Farseer (3.5e Class)

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Farseer[edit]

Farseers are seekers of knowledge. They value learning above all else, with their passion culminating in an unbridled mastery of the Divination school of magic. They relentlessly hunt down every secret the universe has to offer, using their acute senses to aid them in their quests. No means of stealth or disguise, be it mundane or magical, can fool the Farseer's eyes. The more powerful Farseers can foretell the future with astounding accuracy--a talent which makes them invaluable as leaders and tacticians.

Making a Farseer[edit]

The Farseer is a specialist spellcasting class, built on the same chassis as the WarmageCAr, BeguilerPHB2, and Dread NecromancerHoH classes. What the Warmage is to Evocation, the Beguiler is to Enchantment and Illusion, and the Dread Necromancer is to Necromancy, the Farseer is to Divination. Though her combat abilities may seem lackluster at first, the powers of the Farseer are immense in the hands of a capable tactician. Her piercing vision, fortune-telling abilities, and scrying powers will allow you to create a plan for victory before the battle even begins. If you prefer the challenge of tactics and strategy over raw offensive power, this is the class for you.

Abilities: Intelligence powers a Farseer's spellcasting, and Wisdom powers some of her special abilities. Dexterity and Constitution are necessary to keeping the otherwise fragile Farseer alive during the heat of battle.

Races: Elves, and especially Sun Elves, make the most common farseers, given their race's emphasis on knowledge and the future. The class is generally rare among most other races, but not unheard of.

Alignment: Any. Regardless of alignment, Farseers tend to be very calm, calculating, and level-headed, so other characters tend to get the impression that most of them are Neutral. Sometimes, it may not even seem that they are acting in keeping with their alignment, but in truth they always have some sort of long-term plan in mind. An Evil Farseer might donate to charity and help the homeless, only to get the lower classes to rally behind her when she makes her move to conquer the city. A Good Farseer might act hostile and unpleasant towards the townspeople, only to get them to leave her alone and uninterrupted while she concentrates on a plan to save them all from a dragon attack she foresaw.

Starting Gold: As Wizard.

Starting Age: Complex.

Table: The Farseer

Hit Die: d6

Level Base
Attack Bonus
Saving Throws Special Spells per Day Special Senses Known
Fort Ref Will 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Armored Mage, Summon Familiar, Trap Sense +1 5 3 0
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Danger Sense +1 6 4 0
3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Advanced Learning, Shared Divination, Special Senses 30 ft 6 5 1
4th +2 +1 +1 +4 Anticipate Attack, Forsee Outcome 1/day, Trap Sense +2 6 6 3 1
5th +2 +1 +1 +4 Scry on Familiar 6 6 4 2
6th +3 +2 +2 +5 Special Senses 60 ft, Uncanny Dodge 6 6 5 3 2
7th +3 +2 +2 +5 Advanced Learning, Sleep With One Eye Open, Trap Sense +3 6 6 6 4 3
8th +4 +2 +2 +6 Anticipate Defense, Enhanced Familiar Scrying 50 ft, Forsee Outcome 2/day 6 6 6 5 3 3
9th +4 +3 +3 +6 Sense Through Familiar, Special Senses 90 ft 6 6 6 6 4 4
10th +5 +3 +3 +7 Evasion, Piercing Scry, Shared Anticipation, Trap Sense +4 6 6 6 6 5 3 4
11th +5 +3 +3 +7 Advanced Learning, Multisense 2, Danger Sense +2 6 6 6 6 6 4 - 5
12th +6/+1 +4 +4 +8 Enhanced Familiar Scrying 200 ft, Forsee Outcome 3/day, Greater Scry on Familiar Special Senses 120 ft 6 6 6 6 6 5 3 5
13th +6/+1 +4 +4 +8 Anticipate Spell, Trap Sense +5 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 6
14th +7/+2 +4 +4 +9 Mass Shared Divination 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 3 6
15th +7/+2 +5 +5 +9 Advanced Learning, Telepathy 100 ft, Special Senses 150 ft 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 7
16th +8/+3 +5 +5 +10 Eyes of the Familiar, Forsee Outcome 4/day, Trap Sense +6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 3 7
17th +8/+3 +5 +5 +10 Saw That One Coming 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 8
18th +9/+4 +6 +6 +11 Special Senses 180 ft 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 3 8
19th +9/+4 +6 +6 +11 Advanced Learning, Trap Sense +7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 8
20th +10/+5 +6 +6 +12 Danger Sense +3, Forsee Outcome 5/day, Mass Shared Anticipation, Multisense 3 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 10

Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Knowledge(all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (none), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis).

Class Features[edit]

All of the following are class features of the Farseer.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Farseers are proficient with the light mace, the sickle, the heavy mace, the morningstar, the shortspear, the longspear, the quarterstaff, the shortbow, the composite shortbow, and the hand crossbow. They are proficient with light armor but not with shields.

Spells: A farseer casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the farseer spell list below. When you gain access to a new level of spells, you automatically know all spells for that level on the farseer's spell list. You can cast any spell you know without preparing it ahead of time. Essentially, your spell list is the same as your spells known list. You also have the option of adding to your existing spell list through your advanced learning class feature (see below) as you increase in level.

To cast a Farseer spell, you must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the spell's level (Int 10 for 0-level spells, Int 11 for 1st-level spells, and so forth) The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a farseer's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the farseer's Int modifier. Like other spellcasters, a Farseer can only cast a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. The base daily spell allotment is given in the above table. In addition, you recieve bonus spells for a high Intelligence score.

A Farseer need not prepare spells in advance. You can cast any spell you know at any time, assuming you have not yet used up your spells per day of that level.

The Farseer spell list is as follows:

0—arcane mark, detect magic, guidance, light, message, prestidigitation, read magic

1st—alarm, comprehend languages, critical strikeSC, deathwatch, detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law, detect secret doors, disguise self, ebon eyesSC, identify, instant searchSC, omen of perilSC, portal beaconSC, rousePHB2 , signSC, shield, spontaneous seachSC, true strike

2nd—augment familiarSC, augury, chain of eyesSC, continual flame, darkvision, detect thoughts, discern shapechangerSC, divine insightSC, fox's cunning, glitterdust, greater alarmSC, insight of good fortunePHB2 , invisibility, lesser celerityPHB2 , locate object, owl's wisdom, portal alarmSC, see invisibility, speak to alliesSC, status, sure strikePHB2 , whispering wind, zone of truth

3rd—alter fortunePHB2 , analyze portalSC, anticipate teleportationSC, arcane sight, blindsightSC, circle danceSC, clairaudience/clairvoyance, crown of clarityPHB2 , daylight, deeper darkvisionSC, enhance familiarSC, fortify familiarSC, glowing orbSC, helping hand, hesitatePHB2, invisibility purge, knight's moveSC, know opponentSC, know vulnerabilitiesSC, lesser telepathic bond, safetySC, skull watchSC, spell vulnerabilitySC, tremorsenseSC

4th—arcane eye, assay spell resistanceSC, celerityPHB2 , crown of veilsPHB2 , detect scrying, dimensional anchor, dimension door, discern lies, dispel magic, divination, forcewardSC, greater blindsightSC, greater invisibility, imbue with spell ability, improved portal alarmSC, locate creature, mass darkvisionSC, scrying, sending, sensory deprivationSC, tongues

5th—contact other plane, greater dimension doorSC, mage's private sanctum, passwall, permanency, prying eyes, sending, telepathic bond, teleport, true seeing, zone of respiteSC, zone of revelationSC

6th—analyze dweomer, contingency, find the path, gemjumpSC, greater anticipate teleportationSC, imbue familiar with spell abilitySC, legend lore, mass fox's cunning, mass owl's wisdom, probe thoughts

7th—greater arcane sight, greater dispel magic, greater scyring, greater teleport, limited wish, mass invisibility, phase door, spell matrixSC, vision

8th—brain spider, dimensional lock, discern location, ghostformSC, greater celerityPHB2 , greater prying eyes, mind blank, moment of prescience, screen, superior invisibilitySC, visions of the futurePHB2

9th—eye of powerSC, foresight, hindsightSC, mage's disjunction, teleportation circle, time stop, wish

Armored Mage (Ex): Normally, armor of any type interferes with an arcane spellcaster's gestures, which can cause your spells to fail if those spells have a somatic component. A farseer's limited focus and specialized training, however, allow you to avoid any chance of arcane spell failure as long as you restrict yourself to light armor. This training does not extend to any other form of armor, nor does this ability apply to spells gained from other spellcasting classes.

Summon Familiar: Farseers can obtain familiars in the same way that sorceres and wizards can. This is identical to the socerer/wizard class feature.

Trap Sense (Ex): A Farseer gains a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses rise by +1 every three farseer levels thereafter (4th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th level). Trap sense bonuses gained from multiple classes stack.

Danger Sense (Ex): A Farseer has a sixth sense for danger. At 2nd level, the Farseer gains a +1 competence bonus on Reflex saves and Initiative checks. This bonus increases to +2 at 11th level and to +3 at 20th level.

Advanced Learning (Ex): At 3rd level, you can add a new spell to your list, representing the result of personal study and experimentation. The spell can be taken from any other class's spell list, or even from specific cleric domains, but must be a spell of the Divination school and of a level no higher than that of the highest-level spell you already know. Once a new spell is selected, it is forever added to your spell list and can be cast just like any other spell on your list.

You gain another new spell at 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th level.

Shared Divination (Su): A Farseer has trained in the ability to share her visions telepathically with others. Whenever the Farseer casts a spell of the Divination school with a range of Personal (such as True Strike or See Invisibility), she may elect one other character within 30 feet to share the visions and benefits of the spell. Both the Farseer and the selected target benefit as though they had each cast the spell, with them both recieving the full effect. For example, if the Farseer used this ability in conjunction with True Strike, both her and an ally of her choice would gain +20 on their next attack roll. She can even use this ability through her eye of power spell, applying Personal-range divination spells to any ally within 30 feet of the eye of power.

A farseer can use this ability a number of times per day equal to her class level plus her Wisdom modifier (if any).

Special Senses: A Farseer has trained herself to see, hear, and feel things that others cannot. Her mental discipline and divination power provide her with a wide variety of extraordinary and supernatural senses (the ability type is listed for each sense).

A Farseer has a selection of special senses that she can learn. The number of special senses that she knows, and consequently, the levels at which she learns a new special sense, are given in the table. At each level where she would learn a new sense, she may choose any sense from the list below that she meets the prerequisites for. The farseer may only have one special sense active at a time, but once per round, she may switch between special senses as a free action.

The range of a farseer's special senses is given in the table, starting at 30 feet at 3rd level, and increasing by an additional 30 feet every 3 levels thereafter, to a maximum of 180 feet at 18th level.

If a farseer already has a particular sense (such as from her race), use either the racial sense or the farseer class levels to determine the maximum range of the sense (whichever is longer). This means, for instance, that a drow could increase the range of his natural darkvision (normally 120 feet) by taking at least 15 levels in Farseer and learning the Farseer's Darkvision sense (boosting it to 150 feet). You must still learn the Farseer special sense in order to learn any other special senses that have it as a prerequisite, even if it is already a racial trait. For instance, a high elf must still learn the Low-Light Vision special sense before he can learn the Darkvision special sense, even though high elves already have low-light vision.

Low-light vision (Ex): The farseer has attuned her eyes to the darkness, granting her the ability to see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of shadowy illumination. She can read a scroll as long as even the tiniest candle flame is next to her as a source of light. Unlike all other Farseer special senses, this one does not have the usual range limitation--the farseer's low-light vision is not restricted by the numbers listed in the table.

Prerequisites: none.

Blindsense (Ex): The farseer gains a general sense of movement around her, even when she cannot see. She does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to pinpoint the location of a creature within range of her blindsense ability, provided that she has line of effect to that creature. Any opponent she cannot see still has total concealment (50% miss chance) against her, and she still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects her movement. She is still denied her Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attacks from creatures she cannot see.

Prerequisites: none.

Tremorsense (Ex): The farseer has trained her feet to be able to feel the slightest vibration in the earth beneath her. She is sensitive to vibrations in the ground and can automatically pinpoint the location of anything that is in contact with the ground and within range. If no straight path exists through the ground from the farseer to the creature that she’s sensing, then the range defines the maximum distance of the shortest indirect path. The farseer must be in contact with the ground, and the creatures must be moving. As long as the creatures are taking physical actions, including casting spells with somatic components, they’re considered moving; they don’t have to move from place to place for the farseer to detect them. While underwater, the farseer can also sense the location of creatures moving through water.

Prerequisites: none.

Darkvision (Ex): The farseer has further attuned her mind and eyesight to be able to see with no light at all. Darkvision is black and white only (colors cannot be discerned). It does not allow the farseer to see anything that she could not see otherwise—invisible objects are still invisible, and illusions are still visible as what they seem to be. Likewise, darkvision subjects the farseer to gaze attacks normally. The presence of light does not spoil darkvision.

Prerequisites: Low-Light Vision.

Blindsight (Ex): The farseer has focused and disciplined her non-visual senses--hearing, smell, and feeling--to levels of near-perfection. She can detect even the slightest movement by these senses alone. Using her sensitivity to vibrations, keen smell, and acute hearing, the farseer maneuvers and fights just as well even when blinded or when her sight is totally obscured. Invisibility, darkness, and most kinds of concealment are irrelevant, though the farseer must have line of effect to a creature or object to discern that creature or object. She does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice creatures within range her blindsight. Blindsight never allows the farseer to distinguish color or visual contrast--she cannot read with blindsight. Blindsight by itself does not subject the farseer to gaze attacks (though her regular vision does, so she would need to be wearing a blindfold or something similar to negate gaze attacks). Blinding attacks do not penalize the farseer while she is using blindsight. Blindsight works underwater but not in a vacuum. Blindsight negates displacement and blur effects.

Prerequisites: Blindsense and Tremorsense.

Arcane Sight (Ex): Through rigorous training and exposure to her own magics, the farseer's eyes have become attuned to arcane power, allowing her to see magical energies as clearly as one would see a solid physical object. While this special sense is active, the farseer benefits as if she were continuously under the effects of an arcane sight spell.

Prerequisites: Darkvision

True Seeing (Su): The farseer has learned to concentrate her innate magical capabilities directly into her sensory organs, giving her superhuman levels of perception and clarity. Her very eyes seem to have gained the same passion for truth and knowledge that resides within her heart. This special sense confers upon the farseer the benefits of a true seeing spell for as long as it is active.

Prerequisites: Arcane Sight, plus either Blindsense or Tremorsense.

Greater Arcane Sight (Ex): The farseer has further honed her eyes' affinity for arcane power, allowing her to see magical auras with even greater clarity. While this special sense is active, the farseer benefits as if she were continuously under the effects of an greater arcane sight spell.

Prerequisites: Arcane Sight and Blindsight

X-Ray Vision/Infrared Vision (Su): A farseer's senses and perception reach their peak level of sharpness, culminating in this awesome power: the ability to focus her eyes on wavelengths outside the normal visible spectrum. At 20th level, the farseer learns two new special senses--she gets both of these special senses at the same time.

While the X-Ray Vision special sense is active, the farseer can see through solid matter. Aside from the obvious effects, creatures relying cover or concealment to hide become visible to the farseer. The X-ray vision allows the farseer to ignore all penalties from any kind of obstruction to her vision, including those from spells such as darkness or obscuring mist. Low-level illusions are invisible to the X-ray vision, and while it is active the farseer completely bypasses any sight-based illusions that have a caster level of less than 17--she can even be rendered immune to phantasmal killer in this way. Illusions that don't rely on sight, such as ghost sound, work against her normally. Finally, X-ray vision confers the Trapfinding special ability (as a rogue) upon the farseer for as long as it is active.

While the Infrared Vision special sense is active, the farseer can automatically discern the relative temperature of any object or creature within range. She can tell which of the following temperature ranges an object or creature falls into: less than or equal to -51°F, -50°F to -21°F, -20°F to 0°F, 1°F to 40°F, 41°F to 60°F, 61°F to 90°F, 91°F to 110°F, 111°F to 140°F, 141°F to 180°F, 181°F to 210°F, or 211°F or higher. Infrared vision can see through concealment, but not cover. It negates the Camoflage and Hide in Plain Sight special abilities (such as possessed by a Ranger or an Assassin), but only against the farseer's sight. Like X-ray vision, infrared vision completely bypasses any sight-based illusions that have a caster level of less than 17, and confers the Trapfinding special ability upon the farseer for as long as it is active. While the Infrared Vision special sense is active, the farseer gains a bonus to Search and Spot checks made to discern objects and creatures whose temperature differes from their surroundings (such as a warm-blooded creature in the middle of a snowstorm), according to the table below:

Table: Infrared Vision[edit]
Temperature Difference Search/Spot Bonus
10°-20° +5
21°-30° +10
31°-50° +15
51° or more +20

Prerequisites: All other Farseer special senses.

Anticipate Attack (Su): The Farseer can sense an incoming attack before the enemy even swings his sword. At 4th level, a farseer can add her Wisdom modifier as a dodge bonus to her Armor Class. This bonus is lost anytime the farseer would be denied her Dexterity bonus to her AC.

Forsee Outcome (Su): A farseer may use this ability once per day at 4th level. At the beginning of her turn, she must declare that she will use this ability. At the end of the same turn, the farseer may choose to "take back" everything she did that round--any damage she dealt or took is undone, she moves back to where she started at the beginning of her turn, any spell effects are undone, etc. The farseer may then begin her turn all over again, as if she hadn't done anything yet. To the players, it may appear as if time is being rewinded. This is not the case in the game world--the farseer simply took a rough glance into the future to determine the probable outcome of a particular course of action, and is now making a decision based on that vision.

The farseer can use this ability one additional time per day every 4 levels after 4th.

Scry on Familiar (Sp): A farseer gains access to the scry on familiar ability earlier than a wizard or sorcerer would. Additionally, she can use it a number of times per day equal to 1/2 her class level plus her Wisdom modifier (minimum 1 per day), instead of just once per day. The ability is otherwise identical to the sorcerer/wizard ability.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 6th level, a farseer retains her Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if she is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, she still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If a farseer already has uncanny dodge from a different class, she automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead.

Sleep With One Eye Open (Ex): A farseer of 7th level or higher can make Spot and Listen checks without penalty while sleeping. If she sees or hears something threatening or dangerous, she may choose to wake herself up immediately.

Anticipate Defense (Su): At 8th level, the farseer can see her opponent's dodges and evasions before they even happen. Any opponent the farseer attacks has its Dexterity bonus to AC reduced by an amount equal to the farseer's Wisdom modifier (to a minimum of 0) for that one attack. If the opponent's effective Dexterity bonus to AC is reduced to 0 in this way, that opponent is considered flat-footed against the attack (even if it has Uncanny Dodge or a similar ability) for any relevant purposes (such as sneak attack).

Enhanced Familiar Scrying: At 8th level, when the farseer uses her scry on familiar ability, the distance to which she can see and hear increases to 50 feet (as opposed to just 10 feet, as for a normal scrying spell). This distance improves to 200 feet at level 12.

Sense Through Familiar: At 9th level, when the farseer uses her scry on familiar ability, she can choose to apply one of her farseer special senses to the scrying. For instance, if she chooses her Tremorsense, she would be able to use Tremorsense as if she was in the familiar's position.

Evasion (Ex): At 2nd level and higher, a farseer can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the farseer is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless farseer does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Piercing Scryer: Nothing is hidden from the Farseer's sight. At 10th level, her scrying spells can pierce magics specifically designed to defend against scrying. Anytime the farseer uses a divination (scrying) spell or effect against any spell or effect which protects against scrying (including, but not limited to, obscure object, mage’s private sanctum, false vision, detect scrying, nondetection, sequester, mind blank, and screen), the farseer may make a caster level check against a DC of 11 + the caster level of the anti-scrying spell. The farseer recieves a bonus on this check equal to her Wisdom modifier (if any). If the check succeeds, the farseer completely bypasses the anti-scrying magic. If the anti-scrying spell already allows such a caster level check (such as nondetection), this ability simply grants the farseer a bonus equal to her Wisdom modifier (if any).

Shared Anticipation: At 10th level, the farseer may grant the benefits of her anticipation powers (Anticipate Attack, Anticipate Defense, and Anticipate Spell) to one ally of her choosing. She must first establish a telepathic bond (using the spell) with the ally she wishes to provide the benefits to. Both her and the one ally of her choosing then recieve the full benefits of the farseer's Anticipate Attack, Anticipate Defense, and Anticipate Spell class abilities (use the farseer's Wisdom modifier for both her and her ally) for as long as the telepathic bond remains intact.

Maintaining both the ''telepathic bond'' and the shared anticipation requires focus. While using the Shared Anticipation ability, you must spend a move action each round to concentrate on the telepathic bond, otherwise it is lost. If you are damaged while using the Shared Anticipation ability, you must succeed on a Concentration check or lose the telepathic bond.

Multisense: A farseer of 11th level can have up to two of her farseer special senses active at a time, instead of just one. She can swap out both active senses for a different two senses as a free action, but only once per round as usual.

At 20th level, a farseer can have up to three of her farseer special senses active at a time, and can swap out all three as a free action once per round.

Greater Scry on Familiar: At 12th level, the farseer's scry on familiar ability now replicates the effects of a greater scrying spell, rather than just a scrying spell.

Anticipate Spell: A farseer of 13th level or higher can see her opponent's spells before they even cast it. She can therefore counterspell an enemy's spell once per combat round as an immediate action, and without needing to make a Spellcraft check. She must still be able to cast the spell necessary to counter the opponent's spell, and must still follow all other rules for counterspelling.

Mass Shared Divination: At 14th level, whenever a farseer uses her shared divination ability, she can extend the benefit to every ally within 30 feet, rather than just one ally.

Telepathy (Su): At 15th level, the farseer can communicate telepathically with any other creature within 100 feet that has a language. It is possible to address multiple creatures at once telepathically, although maintaining a telepathic conversation with more than one creature at a time is just as difficult as simultaneously speaking and listening to multiple people at the same time.

Eyes of the Familiar: At 16th level, whenever the farseer uses her scry on familiar ability, her seeing and hearing is not restricted by any arbitrary limit. Effectively, she can see and hear as far as the familiar itself can see and hear, as if the familiar's eyes and ears were her own.

Saw That One Coming (Su): A 17th-level farseer can focus her mind and see exactly what a particular opponent will do next, and react accordingly. To use this ability, you ready an action in combat, but unlike a normal ready action, you do not need to declare exactly what action you are readying, or even what event will trigger that action. Before the beginning of your next turn, you can then take an action after a creature has declared what action it will take, but before it actually carries out that action. Your initiative position remains unchanged afterwards.

For example, you decide to use your Saw That One Coming ability and ready a standard action. During the subsequent rounds, an enemy sorcerer teleports into combat and declares that he will cast weird against the party. Before the weird spell actually goes through, however, you decide that you will activate Saw That One Coming to cast mass owl's wisdom, thus bolstering your party's Will saves.

A farseer can use this ability a number of times per day equal to half her Wisdom modifier, rounded down (minimum 1).

If you do not activate this ability between the time that you ready an action and the beginning of your next turn, nothing happens, and you waste a daily use of this ability.

Mass Shared Anticipation: Whenever a 20th-level farseer uses her Shared Anticipation ability, she may choose to have it affect every ally she currently shares a telepathic bond with, instead of just one.

Epic Farseer[edit]

Table: The Epic Farseer

Hit Die: d6

Level Special
21st
22nd Trap Sense +8
23rd Bonus Feat
24th Forsee Outcome 6/day
25th Trap Sense +9
26th Bonus Feat
27th
28th Forsee Outcome 7/day, Trap Sense +10
29th Bonus Feat
30th Danger Sense +4

4 + Int modifier skill points per level.

Trap Sense: The bonuses granted by this ability increases by 1 at 22nd level and every three levels after 22nd.

Forsee Outcome: The epic farseer gains an extra daily use of this ability every four levels after 20th.

Danger Sense: The bonuses granted by this ability increase by 1 every ten levels after 20th.

Bonus Feats: The epic farseer gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic wizard bonus feats) every three levels after 20th.


Campaign Information[edit]

Playing a Farseer[edit]

Religion: Most religious farseers revere Boccob, whose emphasis on magic and the seeking of knowledge is most in tune with their own philosophies. Evil farseers sometimes woship Vecna, serving to guard the knowledge they find from the "unworthy". Good farseers may worship Pelor, and use their knowledge and insight to aid the needy. Non-religious farseers are also quite common.

Other Classes: The calculating Farseer sees each class as its own kind of strategic asset. They recognize the usefulness of fighters, rangers monks, and barbarians in keeping the enemy on the defensive, the ability of druids and wizards to shape the battlefield to their advantage, the efficiency with which sorcerers and rogues dish out damage, and the talent of bards, paladins, and clerics for keeping the group in good health and good spirits. Overall, they respect the unique capabilities of other classes (though they often have a smug sense of self-superiority in the background) and view teamwork and coordination as vital.

Combat: The farseer is a difficult class to play in a combat-heavy campaign. She lacks direct offensive capabilities--poor base attack bonus, limited weapon proficiencies, and not a single spell that has "XdY damage" in the description. In order to properly play a farseer in a combat role, you must get out of the mindset of "charge in and hit them with my sword", and into the mindset of tactics and strategy. Scout with your familiar and use your special senses and scrying powers to scan the enemy force before the battle even begins. Take note of what you'll be up against and what strengths and weaknesses the enemy has. A skilled farseer understands that to know your enemy is to have the battle half won. Use spells such as alarm and abilities such as Sleep With One Eye Open to ensure that the enemy never catches the party off their guard. Develop a plan for victory before even entering the room, and when the battle finally does begin, use your Shared Anticipation and Shared Divination abilities in conjunction with support spells such as true strike and know vulnerabilities to lead your party to victory. If you have a particularly risky plan in mind that you're afraid might not work, use Discern Outcome and test it out before you actually go through with it. Think of yourself as a "commander" for the party--a commander can't win a battle all by himself, but his strategies and foresight make his troops much more capable and deadly than they would be without him.

Advancement: The farseer's abilities work quite well in conjunction with levels in a combat focused class, particularly the Rogue. You can use your divination powers to gain the element of surprise over the enemy, and your Anticipation abilities make for fearsome combat prowess. If more spellcasting is your thing, consider a prestige class that builds on the theme of knowledge and tactics, such as Loremaster, or choose one that will supplement your lack of offensive power, such as Eldritch Knight.

Farseers in the World[edit]

Daily Life: A farseer can be many things in your campaign world. She can be a reclusive hermit, living by herself to be able to pursue knowledge without interruption from the outside world. She can be a military mastermind, using her limitless sight and divinations to assay enemy weaknesses and predict the most favorable courses of action for her army. She can be a champion of justice and good, using her foresight to stop disasters before they start, or she can be an elusive and dangerous villain, always staying one step ahead of the heroes with her scryings and visions of the future. If you're loooking for a more mundane, civilian role, the owner of the local fortune-teller's shop is probably a farseer.

Organizations: Farseers are generally solitary. When they do organize, it is in the same guilds and colleges attended by wizards. While the wizards spread their studies over many different schools of magic, the farseers keep to the sections of these guilds and colleges dedicated to divination magics.

NPC Reactions: Most NPC's can't tell a farseer from a wizard, unless that NPC actually is a farseer or a wizard. In such cases, they tend to regard each other as colleagues, since they are both dedicated to magical study and theory and the pursuit of knowledge.

Farseer Lore[edit]

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (arcana) can research farseers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (arcana)
DC Result
5 Farseers enjoy magic and study as much as wizards.
10 They are masters of the Divination school of magic.
15 Farseers can foretell future events.
20 The greatest of the farseers can see almost anything, even through walls!.

Farseers in the Game[edit]

A farseer is not a melee tank, nor a damage-dealer, nor a healer, nor a skill-master, nor a controller. What the farseer is is a tactician and strategist. It is thus recommended that your party already include the bare essentials (combat guy, primary spellcasting guy, and stealthy guy) before adding a farseer to your party. Unless you want a challenge, and we certainly don't discourage that.

Adaptation: The fluff outlined here describes the farseer as a student of knowledge and disciplined study, much like the wizard. However, you could also use the class features to represent a more sorcerer-esque character: someone whose powers of divination and vision result from innate talent rather than careful stufy, possibly somone who was simply born with the ability to have visions of the future and faraway people and places. Perhaps it is a gift from the gods: a deity granted this character a measure of his own sight and wisdom in order to better carry out his will. If your campaign incorporates psionics, the farseer's powers could be of a more mental nature, nudging right up against the fine line between magic and psionics. For a tame, non-combat oriented campaign, the farseer can serve as a town sage or fortune-teller, or as an advisor to a political leader, or even a political leader herself.



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