Researcher
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You can quickly make a researcher with these suggestions.
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Unlike a sage or scion who is gifted their supernatural powers, a researcher proactively learns, studies, and practices the esoteric art of spellcasting. Because a researcher is a master of their own power, a researcher’s spells can be particularly potent, but they distinctly lack some of the defensive or restorative magic that can only be obtained from a higher power.
Clear Mind, Murky Reputation
Researchers’ unusual practices and weirdly inquisitive nature is often off-putting to common folk, but those aware of their supernatural powers have good reason to put respect on their name.
When making your character, consider what could drive this passionate curiosity, or this reckless thirst for supernatural power, in a world that doesn’t understand it.
Table: The Researcher
| Level | PB | Features | Magic Meter |
Max Spell |
New Spells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Magic Meter, Spellcasting, Wise Defense | 3 | 1p | Int |
| 2nd | +2 | Cantrips +2, School of Research, Upcasting | 6 | 2p | +2 |
| 3rd | +2 | Magic Recovery, Mighty Magic | 9 | 3p | +2 |
| 4th | +2 | Improvement | 12 | 4p | +2 |
| 5th | +3 | Cantrip +1 | 15 | 5p | +2 |
| 6th | +3 | School feature, Studied Skill (d6) | 18 | 5p | +1 |
| 7th | +3 | Magic Jars | 21 | 6p | +2 |
| 8th | +3 | Improvement, Studied Skill (d8) | 24 | 6p | +1 |
| 9th | +4 | School feature | 27 | 7p | +1 |
| 10th | +4 | Spell Repel, Studied Skill (d10) | 30 | 7p | +1 |
| 11th | +4 | Cantrip +1, School feature | 33 | 7p | +1 |
| 12th | +4 | Improvement, Studied Skill (d12), Wonders | 36 | 7p | — |
Heart Points
Heart Dice: d4 per researcher level
Heart Points at 1st Level: 4 plus your Constitution modifier
Heart Points at Later Levels: d4 (or 3) plus your Constitution modifier. If you roll a 1 on the d4, reroll it until you roll a result other than 1.
Proficiencies
If opportunist is your initial class, you start with proficiency in the following:
Saves: Intelligence and Wisdom
Weapons: book, bug net, club, staff, slingshot
Skills: You have proficiency in the Arcana skill, plus one skill of your choice from Engineering, Investigation, Lore, and Medicine.
Choose one more skill if you have Intelligence 17 or higher. You also gain this benefit if your Intelligence score later increases to 17.
Starting Items
If this is your initial class and you're starting at 1st level, you start with the following items worn or carried.
If you prefer, you forgo these starting items and can choose your own equipment using a budget of 1000 rupees (or 4d4 × 100 rp).
- (a) a staff and a slingshot or (b) a book
- medicine of magic
- a hooded lantern, a tinderbox, an ink pen, and 10 sheets of paper
- (a) a bomb, (b) a small key, or (c) any artisan's tool or musical instrument
- common clothes, 2 rations, 2 bottles of water, and 10 rupees
Reactions
If researcher is your initial class, you can make these reactions:
Counter Spell. If a creature you can see within 60 feet of you uses its action to cast a spell or make a spell attack, you can expend 1 magic point to interfere with the casting. The creature must succeed on a Constitution save against your Intelligence DC or lose its action with no effect. The creature doesn't lose any resource it would have consumed to cast the spell, such as magic points or a material component.
Shield. When you take damage from a creature you can see, as a reaction you can expend 1 magic point to surround yourself in a colorful barrier that gives you resistance to all damage dealt to you by that creature until the start of your next turn. You can’t use this reaction if you’re already wielding a shield.
Study Spell. When you witness a spell being cast, as a reaction you can make an Intelligence (Arcana) check to identify the spell as it's being cast. The DC for this check equals 10 + the spell's point cost. On a success, you not only learn the spell's effects, but you also gain advantage on any save imposed on you by this casting of the spell.
Magic Meter
You must expend magic points to cast spells of 1p or higher, and to use other class features like some of your reactions.
If you camp as long rest, you regain magic points until you have half of your maximum. If you finish downtime as a long rest, you instead regain all magic points.
Spellcasting
As one who investigates and studies magic, you recite incantations and manipulate material components in ways that require mentally-demanding practice and memorization.
Spellcasting Ability
Intelligence is your casting ability for researcher spells, as you learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability.
Saving Throws. When any creature makes a saving throw against any spell you cast, it's made against your Intelligence DC. Your Intelligence DC equals 8 + your PB + your Intelligence modifier. Whenever your PB or Intelligence modifier increases, your Intelligence DC increases too.
Spell Attack Rolls. When you make a spell attack roll, you roll a d20 and add both your PB and your Intelligence modifier. A spell attack roll otherwise works just like making any other attack.
Max Spell
| If you multiclass, your max spell is tracked separately for each class’s spells, but your magic points are shared between all spells. |
Your max spell is the most powerful spell you can cast. Your max spell is initially 1p, meaning you can’t cast a powered spell that costs more than 1 magic point. As shown in the researcher table your max spell increases by 1 every level, until it reaches 5p at 5th level. After reaching 5p your max spell increases again only at 7th level and 9th level, becoming 6p and 7p respectively.
Cantrips
If researcher is your initial class, you initially know 2 cantrips, chosen from the options in the table below. You learn more cantrips as your level increases, as shown in the researcher table: two more at 2nd level, one more at 5th level, and finally one more at 11th level. Starting at 2nd level you can choose from cantrips provided by your school of research, in addition to the options below.
- List of Starter Cantrips
Each cantrip is summarized below. Click each cantrip's name for the full effect.
| This page or section is incomplete, and will eventually be expanded with more information. |
Powered Spells Known
If researcher is your initial class, you know a number of 1-point spells equal to 1 + your Intelligence modifier, chosen from options in the table blow below. If your Intelligence modifier ever permanently increases, you learn another 1-point spell from these options. If researcher isn’t your initial class, you only learn 1 of these spells.
- List of 1-Point Researcher Spells
Each spell is summarized below. Click each spell's name for the full effect.
| This page or section is incomplete, and will eventually be expanded with more information. |
More Powered Spells
Starting at 2nd level you learn spells of 2-points and higher from your chosen school of research, which are more powerful but also more taxing to cast.
As shown in the researcher table, starting at 2nd level you learn 2 new spells. Starting at 6th level you only learn 1 new spell each level. At 12th level, you instead learn incredibly powerful wonders.
Any new spells you learn this way must have a point-value equal to your current max spell, also shown in the researcher table.
Replacing Spells
As a downtime activity, you can replace one cantrip or powered spell you've learned from this class with another you would be able to learn. The new spell must have the same point-value as the one it replaces. Starting from 2nd level you can replace your starter cantrips with cantrips granted by your school of research, or vice versa.
Wise Defense
You can predict and read opponents' attacks to evade them, rather than rely primarily on your reaction time or nimbleness of movement.
When you would add your Dexterity modifier to your AC, you can choose to add your Wisdom modifier instead. You don't benefit if you already add your Wisdom modifier to your AC due to another effect, such as with a champion’s unarmored defense.
School of Research
When you reach 2nd level, you decide on a School of Research that represents the area of study or the type of magic upon which you focus your efforts the most. Your choice greatly expands your spell list, allowing you to learn from a wider variety of spells than before. Starting from this level you can choose cantrips and powered spells from your school's spell list.
Aside from your expanded spell list your chosen school grants other features at 2nd level and again at 6th, 9th, and 11th level as shown in the researcher table.
Decide on one school from the following options. Each of these is detailed on its own page. On the researcher table above you can select a tab to show the features provided by a school integrated into this class.
- As a cultist, you devote yourself to a fanatical ideal, and exert this ideal through your Charisma. Your spells often manipulate the minds of others.
- As a technomancer, you specialize in enhancing weapons and armor, and are more martially adept than most researchers.
- As a twimage, you study arcane magic that was lost long ago when its practitioners were banished. Your spells manipulate space, light, and physics.
- As a garo, you wield supernatural arts like invisibility, walls of fire, and bombs. Sharp Intelligence is needed.
- As a witch, you have mastery over flight, poisons, and potions. Witchcraft is the only school with access to true healing spells.
- As a wizzrobe, you hone an art of raw, destructive magic drawn from the elements. Many Hyruleans see wizzrobes as nothing but destructive monsters.
Upcasting
Some researcher spells you learn have an "Upcast" feature in their description. Starting from 2nd level, you can empower such spells by expending extra magic points when you cast them. The grease spell for example covers a wider area when upcast from 1p to 2p. The total number of magic points you expend on a spell still can't exceed your max spell.
Magic Recovery
Starting from 3rd level, whenever you expend one or more researcher Heart Dice as part of a short rest to regain heart points, you regain 1 magic point for each Heart Die expended this way.
Mighty Magic
At 3rd level, your max spell for researcher spells becomes 3p. Spells of 3-points and higher can be particularly powerful, but are particularly taxing to cast—until you get used to casting them.
Whenever you cast a 3p spell, you must finish a short rest before you can cast another 3p spell. This applies to spells upcast to 3p as well.
This limit only applies to your current max spell. For example once your max spell becomes 4p, you must rest between each casting of a 4p spell, but you no longer have a need to rest between 3p spells.
Improvement
| If you’d prefer something reliable, focus on increasing your Intelligence. Your Intelligence modifier directly improves the effectiveness of most spells you cast. If you're having difficulty staying above 0 heart points, increasing your Constitution can be even more useful. |
When you reach 4th level, your studies come to fruition in an improvement. Choose from one of the following options. This feature cannot increase any ability score above 20, unless an effect first increases your maximum score for that ability.
- Ability Scores. Increase one of your ability scores by 2, or two of your ability scores by 1 each.
- Spells. Increase any ability score by 1. Learn two cantrips, two 1-point spells, or one of each. These can be either normal researcher options or options afforded by your school of research.
- Extra Studies. Increase any ability score by 1. Gain one benefit from your Studied Skill feature.
- Feat. Gain a feat.
You gain another improvement of your choice at 8th level and again at 12th level, as shown in the researcher table. You can gain the same improvement multiple times.
Studied Skill
At 6th level, your further studies grant you greater expertise in a practical area of study. Choose one skill from Arcana, Engineering, Investigation, Lore, Medicine, and Wilderness. If you're proficient in the chosen skill, you add a d6 bonus die to all ability checks made using that skill. “Bonus dice” don’t stack. If you have multiple effects granting bonus dice to a single roll, you apply only one of them.
If you lack or lose proficiency in the chosen skill, you also lack or lose this benefit until you regain proficiency.
Your studied skills improve at 8th, 10th, and 12th levels. At each of these levels you can gain another studied skill of your choice and the bonus die increases one step: becoming d8 at 8th level, d10 at 10th level, and d12 at 12th level.
Alternate Studies
Whenever you would gain a studied skill, instead of the normal benefit you can opt for one of the alternate studies below. Each alternate study is only summarized here; click on a study's name for the full effect.
| This page or section is incomplete, and will eventually be expanded with more information. |
Magic Jars
Once you reach 7th level, you can augment your magic recovery with specialized jars of your concentrated magic energy, and these jars can be used by others. Whenever you finish downtime, you create a number of magic jars equal to half your researcher level (rounded down). Each jar is a light item weighing 1 pound, and can't be sold.
Whenever you or another creature finishes a short rest, they can consume a number of your magic jars up to the number of Heart Dice expended on the short rest. For each jar consumed, the creature regains d4 magic points (if they have any). If you drink a magic jar, this benefit adds to your magic recovery, so you regain d4 + 1 magic points.
When you finish downtime, any jars that remain unconsumed will spoil and become useless, but are replaced with your new set.
Spell Repel
At 10th level, your talent and practice with spells enables you to repel damage from them with enviable ease. Spell attack rolls targeting you have disadvantage, and you have advantage on all saving throws against spells.
Wonders
Upon reaching 12th level, you learn two powerful spells called wonders, chosen from your school’s spell list. Although wonders are exceptionally powerful and draining, casting one doesn’t cost magic points and doesn’t count against your mighty magic rest limits. Instead, once you cast a wonder, you can't cast any wonder again until you finish downtime.
The material on this page is based on content found throughout the Legend of Zelda series, which is copyright Nintendo Co., Ltd.
The text of this page is partly based on the the V5.1 Systems Reference Document (SRD). The text of both this page and the SRD are released under Creative Commons (“CC-BY-4.0”). [1]
