Eldritch Noble (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

The eldritch noble studied arcane lore at her own initiative. She never had to kowtow to any master, learning whatever magic she wanted with the assistance of well-paid mentors or by appeasing spirits using her family's resources. Her mind has thrived on this freedom, rewarding her with awesome arcane powers—if not quite the respect she wants from her magical peers, who tend to see her as a dilettante.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype. The eldritch noble is a rich wizard free to explore her abilities without relying on a school of magic.

Prestige Class: Noble Scion from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige.

Build Class: Wizard.

Role: An eldritch noble is a mistress of the arcane, but also a lady of wealth and standing.

Alignment: Any. An eldritch noble might be a philanthropist godmother or a sinister plotter, but in either case she hides it behind a cultured facade.

Hit Die: d6.

Class Skills

The eldritch noble's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (All) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

These are all the class features of the eldritch noble.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Eldritch nobles are proficient with the club, dagger, quarterstaff, and sword cane but not with any type of armor or shield. Armor interferes with an eldritch noble's movements, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail.

Spells

At first level, the eldritch noble must decide to cast, learn, and prepare spells like either a wizard or a witch.

If she chooses wizard, she has a spellbook and adds spells to it just like a wizard does. She casts spells from the wizard spell list.

If she chooses witch, she also gains the witch's familiar and patron spells abilities as a witch of her eldritch noble level and uses the witch spell list. An eldritch noble that casts spells like a witch often keeps her magic secret.

Affluent (Ex)

At each level, a noble scion gains gold pieces equal to 750 multiplied by her character level as stipend. (She gains 750 gp. at 1st level, an additional 1,500 gp. at 2nd level, and so on.) This is the noble's private spending money, a result of the increase in standing her level advancement brings.

A multiclass character only gets this stipend when increasing in level as a noble scion, not when increasing her level in any other class. The amount received is based on her character level, not class level. So a wizard 3 who takes a level of scheming noble gains 3,000 gp (750 times her new character level of four).

Cantrips

Eldritch nobles can prepare a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day, as noted on Table: Eldritch Noble under “Spells per Day.” These spells are cast like any other spell, but they are not expended when cast and may be used again.

Noble Paragon (Ex)

In order to impress commoners and peers alike, the noble scion is brought up to be a paragon of her culture. At 1st level, the noble scion selects a culture she has been brought up in and three class skills. If a particular skill already a class skill, the scion instead gains a +1 trait bonus on that skill.

Prestigious Influence (Ex)

At 2nd level, a noble scion can use her influence to receive special treatment, favors, and other services. She effectively has a pool of virtual gold pieces equal 25 gp per class level to spend on services and non-material goods. This represents the wealth of her house, but also connections; naturally the theatre will offer their best tickets for free to honor their great sponsor and beneficiary who just happens to be the noble characters uncle. This pool replenishes at the beginning of every week. Unspent resources are lost and do not accumulate. Services and nonmaterial goods available to a noble scion include:

• Pay for lodgings, stabling, taxes, and tolls.
• Pay off bandits or pay ransom.
• Pay for social gifts and bribes.
• Improve her lifestyle quality.
• Hire entertainers, messengers, mounts, servants, transport, workers, and so on.
• Obtain invitations to exclusive events, or entry into privileged locations.
• Gather information, spread rumors, or start a whispering campaign.
• Purchase spellcasting services.
• Employ an expert hireling to make a skill check with a check bonus of +10 plus half her class level at a cost of 50 gp.

The noble can spend some of these funds on her companions, but spending more than half your allowance on your friends could be seen as overly egalitarian. A noble scion cannot permanently gain goods or wealth from this ability. Boons attainable from this ability are generally only available in settlements of 500 people or more. The exact benefits available in a location are subject to GM discretion.

When in the home territory of her noble house, the scion has access to luxurious lodging at the manors or town houses of her family, and can use such facilities to throw parties, lodge her companions in comfort, or otherwise use the properties of her family to advantage. When traveling, she can expect at least modest accommodation with other nobles, and a noble visitor is often the occasion of parties and other entertainment. The backside is of course that the scion is expected to attend all these social functions, which can hinder her other activities.

Fame And Fortune (Ex)

At third level a noble scion gains a bonus equal to 1/3 her class level on Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (local), and Knowledge (nobility) checks. This ability also reduces the DCs of Diplomacy, Knowledge (local), and Knowledge (nobility) checks others make to gather information about the noble scion by the same amount.

Servitor (Ex)

At 4th level, a noble scion gains a faithful NPC servitor of the same level as a cohort granted by the Leadership feat (minimum 1st level). This servitor is of the expert NPC class and comes equipped with gear appropriate for a non-heroic NPC of the servitor's level. The servitor does not fight for the noble scion as would a cohort or follower, but instead can set up camp, act as a valet or maid, and otherwise provide food and comforts. The servitor can also run various errands while the noble scion is adventuring, such as delivering messages or maintaining the scion's interests.

Leadership (Ex)

At 7th level, the noble scion gains Leadership as a bonus feat. The cohort and followers come with equipment appropriate for their level. Pay and upkeep is provided by the noble scion's house. Followers serve their noble leader, but their ultimate loyalty is to the land and holdings; they may report unusual activities to others in the house and refuse orders that they perceive to be dangerous to the clan as a whole.

Greater Leadership (Ex)

At 13th level, a noble scion can have a cohort up to one level lower than herself and the level of all her followers increases by one. At 19th level, she can recruit a cohort of the same level she is and the level of her followers increases by two. This also improves the noble scion's servitor.

Peerless Patrician (Ex)

At 20th level a noble scion can roll twice on any Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (nobility), or Sense Motive check and take the better roll. Once per day, instead of rolling one of these skill checks, she can assume the roll resulted in a natural 20.

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:

• Class Skills
• Arcane Bond
• Arcane School
• Scribe Scroll
• Bonus Feats

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