The following clever schemes can be learned by all savants .

Antiquarian

You have a nose for identifying things, even if you’ve never seen them before. If you spend 1 minute examining and touching an artificial object, you learn the object’s age, value, historical/cultural origin, and non-magical properties (if any), such as the DC of a lock or how to use a piece of culture-specific equipment.

Artistic Streak

You find that practicing your art helps you think. You gain an expertise die on checks to engage in artistic activities, such as music, writing, or another creative endeavor. If you engage in an artistic practice for 1 hour (which may be part of a rest), you may gain one point of Key Knowledge regarding an individual, creature, event, organization, or place of which you are aware. Once you have done so, you cannot do so again until you have both used the Key Knowledge you gained and completed a long rest .

Bartitsu

You have trained to defend yourself under any circumstances. You can roll 1d4 in place of your normal damage for unarmed strikes. If you aren’t wielding any weapons or a shield, you can roll 1d6 instead. Finally, you may choose to deal 1d6 damage when using improvised weapons instead of the damage they normally deal.

Business Acumen

You gain an expertise die on checks made to recall information about money, trade, regional goods, and businesses, as well as on checks made to buy, sell, or perform the Work downtime activity. Additionally, your Prestige level counts as 1 higher when interacting with merchants, financial professionals, and business owners within the area described by your Prestige rating.

Enigma Enthusiast

You gain an expertise die on checks made to succeed at solving puzzles, cracking ciphers, answering riddles, playing strategy games, and similar tasks, as well as on checks to create them. In addition, when encountering such a task you may ask the Narrator one question that could be answered with a “yes” or a “no” regarding the task. The Narrator’s answer to this question must be truthful. You may only ask one such question between each short and long rest .

Forensic Scientist

You gain an expertise die on checks using alchemist’s tools and on checks made to collect and analyze physical clues such as chemical residues, personal effects, and footprints, as well as on checks made to determine the manner of a creature’s death. You can always accurately determine how long ago a non-magical corpse you can see died or when a physical clue was put in place.

Jurisprudence

You gain an expertise die on checks to recall information about laws, regulations, and legal proceedings, as well as on checks to convince others of the legality or illegality of an act. Additionally, your Prestige level counts as 1 higher when interacting with bureaucrats, law enforcement agents, and legal practitioners within the area described by your Prestige rating.

Laureate

Prerequisite: d8 expertise die or higher in a skill
Your contributions to your field are highly regarded. Your Prestige bonus increases by 1,and you have advantage on prestige checks against individuals who are proficient in any skill in which you have a d8 expertise die or higher.

Memory Palace

You can recall everything you’ve seen or heard within a number of weeks equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1). In addition, you can retain expertise dice gained from the last two masterwork books you’ve read rather than one, and the size of the expertise die you gain from the most recent masterwork book you’ve read increases to d6 (but decreases to d4 once you read another).

More Things in Heaven and Earth

You understand that not all phenomena can be ascribed to strictly natural causes. You gain an expertise die on checks to avoid, locate, or understand the abilities of celestials, fiends, and undead.

Polyglot

You gain proficiency in two languages of your choice, and you require only half the usual time to train in a new language. You gain an expertise die on Insight checks made to understand other languages.

Practiced Pilot

You gain proficiency with one type of vehicle of your choice, or an expertise die if you are already proficient. You may take a vehicle action and prepare a trick using the same bonus action.

Principia Mathematica

You can perform all mathematical operations with perfect accuracy in your head, as though you were using the calculate cantrip. In addition, you can determine the number and dimensions of any objects, creatures, or areas you can see; the weight of any object or creature you can touch; and the time between any two events you have experienced to within a 1% margin of error.

Psychoanalysis

By spending 10 minutes conversing with a creature you can see within 30 feet of you, you can gain insight into the creature’s motivations, emotional state, and something that looms large in its mind. In addition, you gain an expertise die on checks to determine if a creature you examine in this way is lying or concealing information until the end of your next short or long rest.

Rapier Repartee

You gain an expertise die on Intimidation and Performance checks that rely on your wit. After conversing with a creature for 1 minute, you learn which traits about themselves that can be readily observed or inferred they prize and despise most. This feature does not reveal secret information.

Reports Of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Once per long rest , you may use your reaction to fall prone and suppress your vital signs through a variety of techniques for up to 1 hour. Until you choose to move, creatures of your choice able to observe you consider you to be dead or dying for the duration, although a suspicious creature may make a Medicine check against your trick DC to determine if you are alive. You are blinded during this period but are otherwise aware of your surroundings, and you may use your reaction to move up to your Speed, ending the condition early. Standing up from prone still requires half of your movement when using this feature.

Speech and Debate

Your specialties in lore skills also apply to Persuasion and Deception checks.

Other tricks are those that can be used only in specific circumstances.

Calculated Step

When you move through an area of difficult terrain , you may expend this trick to either avoid having your speed reduced or avoid taking damage from the terrain until the start of your next turn.

Leverage Position

Until the start of your next turn, the expertise die you gain from attacking from above, flanking, or pulling from below is increased by one step (from d4 to d6 to d8, etc.).

Look Closely

You may expend this trick to take the Search action as a free action, gaining advantage on the check you make.

This Will Do

You may expend this trick to give a melee weapon (including improvised weapons and shields used as weapons) one of the following traits: breaker, defensive, flamboyant, parrying, quickdraw, rebounding, trip, or vicious. Alternatively, you may use this trick to increase the damage die of an improvised weapon by one step (from d4 to d6 to d8, etc.). This weapon only has this property for you, and it loses it when combat ends or when you use this trick again.

Wait For It

When you take the Ready action, you gain an expertise die on the first attack, check, or saving throw you make as part of your reaction in response to the trigger.

Flourishes can be used when you attack with a melee weapon.

Distracting Flourish

When you hit a creature with a melee attack while it is performing a task that requires continuous effort but that it could end at will, such as grappling another creature or concentrating on a spell, you may force it to make an Intelligence saving throw . On a failure, it ceases performing the task. If a creature is engaged in multiple such tasks (such as grappling multiple creatures), you may only turn its attention away from one task, but you may choose which one.

Domino Flourish

When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you may set yourself up for a later success. Once in the next minute, you can make a weapon attack with advantage against the creature.

Echoing Flourish

When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you may force it to make a Constitution saving throw . On a failure, the target takes ongoing damage equal to your Intelligence modifier. A creature may use an action to end the ongoing damage.

False Target Flourish

When you miss with a melee attack, you may reveal that you actually had a different target in mind the whole time. Make a new attack roll against a different target within range. You may turn your attack into a thrown attack as part of this flourish, treating it as an improvised weapon if it does not have the thrown property. For the purposes of applying bonuses or penalties to the attack (such as bardic inspiration), the new attack roll is considered to be the same attack as the old attack roll. For the purposes of determining if you can repeat this trick, you are considered to have only used it against the second target.

Saboteur Flourish

When you have advantage on a melee attack and both dice results are high enough to hit, you can attempt to cut a bowstring, slice an armor strap, or otherwise damage a piece of equipment your target is wearing or carrying. If the target succeeds on a Dexterity saving throw , you cause a temporary malfunction that gives the object the broken condition until the end of your target’s next turn. On a failed save, the object is broken until it can be repaired.

Aegises are tricks which allow you to defend against some kind of attack.

Braced Body Aegis

When you would fail a Strength or Constitution 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.

Circle Dancing Aegis

When a creature within 5 feet of you makes a melee attack against you, you can attempt to take the Tumble action against it. On a success, you move through the creature’s space to a space adjacent to the creature and at least 10 feet away from where you began plus an additional 5 feet for each size category the creature is above Medium, and the attack misses. You may not move more than your Speed when using this trick.

Fail-Safe Aegis

When an attack against you would be a critical hit, you can turn the critical hit into a normal hit. Alternatively, when you would be reduced to 0 hit points you can use this trick to fall to 1 hit point instead. Once you have used this trick to avoid falling to 0 hit points, you cannot use it again in that way until you complete a short or long rest .

Retreating Aegis

When a creature makes a melee attack against you, you can take the Fall Back reaction even if they have not Pressed the Attack. If you do so, the attacker may choose to use its reaction to Press the Attack against you if it is not attacking with disadvantage . If it does not do so and Falling Back places you out the attacker’s range, the attack automatically misses.

Willful Aegis

When you would fail a Charisma or death 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. You may use this aegis even is you are unconscious or otherwise incapacitated .

You should never assume you’ve seen the last card a savant has up their sleeve. This collection of new tricks and clever schemes will put the enemies of any savant back on their toes. In addition, the new Ingenious Training feat will help make these features available to any character, no matter their class.

Those interested in seeing the savant class in its original context should consult Adventures in ZEITGEIST. For even more savant archetypes, look no further than “Exemplars of the Academy” and “Exemplars of the Academy 2: Seekers of Secrets” in Gate Pass Gazette #12 and #18, respectively.

New Savant Tricks

The following tricks can be learned by all savants.

Aegises

Aegises are tricks which allow you to defend against some kind of attack.

Flourishes

Flourishes can be used when you attack with a melee weapon.

Other Tricks

Other tricks are those that can be used only in specific circumstances.

New Clever Schemes

The following clever schemes can be learned by all savants.