Multiclassing Prerequisite: Intelligence 13 Proficiencies Gained: Improvised weapons and one type of tools

As a savant, you gain the following class features.

Hit Dice: 1d8 per savant level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per savant level after 1st

Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons, improvised weapons
Tools: Choose any one
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Choose three from Arcana, Culture, Deception, Engineering, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, and Sleight of Hand

You begin the game with 125 gp (plus the 30 gp each beginning Zeitgeist character gets, for a total of 155 gp) which you can spend on your character’s starting weapons, armor, and adventuring gear. You can select your own gear or choose one of the following equip- ment packages.
* Bravo’s Set (cost 137 gp): scimitar, 2 daggers, blowgun, pistol, whip, 20 shots (bullets and firedust), explorer’s pack, leather armor, disguise kit.
* Thinker’s Set (cost 146 gp): mace (a cane), 2 daggers, carbine, 20 shots (bullets and firedust), burglar’s pack, leather armor, thieves’ tools.

You constantly analyze combat situations to improve your defen- sive posture, proactively interfering to guide attacks away from yourself. While you are wearing no armor, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Intelligence modifier. You cannot use a shield and still gain this benefit. The savant is not proficient in armor by default, but might gain those proficiencies through archetypes, feats, or multiclassing. When you are wearing armor you’re proficient in, you can use your Intelligence in place of your Dexterity to determine your AC.

Your Savant archetype defines what your greatest aptitude is. This book presents three types of savant: Steward, Vanguard, and Vox. The steward is expert at protecting and healing allies. The van- guard joins the thick of the fight, looking for tactical opportunities others miss. The vox deeply understands how words can manipu- late people. Your archetype gives you unique features at 1st level and again at 2nd, 6th, 11th, 14th, and 17th level.

Introduced in Level Up, exploration knacks are a variety of abilities that help you deal with non-combat challenges. Each class gets its own collection to choose from, and savants’ are called clever schemes. If you are not playing Level Up, your Narrator might ignore these clever schemes so that a savant doesn’t outshine other characters. You learn one clever scheme of your choice. These schemes are detailed at the end of the class description. The Schemes Known column of the Savant table shows when you learn more clever schemes.

You have developed a small number of clever gambits, deft maneu- vers, and canny guards which help you prevail in battle by using your wits. The number of tricks you know is listed on the Savant table, and you can choose from the list below and from the list of tricks your archetype makes available. To use a trick, you must first prepare it by spending a bonus action. You cannot prepare a trick outside of an encounter, but once a trick is prepared, it remains prepared until you use it, until the encounter ends, or until you spend a bonus action to replace it with a different trick. You can only have one trick prepared at time. Different tricks can be used at different times. Some can be used without requiring any action, in response to some trigger. Others require your action, bonus action, or reaction. Some of your tricks require your target to make a saving throw to resist its effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows: Trick save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can choose to replace a trick you know with a different trick.

Some tricks are called Aegises, which let you defend against some sort of attack. Other tricks are called Flourishes, which you can use when you hit with a melee weapon attack. If a trick offers a saving throw, after you use it against a particu- lar creature, that creature has advantage on saving throws against other uses of that same trick until the end of combat. If the trick doesn’t permit a saving throw, after you use it against a particular creature, you cannot use the same trick against that creature for the rest of the combat.

Attention Diverting Aegis. When a creature within 30 feet that can sense you makes an attack that isn’t targeting you, you can use this trick to distract the attacker. If it fails a Wisdom saving throw, until your next turn it has disadvantage on all attack rolls it makes that aren’t against you.
Canny Dodge Aegis. When an attack would hit you, you can use this trick to roll 1d4 and add it to your AC against that attack. Alter- natively, when you would fail a Dexterity saving throw, you can use this trick to roll 1d4 and add it to your saving throw. In either case, you know how much the roll succeeded or failed by before deciding whether to use this aegis.
Committee Defense Aegis. When a creature attacks you, if it is not the first creature to attack you since the start of your last turn, you find an avenue of opportunity amid the massed assault. You can use this trick to impose disadvantage on that creature’s attack. Then, you gain advantage on the next attack roll you make before the end of your next turn that targets a creature that attacked you this round.
Improvised Bastion Aegis. When a creature’s attack, spell, or ability would damage you, you can use this trick to devise a mo- mentary defense (using a chair as a shield, predicting a safe spot in an explosion, diluting a spray of acid with a solvent, etc). You gain resistance to one type of damage you would take, which protects you only against the triggering hostile act.
Mindful Reason Aegis. When you would fail an Intelligence or Wisdom saving throw, you can use this trick to roll 1d4 and add it to your saving throw. You know how much the roll failed by before deciding whether to use this aegis.
Serpentine Rush Aegis. When you are targeted by a ranged attack, you can use this trick and your reaction to move your speed. Until the end of your next turn, ranged attacks against you have disadvantage. Additionally, your movement might get you to a location where cover makes you hard or impossible to hit. Reduce your speed on your next turn by the distance that you move when using this trick.
Tangled Dance Aegis. When you would be hit with an attack and a creature other than the attacker is adjacent to you, you can use this trick to try to dodge so the attack hits that creature. If the attacker fails an Intelligence saving throw, change the attack’s target to another creature within 5 feet, and the attacker uses the same result of its attack roll.
Undermining Taunt Aegis. When a creature misses with an attack or when a foe succeeds on a saving throw against an effect it created, you can use this trick to capitalize on their failure, warning the creature why another possible course of action will also turn out badly. If that creature can understand you, choose an action, such as Attack or Cast a Spell. The target must make a Charisma saving throw. If it fails, until the end of its next turn it cannot take that action.

Antagonizing Flourish. When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can try to draw its ire. If it fails a Charisma saving throw, it has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than you until the start of your next turn.
Disarming Flourish. When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can attempt to disarm it. If it fails a Strength saving throw, its grip is loosened, and the creature cannot make use of the item until it spends a bonus action or attack on its turn to regain a solid hold. If the creature has disadvantage on the save and fails both rolls, it drops the item.
Experimental Flourish. Whenever you miss with an attack, you improvise a follow-up that doesn’t directly attack a foe, such as slicing a rope to pin an enemy with a chandelier, or smashing a pipe to spray blinding steam on an enemy. Circumstances will dictate what the effect is, but some examples include shoving or impos- ing the blinded, deafened, grappled, or prone condition, and may also deal damage equal to your Intelligence modifier. Any condi- tions imposed should seldom last more than one round. Creatures affected can make an Intelligence saving throw to anticipate your trick and avoid the effect.
Guiding Flourish. When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can try to trick it into moving. If it fails a Dexterity saving throw, it moves up to 10 feet in a direction of your choice. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. If this movement would cause it to take damage (such as by falling or entering fire), the creature has advantage on this saving throw.
Menacing Flourish. When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can spend a bonus action to activate this trick and de- liver a terrifying threat. The target makes a Wisdom saving throw. If it fails, for the next minute it is frightened of you.
Surgical Flourish. When you have advantage on a melee attack and both dice results are high enough to hit, choose one of the creature’s limbs or eyes to debilitate. If the creature succeeds a Constitution saving throw, you debilitate that body part until the end of your next turn. If it fails the saving throw, the body part is debilitated until the creature can take a short rest.

Assess Vulnerability. When you attack a creature, you can use your Intelligence bonus in place of another ability score bonus for the attack roll and damage roll. This applies to all attacks you make against it before the start of your next turn, but not to attacks you make against other creatures.
Choreographed Disappearance. On your turn, you say some- thing to turn a foe’s attention away from you or an ally. You or an ally of your choice who can understand you can move up to their speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks from one creature of your choice that can understand you. If they end up having obscurement or cover relative to the distracted foe, they can Hide without spending an action.
Direct Ally. You identify an opening an ally can take advantage of. You can spend an action and choose an ally that can understand you, then choose a target. If that ally hits that target with an attack before the start of your next turn, their attack deals an extra 1d8 damage. The bonus dice increase to 2d8 at 5th level, 3d8 at 11th level, and 4d8 at 17th level. After you use this trick, you can choose the same ally again, but cannot choose the same target for the rest of the encounter.
Frightful Suppression. When you make an attack that causes loud noises—a firearm or grenade, or also items and spells that deal thunder damage—you can use this trick to force the attack’s target (or creatures in the attack’s area) to make a Wisdom saving throw to gauge when it is safe to move, and thus avoid being pinned down. A creature that fails cannot move until the start of your next turn unless it spends an action.
Rallying Word. You know just what to say to inspire an ally’s flagging stamina. You can spend a bonus action to let an ally within 30 feet who can understand you spend a hit die. If it does, it rolls that hit die (adding its Constitution bonus) plus 1d8 and heals hit points equal to the total. The bonus dice increase to 2d8 at 5th level, 3d8 at 11th level, and 4d8 at 17th level. After you use this ability, the same ally cannot benefit from it again until you complete a short rest.
Saving Advice. Spend a bonus action to advise an ally who can understand you. Choose a saving throw. One time before the end of this encounter, that ally can gain an expertise die on one saving throw of that type, used at the time of their choice. An expertise die is 1d4 they roll and add.
Sweeping Stride. When you stand up, or when you move at least 10 feet and enter a space adjacent to a creature no more than one size larger than you, you can try to trip it. If the creature fails a Dexterity saving throw, it falls prone. If it succeeds, instead your movement ends in the space you entered to use this ability. If you used this ability while standing up, you remain prone.
Timely Tool. Spend a bonus action to use an item that normally can be used as an action. This cannot cause damage or require an attack roll. Examples include administering an antitoxin, potion, or other easy-to-swallow item to a willing creature within reach; lighting a torch; tossing out caltrops, or barring a door.
Unbalancing Intervention. When a creature within your reach makes a Strength or Dexterity ability check or saving throw, you can use your reaction to perform a series of pulls, shoves, and strikes that put a creature off-balance. The creature has disadvan- tage on its ability check or saving throw.

Some savants are prepared to bloody their knuckles in a fight, while others make a point of staying out of the scrum. At 2nd level, you choose one of the following poises.

You have a deft ability to predict your opponents’ responses and interfere with them. Whenever a creature within your reach that you are aware of attempts to take a reaction, you can expend your reaction for the round to try to disrupt them. That creature must make an Intelligence saving throw against your trick DC. If they fail, their reaction is wasted.

You gain the ability to use combat maneuvers. (Combat maneuvers are detailed in the Level Up Adventurer’s Guide.) You gain an exertion point pool equal to your proficiency bonus. Choose two martial traditions. (Most savants learn maneuvers of the traditions Biting Zephyr, Mist and Shade, Rapid Current, or Sanguine Knot.) Whenever you gain a savant trick, you can instead choose a maneuver from any of your chosen martial traditions. You can initially learn maneuvers of the 1st degree. At 7th level you gain access to 2nd degree maneuvers, then at 13th level you can access 3rd degree maneuvers, and finally at 19th level you can access 4th degree maneuvers.

You can adapt your mind for whatever challenges you expect. Start- ing at 3rd level, when you complete a short or long rest you can choose a skill. Until you complete another rest, whenever you make an ability check using that skill, you use Intelligence instead of the ability score it normally uses.

At 3rd level, and again at 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th, choose a skill you are proficient with. You gain an expertise die on checks with that skill. (An expertise die is 1d4 you roll and add to your check result.)

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

At 4th level, choose one savant trick you know. You are considered to always have that trick prepared, and it does not count against the limit of the number of tricks you can have prepared. When you use that trick, it does not stop being prepared. Whenever you gain a level, you can change your signature move.

At 5th level, you refine your combat poise. Choose one of the follow- ing, or one of the combat poise options available at 2nd level.

Extra Attack. When you use the Attack action on your turn, you can make two attacks.
Rational Maneuvers. You can use your Intelligence bonus to cal- culate the DCs of your basic maneuvers and combat maneuvers.

At 7th level, whenever you complete a long rest you may choose one ability score and gain proficiency in saving throws of that type until you use this ability again.

Also at 7th level, on your turn you can prepare a trick without spending an action. You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Thereafter, preparing tricks requires the usual bonus action until you complete a short rest.

At 9th level, you can use the confusion of a large battle to protect you. If there are at least two enemies within 30 feet, you can use a bonus action to choose one of them. Until the end of your next turn, that creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against you.

At 10th level, you can hold two tricks in reserve, in addition to your signature trick. Whenever you prepare a trick, you can fill both trick slots (or keep one that is prepared and replace another).

At 13th level, your combat poise can achieve remarkable things. Choose one of the following, or one of the combat poise options available at 2nd or 5th level.

Confounding Defense. The first time each round that you use an aegis, you can immediately prepare another aegis trick.
The Opportune Moment. On your turn, you can take one addition- al action. You cannot use this ability on the first round of combat. After you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you com- plete a short or long rest.

At 15th level, your mental capabilities transcend the normal limita- tions mortal minds face. You gain an expertise die on all Intelligence checks and saving throws.

At 18th level, you can overcome obstacles with ease. When you or another creature that can understand you starts its turn you can grant it the ability to ignore all sources of disadvantage until the start of its next turn. After you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

At 20th level, you’re clever enough to accomplish anything. When- ever you complete a long rest, choose an effect that could be accomplished by a spell of level 8 or lower. You can have that effect occur immediately, or keep it in reserve for the day, and cause it to occur at any point by spending an action. This can be because you acquired a magic item or spellcaster willing to perform the magic, or have a device or hirelings capable of matching the feat.