Running Against the Grain

D&D 3e (3.0/3.5) Rules

by Clive Squire

Running Against the Grain [Monstrous]

You have willingly severed the innate connection you have with a form of magic to gain the benefits of a more esoteric form of magic.

Prerequisite: Innate spellcasting ability as a spellcaster that has a spell level progression.

Benefit: You can change your innate ability to cast spells as a spellcaster, such as sorcerer, for another magic or quasi-magic using class that offers the same kind of progression.

For example, an aurak draconian has the innate spellcasting ability as an 8th level sorcerer. He could exchange this innate spellcasting ability to cast spells as an 8th level mystic as this allow a spellcaster to gain 9th level spells but he could not exchange them for innate spellcasting ability as a ranger or paladin, as these class do not offer 9th level spells. He could even exchange his spellcasting abilities for such abilities as that offered by the shadowcaster (which offers advancement to 9th level mysteries) or a psionic class, such as psion (which offers advancement to 9th level powers).

Special: The effects of this feat affect only one type of innate spellcasting ability that you have. If you have multiple types of innate spellcasting ability, select one to which this feat applies. This feat applies to an innate spellcasting ability which is racial or one which is gained from other sources (such as a template).

Special: You can only gain this feat at 1st level or as the first feat gained after you acquire an innate spellcasting ability. For example, an aurak draconian gains his spellcasting automatically, so he would have to take this feat as his 1st level feat, whereas a blue dragon gains his 1st level of an innate spellcasting ability at 15 HD, so he would have to take this feat as his feat gained at 15th level/HD.

Note: Changing a spellcasting ability affects your character a some most profound ways. Such a change runs against the very grains of your race, and unlike other kinds of variant creatures, this is expressed in the fact that you must spend one feat slot to bring about this drastic change.

• The key ability you use with the new magic change to that required for your new magic.
• The level or HD when you gain access to spellcasting remains the same, just the effect changes.
• The progression of abilities of your innate spellcasting ability that you currently have must be equal to that offered by the progression of abilities that you wish to exchange it for.
• Changing your spellcasting ability for certain abilities may alter your subtype (such as gaining the psionic subtype if exchanging for psionic powers).
• If you exchange into a divine spellcasting class that would normally offer access to a domain (such as mystic or cleric), you gain access to the same number of domains that the spellcasting class would normally gain.
• If you exchange out of a divine spellcasting class that granted a domain, you lose access to the domain.
• Any racial class skill you currently have which would normally allow you to gain insight to your former spellcasting abilities (such as Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft or Use Magic Device) can (they do not have to be) be changed to those that offer the same benefits to your new ability (such as Knowledge (psionics), Psicraft and Use Psionic Device). Your ranks in the skills do not change, although the ability modifier to them might. If any of these skills are racial skills, you may change them to the skills linked to your new form of magic; the new skills become racial skills and the old become cross-class skills.
• Additionally, any feat you already have gained that becomes void (or next to) through the absence of your former spellcasting ability (such as the aurak's Spell Focus (evocation) can be exchanged for a like feat for your new abilities. If this is not possible, you gain a feat which is beneficial to you using your new abilities (such as a metapsionic feat for those exchanging with psionics or metashadow feat for shadowcasters). You must still meet the prerequisites for any feat you switch. You must still meet the requirements for any feat gained.

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