Arcanist

*After first encountering the leylines, the crafty Rucho set about finding ways to harness their power. Thus began the Arcanists, an order of magical engineers dedicated to widespread study of the intracacies of the leylines. These mages utilize rune-charged objects called talismans to focus ley energy into all kinds of magical wonders, thanks to their years of research and practice.*

## Class Features

As an arcanist, you gain the following class features.

#### Hit Points

* **Hit Dice:** 1d6 per arcanist level
* **Hit Points at 1st Level:** 6 + your Constitution modifier
* **Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per arcanist level after 1st

#### Proficiencies

* **Armor:** None
* **Weapons:** Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, shortbows, pocket pistols
* **Tools:** Smith's tools and jeweler's tools
* **Saving Throws:** Intelligence, Wisdom
* **Skills:** Choose two from Arcana, History, Investigation, Mechanics, Medicine, Nature, Perception, and Sleight of Hand

#### Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

* (a) a quarterstaff and a dagger or (b) a pocket pistol and 20 pistol ammo
* Your spellcasting talisman
* (a) a scholars pack or (b) an explorer's pack

### Spellcasting

As a student of modern ley magics, you have an arcane talisman that allows you to cast spells through a combination of metallurgy and arcane study.

#### Cantrips

At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the Arcane spell list. You learn additional Arcanist cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Arcanist table.

#### Talisman

At 1st level, you create an arcane talisman in a ritual involving the inscription of charged runic symbols onto an otherwise mundane small object. This talisman functions as a spellcasting focus that you must keep on your person for you to be able to cast your prepared Spells, except for cantrips, which are fixed in your mind. If your talisman is destroyed, you can create a new one spending 1 hour and $25 for each spell level that you can cast through the talisman.

#### Preparing And Casting Spells

The Arcanist table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your arcanist spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You prepare the list of arcanist spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of arcanist spells equal to your Intelligence modifier + your arcanist level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you’re a 3rd-level Arcanist, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level Spell Slots. With an Intelligence of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd Level, in any combination, chosen from the arcane spell list. If you prepare the 1st-level spell *Magic Missile*, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of arcanist spells requires time spent studying your research and inscribing the correct runic combinations onto your talisman that are required to cast the spell: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

#### Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your arcanist spells, since you learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a arcanist spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

**Spell save DC** = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

**Spell attack modifier** = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

#### Ritual Casting

You can cast an arcanist spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.

#### Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher

Each time you gain a arcanist level, you can learn two arcanist spells of your choice from the arcanist spell list. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the arcanist table. On your adventures, you might find other spells that you can learn.

### Rigoric

At 1st level, you know Rigoric, the language of the Arcanists that they use not only to communicate with one another as peers, but also helps them to channel arcane energies. Rigoric is largely a runic language, but takes from multiple languages throughout history, from dead languages to those still written and spoken today. You automatically spot hidden messages in Rigoric thanks to your attunement to your talisman.

Others spot a hidden message's presence with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check but can not decipher it without magical intervention. You can also attempt to determine the nature or gist of messages in Rigoric with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check, you may miss out on certain information in the message or the nuances of the message by trying to understand the message in this manner.

### Arcane Interpretation

At 2nd level, you choose an interpretation of talismanic magic that shapes your practice of spellcasting. Your choice grants you features at 2nd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level. This choice cannot be changed once made.

* Ritualist
* Spellsmith

### Talismanic Invocation

In your study of magic, you have unearthed fragments of key practices that you can modernize to imbue your spellcasting talisman with specific abilities.

At 2nd level, you gain two Talismanic Invocations of your choice. Your invocation options are detailed at the end of the class description. When you gain certain arcanist levels, you gain additional invocations of your choice, as shown in the Invocations Known column of the Arcanist table.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.

If an invocation has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisites.

### Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

### Spell Mastery

At 18th level, choose a 1st-level spell and a 2nd-level spell from the Arcane spell list. You can cast those spells at their lowest level without expending a spell slot when you have them prepared.

If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.

By spending 8 hours in study, you can exchange one or both of the spells you chose for different spells of the same levels.

### Runic Mastery

At 20th level, your mastery of runic magic is so great that you have glimpsed one of the fabled Master Runes, symbols of great power that gave rise to the first Arcanists. You can invoke the power of one chosen rune a number of times per day equal to your Intelligence modifier from one of the following options:

* **Rune of Solitude.** Whenever you cast a spell that could deal damage to multiple creatures in an area of effect, you can use a reaction to have this spell instead only affect a single creature. This creature has disadvantage on its save against this effect, and when you roll damage for this spell, you roll twice and take the higher result.
* **Guardian Rune.** As an action, you and up to 5 other creatures that you choose can add your Intelligence modifier to their AC and any saving throws that they roll until the end of your next turn.
* **Rune of Reversal.** When a target you can see rolls an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can use your reaction to invoke this rune to steal that roll from the target. The target must then roll again and take the new result. You can then use the roll that you stole from the target for any attack roll, ability check, or saving throw you make until the end of your next turn.
* **Rune of Death.** You may use this rune as an action to potentially bring down a foe with a single thought. Choose a target creature that you can see. If this creature’s current HP is less than 25% (rounded down) of your current HP, it is killed instantly. However, if the target creature’s current HP is higher than this threshold, you are reduced to 1 HP, and the target creature instead takes damage equal to the HP that you lost.
* **Blur Rune.** As an action, you and up to 2 other creatures that you choose are immune to all conditions (except unconscious) and have their movement speeds tripled until the end of your next turn.