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In the spirit of full disclosure, I was provided a review copy of this supplement for a full and honest review.
You had me a book fighter and the beautiful art by @missalppy! (more on that later) Also, Knight Librarian just sounds so damn cool!
These stalwart guardians of knowledge and ancient tomes have a rich and storied history, legend telling of their formation “by the Tome Keepers of Harbour’s End City Atheneum, after acquiring items for their library had resulted in the loss of life and limb.” So these aren’t your local friendly librarians, stamping cards and stacking books, if you are lucky enough to still have a local library – Just a quick aside, libraries and librarians are awesome, as is the access they give everyone to joy and information, and if there’s anything you can do to support yours I entreat you to act as guardians of these bastions of knowledge. Though I do understand if you aren’t quite ready to lose life and limb, a membership, petition and/ or donation should do
Knowledge is power
At 3rd level the Knight Librarian has the option to take Intelligence as their Attack Modifier, which definitely helps plotting attributes in character creation when planning to build of a Knight Librarian, and reflects the studious grace and Intellect with which they fight.
Already, there is a stark difference from the archetypal image of a Fighter, as smooth as a Swashbuckler, but with the full arsenal of a Fighter and bookcases full of wonders a Rogue would only see the value in stealing. Not a good idea to attempt when these folx are around!
The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword
At third level you gain proficiency in a helpful and on brand skill, as well as a new set of tools created for and included in this Archetype, Scholar’s Tools. Gaining expertise with both at a higher level. I’ll talk more about the Scholar’s Tools later, but for now they are a well thought out, thematic and useful new tool set.
Spellcasting
The rules for casting, learning, and numbers are very similar to the Eldritch Knight up until one key element made very clear in this Archetype, though it is bizarrely vague in the Player’s Handbook for the Eldritch Knight; Knight Librarians can use their weapons as spellcasting foci! It’s not explicit in the PHB, but Eldritch Knight’s cannot use an Arcane Focus, meaning they have to use material components, even with their Bonded Weapon. Whereas a Knight Librarian merely has to be proficient with the weapon the are using, which as a Fighter is pretty much all of them, for it to be a focus. They do still need a hand free for Somatic components of spells, but with the Warcaster Feat taken in creation or at level 4, you suddenly have a Fighter that can wield sword and shield, two weapons or two-handed weapons and still cast, while the Eldritch Knight watches on with one hand sulkily rummaging through their bumbags (fanny packs for the Americans) full of potpourri!
Knight Librarian gain access to Ritual Casting and their own dedicated spell list containing many rituals and two unique and useful spells of their own, created @DragonbornDoug after discussion of the class with Way, among a smorgasbord of others. This new spell list draws from all casting classes to provide a wide range of spells representing the breadth, pursuit and defence of knowledge that are key to the Knight Librarian in a fun and varied manner.
The two unique spells from @DragonbornDoug are an interesting and awesome pair perfect for the Archetype. I will discuss them in full later.
Know Your Lore
At 7th level Knight Librarians gain the ability to draw on their vast knowledge and studies of ancient times to enter a meditative state to recall information and lore on a subject. There a specific check made, which can be augmented by the spending of Spell Slots, with a spectrum of nothing pertinent coming to you, all the way to being an expert on the subject in question, “knowing one particular pieces of information that has bee lost to the ravages of time.” I absolutely love this ability and can see so much fun being had with information being passed between the DM, the KL and the rest go the party, with secret whispers if that’s how you play. The uncovering lost lore gives the DM scope to make things up, as well as discovering and/ or planting seeds for further adventures in the moment. Personally, I don’t think you can beat an ability that has a mechanical and/ or informational benefit that also encourages improvisation, roleplaying and the discovering of new bizarre and wonderful revelations.
This is one for DMs to be aware of and player’s to give their DMs the heads up, but with some understanding, flexibility and improvisation this truly open new approaches, ideas, seeds and possibly even future campaign inspiration from what the Knight Librarian manages to dredge up from their mind palaces.
Diligent Studies
At 10th level the Knight Librarian has been such a diligent reader, researcher and generally making grabby hands at any arcane book or magical writings that this gives them access to extra spells from an array of classes always to hand. This tome diving and scroll snuffling increases the number and allows swapping spells out at higher levels.
A Mind as Sharp as a Sword
At 18th level your brain is so filled with knowledge of magic punching and insults that would make a drag queen blush that you have the ability to attack with both steel and spell on your turn, which is freaking awesome and conjures some dramatic and exciting images of a blade sticking a towering troll in its rotten guts, while at the same moment tossing arcane fire up into its bellicose face!
Appendices
The Knight Librarian spells are laid out in full in class and alphabetical order with asterisks to mark additional spells from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and two asterisks for the new spells.
The two unique spells from @DragonbornDoug are a thoughtful pair. Introspect allows for so time spent looking in the mirror reflecting on the previous 24 hours, keeping the higher result. This allows for some awesome Archimedes moments (I don’t suppose there’s anything stopping you from casting it in the bath), where a clues missed earlier in the day suddenly become more clear. I can definitely see this leading to some fun roleplay moments and ejaculations of, ‘aha!’ and ‘by Mystra I’ve got it!’ while the rest of the party wait to be filled in.
Absorb Knowledge on the other hand is more about leeching the knowledge and/ or magic by the way of touch. This instantly brings to mind the skill books in the Elder Scrolls games that are consumed when read and confer a bonus or knowledge of a spell or skill, as the book is reduced to ash in the process. It also has the added bonus of turning a Spellbook into a pile of Spell Scrolls that count as spells of the absorber’s class, with the caveat that they cannot be then copied into another book. Despite the caveat this is incredible and can turn a book store into the scene in the Matrix in which they download knowledge...albeit with a furious and dusty owner not so impressed that you suddenly know everything there is to know about the horticulture of athelas.
I think these spells add something new, useful and fitting the flavour of the Knight Librarian, despite one involving turning a book to ash. Books and libraries are only sacred for the information they contain, so once absorbed the Knight Librarian is preserving that knowledge within themselves. It’s also a handy way to save and hide information from those who would steal and/ or destroy it.
Scholar’s Tools
I shall touch on the Scholars tools with the special white gloves historians in TV and movies where to handle ancient tomes – In looking up the correct name for these gloves, I discovered they are another darn Hollywood lie! One article was very adamant that correctly washed and dried hands are for more safe and dextrous than gloves, which has very little to do with this review...but I’m confident it’s something the Knight Librarians would know.
The fascinating and well thought out tools include a whale bone folder – another thing I had to look up, with the intention of making an informed and immature joke, but ended up being rather interesting (and amusing to my childish mind). From Wikipedia (the most scholarly of works to reference), “A bone folder, bonefolder, or folding bone is a dull-edged hand tool used to fold and crease material in crafts such as bookbinding, cardmaking, origami.” I now desperately want an Knight Librarian who protects the knowledge of origami and spends many frustrating hours during downtime trying to teach their compatriots the art of paper folding with a bonefolder, explaining that after the 100th time bonefolder shouldn’t be funny. chortle
Silliness aside the “Scholar’s tools contain everything a character needs to maintain, preserve and investigate the texts and tomes of the ancient world.” This is presented in the expansive and genuinely useful manner of the detailed descriptions of tools in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, and fills an appropriate niche relevant to more than just the Knight Librarian. The thought and presentation that has gone into this tool kit is so in keeping with the quality and style of those in XGTE, as to be indistinguishable. (I don’t know if I would make a good Knight Librarian as my Intelligence is so low, I spent a good five minutes wrestling with the spelling of indistinguishable, so far off that the internet couldn’t even help me for a while there).
Art
This supplement contains a stunning triptych from the incredibly talented @missalppy that Way saw on twitter and instantly knew she would be perfect for the job. And she is, creating three gorgeous images depicting an owl familiar holding a sword over an open Spellbook that appears to be then crest of the Knight Librarians, a Knight Librarian in the process of research and/ or drawing arcane knowledge from the books themselves rendered in @missalppy’s trademark Celestial stained glass style, which would work perfectly as exactly that in a library temple or Knight Librarian keep. Finally, there is a depiction of a Dwarf with shining sword and what appears to be a magical shield who I can easily imagine as a founding member or fabled hero of the Knight Librarians memorialised in glass, so the light of knowledge may forever pass through them to the apprentices studying below.
This is a seriously well put together Archetype and supplement presented in a beautiful and professional manner. A well thought out, flavour rich and mechanically sound Archetype that will certainly be a lot of fun to play, as well as brining some interesting things to the table for the DM and other plays too.
I reached out to Way asking for the inspiration and ideas around the Knight Librarian, which I have tried to work into the review, but the remarks in full are below:
“It was originally going to be a paladin subclass and it was something that I saw... I don’t remember but it was a post on [Twitter] that made me think, hey what if there were these order of knights that were dedicated to preserving lore/knowledge. And then it sort of expanded from there.”
“The spells were actually done by a friend of my @DragonbornDoug and were used with his permission. I shared a bit of what I was doing and he asked if I wanted to use them.”
“As for [Eldritch Knight] I do love that subclass but I feel like we needed more and I always hated the dumb jock/dumb fighter stereotype.”
“The tools came about because the more I was looking in the PHB I realized that things like calligrapher’s tools fit but they didn’t fit so I used the template in XGtE and created my own to fit my needs.”
“This is actually one of the very first subclasses I started designing and it went through sooooooooooo many revisions. And I had a lot of help translating my vision for what I wanted it to be into something tangible. Also I didn’t want to step on Matt Mercer’s Cobal Soul Monk cause they also were knowledge seekers or the knowledge cleric.”
“Also I really really love books”
I think these comments show the passion and thought that went into making this class, finding them a niche and not stepping on anyone’s toes. I belive Way has succeeded in her goals to make an Archetype that stands out on its own with its own lore and protection of lore.
...I’m already making one and I kinda want to call him Giles Wesley Winter...
Oh and I too love books!
Also available in a bundle with Way’s other two fantastic subclasses: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/291648/
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