💾 Archived View for gemini.theuse.net › textfiles.com › rpg › nonweaponprof.txt captured on 2022-01-08 at 19:50:55.

View Raw

More Information

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

                        NON-WEAPON PROFICIENCIES


                            # OF    RELEVANT       CHECK
NAME                        SLOTS   ABILITY        MODIFIER     Group
Accounting                    1     Intelligence      0         General
Alternate Magics Knowledge    1     Intelligence   see below    General
Battle Sense                  1     Intelligence      0         Warrior
Blazoning                     1     Intelligence     +1         General
Boasting                      1     Charisma         +3         Warrior
Boating                       1     Wisdom           +1         General
Bureaucracy                   1     Intelligence   see below    General
Cryptography                  1     Intelligence   see below    General
Distillation                  1     Intelligence      0         General
Divining                      1     Wisdom           -2         Mg./Pr.
Draftsmanship                 1     Dexterity         0         General
Dweomercraft                  2     Intelligence     -3         Mage
Fencing                       2(4)  Dexterity        n/a        Warrior
Genelogyy                     1     Intelligence   see below    General
Haggling                      1     Charisma          0         General
Heraldic Law                  1     Intelligence     -1         General
Librarian                     1     Intelligence      0         Mg./Pr.
Magical Engineering           1     Intelligence     -1         Mage
Meditation                    1     Intelligence     n/a        Mage
Monster Lore                  1     Intelligence   see below    General
Read/Tie Quipu                1     Intelligence     -1         Mg./Pr.
Revelations                   1     Intelligence      0         General
Riding, Seaborne              2     Wisdom           -2         General
Signaling                     1     Wisdom           -2         General
Street Illusion               1     Dexterity        -2         General
Specific Spell                3     Intelligence     -3         Mage
Speed Casting                 2     Wisdom           -2         Mage
Strategy/Tactics              2     Wisdom         see below    Warrior
Subtle Casting                2     Dexterity        -2         Mage
Teaching                      1     Wisdom           -2         General
Theory of Magic               2(3)  Intelligence     n/a        Mage
Trailing/Tailing              1     Dexterity      see below    General
Voice Mimicry                 2     Charisma       see below    General


Accounting

     A character with the accounting proficiency can save himself and
his party from 11-18% (1d8+10%) of the taxes and/or levies they would
pay on their treasure and income. The amount saved may have to be
invested in some business or public project, but the value of the money
would stay with the character or party (i.e., a business has a specific
value, but it is not in currency form).
     Note that this does not necessarily exempt PC-owned businesses
from paying income taxes... this proficiency is describing the ability
to find some form of tax shelters.


Alternate Magics Knowledge

     This proficiency grants a familiarity with magic that does not
originate with conventional spellcraft. Examples of this include the
innate abilities of fairies, demons, djinn, and other known magical
creatures, as well as the unusual spellcasting done by dragons and
their ilk. A successful proficiency check indicates that the wizard has
correctly identified the source and nature of the magical phenomenon.
The check modifier for non-mages is -1; 0 for mages.


Battle Sense

     This proficiency allows a warrior to have a sense of what is going
on in the battle around him. It is a proficiency that is often taken by
combat leaders (lieutenants in militia and so forth.)  The warrior can
tell when members of his troop have taken severe wounds, when the other
side is leading an advance or attempting to herd his group in a certain
direction, which are the enemy leaders, and so forth.  This allows him
to give orders about troop movements while still involved in the melee
himself.  None of the above abilities require a proficiency check.
     On a successful proficiency check, the warrior can determine
whether an area is ripe for an ambush, and which part of a terrain
holds the advantage for combatants.  This check cannot be performed
while in melee combat.


Blazoning

     A blazon is a formula describing exactly what a certain heraldic
device looks like.  Characters with this proficiency can reconstruct a
coat of arms from its written description or encode an image in blazon
form.  This skill must be used to perform several other heraldic arts.

Boasting

     Heralds use this seeming simple skill to proclaim their lord's
ancestry and triumphs.  By making a successful boast, a herald can
improve the morale of one unit of troops by 5% (one point under 1st or
2nd Ed. BATTLESYSTEM miniature rules).  A boast can also impress other
nobles in diplomatic missions.  When a herald successfully boasts for
his liege, give the noble +10% on reaction rolls.  One cannot use
boasting without a history proficiency that applies to the noble who is
the subject of the boast.  A person who studies both boasting and
family history can boast effectively for himself.


Boating

     A character with this proficiency is needed to guide a boat down a
rapid stream or to reduce the chance of capsizing a canoe or kayak.  In
addition, a boat guided by a person with this proficiency is propelled
at maximum speed.  This proficiency is distinct from Navigation and
Seamanship which apply to oceans, seas, or large lakes rather than
small craft on smaller lakes and rivers.


Bureaucracy

     A character with this proficiency gains a number of benefits.
They know and understand the nature of how government works, and the
paperwork that goes along with it.  Each proficiency slot allows the
character to have the knowledge of the bureaucracy of one government
(be that a country, land, or region).  The benefits are as follows:

     - Can get government permits of any kind in 50% of the time that
it would normally take.

     - 50% base chance of getting to meet with someone in charge and
authority within the government structure.

     -Thieves who have the Fast Talking proficiency gain a bonus of -4
to their proficiency check when Fast Talking government officials.


Cryptography

     This proficiency allows the character to create and break codes
and ciphers. Reading/writing is required in order to learn this
proficiency. Multiple slots to this proficiency are often very helpful.
     Codes and ciphers fall into four levels of difficulty (equivalent
to the number of slots of "cryptography" taken by the person that does
the encryption). Their specific requirements are as follows:

     Difficulty      Base Breaking Time    Check Modifier
         0               10 minutes             +1
         1                1 day                  0
         2                1 week                -1
         3                1 month               -2

     The person encrypting the text can use a difficulty level no
higher than the level of cryptography proficiency he/she possesses. The
base breaking time is the unit of time that a person must spend to have
any chance of "breaking" the code. Each day of code-breaking must be 8
hours of uninterrupted thought or the period must be begun anew. The
check modifier is an additional bonus/penalty applied to breaking a
code that is dependent on its difficulty only.
     The DM may choose to add more modifiers because of the length of
the text or successive failures. Codes/ciphers can only be broken by a
person familiar with the language that the normal text is in.
     If encrypted documents are to be used for general communications,
both the encryptor and decryptor must know the key. The impracticality
of changing keys frequently is the only thing that tends to keep codes
in use for long enough that breaking them becomes worthwhile.
     In order to change codes, the encryptor must merely decide to. It
is a very quick job to create a code, generally taking 4 hours per
proficiency level. Codes should be referenced (code A, code B, etc) so
that the DM can remember which ones are in use.


Distillation

     This is a specialized function of alchemy which deals in
condensing a substance to its most potent form. It allows the creation
of various essences and extracts, and allows almost any substance to be
concentrated.  This skill can also emphasize one function or effect of
the substance in question over another effect.
     For example, if a nightshade leaf were to be distilled, the
distiller would have two options (or more) available to him. He could
choose to emphasize the poisonous qualities of the leaf, which would
result in a very concentrated substance which would cause the exact
same poisonous effects as a large quantity of nightshade. The smell and
taste of this essence would be reduced (might be eliminated if a 1 is
rolled for a proficiency check) as the chemicals causing these effects
are reduced or eliminated. If the charcter wished, however, to condense
it such that it emphasized it's spicy flavor, rather than poisonous
qualities, then an extract would be produced which would act as a
strong spice, but would have only mild, if any, poisonous effects on
the victim. A character MUST take the Alchemy proficiency first in
order to take this proficiency.


Divining

     When a character put a slot on this proficiency, he must chose a
Way of Divining. He can gain as many Ways as he puts slots (one per
slot), or he can specialize in a single Way (up to a max. of 4 slots
per way). By means of this proficiency, the character can divine
things, by observing the components required, which must be in sight
(e.g. pyromancy needs a fire source). These components cannot be used
more than in a single power per day, e.g. if a pyromaniac uses a fire
source to detect magic means that this fire source will only function
to detect magic that day. But another fire source can be used.

Ways of Divination   Divination By/Through/Using
Acultomancy          needles
Aeromancy            observation of atmospheric phenomena (comets, etc)
Alectormancy         sacrifice of a rooster
Aleuromancy          flour
Alomancy             salt
Alphitomancy         means of loaves of barley
Alveromancy          means of the sounds
Amniomancy           means of the caul (afterbirth that envelops the
                     head of a newborn)
Anthropomancy        means of human entrails
Apantomancy          means of any objects which happen to present
                     themselves
Arithmancy           means of numbers
Armomancy            means of inspection of ones's shoulders
Aspidomancy          means of drawing a circle, sitting within it, and
                     chanting conjurations
Axinomancy           means of a hatchet or woodcutter's axe
Batraquomancy        frogs
Belomancy            arrows
Botanomancy          means of burning branches
Capnomancy           studying smoke
Cartomancy           means of cards (tarot...)
Catop/Enoptromancy   means of a mirror
Causimomancy         means of fire
Chaomandy            examination of the phenomena of the air
Ceroscopy            wax
Cleromancy           study of thrown black & white beans/ stones/
                     bones/ dice/ whatever
Critomancy           study of viands and cakes
Crystalomancy        use of a crystal globe
Dactylomancy         rings
Daphnomancy          means of a laurel
Emonomancy           means of demons
Eromancy             a water's vessel
Gastromancy          from the belly
Geomancy             the signs of the world
Grafology            writing
Gyromancy            continually going in a circle marked by letters on
                     the circumference
Hippomancy           study of movements by white horses
Hydromancy           water
Ichthyomancy         inspection of fish entrails
Kephalonomancy       inspection of the baked haed of an ass
Lithomancy           use of stones
Margaritomancy       pearls
Myomancy             rats or mice
Necromancy           means of spirits of the dead
Onomancy             a donkey
Onychomancy          studying one's fingernails
Ornithomancy         studying the flight or songs of birds
Palmistry            looking at the lines and marks on the human hand
Pyromancy            fire
Rhabdomancy          rod or staff
Rhapsodomancy        means of opening the works of a poet at random and
                     reading the verse which first presents itself
                     oracularly
Sortilege            lots
Stolisomancy         from observing the manner in which one dresses
                     oneself
Sycomancy            the leaves of a fig tree
Tephramancy          ashes of a fire that consumed a sacrifice
Tiromancy            means of cheese
Xylomancy            means of wood found in one's path

Powers list
First slot    - detect magic
              - detect undead
              - detect evil/good
              - detect poison
              - detect snares & pits
              - detect charm
Second slot   - detect lie
              - detect invisility
              - know alignment
              - locate object
Third slot    - augury
              - speak with spirits (as per speak with dead)
Fourth slot   - legend lore


Draftsmanship

     This skill is used to physically draw the coat of arms.  It is
most useful when combined with a blazoning proficiency, since the
character can then create a perfect achievement from written records.
Without blazoning, the draftsman must work from a perfect copy of the
achievement and is penalized by a +2 modifier on the die roll.
     Draftsmanship requires a set of paints and brushes, as well as the
shield or other materials to be emblazoned.  If the color "or" (gold)
is to be used, a jeweler must be employed to apply gold leaf.


Dweomercraft

     This rare non-weapon proficiency is generally only available in a
world with a high degree of magical knowledge. It represents much
in-depth study of metamagic (i.e. the forces which underlie magic
itself). Hence, it usually must be learned from a university or
academy. On a successful proficiency check during spell research, the
wizard can reduce the time required to complete the spell by 25%. The
expenses that would have arisen during this extra time are, naturally,
not accrued.


Fencing

     Fencing is a special way of fighting with a sword unlike the
regular method. To  fence a character must use a long sword, short
sword, rapier, or scimitar only; other swords are ineligible. It is
also impossible to fence while using a shield larger than a buckler.
In addition, the character must already have proficiency with the sword
before he/she can learn fencing. There are two levels of fencing, each
costs two non-weapon proficiency slots.
     The first level of fencing allows the character to use his/hers
sword as a piercing weapon regardless of the normal usage of the sword
type.  It also gives him a bonus of -1 on the weapon speed. The second
level gives an additional -1 on weapon speed. Also, it allows the
character to parry once per round and still attack normally. This parry
is only effective against frontal or flank attacks, not rear or missile
attacks. It gives a bonus of +1 on AC for a single attack only. The
parry can be announced at any time, but it must be announced before the
to hit roll.
     Fencing must be taught to the character be someone who is at least
two levels higher in actual level than the character and at least equal
to the fencing level that the character wants to obtain. Fencing
masters are very secretive about their abilities and selective as to
their students. Note that fencing proficiency is independent of the
fighter's ability to specialize and the bonuses are cumulative.


Genelogyy

     This proficiency allows a character to understand the genealogy
and great deeds of a certain noble family. A separate proficiency slot
must be used for each family studied, although this skill applies even
to very distant relatives of the same house. History can be used as a
minor, nonmagical form of legend lore, which is useful only for
researching ancestors of the appropriate family. The character must
make a successful roll to learn accurate information, modified by +1
for every 100 years old or 100 miles distant the subject of research
is.


Haggling

     A successful roll allows the PC to buy an item at 10% less than
its asked price (or 10% over the base price if selling); a roll of 4 or
less means a 25% change.  A roll of 19 or 20 means the other party is
outraged by the last offer and refuses to negotiate further.  DMs might
require that this be role-played; naturally charming characters should
have an edge, while PCs who are arrogant or simply demand the 'right'
price may blow it on any die roll.


Heraldic Law

     A character uses this proficiency to understand the nuances
of custom and law that govern heraldry. Heraldic law not only controls
heraldry but also regulates jousts and lethal duels. Whenever a
character requests a special favor from the college of heralds or is
summoned before a court of chivalry, the heraldic law skill becomes
vital.  Characters who do not have it may hire NPC lawyers to argue for
them.


Librarian

     This proficiency allows much knowledge on the proper handling,
care, and filing of tomes. If a Librarian wishes to find a tome in a
filing system he is familiar with, no roll is required.  An unfamiliar
filing system requires a proficiency check, while a library that has no
standardized classification system calls for a check at -3 (the
Librarian asks himself, "Where would I put that book if this were my
library?").
     The handling of brittle tomes is best left to a Librarian.  A
proficiency check allows them to handle brittle pages without further
damage to rare, ancient tomes.
     In addition, Librarians are experts at quick research, and can
skim any book they could normally read at 2-4 (1d3+1) times the speed
it would take the average person to read the tome.  Because one is
actually only looking for key words and ideas, one cannot skim one's
spells to decrease memorization time, but it may help reduce spell
research time at the DM's option.  The skill assumes that the Librarian
speaks the language that the books are written in, or has some similar
method to discern the contents of the book or piece of information he
is looking for.


Magical Engineering

     A character that has this proficiency can determine the nature of
a magical item more easily. He/she does this by examining the item and
looking for clues in its composition, form, and decoration. A
successful proficiency check indicates that the character has correctly
identified the item. Some particularly unusual magic items would apply
significant penalties to this roll (e.g. while a Sword +1 and Ring of
Invisibility would have no modifiers, a Sword of Sharpness and Staff of
the Magi might be harder to identify correctly).
     Whether or not the ability check succeeds, the character using
this proficiency will think that he/she has correctly identified the
item.  However, if the roll fails, the DM should tell the character
that it is something that it in fact is not.
     This proficiency also reduces the amount of time needed to
construct a magical item by a percentage equal to the intelligence of
the wizard.


Meditation

     The meditation non-weapon proficiency allows a bonus to all
intelligence checks if they follow an hour of meditation.  For example,
if a wizard wanted to use his Magical Engineering proficiency on a
ring, he would get a +1 bonus to his intelligence check if he spent an
hour beforehand meditating on the problem.
     The method of meditating varies considerably from wizard to
wizard. For some, it involves measured breathing while in lotus
position -- for others, it means puffing silently on a pipe while
watching the clouds. It is up to the player and DM to come up with an
appropriate meditation method.


Monster Lore

     The character has learned the legends, lore and history of
monsters. The knowledge is vague and possibly incorrect.  However, the
knowledge acquired gives the character a helpful clue to a newly
encountered monster. The clue could be the name of the creature,
special ability of the creature, way of defeating the creature, or
other interesting tidbit of information. Because the knowledge is based
on legends and lores, the information may be exaggerated or even
incorrect.
     The check modifier is based on the frequency of the monster (i.e.
the likelihood the creature is encountered).

     very rare          -4
     rare               -3
     uncommon           -2
     common             -1

The modifier may be adjusted for environment. For example, an elf
encounters a unicorn in the woods. Because he is in his personal locale
the modifier is adjusted +1. This can work against the character as
well. If the elf was on a ship in the middle of the ocean, he would
suffer an adjusted -1 modifier.


Read/Tie Quipu

     The character can read and tie quipus. Quipus are a means of
recording information by the use of knotted strings of differing colors
and lengths.  Since each culture ties their quipus uniquely, the
character must select the language in which he is proficient; examples
are Common, Elven, and Halfling. Other options may exist to these
standard languages, such as the dialect of the merchant houses, at the
DM's discretion.
     Whenever, a PC attempts to read or tie a quipu, a proficiency
check must be made.  When tying a quipu, characters add any
reaction adjustment for high or low dexterity as an additional
check modifier; for example, a PC with a DEX of 17 would need to
roll under his INT +1 (-1 + 2).  A failed check means that the
quipu is unreadable by that character until he gains a level or
that the quipu has been tied incorrectly and is unreadable.  On a
roll of 20, the character misreads/misties the quipu in such a
manner that the mistake is undetectable and results in an outcome
to the character's detriment (e.g., a spell memorized from a
mistied quipu might not function or have the reverse effect).
     Additional languages may be added by devoting more slots.
This proficiency does not convey the ability to read quipus from
ancient cultures.
     This nonweapon proficiency was written for the Dark Sun setting,
where wizardry magic is illegal and paper more scarce than water.
While originally designed for Dark Sun, it is quite transferable to
other settings (e.g., you're not having that barbarian witch-doctor
using a paper spellbook are you? tsk-tsk).


Revelations

     Coats of arms reveal a myriad of details about their owners, and
this skill lets a character learn them. A character who makes a
successful revelations check can learn about any of the following
features of an arms-bearer: alliances, marriages, conditions of birth
(rank of family and order of birth), disgraces, magnitude of political
authority (offices held, size of land, etc.), and triumphs. This
includes any major exploits of the armsbearer or his ancestors. For
game purposes, it lets heralds roughly determine a character's
experience level.


Riding, Seaborne

     A character with this proficiency may ride either a sea horse,
hippocampus, or other sea-creature (must specify which). The
proficiency allows him to steer the mount with his knees and urge it to
greater speed, as with the other riding proficiencies. This skill is
exempt from the restriction that clerics of Poseidon ride only horses.


Signaling

     Herald's play a vital role in war. A shouting army commander
cannot be heard on a battlefield, so orders must be broadcast to the
units with flags, drums and shrill horns. A herald with this
proficiency can communicate over a distance of one mile, or as far away
as banners can be seen, whichever is greater. Refer to the Wilderness
Survival Guide p. 72-75.  Obviously, big banners can be seen from far
away, so many kings regulate the size of their vassals' standards to
hinder rebellion.  In the BATTLESYSTEM rules, it is easiest to simply
assume that signaling always works, unless there is some interference
such as an imposter herald or bad weather.  However, when an army is
being raised in the campaign world, each brigade commander or army
commander must find someone with the signaling proficiency.  Signaling
might also be useful during any standard adventure.


Street Illusion

     Street illusion allows the character the ability to perform
tricks that involve the palming of small items. He or she can make
such an item (no larger than a knife) appear to vanish, and then
to make the item appear wherever the character can reach (pulling
the coin from an ear or something) on a successful proficiency check
(with the -2 penalty). By using flash powder (available for 1 sp per
dose), the character can add +1 bonus.
     The character can also do many card tricks and is able to run
a game of 3-card-monte on a successful check.
     If the character uses this ability to entertain at a bar or
to peasants on the street, he or she can add +1 to encounter rolls
as the people are taken to like the person doing such nice tricks.
     In combat, the character can appear unarmed, but can pull a
knife or dagger that was palmed if need be. It is recommended that the
player uses imagination as to just what the character can do with this
proficiency.


Specific Spell

     This very special non-weapon proficiency represents that a wizard
might, through much study and dedication, be able to specialize in a
spell in the same way that a fighter can specialize in a weapon.
Wizards can only specialize in a given spell once, and they can never
begin at first level specialized.
     When the wizard first decides to specialize in a particular spell,
he must decide what component of the spell he wishes to emphasize.
This can never be changed.

     Offensive Spell:    1)  Reduce target's saving throw by 1.
                         2)  +1 point of damage per die.

     Any Spell:          1)  Increase duration by +50%.
                         2)  Increase range by +50%.
                         3)  Increase area of effect by +50%.

     Note that some spells can have any of these applied (e.g. Melf's
Minute Meteors), while others cannot. For instance, any spell with an
"instantaneous" or "permanent" duration cannot be increased by +50%.
Likewise, a spell with a range that is either "0" or "touch" cannot
have its range improved by +50%. Finally, a spell with an area of
effect of "caster only" cannot be increased.


Speed Casting

     This proficiency, taken once, allows the wizard to reduce the
initiative modifier of any spell by one if he/she makes his/her
proficiency roll. If the wizard has chosen this proficiency more than
once, he/she must make a proficiency roll for each level of speed
casting he/she possesses. This proficiency cannot be taken more than
three times, and no spell may have its initiative modifier reduced
below one.
     Examples of use: The wizard in these examples has three levels in
speed casting and a wisdom of 13 (thus, he has a +1 modifier because he
has three levels of speed casting).

     Example one:   The wizard wants to cast Chaos (initiative modifier
                    of 5). He rolls a 10, 5, and 13. Since he made all
                    of his proficiency checks, the initiative modifier
                    on Chaos is reduced to 2.
     Example two:   Again, the wizard wants to cast Chaos. This time,
                    he rolls a 12, 2, and 20. The Chaos spell has its
                    initiative modifier reduced to 3.
     Example three: This time, the wizard rolls a 5, 19, and 4. Since
                    the second roll failed, it does not matter what the
                    third roll was (in this case, it would have
                    passed). The Chaos spell has its initiative
                    modifier reduced only to 4.

     Spells that have an explicit casting time instead of an initiative
modifier are in no way speeded up by this spell.
     Design note: Wisdom is the relevant ability here because it was
felt that mental toughness and concentration are required to rush out
the spell without distraction, rather than memory or analytical ability
(i.e. intelligence).


Strategy/Tactics

     A character with this proficiency understands strategies and
tactics of large scale combat. The character can predict the actions of
armies in combat. The parties are generally of more than 20 men, and
must be under command, acting in unison, and with intelligence. It is
impossible to predict the actions of a mob or any other party that acts
without direction. A successful proficiency check allows the character
to hear the plans of the enemy before making his/hers own. A new check
must be made each round. When leaders with this proficiency are
attempting to outguess each other, the DM makes secret checks for each
leader. The leader with the highest margin of success gets the real
information, the other general gets false information.
     The character can set successful ambushes with a proficiency roll
at a -1 penalty. He/she can also avoid ambushes by making a check at
-3, thus negating the ambush and the surprise.
     The proficiency is also somewhat useful in single combat
situations. The character gains a +1 on his/hers surprise roll due to
his/hers alertness in combat situations.
     In addition, because soldiers appreciate professionalism, armies
lead by someone with this proficiency add +1 to their morale.


Subtle Casting

     A wizard with this proficiency can cast spells so sneaky that no
observer can detect any somatic spell components unless they make a
successful Spellcraft proficiency check. If the wizard combines this
with a Vocalize spell, the only outward sign that he is casting a spell
might be the visible effects of the spell itself.


Teaching

     The Teaching proficiency allows a character who is not specialized
in a skill to teach that skill to others. The teacher must still be
proficient in the skill that is to be taught. For example, a character
that has the Teaching, Swimming, and Longsword proficiencies can teach
others to swim and to be proficient (but not specialized) in fighting
with a Longsword.
     When attempting to teach a skill (thieving skill, weapon
proficiency, NWP, new spells, access to new spell levels) to another,
the character with the Teaching proficiency must roll a Teaching
proficiency check at the end of each day. The teaching is complete as
soon as a check is made for a particular skill. The teacher can attempt
to impart no more than one skill at a time.
     When a character that has the Teaching proficiency also has Animal
Training, the training time for the animal is cut in half.
     The Teaching proficiency is not self-referential. That is, to
teach the Teaching proficiency, a character must have devoted at least
two slots to the Teaching proficiency.


Theory of Magic

     This proficiency represents an extensive study of the general
theory of magic, and requires access to a magical library (see notes on
spell research in DMG). The effect is to move the mage up one point of
Intelligence with respect to the 'Chance to Learn Spell' column in
Table 4 of the PHB, page 16.
     A second study of this proficiency will require 3 slots, twice the
time, and five times the cost, but will also include at least one
"publishable result" that the mage might take advantage of (see
Academician, from CWHB).
     Optional: Theory of Spellpower, Theory of Spellbooks, which are
similar to the above proficiency, except that they apply to the Spell
Level, and Max. # of Spells/Lvl columns, respectively.


Trailing/Tailing

     This is basically tracking in major urban centers. It is the
talent of tailing someone or catching them. A proficiency check is made
to determine if the character is noticed. This is made at -5 if the
target has the Alertness proficiency. If the character is noticed the
target may attempt to evade requiring another check at -3 to +3. The DM
may apply situational modifiers such as for clear or crowded streets.
For any Trailing proficiency roll, a -3 penalty applies if the person
followed has the Trailing proficiency as well.

                                   OR

     This skill involves tracking in cities. By keeping the subject in
sight without being noticed, the character can follow him with a base
chance of 10% plus 5% for each level after the 1st. If the character
fails his roll, he may make a second one, at +4 to pick up the trail
again.  On a 19 or 20, the victim knows he's being shadowed; if the
victim tries to shake the tail, roll again at +6.


Voice Mimicry

     A character is able to imitate any accent he has heard. Success is
automatic unless his listeners speak the language imitated; in such
cases a proficiency roll is required with a +2 bonus. When imitating a
specific voice, success is automatic against strangers, there is no
modifier to the check when dealing with acquaintances of the person
imitated, -2 to fool a friend, and -5 to fool a close friend. If a
disguise is first successful then a +5 bonus to the voice mimicry roll
is applied. If voice mimicry is successful then there is a +1 modifier
to the disguise check.