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<blockquote data-quote="Stormrunner" data-source="post: 1855907" data-attributes="member: 13471">There are some important changes.The new Alienist has Alignment: any nonlawful. (I don't really agree with this; in many Lovecraftian stories (which is what they're trying to recreate with the Alienist) it's an obsession with math or science that leads the unfortunate narrator to discover Colors Man Was Not Meant To Know and the like.)You now need only Knowledge: the planes 8 ranks - Knowledge:arcana 8 ranks has been dropped.You now only need to know at least one 3rd-level summoning spell - knowing a 3rd-level divination spell has been dropped.The required feat has changed from Alertness to Augment Summoning (which has a prerequisite, Spell Focus:Conjuration, that they fail to mention.&nbsp; Sloppy.)The alienist no longer gets Alchemy, Handle Animal, or Speak Language as class skills.Under the old rules for the Mad Certainty class feature, the DM would pick a type of creature (&quot;snakes, spiders, birds, or insects&quot; are suggested), and the alienist then gets a -2 to saving throws, attack rolls, and Charisma-based skill and ability checks vs. that type of critter.&nbsp; The critter likewise gets a +2 to AC and saving throws vs. the alienist.&nbsp; With Insane Certainty these numbers increase to -6/+6.Under the new rules, the alienist gets a -4 on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Handle Animal checks, rising to -10 with Insane Certainty.&nbsp; (The Handle Animal penalty doesn't apply to pseudonatural critters.)I've never been happy with the &quot;certainty&quot; features, and the changes didn't improve things any IMO.&nbsp; Woo hoo, an extra 6 hit points.&nbsp; I think I'll run right out and engage in melee now.&nbsp; In exchange you get an ocassionally-crippling phobia (3.0) or a complete lack of social skills (3.5).&nbsp; Apparently in 3.5 all alienists are antisocial loners (another assumption not borne out by the literature: the artist Pickham, for example, was popular (and described as having &quot;a strange, febrile charisma&quot;) despite his eccentricities and the disturbing nature of his paintings).&nbsp; No cabals of Cthulhu-worshippers here, nope.&nbsp; I would have been happier to see somthing like Mad Certainty: +2 to Will saves; Insane Certainty: +4 to Will saves, +2 to Fort saves.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Stormrunner, post: 1855907, member: 13471"] There are some important changes. The new Alienist has Alignment: any nonlawful. (I don't really agree with this; in many Lovecraftian stories (which is what they're trying to recreate with the Alienist) it's an obsession with math or science that leads the unfortunate narrator to discover Colors Man Was Not Meant To Know and the like.) You now need only Knowledge: the planes 8 ranks - Knowledge:arcana 8 ranks has been dropped. You now only need to know at least one 3rd-level summoning spell - knowing a 3rd-level divination spell has been dropped. The required feat has changed from Alertness to Augment Summoning (which has a prerequisite, Spell Focus:Conjuration, that they fail to mention. Sloppy.) The alienist no longer gets Alchemy, Handle Animal, or Speak Language as class skills. Under the old rules for the Mad Certainty class feature, the DM would pick a type of creature ("snakes, spiders, birds, or insects" are suggested), and the alienist then gets a -2 to saving throws, attack rolls, and Charisma-based skill and ability checks vs. that type of critter. The critter likewise gets a +2 to AC and saving throws vs. the alienist. With Insane Certainty these numbers increase to -6/+6. Under the new rules, the alienist gets a -4 on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Handle Animal checks, rising to -10 with Insane Certainty. (The Handle Animal penalty doesn't apply to pseudonatural critters.) I've never been happy with the "certainty" features, and the changes didn't improve things any IMO. Woo hoo, an extra 6 hit points. I think I'll run right out and engage in melee now. In exchange you get an ocassionally-crippling phobia (3.0) or a complete lack of social skills (3.5). Apparently in 3.5 all alienists are antisocial loners (another assumption not borne out by the literature: the artist Pickham, for example, was popular (and described as having "a strange, febrile charisma") despite his eccentricities and the disturbing nature of his paintings). No cabals of Cthulhu-worshippers here, nope. I would have been happier to see somthing like Mad Certainty: +2 to Will saves; Insane Certainty: +4 to Will saves, +2 to Fort saves. [/QUOTE]

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