Horizon Walker Terrain Mastery: Arcane

[Rystil Arden]

Sometimes a Horizon Walker walks the paths arcane, exploring ancient ruins of long-forgotten civilisations, stuying ancient tomes, wondering about the arcane mysteries of the towers, and cramming all night for a test on flow diagrams for Secrets of the Six Towers. Such a Horizon Walker unlocks arcane secrets similar to those earned by other horizon walkers for their respective terrains:

Knowledge (Arcana) and Spellcraft are Horizonwalker class skills for you, and you can use Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, and Read Magic each once per day as a spell-like ability with caster level equal to your character level. You gain a +1 insight bonus to attacks and damage against arcane creatures.

Note: Arcane creatures are defined as creatures created or spontaneously spawned by magic and who thus originally have no ordinary terrain (such as forest), residing in ancient ruins or spreading outwards from a failed experiment. This includes most constructs, many undead, some elementals and fey, and a few magical beasts and aberrations that have in their descriptions that they were created by twisted magics. Whether or not a creature counts as arcane is up to the GM's discretion, in much the same way that whether a creature counts as 'forest' terrain could be open to discretion (for instance: a goblin who was born in a city, whose mother was a mountain goblin born in the forest and whose father was a normal goblin born in the hills who lived in the forest and then moved to the city). In any case, it never includes dragons or ordinary humanoid arcane casters. It also does not include summoned creatures unless those summoned creatures would meet the description even if they were not summoned (so a golem summoned by a Summon Golem spell would count, but not a summoned Celestial Badger or Succubus).

Summary of Arcane Creatures: = Creatures created by arcane means (most constructs/many undead), as well as those either greatly influenced by arcane terrain or who's infulence helps create arcane terrain, such as some Elementals, Fey, Aberations, Magical Beasts, or rarely other creature types. Summoned creatures do not count as arcane unless they would already count without being summoned.

 

[Bront]

I have a personal interest in this, and I actualy have a character pending approval on this, so I am going to ask that this get looked at quickly. However, I won't vote untill there has been discussion and others have voted (and Idealy I would like to not vote, but if it's 2 yes and 0 no, I will).

This would normaly be a Planer Terrain? or a standard one?

 

[Rystil Arden]

I have a personal interest in this, and I actualy have a character pending approval on this, so I am going to ask that this get looked at quickly. However, I won't vote untill there has been discussion and others have voted (and Idealy I would like to not vote, but if it's 2 yes and 0 no, I will).

This would normaly be a Planer Terrain? or a standard one?

A normal terrain. This isn't really esoteric and obscure like being able to walk the planes--anyone with an interest in old ruins and magic can get this.

 

[Bront]

Cool

And yes, it looks fair compared to the other bonuses. The spells aren't that exciting (They subject to ASF?), and you don't get extra skill points to learn the skills. Other terrains give you large skill bonuses, darkvision, immunity to fatigue and exhaustion for the most part, and that's not even the planar ones.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Check the bold part

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp)
Usually, a spell-like ability works just like the spell of that name. A few spell-like abilities are unique; these are explained in the text where they are described.

A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus or have an XP cost. The user activates it mentally. Armor never affects a spell-like ability’s use, even if the ability resembles an arcane spell with a somatic component.

A spell-like ability has a casting time of 1 standard action unless noted otherwise in the ability or spell description. Spell-like abilities cannot be used to counterspell, nor can they be counterspelled. In all other ways, a spell-like ability functions just like a spell:

Using a spell-like ability while threatened provokes attacks of opportunity. It is possible to make a Concentration check to use a spell-like ability defensively and avoid provoking an attack of opportunity. A spell-like ability can be disrupted just as a spell can be. Spell-like abilities are subject to spell resistance and to being dispelled by dispel magic. They do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated.

A spell-like ability usually has a limit on how often it can be used. A spell-like ability that can be used at will has no use limit.

For creatures with spell-like abilities, a designated caster level defines how difficult it is to dispel their spell-like effects and to define any level-dependent variables (such as range and duration) the abilities might have. The creature’s caster level never affects which spell-like abilities the creature has; sometimes the given caster level is lower than the level a spellcasting character would need to cast the spell of the same name. If no caster level is specified, the caster level is equal to the creature’s Hit Dice. The saving throw (if any) against a spell-like ability is:

10 + the level of the spell the ability resembles or duplicates + the creature’s Cha modifier.

Some spell-like abilities duplicate spells that work differently when cast by characters of different classes. A monster’s spell-like abilities are presumed to be the sorcerer/wizard versions. If the spell in question is not a sorcerer/wizard spell, then default to cleric, druid, bard, paladin, and ranger, in that order.

 

[Knight Otu]

In any case, it never includes dragons or ordinary humanoid arcane casters.

Thanks, that was my biggest worry - that the Arcane Creature category might include those two. That would make it too broad. Compared to other Terrain Masteries, it looks less immediately useful for its noncombat benefit, and more useful for its combat benefit (it is still relatively broad). I'm a bit leery of the additional class skills, but not overly so.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Thanks, that was my biggest worry - that the Arcane Creature category might include those two. That would make it too broad. Compared to other Terrain Masteries, it looks less immediately useful for its noncombat benefit, and more useful for its combat benefit (it is still relatively broad). I'm a bit leery of the additional class skills, but not overly so.

Yeah, the class skills aren't really going to be a major benefit (in fact, I can't see how they could really be much of a benefit for a HW other than for RP reasons). The class only gets 4+Int, sadly, so it's already stretched to the brink to keep up the critical ranger or rogue skills.

 

[LiquidBlue]

I belive that this mastery ought to a regular Terrain mastery - three cantrips 1/day does not rise to the level of a Planar Terrain Mastery. In keeping with the flavor of the class, I think that it is necessary to link the mastery to some sort of terrain. Perhaps enworld could have regions left desolate by the discharge of ancient magics, perhaps the result of ancient wars. These regions could be called scarred lands. Or to reduce complictions, forget about some new terrain, and use the terrain around the towers, calling such terrain "Tower lands."

Addressing the issue of arcane creatures, Knowledge(Arcana) gives information about constructs, dragons, and magical beasts. If we take out dragons, this terrain mastery could give a bonus against constructs and magical beasts. Actually, I would remove constructs as well, just because they do not naturally occur, to leave this terrain giving a bonus against magical beasts. Thematicly this makes sense as whatever terrain is linked to this mastery, survival in that terrain is likely to require an understanding of magical beasts.

I don't know what to think about adding to the skill list. Perhaps a comprise could be that like certain racial substitution levels, those two skills are added to the horizon walker's skill list only for the level when this mastery is taken.

 

[Bront]

Actualy, racial sub skills are added to the class list permanently. That's the only permanent change.

 

[Rystil Arden]

I belive that this mastery ought to a regular Terrain mastery - three cantrips 1/day does not rise to the level of a Planar Terrain Mastery. In keeping with the flavor of the class, I think that it is necessary to link the mastery to some sort of terrain. Perhaps enworld could have regions left desolate by the discharge of ancient magics, perhaps the result of ancient wars. These regions could be called scarred lands. Or to reduce complictions, forget about some new terrain, and use the terrain around the towers, calling such terrain "Tower lands."

Addressing the issue of arcane creatures, Knowledge(Arcana) gives information about constructs, dragons, and magical beasts. If we take out dragons, this terrain mastery could give a bonus against constructs and magical beasts. Actually, I would remove constructs as well, just because they do not naturally occur, to leave this terrain giving a bonus against magical beasts. Thematicly this makes sense as whatever terrain is linked to this mastery, survival in that terrain is likely to require an understanding of magical beasts.

I don't know what to think about adding to the skill list. Perhaps a comprise could be that like certain racial substitution levels, those two skills are added to the horizon walker's skill list only for the level when this mastery is taken.

Interesting thoughts:

First--it is indeed linked to terrain--arcane areas, like ancient ruins, floating crystalline beacons left behind by forgotten wizards, null void spheres where energy is sucked into a vortex by an ancient magic, etc.

Second--the point is that this is a terrain mastery over arcane creations. Thus, usual magical beasts would actual not be covered, but most constructs would. Specifically, it was created for a Horizon Walker for went to a magical academy as a specialised class feature to represent his training.

As to the class skills--it is not really a very powerful ability, and I find Arcane Terrain Mastery to still be weaker than most of the others. There's no real need to limit it to one level--if a Horizon Walker is one of the few who takes this terrain mastery (I know I would never take it except for RP reasons), then you sometimes study strange and magical occurences, though you do have to spend precious skill points on it.