Pale Theologian

Pale theologians often begin their journey as either necromancers of arcane or divine magic who seek greater understanding of their arts and are sought out by members of the order, but a rare few ‘natural’ pale theologians discover the secrets of the pale on their own.

Eventually learning to combine both arcane and divine magics, these skills mages are true masters of necromancy.

Utilizing their magics they can support their allies, ward themselves from the negative effects of death, prolong their lives, animate the dead, heal the sick and dying, or bring death and plague to their foes.

Alignment: Any. Pale theologians are found from all walks of life, and the art of pale necromancy can be as easily used for good as it can be for ill.

Hit Die: d6

Starting Wealth: 3d6 x 10 gp (average 105 gp). In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

Class Skills: The pale theologian’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks Per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: Pale Theologian

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells Per Day
						1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Cantrips, necromantic origination, spontaneous casting, theology pool, pale imbuement, preserve corpse	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Secret of the pale	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
3rd	+1	+3	+1	+3	Pale corruption	4	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
4th	+2	+4	+1	+4	Secret of the pale	4	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
5th	+2	+4	+1	+4	Rites of warding	4	4	2	–	–	–	–	–	–
6th	+3	+5	+2	+5	Secret of the pale	4	4	3	–	–	–	–	–	–
7th	+3	+5	+2	+5	Pale corruption	4	4	4	2	–	–	–	–	–
8th	+4	+6	+2	+6	Secret of the pale	4	4	4	3	–	–	–	–	–
9th	+4	+6	+3	+6	Rites of rest	4	4	4	4	2	–	–	–	–
10th	+5	+7	+3	+7	Secret of the pale	4	4	4	4	3	–	–	–	–
11th	+5	+7	+3	+7	Pale corruption	4	4	4	4	4	2	–	–	–
12th	+6/+1	+8	+4	+8	Secret of the pale	4	4	4	4	4	3	–	–	–
13th	+6/+1	+8	+4	+8	Rites of reanimation	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	–	–
14th	+7/+2	+9	+4	+9	Secret of the pale	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	–	–
15th	+7/+2	+9	+5	+9	Pale corruption	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	–
16th	+8/+3	+10	+5	+10	Secret of the pale	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	–
17th	+8/+3	+10	+5	+10	Rites of domination	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2
18th	+9/+4	+11	+6	+11	Secret of the pale	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3
19th	+9/+4	+11	+6	+11	Pale corruption	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
20th	+10/+5	+12	+6	+12	Pale corruption, secret of the pale	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A pale theologian is proficient with all simple weapons and light armor.

Spellcasting

At 1st level, the pale theologian decides whether their magic is derived from an arcane source or a divine source. Once chosen, the pale theologian’s source of magic cannot be changed.

Pale theologians who choose arcane as their source of magic suffer from arcane spell failure, and use Intelligence to determine their spellcasting abilities. To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, an arcane pale theologian must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell’s level. The saving throw DC against a pale theologian’s spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the pale theologian’s Intelligence modifier. An arcane pale theologian can cast pale theologian spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance.

Pale theologians who choose the divine as their source of magic use Wisdom to determine their spellcasting abilities. To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, a divine pale theologian must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell’s level.

The saving throw DC against a pale theologian’s spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the pale theologian’s Wisdom modifier.

Pale theologian’s combine the teachings of both arcane and divine magic to gain mastery over death, blending the two schools into a single form of magic. Pale theologian’s cast spells drawn from both the cleric and wizard spell lists, with a number of restrictions based on the source of their magic. They treat all of these spells as arcane or divine, based on their choice of magic (no matter whether the spell was originally a cleric or wizard spell).

• Arcane pale theologian’s treat all non-necromancy school wizard spells of 1st level or higher as 1 spell level higher. They treat all non-necromancy school cleric spells of 1st level or higher as 2 spell levels higher. For example; an arcane pale theologian would treat a 1st level evocation spell as 2nd level if it is a wizard spell, or 3rd level if it is a cleric spell.
• Divine pale theologian’s treat all non-necromancy school cleric spells of 1st level or higher as 1 spell level higher. They treat all non-necromancy school wizard spells of 1st level or higher as 2 spell levels higher. For example; a divine pale theologian would treat a 1st level evocation spell as 2nd level if it is a cleric spell, or 3rd level if it is a wizard spell.

If a spell appears on both the cleric and wizard lists of differing spell levels, the pale theologian uses the lower of the two spell levels after adjusting their level above.

A pale theologian can only cast a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Their base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Pale Theologian under ‘Spells per Day.’ In addition, they receive bonus spells per day if they have a high spellcasting ability score; Intelligence for arcane, Wisdom for divine.

A pale theologian may know any number of spells, but the number they can prepare each day is limited. At 1st level, they can prepare four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells each day. At each new pale theologian level, the number of spells they can prepare each day increases, adding new spell levels as indicated on Table: Pale Theologian Spells Prepared. Unlike the number of spells they can cast per day, the number of spells a pale theologian can prepare each day is not affected by their spellcasting ability score. Feats and other effects that modify the number of spells known by a spellcaster instead affect the number of spells a pale theologian can prepare.

A pale theologian must choose and prepare their spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying their spellbook. While studying, the pale theologian decides what spells to prepare and refreshes their available spell slots for the day.

Like a sorcerer, the pale theologian can choose to apply any metamagic feats they know to a prepared spell as they cast it, with the same increase in casting time. However, they may also prepare a spell with any metamagic feats they know and cast it without increasing casting time like a wizard. They cannot combine these options-a spell prepared with metamagic feats cannot be further modified with another metamagic feat at the time of casting.

Spellbook

Pale theologians combine the study of divine and arcane magics to fuel their powers, containing their findings and unique methods of casting spells in a specially prepared tome called a spellbook. A pale theologian must study their spellbook each day to prepare their spells. They can’t prepare any spell not recorded in their spellbook, except for read magic (which all pale theologians can prepare from memory).

A pale theologian begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level wizard and cleric spells plus three 1st-level spells of their choice. The pale theological also selects a number of additional 1st-level spells equal to their spellcasting ability modifier (Intelligence for arcane, Wisdom for divine) to add to the spellbook. At each new pale theologian level, they gain two new spells of any spell level or levels that they can cast (based on their new pale theologian level) for their spellbook.

A pale theologian can also add additional spells to their spellbook. They can add cleric and wizard spells found as scrolls to their spellbook, and add spells found in another pale theologian’s or wizard’s spellbook to their own. This follows the same rules as a wizard copying spells to their spellbook.

A pale theologian can also add cleric spells to their spellbook through the aid of another cleric. A divine caster can preach the working of a cleric spell to the pale theologian while they copy the teaching into their spellbook. This process is similar to them copying a spell from another caster’s spellbook to their own, but it requires a divine spellcaster with the desired spell prepared to be present for the entire duration, and then for them to expend the spell at the end of the required time. This process requires the same expense in gold pieces as copying a spell from a wizard spellbook. Hiring a divine spellcaster to teach you a spell usually costs the amount to purchase the spell to be cast for you, often with an additional cost based on the time required.

Pale theologian’s can also research their spells independently, as a wizard. When they do so, the spell counts as an arcane spell on the wizard spell list.

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

Cantrips

Pale theologians can prepare a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day as noted on Table: Pale Theologian Spells Prepared. These spells are cast like any other spell, but they do not consume spell slots. As with their other spells, these spells are not expended when cast.

Necromantic Origination

Pale theologians treat the following spells as necromancy spells of the listed level, rather than their normal school and level, when determining their spell list:

• 0-Level (cantrips): stabilize (0 level)
• 1st Level: cure light wounds (1st level), remove sickness (1st level)
• 2nd Level: cure moderate wounds, lesser restoration, remove paralysis, cure serious wounds
• 3rd Level: remove blindness/deafness, remove curse, remove disease, symbol of healing, cure critical wounds 
• 4th Level: restoration
• 5th Level: mass cure light wounds, pillar of life, raise dead
• 6th Level: mass cure light wounds, heal
• 7th Level: greater restoration, mass cure serious wounds, resurrection
• 8th Level: mass cure critical wounds
• 9th Level: mass heal (9th level), true resurrection

Spells affected by this ability retain any descriptors they possess, and their effects do not change. For example, a cure light wounds cast by a pale theologian would be treated as a 1st level necromancy spell with the healing descriptor, and it would still heal living creatures and harm undead creatures.

Spontaneous Casting

Pale theologians can convert their magical power directly into necromantic power, allowing them to cast a number of spells spontaneously using their spell slots. Whenever the pale theologian rests and regains their spell slots, they can choose to either harness the power of healing magics, or harming magics. Until the next time they regain their spell slots, they can spontaneously cast a number of spells based on their choice. If these spells require an expensive material component, the pale theologian is required to provide it as normal for casting the spell.

If they chose healing magics, they can spend any of their spell slots to cast one of the following spells of equal to or lower level than the spent spell slot: all cure spells (a cure spell is any spell with ‘cure’ in its name), lesser restoration, restoration, remove disease, neutralize poison, remove curse, greater restoration, heal, mass heal.

If they chose harming magics, they can spend any of their spell slots to cast a one of the following spells of equal to or lower level than the spent spell slot: all inflict spells (an inflict spell is any spell with ‘inflict’ in its name), contagion, greater contagion, poison, bestow curse, enervation, major curse, harm, mass harm.

The pale theologian can cast the spells they selected from memory and can prepare them using their normal allotment of spells prepared without the need of their spellbook.

Theology Points (Su)

A pale theologian has learned to tap into a reservoir of power which they can pull from to fuel the powers of the pale.

This pool contains a number of points per day equal to their Charisma modifier (minimum 1). At 2nd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the pale theologian gains an additional 1 theology point. Theology points can be spent to fuel any of the pale theologian’s class features that require their expenditure.

Pale Imbuement (Su)

At 1st level, the pale theologian learns to imbue their pale magics within a corpse to raise it as an undead creature, or within a living or undead creature to bolster their attunement to the pale and to restore their wounds. They choose one of the following abilities at 1st level. Once this ability has been chosen, it cannot be changed:

Imbue with the Pale: The pale theologian can touch a single creature and imbue it with powers of the pale as a swift action by spending 1 theology point. Living creatures gain the ability to be healed by negative energy as well as positive energy, and undead creatures gain the ability to be healed by positive energy as well as negative energy. Additionally, the affected creature is treated as both a living and undead creature for all effects. Undead are treated as if they were a creature of the type they were in life in addition to being an undead creature (an elf zombie would count as both an undead creature and a humanoid with the elf subtype, for example). If an effect would both positively affect a living creature and negatively affect an undead creature (or vice versa) they benefit and suffer from both effects, unless the effect is caused by positive or negative energy, in which case they would only gain the positive benefit. An unwilling creature receives a Will saving throw to negate this effect (DC 10 + 1/2 the pale theologian’s level + their Charisma modifier).

The effects of this ability persist for 1 minute per class level, though the pale theologian can end the effect early by touching the target again as a swift action. Creatures who are neither living nor undead (such as constructs) cannot be affected by this ability.

At 3rd level, the effects of this ability persist for 10 minutes per class level. At 5th level, this ability may be used on (and removed from) creatures within Close range (25 feet + 5 feet per 2 class levels), rather than only touch range, and the pale theologian may apply this ability as a move action. At 7th level, the effects of this ability persist for 1 hour per class level.

At 9th level, the range of this ability increases to Medium range (100 feet + 10 feet per class level). At 11th level, the effects of this ability persist for 1 day per 5 class levels, and they may apply this ability as a swift action.

Additionally, the pale theologian can rapidly imbue a creature with pale energies to restore their wounded form.

The pale theologian can touch a living or undead creature as a standard action and spend 1 theology point to immediately restore 1d6 + their Charisma modifier points of damage to the touched creature. This healing increases by an additional 1d6 at 3rd level, and every 2 levels thereafter.

Imbue with Unlife: At 1st level, the pale theologian can touch a single corpse as a standard action and spend 1 theology point to animate it as lesser animate dead, using their class level as their caster level.

When using this ability, the pale theologian can choose to cast it without the need of expensive material components, but when they do so the created undead has a number of restrictions: the undead’s duration is reduced to 1 minute per class level and the pale theologian can only have a single undead creature created using this ability active at a time.

When the duration of this ability expires, or the pale theologian created a second undead using this ability, the magic leaves the corpse, halting its animation. This does not destroy the corpse, allowing it to be animated again. When doing so, it has the same amount of hit points as when the effects of this ability ended. This created undead still counts against the pool of undead the pale theologian can control using animate dead.

At 3rd level, undead created without material components now have a duration of 10 minutes per class level. At 5th level, this ability functions as animate dead. At 7th level, undead created without material components now have a duration of 1 hour per class level. At 9th level, the pale theologian can now control two undead created without material components at a time. At 11th level, undead created without material components now have a duration of 2 hours per class level.

Preserve Corpse (Su)

At 1st level, the pale theologian can touch a corpse as a standard action and spend 1 theology point to preserve it for 24 hours, extending the time limit on raising it from the dead.

During these 24 hours the corpse does not rot, and does not smell.

Secrets of the Pale

At 2nd level, and every two levels thereafter, a secret of the pale reveals itself to the pale theologian, allowing them to obtain powers and abilities unheard of to those who only dabble in the powers of life or death.