Prestige Class: Netherese Arcanist

In the time of the ancient Netherese Empire there were Arcanists, powerful wizards wielding masterful control over the weave and all things arcane. For some of these Arcanists, their power and potential seemed limitless and they used their extensive knowledge to build their flying cities and expansive Empire.

It wasn't until the Archwizard Karsus casted his spell, Karsus' Avatar, that the Netherese Empire truly fell. Due to Karsus' Folly the Goddess of Magic was briefly killed as he took her power and became the God of Magic himself. Unfortunately this was a foolish act by Karsus and the weave was damaged immensely. The floating cities of the Netherese fell and the Empire collapsed.

Many wizards and historians has studied this ancient and powerful empire, hoping to unlock their knowledge and expand their own spell casting abilities. Some Arcanists survived the fall, becoming liches or extending their lives by other magical means. Whether you have discovered a hidden stash of arcane texts, studied under one of these surviving Arcanists or have researched the history of the Netherese Empire, you have learned to harness the Weave in a similar fashion as these wizards of old.

Tome of Netheril

When you take your first level in the Netherese Arcanst prestige class you are granted one Tome of Netheril. This could be given to you by a friend or mentor, taken from a Lich's or dragon's lair or found during one of your adventures.

This tome acts like a spellbook as listed in the Wizard class. In order to cast spells from this class and to cast Grand Spells you must use your Tome as your arcane focus. You may combine your Tome with a spellbook if you possess a spellbook. This process is intensive and requires 500 gold pieces worth of materials and ten days of translating and transcribing to properly transfer the Grand Spells, plus the regular amount of time to transfer spells from one book to another.

Whether you are a wizard or a sorcerer, you use spells from the wizard spell list to add to your Tome and can add two spells to your Tome at each level. Wizards follow the normal spellbook rules as listed in their class. Sorcerers also follow these spellbook rules, however they substitute the Intelligence stat with the Charisma stat whenever it is referred to in the spellbook rules and all spells in their Tome count as Sorcerer spells.

Mini Mythal

At second level, you have learned to mimic the ancient Netherese tradition of creating Mythals. As an action, you can create a sphere around you that has a 30 foot radius and lasts for one minute, until you dismiss it (no action required), until you leave the sphere or until you are reduced to 0 hit points. This sphere is centered on you but does not move once cast. It appears as a crystalline barrier of a color of your choice but does not obscure sight into or out of the sphere.

While inside your Mythal you gain the following benefits and abilities:

• You can cast spells with a range of touch against any creature inside regardless the distance between you and the target.
• You have advantage on Constitution saving throws that you make to maintain your concentration on a spell when you take damage.
• As an action, you cause the sphere to materialize and harden, preventing creatures, items and spells from passing through it until the end of your next turn. While hardened this way the sphere acts as a Forcecage spell and follows the rules of that spell. After using this ability the Mythal falls apart harmlessly.
• You are the master of your Mythal and thus have a unique control of the space it envelops. As a bonus action you can magically teleport one creature inside the Mythal to another point inside it. The target must succeed on a Charisma saving throw (a creature can choose to fail) or be teleported.
• As an action, you can overload your Mythal and cause an intense explosion of arcane power. Any creature within 30 feet of the Mythal must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure they take 10d6+40 force damage, on a success they take half damage. Any creature inside the Mythal, including the creator of the Mythal, automatically fails the saving throw. If you use this ability you cannot create another Mythal until you complete a long rest.

You may use this ability three times per long rest.

Ancient Knowledge

At 3rd level, your deep knowledge of magic allows you to duplicate almost any spell.

As an action, you can call to mind the ability to cast one spell of 5th level or lower from any class’s spell list. The spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots and you follow the normal rules for casting it, including expending a spell slot. If the spell isn’t an Arcanist spell, it counts as an Arcanist spell when you cast it. The ability to cast the spell vanishes from your mind when you cast it.

You may use this feature twice per long rest.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level in this class you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Grand Spellcasting

The time you have spent studying the ancient tomes and texts left behind by the Netherese Archwizards has granted you insight that few could even dream of possessing. You have unlocked the secrets to casting spells of immense power and scale.

At 5th level you are able to cast spells that can level cities, raise mountains into the air and make oceans bone dry. You pick one Grand Spell from the Grand Spells list and are able to cast it once per long rest. Immediately after casting a Grand Spell you gain four levels of exhaustion and are temporarily cut off from the Weave, leaving you unable to cast any spells. The only way to remove the exhaustion gained by casting a Grand Spell and to reconnect to the Weave is to rest for ten days. After ten days your connection to the Weave returns and you lose all levels of Exhaustion gained from the casting. You cannot cast these spells through a familiar or similar means, and simulacrums are unable to cast these spells. While these spells are grand in nature they are still magic and can be counterspelled or dispeled. The DC to dispel or counterspell a Grand Spell is 20, though a spell that has become permanent cannot be dispelled.

While your connection to the Weave is lost you cannot attune or use items that require the spell casting feature or that require the user to be an arcane class. Additionally, if you are killed while being cut off from the Weave you are not able to make use of the clone spell and you are only able to be resurrected by the True Resurrection spell ten days after the Grand Spell was cast.

Grand Spells

• Proctiv's move mountain
• Amaunator's eternal sun
• Cataract of fire
• Diluvial torrent
• Horrendous dessication
• Tolodine's killing wind

Proctiv's Move Mountain

Transmutation (Netherese)

• Casting Time: 8 hours
• Range: 5 miles
• Components: V, S, M (a special Mythallar costing 50,000 gold pieces which must be fused to the center of the newly formed floating island and cannot be removed)
• Duration: 24 hours

Harnessing incredible arcane power, this spell shears off a mountaintop, inverts and levitates it. Choose an area of terrain no larger than one mile on a side within range. This area is cut out from the ground leaving behind a perfectly flat area. The targeted terrain then lifts 500 feet into the air and inverts, leaving a perfectly flat surface as the top surface.

After this area is floating in the air you may use an action to move the target a number of feet equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1) multiplied by 50. You may move the target in any direction but it must remain at least 500 feet from the ground. After 24 hours the floating island will fall slowly to the ground.

By spending a 9th level spell slot to charge the Mythallar every day for a year, this effect permanent. Any spellcaster that has a 9th level spell slot may charge the Mythallar.

Amaunator's eternal sun

Evocation (Netherese)

• Casting Time: 8 hours
• Range: 2 miles
• Components: V, S, M (A Mythallar costing 50,000 gold pieces which was consumed by the casting)
• Duration: 24 Hours

The spell creates a false sun 2 miles overhead in an area of sky that you can see. The false sun shines with the brightness of high noon. It completely covers up the real sun for anybody within 150 miles making it impossible to see the real sun for the spell's duration.

By spending a 9th level spell slot to empower the false sun every day for one year, this effect becomes permanent.

Cataract of Fire

Evocation (Netherese)

• Casting Time: One minute
• Range: Self
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instantaneous

A vertical column of arcane fire roars down from the sky directly on top of the caster. Each creature in a 100-foot radius, 1000-foot-high Cylinder centered on the caster must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 15d10 fire damage and 15d10 force damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

The caster is immune to the fire damage but not the force damage from this spell, but must make the Dexterity saving throw at disadvantage.

Diluvial torrent

Evocation (Netherese)

• Casting Time: One minute
• Range: Self
• Components: V, S, M (a silver gong worth 500 gold)
• Duration: Instantaneous

On casting, diluvial torrent dropped a 100-feet-tall cylinder of water with a radius of 20 feet from a height of 200 feet on the caster (meaning 628,000 cubic feet) of water. The mass of water caused tremendous damage that was not merely attributed to the moving mass, but also to the magical energy that came crushing down with the water. It caused most damage in the area within 100 feet of the caster and spread less and less, but never negligible, amounts of destruction within a radius of up to 750 feet. Apart from the mass, drowning could be a problem.

As mentioned above, the mass of water crushed the caster. The caster is resistant to the force damage from this spell, but must make the Dexterity saving throw at disadvantage. The caster can also drown.

Every creature within 100 feet of the caster must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes an amount of damage based on how far away it is from the caster, as shown in the following table. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage.

Distance from Origin — Damage:

20 ft. away or closer — 10 x the caster's level

30 to 50 ft. away — 5 x the caster's level

50 to 100 ft. away — 3 x the caster's level

Horrendous Dessication

Necromancy (Netherese)

• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Self
• Components: V, S, M (A pinch of Dust of Dryness)
• Duration: Instantaneous

Horrendous dessication caused everything to dry up within a large area that grew with the caster's skill. The effect caused organic matter to dry up, the degree of which increased with the caster's skill, and could easily lead to death. The same happened to bodies of water like lakes or rivers. Such places lost a large amount of their water.

The caster was safe from the drying effect. However, casting this spell caused one of the caster's limbs to wither.

Every creature within 150 feet from the caster must make a Constitution saving throw. Water elementals and plant based creatures make the save at disadvantage. On a fail, the creature takes 24d8 necrotic damage, and half on a pass. The caster is immune from this effect but must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 20. If the caster fails they must roll a d6 and apply the following affect depending on the result:

• 1 - The caster suffers extreme dehydration and immediately falls unconscious. Only a Greater Restoration or a long rest can remove this effect.
• 2 - The caster's dominate arm is withered and unusable. Only a Greater Restoration can reverse this effect.
• 3 - Due to the incredible strain on your body and mind you suffer Indefinite Madness. Roll on the Indefinite Madness table in the Dungeon Masters Guide.
• 4 - Hair Loss and Cosmetic Damage. All hair on your body burns away and will not grow back normally. You skin withers and ages as if exposed to the sun for 20 years. Only a Greater Restoration removes these affects.
• 5 - Blindness. Your eyes dry up and are destroyed; you gain the blinded condition. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore your sight.
• 6 - You suffer from an extreme and unquenchable thirst like nothing you have ever experienced. Nothing short of a Greater Restoration spell can aleve you of this effect.

Tolodine's Killing Wind

Evocation (Netherese)

• Casting Time: 10 minutes
• Range: Self
• Components: V, S, M (The skull of a humanoid that has been dead for no longer than one week, which is consumed upon casting)
• Duration: Instantaneous

During the casting of this spell the humanoid skull glows an ominous green before turning to dust. The dust blows into the wind and the wind begins to howl around the caster. The green winds envelop 100 feet around the caster and swirl in a deafening manner. Every living creature inside this area must make a Constitution saving throw. Undead and constructs are immune to this affect. On a failed save, if the creature has less than 100 hitpoints, it dies.

The caster must also make this save, if they fail, regardless of their current health they die. Whether the caster passes or fails the save, their appearance changes dramatically. Their body becomes emaciated, their face gaunt and their eyes gain an eerie green glow. Creatures that see this form of the caster get an innate sense that the caster has done something horrible before. This affect may be hidden by magical means or disguise kits but cannot be removed entirely. Not even a Greater Restoration nor a Wish spell can reverse these changes.