Spellburst Scholar (Spellburst Savant Archetype)

Though most spellburst savants tend to work their magic instinctively, some follow the path of wizardry, exhaustively annotating their abilities and learning to adapt their novas to spells stored in items. These mages are a great boon in scholarly circles, capable of explaining their unique spells in a way that other spellcasters can understand and learn on their own.

Spell Notebook

Though he does not have a true spellbook (they prepare spells as normal for a spellburst savant), a spellburst scholar possesses a book or other treatise, within which he writes his insights, spells, and other notes. This functions similarly to a spellbook, except that it does not begin with any spells in it.

By spending 8 hours experimenting with his magic and writing down the results, the spellburst scholar can create a special page imbued with his magic. This page is infused with a bond similar to that between the scholar and his extracurricular spells, except that other spellcasters can access it, if they know how. The spellburst scholar can have a number of these pages in creation at once equal to his class level + his Wisdom modifier.

When the spellburst scholar uses this ability to fill a page in his notebook, he chooses a single spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list that he can cast as a spellburst scholar to write into the book. He can modify the spell with his deconstruct components, deconstruct energy, deconstruct intention, and deconstruct effect class features freely (he must have those class features to modify the spell), as well as metamagic feats.

The spell is written into his notebook as a sorcerer/wizard spell with a level equal to the spell’s original level plus a number based on the modifications (if any) the spellburst scholar applied with his class features.

He cannot apply effects that reduce metamagic costs (such as the Magical Lineage trait) to spells written in a spell notebook.

• Deconstruct Components: +0.
• Deconstruct Energy: +0 if the energy type was changed to acid, cold, electricity, fire, force, or sonic; +1 if the energy type was changed to negative or positive energy; +1 if the energy was changed to typeless. It adjusts the damage dice as normal, if changed to or from force.
• Deconstruct Intention: +1.
• Deconstruct Effect: +1.
• Metamagic Feats: As the feats’ adjustments.

In effect, the spellburst scholar creates a brand-new spell with these modifications. The spellburst scholar and other mages who learn or prepare spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list can prepare or cast this spell so long as they have the page or a copy of it on hand during their spell preparation (for prepared spellcasters) or when they cast it (for spontaneous spellcasters).

This spell can be written into scrolls or made into other magic items such as wands, and wizards and similar spellcasters can copy this spell into their spellbooks if they have access to the page. However, if the page is ever erased or destroyed (something that the spellburst scholar can do as a free action, regardless of the page’s location), any magic items and spellbook pages incorporating it lose the ability to access the spell. Someone studying a spell page or a copy of it can determine that it carries this “trap” with a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the caster level of the spellburst scholar who created it).

Nova Spell

The total number of levels that a spellburst scholar can apply to his nova spells increases by 1 at 4th level and every three levels thereafter (+1 at 4th level, +2 at 7th level, +3 at 10th level, +4 at 13th level, +5 at 16th level, and +6 at 19th level), rather than the normal progression. This ability alters nova spell.

Deconstruct Artifice (Ex)

At 3rd level, a spellburst scholar gains Craft Wand as a bonus feat, even if he doesn’t meet the prerequisites. He crafts wands in half the normal time (one day per 2,000 gp in the wand’s base price).

Starting at 11th level, the spellburst scholar also crafts staves in half the normal time (one day per 2,000 gp in the staff’s base price), if he possesses the Craft Staff feat. In addition, he can recharge staves a number of additional times per day equal to his nova spell rank (even if a given staff has already regained a charge that day), and adds his nova spell rank to the level of the spell slot expended for determining whether or not the staff regains a charge.

At 19th level, the spellburst scholar can, once per day as a swift action, exchange two spells of the same level across a pair of spell trigger items he holds. For example, if he had a wand of fireball with 30 charges and a staff of electricity, he could choose to exchange the fireball spell with the staff’s lightning bolt spell, creating a wand of lightning bolt with 30 charges and a unique staff of electricity that can cast fireball by expending 2 charges. Changes made to items with this ability are instantaneous and remain in place even after the spellburst scholar relinquishes the items. This ability replaces spellsense.

Nova Channel (Su)

At 3rd level, the spellburst scholar gains the ability to use his nova spell class feature on spells he casts from spell completion and spell trigger items, as well as spells he receives from potions. When he does so, he uses his Wisdom score and relevant feats to set the DC for saves against the spells, and can use his caster level to determine the spells’ effects if it’s higher than the caster level of the item. He can still only cast one nova spell per round.

A spellburst scholar’s ability to cast nova spells from items is limited, however. The maximum level of a spell cast in this way is equal to one level higher than the highest-level spellburst savant spell he can cast. For example, a 5th-level spellburst scholar can cast 2ndlevel spells, so he could cast up to 3rd-level spells from items as nova spells. This ability replaces the bonus feat gained at 4th level.