Flip the Script: A Look at Rune Magic and the Archivist

Typical magic is a one-and-done deal: you cast the spell, the spell effects happen, you move on. Sure, some spells work well in tandem with one another, but each spell stands on its own, not relying heavily on what other spells the caster knows to reach their full potential (spells like contingency notwithstanding).

I decided to make a magic system built around a sort of builder-finisher system, like you'd find in MMOs like Rift. In essence, each spell cast builds "combo points" which can then be used on a "finishing move" spell to give it some extra kick. And so, I created rune magic.

Rune magic in many ways functions as if casting a spell, though it is neither arcane nor divine in nature. Each rune spell, called a script, takes fundamental concepts of reality and gives it shape in the form of intricate runes. These fundamental concepts are split into six groupings, called Designs. You can think of them as the schools of magic for rune scripts:

Alteration scripts focus on changing the physical form. From strengthening a structure or weakening a foe, or giving a creature a new form, masters of alteration reshape the world to their whims.

Creation spells make something new. These spells can conjure forth solid structures and barriers or give life where there was once none, summoning forth creatures from distant lands or creating life force to revive and heal.

Destruction spells unmake, harm, and outright destroy. These spells can rain death and ruin upon their victims or bring down the mightiest of fortresses in an instant.

Invocation spells channel the forces of nature. These spells can invoke a primordial element such as fire and earth, or invoke a more specific aspect of the wilds such as beasts, plants, and weather.

Manipulation spells distort the very fabric of reality. These spells can alter the flow of time and space and control the fundamental laws of existence. Manipulation can also evoke cosmic forces such as chaos and good and bend them to the caster's will.

Revelation spells are the domain of the mind. These spells can give great insight to the secrets of the world or make even the strongest of minds doubt themselves, controlling thought and emotions both beneficial and harmful.

Learning and Casting a Rune Spell

A rune magic user (often called a scribe) has to learn his spells, much like a spontaneous caster. However, he does not have a strict table stating how many rune spells of each level he is allowed to know; he is only limited by the maximum level of spell he can cast, and can learn any spell of a level he is capable of casting. The reason for this is that, rather than having typical spell slots, rune spells are on a "per day" basis for each spell known depending on the level of spell. Lower level spells can be cast more frequently than higher level ones; for example, at level 20 a typical scribe can cast each of his 1st level spells up to four times each, where his 9th level spells can only be cast once each. If he wants additional castings of a spell he already knows, he has to learn the spell an additional time, gaining a second "set" of castings for that spell. This gives the scribe a choice: learn more lower-level spells and get several castings each day, or focus on high-level spells but have a far more limited number of castings.

Each rune must be given shape before it can create any effects, for without shape, it has no form. When a scribe casts a script, he speaks forth words of power that give the rune shape. As he speaks, the rune slowly etches itself somewhere on his equipment. Most scribes prefer to etch it onto weapons or armor, though some make trinkets and talismans for the runes to manifest upon. Once the rune is complete, it flashes with magical energy, finally bringing forth the magical power of the script. However, at this point, the script is not quite finished.

Runic Charge

Once a scribe successfully casts a script, the rune that was created remains on his person, even after the spell's effects end, still lingering with a small amount of magic power. This is known as gaining a runic charge. The charge corresponds to the design of the script that was cast. For example, the see the unwritten script (rune magic's equivalent to true seeing) is a revelation script. When cast, the scribe gains a single revelation runic charge. The scribe can only have a limited number of charges at once; if he casts another script, then one of his old charges is wasted. These charges are used to supercharge one his later spells: this process is known as overloading.

Overloading a Rune Spell

Once a scribe has built up runic charges, he can then pour the residual energies of his runic charges into his next spell to give it extra power to overload it. Each script in the rune magic system has a specific overload associated with it. Most overloads can make use of any kind of runic charge to increase the effectiveness of the scripts, but some scripts require specific types of runic charge to get the most out of the spell. Here's an example of a rune script, alter flow, which is the rune script equivalent of both haste and slow:

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ALTER FLOW

Design manipulation (time); Level archivist 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range short (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (see text); Spell Resistance yes (see text)
You alter the flow of time around a creature, hastening its movement or slowing it down. When you cast alter flow, you must choose whether to make the targeted quickened or slowed. Depending on your choice, this has different effects on the targeted creature:

Quickened: When making a full attack action, a quickened creature may make one extra attack with one natural or manufactured weapon. The attack is made using the creature's full base attack bonus, plus any modifiers appropriate to the situation. (This effect is not cumulative with similar effects, such as that provided by a speed weapon, nor does it actually grant an extra action, so you can't use it to cast a second spell or otherwise take an extra action in the round.) The creature gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves. Any condition that makes the creature lose its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) also makes it lose dodge bonuses. All of the creature's modes of movement (including land movement, burrow, climb, fly, and swim) increase by 30 feet, to a maximum of twice the subject's normal speed using that form of movement. This increase counts as an enhancement bonus, and it affects the creature's jumping distance as normal for increased speed.
Slowed: An affected creature moves and attacks at a drastically slowed rate. The creature is staggered and can take only a single move action or standard action each turn, but not both (nor may it take full-round actions). Additionally, it takes a -1 penalty to AC and Reflex saves. The creature moves at half its normal speed (round down to the next 5-foot increment), which affects the creature's jumping distance as normal for decreased speed.

Multiple alter flow spells do not stack. Using alter flow to quicken a creature is considered a harmless effect when accounting for the spell’s saving throw and spell resistance.

Overload: For every runic charge overloaded into alter flow, you can target two additional creatures. No two creatures can be further than 30 feet apart. You can choose to quicken some of the targets and slow others. In addition, for every manipulation runic charge used, the bonuses and penalties granted to AC and Reflex saves increases by 1.

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Scribes must be aware of what sorts of combinations they can create with their chosen spells. Many spells in the rune magic system require runic charges from spells of a different Design to maximize their effectiveness (for example, a Creation spell that summons creatures can be overloaded with Manipulation runes to give the creatures alignment-based damage reduction).

Of course, all of this is good and all, but it needs someone to use its abilities. That's where the third base class, the archivist, comes in.

The Archivist

The archivist is the main class in Path of Iron that utilizes this new rune magic system. You can think of him as the Wizard of rune magic. He has a d6 hit die, with good Fortitude and Will saves. A decent number of skills, mostly focused on Intelligence skills, with only 2+INT skill points (but being an Intelligence-based full caster, he should get plenty of skills anyway). His strongest ability is, of course, his rune magic, but he has three other mechanics that help him better realize his potential: his Study, his Study Synergy, and Altered Script.

An archivist's study is similar to a wizard's school specialization in that he focuses his abilities within a certain Design of runes. It grants him a power at 2nd, 8th, 14th, and 20th level, and at 1st level gives him access to his "Study Synergy", described below. The scribe also gains bonus scripts known for his chosen study, though he gets to choose which spells to learn from his Design (unlike say, a sorcerer or oracle, where their bonus spells are a fixed list).

The Study Synergy grants the archivist additional power when overloading a spell with a specific runic charge. This benefit applies to all spells he overloads, so long as he uses runic charges of the specified type. The benefit stacks for each runic charge used of that type, so casting spells within his specialization is further rewarded.

Altered Script is a limited-use ability that lets the archivist change the form of the runic charges he currently has. Really need a handful of Destruction charges, but only have Invocation? Altered script can switch them up as a swift action. The ability is limited in daily usage, being only once per day at 4th level and an additional use at 10th and 16th levels, but when combined with Study Synergy can help give your overloaded spells some serious punch.

With that I'll leave you with a preview of one of the archivist's studies: revelation. Only one more preview to go after this, where I'll go over a few archetypes and new options for existing Pathfinder classes, then it's time for the Kickstarter!

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Revelation

Those who study revelation are masters of the mind, granting prescient insight while also manipulating the thoughts and emotions of those around them.
Study Synergy: An archivist that studies revelation gains the following ability when overloading a spell.

Prescient Casting (Su): Whenever you overload a spell, you gain a +1 insight bonus on concentration checks and on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance for each revelation runic charge expended.

Study Abilities: You have unparalleled insight into the world around you.

Breadth of Knowledge (Ex): At 2nd level, you gain all Knowledge skills as class skills. You gain a bonus on all Knowledge checks equal to 1/2 your archivist level, and can make Knowledge skill checks untrained.
Moment of Prophecy (Su): At 8th level, you can grant powerful insight to a creature, blessing it with visions of success or cursing it with knowledge of its coming failure. As a standard action, you designate a single creature within 30 feet to be blessed or cursed by its insight. Until the start of your next turn, the creature rolls twice on all d20 checks. If it was blessed, it takes the better result of each roll; if it was cursed, it takes the worse result of each roll. Once a creature has been affected by this ability, it cannot be targeted again for 24 hours. You can use this ability once per day, plus an additional use each day for every three levels past 8th, to a maximum of five uses per day at 20th level.
Legends Untold (Sp): At 14th level, you can delve into the past to learn ancient secrets and lost information. This functions as a legend lore spell, though it requires no material component and can be used at-will. You must still take the full casting time of the legend lore spell, as appropriate for the information you have and are seeking.
Secrets Revealed (Su): At 20th level, you constantly have the benefit of see the unwritten*. When you overload a spell, you can change the benefits granted by this ability as if you had overloaded those runic charges into the see the unwritten* effect. The new benefits persist until you choose to change them again.

Mind over Metal: A Look at the Spells in Path of Iron

Spells are easily the most versatile tool a character can have at his disposal, and one of my favorite aspects of Pathfinder. I admit I'm a sucker for spellcasters in general in all the games I play, especially the ubiquitous "battlemage" type of character, one who uses spells in either a direct, aggressive form like a fireball or enhances his own capabilities to better go toe-to-toe with his enemies. So when it came time to write out some new spells for Path of Iron, I thought about what sorts of spells would that character use while sticking to the book's theme.

Most of the spells you'll find in Path of Iron have a pretty direct combat application, though there will be several that are used for crafting and artifice. Spells such as alter weapon can change the form of a weapon you're using while dancing steel can have the weapon fight for you. Squire's aid can help a group pack their belongings and don their combat gear instantly to respond to an ambush. The aptly-named spikes spell causes metallic spikes to grow out of nearly anything and has a variety of applications: put it on a weapon or natural attack to have it deal piercing damage and cause bleeding damage, or onto the floor to cover it in painful barbs, just to name a few. More powerful spells such as greater replicate can create an exact, but temporary, copy of a nearby object (including all of its magical properties), while the mighty field of blades summons innumerable weapons around you that you can wield and manipulate.

Here's a few examples of some low-level spells you'll find within Path of Iron:

ALTER WEAPON

School transmutation [metal]; Level bloodrager 1, magus 1, sorcerer/wizard 1, vanguard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target weapon touched
Duration 10 min./level (D)
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (object); Spell Resistance yes (object)
With a firm hand you grasp a weapon and remake it into something new. Alter weapon changes the shape of the touched weapon into another weapon of your choice. The new form for the weapon must have the same size and handedness as the original; a greatsword could be turned into a halberd, but a dagger could not be made into a longsword. A ranged weapon can be altered, such as a longbow into a shortbow or a hand crossbow into a pistol, but this only alters the weapon, not its ammunition. The targeted weapon and its new form cannot be improvised weapons.
The weapon maintains its special material properties. If you target a magic weapon, the new form retains all special abilities of the original, if applicable (a keen greatsword, for example, would no longer been keen if altered into a greatclub). If you target a double weapon that has both ends enchanted, only the bonuses for one end of the weapon are granted to the new form, unless the new form is also a double weapon, in which case the enhancements apply to each respective end of the weapon. If a non-double magic weapon is altered into a double weapon, the bonuses only apply to one end of the double weapon, chosen when the spell is cast.
This spell cannot target an unarmed strike or natural weapon, even if it would normally count as a manufactured weapon for the purpose of spells (such as for a monk or brawler).

BLADE SPIRAL

School transmutation [metal]; Level bloodrager 2, magus 2, vanguard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (a melee weapon)
Range see text
Area see text
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw None; Spell Resistance no
You finish the quick incantation and let go of the weapon, the magic flinging the blade against your foes. Upon finishing the casting of this spell, the weapon you used as a focus for blade spiral flies forth to attack. You can choose one of two different attack forms, as described below:
Forward Spiral: The weapon spins forth in a 60 foot line in front of you.
Centered Spiral: The weapon spins around you in a 10 foot radius, centered on you.
You make a single weapon attack against each foe in the area as if striking the target with a melee attack with that weapon, including any bonuses you would gain from feats or special abilities such as Weapon Focus. You roll separately for each target. Once you finish making the attacks, the weapon immediately flies back to your hand, regardless of whether it hit or missed its targets.
Despite the spell’s name, any sort of weapon can be used with blade spiral, not just bladed ones.

The Metal Descriptor

As you can see above, both of these spells have a descriptor not currently in Pathfinder, the "metal" descriptor. This is a new descriptor found in Path of Iron that applies to spells that either use metal directly (such as iron body and chill metal) or are used to target weapons and armor (such as alter weapon above). Some class features, feats, magic items, and archetypes found within Path of Iron will make use of this descriptor directly, such as the Metal Focus feat which increases the DC of any metal spells by +1. The book will include rules on how to incorporate this descriptor into your game's magic system, as well as a thorough list of all spells from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game line that gain the metal descriptor.

Keep an eye out for the next preview, where I'll go into the new rune magic system introduced in Path of Iron, as well as the archivist base class that goes with it!

Two For the Price of One: Preview of the Vanguard Class

Today I'll be going over the second class of Path of Iron, the vanguard!

As with the saboteur, the vanguard class was designed to fill a role in Pathfinder that isn't well handled by the current rules while still keeping to Path of Iron's theme. The vanguard covers two roles in this case: the control of a construct, and a full-out metal/artifice themed magic caster. The vanguard fills these in the role of a combat-oriented support character, buffing himself, his construct, and his allies while still pulling his weight in battle. Outside of combat he serves as an artificer, making and identifying items with intuition and talent rather than practiced skills.

Vanguards have a d8 hit die, medium BAB progression, and good Fortitude and Will saves. He gets a solid array of weapon and armor proficiencies to play with (including firearms) but a pretty limited selection of skills. As the primary "metal mage" of the book he has 0-6 spontaneous casting like a bard does, with his spells focusing on metal, artifice, and support. Spells such as iron body, greater magic weapon, major creation, and disable construct are present: if the spell involves metal, objects, or constructs, chances are the vanguard has access to it. He also has access to some of the more staple support spells like bull's strength and haste. The class has three main mechanics to its name: Imbue, the Construct Companion, and the dualistic ability of Augmentation and Resonance.

Imbuing a spell functions like a more flexible version of contingency. Normally you can only make a contingent spell function on yourself, but a vanguard can imbue spells onto his weapons, having the spell trigger upon striking a target with that weapon. In addition, it's not limited to single-target effects. If the vanguard wants to imbue haste onto himself and sets it to trigger when he's struck, the spell triggers in its entirely as it were centered on him, letting him share the full benefits (or offensive power) of the imbued spell. At higher levels, the vanguard is even capable of imbuing multiple spells at once. This is primarily balanced by the limited nature of the vanguard's spell list, the fact that imbuing a spell takes 10 minutes, and the maximum level of spell you can imbue is limited (when he eventually gets his maximum of three imbued spells, one has to be 2nd level or lower, one is 4th level or lower, and one is 6th level or lower).

The construct companion is, of course, the most obvious feature the vanguard brings to the table. The companion is an intelligent, sentient construct, brought to life through the vanguard's innate magical power and intuition rather than practiced construction. The construct scales in many ways like an eidolon or an animal companion would, growing in strength as the vanguard gains levels. It comes in three main forms: combat form, eldritch form, and scouting form, which determine the companion's ability scores, speed, armor class, and class skills. As a construct, it comes stock with a large number of resistances already, but it's not without its weaknesses. It doesn't gain any extra hit points like a normal construct, nor is it immune to mind-affecting effects. Since it relies on the vanguard's magical power and will to keep it animated, it can't move more than 100 feet away or it shuts down, unable to act. It also shuts down this way if the vanguard is unconscious, asleep, killed, stunned, or confused, so the construct relies on the vanguard's support just as much as the vanguard relies on his companion.

The third, and most important, feature of the vanguard is its dual mechanic of Augmentation and Resonance. The vanguard is responsible for improving the functions of the construct companion, altering the magical power that animates the construct to grant it new power. These new abilities are called Augmentations, each one granting new abilities. Some are more suited to specific companion forms; an augmentation that grants the ability to cast a handful of low-level spells, for example, is best granted to an Eldritch form companion, as it will have the highest spell DC of the three forms. However, each augmentation serves a secondary purpose.

The vanguard can create what is known as a Resonance, a linking of the construct's new magically-granted capabilities with the vanguard's arcane power. These abilities are triggered by the vanguard and each augmentation has a different associated resonance. For example, the Energy Shielding augmentation grants the companion a scaling resistance to one energy type. By creating a resonance, the construct emits a field of energy that reduces damage of that type in an area around the companion, providing defense against that energy type to nearby allies. The choices the vanguard makes to augment his companion are vital to his combat strategy, as it determines not only his companion's power but also the vanguard's primary form of supporting allies and hindering foes. Of course, should the vanguard find he's in need of a different ability, he can spend a day altering the animating magic of his construct, changing out one of his selected augmentations with a different one, but the amount of time it takes to do so favors proper planning on the vanguard's part.

The vanguard is not without other mechanics to support itself and his construct. In line with his technical flavor, the vanguard receives bonuses on Craft, Disable Device, and Knowledge (Engineering) checks, as well as on Spellcraft checks to make or identify magic items. He eventually learns how to make items more quickly than others, creating mundane and magical items alike with great speed. He also gains a total of six bonus feats as he progresses in level, which can be either item creation feats or teamwork feats. Should he choose a teamwork feat, he automatically grants it to his construct companion.

That's all for now on the vanguard base class. The next preview will be going over some of the new magic spells that will be found in Path of Iron, along with the implications and use of the new metal descriptor.