what you’re looking for. It is only a 7 level prestige class, meaning you’ll also gain access to further abilities of your main class as well, so there is that. Personally I would recommend a utility caster build with this, but you can do all sorts of things with it depending on your class of choice.
When I first looked into this class, I assumed it was something of a proto-arcanist, what with the ability to take spells from other classes being a very “beyond the ordinary rules of magic” thing to do. You could certainly play that up, but in truth the theme of this class is having a keen understanding and knack for ancient magics and the traps they use to protect their holdings. As such, things such as the sin magic specialist wizards, or other builds with a focus on lore are good choices.
Ruins of the fallen gillman empire of Imas dot the reefs surrounding the Imashek atoll, many of which are still filled with magical relics. Occasionally treasure hunters seek them out for plunder, such as the aquatic elf Vedurse, whom has an uncanny knack for seeing the runic traps that ward the vaults.
Creators of many a magical horror, the Borun Empire once favored death dogs as guardians, incorporating them into their art and security as a way to symbolize protection. Sometimes they even had constructs modeled after them or placed powerful specimens in stasis to guard their holdings forevermore. Understanding the runic spells needed to bypass these guardians is the first step to exploring such places.
Not all ancient secrets remain buried, and the powerful Cabal of Servin rules over the city from the remains of the Tower of Servin, former religious center of the nation. There, the gifted are taught how to best manipulate runic magic, not only to delve deeper into the tower, which they vexingly leave the defenses of intact, but also to use them against those who would challenge them.