WIZARD - ELEMENTALIST Description: Elementalism is quite simply the art of magic that deals with the powers of the four primary alchemical elements--air, earth, fire, and water. To an Elementalist, magical power flows through and manifests itself through these four elements, either singly or in some form of combination. All of reality can be represented by defining the presence and proportions of these four primal elements. Elementalists eschew magical applications that transcend the tangible physical world, choosing instead to study and work with what can be measured and circumscribed. They realize that elements themselves are neither good nor evil, but simply tools that can be used by anyone with the will and understanding to learn their secrets. The power of elemental magic flows through and resides within all things, and Elementalists seek to harness and channel these fundamental forces and substances in order to work their magical wonders. Requirements: Elementalists use the Wizard advancement table and have four- sided hit dice and use the Wizard THAC0 and saving throw tables. Enchanters begin with 1 weapon and 4 non-weapon proficiencies, and they gain one weapon and two non-weapon slots every six levels of experience. Elementalists may be of any alignment, but they must have Intelligence, Wisdom, and Constitution scores of at least 13. Humans, elves, half-elves, and tieflings can become Elementalists. Weapon Proficiencies: Like other wizards, Elementalists cannot wear armor or use shields. Elementalists are limited to the following weapons: blowgun, dart (any), knife/dagger (any), sling (any), or staff. Magical Philosophy: Much like Enchanters, Elementalists focus strongly in the realm of the observable world, though they seek to understand the hidden relationships of the primal elements that give shape, form, substance, and energy to the reality that surrounds them. Their Primary FOS, of course, is in the Realm of Elementalism. As to their specific interests outside this area, Elementalists can be as different as the elements themselves. As a baseline, all Elementalists can be assumed to have Minor FOS in Conjuration, Enchantment, Lore, and Sorcery. It is possible, however, for a given Elementalist to choose to study one of these areas in greater depth, in essence 'trading' two Minor FOS for one Major FOS in another area. Thus, instead of having Minor FOS in all four of the above Realms, a given Elementalist might have a Major FOS in one of them and Minor FOS in two others, or might choose two as Major FOS and have no Minor FOS, giving up the other two Realms entirely. Regardless of how they choose to assign their level of study in these areas, Elementalists have little interest or expertise in Realms of Magic that deal with ephemeral issues of life and thought--matters that transcend primal elemental formulation. A body's elemental composition is not affected by life or death, while the power of thought and the presence of life belong simultaneously to all and none of the elements, defying manipulation or circumscription by elemental concepts. As a result of this distancing of themselves from transcendent (or irrelevant, as an Elementalist would say) matters, Elementalists have no facility in the Realms of Illusion and Necromancy. Special Benefits: Elementalists are very knowledgeable about the planes from which they draw their power and how to maximize the power thereby gained. Elemental Expertise: Elementalists, as might be guessed, are master practitioners of elemental magic. When using any elemental spell, their effective casting level is increased by one (i.e., a fireball cast by a 5th level Elementalist would inflict 6d6 points of damage and have all other level- based factors treated as if the Elementalist was 6th level). Once per day, an Elementalist can gather a great surge of magical power and cast any single elemental spell as if he or she was 1d4 levels higher than his or her normal level (note that this is instead of--not in addition to--the normal one-level bonus). Targets of their elemental spells suffer a -1 penalty to their saving throws, and Elementalists themselves gain a +1 bonus to saving throws vs. all forms of elemental attacks (i.e., all air, earth, fire, or water-based attacks). Elemental Knowledge: Elementalists automatically gain the benefit of the Planology proficiency without the normal -4 penalty, but their knowledge is restricted to the Elemental (including Quasi- and Para-Elemental) Planes and their denizens. They are also very well acquainted with elemental creatures and their likes and dislikes, gaining a +2 reaction bonus when dealing with creatures from those planes. An Elementalist gains a +10% bonus when attempting to learn elemental spells, and any attempt to research such spells should be treated as if the spell in question was one level lower than its actual level for determining cost, difficulty, etc. Their knowledge of and relationship with elemental creatures is such that, beginning at 15th level, an Elementalist need not fear that a summoned elemental will turn on him or her if concentration is broken while controlling it (it will simply disappear). An Elementalist of 20th level or above need not even concentrate upon controlling a summoned elemental; rather it will follow the caster's instructions in a basically friendly fashion, akin to an elemental summoned by a priest. An Elementalist of 15th level or above also has the ability to dispel or banish an elemental creature back to its home plane once per day. This has a range of 30 yards and requires nothing more than one round of concentration. The chance of success is akin to that of a dispel magic spell, comparing the Elementalist's level to that of the summoner of the elemental creature (or to the creature's hit dice, if it is a free-willed creature); if the roll is successful, the creature is banished with no saving throw or magic resistance check allowed. This ability can banish only a single elemental creature. Special Hindrances: Elementalists are sometimes seen as strange or alien because of their way of viewing the world as a set of elemental interactions and combinations, rather than accepting things based on their surface appearance. They therefore suffer a -2 reaction penalty with non-wizards. Elementalists also are not highly skilled in their subsidiary fields of study, suffering a - 10% penalty to learn such spells in addition to any other modifiers, as their true attention and passion are devoted to the elements themselves. Bonus Proficiencies: Planology (see Special Benefits) Required Proficiencies: Reading/Writing Preferred Proficiencies: Calligraphy, Ceremony/Ritual, Diplomacy, Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Languages (Ancient--including planar tongues), Navigation, Planar Sense, Research, Rune Lore, Sixth Sense, Spellcraft, Time Sense, Weather Sense, all Wizard proficiencies ***DISCLAIMER*** As with all postings by me of classes or races, it should be noted that portions of the information contained herein were inspired by or derived from information in published works of TSR, Inc., and may contain references to those works, quotations or passages of text (especially in the area of 'Character Description', where applicable sections from TSR works were often carried over more or less intact into my campaign world), or particular powers or abilities invented by TSR staff writers. No relationship with TSR, Inc., is to be implied by this use, nor is any attempt being made to solicit profit or remuneration of any kind. I have read the TSR Online Policy document, and have tried to accommodate the stipulations contained therein. In instances where I have lifted an essentially complete class or race without significant alteration, I have not included these in my postings but instead have inserted a reference to the appropriate D&D sourcebook for those curious in including it in their campaign. Only variations that include a significant component of original work, alteration, or reformulation (including the compositing elements from various TSR sources into new combinations) of have been included in this set of postings. Jason Eric Nelson < tjaden@u.washington.edu >