Archivist (Dungeons & Dragons)

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**D&D Character Classes**
Base classes from Player's Handbook
Barbarian Bard Cleric Druid Fighter Monk Paladin Ranger Rogue Sorcerer Wizard
Additional/Alternative base classes
Archivist Ardent Artificer Beguiler Binder Crusader Divine Mind Dragon Shaman Dragonfire Adept Dread Necromancer Duskblade Erudite Favored Soul Healer Hexblade Knight Lurk Incarnate Marshal Mystic Ninja Noble Psion Psychic Warrior Samurai Scout Shadowcaster Shaman Sha' ir Shugenja Sohei Soulborn Soulknife Spellthief Spirit Shaman Swashbuckler Swordsage Totemist Truenamer Warblade Warlock Warmage Wilder Wu Jen
NPC Classes
Adept Aristocrat Commoner Expert Warrior
Unearthed Arcana generic classes
Expert Spellcaster Warrior
Prestige classes
List of prestige classes

The archivist is a character class in the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition roleplaying game that was introduced in Heroes of Horror. Based in characters who aid their religion more through knowledge gained academically than through direct communion with the divine, the archivist fits more the image of the travelling researcher than the cloistered wizard.

The archivist is primarily a spellcasting class, combining many of the qualities of the traditionally hardier, worldly cleric with the studious, solitary wizard. Users of divine magic, they learn and cast spells through diligent study. This means that most archivists adventure mainly to secure new texts of divine magic, although others seek to keep more dangerous magic out of the hands of those who would abuse it. Like most other divine spellcasters, they are designed to function best when acting as magical support in combat.

Additionally, their studies grant archivists an understanding of matters other than spellcasting. Such knowledge aids in combatting non-human foes; this generally requires successful Knowledge checks to use.

Due to the mixed nature of the class, it relies most prominently on several ability scores:

Intelligence: Like wizards, an archivist's spellcasting relies on their intelligence score. The higher the score, the greater the magic they are able to utilize.
Wisdom: Like other divine spellcasters, archivists benefit from a keen perception of the world around them and strong intuition. However, they also must be able to avoid being corrupted by the darker secrets they discover in the course of their study.
Constitution: Archivists travel far and through harsh environments in the pursuit of knowledge, and being in good health is key.

No currently published race has archivist as a favored class.

1 Spells
2 Dark Knowledge
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Spells

As discussed above, the foremost benefit of the archivist class is the ability to cast spells, these are drawn from the cleric spell list. Every archivist begins play with a prayerbook-- equivalent to a wizard's spellbook --in which new spells are recorded, and which then must be studied as part of spell preparation (the only exception is the spell read magic, which can be prepared from memory). After first level, spells must be sought out and learned order to be prepared, just as with a wizard. In addition to the spells normally received at each new level, an archivist may copy divine spells from scrolls into their prayerbook, regardless of whether they appear on the cleric spell list.

[edit] Dark Knowledge

The secrets that an archivist learns in their travels and studies are not limited solely to magic, but also include a profound understanding of monstrous creations; including aberrations, elementals, magical beasts, outsiders, and undead. This encompasses several different abilities which aid the archivist's allies in combat, ranging from bolstering their companions' saving throws to stunning monsters into a daze by speaking their secrets. To use these abilities requires a Knowledge check relevant to the type of monster, with greater successes typically yielding greater benefits.