Runic Languages of the
12 Colleges
There are twelve Colleges of Magic that
spellcasters can tap into. Each College has its own
Runic Language that must be mastered before spells of that
college can be learned. Caster's use there Spellcraft
skill points plus their ability bonus based on the primary
spellcasting ability to learn runic languages. This is
referred to as a character's runic language allotment.
For example, a new 1st level Wizard with 4 skill ranks in
Spellcraft (max) and an Intelligence of 16 (+3 bonus) would
start with 7 points in their runic language allotment.
Wizards have cheap access to many colleges of magic (many
class colleges), spending one point to gain one level of
insight and have access to 0-level spells. Spending
another point allows access to 1st level spells. So if
a wizards wants to be able to cast magic missile at 1st
level, he needs to put two runic language points into the
College of Evocation. It would cost a wizard a
whopping 8 points to gain access to 1st level Druid spells!
This is allowed but is not very efficient.
Every time a character gains a new level
in a spellcasting class he gains 1 runic language point for
each skill point put into Spellcraft skill plus a number of
bonus points equal to his primary casting ability bonus.
For example, a Wizard who gained a level and upped his
Spellcraft one point and who had an Intelligence of 14 (+2)
would gain three runic language points to expand his insight
into the runic languages or possibly even start to learn a
new runic language. If a character multi-classes his
runic language options multiply.
The general cost of learning the runic
language of any college is 0 points per spell level for
class colleges, 2 points for cross-class
colleges, and 4 points for exotic class
colleges. The classes that are designed to
specialize in a college gain that college as a class
college. For instance, Druids can learn spell levels
of the college of Naturopathy at no cost, but it will cost
them 4 runic language points to master a runic language of
an exotic college. Wizards who specialize in a college
of magic also learn that college's runic languages at no
cost. The core class descriptions indicate which
colleges are either class or cross-class colleges for a
particular class. All other colleges of magic are
considered exotic for that class.
Each runic language has seven levels of
Insight based on the seven spell levels, including
apprentice 0-level magic. If a Diviner had 3 levels of
insight in the College of Divination he could learn spells
from 0-level, 1st level, or 2nd level. Not only does a
caster want to learn runic languages, these languages can be
trained to higher degrees of mastery. It takes 4
levels of Insight, for example, in the College of Evocation,
for a caster to be able to cast a 3rd level spell such as
Fireball. An Evoker, as a specialist in the College of
Evocation, would automatically gain access to any newly
available spell level at no cost. It pays to
specialize!
Each College of Magic has 7 levels of
Insight, including the 0-level apprentice spells. Each
spell level is further divided into general magic and
advanced magic spells. When a caster gains a new level
he gets a number of spell acquisition points shown on the
table above. These can be used to acquire new spells
from the spell lists he has access to based on what runic
languages he has mastered. These spell acquisition
points are used to learn new spells through training and
study. Spells can also be learned in the field through
locating scrolls, spell books, teachers, etc. All
classes have the ability to expand their spells known except
for the Sorcerer, Mystic, and Bard who are limited in their
spell selection because they do not learn from outside
sources. In traditional D20, the divine classes start
by knowing all the spells on their spell lists. This
is not how it works in Thandoria. Oracles and Druids
(and the new Star Wizard divine class) must find and
increase their spell repertoire beyond their initial
allotment just as wizards do.
Mastering Spells in
Between Levels
In order to gain a new spell it must be
discovered on a scroll, found in a spell book. or taught by
a teacher at least three levels higher. To add the
spell to your spell list you must qualify for it by being
able to decode the intricacies of the runic language (ie.
you have enough levels of insight into that college's runic
language that you can understand the spell level's formula).
Once you qualify, simply make a Spellcraft
check (DC 10 + spell level) after spending a number of days
equal to the spell's level studying it. You can add
your primary spellcasting ability modifier to this check!
Once the spell is mastered it can be cast anytime as long as
the caster has a spell slot of the appropriate level
available. All specialists (those classes that
specialize in a particular College of Magic) are required to
select at least half of their spells from their core
college.
Chapter 2: The Spellcasting
Classes
Chapter 3: The Twelve
Colleges of Magic
