Arcanist

All living things contain the energy of magic, and anyone may harness it into spells with training and discipline. Some take this further, though, and study techniques to reforge their very soul to be better at channelling mana. There are as many methods to this as there are mystic traditions, from the bookish wizard's alchemical preparations to the silent monk's intense meditation to the wild barbarian's pagan sacrifices and rituals. The Arcanists' soul is forced through a crucible of mystic flame, and isn't quite human when he emerges from the other end. His command of magic, though, is second to none.

ARCANIST CLASS FEATURES AND MASTERY

Mastery Progressions

The Arcanist is highly skilled in Arcane matters, but is not predisposed to any other particular field. He may choose any Mastery category to be his Primary and Secondary categories.

Mystic BAB

The Arcanist's studies do not tend toward the martial, and so he is not very skilled using traditional weapons. However, his natural affinity for magic allows him greater facility with battlespells. Whenever casting a battlespell, use the value in the Mystic BAB column. Otherwise, use the BAB column.

Class Features

Arcane Nature: The first step of your evolution is to internalize the nature of magic itself, granting you insight into the mysteries of magic. You gain a bonus Arcana feat of your choice, though you must still respect any prerequisites the feat may have. As well, by concentrating for a round you may discern the auras that surround people and objects infused with mana. This does not increase your normal sight range or level of detail in any way, but merely allows you to immediately tell whether something you can see is magical. The auras may also give you some clue as the nature of the creature's or object's abilities.

Crystalline Spirit: All living creatures overflow with mana, though it is too unfocused to be used in its natural form. The Arcanist hardens and focuses his soul into a spiritual prism, allowing him to channel this latent power into his spells. He gains a number of Focus tokens each turn equal to half his Arcanist level.

Chaotic Wellspring: Power swirls within the Arcanist, potent yet unformed. At times it bursts forth in new forms, summoned by unconscious need to the Arcanist's aid. The Arcanist gains a flexible bonus feat, identical to the Man-at-Arms' Wildcard feat, except that the feat must be chosen from the Arcane category and may have a maximum mastery equal to the Arcanist's Arcane Mastery -2.

Soul Alignment: While the Arcanist's overall transformation is deliberately driven, some aspects of it arise automatically, without the Arcanist's conscious volition. As he uses certain spells, his soul naturally aligns in patterns that favor them, allowing the spells to be channeled more easily and with greater power. At 5th level, choose a single Focus Option of a single spell. That Option requires one less Focus Token than normal to activate. This may reduce an Option's cost to zero, but not below. Options that can be bought multiple times count as separate Options for this purpose. For example, both of the Focus Options of Aegis EM3 can be bought multiple times for different energies. You may align yourself with the first one to gain +4 DR against a single energy type for free, but you must still pay Focus tokens as normal to gain DR against any other energy type.

At 9th level and every four levels therafter (13th, 17th), choose an additional Focus Option. This may be from the same or a different spell. In addition, at each such interval, choose a Focus Option that has already been chosen for this ability, and reduce it's cost by an additional token.

Arcane Mind: At 7th level the Arcanist reaches the next plateau in his forced evolution. While lesser mages must rely on the mystic resonance of specially attuned talismans to work their battlespells properly, the Arcanist at this level of power can manipulate his internal energy to create a personal resonance. The Arcanist still requires a talisman to focus his will through, but it no longer needs to be attuned to the specific spell he is casting - any mystic item may be used as a talisman without penalty. However, masterwork bonuses from well-crafted talismans still apply only to the spells the talismans are attuned to.

Arcane Body: By 11th level the Arcanist's spiritual presence is becoming more powerful than his physical body. He can suborn his mundane flesh to his will to achieve greater heights of power than ever before. Whenever the Arcanist Overchannels, he can recover from mana burn by rolling a 19 or a 20.

Arcane Mastery: The 19th level Arcanist is at the pinnacle of his strength, and his naked will rends reality before him. He no longer requires a talisman at all to work his battlespells, and may cast as a purely mental action. However, he must still use an attuned talisman to benefit from masterwork bonuses, similar to his Arcane Mind ability. As well, whenever he Overchannels, he can recover from the mana burn by rolling a 16+.