Archivist

Some of your earliest memories are of the library you called home while you learned to read and write under the tutelage of your mentor. The stacks comforted you, protected you, and took you to lands undreamed of. Now the time has come to turn that knowledge into practical experience, and to record your own journey for posterity.

Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Investigation

Tool Proficiencies: Artisan’s tools (calligrapher’s supplies)

Languages: Two of your choice

Equipment: A leather-bound journal full of notes from past research projects, a set of robes, calligrapher’s supplies, 5 sheets of loose paper, a pair of spectacles, and a pouch containing 15 gp

Feature: Expert Researcher

Your familiarity with libraries and the tomes contained in them is unmatched. If you spend 1 hour studying the available books, grimoires, and codices in an archive, library, or similar collection while researching a specific subject, you can treat any Intelligence-based check result related to that subject of 9 or lower as a 10. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again to research the same subject in the same library.

Suggested Characteristics

Arcane archivists are most at home in their libraries.

Their personalities and motivations reflect their focus, sometimes obsessive, on recorded knowledge and the search for it. Their motives for pursuing a life as an archivist are rarely so straightforward.

d8	Personality Trait
1	There is nothing more important than knowledge. It is neither good nor bad. To suggest otherwise is to be closed in mind and thought.
2	I would rather spend time with my nose in a book. I find interacting with people discomfiting.
3	I am fascinated by a specific area of esoteric knowledge. If I find someone who shares that interest, we might become fast friends.
4	My mind is my sanctum. I neglect the needs of my body as secondary, often forgoing meals and bathing, when I’m lost in contemplation and study.
5	I am an observer and chronicler of the journeys, experiences, trials, and tribulations of my companions as viewed from the outside looking in.
6	The path to knowledge is not solely traversed through books and study. To fully learn, you must experience!
7	I find the blind faith of religions, cults, and their ilk perturbing, and I ask endless questions of those who profess such beliefs.
8	Because I believe that a sound body is essential for a clear intellect, I relish physical activity and exercise.

d6	Ideal
1	Purity. The truth of a matter is subject to the whims of the historian. Facts are pure and incontrovertible. (Any)
2	Focus. Precision and concentration: These are the keys to successful completion of my objectives. (Lawful)
3	Objectivity. Action and inaction have consequences far beyond the immediate future. The appearance of one morality does not preclude the emergence of another as time goes on. (Neutral)
4	Objectification. I use resources—including companions, allies, and bystanders—as I need them to further my ends. (Evil) 5 Preservation. Life is knowledge, and knowledge is life. Preserving life in all its forms is paramount to a civilized culture. (Good)
6	Observation. I will participate only as a last resort. Events, to be true and accurate, must unfold without interference. (Neutral)