Arcane Symbols

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Arcane Symbols is the skill which determines a character's proficiency with scrolls. Increased training will increase one's success when activating & deceiphering scrolls, and adds to the duration of magic initiated from scrolls. In addition, certain traps (such as scarab and glyph traps) are easier to spot and/or disarm.

Type Square Semi Pure
Profession Rogue Warrior Monk Bard Paladin Ranger Cleric Empath Savant Sorcerer Wizard
Max Ranks Per Level 1 1 - 2 1 1 2 2 - 2 2
Training Point Cost 0/7 0/7 - 0/4 0/5 0/5 0/2 0/2 - 0/2 0/1

Reading Scrolls

To view which spells appear on the scroll, read it. The precise amount of skill required to read each spell which appears on a scroll is unknown. Spells which have reached zero charges will no longer appear when the scroll is being read. In order to obtain a more precise reading of which spells exist on a scroll and how many charges of each remain (including spells with zero charges), a sorcerer can use the odeir'cos rune upon it.

Calculating Activation Success

  • Holding the scroll in the right hand, and nothing in the left: INVOKE {spell#} to prepare a spell from a scroll.

The character's stats, skills and other relevant variables (as seen in the formula below) are factored together. This total is displayed as the "modifiers" value. A d100 roll is then added, and if the total is greater than 100, the activation is successful.

Modifiers = (Arcane Symbols Skill bonus) + (Stat Modifier)
          + (Magical Knowledge Bonus) + (INTUITION bonus) + (LOGIC bonus) 
          - (Armor Penalty) - (Encumberance Penalty) - (Spell Level × 5) 
  • The inherent magical hindrance of armor can also potentially cause activations to fail.
  • One must be able to see the spell on the scroll by reading it in order to be able to invoke it.

Stat Modifier

Stat modifiers are determined by which spell circle the spell to be activated is in. For this table, use stat bonus and not the value of the stat itself (round down).

Circle
Number
Spell Circle Modifier
Calculation
100s Minor Spiritual WISDOM
200s Major Spiritual (WISDOM÷2)
300s Cleric Base (WISDOM÷2)
400s Minor Elemental AURA
500s Major Elemental (AURA÷2)
600s Ranger Base WISDOM
700s Sorcerer Base ([WISDOM+AURA]÷4)
900s Wizard Base (AURA÷2)
1000s Bard Base (LOGIC+INTUITION) †
1100s Empath Base (WISDOM÷2) †
1600s Paladin Base (LOGIC+INTUITION) †
1700s Arcane ([AURA+WISDOM+LOGIC]÷3)

† Not yet confirmed.

Magical Knowledge Bonus

Whether or not the spell to be activated lies within a character's sphere of magical knowledge can enhance the possibility of success.

Character has direct knowledge of the spell to be activated,
regardless of whether or not they can cast it yet
+60
Character can learn spells from the same circle of the spell to be activated,
but has not trained that rank yet
+40
Character can learn spells from the same sphere of the spell to be activated,
but cannot directly train from the same circle
+20
Character has no influence in the spell's sphere 0
  • Warriors and rogues are not magical enough to claim influence in any sphere; they receive bonuses for both minor circles and none for all others.
  • Hybridists (bards, empaths, and sorcerers) are considered aligned with multiple spheres, and receive bonuses accordingly.
  • When activating magic from a hybrid circle, it is considered "within a known sphere" by characters fluent in either sphere. For example, sorcerer magic is partially elemental, therefore a wizard would receive the full +20 bonus for their affiliation with the elemental sphere.

Armor Penalty

If the character is considered fully trained for the armor they are wearing, there is zero penalty. If they do not possess sufficient Armor Use ranks, there is a penalty.

Encumberance Penalty

For each additional second of RT added to a character's attack due to encumberance, they receive a +5 penalty to the activation. For instance, the RT imparted when swinging a broadsword unencumbered is 5 sec. If encumberance caused the swing to extend to 7 sec, they would receive a +10 penalty to the calculation of activation.

Calculating Duration

Calculating the duration of magic invoked from a scroll is similar to activating magical items. Each two ranks of Arcane Symbols counts as one 'phantom rank' of the spell circle to which the magic belongs.

Duration = Base Duration + ([Arcane Symbols Skill Ranks ÷ 2] × Per Spell Rank Duration)

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