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I can't decide if this is overpowered or not. The party-wide +2 save DC against spells seems a bit much. How many different ways to improve spell saves do Wizards need? On the other hand, at least you'd be forced to wait a few levels to grab spell focuses, I guess. Say hello to Brickwall, the shield dwarf Wizard 10/Arcane Scholar 10 with 23+3 ranks of spellcraft. +5 from spellcraft, +2 from arcane scholar, +2 from being a dwarf, +9 save versus spells total. Would be more palatable if they toned down spellcraft's bonus against spells I think, or alternatively made it only apply to party members. It feels like the Arcane Scholar double-dips an already questionable bonus. Arcane Scholars are already getting a beefy bonus vs. spells from their high spellcraft. Why then do they have another bonus that's supposed to reflect their high spellcraft? edit: The Arcane Scholar is sort of balanced for Wizards I think, but is a little overpowered for Sorcerers. One reason is that a Wizard gets bonus spell feats as he levels. A Wizard who takes 10 levels of Arcane Scholar is going to be sacrificing 2 of his bonus feats, so there is a definite opportunity cost for a Wizard: he will have much less choice and control over his final feat spread, while a pure 20 wizard will be able to grab more specializations like Greater Spell Focus. The Sorcerer on the other hand lacks the Wizard's bonus feats. By taking 10 levels of Arcane Scholar, he is able to poach one of the advantages of the Wizard to a small degree. Sorcerers will actually make stronger Arcane Scholars than Wizards, particularly since they can take better advantage of the meta-magic bonuses with their ability to spontaneously cast. When you combine a Sorcerer's ability to spontaneously cast meta-magic, and their lack of bonus feats, the Arcane Scholar is a huge no-brainer for a Sorcerer, while it is more of a sacrifice for a Wizard. IMO, Sorcerers should not have access to Arcane Scholar, although I suppose this is how it's gonna be. You're going to be seeing a whole lot of Sorcerer/Arcane Scholars though.