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 pells of this lesser school of magic focus magical energies to provide protection. This can take a number of forms, including warding off specific damage types or providing more general barriers that lessen the ability to damage the caster. Abjuration concentrates on reducing sources of potential harm, rather than repairing damage. It is mostly practiced by monastic orders which, as the ultimate form of protection, refuse to have any dealings with outsiders. The following spells are included in this school: Alignment Ward, Alkar, Armor, Bladeturn, Divine Aura, Fireshield, Freedom, Gaze Reflection, Ironguard, Peace, Prismatic Sphere, Resist Cold, Resist Fire, Resist Poison, Sanctuary, Shield, Shockshield, Stone Skin, Stormguard, Ward Major, Ward Minor, Ward of Nature, and Watersheen.
 rained to maintain high levels of concentration, fighters with this skill do not let up on their attacks, even when their opponent appears to be hopelessly over-matched and should prove to be an easy target. Their efficiency enables them to quickly defeat their foe and move on to another.
No matter how good your aim, no matter how poor your foe's armor class, there's always a 5% chance that you'll miss your attack. Specialization in accuracy reduces or eliminates this chance; however, it only comes into play if your hitroll is high enough to hit the other 95% of the time.
his greater school of magic concerns itself with spells of the air and sky, including power over storms and lightning. As with weather, this school can be both beneficial and destructive, with spells that aid movement and those that utilize the power of the wind and electricity to harm foes. The following spells are included in this school: Agility, Airy Water, Arc, Ball Lightning, Chain Lightning, Conjure Elemental, Conjure Greater Elemental, Control Weather, Divine Wind, Float, Fly, Group Float, Group Fly, Gust of Wind, Hurricane, Lightning Bolt, Magic Missile, Refresh, Remove Silence, Second Wind, Shield, Shockshield, Shriek, Silence, Sparks, Static Charge, Stormguard, and Storm of Vengeance.
here are those who are sometimes described as having eyes in the back of their heads, able to see an attack from behind and avoid it. More likely they are merely people who are well-attuned with what their senses are telling them about their surroundings, able to detect minute changes which are to them loud messages to react to an unseen threat from the rear.
An alertness specialist is able to maintain his vigilance at all times, giving him a chance of avoiding hostile backstabs. The chance of success is about one in three against a backstabber whose level is the same as the specialist's skill percentage. Learning the alertness specialty will also grant you the spot skill if you do not have it.
 n ambidextrous person is equally coordinated with both his left and right hands, either through natural ability or long years of practice. In either case, the end result is the same—someone who is equally strong and equally deadly with a weapon in either hand.
The ambidexterity specialty reduces or, at high skill, eliminates the 20% effective weight penalty to a dual-wielded weapon, allowing a character to dual wield a greater total weight. Additionally, it grants approximately a 50% chance of getting an extra attack each round in addition to the one granted by dual wield. Learning the ambidexterity specialty will also grant you the dual wield skill at a reduced maximum if you do not yet have it.
thletes are prime physical specimens of their race, their bodies honed by rigorous training in multiple disciplines. This means that they can be not only stronger than their peers, but stronger even than is normally possible for their race.
The athletics specialty increases your maximum strength 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 strength are added when you first learn the specialty; however, these cannot take you above your (new) maximum—any excess points are lost.
xe masters are the source of the classic image of a warrior whirling his heavy-bladed weapon overhead with devastating force and accuracy. The master is so skilled that he has turned the primary disadvantage of an axe—its weight and unwieldiness—into a deadly advantage, homing in on the weak point of every creature.
Axe mastery gives you a small chance to automatically decapitate your foe with any successful hit, killing him instantly. The chance increases with your strength, level, and the weight of your axe, and decreases with your foe's level, constitution, and current hit points. It is naturally impossible to decapitate creatures like slimes that don't have heads to begin with, and certain other creatures such as golems and the undead don't necessarily die when beheaded.
 ommon charlatans can be found nearly everywhere in the realms; however, their skills in a more advanced form are known only to a few. They are able to fool their victims into thinking all is well, even though they may be charmed or suffering from some other detrimental effect, delaying the dupe's resistance until much later.
Specialization in beguiling will increase the duration of your timed malediction, charm, and summoning spells, as well as detrimental timed side effects of your attack spells, to up to double normal. It works only when a spell is actually cast—there is no bonus to spells recited from scrolls, used from staves, quaffed from potions, or charged into weapons.
hough viewed by circles of professional assassins as being nothing more than street thuggery, the use of blunt weapons in waylaying victims has its own loyal following. These pragmatists believe in using whatever effective tools are at hand, even if they are not as precise as the points preferred by most.
A character who has specialized in blackjack can backstab not only with piercing weapons, but with most blunt ones as well; however, the resulting blow only has two thirds of the backstabber's normal damage multiplier. Blackjack works with all maces, staves, and hammers, as well as with any weapon that does pound, smash, crush, smite, or hit damage. Learning the blackjack specialty will also grant you the backstab skill at a reduced maximum if you do not yet have it.
his lesser school of magic was discovered by a band of rampaging paladins who cleansed a small, secluded outpost of its inhabitants. The former occupants were believed to be necromancers, despite their repeated agonized screams to the contrary. After the fact, it was discovered that they were actually blackmages, which no one had ever heard of. Life went on as normal. The following spells are included in this school: Black Lightning, Blindness, Bolt of Darkness, Dark Ray, Darkness, Ever Darkness, Mass Blindness, Shadow Stream, Shadow Swarm, Shadowfire, and Wave of Darkness.
his lesser school of magic deals with pure energy, light, and illusions based on them. It was fairly popular at one time, but its masters tended to be quite impatient teachers, and so it died out. The following spells are included in this school: Color Beam, Color Spray, Continual Light, Create Light, Doppelganger, Ever Light, Faerie Fire, Faerie Fog, Gaze Reflection, Group Invisibility, Invisibility, Light Beam, Light Burst, Magic Missile, Moon Ray, Prismatic Beam, Prismatic Sphere, Prismatic Spray, Prisms Edge, and Sun Ray.
he basic spells that a spell-caster learns during his apprenticeship have usually served their purpose of familiarizing him with the weaving of mystical energies by the time he has gained the title of archmage. It is this familiarity that allows him to cast these cantrips with little thought or energy expended.
A cantrip specialist reduces the casting time and chance of failure of all his spells with a base cost of 10 mana or less by one third.
here are natural leaders in the world, those who are blessed with a personality and presence that others will follow without question. These charismatic characters are able to easily convince their followers to do their bidding, as they do not feel the need to question their leader's instructions.
A character who has specialized in charisma is able to give orders effectively, greatly reducing the time this takes. The increase in speed is equal to the specialist's skill percentage—for example, if you have learned charisma to 80%, there is an 80% reduction in the time taken.
avants throughout the realms are revered for their ability to make clear-headed and sensible decisions in difficult matters. This clarity of thought is usually gained through long life experience. For some, however, insight finds them far, far earlier.
The clarity specialty increases your maximum wisdom 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 wisdom are added when you first learn the specialty; however, these cannot take you above your (new) maximum—any excess points are lost.
 ith the ability to weave magic being the lifeblood of a spell-caster, many feel the need to subject themselves to conditions replicating the chaos of a mêlée in order to prepare themselves. Developing a trance-like state, they are able to ignore distractions and even to numb themselves to injury in order to successfully complete their spells, significantly reducing the penalty normally experienced when casting spells while attacking or being attacked.
his greater school of magic encompasses spells that affect the minds and bodies of others, ranging from debilitating spells such as Blindness and Weakness, to summoning spells such as Demongate, to illusionary spells like Invisibility and Faerie Fire. It also assists somewhat in the control of certain magical fields and energies. The following spells are included in this school: Blindness, Calm, Charm Animal, Charm Monster, Charm Person, Conjure Elemental, Conjure Greater Elemental, Continual Light, Create Light, Curse, Darkness, Demongate, Dispel Invisibility, Dispel Magic, Dream, Enchant Armor, Enchant Weapon, Ever Darkness, Ever Light, Faerie Fire, Faerie Fog, Fear, Feeblemind, Gaze Reflection, Greater Dream, Group Invisibility, Invisibility, Mass Blindness, Monsum One, Monsum Two, Monsum Three, Monsum Four, Monsum Five, Monsum Six, Monsum Seven, Paralyze, Purify, Pword Blind, Pword Kill, Recycle, Scare, Serpent Seed, Sleep, Ward Major, Ward Minor, Weakness, and Wild Hunt.
 n many places, it is often frowned upon to openly carry arms; certainly, it draws unwanted attention when stealth might be important. In other circumstances, it may be an advantage to appear unarmed to potential opponents, as an underestimation of the level of threat can leave them open to a sneaky attack.
A specialist in concealed weaponry is able to hide a dagger in each of his sleeves. Thereafter, whenever either of his weapons is disarmed, destroyed, or otherwise removed for any reason, the dagger in the appropriate sleeve will automatically slip into his hand, allowing him to continue fighting unimpeded.
When used on a currently-wielded or dual-wielded weapon, conceal swaps the dagger with the one that is already hidden, if any.
o many, bloodshed is to be avoided at all costs, particularly if it is their own blood being spilled. The more callous might prefer to have "expendable" help do the bleeding, even if that might include using their "friends".
A specialist in cowardice who is being attacked is able to duck behind one of his allies, diverting some or all of his foes' attacks to his friend, just as if he had been rescued. This is an evil specialty.
 ften viewed as weapons of stealth or of last resort, daggers nevertheless have a dedicated following. From vicious, close-in knife-fighters to sneaky assassins, those who master the use of these weapons benefit from their practical nature and low weight, treating them as extensions of their hands, allowing for lightning-fast attacks.
Dagger mastery grants you an extra attack if your primary weapon is a dagger, and an extra attack half of the time if your secondary weapon is. These attacks are cumulative.
his lesser school of magic covers detection and comprehension of just about anything. It is mostly practiced by hedge wizards and small-town witches who cannot master the translocation school, which also includes most of these spells. The following spells are included in this school: Clairvoyance, Detect Evil, Detect Good, Detect Invisibility, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Identify, Infravision, Know Alignment, Know Monster, Locate Object, Major Track, Minor Track, Scry, Sense Life, True Sight, and Wizard Eye.
orshipers who are especially true to their deities often find that they are favored in numerous ways. One of these is the greater manifestation of their patrons when their powers are called forth, aiding the virtuous caster.
Specializing in divine blessing increases both the effect and duration of your bless spells. The hitroll and saving throw bonuses from bless will be increased by one for every fifty points of skill in divine blessing; the duration will also increase with skill, initially by half to a factor of five at mastery.
his lesser school of magic covers the holy and unholy magics of the highest beings. They generally refuse to teach it to mortals, especially since the majority of mortals have no chance of actually understanding it. The following spells are included in this school: Alignment Ward, Bless, Dispel Evil, Dispel Good, Divine Aura, Exorcise, Fist of Valor, Holy Word, Judgement Day, Peace, Remove Curse, Smite, Spiritual Hammer, Turn, and Unholy Word.
 ailing the use of skill or intellect, brute force has long been a tried and tested—some even say satisfying—means of solving problems. There is nothing subtle here, only the willingness and willpower to suffer a little bruising in exchange for access.
This specialty allows you to hurl yourself against a locked door or container, trying to break it down by main force. If successful, it will leave the door or container broken and uncloseable for some time.
 any fighting styles incorporate some kind of weapon into their stances, but those that use two are much rarer. Practitioners of these styles often value speed over brute power, wielding smaller weapons such as sai and nunchaka and unleashing a flurry of blows.
Specialization in dual kata allows a martial artist to kata two weapons at once. As with weapon kata, this will result in a reduced number of attacks at low skill levels, but a master of dual kata and the weapon's proficiency wielding a weapon whose damage type exactly matches that of his current style will gain an attack every other round on average. Additionally, dual kata allows a multi-classed martial artist to fully benefit from the ambidexterity and dagger mastery specialties if he knows them.
The combined weight of weapons must be 24 or less, and, as with normal weapon kata, a martial artist must know at least the basics of the associated weapon proficiency to dual kata with it. As with dual wield, the secondary kata weapon has a 20% increase in its effective weight.
he ability to efficiently glean more power from the same amount of mystic energy marks those trained in this field out from their counterparts. These spell-casters are able to create tighter weaves for their magic spells, increasing their duration prior to dissipation.
Specialization in extension will increase the duration of your timed protection, information, healing, and light spells to up to double normal. It works only when a spell is actually cast—there is no bonus to spells recited from scrolls, used from staves, quaffed from potions, or charged into weapons.
he exploitation of a weapon in conjunction with an unarmed style of fighting is often contrived such that it becomes an extension of the body. Viewed in this manner, the actual properties of the object itself are more important to the martial artist than the manner in which the weapon was designed to be used.
The flexible kata specialty eliminates the requirement that a monk or warriormonk be proficient in a weapon before wielding it in a weapon kata. Learning the flexible kata specialty also grants you the weapon kata skill at a reduced maximum if you do not yet have it.
t takes no great ability or investment of time to competently swing your leg and kick someone. However, as with any skill, those individuals specializing in this type of attack are able to quickly assess their opponents, pick their targets, and land devastating flying kicks as they engage in combat.
The flying kick specialty greatly increases the damage of your kicks—at mastery, by fifteen-fold. It only works if neither you nor your target are currently fighting, and no more than once per hour for a given victim.
If you also have the trample specialty, a flying kick will activate it normally; however, a bash will only do normal kick damage.
lthough a number of fighters can reach a berserk state in battle, few can throw themselves at an opponent with as much ferocity as a frenzied combatant. Turning themselves into an awe-inspiring whirlwind of crazed fury requires extreme effort, however, precluding the warrior from engaging in other activities while trying to provoke a frenzied state.
Specialization in frenzy sometimes, totally at random, causes you to fly into an amok rage, hitting your foe up to ten extra times at the cost of not being able to enter any commands for the next three combat rounds. You won't frenzy if you're already delayed by some other command (such as bashing), and you're more likely to frenzy if you're already berserk; otherwise, you have no control whatsoever over when you frenzy. Learning the frenzy specialty will also grant you the berserk skill at a reduced maximum if you do not yet have it.
his greater school of magic is composed of spells of the earth, such as Earthquake, as well as spells involving purely physical things—Armor, Heroes Feast, Minor Creation, and the like. Geomancers also hold some sway over purely necromantic spells, as they are closely connected with the earth. The following spells are included in this school: Animate Dead, Armor, Conjure Elemental, Conjure Greater Elemental, Crush, Divine Wind, Earthquake, Endurance, Energy Drain, Heroes Feast, Implode, Ironguard, Major Creation, Meteor Swarm, Minor Creation, Necroburst, Plant Growth, Recycle, Shards, Shatterspray, Speak With Dead, Stone Skin, and Strength.
his lesser school of magic is practiced by a tight-knit organization known as the Gestalt. Members of the Gestalt keep to themselves, and the purpose of the group is unknown. They have, however, raised the concept of unity to an art, and their actions are amazingly well-coordinated. The following spells are included in this school: Airy Water, Group Cure Critical, Group Cure Light, Group Cure Serious, Group Float, Group Fly, Group Heal Major, Group Heal Minor, Group Invisibility, Heroes Feast, and Second Wind.
he mastery of a single weapon is a time-consuming task, yet many warriors strive to achieve this feat, for the benefits are great. A rare few dedicate their entire lives towards honing their abilities, accomplishing the extraordinary deed of excelling in a second weapon, although at the cost of other facets of their selves.
This specialty allows you to learn a second weapon mastery. You must still spend specialty slots on the weapon mastery in addition to the one for gladiator.
any styles of martial arts have the facility to incorporate weapons of various kinds into their set moves. However, these styles are still biased towards unarmed combat and the use of heavy weapons that limit the practitioner's mobility are avoided. Nevertheless, some martial artists have been known to favor these weighty arms, modifying their techniques to suit.
The great kata specialty removes the maximum weight of 24 for a weapon incorporated into a fighting style. A character with this specialty can thus kata a weapon or weapons up to weight 30 if he is strong enough. Learning the great kata specialty also grants you the weapon kata skill at a reduced maximum if you do not yet have it.
or some, the bigger the sword, the better. For those proficient enough in these two-handed weapons to master them, their added skill allows them to hit their foes with increased power, using the length and weight of their blade to their advantage.
Greatsword mastery provides a bonus of +1 to damage with greatswords for every 20% skill you have in it.
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 foe, 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. Learning the hamstring specialty will also grant you the backstab skill at a reduced maximum if you do not yet have it.
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, seemingly enabling them to toss their opponents about with ease. A monk or warriormonk who has specialized in this technique is thus able to use the momentum of a stunning opponent 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 proportionate 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% harmony. Like any other magical healing, this will drain one fifth as many movement points as are healed. For example, a master of harmony who casts Sustenance, a spell costing 40 mana, would be healed 10 hit points and be drained 2 movement points. 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 half 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.
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, Resist Cold, Spider Climb, Spring, Water Breath, Watersheen, Waterwalking, and Web.
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.
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 up to ten in exchange for spending one and a third times the normal mana cost. The exact number of levels gained is random, but based on your invocation skill. 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.
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, makes 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 1, i.e., 5%. It works only when a spell is actually cast—there is no bonus to spells recited from scrolls, used from staves, quaffed from potions, or charged into weapons.
 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.
 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.
 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 ignoring his phobia in selective instances.
The magic tolerance specialty allows a barbarian to use magical armor and weapons whose corresponding weapon mastery he has learned, so long as they are normally forbidden to all but warrior classes. Magical armor or weapons that can be used by clerics, mages, or thieves, weapons he has not specialized in, and other magical items, such as clothing or jewelry, remain forbidden.
 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 five followers.
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 half your skill. For example, 30% skill in mysticism will increase your mana regeneration rate by 15%. 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.
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