Class Features
All of the following are features of the Arcanist class.
Spell Casting
An arcanist casts arcane spells drawn from the
Wizard Spell List. An arcanist must prepare their spells ahead of time, but unlike a
Wizard, their spells are not expended when they’re cast. Instead, they can cast any spell that they have prepared consuming a spell slot of the appropriate level, assuming they haven’t yet used up their spell slots per day for that level.
To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the arcanist must have an
Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell’s level. The saving throw DC against an arcanist’s spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the arcanist’s
Intelligence modifier.
An arcanist can only cast a certain number of spells of each
Spell Level per day. Their base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Arcanist under “Spells per Day.” In addition, they receive bonus spells per day if they have a high
Intelligence score.
An arcanist may know any number of spells, but the number they can prepare each day is limited. At 1st level, they can prepare four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells each day. At each new arcanist level, the number of spells they can prepare each day increases, adding new spell levels as indicated on Table: Arcanist Spells Prepared. Unlike the number of spells they can cast per day, the number of spells an arcanist can prepare each day is not affected by their
Intelligence score. Feats and other effects that modify the number of spells known by a spellcaster instead affect the number of spells an arcanist can prepare.
An arcanist must choose and prepare their spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying their spellbook. While studying, the arcanist decides what spells to prepare and refreshes their available spell slots for the day.
Like a
Sorcerer, an arcanist can choose to apply any
Metamagic Feats they know to a prepared spell as they cast it, with the same increase in casting time (see Spontaneous Casting and Metamagic Feats). However, they may also prepare a spell with any
Metamagic Feats they know and cast it without increasing casting time like a
Wizard. They cannot combine these options—a spell prepared with
Metamagic Feats cannot be further modified with another metamagic feat at the time of casting (unless they have the metamixing arcanist exploit, detailed below).
Spellbooks
An arcanist must study their spellbook each day to prepare their spells. They can’t prepare any spell not recorded in their spellbook, except for
Read Magic (which all arcanists can prepare from memory).
An arcanist begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level
Wizard spells plus three 1st-level spells of their choice. The arcanist also selects a number of additional 1st-level spells equal to their
Intelligence modifier to add to the spellbook. At each new arcanist level, they gain two new spells of any
Spell Level or levels that they can cast (based on their new arcanist level) for their spellbook. At any time, an arcanist can also add spells found in wizards‘ or other arcanists’
Spellbooks to their own.
Cantrips
Arcanists can prepare a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day as noted on Table: Arcanist Spells Prepared. These spells are cast like any other spell, but they do not consume spell slots. As with their other spells, these spells are not expended when cast.
Arcane Reservoir (Su)
An arcanist has an innate pool of magical energy that they can draw upon to fuel their arcanist exploits and enhance their spells. The arcanist’s arcane reservoir can hold a maximum amount of magical energy equal to 3 + the arcanist’s level. Each day, when preparing spells, the arcanist’s arcane reservoir fills with raw magical energy, gaining a number of points equal to 3 + 1/2 their arcanist level. Any points they had from the previous day are lost. They can also regain these points through the consume spells class feature and some arcanist exploits. The arcane reservoir can never hold more points than the maximum amount noted above; points gained in excess of this total are lost.
Points from the arcanist reservoir are used to fuel many of the arcanist’s powers. In addition, the arcanist can expend 1 point from their arcane reservoir as a
Free Action whenever they cast an arcanist spell. If they do, they can choose to increase the
Caster Level by 1 or increase the spell’s DC by 1. They can expend no more than 1 point from their reservoir on a given spell in this way.
Arcanist Exploits
By bending and sometimes even breaking the rules of magic, the arcanist learns to exploit gaps and exceptions in the laws of magic. Some of these exploits allow them to break down various forms of magic, adding their essence to their arcane reservoir. At 1st level and every 2 levels thereafter, the arcanist learns a new arcane exploit selected from the following list. An arcanist exploit cannot be selected more than once. Once an arcanist exploit has been selected, it cannot be changed. Most arcanist exploits require the arcanist to expend points from their arcane reservoir to function. Unless otherwise noted, the saving throw DC for an arcanist exploit is equal to 10 + 1/2 the arcanist’s level + the arcanist’s
Charisma modifier.
For a complete list of exploits is available in the
Arcanist Exploits article.
Consume Spells (Su)
At 1st level, an arcanist can expend an available arcanist spell slot as a
Move Action, making it unavailable for the rest of the day, just as if they had used it to cast a spell. They can use this ability a number of times per day equal to their
Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Doing this adds a number of points to their arcane reservoir equal to the level of the spell slot consumed. They cannot consume cantrips (0 level spells) in this way. Points gained in excess of the reservoir’s maximum are lost.
Greater Exploits
At 11th level and every 2 levels thereafter, an arcanist can choose one of the following greater exploits in place of an arcanist exploit.
For a complete list of Greater Exploits, see here
Magical Supremacy (Su)
At 20th level, the arcanist learns how to convert their arcane reservoir into spells and back again. They can cast any spell they have prepared by expending a number of points from their arcane reservoir equal to 1 + the level of the spell to be cast instead of expending a spell slot. When they cast a spell in this fashion, they treat their
Caster Level as 2 higher than normal, and the DCs of any
Saving Throws associated with the spell increase by 2. They cannot further expend points from their arcane reservoir to enhance a spell cast in this way.
Arcanist Variants
Several variations exist that alter or replace aspects of the Arcanist class.
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