Arclord of Nex

The Arclords of Nex trace their lineage to the personal retinue of the archmage Nex, and though the demiurge has been missing for over four millennia, the Arclords still seek to enact his will. Whenever possible, they follow in the literal footsteps of Nex by looking to the wizard-king's diary entries, workbooks, and scrolls (with such resources often being of questionable legitimacy). Seizing political power in the years immediately after his disappearance, the Arclords reinitiated hostilities with rival Geb while instituting laws and social policies derived from hoarded scraps of Nex's personal correspondence and journals. This behavior led to their ouster and exile from Nex.

In the centuries since, most Arclords have pursued less radical methods of carrying out Nex's will. Arclords pioneered and refined the practical application of magical constructs, conjurations, and education, founding the legendary Arcanamirium in Absalom. In Quantium, the Arclords' ancient exile is long since forgotten. The Arclords' goal is as subtle as it is simple—to make themselves and their magic (and, in a broader sense, all magic) an indispensable and irreplaceable foundation of communities and societies across the face of Golarion. In this way, they have achieved positions of influence and leadership that eluded them when they tried to seize power directly, and their voice is loud and persuasive in courts throughout the Inner Sea.

Arclord of Nex Class Details

Hit Die: d6.

Requirements

To qualify to become an Arclord of Nex, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

Class Skills

The Arclord of Nex's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Diplomacy (Cha), Linguistics (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: Arclord of Nex

Class Features

The following are class features of the Arclord of Nex prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An Arclord of Nex gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Mystic Pedagogue (Ex)

An Arclord of Nex adds a bonus equal to 1/2 his class level on Spellcraft checks to learn a wizard spell or craft a magical item.

Third Eye (Su)

An Arclord of Nex can use his Eye of the Arclord feat one additional time per day, plus one additional time per day for every two levels beyond 1st (three times per day at 3rd level, and so on). In addition, while the eye is open, the Arclord can use the aid another action to grant an adjacent wizard a +1 bonus to her caster level and a +2 circumstance bonus on concentration checks for the next wizard spell she casts before the beginning of the Arclord's next turn.

Artificer's Touch (Sp)

At 2nd level, an Arclord of Nex can expend one use of his hand of the apprentice to use the Artifice domain's artificer's touch power, using his caster level as his cleric level.

Scholiast (Sp)

At 3rd level, an Arclord of Nex can access the wizard school powers of another school of magic. He chooses a single arcane school spell-like ability that has a number of uses per day equal to 3 + his Intelligence modifier. Henceforth, he may use that ability (with a wizard level equal to his caster level) by expending two uses of his hand of the apprentice ability. A specialist wizard needs to expend two uses of his equivalent ability if using scholiast for hand of the apprentice, but still has to expend one additional daily use (for a total of three) to use it for a power of a different school.

At 6th level and again at 9th level, an Arclord of Nex can choose an additional arcane school spell-like ability to use with this ability.

Arcane Architect (Ex)

At 4th level, an Arclord of Nex can create constructs with the Craft Construct feat in only half the time it would normally take. In addition, he can apply the Extend Spell and/or Widen Spell metamagic feats to conjuration (creation) spells he prepares, even if he doesn't possess those feats. If he does possess them, the level increase for applying Extend Spell to a conjuration (creation) spell is eliminated, and the level increase for applying Widen Spell to a conjuration (creation) spell is reduced to 2.

Improved Third Eye (Sp)

At 5th level, an Arclord can activate his Eye of the Arclord feat as a move action. An Arclord of Nex can expend two uses of his hand of the apprentice ability to add the effect of arcane sight or see invisibility to the benefits of his Eye of the Arclord for 1 minute (or until the duration of the Eye ends, whichever is sooner). He can add both effects by expending four uses of this ability.

Extradimensional Extension (Su)

At 6th level, the duration of any spell cast by an Arclord of Nex that creates an extradimensional space (or demiplane) or moves creatures or objects through the Ethereal Plane is doubled as though affected by the Extend Spell feat, without altering the level of the spell. Applications of Extend Spell do not stack with this ability.

Call for Aid (Su)

At 8th level, as a standard action, an Arclord of Nex can sacrifice a prepared spell of 2nd level or higher to call a creature bound to him, including an animal companion, eidolon, familiar, personally controlled construct or undead creature, creature telepathically linked to him (including by telepathic bond, dominate person, or dominate monster), or an outsider bound with a planar binding spell. The named creature appears adjacent to the Arclord, or in the nearest open space if all adjacent squares are occupied. This ability functions like greater teleport, except the range limit is determined by the level of the sacrificed spell: short (2nd–3rd), medium (4th–5th), long (6th–7th), unlimited (same plane) (8th), or unlimited (any plane) (9th).

Greater Third Eye (Sp)

At 10th level, an Arclord can activate his Eye of the Arclord as a swift action. In addition, he can expend four uses of his hand of the apprentice while opening his third eye to gain greater arcane sight or true seeing until the beginning of his next turn. He gains both effects if he expends eight uses of this ability.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Matt Goodall, and Jason Nelson.