Scholar of Legends (Legendary Bard Archetype)

Some bards dedicate themselves to the study of magic above all other arts. These scholars of legends travel the world in an attempt to record all they can, adapting the legends they learn as songs and stories that they can use to wield amazing spells.

Hit Die: The scholar of legends uses a d6 as their hit die from their legendary bard levels. This modifies the legendary bard’s hit die.

Base Attack Bonus: The scholar of legend’s base attack bonus from legendary bard levels is equal to their half class level (rounded down). This modifies the legendary bard’s base attack bonus.

Skill Ranks per Level: The scholar of legend gains 4 + Int modifier skill ranks each level.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies

A scholar of legends is proficient with all simple weapons, with light armor and with shields (except tower shields). A scholar of legends can cast bard spells while wearing light armor and using a shield without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a scholar of legends wearing medium or heavy armor incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component. A scholar of legends bard still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes. This modifies the legendary bard’s weapon and armor proficiencies.

Scholarly Spellcasting

The scholar of legend follows one of two schools of training: The Legacy of Arcana, or the Legacy of Nature (see below). This school of training determines the spells they cast, and the ability score they use when determining their spellcasting abilities.

The scholar of legends has an increased number of spell slots and prepared spells, as per Table 1-3 Scholar of Legends Spellcasting and Table 1-4 Scholar of Legends Prepared Spells. This modifies the legendary bard’s bardic spellcasting and cantrips class features.

Legacy of Arcana

The scholar of legend uses their Intelligence to learn, prepare, and cast spells, and when determining their bonus spell slots from high ability scores. The scholar of legend can cast spells of 7th, 8th, and 9th level. They treat the following spells as bard spells of their specified levels. In addition, the bardic magician treats any spell of 6th level or lower on the bard spell list that is also on the cleric, druid, psychic, or sorcerer/wizard spell list as if it were a spell of the lowest level among the cleric, druid, psychic, or sorcerer/wizard lists, rather than the spells normal spell level for a bard. For example, the bardic magician would treat the overwhelming presence spell as a 9th-level bard spell, rather than a 6th-level bard spell.

7th level: Banishment, control weather, ethereal jaunt, insanity, lesser astral projection, mass cure serious wounds, mass hold person, mass invisibility, permanent hallucination, plane shift, prismatic spray, regenerate, repulsion, scouring winds, sequester, statue, teleport, true seeing, vision, vortex, waves of exhaustion, wind walk

8th level: Antimagic field, antipathy, demand, discern location, earthquake, frightful aspect, heal, mass charm monster, mass cure critical wounds, maze, mind blank, protection from spells, refuge, scintillating pattern, screen, sympathy, teleport object, walk through space, wandering weather

9th level: Astral projection, communal mind blank, cursed earth, dominate monster, etherealness, foresight, greater teleport, heroic invocation, mass heal, mass hold monster, storm of vengeance, tsunami, wail of the banshee, weird, winds of vengeance, world wave

Legacy of Nature

The scholar of legend uses their Wisdom to learn, prepare, and cast spells, and when determining their bonus spell slots from high ability scores.

A scholar of legends who selects the legacy of nature casts spells drawn from the druid and ranger spell lists, rather than the bard spell list. If a spell appears on both the druid and ranger spell lists, the scholar of legends uses the lower of the two spell levels listed for the spell. For instance, reduce animal is a 2nd-level druid spell and a 3rd-level ranger spell, making it a 2nd-level spell for the purposes of this archetype. Likewise, detect poison is a 0-level druid spell and a 2nd-level ranger spell, making it a 0-level spell.

Instead of being able to be taught spells by other bards, a scholar of legends can learn spells from other scholar of legends’ that selected the legacy of nature, from druids or rangers, or from other characters who cast spells using those spell lists.

Restricted Schools: The scholar of legends cannot select the school of the blade. This modifies the legendary bard’s bardic schools class feature, but not for the purposes of archetype compatibility.

Table 1-3: Scholar of Legends Spells Per Day

Level	Bard Spells Per Day
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	4	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
8th	4	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
9th	5	4	4	3	2	—	—	—	—
10th	5	4	4	3	2	—	—	—	—
11th	5	5	4	4	3	2	—	—	—
12th	5	5	4	4	3	2	—	—	—
13th	5	5	5	4	4	3	2	—	—
14th	5	5	5	4	4	3	2	—	—
15th	5	5	5	5	4	4	3	2	—
16th	5	5	5	5	4	4	3	2	—
17th	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	3	2
18th	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	3	2
19th	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	3
20th	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	3

Table 1-4: Scholar of Legends Spells Prepared

Level	Bard Spells Prepared
	0	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	5	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	6	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	6	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	6	5	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	6	5	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	6	5	5	4	3	—	—	—	—	—
8th	6	5	5	4	3	—	—	—	—	—
9th	6	6	5	5	4	3	—	—	—	—
10th	6	6	5	5	4	3	—	—	—	—
11th	6	6	6	5	5	4	3	—	—	—
12th	6	6	6	5	5	4	3	—	—	—
13th	6	6	6	6	5	5	4	3	—	—
14th	6	6	6	6	5	5	4	3	—	—
15th	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	4	3	—
16th	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	4	3	—
17th	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	4	3
18th	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	4	3
19th	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	4
20th	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	4