he introduction of heavier plate armor rendered many armaments much less effective, particularly mêlée weapons that relied on an edge or point. While a well-designed suit protects its owner by spreading the force of an attack over a wide area, it is still possible for a heavy blow to cause blunt trauma. Hammer masters are highly proficient in aiming for the weaker joints and other critical areas on their foes, controlling the swing of their mauls and sledges such that they cause maximum damage to the soft flesh and bone beneath.

Hammer mastery gives you a chance to break your opponents' bones, reducing their strength, dexterity, or constitution, with any successful hit. The reduction lasts for one game month, or until magically healed with Purify, Regenerate, or (more rarely) with normal healing magics. The chance increases with your strength, level, and the weight of your hammer, and decreases with your foes' level and dexterity.

 cunning attack modeled on those made by wolves, slashing weapons are used to slice the vital tendons and muscles on a humanoid's legs. Hamstringing a target is a quick way to disable a powerful foe, rendering him easy picking for follow-up attacks when he is unable to stay upright.

A character who has specialized in hamstring can backstab not only with piercing weapons, but with edged ones as well. While a hamstring attack is significantly more difficult than a normal backstab, does only half the damage even if it succeeds, and cannot be used against creatures without legs, it will also knock a victim from his feet and prevent him from entering commands for a round of combat, just as if he had been bashed. Hamstring works with all axes, swords, greatswords, and pole arms, as well as with any weapon that does chop, claw, cleave, or slash damage.

ertain styles of combat promote the use of the opponent's energy against him. Those who would claim themselves to be masters of unarmed combat can combine the best of each of these styles, enabling them to toss their opponents about with ease.

A monk or karateka who has specialized in this technique is thus able to use the momentum of an opponent's stun or flying kick against him, countering his attack and throwing him to the ground or even into an adjacent room.

irst developed by the followers of a deity of healing, this technique has gained widespread use amongst many priesthoods. The weave of magic is tapped as it is formed into a divine spell, and the resulting energies serve to revitalize and heal the caster.

Specialization in harmony causes a portion of the mana you spend on spell-casting to heal you. The amount of healing granted is proportional to the mana cost of the spell you're casting and your skill in harmony, and reaches a maximum of one hit point for every four mana at 100 skill in harmony.

Like any other magical healing, this will drain one fourth as many movement points as are healed. For example, a master of harmony who casts Heal Major, a spell costing 80 mana, would be healed 20 hit points and be drained 5 movement points (in addition to the effects of the spell itself).

Multi-classed characters are only granted this bonus healing when they cast priestly spells—those learned from their cleric, monk, paladin, arbiter, or inquisitor class.

n a life-and-death scrap in close quarters, anything that will give you an edge is to be used without remorse. A vicious head butt will often stun an opponent as he reels from the pain and shock, frequently having to contend with a broken nose as well.

Specialization in head butt causes your successful stuns to do blunt damage equal to your level. Only living foes that have heads can be hurt by this specialty.

his lesser school of magic is practiced by the purest healers of the realm, but gets few new practitioners. The masters of it will happily teach anyone who fits their rather stringent criteria of never having harmed any living creature, ever. Even by accident. And if the student ever does break that covenant, he immediately loses all permanent knowledge of the skill. No player character has ever managed to fill these requirements. The following spells are included in this school: Calm, Cure Blind, Cure Critical, Cure Light, Cure Serious, Group Cure Critical, Group Cure Light, Group Cure Serious, Group Heal Major, Group Heal Minor, Heal Major, Heal Minor, Refresh, Regenerate, Remove Paralysis, Remove Poison and Second Wind.

ollowers of the gentler deities have always striven to do no harm. Some sects will not eat of the flesh of beast or bird, nor wear leather, furs, or feathers; other, more rigid healing cults extend their prohibition to the taking of life at all (although rumors speak of such priests staunchly wielding the might of moon and sun against undead abominations who do not fall under this ban). Most healing orders are in agreement never to spill blood, be it innocent or guilty, and thus their sacred vows preclude the use of weapons designed to do so.

Specialization as a Healing Disciple increases the effectiveness of your healing spells, to a maximum bonus of 10% extra hit points healed. The amount of movement points they drain is also decreased, until at mastery they drain no movement at all. Furthermore, your Bless spells grant a bonus to Recuperation equal to one third of your skill. However, you are forbidden non-blunt fighting styles and all weapons except hammers, maces, staves, fist weapons, and flails, and moreover cannot use even a weapon of one of those types if it deals non-blunt damage.

hether noble or commoner, the passing on of treasured heirlooms to family and friends is a long-established practice. For an adventurer, this is a useful boon, particularly at the start of his career, when resources may be scarce.

This specialty allows the character to ignore the item ego rules, which normally restrict the use of items to either those that spawned on monsters of a type that the character has killed, or those that have been donated. He still cannot use items that are forbidden either to his classes or alignment.

his greater school of magic includes spells of cold, like Deep Freeze, and acid, such as Acid Splash, as well as purely water-based spells such as Water Breath. The following spells are included in this school: Acid Blast, Acid Rain, Acid Splash, Acid Spray, Airy Water, Blizzard, Chill, Conjure Elemental, Conjure Greater Elemental, Create Water, Deep Freeze, Divine Wind, Drown, Paralyze, Resist Cold, Rust, Slow, Spider Climb, Spring, Tsunami, Water Breath, Watersheen, Waterwalking, Web, and Word of Binding.

ll spell-casters share a common trait—they are loathe to see their spells fail. To this end, the technique of incantation was developed in order to provide a steady, measured method to consistently deploy their magics, slowly and carefully chanting the mystic syllables of their spells.

Specialization in incantation allows you to reduce your chance of miscasting your spell by up to one half in exchange for increasing the casting time by one third. You remain able to cast spells normally if you wish. Multi-classed characters can only incant spells learned from their cleric, druid, mage, or shadowmage class.

Temporary skill in incantation (such as from an item) decreases the chance of failure for all spells you cast, and does not increase their casting time.

he Underdark is a most hazardous place, where one swiftly learns to do what is needed to survive. Many travelers in that dark realm discover that their fellow adventurers are the greatest hazard of all. When brute force may not be enough to save oneself from one's fellows, stealth may prove the better option. Some particularly light-footed adventurers may skulk through the realm unseen and undetected, that their more murderous... or vulnerable... brethren never know of their presence.

The incognito specialty, available only in the Underdark, prevents you from appearing on the who list, unless you have recently attacked or been attacked by another player. While you will still show up in the count of Underdark players displayed to Surface players on who, you will not to other Underdark players. High skill in spot might reveal your presence, but it is much less likely to work than against other skills such as hide or palm.

heer force of personality and the threat of violence is often enough to stay the hand of a potential aggressor when honeyed words are of no avail. While cowing the weak of will is simple, attempting to intimidate the self-assured will likely prove to be less than satisfactory.

A character who has specialized in intimidation is unlikely to be attacked by aggressive mobiles of lower level than him. The greater the level difference, the less chance of him being attacked. Intimidation is always in effect, except when the character is sneaking or hiding.

here are those to whom power is everything, and even for others, it is hard to argue against increased effectiveness. Invokers aim to attain the maximum effect in the minimum amount of time, drawing in greater amounts of energy than their spells require in order to intensify their effects.

Specialization in invocation allows you to channel additional power into your spells, increasing your effective casting level by 1 for every 10 skill points in exchange for spending one and a third times the normal mana cost. The levels gained don't allow you to cast spells sooner than you would otherwise learn them; they just increase the power of those you already know. You remain able to cast spells normally if you wish. Multi-classed characters can only invoke spells learned from their cleric, druid, mage, or shadowmage class.

Temporary skill in invocation (such as from an item) increases the level of all spells you cast, and does not increase their mana cost.

ise to the various tricks and techniques employed to disarm a foe, the warrior can devise counters to prevent himself from being a victim of such an attempt. Minute changes in his grip, combined with dissipating the energy of a blow by angling his weapon at the moment of impact, make it much more difficult for an opponent to neutralize him.

The iron grip specialty makes it significantly more difficult to disarm you.

 jack of trades is an unusually fast learner, able to pick up skills with the greatest of ease. Contrary to the usual stereotype "jack of all trades, master of none," a jack of trades will master his skills well before his peers. This ability to quickly learn skills has stood many adventurers in good stead.

A character specialized in jack of trades has both an increased chance of getting an adept in any non-spell proficiency—whether skills, weapon proficiencies, or specialties—and a decreased amount of time between adepts.

 spell-caster skilled in jinxing his opponents is able to examine their mystic defenses and discover their weak points. He then shapes his magic to attack them accordingly, increasing the difficulty they have in resisting his spells.

Specialization in jinx causes all saving throws against a character's spells to be worsened by one for every twenty points of skill in jinx. Any excess skill contributes to a random chance for another point; for example, spells cast by a character with 97 skill in jinx would have a -4 penalty to saving throws, and a 17 out of 20 chance of -5 instead. It works only when a spell is actually cast—there is no benefit to spells recited from scrolls, used from staves, quaffed from potions, or charged into weapons.

ales tell of legendary berserkers whose rage was great enough to keep them fighting after the most grievous wounds, where any lesser warrior would long since have collapsed into senselessness. Word from the shamans of the barbarian tribes has, however, filtered down to the civilized lands that not even the most furious juggernaut can stave off death entirely.

A character who has learned the juggernaut specialty has a chance to not fall unconscious when he reaches zero hit points, so long as he is berserk and still fighting. The chance is slightly greater than 50% when first learned, 99% at 90 skill, and certain at 100 skill. If dealt enough damage to kill him outright, he'll still die.

he most dedicated priests of the gods of Law, be they righteous, wicked, or impartial, are the most rigidly unswerving in their devotion to their chosen deity. The Gods of Law are pleased to grant Their most devoted acolytes a portion of Their divine wrath to wield against those who seek to harm them. But the Gods of Law are most intolerant of priests who fall from the straight and narrow path, and are not above smiting Their own minions if they stray from the fold of perfect ideological service.

Specialization as a Justice Disciple increases the damage you deal when your Retribution spell is activated, until, at mastery, it harms those who magically attack you for the same amount of damage they do to you. Additionally, your Bless spells grant a bonus to Spell Turning equal to one third your skill. However, changing alignment away from your ideal—that is, becoming more evil when you are good, more good when you are evil, or less neutral when you are neutral—harms you for one hit point of damage for every point of alignment change.

tudents of kenjutsu make a special study of sword techniques and as such are able to wield single-handed swords with amazing alacrity. Specific training emphasizing balance, stance, and timing opens avenues of attack to practitioners of this discipline that are closed to those less skilled with the blade.

Specialization in kenjutsu grants you approximately a 50% chance of getting an extra attack each round while you kata with a sword, and increases the chance for any given attack with a sword kata to be made with your weapon, rather than with your barehanded attack. (Kenjutsu has no effect with greatswords.) The chance, which is 25% for a non-specialist, rises to a maximum of 50% at mastery.

mong every race and nation there are those who revere knowledge and lore, whether for its own sake or as an avenue to greater power. Many such gravitate to the vocation of priest, and almost every priesthood includes such priests, from the orc and half-giant shamans whose lore is passed down through oral tradition, to the learned temple librarians of the great cities of Aluhryn, Galtherdelve, Teron, and Raven's Bluff. This focus on acquiring ever more knowledge grants such priests a swifter command of the mysteries of mundane and magic abilities alike, but their focus on learning leads them to eschew the trappings of battle worn by more militant clerics, considering such raiment inferior to the robes and vestments that proclaim their learned status.

Specialization as a Knowledge Disciple gives you a chance, whenever you become more adept at a proficiency, of becoming more adept at a second, randomly-chosen proficiency of the same general sort (spell, skill, weapon proficiency, or specialty). Any bonus to experience you get from high intelligence and any bonus to your experience cap you get from high wisdom are also increased, until at mastery they are both doubled. Additionally, your Bless spells grant a bonus to Researching and Jack of Trades each equal to one fifth your skill. However, you are forbidden to wear armor; only clothing, jewelry, and similarly non-martial apparel is permitted.

hroughout history, there have always been charismatic leaders, wielding their charm like a finely honed weapon to induce the masses to follow them for good or ill. Whether barbarian chieftain or sorcerer-king, righteous priest or dark lord, these individuals have the gift that causes legions to flock to their banner.

The leadership specialty allows you to control a fourth charmed, summoned, or otherwise enthralled follower. You may learn this specialty up to ten times, gaining the ability to control an additional follower each time.

colytes of the gods who honor Life wrap themselves in a small measure of their deity's power, which grants them protection from their gods' great nemesis, Death. For the most devout Lifepriests, such deliverance extends to the life-draining abilities oft wielded by the dead and undead or those cursed living beings who consort with them. Yet such protection comes not without its price, and the price is a steep one: to remain forever beloved by the gods of Life, one must refrain forevermore from slaying the living, lest the gods withdraw Their boon.

Specialization as a Life Disciple causes you to lose a smaller amount of experience and proficiency adepts when you die, until at 100 skill no experience or adepts are lost at all; in any case, your skill in Life Disciple itself is never reduced by dying. Your Bless spells also grant a bonus to Gravebane equal to two thirds of your skill, resistance to draining, and at 90 or higher skill, immunity to draining. However, whenever you kill a living foe, you have a percentage chance equal to your current skill of losing a Life Disciple adept.

ven among those who have mastered the art of sneaking, most must make a deliberate effort at stealth. A select few have honed their skills to the point where their every step is lightly-placed, their will to remain silent instilled at a subconscious level regardless of their activity. These most covert rogues show an uncanny ability to sneak without a second thought, allowing them to slip away effortlessly.

A lightfoot specialist always sneaks, so long as he is standing, he is not currently in combat, and he remains a master of both sneak, inside and sneak, outside. It is not necessary for him to enter the sneak command, and he will immediately sneak again as soon as he leaves combat, even if he is delayed by another command.

Magically-granted lightfoot (such as from items) does not require mastery, or even knowledge, of both sneak, inside and sneak, outside, but is only as effective as your current skill in them.

tilizing their skills in stealth, thieves and other shady characters seem unobtrusive and non-threatening when compared with their companions, able to remain out of mind and low on the threat lists of their foes. The mark is often fooled into thinking attacks are originating from the thief's colleagues, thus causing them to suffer the brunt of his wrath.

A character specialized in low profile causes mobiles with at least minimal intelligence to be more likely to attack or cast spells at someone else first. Low profile has no benefit if there aren't any alternate targets for a mobile to choose.

midst every pantheon of deities there is always one renowned for his caprice. Devout worshipers of these fickle gods, with their deities bending probability in their favor, are frequently sought as companions in the hope that some of their luck will rub off. The devotees of the gods of chance, however, are less frequently able to perform the miracles for which more pious faiths are known.

Specialization as a Luck Disciple gives you a chance, whenever you kill a foe, to find an item he normally carries or wears. The chance is proportional to the item's rarity and your skill in Luck Disciple; at mastery, it is approximately equal to the chance that the item in question would appear within three hours (of real-time). Furthermore, your Bless spells grant a bonus to Stroke of Luck equal to one third of your skill. However, your mana regeneration rate is reduced in proportion to your skill, until at mastery you have a 10% penalty. This is also applied to the maximum regeneration rate for a character who is neither sleeping nor meditating ki.

ome of the stealthiest denizens of the realms are born with an inherent talent for staying in the shadows, while others develop it later in their careers. The most talented lurkers may remain hidden from view even while stealing or killing, and might be the answer to some of the unsolved murders common to the great cities of the realms.

The lurk specialty allows you to enter certain commands while hidden without revealing yourself. It affects utility commands which are unaffected by command delays, such as help, who, and attributes; many passive commands, like look, inventory, and case; and a few stealthy commands, such as backstab, palm, and steal, so long as they're successful. Learning the lurk specialty will also grant you the hide skill at a reduced maximum if you do not yet have it.

ludgeoning weapons such as maces and clubs often fall in the shadow of more "prestigious" armaments such as swords. They are uniquely effective, however, in the hands of a master, who is able to direct strikes against his foes' heads with unerring precision. Even if the blow is not fatal, his victim will often be left reeling in confusion for some time.

Mace mastery gives you a chance to automatically stun your foe for one, or more rarely two, rounds of combat with any successful hit. The chance increases with your strength, level, and the weight of your mace, and decreases with your foe's level and dexterity. Only living foes that have heads can be stunned with this specialty.

ertain adventurers have an innate aversion to being struck by hostile magics, which provokes in them an instinctive reaction of rage. Those who have trained their reflexes accordingly can unleash a furious flurry of blows against an enemy who has cast inimical sorceries upon them.

Whenever a magebane specialist is successfully affected by a spell from the foe he's attacking, he gains additional attacks in his next round of combat. With a successful skill roll, at least one extra attack is granted. There is about a percentage chance equal to his skill in magebane for each Extra Attack skill he has learned, or for each extra attack he gains from a fighting style, to activate as well.

Magebane works against spells from most sources—for example, scrolls, wands, or simply cast—but not against weapon spells, fireshields and similar magics, or spell-like abilities.

n recent years, tales have circulated from the savage wildernesses of the realm concerning certain barbarian tribes who, perhaps due to an excess of trade with civilized society, have learned to tolerate the magics their kind usually find anathema. More recently, explorers have returned from the furthest deserts with news of newly discovered tribes who go to the other extreme, avoiding all contact with magic and magic-workers to the extent that they have developed a remarkable resistance to mystical powers. The most accomplished of such tribesfolk are said to be able to ignore even the most potent sorceries, but as a direct consequence, their own ability to utilize magics suffers. The explorers report that few clerics were found among such tribes, and those that were found were mostly shunned by their peers.

Magic resistance gives you (at mastery) a 25% chance of ignoring the effects of any spell cast on you, whether harmful or beneficial, even to the extent of protecting your possessions from damaging magics. It works on spells whatever their source—whether from scrolls, potions, foodstuffs, wands, rods, staves, talismans, weapons, or simply cast—but not spell-like effects, such as a myconid's spores or a shadow's weakening touch.

Magic resistance also causes you to have (at mastery) a 10% chance of failing to cast spells, use wands, rods, staves, or talismans, recite scrolls, or be affected by magical foods you eat or potions you quaff. This is cumulative with the normal 25% failure chance if any of the resulting spells target yourself. You cannot choose both the magic tolerance and magic resistance specialties.

uring their exposure to "civilized" societies, some savages become more cosmopolitan in their outlook, particularly with regard to the use of magic. The effects of enchantments upon the destructive capabilities of weapons and on the protective qualities of armor are often too great to ignore, resulting in the barbarian overcoming his phobia in selective instances.

The magic tolerance specialty allows a barbarian to use a single piece of magical armor or a magical weapon whose corresponding weapon mastery he has learned, so long as they are normally usable by warriors. Other magical items, such as weapons he has not specialized in, clothing, or jewelry, remain forbidden.

You cannot choose both the magic tolerance and magic resistance specialties. You may learn this specialty up to ten times, gaining the ability to equip an additional item each time.

ertain mystics are so in tune with the natural forces of the universe that they can manipulate the raw stuff of magic even when it is used against them, replenishing their own eldritch resources for every magical harm done to them. More potent spells may grant swifter replenishment, even as they inflict greater pain.

Mana absorption causes you to gain mana whenever you're affected by a successfully-cast violent spell. There is a percentage chance equal to your skill that you gain the spell's base casting cost; otherwise, you gain a random percentage between your skill and 100% of the spell's base casting cost. For the purposes of mana absorption, a spell's base casting cost is the same as the class which learns the spell for the least amount of mana.

Mana absorption works only for true spells—it does not work against spells recited from scrolls, used from wands, or charged into weapons, nor against spell-like abilities such as a dragon's fiery breath or a ghoul's paralyzing touch. You also cannot absorb the mana from spells you cast yourself.

hose most in tune with the mystical energies of the universe can, so it is said by certain sages, go beyond merely absorbing raw mana from magics used against them by their foes. Such enlightened adepts may draw replenishment of their mystical might from beneficial spells cast upon them by their friends and compatriots.

Mana resonance causes you to gain mana whenever you're affected by a successfully-cast nonviolent spell. The mana gained is similar to that gained from mana absorption, but only one fourth the amount.

Like mana absorption, mana resonance works only with truly-cast spells, and you cannot resonate with the mana from spells you cast yourself.

hile the image of someone being able to don a piece of armor with haste is not as exciting as that of a skilled quickdraw, it is often a life-saving ability in the heat of combat. Items are often modified a little to allow them to be rapidly swapped out, or are organized in such a fashion that they are easy to find by their user in the heat of battle.

A specialist in mêlée maneuvers suffers from a reduced penalty when performing distracting actions while engaged in combat. Such actions include but are not limited to getting items, wearing or removing equipment, or opening doors.

Mêlée maneuvers also reduces the delay time for a failed draw or dual switch and decreases the chance that a potion quaffed in combat will be accidentally smashed.

izards and teachers of magecraft know many ways to enhance the power, reliability, or other effects of their magics, such as invoking, forking, incanting, and many other such means. For most, these special ways of casting swiftly drain the mystical resources of the caster, but certain rare sorcerers and priests are so able to bend and twist the effects of their spells that they can almost overcome this drawback.

The metamagic specialty reduces the extra mana cost or casting time imposed by casting spells by non-standard means. At 100 skill, metamagic reduces these extra costs to two thirds if the special means increased the cost to triple normal or worse, or to one half otherwise.

The base mana cost or delay is not affected—e.g., triple mana cost or delay is reduced not to double normal, but two and one third times normal: the base cost of 1× plus two thirds of the added cost of 2×.

For example, a spell incanted by a master of metamagic would have only one and one sixth normal casting time, and a spell strobed by a master of metamagic would cost only four and one third times the normal amount of mana.

any of the most dangerous magical attacks are wholly mental in nature. Some muscle-brained oafs, though they lack the self-discipline that is normally the only defense, are paradoxically able to avoid disaster through sheer overconfidence born of their physical prowess.

The Might Makes Right specialty causes you to use your base strength instead of your base wisdom when making willpower saving throws if your base strength is higher.

o spell captures the essence of shadowmages more than doppelganger. The confusion that it sows is increased by the ability that certain mages have which allows them to create multiple likenesses of themselves, all performing the same actions exactly in sync.

Specialization in mirror image allows you to successfully cast doppelganger on a target who is not in combat. The resulting image will follow the target. While the images, like normal doppelgangers, are still useless in combat and cannot be ordered, they are likely to be attacked by aggressive monsters instead of you, and do not count against the normal limit of three followers.

or the cowardly rogues of the lands, face-to-face combat is usually something to be avoided, yet some battles take place in dangerous locales where fleeing isn't an option. Thus, certain larcenists have learned to distract their opponents' attention away from them in myriad ways, allowing them a brief moment in which to safely fall back from battle.

The misdirection specialty allows you to disengage from combat even if you are being directly attacked. If successful, those attacking you will stop fighting as well (though they may quickly begin attacking you again!)

pell-casting normally requires that the caster be standing up, so that he can freely make the motions required. Likely developed by a mage familiar with examining the ground while in combat, or else by one tired of having his hands tied together by his captors, the technique of motionless casting allows for spells to be cast without the need for gestures of any kind, requiring only the vocal component.

A specialist in motionless casting can cast spells while sitting or resting, or after having been bashed. Spell-casting without making the usual gestures is more difficult than normal, and you are more likely to lose your concentration when you attempt to do so.

If you have specialized in both silent and motionless casting, you can cast spells even while paralyzed.

hether it is through arcane rituals, prayer to a deity, or a meditative trance, some spell-casters are capable of augmenting the replenishment of their magical energy. As this is the lifeblood of many magicians, it is a skill that is often well-studied.

The mysticism specialty increases your mana regeneration rate by a factor equal to your skill. For example, 30 skill in mysticism will increase your mana regeneration rate by 30%. Note that there is a maximum rate that mana can regenerate if you aren't sleeping or meditating ki; mysticism will not increase this cap. You may learn this specialty up to ten times, gaining 10 skill each time.

aginatajutsu is the art of wielding a bladed pole. While to the unskilled such weapons may be awkward and slow, to the master they are simply extensions of his body. Those who study naginatajutsu place a special emphasis on incorporating pole arms into their kata and are able to use them with deadly decisiveness.

Specialization in naginatajutsu grants you approximately a 50% chance of getting an extra attack each round while you kata with a pole arm, and increases the chance for any given attack with a pole arm kata to be made with your weapon, rather than with your barehanded attack. The chance, which is 25% for a non-specialist, rises to a maximum of 50% at mastery.

his lesser school of magic is secretly practiced by many druids in their hidden groves, but they refuse to teach it to anyone tainted by the sins of civilization, even another druid. The following spells are included in this school: Agility, Animal Growth, Barkskin, Changestaff, Charm Animal, Control Weather, Create Food, Create Rose, Create Water, Enchant Fang, Endurance, Entangle, Goodberry, Heroes Feast, Hide the Path, Pass Without Trace, Plant Growth, Poison, Purify, Resist Poison, Serpent Seed, Shillelagh, Spider Climb, Spring, Strength, Summon Animal One, Summon Animal Two, Summon Animal Three, Summon Animal Four, Summon Animal Five, Summon Animal Six, Summon Animal Seven, Sustenance, Ward of Nature, Web, and Wild Hunt.

his lesser school of magic deals with the powers of death, pain, and unlife. It is widely practiced by necromancers everywhere, which makes it quite likely the most well-known school, since despite the fact that no one knows how to become a necromancer, and they're persecuted wherever they go, there always seems to be plenty of them. The following spells are included in this school: Animate Dead, Backlash, Blackmantle, Cause Critical, Cause Light, Cause Serious, Curse, Darkfire Ball, Darkfire Bolt, Energy Drain, Fear, Feeblemind, Ghoul Touch, Harm, Mass Terror, Necroburst, Preserve, Rupture, Scare, Shadow Touch, Soulfeast, Speak With Dead, Specter Touch, Terror, Weakness, Wight Touch, Witchsting, and Word of Death.

s many heroes as there are in legend who displayed great strength, a similar number are also revered for their adroitness and acrobatic abilities. Able to perform feats of agility well beyond what the average person is capable of, they are justly admired.

The nimbleness specialty increases your maximum dexterity attribute by five. This is in addition to the increase in maximum granted by avatar levels, but in any event cannot exceed 100. Additionally, ten points of dexterity are added when you first learn the specialty; however, these cannot take you above your (new) maximum—any excess points are lost.

You may learn this specialty up to ten times, gaining ten dexterity and five maximum dexterity each time.

lessed—some say cursed—by the gods or some other supernatural force, some mortals are able to laugh in the face of death. Whether that is the case when it is time for them to pay for the privilege, only time will tell.

Specializing in nine lives grants you a supernatural ability to avoid death. When dealt damage that would normally kill you, you are instead restored to your full hit points, or in the case of a deathtrap, transported to safety. This can happen up to nine times, after which you permanently lose the specialty.

In the case of killing damage, nine lives does not alter reality other than to prevent the damage and heal you, and there is nothing to prevent whatever hurt you—such as hunger, drowning, or an enraged demon chewing on your paralyzed body—from quickly killing you again.

ssassins have long known the advantages of sneak attacks from the shadows. Experienced ones, however, have learned not to rely solely on surprise; not even a master can consistently slay his foes with a single hit. These canny rogues teach themselves to attack with a secondary weapon, so that they can finish their marks with a heavier primary weapon.

An off hand specialist is able to initiate combat with a backstab from his dual-wielded weapon if his primary weapon cannot be used to backstab. If he also knows the assassination skill or blackjack or hamstring specialties, he can use them with his secondary weapon as well.

lways quick to find advantage, rogues are crafty fighters who are dextrous enough to land a well-aimed strike at a critical area of a fleeing foe. The cool, calculated slaughter of opponents who are running away often marks out a master assassin.

The opportunism specialty gives you a free backstab whenever the foe you're fighting tries to flee and is not blocked, provided you are standing, are not already delayed by another command, and are wielding a weapon you can backstab (or, if applicable, blackjack or hamstring) with. This is in lieu of the attack granted by parting blow.

n a crowded battle, a blindside blow can be all that is needed to win the fight. A canny, well-trained fighter can slip to one side while his foe is occupied with another, and instinctively knows when his attack will have the greatest effect.

The outflank specialty grants approximately a 75% chance of getting an extra attack each round when fighting a foe who is fighting someone other than yourself.

hrough years of practice in acting in concert with others in combat, a rogue specializing in this ability has developed a keen sense of tactics, and is able to discern the optimal moment to disengage and re-engage his opponents.

A character with the outmaneuver specialty is able to recover more quickly than usual after backstabbing a foe who is distracted by attacking someone else, reducing his delay by up to one second. Learning the outmaneuver specialty will also grant you the backstab skill at a reduced maximum if you do not yet have it.

ust as there are people who believe in packing light for any given journey, there are others who wish to be prepared for any contingency, even if it means bringing along the proverbial kitchen sink. These souls can be easily identified by the jangle as they travel and the multitude of items strapped to their persons. One characteristic that they seem to share is the sense of triumph when they find a situation to employ a piece of equipment that had previously been mere dead weight.

The packrat specialty lets you rent an extra rare item. You may learn this specialty up to ten times.

ome holy orders preach that suffering is an byproduct of mortal existence, an illusory sensation to be stoically endured when necessary or else utilized against the wicked. More common are those who delight in the infliction of pain—most famously the priests of the Temple of Pain, though similar cults are found among the fireants, the templars of Teron, and the drow priestesses of Aluhryn. Disciples of Pain have a natural bent for both inflicting and enduring greater harm than others, but their predilection for causing pain extends even to their healing. Far removed from the gentle ways of Healing Disciples, the healing of a priest of pain sends short-lived waves of agony through the body of the patient, causing twitches, screams, and even bone-jerking convulsions which leave the hapless victim exhausted. Such displays have caused more than one village to believe that those unfortunates healed by a Pain Disciple were in fact demonically possessed, and cast them out.

Specialization as a Pain Disciple increases the damage dealt by your Cause Light, Cause Serious, Cause Critical, and Harm spells, initially by one third, to triple normal at mastery. Further, your Bless spells grant a bonus to Pain Immunity equal to half your skill. However, your healing spells drain additional movement points, until at mastery the movement cost is doubled.

hether due to reduced feeling through the build-up of scars or just being accustomed to collecting numerous wounds, those gifted with this ability are able to shrug off light wounds without so much as a blink. Eventually even the sensations associated with heavier injuries can be ignored, enabling the warrior to continue fighting unhindered.

A character who has learned this specialty is no longer affected by pain, although he remains aware of it. His resulting tolerance to injury reduces the damage he takes from each wound by up to two hit points after all other modifiers.

t is common knowledge to any combatant that turning your back to the enemy is to be avoided at all costs, as defending against an attack from the rear is near impossible. On the converse side, one who is prepared to take advantage of a drop in guard can reap the reward of raining blows without the risk of retaliation upon his retreating foe.

The parting blow specialty gives you an extra attack whenever the foe you're fighting tries to flee and is not blocked, provided you are standing.

hether it is an innate extra sense, an acute attention to detail, or the product of highly specialized training, those gifted with this ability are able to notice small inconsistencies that pass others by, instinctively noticing details that most might miss.

The perception specialty gives you a chance to get a special message—"There's more here than meets the eye"—whenever there is non-obvious information within a room that can be discovered with a more specific look command. Learning perception also grants the find hidden doors and stonereading skills to characters who are normally unable to learn them.

onks dedicate their lives towards the perfect harmony of mind, body, and spirit. Among their orders are those monks whose dedication and devotion go above the normal rigors and meditations. For these monks, the body opens itself as a perfection of living unity and is augmented through the monk's focus and training.

Specialization in perfect body grants a monk five extra points in each of his five primary attributes—strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, and constitution. You may learn this specialty up to ten times, gaining five points to each attribute each time.

 category of weapon often denigrated by the nobility, pole arms were designed to perform specific tasks efficiently. Although viewed by nobles as a peasant's weapon, fit only for unskilled conscripts, those mastering their use are capable of knocking out and peeling their opponents, one piece of expensive plate armor at a time.

Pole arm mastery grants one of three benefits, depending on the damage type of the pole arm you're wielding: pole arms that inflict slashing damage have a chance to decapitate foes identically to axe mastery; pole arms that inflict blunt damage have a chance to stun foes identically to mace mastery; and pole arms that inflict piercing damage give you a chance to fend off foes identically to spear mastery. Pole arms that inflict more than one damage type behead on hits that inflict slashing damage, stun on hits that inflict blunt damage, and fend off attacks at a reduced likelihood if they can inflict piercing damage.

or many, the thought of carrying heavy loads o'er hill and dale is an image to be shivered at, but some sturdy men and women specifically set out to learn the technique of bearing large burdens. Some say this is a skill known only to mountain guides, but any stout dockworker would laugh at such nonsense. Able to efficiently organize their gear, these master porters are able to distribute the weight of all their gear evenly, as well as knowing how to pack the maximum number of items into the minimum amount of space.

The porter specialty increases the possible weight and number of items you can carry by up to half. It also increases the weight threshold at which movement point costs are increased for being excessively encumbered, and reduces the movement cost penalty when the threshold is exceeded.

he prestidigitator is a skillful caster, able to produce stunning results with a mere flick of the wrists and a few words. Of course, many choose to go to the opposite end of the spectrum, making every casting appear to be an epic effort. The ability to concentrate in any condition acquired through constant showmanship allows him to cast any spell even when engaged in combat, though the chance to successfully cast non-combat spells while fighting will be somewhat reduced even for a master.

ighters trained in making prone attacks are capable of dazzling combat maneuvers, combining complex moves with the act of standing in one fluid motion. Opponents who are not familiar with this ability are often fooled into closing in on what they thought was a defenseless target, only to be struck by a devastating attack.

The prone attack specialty allows you to use various combat skills—namely, bash, crit hit, feint, eye gouge, gift of pain, hitall, kick, or stun—without needing to stand up first. A failure of your prone attack roll will cause you to stand up instead of making the combat move; success both in prone attack and the skill used will leave you standing as well. It costs you 20 movement points to use a combat skill while prone, in addition to any the move itself requires.

he ability to avoid being hit even when caught in a less-than-ideal situation is highly valued by many combatants. Whether through practice or innate dexterity, the fighter manages to twist and turn his way away from blows, raising a defense that is effective whether he is on his feet or not.

The prone defense specialty allows you to parry and dodge even while sitting or resting. Learning the prone defense specialty will also grant you the dodge skill at a reduced maximum if you do not yet have it.

his greater school of magic allows advanced knowledge of all fire and heat-based spells, from the humble Burning Hands to the mighty Solar Gate. The following spells are included in this school: Burning Hands, Conjure Elemental, Conjure Greater Elemental, Divine Wind, Fire Wind, Fireball, Fireshield, Firestorm, Flame Tongue, Flameblade, Flamestrike, Hellfire, Inferno, Lava Blast, Resist Fire, and Solar Gate.