Advanced Skills

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Advanced Skills are a way of categorizing special talents that characters in the world of Ethus may devote their lives to may it be a particular type of sword use, the application of herbs to create medicines or the more exotic magical crafts.

We generally qualify advanced skills as either magical or non-magical because Osai are unaffected by magic that is used directly against them (such as most forms of mind magic). In addition, an Osai cannot learn a magical talent since they are both immune to magic and cannot use it on others. Greater Sangsue also lack the ability to use magic. Lesser Sangsue may possess some lingering ability from their existence prior to becoming Sangsue but their greater counterparts are barred from magical disciplines.

Contents

Backstory and Locations of Study

Not every talent is accessible to every character who may potentially learn it. Necromancy, which is, in theory a Vpera skill is not readily available worldwide so the average Vpera will not know anything about it (and might not even know it exists). Pay careful attention to where skills can be learned when selecting advanced skills for a character.

Length of Time to Advance

When deciding upon what level of skill a character may have pay attention to how old the character is. A Master of any particular magical talent will have to be in their mid to late 20s at a minimum. A wizard who has mastered several magical disciplines may be pushing toward the end of his natural lifespan unless he is of a race that is naturally long-lived.

Wildpower

An exception to this rule is the wildpower. Some few individuals are born every generation who have for some unknown reason brought knowledge with them from the spiritual realm at birth. These wildpowers get one free magical or non-magical talent at mastery level. They know that talent intuitively and need not cast spells in the same way as studied masters. However they are limited in that spell disciplines beyond their one wildpower talent tend to be very difficult to learn taking twice as long as normal for them to advance in. Wildpowers are not restricted to magical talents except for in the case of Ethians however and any race may be a wildpower.

Use Common Sense

The advanced levels of magic are extremely boring and difficult to learn. The average Ethian really does not want to spend that much time in schooling. Think of magical mastery as being like having an advanced Law degree or a pHD. While the nobility like for their children to have a solid foundation in magical theories most of them don't care so much if their children don't become masters. Novice or advanced level is fine for most Ethian nobles. Also consider that most Ethians or otherwise don't have the time or money to spend that much time in schooling. Your typical master, unless he is a wildpower will be studious and eager to spend a lot of time in training or 'in the books'.

Contribute!!!

Artistic Shade has always been a world that the players could mold with their own ideas. That is especially true of Advanced Skills. If you don't see something you think your character should have then write it up!!! Trudge on over to the Feedback Forum and start a topic about your new advanced skill. Try to be specific about it and think about how it might affect the setting since most advanced skills are related to a race or culture who practices it.

Available Advanced Skills

Magical

Nonmagical

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