Halcyon Mage (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Halycon mages are students of one of the oldest academies of magical learning. A Halycon mage studies and follows ancient traditions of magic and utilizes these secrets to bring decency and integrity to civilization.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype. The halycon mage is an arcane spellcaster with a focus on nature, life, and decency.

Prestige Class: Magaambyan arcanist from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige.

Build Classes: witch, or wizard.

Role: Halycon mages work to support their fellow creatures and nourish life. When the situation demands they take up arms, but they take the long view and feel that peace is generally the better solution.

Alignment: Halycon mages must start with a good alignment. Most Halycon mages consider their studies to be a sacred duty and a tradition that spans the ages. A halycon mages that change to a non-good alignment earns the disapproval of their peers and loses the aura of good, halycon magic, virtuous spells, lasting goodness, blessed warding, righteous contravention, holy arcana, altruistic guardian, and timeless body abilities until the return to a good alignment, but can continue to advance in the class.

Hit Die: d6.

Class Skills

The halycon mage's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Fly (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Halycon mages are proficient with the club, dagger, sling, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield. Armor interferes with a halycon mage's movements, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail.

Class Features

These are all the class features of the halycon mage. The prestige archetype is open to many classes, with slight modifications. It replaces all of the class features of whatever class it is taken with, except as noted below under weapon and armor proficiency, spells, and build class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A halycon mage gains the armor and weapon proficiencies of her build class.

Spells

The halycon mage learns and casts spells exactly like the build class, including the effect of ability scores on spellcasting and cantrips.

Arcane Bond (Ex or Sp)

This is the same as the wizard class feature of the same name.

Build Class

The halycon mage inherits a few class features from the build class, as follows.

Arcanist None.

Witch A witch halycon mage must choose a familiar for her arcane bond and stores spells in her familiar like a normal witch. She can use Spell Mastery to memorize her spells without the help of her familiar. She still has a patron, and gains patron spells.

Wizard None.

Spell Mastery

A halycon mage gains Spell Mastery as a bonus feat at 1st level. The halycon mage can learn the Spell mastery feat multiple times, with stacking benefits. At level 6 and every 6 levels thereafter, the halycon mage gains Spell Mastery as a bonus feat one additional time.

Halcyon Magic (Su)

At 2nd level and every two levels thereafter, a halycon mage chooses a spell from the druid spell list and treats it as if it were on her spell list. To learn a druid spell in this way, the halycon mage must have ranks in Knowledge (nature) equal to twice the level of the spell learned. The spell's type becomes arcane and its save DC functions as normal for the halycon mage. The Halycon mage automatically learns this spell and adds it to her spellbook.

Aura (Ex)

From 3rd level, the power of a Halycon mage's aura of good (see detect good) is equal to her class level.

Superior Spell Mastery (Ex)

At 4th level, by spending a total of 24 hours studying over a maximum of 3 days, a Halycon mage can change the spells she has mastered with the Spell Mastery feat. She can choose a number of spells she knows up to her Intelligence modifier, which have a maximum combined spell level total equal to or less than her ranks in the Spellcraft skill, to be her Spell Mastery spells in place of the same number of spells she previously selected for her Spell Mastery feat.

Virtuous Spells (Su)

At 5th level, a Halycon mage casts spells with the good descriptor at +1 caster level. To prepare a spell with the evil descriptor, she must use two spell slots of that spell level to prepare the spell.

Intoned Recollection (Ex)

At 7th level, by performing a special ritual, a Halycon mage can prepare a spell into an open arcane spell slot with 1 minute of preparation. The open spell slot cannot have been one that was filled previously that day and was expended; it must have purposefully been left empty at the beginning of the day when the Halycon mage prepared her spells. She must have mastered the spell with the Spell Mastery feat in order to prepare it with this ability. She doesn't need to rest for 8 hours beforehand, but all other requirements of the preparation process still apply.

At 16th level, she can do this as a full-round action.

Lasting Goodness (Su)

At 8th level, all of a Halycon mage's spells with the good descriptor have their durations extended by a number of rounds equal to her skill bonus in Spellcraft. A spell with a duration of concentration, instantaneous, or permanent isn't affected by this ability.

Spontaneous Spell Mastery (Ex)

At 9th level, a Halycon mage can “lose” any prepared spell to cast a spell of the same spell level or lower which she has mastered with the Spell Mastery feat.

Blessed Warding (Sp)

At 9th level, a Halycon mage is under a constant protection from evil effect (caster level equal to her class level). If this is dispelled, she can reactivate it as a swift action.

Immediate Spell Mastery (Sp)

At 11th level, once per day, a halycon mage can cast any spell she has mastered with the Spell Mastery feat, even if she hasn't prepared it that day. This spell is treated like any other spell cast by the Halycon mage, but can't be modified by metamagic feats or other abilities.

Righteous Contravention (Su)

At 13th level, a halycon mage gains a +2 bonus on checks to overcome the spell resistance of evil creatures or evil objects, and on checks to dispel spells cast by evil creatures, spells with the evil descriptor, or evil magic items.

Holy Arcana (Ex)

At 14th level, a halycon mage adds all the bonus spells from the Good cleric domain to her spell list. These spells become arcane and the save DCs function as normal for her class.

Woodland Stride (Su)

Gained at level 15, this is the same as the druid class feature of the same name.

Timeless Body (Ex)

Gained at level 17, this is the same as the druid class feature of the same name.

Altruistic Guardian (Su)

At 18th level, as an immediate action when a spell or supernatural effect that allows spell resistance targets a halycon mage's allies or they are within its area of effect, she can use this ability as an immediate action to redirect the effects to herself. She can do this for a number of allies up to her Intelligence modifier, provided they are within 30 feet of her. The Halycon mage must make all appropriate saving throws for each ally, possibly making multiple saving throws against the same spell or effect. She suffers all damage, conditions, and other effects that her allies would have taken, possibly taking these multiple times. She redirects before suffering the effect herself; even if she is killed, all the effects are still redirected. Area effects with a non-instantaneous duration can still affect her allies normally at a later time.

Venom Immunity (Ex)

Gained at level 19, this is the same as the druid class feature of the same name.

Immortality (Ex)

At 20th level, the halycon mage no longer ages and becomes immune to all aging effects. Any aging effects that already apply to the halycon mage are negated.

Table: Halycon Mage

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
						0	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Arcane bond, cantrips, Spell Mastery	3	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Aura of good	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Halcyon magic	4	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Superior spell mastery	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Virtuous spells	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Intoned recollection	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Lasting goodness	4	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6	Spontaneous spell mastery	4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Blessed warding	4	4	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Immediate spell mastery	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—
11th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Righteous contravention	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	—	—	—
12th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Spontaneous spell mastery (2/day)	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—
13th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8		4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	—	—
14th	+7/+2	+4	+4	+9	Holy arcana	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—
15th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+9		4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	—
16th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	Intoned recollection (full round)	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	—
17th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1
18th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Altruistic guardian	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2
19th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3
20th	+10/+5	+6	+6	+12	Timeless body	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

Summary of Lost Class Abilities

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

• Arcane Scroll
• Scribe Scroll
• Bonus Feats

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