Conversion Introduction: From a mechanical point of view, the adept rounds out the NPC classes by converting the standard SRD version, making it more AU compatible.

The Adept

The adept usually serves as the primary wielder of magic in societies that do not support any of the more established classes ? usually tribes of primitive and illiterate humanoids. His rudimentary magical powers enforce the respect he is offered and help bolster his tribe in times of need.

Adepts usually dress and carry themselves in a manner that expresses the qualities of its race. A troll adept will usually festoon himself with skulls and bones of vanquished enemies and stain his claws and teeth with paint made from the blood of said enemies.

?The adept is the caretaker of the tribe?s history. He structures the days, weeks, months and years with rituals that give the tribe a sense of belonging in the world as well as connecting the tribe to its immediate surroundings. The adept often serves as advisor to the leader of the tribe and may lead the tribe ? either directly or as the ?unseen force behind the throne?.

Adventures

As a rule, adepts don?t adventure. Their time is devoted to the needs of the tribe and ? in some cases ? to maintain and increase their own personal power.

Background

Adepts are always the result of an intense master-apprentice relationship, and there is no formalised training. In many cases, adepts claim that they receive their powers from otherworldly entities. Whether that claim is true is unknown.

Races

Adepts are mostly found among the most primitive and isolated tribes and races in the land. Therefore races such as goblins, hobgoblins, trolls and various lizard folk have the highest concentration of adepts ? usually just one adept per tribe, though.

View of Magic

Adepts do not have a formal understanding of their magic. Whether their knowledge comes to them as a result of drug-induced deliriums or after long periods of fasting in the wilderness, magic, to the adept, is a gift and a curse at the same time. Not a few adepts suffer from bouts of insanity and epilepsy. These fits increase whenever they gain levels.

Hit Die: d6

SKILLS:

Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Intelligence bonus) * 4

Skill Points at Higher Levels: 4 + Intelligence bonus

Class Skills: The adept?s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Alchemy (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidation (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Speak Language (none), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), and Use Magic Device (Cha). For more information on these skills, see Monte Cook?s Arcana Unearthed.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Adepts are proficient with all simple weapons as well as any racial weapons of their tribes. They are not proficient with any no armour.

Spells: Adepts have access to simple spells. An adept may choose to ready any simple spell, provided he can cast spells of that level. He readies spells ahead of time, any of which he can cast according to the maximum number of spell slots? available to him for each given level. To ready or cast a spell, a adept must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 plus the spell?s level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a adept?s spell is 10 plus the spell?s level, plus the adept?s Wisdom modifier.

Bonus spells for adepts rely on Wisdom.

Adepts never gain access to 8th- or 9th-level spells.

Adept spells always have both somatic and verbal components. Thus, they face spell failure chances when wearing armor.

Familiar: A familiar is a normal animal that gains new powers and becomes a magical beast when summoned to service by an adept. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but it is treated as a magical beast instead of an animal for the purpose of any effect that depends on its type. Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar.

A familiar also grants special abilities to its master (the adept), as given on the table below. These special abilities apply only when the master and familiar are within 1 mile of each other.

Familiar Basics: Use the basic statistics for a creature of the familiar?s kind, but make the following changes:

Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master?s character level or the familiar?s normal HD total, whichever is higher.

Hit Points: The familiar has one-half the master?s total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down, regardless of its actual Hit Dice.

Attacks: Use the master?s base attack bonus, as calculated from all his classes. Use the familiar?s Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to get the familiar?s melee attack bonus with natural weapons.

Damage equals that of a normal creature of the familiar?s kind.

Saving Throws: For each saving throw, use either the familiar?s base save bonus (Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +0) or the master?s (as calculated from all his classes), whichever is better. The familiar uses its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn?t share any of the other bonuses that the master might have on saves.

Skills: For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master?s skill ranks, whichever are better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers. Regardless of a familiar?s total skill modifiers, some skills may remain beyond the familiar?s ability to use.

Familiar Ability Descriptions: All familiars have special abilities (or impart abilities to their masters) depending on the master?s combined level in classes that grant familiars, as shown on the table below. The abilities given on the table are cumulative.

Natural Armour Adj.: The number noted here is an improvement to the familiar?s existing natural armour bonus.

Int: The familiar?s Intelligence score.

Heightened Senses (Ex): While a familiar is within arm's reach, the master's senses improve, giving him a +2 bonus on Spot and Listen.

Bonus feat: The familiar can take the Sturdy or Defensive Roll feat as a bonus feat. The familiar can gain the feat even if it does not meet the prerequisite for the feat.

Share Spells: At the master?s option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his familiar. The familiar must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit.

If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the familiar if it moves farther than 5 feetaway and will not affect the familiar again even if it returns to the master before the duration expires. Additionally, the master may cast a spell with a target of ?You? on his familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself.

A master and his familiar can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the familiar?s type (magical beast).

Empathic Link (Su): The master has an empathic link with his familiar out to a distance of up to 1mile. The master cannot see through the familiar?s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.

Because of this empathic link, the master has the same connection to an item or place that his familiar does.

Deliver Touch Spells (Su): If the master is 3rd level or higher, a familiar can deliver touch spells for him. If the master and the familiar are in contact at the time the master casts a touch spell, he can designate his familiar as the ?toucher.? Thefamiliar can then deliver the touch spell just as the master could. As usual, if the master casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.

Speak with Master (Ex): If the master is 5th level or higher, a familiar and the master cancommunicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.

Speak with Animals of Its Kind (Ex): If the master is 7th level or higher, a familiar can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (including dire varieties): bats with bats, rats with rodents, cats with felines, hawks and owls and ravens with birds, lizards and snakes with reptiles, toads with amphibians, weasels with similar creatures (weasels, minks, polecats, ermines, skunks, wolverines, and badgers). Such communication is limited by the intelligence of the conversing creatures.

Spell Resistance (Ex): If the master is 11th level or higher, a familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master?s level + 5. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the familiar?s spell resistance.

Scry on Familiar (Sp): If the master is 13th level or higher, he may scry on his familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day.

The Adept