Wizard - Mage Philosopher Kit Description: Philosophers represents those Mages who do not merely seek to study the arts of magic and its related fields but truly to study a bit of everything and to weave all pieces of that knowledge into a holistic and united pattern of truth. Many Philosophers dedicate themselves to determining the ideal of the just society, while others investigate the nature of truth or beauty as it is represented across the length and breadth of endeavor. They believe that all should seek to meditate and consider their actions and whether they are moving in a direction that will improve themselves, and they seek to lead by example in that regard. They are passionate lovers of wisdom and truth and devote their time to discussing the moral and ethical complexities of life and how to live a life that can show the way to others. Many are affiliated with colleges and universities and spend much of their time teaching at all levels of the educational systems that exist. Many of these profound thinkers are called upon to serve in royal courts and to raise and educate the heirs to those thrones. They are sometimes approached by jurists to find solutions to questions that have perplexed legal scholars and to offer recommendations on the proper course to take. The particular outlook of a Philosopher will depend a great deal on his or her training and alignment, but they use their magical and non-magical skills combined to overcome all challenges placed in their way. Requirements: As a standard Mage, save that at least 14 Intelligence and Wisdom are required. Weapons & Armor: Philosophers can become proficient in any weapon. Special Benefits: Philosophers embrace the inherent relativism they see in reality and do not restrict themselves in their courses of study. As a result, they may learn proficiencies from all proficiency groups without penalty, regardless of the background type or character class to which they are normally restricted. In addition, they can freely 'trade' weapon and non-weapon proficiency slots, using one type for the other purpose, without penalty. Like all Mages, they can learn any spell of any Realm (though with significant penalties to the attempt); however, while they do not specialize in any one particular field of magic Philosophers are nonetheless able to understand individual spells very thoroughly and completely and therefore are able to cast all spells at their full normal level (rather than at half their effective level, as normal for Mages casting the majority of their spells). In addition to this general and broad-based expertise, Philosophers gain the following special abilities: Arcane Lore: As a standard Mage; however, because they are naturally skeptical of taking things at face value and have devoted so much of their lives to contemplating matters of truth and reality, they gain a +4 bonus to saves vs. illusions, rather than the normal Arcane Lore bonus of +1. Contemplation: Philosophers rely heavily on quiet meditation and thought to pursue their study of the world and all its wonders. In the course of this Contemplation, they learn how to focus and control the latent powers of their mind, enabling all Philosophers to gain a psionic 'wild talent' in the course of their training. In addition, as they continue in this path of study throughout their career, they may attempt to gain a new 'wild talent' every time they gain a level of experience. The chance for determining whether a wild talent manifests can be determined by consulting the Complete Psionics Handbook, including possible negative consequences that can occur in the course of trying to unlock his or her psychic potential. Psionic 'wild talents' can be randomly generated in any fashion the DM desires, or he or she can simply assign appropriate powers. Philosophers learn to focus their minds and thoughts in such a way as to deal very effectively with problems by thinking through the logic problems involved and applying a variety of philosophical tests and maxims to the situation. This facet of Contemplation allows the player of the Philosopher to effectively take two 'guesses' at coming up with the correct solution to any sort of riddle, logic problem, or similar dilemma encountered in a campaign, even if only one is normally allowed (in character, the Philosopher actually comes up with multiple possible solutions and is able to work out which one ought to be correct; this is reflected by allowing the player an extra opportunity to solve the problem). In the same vein, a Philosopher can search his or her mind for possible answers to a dilemma once per day. This ability requires 1d10 rounds of Contemplation and has a 10% chance per level of success. If it succeeds, the Philosopher gains the benefits of an idea spell (q.v. Tome of Magic) pertaining the situation being considered. A Philosopher of 9th level or above can instead attempt to gain the benefits of a genius spell (q.v. Tome of Magic) in the same fashion, but the chance of success is halved in this case. In either case, only a single Contemplation of this type is possible each day. Note that this ability is not magical or psionic; it simply represents the broad knowledge base and wide cross-applicability of a Philosopher's training and his or her ability to come up with novel ideas and solutions to difficult problems. Oratory: Philosophers often engage in public speaking, teaching, debate, and displays of rhetoric, which they often punctuate with occasional bits of magic (either real or Stage Magic) for emphasis, and they are quite adept at persuading a crowd. Thus, when speaking and able to hold the attention of a group of creatures able to understand his or her language, a Philosopher can attempt to influence their reactions by making a successful Charisma check with a +1 bonus for every four levels of experience (rounding up). If the check is made, all creatures listening to the Philosopher must save vs. paralyzation with a -1 penalty for every four levels of the Philosopher (rounding up) to avoid having their reaction level adjusted by one 'step' in the direction desired by the Philosopher. This persuasion requires at least 1d10 rounds of argumentation and exposition (with an occasional dramatic flair) to take effect. If any creature rolls a 20 on its saving throw, it takes the Philosopher's diatribe the wrong way and has its reaction adjusted in one step in the direction opposite that intended by the Philosopher. Stage Magic: As a standard Mage. Special Hindrances: As a consummate generalist and relativist, a Philosopher does not have any Primary FOS in terms of magical study, not even Universal Magic. Thus, when attempting to learn any spell, he or she has only the standard Mage chance (i.e., 10% times experience level, divided by the level of the spell, with a maximum equal to their Intelligence-based Chance to Know Spell), regardless of Realm of Magic. Thus, while they can and do learn a variety of individual spells and learn them quite well, their wide-ranging study does not lend itself particularly well to study in related fields or categories of magic. Philosophers do not study magic itself as a field to the extent that other Mages do, and never gain the ability to use Improvisational Magic. Likewise, Philosophers can never research spells or create magical items (other than potions and scrolls). As a general rule, Philosophers favor 'living for the now' and examining the rules and interactions and dynamics of what is, rather than dwelling overmuch on past history or future possibility, and they therefore have little interest or skill in Fortune Telling. They study in a variety of areas, but rarely seek long-term mastery in any and can never expend extra proficiency slots to improve any proficiency. Bonus Proficiencies: Prestidigitation, Somatic Concealment Required Proficiencies: Debate, Reading/Writing, Spellcraft Preferred Proficiencies: Alchemy, Astrology, Bookbinding, Calligraphy, Crowd Working, Dancing, Disguise, Divining, Hypnosis, Jest, Language (any), Numeracy, Numerology, Papermaking, Persuasion, Poetry, Public Speaking, Seamstress/Tailor, Teaching, Ventriloquism, Voice Mimicry ***DISCLAIMER*** As with all postings by me of classes or races, it should be noted that portions of the information contained herein were inspired by or derived from information in published works of TSR, Inc., and may contain references to those works, quotations or passages of text (especially in the area of 'Character Description', where applicable sections from TSR works were often carried over more or less intact into my campaign world), or particular powers or abilities invented by TSR staff writers. No relationship with TSR, Inc., is to be implied by this use, nor is any attempt being made to solicit profit or remuneration of any kind. I have read the TSR Online Policy document, and have tried to accommodate the stipulations contained therein. In instances where I have lifted an essentially complete class or race without significant alteration, I have not included these in my postings but instead have inserted a reference to the appropriate D&D sourcebook for those curious in including it in their campaign. Only variations that include a significant component of original work, alteration, or reformulation (including the compositing elements from various TSR sources into new combinations) of have been included in this set of postings. Jason Eric Nelson < tjaden@u.washington.edu >