#arcanaruna

Class Skills

An arcanarunologist adds Heal to his list of class skills, and removes Appraise.

 Arcanaruna Familiar (Ex)

An arcanarunologist forms a bond with a juvenile arcanaruna, which serves as his familiar.  Unlike most wizards, the arcanarunologist does not store spells in a spellbook; his spells are cataloged and stored by his arcanaruna familiar, just as a witch’s familiar stores her spells.  An arcanaruna familiar cannot learn spells from a witch’s familiar through the “familiar teaching familiar” method, although they can learn spells from other arcanarunologist’s familiars via this method. They also cannot learn spells by studying another wizard’s spellbook, although they can learn spells on the sorcerer/wizard spell list from scrolls (which consumes the scroll, as usual).  Additionally, the arcanaruna can learn non-sorcerer/wizard spells by extracting them from other creatures (see Spell Extraction below).

The arcanarunologist prepares his spells by communing with his familiar, just as a witch does. Until the arcanarunologist gains Improved Familiar and a corresponding arcane caster level of 7, the arcanaruna cannot impart its spell resistance or energy resistance to the wizard.  The arcanaruna familiar has an Intelligence score 5 higher than a standard wizard’s familiar, but has a natural armor adjustment one point lower than a standard familiar (e.g. at 1st level, the familiar has Natural Armor Adj. +0 and Intelligence 11).  The arcanarunologist cannot replace his familiar, nor can he gain a cohort via the Leadership feat or similar means.  

If an arcanarunologist’s familiar ever dies, he may not bond with a new arcanaruna.  He may forsake the path of the arcanarunologist, or he may revive his arcanaruna familiar and continue their study together.  The arcanarunologist may accept four points of permanent drain to one of his ability scores to cast raise animal companion on his familiar, even if he could not otherwise cast that spell and even if he does not have a mostly in-tact corpse, so long as he has at least some portion of the arcanaruna available (most arcanarunologists keep a few flakes of their familiar’s skin, or even fragments from its egg, preserved safely for such an emergency, many even going so far as to graft a small piece of such flesh into their own bodies in order to avoid detection and removal if they are ever captured and searched). This ability drain may be removed by restoration or similar magic, but doing so requires a material component worth at least 1,000 gp.  

If the arcanarunologist abandons the archetype, either by allowing his familiar to remain dead longer than one day per wizard level or by voluntarily severing his bond to the arcanaruna, he becomes a universalist wizard and gains a spellbook that contains two spells of the highest level he can cast and four spells of each lower level.

This ability alters but does not replace Spells and Arcane Bond, and replaces Spellbooks.

 Arcanaruna School

An arcanarunologist receives an additional spell slot of each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up. Each day, he can prepare any spell known by his arcanaruna familiar in that slot, even if it is not on the sorcerer/wizard spell list.

At 7th level, the arcanarunologist gains Improved Familiar as a bonus feat, but may only use it to enhance his bond with his arcanaruna, allowing the arcanaruna to share its energy and spell resistance.  Note that, starting at 11th level, a familiar’s spell resistance is superior to the standard juvenile arcanaruna’s spell resistance; when adjacent with its master, it shares this improved SR.

This ability replaces Arcane School.

 Spell Extraction (Ex)

Arcanaruna live to catalog all arcane magic, and while this often takes the form of sorcerer/wizard spells, any unknown arcane spells catch their interest.  They can acquire arcane spells from other creatures, although the means of such learning are unpleasant to say the least.  An arcanaruna and arcanarunologist working in tandem can perform a procedure, part ritual and part surgery (or autopsy), to extract spell knowledge from another creature.  This procedure takes one hour per level of the spell being extracted. The creature having the spell extracted must be helpless or willing, or have been dead for less than 24 hours.  A “willing” creature is generally sedated for the procedure.

Every 10 minutes of the procedure inflicts one point of Constitution damage on a living subject. The arcanarunologist can prevent a point of Constitution damage with a successful Heal check (DC 20); this may be attempted for each point of Constitution damage inflicted by the procedure. Attempting this check without a Healer’s Kit or appropriate medical instruments imposes a -2 penalty.  The arcanaruna can attempt to use Aid Another to improve the odds of success.  If the subject dies due to Constitution damage, the procedure is not interrupted. Any action or effect that would break concentration on a spell interrupts the procedure, and requires that it be restarted from the beginning.  Similarly, casting a spell or using a spell-trigger or spell-completion magic item interrupts the procedure, although administering a potion or taking similar actions do not interrupt it.

At the end of the procedure, the arcanarunologist designates a single arcane spell of a level appropriate to the length of the procedure, and of a level he can cast.  If that spell is known by the subject at the appropriate level (or a lower level), it can potentially be extracted and learned by the arcanaruna familiar.  Spells are “known by the subject” if the subject is (or was) a spontaneous arcane caster, such as a bard or sorcerer, with the designated spell on her list of spells known; if the subject is (or was) a prepared arcane caster, such as a wizard or magus, with the spell prepared at the time of extraction (or at the time of death); or if the subject is (or was) a witch’s familiar and the spell is on the familiar’s list of spells known.  If the designated spell is not known by the target, or if it is known at a level higher than the number of hours spent on the procedure or higher than the arcanarunologist can cast, the procedure fails.

At the end of the procedure, at the time of attempted spell extraction, a living subject makes a Will saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + ½ the arcanarunologist’s class level + his Intelligence modifier.  If it fails, the subject takes 1d6 points of Intelligence and Charisma damage per level of the target spell, and the spell is extracted.  If the subject succeeds, it reduces the ability damage by half, and the spell is not extracted.  The subject can voluntarily fail the saving throw, allowing the spell to be extracted; in this case, the procedure inflicts the minimum amount of ability damage possible (treat as if all dice rolled 1’s).  An unconscious subject is presumed to be unwilling and attempts the saving throw unless it made the decision to allow the extraction before losing consciousness.  A creature charmed or dominated by the arcanarunologist when the procedure is completed allows the extraction.  A dead subject receives no saving throw; extraction automatically succeeds.  Upon successful extraction, the spell is immediately learned by the arcanaruna and added to the list of spells that the arcanarunologist can prepare (although non-sorcerer/wizard spells can only be prepared using an Arcanaruna School spell slot).  A spontaneous caster who survives the procedure and has a spell extracted loses access to the extracted spell for 24 hours.  A prepared caster loses the spell and spell slot as if the spell had been cast, but can re-prepare the spell the next time he prepares spells.  A familiar loses the ability to allow its master to prepare the extracted spell for 24 hours, but regains it after this time has passed.

Using this procedure on an unwilling subject, coercing a subject to acquiesce to this procedure through threats or enchantment, killing a creature for the purpose of performing this procedure on its corpse, and the like, are evil acts.  The procedure itself is not inherently evil, so paying or otherwise non-coercively persuading a subject to willingly undergo the procedure is not necessarily an evil act, provided that the arcanarunologist attempts to prevent unnecessary harm to the subject and does not allow its death during the procedure.

This ability replaces Scribe Scroll.

 Arcanaruna Cohort (Ex)

When an arcanarunologist reaches 7th level, his familiar begins to mature into its adult form. It gains Eschew Materials, and selects an additional feat from the list of feats possessed by a mature arcanaruna for every two levels beyond 7th.  Its total hit points increase to 3/4 of the arcanarunologist’s total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down.  

The arcanaruna gains the ability to cast spells as a sorcerer with a level equal to the arcanarunologist’s class level –3.  Once per day, while communing with its master as he prepares spells, the arcanaruna may change its list of spells known, selecting a number of sorcerer/wizard spells appropriate for its effective sorcerer level.  These spells must be spells known by the arcanaruna in its capacity as a familiar.  It cannot use its deliver touch spells familiar ability in the same round that it casts a spell, nor can it cast a spell if it has delivered a touch spell for its master since the end of its last turn.

At 11th level and again at 15th and 19th levels, an arcanarunologist’s familiar gains +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, and +2 Charisma, and increases all of its forms of energy resistance by 5.  Starting at 11th level, it can use adaptable energy resistance to improve its energy resistance to 20 rather than 10.  At 15th level, it gains the magic siphon ability of a mature arcanaruna.

When the arcanarunologist reaches 20th level, his arcanaruna companion reaches full maturity. It gains the statistics of an adult arcanaruna, and ceases to be treated as a familiar except as noted here.  The arcanarunologist must still commune with the arcanaruna to prepare spells (except for those known with Spell Mastery), and the arcanaruna can change its spells known for the day during this process as well.  The arcanaruna still grants its mentor its energy resistance or immunity and spell resistance when they are within 5 feet of each other.  When sharing spell resistance in this way, the arcanaruna’s Absorb Magic ability functions on spells that fail to overcome the SR of either creature.

Any ioun stone produced by the arcanaruna’s Arcane Formation can be made permanent by the arcanarunologist through a process taking 1 hour and consuming raw materials worth the cost of the ioun stone.

If the arcanarunologist dies, the arcanaruna loses access to all spells it learned as a familiar until and unless the arcanarunologist returns to life (or becomes a sentient undead capable of preparing spells, such as a lich), retaining only those spells currently known as a sorcerer.  For this reason, even the most vile and deceitful arcanaruna is often loath to fatally betray its partner.  However, this does not prevent scheming and manipulation when the two companion’s goals do not align, and an arcanaruna may even go so far as attempting to dominate an arcanarunologist who is not working towards the ultimate goal of collecting all possible arcane lore.  In general, keeping an arcanaruna cohort content requires placating it by learning new spells.  When a new spell is learned, the cohort is generally satisfied for one week per level of spell learned.  This may be more or less at the discretion of the GM and as befits the particular arcanaruna and arcanarunologist.