Promethean Magos

To a high-piercing, headlong rock / In adamantine chains that none can break. / Forever shall the intolerable present grind you down…There is no force which can compel my speech. / So let Zeus hurl his blazing bolts, / And with the white wings of the snow, / With thunder and with earthquake, / Confound the reeling world. None of this will bend my will.

Hesiod, Theogony

Relics & Rituals: Olympus

© 2004 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. Distributed for Sword and Sorcery Studios by White Wolf Publishing, Inc.

By W. Jason Peck, Aaron Rosenberg, Christina Stiles and Relics & Rituals: Olympus team

There are those disciples of knowledge who are not content to merely absorb the accumulated wisdom of the ages. The irregular caress of the Muses is not enough for such insatiable minds; for those hungry few with both the desire and the wherewithal to touch it, the Promethean Flame beckons. Basking in the light of all that is or could be, the Promethean magos is a mystic and a master of hidden lore; a keeper of deep secrets.

As the name might suggest, most Promethean magi are sorcerers and wizards, although clerics with the knowledge domain may be interested in the class as well. NPC Promethean magi are most often encountered alone – they are the archetypal ‘hermits on the mountain,’ although a symbolic mountain might take the place of a literal one; the pale and reclusive scholar who is only ever glimpsed rooting among the scrolls of the great Library is probably a Promethean magos.

Hit Die: d4.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Promethean magos, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Skills: Knowledge (any three) 10 ranks.
Feats: Any one metamagic feat.
Languages: The character must speak at least three languages.
Spellcasting: The character must possess the ability to cast at least three divination spells, one of which must be clairaudience/clairvoyance.
Special: The character must learn a secret ritual in order to create his Sacred Flame (see below). This ritual is most often passed down from master to pupil, but an enterprising (or lucky) supplicant could discover the ritual within an ancient text or carving, at the DM’s discretion

The Promethean Magos
Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Promethean flame	+1 level of existing spellcasting class
2nd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Bonus skill	+1 level of existing spellcasting class
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Sum of all knowledge	+1 level of existing spellcasting class
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Sum of all endeavor	+1 level of existing spellcasting class
5th	+2	+2	+2	+4	Bonus skill	+1 level of existing spellcasting class
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Sum of all will	+1 level of existing spellcasting class
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Sum of all faith	+1 level of existing spellcasting class
8th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Sum of all that is lost	+1 level of existing spellcasting class
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Sum of all lore	+1 level of existing spellcasting class
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Promethean fire	+1 level of existing spellcasting class

Class Skills

The Promethean magos class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Constitution), Craft (Intelligence), Decipher Script (Intelligence), Knowledge (all) (Intelligence), Speak Language, and Spellcraft (Intelligence).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Intelligence modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are features of the Promethean magos prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Promethean magos gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Spells per Dayspells Known: When a new Promethean magos level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of Promethean magos to the level of some other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per
day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.

Sacred Fire (Su): An aspiring Promethean magos creates for himself a magical recreation of the primal fire given to mortal man. This enchanted flame is most often kept within a vessel, so it may be transported, as it serves as a focus for the Promethean magos, allowing him to enhance his magic and expand his mind. Some magi will place their sacred fire on a staff or weapon (in a manner similar to the continual flame spell), but most remain true to their nature, and prefer to keep their flame hidden.

All of the Promethean magos’ special class abilities (except for the effective spellcasting levels, and the bonus skill ability) require the magos to be within 5 feet of his sacred fire. The sacred fire does not require any fuel, nor does it obey normal physical laws (it will burn under water, and resist even the stiffest breeze), although it can be extinguished by a targeted dispel magic or similar spell effects. The sacred fire uses the magos’ current character level for purposes of opposed caster level checks.

If the Promethean magos loses his sacred fire, he can create a new flame for himself by spending a week in solitary ritual and consuming material components of a value equal to 1000 x (current Promethean magos level -1) gp.

Bonus Skill: At 2nd level, and again at 5th level, the Promethean magos may add any single skill to his Promethean magos class skill list.

Sum of All Knowledge (Su): By chanting and gazing into his sacred fire for ten minutes, a magos of at least 3rd level may answer questions by making a Knowledge skill check as if he had five ranks in the most relevant Knowledge skill. This ability does not actually grant any ranks in the skill, and the magos does not gain any synergy bonuses.

Sum of All Endeavor (Sp): By spending one round mentally focusing on his sacred flame (and taking no other action), the Promethean magos can grant himself a +10 insight bonus to the next skill or ability check he attempts, provided he does so in the round immediately following the insight.

Sum of All Will (Su): Having spent enough time contemplating Prometheus‘ trials, the 6th-level magos gains a +2 insight bonus on all Will saving throws (so long as he remains within 5 feet of his sacred flame).

Sum of All Faith (Su): By spending ten minutes meditating before his sacred flame, the Promethean magos may prepare one spell from the cleric spell list as if it were known to him and in his spell books. If the magos is a spontaneous caster, he may use this ability to substitute one of his known spells for a spell of the same level from the cleric spell list.

Sum of All that Is Lost (Su): At 8th level, the magos gains the ability to use hidden secrets to overcome his opponents’ resistance to his mental spells. When he is within five feet of his sacred flame, all his spell DCs that target a Will saving throw increase by +1. This ability stacks with bonuses to the DC from the Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus feats.

Sum of All Lore (Su): Immediately upon reaching level 9, the character may select one metamagic feat that he already knows. Sum of All Lore reduces the additional spell levels added to any spells prepared with this feat by one. For example, a quickened fox’s cunning would normally require a 6th-level slot. With the Sum of All Lore (Quicken Spell) ability, the Promethean magos could prepare a quickened fox’s cunning as a 5th-level spell. This ability only applies to one metamagic feat, and that feat may not be changed once selected.

Promethean Fire (Su): At 10th level, the Promethean magos has transformed his sacred flame into a perfect replica of the original fire Prometheus gave to mankind. His sacred flame is no longer subject to dispelling (or extinguishing by any means save divine intervention, or a miracle spell).

The power of the Promethean Flame is so great, that while he is within 5 feet of his Promethean flame, the magos gains an additional +2 insight bonus on Will saving throws (for a total of +4), and an additional +1 bonus to spell DCs that target Will saves (for a total of +2).