| Ability Requirement: | Intelligence 15+ Wisdom 15+ |
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| Prime Requisite: | Intelligence | |
| Races Allowed: | Half-Vistani, Human |
Arcanists are a special breed of wizard specializing in all matters occult and forbidden. In many ways, they combine the features of a necromancer and summoner, for their powers mimic both classes. At the same time, however, they are considered bards of the macabre, for they know the secrets that man dreads to hear spoken. Arcanists are found only in Ravenloft, although those who have traveled outside of the Demiplane of Dread do not lose their powers when they leave the Mists behind.
Ability Requirements
In order to be an arcanist, a character must have a highly trained mind and be blessed with the insight to make the best use of his keen intellect. To reflect this, the character must have Intelligence and Wisdom scores of at least 15. If an arcanist has an Intelligence score of 16 or better, he receives a 10% bonus to any experience points that he earns.
Alignment
Arcanists must always be of lawful alignment, although they are as often neutral or evil as they are good. Those known as white arcanists are of good alignment and tend to turn their studies to the battling of evil and the thwarting of occult menaces. Gray, or neutral, arcanists seek to comprehend the nature of the Demiplane of Dread and understand the fragile balance between life and death that exists there. Black, or evil, arcanists desire knowledge and mastery over the occult so that they can acquire personal power and domination over the supernatural. Of course, arcanist player characters cannot take any evil alignment; only nonplayer characters can be evil.
Spells
Arcanists have the ability to cast spells at the same rate as other wizards (see Table 85). Their intense study of necromancy and other black arts limits the schools that they can learn spells from, however. No arcanist can ever master magic from the schools of alteration, invocation/ evocation, enchantment/charm, or illusion/phantasm.
Learing Spells
Arcanists gain a bonus of +25% when attempting to learn a spell from either the necromancy or greater divination schools. They receive a similar penalty when striving to master spells from other schools.
Magical Items
Arcanists use most of the same magical items that other wizards use. Most rings, wands, rods, and many miscellaneous magical items function normally for them. They cannot, however, make use of any item that mimics a spell from the schools of alteration, invocation/evocation, enchantment/charm, or illusion/phantasm.
Saving Throw Adjustments
The power of an arcanist is so great that his spells are not easily resisted. Whenever one of these characters employs a spell from the school of necromancy or greater divination, his target suffers a -2 penalty on his saving throw. When an arcanist must defend himself from similar spells, he receives a +2 bonus. If an arcanist casts such a spell upon another arcanist, the two saving throw adjustments cancel each other.
Turning/Commanding Undead
Characters of this type know far more about the ways of the dead and undead than wizards from other realms. Even the skills of the typical necromancer do not match those of Ravenloft's arcanists.
Because of this, characters of this type can command (if an evil, nonplayer character) or turn (if good) undead creatures just as if they were clerics. Information on turning undead is presented in the entry for priest characters. Players of lawful neutral arcanists must decide at the time of character creation whether their characters will turn or control undead. Once this decision is made, it cannot be reversed.
Forbidden Lore
In matters of the occult and supernatural, the knowledge of an arcanist is unmatched. Some have remarked wryly that bards know a little bit about everything, while arcanists know a little bit about everything spooky.
Whenever an arcanist is presented with a person, object, or location that has some significance in the supernatural and macabre history of Ravenloft, he has a 5% chance per experience level to know some relevant fact about it. This ability is similar to that of the bard but applies only to those things that have a special significance in Ravenloft. Exactly what items do and do not fall into this category is up to the Dungeon Master. An arcanist need not handle objects being considered, so he is safe from any curses they might carry.
Power Checks
By the very nature of their research, arcanists leave themselves open to the darkness of the land. They study things that no man should study and travel places best left unexplored.
Throughout his life, an arcanist must fight an unending battle to avoid being drawn into the web of evil and magic that he studies. As such, whenever one of these characters advances in level, he must attempt a powers check with a chance of failure equal to 5% per level. Thus, as the character reaches higher levels, it becomes impossible to avoid some degree of corruption.
Horror Checks
Arcanists are well versed in all things dark and sinister. Because of this, they often shake off things that might frighten or horrify another adventurer. In game terms, a +2 bonus to all fear and horror checks reflects this.
