Astrologer
Astrologers study the constellations of Alcirya and use the stellar formations to amplify their particular powers. They understand the hidden significance of the stars and their movement through the heavens and can sometimes read the future in the appearance of celestial bodies. Astrologers also use the constellations as an aid for casting spells. By focusing on a particular group of stars and studying a spell, the astrologer “hangs” that spell upon the constellation. Later, the spell can be used quickly, as long as the constellation from which it was “hung” is visible. A magical apparatus known as an orrery is also used by the astrologers to work powerful magic.
Role
The astrologer is something of a “mad scientist” personality, someone regarded with respect and more than a little fear by those who do not understand him or her. The large amount of equipment necessary for the astrologer to study magic adds to this air of mystery, as most of the machinery is indecipherable even to other wizards. Astrologers spend so much of their time studying the night sky that they rarely take the time to deal with other individuals, making their social skills quite limited.
Distinctive Appearance
None
Special Benefits
Astrologers have the ability to “hang” spells on the constellations. To do this, an astrologer must study a constellation at the same time that he is studying the spell to be “hung”. This increases the time needed to learn a spell by 50 percent, but makes it much easier to cast this spell later. Once “hung,” the spell can be called forth at a moment’s notice. As long as the astrologer can see the constellation upon which the spell is hung, he can trigger that spell. No other significant actions are required. An astrologer gains a -2 bonus to initiative rolls when using a “hung” spell. Even if the astrologer has lost initiative, “hung” spells can be triggered before anyone else can move. If two astrologers are facing off, each with a “hung” spell, the astrologer with the higher initiative will get his spell off before his opponent. It is important to remember that “hung” spells can only be triggered if the astrologer can actually see the constellation upon which the spell is hung.
There are 13 constellations in the skies of Alcirya. Each of these constellations is visible during a different portion of the year, though there is overlap. No more than one spell may be hung on a constellation at a time. This limitation occurs because of the nature of spell “hanging”. It is a memorization device which is centered around the power of individual constellations. The knowledge of the spell is centered on the appearance of the constellation, burned into the mind of the caster. If more than one spell were affixed to a given constellation, it would be impossible to determine which of the spells would be cast when the constellation was viewed. This complication taught astrologers that it was better to hang only one spell on one constellation. This doesn’t mean that a constellation need have the same spell hung on it each and every time. A different spell can be hung on a constellation each time the astrologer elects to use the constellation again, but the astrologer can never have more than one spell hanging on a given constellation. Spells remain hung until the astrologer either uses the spell or releases it. An astrologer cannot cast a duplicate of a spell that is hung, as it would interfere with the memorization process. Thus, if an astrologer hangs a fireball spell on a constellation, he would be unable to memorize and cast another fireball until the first spell was cast. Another item of interest is the fact that hung spells do not affect the total number of spells that an astrologer may memorize. Spells that are hung are independent of the astrologer’s capacity for memorization, allowing an astrologer have a wider variety of spells ready for use than would otherwise be possible. Obviously, hung spells are not accessible at all during the daylight hours and can only be used for three months out of a year.
Special Hindrances
While hanging spells is a big advantage for astrologers, it is also one of their hindrances. The methods of memorization and spell recording that an astrologer uses are completely incompatible with any other kit’s methods. This means that astrologers may only use scrolls written by other astrologers (any mage scroll has a 5% chance of being written by an astrologer). Astrological scrolls are actually charts that show the spell in terms of “constellationary relationships”. These charts are extraordinarily complex and require a great amount of effort for non-astrologers to decipher. No other kit can cast a spell directly from an astrologer scroll, though they may copy the spell from the scroll into their spell books. This process takes an inordinate amount of time; non-astrologer characters who copy a spell from an astrologer’s scroll will require three times as long as normal to do so.
Astrologers have overcome the difficulty of inscribing such complicated spells through the use of their orreries. These devices are used to show the relationships of the various constellations. An orrery is a silver ball surrounded by 13 rings, each of which supports a different constellation. These rings are linked together to represent the order and movement patterns of each constellation. A small lens inset into the central sphere emits a cone of faded blue light that shines up through the rings that surround the central sphere. When properly calibrated, an orrery can show an astrologer which constellations he will be able to see on any given night. The astrologer need only move the outer rings a bit in order to set the orrery to the requested date. At that point, the cone of light shines on the constellations that will be visible on a given night. All of this information is very useful for the astrologer and helps him to decide which spells to hang on which constellations.
Orreries are essential in the designing of scrolls as well. An astrologer without an orrery will be unable to scribe a spell onto a scroll, regardless of his skill or level. Orreries are never complete when an astrologer first gains them. Instead, they have only the six most basic constellations on them, allowing the astrologer to inscribe spells of 1st through 3rd level. After that, the astrologer must gain the knowledge to carve a gem into the other constellations. For every level the astrologer gains, he may attempt to craft another constellation for his orrery. This requires a successful check against gem cutting, and the gem used (while it may be of any sort) must be worth at least 500 gp. The astrologer may then use his orrery for spells up to 4th level. Another spell level is added to the usefulness of the orrery for every additional constellation which is added to the device, up to a maximum of 9th-level spells.
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