The loremaster is a gatherer and keeper of secrets. He is often obsessed by the written word, with cryptic and arcane lore serving as his devoted mistress. Holding to the adage that knowledge is power, the loremaster often forsakes material wealth and personal glory for rare or unusual information, an endless quest that brings him ever closer to his unattainable goal: perfection through edification. Often rejecting what he views as the pointless affectations and transitory pleasures of his short-sighted neighbors, the loremaster believes that the only worthwhile goal in life is the acquisition of intellectual might. After all, wealth is spent, passions fade, and the power of the body is limited by age, while the mind’s capacity to grow greater with time is infinite.
The loremaster class holds little appeal for non-spellcasters—indeed, before one can devote a life to the studies and traditions of the loremaster, a character must first master several spells of the school of divination. Most loremasters begin their paths as clerics or wizards, but any character capable of casting enough divination spells can, eventually, become a loremaster.
Role
Loremasters’ lives are spent in study, research, and fieldwork. While the first two lend themselves to the loremaster’s reputation as a bookish recluse, the latter oftentimes forces a loremaster to seek out the aid of adventurers who, through a mutually beneficial arrangement, might provide a degree of protection to the scholar while he seeks whatever knowledge he is after. For his part, the loremaster provides a wealth of information and arcane firepower to a party. Some loremasters actively deride those of their kind who fear to leave the safety of the temple or library, pointing out that only old lore can be discovered in books—new lore must be sought out in the world. These more active loremasters might join up with an adventuring party for the benefit of the journey, content with whatever knowledge might be picked up along the way.
Entry Requirements
Skills: 7 ranks in any two skills from the following list: Academics, Arcane Lore, Arms Lore, Engineering, Linguistics, Natural Lore, Psi Lore, or Theology.
Feats: Any three metamagic feats, metapsionic feats, or item creation feats plus any one skill feat.
Esoteric Ability: Able to cast seven different divination spells or seven different clairsentience powers, one of which must be 3rd level or higher.
| Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Esoterica | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +1 | Secret | +1 level of existing class |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +1 | Lore | +1 level of existing class |
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | Secret | +1 level of existing class |
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +2 | Bonus Language | +1 level of existing class |
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Secret | +1 level of existing class |
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +3 | Greater lore | +1 level of existing class |
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +4 | Secret | +1 level of existing class |
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +4 | Bonus Language | +1 level of existing class |
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +5 | Secret | +1 level of existing class |
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +5 | True lore | +1 level of existing class |
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Academics, Arcane Lore, Arms Lore, Engineering, Handle Animal, Linguistics, Natural Lore, Heal, Persuasion, Perform, Profession, Psi Lore, and Theology
Class Features
Esoterica
At each loremaster level, you progress any spellcasting or manifesting class you already possess. If you possess more than one such class, you must decide to which class you add each new level of progression. (This ability does not apply to any other form of esoteric ability.)
Secret
At 1st level and every two levels higher than 1st (3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th), you choose one secret from Table: Loremaster Secrets. Your level plus Intelligence modifier determines which secrets you can choose. You can’t choose the same secret twice.
| Level + Int Modifier | Secret | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Instant mastery | 4 ranks of a skill in which you have no ranks |
| 2 | Secret health | Toughness as a bonus feat |
| 3 | Secrets of inner strength | +2 bonus on Will saves |
| 4 | The lore of true stamina | +2 bonus on Fortitude saves |
| 5 | Secret knowledge of avoidance | +2 bonus on Reflex saves |
| 6 | Weapon trick | +1 bonus on attack rolls |
| 7 | Dodge trick | +1 dodge bonus to AC |
| 8 | Applicable knowledge | Any one feat |
| 9 | Newfound arcana | Your key ability score is considered 2 points higher for determining bonus spell slots of power points1 |
| 10 | More newfound arcana | Your key ability score is considered 2 points higher for determining bonus spell slots of power points.1 This benefit stacks with Newfound arcana. |
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Lore
You add half your class level, rounded down, on all skill checks to Recall Information. The bonuses gained from this ability stack with those gained from Bardic Knowledge.
Bonus Languages
You can can choose to learn any one new language at 4th and 8th level, even secret languages.
Greater Lore
At 6th level, you gain the ability to understand magic items. Whenever you examine a magic item to determine its properties, you gain a +10 circumstance bonus on your skill check.
True Lore
At 10th level, your knowledge becomes vast indeed. Once per day, you can use your knowledge to gain the effect of a legend lore spell or an analyze dweomer spell. If used to create a legend lore effect, this ability has a casting time of 1 minute, regardless of how much information is already known about the subject in question.