Savant Creature (CR special)[3pp]

Get this book AND support this site!

Savants are creatures gifted with unusual intelligence due to some accident of birth. Physically weak and socially inept, they live on the fringes of the social order and are viewed as oracles at best or freaks at worst. Despite their quick wits, flawless memories, and faultless logic, few savants become leaders of their kind. Some, however, gain considerable political power by serving as advisers to more charismatic leaders who are socially acceptable to others. Such injustice often makes savants bitter and vengeful creatures.

A savant looks much like any normal member of its race, though it usually has an enlarged skull to house its extra-large brain. The typical savant also has some physical deformity, such as a club foot or a twisted back—a feature that further erodes its ability to relate to others.

Creating a Savant Creature

Savant” is an inherited template that can be added to any creature with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher.

A savant uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Challenge Rating: The savant’s high Intelligence should make it a much greater threat than an average member of its race because of the plots and machinations it can invent, but in physical combat, no adjustment or a +1 adjustment to CR should be appropriate. If the savant can cast spells as a cleric, druid, or wizard, the abnormally high save DCs may justify a +2 CR adjustment.

Defensive Abilities: A savant gains the following defensive abilities:

Deductive Leap (Ex)

Once per round, a savant can choose to substitute its Intelligence modifier for the ability modifier usually associated with a saving throw it is about to make. The decision to use this ability must be made before the saving throw is rolled, and this ability can be used even if the savant does not know what the saving throw is for.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex)

This ability functions identically to the rogue ability. If a savant gains uncanny dodge from a class level or another template, it instead gains improved uncanny dodge.

Special Attacks: A savant gains the following.

Combat Insight (Ex)

Against any creature it has watched in combat for at least 3 rounds a savant gains a +2 insight bonus to AC and on attack and damage rolls.

Abilities: Str –2 (minimum 1), Dex –2 (minimum 1), Con –2 (minimum 1), Int +10, Wis +6, Cha –4 (minimum 1).

Feats: A savant gains Blind-Fight as a bonus feat.

Skills: The savant retains the racial skill bonuses of the base creature, but it loses all skill ranks the base creature possessed. Recalculate skill points for the savant’s racial Hit Dice according to its type then purchase its skills afresh. Treat the base creature’s skills and Disable Device, Linguistics, Knowledge (all), and Use Magic Device as class skills. The savant retains any skill points gained from class levels. A savant gains a +6 insight bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Sense Motive checks against creatures it has observed or interacted with for 1 minute. Furthermore, it can use all Knowledge skills, Disable Device, Linguistics, and Use Magic Device untrained.

Languages: A savant often speaks many languages chosen from the bonus languages available to creatures of its type.

Special Qualities: The savant retains all the base creature’s special qualities and gains those described here.

Skill Mastery (Ex)

A savant chooses ten skills when the template is added. It may take 10 on checks made with any of these skills, even if stress or distraction would normally prevent it from doing so.

Home Advantage (Ex)

A savant gains a +4 insight bonus on initiative rolls and Perception and Stealth checks in any area with which it is very familiar (that is, a place that the savant feels at home in).

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Advanced Bestiary, Copyright 2014, Green Ronin Publishing, LLC; Author Jeff Hersh, Developer Owen K.C. Stephens

scroll to top