Gem Sage

Gem Sages uncover the hidden energy in precious stones, crystals and gems and channel it into powerful arcane spells. They are usually at loggerheads with more traditional Wizards and Sorcerers, considering the other Arcane casters to be too academic or too wild. Gem Sages are aesthetes who are as proud of the beauty and elegance of their power as the actual results. This combination of vanity and ego has led to a peculiar focus in their choice of spells: illusions and mind control.

Not that all Gem Sages are ideologues who pursue their Aart@ for its own sake. Indeed, they tend to amass great wealth and influence through their powers and like to enjoy the fruits of their labours. Few see the purpose in starving for your art. To whit, Gem Sages are notorious collectors and traders of precious stones. At the very least they do this to reduce the cost of plying their trade, but most have positioned themselves among the most important brokers of precious and semiprecious stones in the land. Some have even branched out and begun trafficking in magic items and other objet d'art.

Alignment: Any
HD: d4
Prerequisites:
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 1st level Arcane spells.
Craft (Gems and Jewellery) 5 ranks.
Feats: Still Spell, Silent Spell, Craft Wondrous Item, Skill Focus (Craft (Gems and Jewellery))

Skill Points: 2 + Intelligence modifier / level
Class Skills: The Gem Sage's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Alchemy (Int), Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Gems and Jewellery) (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int, exclusive skill), and Spellcraft (Int).

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Gem Sages are proficient with club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff. They are not proficient with any type of armour, nor with shields.

	Base Attack	Fort.	Ref.	Will	Special Abilities
L1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Stone Spells
L2	+1	+0	+0	+3
L3	+1	+1	+1	+3	Gem Focus
L4	+2	+1	+1	+4
L5	+2	+1	+1	+4	Gem Talisman
L6	+3	+2	+2	+5
L7	+3	+2	+2	+5	Improved Gem Focus
L8	+4	+2	+2	+6
L9	+4	+3	+3	+6	Greater Gem Focus
L10	+5	+3	+3	+7

Stone Spells: The Gem Sage can imbue small semiprecious stones with magic, making them single use, spell completion magic items as with a scroll. Unlike a scroll, there are no somatic components required in the activation of the item, but the gem must be held in the caster's hand and a command word must be spoken. Activating a stone spell is a standard action. The spell it releases cannot be counterspelled. Each Gem Sage uses unique command words so even another Gem Sage will have to discover the command word through the usual means. Occasionally, a Gem Sage will create Stone Spells for others to use. When this is done a Apublic@ command word is used instead. A Bardic Knowledge check (DC25) can reveal a Apublic@ command word for a Stone Spell created by a prolific or well known Gem Sage.

The price to create a Stone Spell is the same as that of a scroll in both GP and xp. Use table 7-5 (p. 172) in Core Rule Book II to determine which gems are used for which spells, based on the price. If there is no gem exactly equal to the item creation price use one from above or below the required price in the table and assume the price is adjusted for cut or quality. Regardless of the type of precious stone used, the required price is mandatory. The power of stone is consumed, leaving a worthless burnt-out mundane stone when the Arcane forces are released.

Gem Focus: Beginning at Level 3 Gem Sages do not need specific material components in order to cast their spells. Instead a gem of appropriate value (see chart below) is used to focus the Arcane energies. The gem does not need be a precious stone per se (Pearls are appropriate, for example) but the value of the Gem must at least match the chart. If a spell has an xp cost, that cost must still be expended.

If the gem is at least twice the value needed to cast a spell, a +2 circumstance bonus is applied to the Save DC and the Caster Level Check for penetrating Spell Resistance.

The gem is not consumed in the casting, even if the material component normally would be. In theory if the Gem Sage has a single Gem Focus of a high enough value he will not need any other material components.

If the spell is cast upon an object, such as with Nystul=s Magic Aura, the object must be supplied.

Gem Talisman: The Gem Sage can imbue precious Stones with permanent magical powers. Once imbued the stone may be activated by holding the gem in hand such that the light can play off or through the stone. If the gem is dropped or set down, the effect ends even if there is time remaining in the effective duration. A successful disarm attempt will cause the caster to drop the gem.

If there is no significant light present (in the area of a darkness spell, or underground with no light source present B i.e. any time darkvision is needed to see) the effect ends. The Gem Talisman works when invisible. The Gem Talisman can be reactivated under the appropriate conditions an unlimited number of times, limited to once per day. They only operate for the Gem Sage who created it. Only two can be active at any time, one in each hand, and the hand holding the Gem Talisman cannot be used for other tasks.

Cost to create: Spell level x caster level x 1,000 gp

Improved Gem Focus: Beginning at Level 7 Gem Sages do not need to perform the somatic components of a spell in order to cast it. Instead a gem of appropriate value (*see chart to be created soon*) is used to focus the Arcane energies. The gem does not need be a crystal per se (Pearls are appropriate, for example) but the value of the Gem must at least match the chart.

If the gem is at least twice the value needed to cast a spell a +2 circumstance bonus is applied to the Save DC and the Caster Level Check for penetrating Spell Resistance. If different gems are used as Material Focus and Somatic Focus and both are twice the value needed to cast the spell, a +3 circumstance bonus is applied to the Save DC and the Caster Level Check for penetrating Spell Resistance.

The gem is not consumed in the casting.

If there are physical actions required to cast the spell effectively (make a touch attack, handle an object) then this must still be done or the spell is used without effect.

Greater Gem Focus: Beginning at Level 7 Gem Sages do not need to perform the verbal components of a spell in order to cast it. Instead a gem of appropriate value (*see chart to be created soon*) is used to focus the Arcane energies. The gem does not need be a crystal per se (Pearls are appropriate, for example) but the value of the Gem must at least match the chart.

If the gem is at least twice the value needed to cast a spell a +2 circumstance bonus is applied to the Save DC and the Caster Level Check for penetrating Spell Resistance. If different gems are used as Material Focus and Verbal Focus, or Somatic Focus and Verbal Focus and both gems are twice the value needed to cast the spell, a +3 circumstance bonus is applied to the Save DC and the Caster Level Check for penetrating Spell Resistance. If different gems are used for the Material, Somatic and Verbal Focuses and each are twice the value needed to cast the spell a +3 circumstance bonus is applied to the Save DC and the Caster Level Check for penetrating Spell Resistance.

(Variant: Instead of double the required monetary value, different types of gems can be treated as APower Components@ for the purpose of bonuses to Save DC and Caster Level Checks for specific spells. For example a Ruby of the appropriate value will grant a +2 circumstance bonus when casting fire-based spells. Increased quality (as measured by the gp value) will then increase the circumstance bonus to +3 at double the required value and to +4 at triple. But if rubies are used for mind-affecting spells it is simply the monetary value that is computed.)

Spells:
The Gem Sage's level stacks with previous Arcane spellcasting levels for the purposes of Penetrating Spell Resistance, Damage Dice, Range and Duration only.

Spells per Day

	1	2	3	4	5
L1	1	-	-	-	-
L2	2	-	-	-	-
L3	2	1	-	-	-
L4	3	2	-	-	-
L5	3	2	1	-	-
L6	3	3	2	-	-
L7	4	3	2	1	-
L8	4	3	3	2	-
L9	4	4	3	2	1
L10	4	4	3	3	2

Spell List:
L1: Protection from Chaos/Evil/Good/Law, Charm Person, Hypnotism, Colour Spray, Nystul=s Magic Aura, Nystul=s Undetectable Aura, Darkness, Daylight, Continual Flame, Hypnotic Pattern, Misdirection, Invisibility, Enlarge, Reduce, Identify.

L2: Dispel Magic, Magic Circle Against Chaos/Evil/Good/Law, Hold Person, Displacement, Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Stoneskin, Charm Monster, Confusion, Emotion, Improved Invisibility.

L3: Dismissal, Dominate Person, Feeblemind, Hold Monster, Wall of Force, Seeming, Permanency, Antimagic Field, Greater Dispelling, Repulsion, Mass Suggestion, Mislead

L4: Banishment, Contingency, Globe of Invulnerability, Spell Turning, Insanity, Forcecage, Prismatic Spray, Mass Invisibility

L5: Prismatic Wall, Protection from Spells, Trap the Soul, Binding, Sympathy, Sunburst, Screen, Dominate Monster

Gem Focus Value Chart

Spell Level	Gem Focus	Improved Gem Focus	Greater Crystal
1	750gp	1,500gp	2,500gp
2	1,500gp	2,500gp	3,250gp
3	2,500gp	3,250gp	4,750gp
4	3,250gp	4,750gp	7,250gp
5	4,750gp	7,250gp	10,500gp
6*	7,250gp	10,500gp	-
7*	10,500gp	15,250gp	-
8*	15,250gp	-	-
9*	22,500gp	-	-

* L6-L9 are for the purposes of Arcane Spells cast from a PCs other spell lists.