Base Requirements

• Races: Any (female only)
• Sub-Classes: Any Priest
• Ability Requirements: Intuition 15
• Alignments: Any
• Starting Cash: 2d6 x10gp

Weapon Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: By class
• Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Required Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Allowed Weapons: Short Blades group, One-handed Bludgeoning weapons, Dart, Blowgun, Sling
• Allowed Armors: By class

Non-Weapon Proficiencies:

• Non-weapon Slots: By class
• Available Categories: By class, plus Detection
• Bonus Non-weapon Proficiencies: Fortune Telling
• Required Proficiencies: none
• Recommended Proficiencies: Agriculture, Ancient History, Ancient Languages, Animal Handling, Animal Lore, Appraising, Astrology, Bowyer/Fletcher, Brewing, Bureaucracy, Cooking, Debate, Disguise, Endurance, Etiquette, Forgery, Gaming, Genie Lore, Haggling, Healing, Herbalism, Hunting, Leatherworking, Literacy, Local History, Modern Language, Musical Instruments, Pottery, Reading Lips, Seamstress/Tailor, Singing, Spellcraft, Swimming, Tracking, Ventriloquism, Weaving.
• Forbidden Proficiencies: None

Priest Spheres: These replace the standard spheres for the priest’s class.

• Major: All, Divination, Healing, Protection, Sun, Thought
• Minor: Charm, Creation, Guardian, Time, Weather

Overview: More than a few tales from the fantasy milieu portray intelligent and outspoken women with mystical abilities. The wise woman is modeled after such extraordinary characters. A wise woman’s gaze can penetrate the veils of magic and lies to perceive the underlying truth. Although her other abilities are limited, the wise woman’s insight is highly valued both in the wilds and the cities of the Realms.

Wise women are particularly common among the faiths of those goddesses that already have an oracular bent, especially Mystra, Selune, and Shar. Women with such powers may appear in all branches of the faith, from monks, to crusaders, to mystics. Many tribal societies (particularly the bedine tribesmen of Aunauroch) have wise women among their numbers.

Description: Wise women dress ranges from ordinary to spectacular. Most wear veils, especially in settlements. In the city, a short, diaphanous curtain serves more as a fashionable custom than as a restriction. In many areas of the hinterland, veils are optional, serving only to keep the wind off one’s face and add an air of mystery to the wise woman.

Role-Playing: Wise women are not fighters or aggressors by nature, but they still know how to defend themselves. Most of their spells are defensive. They are the keepers of the home fires, the protectors of the family, and the unifiers of tribes. They may rise in power to be leaders themselves, or guide others along the path to greatness (although women in the Realms are treated with great equality compared to those in Western history, most leaders are male.) A wise woman does not normally contest others directly; instead she opposes them more subtly, more cleverly, with champions and feints and challenges. A king could choose no one better than a loyal wise woman to be the leader of his household, as well as his favored confidant and domestic spy.

Special Abilities:

• A wise woman’s greatest power is the ability to perceive truth—both in word and appearance. She must first be able to see, hear, or otherwise sense the target in order to use this ability, then she must make an Intuition check. Circumstances may modify this ability check. A wise woman’s perception with this power depends on the situation and her experience level:
  • At 1st level, the wise woman can detect truth in the spoken word. Provided she makes a successful ability check, she can determine whether a speaker is truthful. Truth is subjective to the speaker. Failure of the ability check indicates that nothing one way or another is discerned. Only one attempt per day is allowed. The undetectable lie spell causes the wise woman to declare that the individual believes he or she is speaking the truth (if the ability check succeeds).
  • At 1st level, the wise woman may discern an individual’s true social class and station in life by watching the individual eat and drink. A wise woman could discern a prince masquerading as a beggar, and vice versa. If the individual has used the Disguise proficiency, the wise woman may only successfully determine that the individual is disguised, and a second successful roll is needed to reveal that person’s station.
  • At 3rd level, the wise woman may search for secret doors, concealed panels, or similar items. A successful ability check reveals the door, item, or passageway.
  • At 6th level, the wise woman is able to detect illusions as well as mirages. A successful ability check reveals the illusion or mirage for the falsehood it is, and in addition shows what is being concealed.
  • At 9th level, the wise woman has the ability to reveal enchantments. If observing an item or individual, a successful ability check reveals any ensorcellment, including curses, charms, and other magics. It reveals the general nature of the enchantment, but not the specific spell. The exceptions to this are polymorph and other shapechanging spells. A successful ability check reveals both the nature of the spell and the individual who is concealed.

Special Disadvantages:

• Wise women, regardless of class, do not gain the ability to Turn or Command undead.
• The wise woman can only use magical items that are available to all classes. Although she belongs to the priest class, she cannot use priest-specific magical items or clerical scrolls (even if she is able to read them).

---

Return to Priest Kits