Eldritch Knight, Serial Unchained

Design notes: Derived from collaboration in the Pathfinder community Prestige Unchained project, with a few little tweaks for our player requests.

Prerequisites:

• Weapon Proficiency: Must be proficient with at least one martial weapon.
• Spellcasting: Must be able to cast 2nd level arcane spells.
• Skills: Spellcraft 5 ranks.

Hit Die: d10

Class Skills: The Eldritch Knight’s class skills are Climb (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Eldritch Knights gain no additional proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Spells per day: At the indicated levels, an Eldritch Knight gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for additional spells per day, spells known (if she is a spontaneous spellcaster), and an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming an Eldritch Knight, she must decide to which class she adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Diverse Training: An Eldritch Knight is rigorously taught in the blending of sword and spell; her Eldritch Knight level stacks with any levels of fighter she might have for the purpose of meeting the prerequisites for feats (if she has no fighter levels, treat her Eldritch Knight levels as levels of fighter). she also adds her Eldritch Knight level to any levels in her arcane spellcasting class for the purpose of meeting the prerequisites for feats. Though she does not gain additional abilities of her spellcasting class with this feature (though see below), her Eldritch Knight levels do add to the effective level of her existing arcane abilities — such as her arcane school or bloodline powers — for level-dependent effects. This ability also qualifies her for the following feats: Arcing Weapon & Explosive Weapon.

Bonus Feat: At 1st, level, the Eldritch Knight may choose a bonus feat from any Combat or Metamagic feat. She may alternately select an Arcane Discovery. If she has a Sorcerer bloodline, she can choose one of her bloodline feats. If she has levels in Arcanist, she may select an arcane exploit in lieu of a feat; her Eldritch Knight levels stack with the arcane caster level to determine which of these she can select from. If she has levels in Fighter, she can choose to advance her weapon training or armor training by one step in lieu of a feat. She may make an additional choice at levels 5 and 9.

Eldritch Empowerment: The Eldritch Knight has developed even further means of blending the disciplines of her prior classes. At 2nd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the Eldritch Knight selects an Eldritch Empowerment from the list below. Unless otherwise specified in each entry, she can only choose an empowerment once. Any empowerment that allows for spending a prepared spell or unused spell slot, must use a spell slot from the class for which this prestige class is advancing spellcasting.

• Advanced Armoring (Su): Whenever the Eldritch Knight casts a spell targeting herself that provides an Armor or Shield bonus to AC, she increases that bonus by an amount equal to half her class level. She may benefit from only one such Advanced Armored spell at a time. She may select this empowerment twice in order to apply the effects to two spells at the same time.
• Arcane Revitalizaion (Su): As a move action, the Eldritch Knight may sacrifice a prepared spell or spell slot to grant 1d6+1 temporary hit points per spell level to himself or an adjacent ally; if the sacrificed spell is 6th level or higher, This technique grants 2d6+2 temporary hit points per spell level instead. Once per day when the Eldritch Knight suffers damage that would reduce her to 0 points or less, she may instead make this sacrifice as an immediate action if the temporary hit points would keep her from dying and from falling unconscious. These temporary hit points last for 1 minute.
• Arcane Armor Focus (Ex): The Eldritch Knight adds her armor’s enhancement bonus on concentration checks to cast defensively and to caster level checks to avoid being counterspelled.
• Arcane Recovery (Ex): If the Eldritch Knight has a stamina pool, she may sacrifice a 1st-level or higher spell in order to regain stamina points equal to the level of spell she sacrifices.
• Arcane Interference (Su): As an immediate action, when an enemy within 30 feet hits the Eldritch Knight or an ally with an attack, she can sacrifice a 1st-level or higher prepared spell or unused spell slot and make the enemy reroll the attack roll. The second attack roll takes a penalty equal to the level of the spell she sacrifices.
• Armor Attunement (Ex): The Eldritch Knight reduces her arcane spell failure from wearing armor by 10%. This percentage increases by 5% for every two levels of Eldritch Knight beyond 2nd, to a maximum of 30%. This spell failure reduction will stack with feats or abilities – such as Arcane Armor Training – that reduce arcane spell failure.
• Astral Charge (Su): As part of a move action or charge, the Eldritch Knight may sacrifice a 1st-level or higher spell. If she does, her movement rate increases by 10′ per level of the spell, and her movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
• Bloodline Development (Ex): If the Eldritch Knight has a bloodline, she may take this empowerment to count her eldritch knight levels as sorcerer levels for determining which of her bloodline powers she acquires and their level-dependent effects.
• Brilliant Strike (Su): By expending a spell slot of 1st-level or higher as a swift action, the Eldritch Knight can resolve her next manufactured weapon attack as a touch attack; for each level beyond one of the sacrificed spell, she can resolve an additional attack, up to the number of attacks she has in a full attack action.
• Channeling Weapon (Su): The Eldritch Knight may cast any spell with a range of touch, and deliver it through her weapon. The attack resolves to deal weapon damage and the damage from the spell as usual. The attack uses the critical range of the weapon used, but the spell damage is doubled on a confirmed critical hit, regardless of the critical multiplier of the weapon. If the Eldritch Knight has an arcane school power or bloodline power that resolves with a touch attack, she can use this ability to deliver these as well. This functions otherwise identically to the Magus’ Spellstrike ability. She must possess the Arcing Weapon feat to take this empowerment.
• Dweomerblade (Su): By focusing the energies of her spells through her wielded weapon, the Eldritch Knight adds her wielded weapon’s attunement bonus on all melee and ranged attack rolls made with spells, and on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance with spells that require attack rolls.
• Eldritch Burn (Su): Whenever the Eldritch Knight deals hit point damage with an evocation spell, the damage increases by an amount equal to their class level. This bonus only applies once to a spell, not once per missile or ray, and cannot be split between multiple missiles or rays. This bonus damage is not increased by Empower Spell or similar effects and is of the same damage type as the spell.
• Martial Flexibility (Ex): As a move action, the Eldritch Knight can gain the benefit of a combat feat that she does not possess for 1 minute. She must otherwise meet the feat’s requirements. She can do this a number of times per day equal to her Constitution modifier (minumum 1). These uses stack with martial flexibility from other sources.
• Mystic Reinforcement (Su): As a move action, the Eldritch Knight may sacrifice a prepared spell or spell slot to grant DR/- equal to half her Eldritch Knight level to himself or an ally within 30′ for a number of rounds equal to the spell level sacrificed. If the sacrificed spell was 6th level or higher, then this empowerment grants the DR/- to all allies within 30′. She must be at least level 8 to select this empowerment.
• Shield-bearing Caster (Ex): The Eldritch Knight learns to cast arcane spells while using a shield without incurring the usual arcane spell failure chance, and may provide necessary somatic components with her offhand occupied by shield.
• Sudden Silence (Su): The Eldritch Knight can cast two spells per day as though they were affected by the Silent Spell metamagic feat; this does not affect the level or casting time of the spell. If she has a stamina pool, she may spend 1 point of stamina per the adjusted level of the spell to apply the metamagic effect beyond twice per day.
• Sudden Stilling (Su): The Eldritch Knight can cast two spells per day as though they were affected by the Still Spell metamagic feat; this does not affect the level or casting time of the spell. If she has a stamina pool, she may spend 1 point of stamina per the adjusted level of the spell to apply the metamagic effect beyond twice per day.
• Sword and Spell (Su): The Eldritch Knight can cast two spells per day as though they were affected by the Quicken Spell metamagic feat; this does not affect the level or casting time of the spell. If she has a stamina pool, she may spend 1 point of stamina per the adjusted level of the spell to apply the metamagic effect beyond twice per day. She must be at least 6th level to select this empowerment.
• Spell Critical (Su): Whenever an Eldritch Knight successfully confirms a critical hit, she can cast a spell of 5th level or lower as an immediate action. The spell must include the target of the attack as one of its targets or in its area of effect. Casting this spell does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The caster must still meet all of the spell’s components and must roll for arcane spell failure if necessary. She must be at least 8th level to select this empowerment.

Unchaining the VPC

A character that chooses eldritch knight as his variant prestige class must fulfill the following criteria.

Spells: Ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells or spell-like abilities.
Skills: Spellcraft 4 ranks.
Weapon Proficiency: Must be proficient with at least one martial weapon.

The VMC Eldritch Knight gains the following abilities:

• Diverse Training: At 5th level, the eldritch knight counts half of her levels in any class other than Fighter as Fighter levels for the purpose of feat prerequisites. She also counts every level she gains an ability in this prestige class toward her effective level in an arcane casting class she has for the purpose of feat prerequisites, level dependent effects of spellcasting, and level dependent affects of any arcane caster abilites like arcane school or bloodline powers (but not spells per day or spells known). This cannot increase her effective class level beyond her total hit dice.
• Eldritch Empowerment: At 9th level, she may select an Eldritch Empowerment. She is treated as having an eldritch knight level equal to half of her character level.
• Practised Spellcasting: At 13th level, she may add +1 level to her effective spellcasting level for the purpose of spells per day and spells known in an arcane casting class, and another at 17th level. This cannot increase her casting level beyond her total hit dice.
• Eldritch Empowerment: At 17th level, she may select another Eldritch Empowerment as an eldritch knight equal to half of her character level.

Feats for the Eldritch Knight

Extra Eldritch Empowerment (Combat)
You have delved deeper into your swordweaving arts.

Prerequisites: Eldritch Empowerment feature.
Benefits: You may select an additional eldritch empowerment. You must have enough eldritch knight levels to meet its prerequisites.

Sword of Two Worlds (Combat)
You have further entwined your martial and casting prowess.

Prerequisites: Diverse Training feature.
Benefits: You may choose to use your Base Attack Bonus in place of your Caster Level for the arcane spellcasting class that progresses with your Eldritch Knight levels; this affects any level dependent effects of the spell, as well as caster level checks for dispelling or to overcome spell resistance.

Arcing Weapon

Explosive Weapon