The Gaming Den

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the shugenja.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shugenja are proficient with the Tantojutsu group plus one other group. They are also proficient with the wakizashi. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield.
Spells: A shugenja casts divine spells, but his spell knowledge is limited, much like a sorcerer. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a cleric must (see below).
To learn or cast a spell, a shugenja must have an elemental ability score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a shugenja’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the shugenja’s elemental ability score modifier. (See element focus, below, for elemental ability scores.)
Like other spellcasters, a shugenja can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Shugenja Spells Per Day. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high elemental ability score.
A shugenja’s selection of spells is extremely limited. A shugenja begins play knowing two 0-level spells and one 1st-level spell of his element focus and two 0-level spells and one 1st-level spell of any element, plus one spell of each level determined by his shugenja school. At each new shugenja level, he gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table:
Shugenja Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a shugenja knows is not affected by his elemental ability score; the numbers on Table: Shugenja Spells Known are fixed.) These new spells can be common spells chosen from the shugenja spell list, or they can be unusual spells that the shugenja has gained some understanding of by study. At least one spell at every level is determined by the shugenja’s school, as noted on Table: Shugenja Spells Known.
Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered shugenja level after that (6th, 8th, and so on), a shugenja can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the shugenja “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level and element must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level shugenja spell the shugenja can cast. A shugenja may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level. The shugenja may never swap the school spell he knows at any given level.
Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a shugenja need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his spells per day for that spell level. He does not have to decide ahead of time which spells he’ll cast.
Shugenja do not have spellbooks, though they write their spells on ofuda. These ofuda serve as divine focus items and must be read as part of the spellcasting process. Shugenja can use the Scribe Scroll feat to create magic scrolls that works just like a wizard’s or cleric’s scrolls. When casting metamagic spells, the shugenja must take more time to cast a metamagic spell than a regular spell. If its normal casting time is 1 action, casting a metamagic spell is a full-round action. For spells with a longer casting time, it takes an extra full-round action to cast the spell. Shugenja cannot use the Quicken Spell metamagic feat.
Element Focus: All shugenja must choose a favored element: Air, Earth, Fire or Water. A shugenja’s choice of element is determined by the clan school he attends. (Ronin shugenja may choose any element, but must choose school spells from the generic school lists.) This choice determines what spells the shugenja has access to, as well as the ability score the shugenja uses to cast spells. At least half the spells a shugenja knows must be of that element, and the spell dictated by the shugenja’s school is of that element as well. Shugenja automatically gain the benefits of the Spell Focus feat for spells of their favored element, and may select the Greater Spell Focus feat without first selecting Spell Focus, but if they choose this option, they may only apply the benefits of Greater Spell Focus to spells of the chosen school of magic that are also spells of their favored element.
As a cost of focusing so heavily on one element, the shugenja is barred from learning spells of another, opposing element, as described below.
Air: Air spells are subtle, involving travel, intuition, influence, divination and illusion. Earth is the prohibited element for air shugenja. The favored element ability score for Air is Charisma. To learn or cast a spell, an Air shugenja must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an Air shugenja’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the shugenja’s Charisma modifier. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score.
Earth: Earth spells involve resilience and resolve, health and growth, the body and its strength. Air is the prohibited element for Earth shugenja. The favored element ability score for Earth is Constitution. To learn or cast a spell, an Earth shugenja must have Constitution score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an Earth shugenja’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the shugenja’s Constitution modifier. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Constitution score.
Fire: Fire spells are destructive and blatant, but they also deal with intelligence, inspiration and creativity. Water is the prohibited element for Fire shugenja. The favored element ability score for Fire is Intelligence. To learn or cast a spell, a Fire shugenja must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Fire shugenja’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the shugenja’s Intelligence modifier. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score.
Water: Water spells involve transformation, cleansing, healing and friendship. Fire is the prohibited element for Water shugenja. The favored element ability score for Water is Wisdom. To learn or cast a spell, a Water shugenja must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Water shugenja’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the shugenja’s Wisdom modifier. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score.
Sense Elements (Sp): As a full round action, a shugenja can become aware of all sources of one chosen element (air, earth, fire or water) within 10 feet of himself. The shugenja learns the size category of the objects but not their precise location or nature.
By concentrating longer, a shugenja can either extend his senses or gather more information. Each additional round spent in concentration allows the shugenja to add 5 feet to the radius of his sense elements ability, to a maximum of 5 additional feet per shugenja level. Alternatively, the shugenja can focus on one source of the sensed element per round, attempting a Spellcraft check to determine more about that single item. The amount of information she learns depends on her Spellcraft check result