Base Requirements

• Races: Any
• Sub-Classes: Any
• Ability Requirements: Knowledge 13, Willpower 11
• Alignments: Any
• Starting Cash: by class

Weapon Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: By class
• Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Required Weapon Proficiencies: Dagger, Dart, Knife, or Sling (any one)
• Allowed Weapons: By class
• Allowed Armors: By class

Non-Weapon Proficiencies:

• Non-weapon Slots: +2 slots
• Available Categories: By class, plus Academic
• Bonus Non-weapon Proficiencies: Arcanology, Literacy, Screed Lore, Teaching
• Required Proficiencies: none
• Recommended Proficiencies: Ancient History, Ancient Languages, Appraising, Astrology, Astronomy, Artistic Ability, Bureaucracy, Cartography, Engineering, Etiquette, Healing, Heraldry, Herbalism, Law, Looting, Modern Languages, Musical Instrument, Navigation, Oratory, Poetry, Religion, Spellcraft, Thaumaturgy
• Forbidden Proficiencies: All Martial Proficiencies

Overview: This character is a researcher. He’s most at home when he’s poring over books, scrolls, papyri, clay tablets and other old writings. He’s not forbidden from fighting, but is more likely to try to straighten out a bad situation with reason, personal charisma, or even trickery than with a weapon. His life is dedicated to the assimilation of knowledge (and, usually, the transmission of that knowledge to new generations). A scholar is a terrible fighter but a marvelous source of new adventures, clever ideas, and all-around reference material for surviving nearly any situation.

Scholars can be found in virtually any culture, but they are most likely to come from large urban areas that provide ready access to libraries, museums, laboratories, and other resources.

Description: A scholar seldom has use for armor but wears magical rings, bracers, cloaks, and the like that provide protection. Not all scholars have a bookish look, but reading glasses or a hand-held magnifying glass carried in a pocket are not uncommon. Clothing is often slightly askew and out of fashion, the sleeves worn around the elbows from resting them on library tabletops. The scholar’s appearance may be a bit messy and unkempt, and his eyes may have a vacant or absentminded look. His hands are smooth and ink-stained, unused to hard labor. Paper scraps, scrolls, and writing implements usually protrude from belts, pouches, and pockets.

Role-Playing: In his homeland, the scholar is a respected member of society, valued for his skills as a teacher and advisor as well as for his seemingly endless store of knowledge on a variety of subjects. They spend large amounts of time examining books, scrolls and other writings in order to add to the wealth of knowledge already filling their heads.

In spite of his somewhat sedentary background, the scholar welcomes the chance to join an adventuring party. For him, it is an unparalleled opportunity to experience new cultures, acquire new devices, and acquire first-hand information about people, places, and creatures he may have only read about. If an adventuring party is going to a ruin where a famous library once stood, he’ll eagerly join on the faint hope that some scrap of that library still survives. He’ll be part of expeditions to visit famous sites or ancient beings who might tell him stories of the past or solve old mysteries. He might be part of an adventure just so that he can chronicle it and preserve its events in history.

A scholar (even a warrior scholar) is not a fighter. Any campaign that includes a scholar character must allow for periods during which a scholar can search local libraries or question local sages, students, or spellcasters. Old tomes in forgotten languages like Thorass, peculiar clues requiring thought to resolve, and scientific puzzles of importance to an adventure must be present for the scholar to have a use.

Special Abilities:

• The scholar receives a +1 bonus to his starting Knowledge score at 1st level.
• Scholars maintain an extensive correspondence with other scholars throughout the world. Additionally, a scholar’s reputation as a man of wisdom often precedes him. When encountering an NPC who is familiar with his reputation, who turns out to be one of his correspondents, who fancies himself an intellectual, or who is an author, researcher, teacher, journalist, or fellow scholar, the scholar receives a +3 bonus on NPC reactions.
• Because of their stubborn, obsessive nature, scholars are naturally resistant to Enchantment magic. They gain a +1 on all saves against such spells and, whenever commanded to perform an action that would be against the welfare of their collections, they are entitled to another, immediate saving throw at +5 to resist. If successful, the spell is broken.
• When handling any magical book, libram, tome, scroll, or other magical writing, the scholar gains a +4 to any saving throw required to escape the writing’s negative effects, if any. If no saving throw is normally allowed, the scholar receives one but without the +4 bonus. This power applies to anything from handling a page with explosive runes on it (to which the scholar would get a saving throw vs. spell that is not usually given) to reading a libram of ineffable damnation (to which a scholar would also get a bonus saving throw vs. spell).

Special Disadvantages:

• Scholars, regardless of class, do not gain any weapon proficiencies after first level. They gain the normal number of proficiencies at 1st level, but do not gain additional slots as they advance.
• Scholars lack the training and instinct to make good hand-to-hand fighters. When attacking with any type of melee weapon, the scholar always has a -1 penalty to hit on his first attack against any given opponent. Subsequent blows—when the Academician has had an opportunity to size up his opponent and adjust his attacks accordingly—are made without this penalty. However, if the Academician attacks a different opponent, his first blow against his new victim is also made at -1.
• Because of his lack of social skills, a scholar suffers a -1 penalty to NPC reaction adjustment when dealing with anyone who is not a scholar, sage, priest, or wizard. As the character becomes progressively more a recluse, this penalty worsens to one-half the scholar’s level (rounded down).

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