Wizard - Mage Scribe Kit Description: Scribes represent those Mages who choose to specialize in the art of writing and inscribing all manner of runes, symbols, and letters. Their chief stock in trade is in the production and reproduction of manuscripts and letters in an age where literacy is far from commonplace. They occasionally serve as tutors for the wealthy, but more often they find employment as clerks, accountants, and copyists within churches, governments, large merchant companies, and other such organizations, though most large cities have their share of independent Scribes plying their trade on a free-lance basis. Most Scribes are keen students and collectors of ancient lore, especially maps, codes, books, scrolls, armorial bearings, signs, runes, and glyphs. Only rarely do Scribes take up a life of adventuring, since most of their work is done in quiet cubicles in monasteries or large cities. Every now and then a Scribe may choose to actually venture forth and see the sights of the world and behold the wonders of the ancients or of far-off cultures for themselves, and it is typically these Scribes, stricken with a bit of wanderlust, that take up the adventuring life, and their scholarly background and knowledge of lore, language, and bureaucracy can be quite helpful to a party of adventurers, particularly those exploring ancient ruins or dealing with foreign governments. Requirements: As a standard Mage, but a Scribe requires at least 13 Intelligence, 15 Dexterity, and 10 Wisdom. In addition, Scribes use three-sided hit dice (see Special Hindrances). Weapons & Armor: Dagger/knife, dart, sling, staff. Special Benefits: Scribes are expert writers, copyists, and often even artists, talented at using the proper turn of phrase or layout style for any given situation and ensuring that their work comes out as the highest quality possible every time. They gain a +1 bonus for every three levels of experience (rounding up) to both their Calligraphy and Scribe proficiencies, and in fact because they are often able to use their skills throughout the course of training they begin with double the normal starting money for wizards (i.e., 2d4+2 x 10 g.p.). In addition to this mundane skill at writing, Scribes gain the following abilities: Arcane Lore: As a standard Mage, but his or her chance to Read Languages is doubled. This chance may also be used to represent a Scribe's chance to decipher a written code. Bureaucracy: Scribes frequently work in government or large businesses or other organizations, and they learn how to operate such organizational machinery to their advantage. This enables them to gain the Bribe Official thieving ability at a base level of 10 (plus all applicable racial and ability score modifiers), with a +5 bonus for every level after 1st. In addition, they gain a +1 bonus to their Bureaucracy proficiency for every five levels of experience. Scribes also learn bits and pieces of all sorts of professional jargon and slang, combined with fragments of half-understood ancient languages, and they are able to construct a sort of pseudo-language that can generally only be understood by other Scribes (the better to keep their secrets away from prying ears). If a Scribe wishes to speak to another Scribe in this fashion, he or she must choose a "base language" for communication, and any creature able to speak that language is entitled to a proficiency check with a -3 penalty in order to discern the general topic of conversation, though understanding beyond that level is simply not possible without special magical means. Any Scribe who understands the "base language", however, will have no trouble understanding the Scribe's speech. Copy Text: Scribes have extremely thorough and detailed training in the art of writing and a very delicate and deft hand at writing and copying text. This high level of skill and attention to detail is usually used in the process of creating exact reproductions of texts as part of their typical work, but it is also quite common for unscrupulous Scribes to undertake a side business in forgery. Scribes gain the Forge Document thieving skill with a base score of 20 (plus all applicable racial and ability score modifiers), with a +10 bonus for every level after 1st. This percentage chance also represents the chance for them to spot a forgery if they have a chance to examine it. Note that Scribes with the Artistic Ability or Cartography proficiencies can likewise create copies (or forgeries) of items of the appropriate type, though at the DM's option a proficiency check may be required. In addition to copying (or forging) documents or other mundane written works, Scribes have the ability to copy magical scrolls of all types. The chance of creating a usable copy is equal to 10% plus 10% per level of the Scribe, -5% per level of the spell being copied, though the chance of success can never exceed 90%. If the copying attempt fails, the copy will be useless and the original scroll will be destroyed. In the case of a scroll with multiple spells, they must be copied in the order that they appear on the original. To determine the effective 'level' of a protection scroll for a copying attempt, divide its experience point value by 500 and add 2. Regardless of success or failure, the copying attempt requires two days per spell level being copied, and the work must be done without interruption, though no special facilities are required. Materials for transcription will cost 10 g.p. per level of the spell for high-quality inks and paper, though special exotic ingredients are not required to create a scroll copy. Rune Mastery: Scribes are very knowledgeable about all manner of glyphs, symbols, letters, and similar marks, gaining a +1 bonus to their Reading/Writing and Rune Lore proficiencies for every three levels of experience (rounding up). In addition, they can make use of any spell that involves runes, glyphs, or symbols or that are related to writing, scrolls, books, languages, and the like as part of their Primary FOS. Scribes can even learn priest spells that deal with such matters as if they were wizard spells of the same level. Such spells must be taught by priests who know them, and they are considered equivalent to wizard spells in every way, with his or her full normal Chance to Know, and they count against the maximum number of spells of each level that a Scribe is allowed. When casting a spell involving runes or symbols, a Scribe never needs to use a verbal component, though somatic and material components may still be required. Verbal components must be used normally when casting other types of spells. Scribes gain a +1 bonus for every five levels of experience (rounding up) to saves vs. all forms of magical runes, glyphs, symbols, and other forms of writing (including cursed scrolls and the like). If confronted with baneful enchanted writings that normally allow no saving throw, a Scribe is entitled to attempt an unmodified save vs. spells to withstand its effects. A Scribe who makes a successful Rune Lore proficiency check at half the normal chance of success will be able to recognize and identify 'at a glance' any sort of magical symbol, writing, or inscription without triggering its effects. Such examination requires at least one round and good lighting condition, and a given magical writing can be examined only once per level of experience. If the check fails, he or she cannot try again until a new level has been attained. Scroll Specialization: Scribes can use all written magical items (including spell scrolls), regardless of normal class restrictions. Certain magical items may have no effect unless used by a particular class, and these will of course be of no use to a Scribe. If using a written magical item not normally allowed to Wizards, there is a 20% chance of the item malfunctioning in some way, reduced by 2% per level of experience; thus, at 10th level and above there is no chance of failure when using such items. Scribes have the ability to create scrolls of any spell that they know. This requires one full day per spell level and 100 g.p. per spell level for materials, and a suitable library or laboratory is needed to work in, but a Scribe never requires special or exotic components to create scroll inks. At the end of this time, the Scribe must make a percentile roll based on his or her Chance to Know Spell plus twice his or her level in order to ensure success. If the roll fails, an error has occurred in writing the scroll and the spell fails to 'take hold'; once such an error has occurred, no further spells can be inscribed upon that scroll, and in no event can more than seven spells be placed into a scroll. At 7th level, Scribes gain the ability to research the creation of protection scrolls of all types. This process requires two weeks per effective level of the protection scroll (divide the XP value of the scroll by 500 and add 2 to determine its effective level) at a cost of 1d10 x 100 g.p. per 'level' of the scroll. At the conclusion of this research, the Scribe must make a successful roll as if to learn a spell with a bonus equal to his or her level. If successful, he or she has learned the process for creating the scroll. If failed, the research has been unsuccessful, but the Scribe can attempt it again after having gone up a level. Once the formula has been successfully researched, a protection scroll of that type can be produced with one week of labor in a laboratory or library and an investment of 3d6 x 100 g.p. for materials. Note that the formula or process for creating a scroll of protection counts as a spell of equivalent level in terms of the Scribes maximum spells of each level that he or she can understand. Stage Magic: As a standard Mage, save that Scribes only gain the ability to conceal their spellcasting. In addition, their Somatic Concealment proficiency improves by only 1 every five levels of experience. They value subtlety and learn to hide their magical arts with great skill, but they learn none of the other theatrical skills or sleight of hand tricks that characterize a typical Mage's Stage Magic. Special Hindrances: Scribes devote themselves to their books and letters and to the matters of business that surround them, and they have no time to bother with Fortune Telling, nor the opportunity to learn the intricacies of Improvisational Magic. Much like Sages, they also eschew physical skills or training of any sort, and as a result tend to be in poor physical condition. They use only three- sided hit dice, and their Constitution hit point bonus can never exceed +1. In addition, they suffer a -2 penalty to any Strength or Constitution-based ability check, including all non-weapon proficiencies based on these ability scores. Scribes are ill-trained for combat and suffer a -1 penalty to all attack rolls, whether attacking in physical combat or with a spells. Scribes are also handicapped to an extent by the fact that they require access to a library and/or laboratory in order to use some of their special abilities. A larger hindrance, however, is that Scribes spend most of their time honing and perfecting the skills in which they were trained and very little time in learning new skills. As a result, they gain new weapon proficiencies only every ten levels and new non-weapon proficiency slots every five levels. Their initial allotment of proficiency slots is unchanged. Bonus Proficiencies: Calligraphy, Reading/Writing, Rune Lore, Scribe Required Proficiencies: Bureaucracy, Somatic Concealment Preferred Proficiencies: Ancient History, Artistic Ability, Bookbinding, Bribery Etiquette, Cartography, Engineering, Etiquette, Heraldry, Language (any), Law, Local History, Numeracy, Numerology, Papermaking, Poetry, Spellcraft, Thaumaturgy ***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 >