Tome of Prowess (3.5e Sourcebook)/Characters in a Skilled Game

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Characters in a Skilled Game[edit]

While there's a lot of additional options in the skills themselves, there are also updated feats, spells, and gear to take advantage of them.

Feats for the Skilled[edit]

Skills serve as a base level of power for the skilled characters of the world, but only a base. By employing feats, a skilled character can improve their abilities or expand them in unexpected and dramatic ways.

Feat Descriptions[edit]

Always Aware [Prowess] The villain was only visible for a moment before he disappeared. But a moment is all you need.Prerequisites: Perception 6+ ranksBenefit: After you have 6 or more ranks in Perception than the minimum needed to use a particular ability, you reduce the total penalty for rushing the action by 5 points. You also gain one additional rush option: Rush a swift action to an immediate action in exchange for a -5 check penalty. Example: If you rushed a standard action Notice check to a swift action, for example, you would suffer a 0 penalty instead of the normal -5 penalty. Similarly, if you had 10 ranks in Perception, you could use the Uncover Secrets ability as a move action with a 0 penalty, or as a swift action for only a -5 penalty.

Making a notice check as an immediate action allows you to attempt to gain more detail from the event at the instant you are given information from your passive perception, instead of waiting for your turn to arrive. This eliminates the possibility of the event ending before you can glean something from it, so long as you have an immediate action to spend on the check. It only works as often as you have immediate actions, however, which is once per round for most characters. These reactionary notice checks are made with a net -5 penalty, and are not as reliable as using a swift action on your turn.Normal: You suffer full penalties for rushing and may not make checks as an immediate action.


Angry Glare [Prowess] False friends wither under the weight of your glare.Prerequisites: Intimidation 4+ ranksBenefit: When you are affected by an Affability ability, you may make an Intimidation check as a free action. If your check exceeds your opponent's check, your opponent resolves the ability as if they had rolled the worst result.

You may also make an Intimidation check in place of a will save against any [Charm] or [Compulsion] effect. You suffer a penalty to your check equal to the effect level, or half the initiator's CR for effects without spell, power, maneuver, or similar level.



Artificer [Prowess] It's hard to know where you end and your wands begin. Items just like to do what you tell them to.Prerequisites: Arcana 4+ ranks, Caster Level 6Benefit: You may use any spell trigger item as if it were an item that responded to Arcana instead of its normal skill. Staves use your caster level instead of their own and your spellcasting ability score to calculate their DC. Furthermore, whenever you use an arcane staff, you may make an Arcana check for the There's a Trick to It ability. If you succeed, you may apply your Spellcasting feats to that use of the staff.


Clarity of Rage [Prowess, Fury] When blinding rage pushes you forward, you still tend to end up right where you wanted to be.Prerequisites: Rage class featureBenefit: While raging, you may use any skill ability without penalty or restriction so long as it could be completed as a full-round action or less. You are still restricted from using skills that need patience and would require more time. Additionally, while raging you gain a +2 competence bonus to any skill that has Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, or Wisdom as its key attribute. Normal: You may not use a number of skill abilities based on their key attributes.


Combat Casting [Prowess] When you work your somatic components into a dodge routine, you can get them off with a sword near your face instead of inside it.Benefit: As part of the action to cast a spell, you may attempt to cast it defensively. This requires a caster level check against a DC determined by your foes, though you may substitute an Arcana check if you are casting an arcane spell, a Geomancy check if you are casting a natural spell, or a Thaumaturgy check if you are casting a divine spell.

Your check is rolled once, and the result used against the DC for each opponent threatening you in melee. You suffer a penalty to this check equal to the number of foes threatening you minus one. The DC for each opponent is 15 + your opponent's base attack bonus or CR, whichever is lower. If your check exceeds a foe's DC, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from them. If your check does not exceed a foe's DC, that foe may take an attack of opportunity as normal.

You are also somewhat better than normal at finishing casting a spell if you are struck with an attack while casting a spell or taking ongoing damage while casting a spell. You gain a +3 competence bonus to any use of the Ignore Distraction or Suck It Up abilities to avoid interrupting your spellcasting. Normal: Casting spells within a threatened area provokes an attack of opportunity.Special: Whenever a spellcasting class would be eligible to select a bonus [Metamagic], [Item Creation], or similar feat, they may select this feat instead.


Craft Item of Prowess [Item Creation, Prowess] You know your trade well enough to imbue it into gear.Prerequisites: Character level 4Benefit: You may craft any skill gear for which you meet the prerequisites. Enchanting a skill item takes one day for each 1,000 gp in its price. To create a skill item, you must spend 1/25 of the item’s market price in XP and use up raw materials costing half of its market price.

You can also mend a broken skill item if it is one that you could make. Doing so costs half the XP, half the raw materials, and half the time it would take to craft that item in the first place.



Fast Talker [Prowess] You find yourself in a hole, but you might just talk yourself out.Prerequisites: Bluff 6+ ranksBenefit: You may use the Push an Agreement ability with a Bluff check rather than an Affability check. The nature of this action allows you to make the check in only 5 rounds' time. Since you are largely misleading your target with this action, they realize they have been played after 2 rounds per rank you have in bluff. At that time, they cease to respect the agreement, and their attitude towards you also shifts negatively one step. Normal: "Push an Agreement" is performed with the Affability skill.


Human-like Skill Training [Prowess] I can see why humans have taken over the world with this "multi-tasking" thing they've got going on.Prerequisites: Race that does not grant bonus skill pointsBenefit: You immediately gain extra skill points equal to your level +3. You must spend these skill points on your class and cross class skills normally.

At each new level, you also gain 1 additional skill point.


Jack of All Trades [Prowess] Benefit: You can advance background abilities to Grade I and Grade II in half the normal time. Additionally, you gain a +2 bonus to the attribute checks necessary to advance these abilities.


Mounted Combat [Fighter] You are a skilled rider and combatant, and have brought the two together.Prerequisites: Base Attack Bonus +1Benefit: When making a ride check or a swift mount / dismount check, you may use your Base Attack Bonus + your Dexterity Modifier + 3 in place of your normal ride modifier. You may take 10 on this replacement riding check at any time, even under pressure or in combat. Normal: You must invest in the ride (or other equivalent) skill to be a competent rider.Special: A fighter may select Mounted Combat as one of his fighter bonus feats.


Orator [Prowess] You know the secrets behind keeping a crowd's attention.Prerequisites: Affability 6+ ranksBenefit: You may use an affability check to fascinate your targets by taking two full-round actions. Everyone within 20 feet must make a psychology check with a DC equal to your affability modifier plus 10. If they fail, they are fascinated until you stop talking. Every minute since the beginning of the effect, they can attempt to break free of the trance and reroll their check to resist. Each time they fail a check to resist, they fall deeper into the trance and take a cumulative −3 penalty to all attempts to break free. This penalty lasts only as long as the trance is maintained.


Powerful Leader [Prowess] People are often willing to follow you to the end of the world.Prerequisites: Intimidation 12+ ranksBenefit: When using the New Orders ability, you can choose to affect everyone within a 20 foot radius.


Rumormonger [Prowess] You know the secrets behind a well crafted rumor.Prerequisites: Bluff 6+ ranksBenefit: By spending a minute of conversation, you may start a rumor. Choose anything mentioned in the conversation to spread. Make a free Push an Agreement check (to push the target(s) to gossip) using Bluff rather than Affability. If you succeed, the target(s) are obliged to spread the rumor. Within the next 24 hours, they will bring the topic up in casual conversation if appropriate and the opportunity presents itself, to as many people as appropriate and possible. They make a bluff check as if they had access to this feat to impart the same obligation on to the recipient.


Shadow Focus [Prowess] Your mysteries wield more power than normal. If you don't use mysteries, you still get some benefits when using similar arts.Prerequisites: Arcana 4 ranksBenefit: You get a +2 competence bonus on DCs for any spells on this list. Special: This feat is not intended to stack with Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus, as well as anything similar.


Tracker [Prowess] You can follow less than obvious trails.Prerequisites: Survival 4+ ranksBenefit: You may use the Survival skill to find and follow trails with any DC. The DC of a trail is determined according to the Revised Tracking Rules.

Additionally, if you fail to find or continue to follow a trail, you may make an additional check after spending only 10 minutes searching outdoors or 2 minutes indoors. Special: In games using the Tome of Prowess, this feat replaces the Track feat for all intents and purposes.


Winning Smile [Prowess] You are so genuinely likeable that it's hard to yell at you.Prerequisites: Affibility 4+ ranksBenefit: When you are affected by an Intimidation ability, you may make an Affibility check as a free action. If your check exceeds your opponent's check, your opponent resolves the ability as if they had rolled the worst result.

You may also make an Affability check in place of a will save against any [Fear] effect. You suffer a penalty to your check equal to the effect level, or half the initiator's CR for effects without spell, power, maneuver, or similar level.


Scaling Feat Descriptions[edit]

Too Much of a Good Thing...
Scaling feats were introduced in the Races of War sourcebook from the Tome series to fix several issues with feats. At the time, feats were largely minor perks that did very little to differentiate characters and didn't scale in power with the game in large part. They were also so few in number that you couldn't actually become something iconic with them, like a sniper, until you were mid level, and even then you were locked into that one shtick. Scaling feats, by contrast, are actually complete minor aspects of a character that help define who they are and what they do that scale well enough to be useful throughout a character's career. In this respect, they solve the problems they set out to quite well.

Taken too often, however, these feats actually serve to dilute a character's personality. You can easily go from having a sniper medic human rogue at level 1 to a sniper, medic, expert counterfeiter, detective, many faced, con artist human rogue at level 12. And it just gets worse from there or with additional bonus feats, as each additional feat adds another relevant descriptor to your character. Their structure also leads to the acquisition of increasing numbers of powers as you level, so that you gain substantial blocks of powers at specific levels. On its own this isn't particularly bad, but in conjunction with the new skill abilities presented in this work, you can quickly overwhelm a player with new powers and abilities. The power concerns of feats are also reduced with the addition of this work, as the characters who most depend on feats for abilities now have relevant and useful powers from their skills. There are still feats that should be avoided as the traps that they are, but the need for feats to pull more weight has been reduced.

This isn't to say that scaling feats are unnecessary, just they they have issues on their own that are exacerbated by the addition of useful skill abilities. To avoid these problems, we suggest the following restriction on taking scaling feats. You may only select a scaling feat with the character granted feat slots at level 1, 3, 6, and 12. Additionally, you may not select a scaling feat to fill a bonus feat unless the bonus feat specifically lists a type of scaling feat. Other normal and bonus feat slots can only be filled with standard feats, granting an additional ability or perk to a character without substantially altering their description. Limiting these sorts of feats in this way reduces character dilution at lower levels and keeps the power acquisitions from overwhelming players without sacrificing the real benefits this style of feat brings to lower level games.


Battlefield Apothecary [ToP Skill] As the man with the meds on the front lines, everyone pretty much loves you. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Healing.

  • 4 ranks: You can package your skill in materials that anyone can apply to patch themselves up. These are often called detoxifying health stimulants or just "stims" by those on the front lines. Other creatures may use these stims to activate certain healing abilities with their actions while using your bonuses. Using a stim for this purpose uses the same action as the skill ability itself would, and may be rushed normally. Available actions are based on your ranks in the skill, as indicated in this feat, but a stim may be used for any available action from the list. When you personally use a stim as part of a healing action, you may roll twice for the stim's target and use whichever result you prefer.
    Initially, your stims are limited in function, working only as antivenins. A creature may apply one to themselves or another creature to duplicate your mitigate poison ability.
  • 9 ranks: Your stims can provide a little pick-me-up for a wounded warrior. Your stims may now duplicate your immediate healing ability.
  • 14 ranks: Your stims can purge some nasty stuff from a body. Your stims may now duplicate your treat the symptoms ability, but only for the target who receives the stim. The stim may be applied as a swift action for this purpose, however, without suffering a penalty on the check. You may apply a stim to a single target during your own treat the symptoms action as a free action, making two rolls for that target and using whichever your prefer.
  • 19 ranks: Your stims can make a heart race, even one that has recently stopped pumping. In addition to the other abilities, creatures may use one of your stims to duplicate the effect of your resuscitate ability.

Special: You can create a number of stims equal to your ranks in healing with 1 hour of work, and you may not create more than this amount in any 24 hour period. These decay after 24 hours, so you will need to create and distribute a new batch each day.


Beastmaster [ToP Skill] Creatures of all types have a thing for you. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Creature Handling.

  • 4 ranks: You benefit from the effects of speak with animals when dealing with any animal that has an attitude of comfortable or trusting towards you, as well as animals held off by the Whoa There ability of Creature Handling.
  • 9 ranks: You gain a creature entourage. A number of creatures whose total EL is no greater than your Creature Handling ranks -6 enter your service, though no creature may have a CR greater than your Creature Handling ranks -8. You may teach these creatures tricks as you would any other creature. Their attitude towards you and the rest of your entourage begins as trusting, though it may decline if you fail to care for them properly or abuse them. You may release a creature from your entourage at any time, at which time they wander off into the wild to live out their lives.
    If you are not currently at your maximum entourage EL, due to a creature dying, being released, or you increasing in level, you may add a new creature native to your current environment (or that you otherwise acquire). Bonding with a new creature to bring them into your entourage takes 24 hours, and includes acquisition time if you are searching for one in the wilderness. During this time a creature is not considered part of your entourage and will not fight on your behalf. If your new creature would cause you to exceed your EL cap, you must release other creatures at the end of the 24 hour period or the creature fails to join your entourage and leaves at its first opportunity.
  • 14 ranks: You suffer no penalties when working with creatures without the animal type.
  • 19 ranks: You excel at training all types of things to all types of creatures. When you take 10 while training a creature, you treat your die result as 15 instead. When you take 15 while training a creature, you treat your die result as 20 instead.


Blood Magister [ToP Skill] You know of blood, and derive great power from it. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Healing.

  • 4 ranks: You gain the ability to detect blood. This functions identically to the detect poison spell, except it is a supernatural ability, has range equal to your sight, can be used at-will, and detects blood rather than poison.
  • 9 ranks: You radiate an aura that causes blood to either flow faster or slower. The aura has a radius of 25 feet plus 5 feet per 2 ranks in Healing, and is considered an emanation that moves with you, provided you are conscious. All creatures in the area (including yourself) are subject to its effect. You can change between these effects or turn off your aura as a swift action. You can choose for the aura to cause creatures to to bleed faster, in which case, while they are in the aura and have anything less than maximum hit points (nonlethal damage doesn't count), at the end of each of their turns, they bleed for additional damage equal to your ranks in Healing divided by three (rounding up). Alternatively, you can choose for the aura to cause creatures to bleed slower, giving them fast healing equal to your ranks in Healing divided by three. Creatures with more than 50% of their hit points cannot benefit from this fast healing. All effects end as soon as a creature leaves the aura.
  • 14 ranks: You can call blood to yourself, fatally injuring a creature in the process. This requires a full-round action, can be used once per minute, and has a range of 100 feet plus 10 feet per rank in Healing. The target must have blood to be called in this manner. The creature is killed unless it succeeds on a Fort save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Charisma modifier), and even if it passes its save, it loses twice your ranks in Healing in hit points. The manner of death is truly gory, as the creature's blood is pulled towards you in a rush of droplets through the air. This is a supernatural ability.
  • 19 ranks: You can restore life to a creature using your blood. By spending 1 minute and voluntarily taking 4 points of Constitution ability burn, you can restore a creature to life, as if by resurrection. This ability's caster level is equal to your ranks in Healing −3. This is a spell-like ability. You cannot use this ability if you are not in your own body, or if you have changed form. The ability burn from this ability persists across forms, even if it normally wouldn't.


Dilettante Necromancer [ToP Skill] You think the undead pretty neat, but might not be interested in all of that specialist spellcasting stuff. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Arcana.

  • 4 ranks: Playing with fire leads one to want some protection. You gain resistance to positive and negative energy equal to your ranks in Arcana. You may lower or re-activate this protection at any time as a free action.
  • 9 ranks: Now that you are protected from the energies of life and unlife, you can infuse yourself with them and turn them against your foes. As an attack action, you may make a ranged touch attack that deals 1d6 positive or negative energy damage. You may also add this damage to any natural weapons you possess. If this energy would heal a creature, you take the damage in their place.
  • 14 ranks: Your studies have brought you to a ritual that can turn you into an undead creature. You may gain one, and only one, of the following templates: Ghoul, Revenant, Swordwraith, or Vampire. Your knowledge of these rituals does not allow you to turn others into these creatures, as they lack the training to survive the ritual. When you deal negative energy damage to a creature, you heal an amount equal to the damage you deal.
  • 19 ranks: You learn a ritual that duplicates the effect of animate dead. This ritual requires 1 full hour to complete, but otherwise mimics the spell, including material requirements. Your caster level, for purposes of undead controlled, is equal to your ranks in Arcana -5.


Dimensional Wrangler [ToP Skill] You could wrangle a blink dog or a pocket dimension with the right knot. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Survival.

  • 4 ranks: You may bind a helpless, pinned, or willing adversary as a full-round action instead of a 1 minute action.
    You also gain proficiency with the lasso, and can create a lasso from any available length of rope as a move action. This exotic two-handed weapon has a reach of 30' for a medium creature (or less if an insufficient length of rope is available), threatens no spaces, and can be used against any creature within range. Attacking with a lasso requires a ranged touch attack, and you may substitute your survival bonus in place of your ranged attack bonus. If successful, the target is considered bound as if you had used the Bind Adversary skill ability on them. If your attack exceeded their touch armor class by 5 points, you have also bound half of their arms. If your attack exceeded their touch armor class by 10 points, you have bound all of their arms. Bound arms may not be used until the rope is removed or the target successfully escapes it.
    Once you have bound a foe with a lasso, you may drop it without them escaping their binding. If you continue holding the lasso, however, you gain some control over their movement, and they may not leave the area that the lasso could reach without winning an opposed strength check against you. Additionally, you may attempt to trip them on your turn, with a +4 bonus, as a move action. If you fail the opposed check, they may not attempt to trip you back. If a bound foe falls prone, you may make an attempt to trip them as a free action whenever they attempt to rise. You still get a +4 bonus to this attempt.
  • 9 ranks: Tiny proto-dimensions are everywhere, and can be caught with a lasso if you know how. As a full-round action, you may use a lasso to duplicate the effect of a rope trick spell, with a caster level equal to your ranks in survival - 3. You may only create one of these effects at a time. Attempting to create a second while another is active causes everything to be emptied from within the first and fall to the ground.
  • 14 ranks: Binding a creature isn't helpful if they can just teleport away. Any creature you bind with a rope is also subject to a dimensional anchor effect. This lasts until the target frees itself, and is considered to have a caster level equal to your ranks in survival - 3.
  • 19 ranks: Binding a creature that was never really there in the first place is frustrating, and you have learned how to keep them from simply returning to their bodies. While a silver or secondary body of a creature who is astrally projecting is bound with one of your knots, they are unable to return to their physical bodies. Creatures so trapped must also make a will save each round against a DC equal to your survival bonus. Those who succeed at this save must continue saving each round until they free themselves from your lasso or fail the save. Those who fail the save have their cords cut, and their bodies die wherever they are located. The astral body becomes helpless but remains conscious and is prevented from passing on to the afterlife until you release it from the binding. Any attempt to raise the target automatically fails as long as their astral self remains bound in your rope.


Dread Chill [ToP Skill] The horror of your presence is so great that the air grows cold. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Intimidation.

  • 4 ranks: You emanate a numbing cold from how terrifying you are. All enemies within Close range of you (computed as if your caster level was equal to your ranks in Intimidation) feel extremely cold, and take 1 point of cold damage per rank you have in Intimidation at the end of any turn which they remain in range. Any creature can attempt a Fort save (DC 10 + 1/2 of your character level + your Charisma modifier) for no damage. You can deactivate or reactivate this ability as a swift action. This is a supernatural fear and cold ability.
  • 9 ranks: Your gaze can stop a charging minotaur with the coldness of your soul. As an immediate action, you can force an enemy within Close range (calculated as per the 4 rank ability) that is moving closer to you to make a Will save (DC as the 4 rank ability) or stop immediately. They are allowed no further movement in this round, unless this movement would take them directly away from you. This is an extraordinary fear ability.
  • 14 ranks: Your words of terror can literally freeze a creature still. By spending 1 round looking intimidating and scaring a creature in Medium range (calculated as per the 4 rank ability), you can force the creature to make a Fort save (DC as the 4 rank ability) or become frozen. Being frozen is the same as being paralyzed, except that any frozen creature becomes vulnerable to fire and bludgeoning damage (is dealt 50% more damage from any of those sources). Anything that can remove paralysis will also remove being frozen. This is a supernatural, cold, and fear ability.
  • 19 ranks: Even nature fears you. By spending 1 hour, you can mimic the effects of control weather, except that it is a spell-like ability, and can only make the weather colder. This has a caster level equal to your character level.


Earth Diver [ToP Skill] For you, the world is pretty much entirely covered in one "liquid" you can play in or another. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Athletics.

  • 4 ranks: You can dip your feet into the earth just a bit, and it makes you hard to move. Whenever you are in contact with an earthen surface you are considered rooted to the spot unless you state otherwise. While rooted you may replace any strength check to resist movement (such as from a bullrush, overrun, or trip attempt) with an athletics check.
  • 9 ranks: You can take a quick dip into the earth, to hide or otherwise take a respite from the surface. As a move action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, you can sink into an earthen surface, descending to a depth where your head is well covered by earth. This leaves you in a protective earthen bubble. While within this bubble you must hold your breath and are unable to move or perceive what is going on above you. Aside from a few feet of soil between you and the rest of the world, this cave offers no special protections. You suffer no ill effects from the destruction of your cave via shovels or magic, however. You can leave your earthen bubble and return to the surface as a move action when you wish, though you automatically surface if you lose consciousness.
    Additionally, if you would be subject to a teleportation effect that leaves you trapped within rock or earth, the shunted distance is reduced by 5'.
  • 14 ranks: You gain a burrow speed equal to one-half your base land speed, rounded down, and can breathe normally while burrowing. You do not leave a trail behind for others to use, though you can be tracked by a creature who could also burrow to follow your trail.
    Additionally, you can teleport into any material that you could burrow through without being shunted to the nearest open space.
  • 19 ranks: Your burrow speed improves to equal your land speed, or you can leave a trail for others to follow if you only move at half speed. No one knows where the dirt goes when you do this.


Enduring Physiology [ToP Skill] If things got really bad, you could always just hide under a rock for a century or two until they improved. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Endurance.

  • 4 ranks: Your body processes slow substantially. You only need to eat and drink half as much as normal, and can hold your breath for 4 rounds per point of Endurance bonus or your Constitution score, whichever provides the larger time. You may make an Endurance check in place of a Fortitude save against poisons or diseases. You no longer suffer attribute penalties for aging as deterioration simply doesn't happen at the same pace.
  • 9 ranks: You no longer require food or water to sustain your body, or whatever other crude physical matter would otherwise sustain you. You can still eat and drink if you want to; refreshment tastes as it would normally, and your body still processes it normally if you do take it in. You can hold your breath for 1 minute per point of Endurance bonus. You also gain immunity to mundane diseases, ingested poisons, and contact poisons, but not injury or inhaled poisons. Your maximum age limit is doubled.
  • 14 ranks: You no longer need to breathe to sustain your body, and can hold your breath indefinitely. You become immune to any effects that require you to inhale them first, as well as immunity to magical diseases and all poisons. Your maximum age limit is quadrupled.
  • 19 ranks: Your body resists attempts to weaken it exceedingly well. You do not suffer Ability Damage and Ability Drain that would be applied to your Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution scores. You have no maximum lifespan and are immortal barring magic, violence, or other things of that sort. If you ever feel like passing on "naturally", you may do so with 8 hours of meditation.


Master of Minds [ToP Skill] By mastering your own mind, you gain power over the minds of others. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Concentration.

  • 4 ranks: Your focused mind is like a trap for those that would attack it. Any creature that uses a [Mind-Affecting] ability on you that requires a Will save must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Wisdom modifier). If it fails, you are considered immune to this instance of the creature's ability.
  • 9 ranks: Your mind is so trained that you can engage in a mental combat with another creature. This requires a full-round action, has a range of Medium (calculated as if your caster level was equal to your ranks in Concentration), affects one creature and is a supernatural, mind-affecting ability. The creature must make a Will save (as per the 4 rank ability) or become confused. This ability lasts a number of rounds equal to your ranks in Concentration. If a creature saves successfully against this ability, it becomes immune for 24 hours.
  • 14 ranks: Using your legendary powers of focus, you can enter a state of suspended animation before something would kill you. If you would die (for any reason other than natural causes), you can use an immediate action to put yourself into suspended animation. This renders you unconscious, but you don't die. For all other purposes, you are considered to be stable on exactly -9 hit points. In order to awaken from this trance, you must wait until natural (or other) healing restores you to 1 hit point or higher.
  • 19 ranks: You can use your mind to unleash terrifying visions upon others, which represent all the obstacles you've overcome in your mental training, but that they have yet to surmount. This requires a full-round action, and is identical to a weird spell, except that it is a spell-like ability. Its caster level is equal to your character level, and its DCs are identical to those from the 4 rank ability of this feat.


Metaphysical Escapist [ToP Skill] The world has chains, even if you can't see them. And just like any other chains, if you slip just right.... Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Escape Artistry.

  • 4 ranks: You can adjust the hold the ground has over you, directing your bindings elsewhere briefly. This allows you to walk up walls or through loops or over any other surface that would hold your weight if it were actually below you. As part of a move, double move, charge, or run action, you may attempt to travel over such a surface. You must succeed on a DC 20 Escape Artistry check to successfully complete your move, however. If you fail this check, you are unable to traverse the surface and lose 10' of movement from your move action, and such a failure reduces a run or charge action to a simple double move. You may not exceed your base move on this surface, nor may your end your move on this surface. You fall prone (as well as down, if applicable) if you do not reach a surface you could stand on normally within these limits. You may otherwise attempt this as often as you have movement to spare in a round and ground to start from.
  • 9 ranks: You can slip just the tiniest bit out of sync with the prime material plane — for a short time, anyways. This requires a swift action and a DC 25 Escape Artistry check. If you succeed, you gain the ability to perceive any one coexistent plane of your choice, such as the ethereal plane in standard cosmologies, out to a distance of 60'. Further, any ability or attack you make can be considered to originate on the prime material plane or the coterminous plane, as you prefer. This ability lasts until the start of your next turn.
  • 14 ranks: You can actually slip out of sync with the prime material plane, just not for long. This requires a swift action and a DC 30 Escape Artistry check. If you succeed, you physically enter any one coexistent plane of your choice, such as the ethereal plane in standard cosmologies, for one round. You may remain for longer, but must succeed on an additional check each round. Use of this ability is tiring, however, and counts as a round of taking a flat-out action regardless of what you actually do with your round in the coterminous plane.
    Additionally, you may attempt the rank 9 benefit of this feat as a free action, though the DC increases to 30.
  • 19 ranks: With an hour of meditation and a DC 35 Escape Artistry check, you can slip free of your physical self and the material world. This duplicates the effects of astral projection, except that it is an (Su) ability and you may not bring anyone with you. You must succeed on a new check every 24 hours or the effect ends and you return to your waiting body. When you return to your body, whether intentionally or due to violence or a failed check, you are exhausted for 1 day. You may not attempt this meditation again until the exhaustion has passed.


Saddleborn Warrior [Combat] You are at your best when fighting with an ally that you are sitting on. Benefits: This is a combat feat that scales with your Base Attack Bonus.

  • +0: When making a ride check or a swift mount / dismount check, you may use your Base Attack Bonus + your dexterity modifier + 3 in place of your normal ride modifier. You may take 10 on this replacement riding check at any time, even under pressure or in combat.
  • +1: At the end of any straight line move equal to or greater than half of your mount's base movement speed, you may declare a charge. This allows you to charge when your mount takes a move, double-move, or run action as well as initiate multiple charges per round. Once you declare a charge at any point in a round, you suffer the AC penalty until the beginning of your next turn. Attacks of opportunity apply against movement taken to initiate multiple charges as normal.
  • +6: You may take a full attack action with melee weapons while mounted. These attacks can occur at any point along your mount's movement, and may be split or grouped as you like. If you charge an opponent, only your first attack gains the attack bonus.
  • +11: You may use your replacement ride check in place of your mount's Athletics, Acrobatics, Jump, or Reflex Saving Throws. Your mount does not gain any access to skill abilities beyond its ranks, however.
  • +16: Any time a spell effect would target your mount, you may elect to have it target you instead. Any time a spell effect would target you, you may elect to have it target your mount instead.


Shaman of the Land [ToP Skill] The spirits of the animals are your friends. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Geomancy.

  • 4 ranks: You can convince an animal spirit to deliver a message for you via one of its descendants. This functions like the animal messenger spell, except that it is a spell-like ability and requires 1 hour of contemplation and communing with the local spirits in a quiet place. Its caster level is equal to your ranks in Animal Handling - 3.
  • 9 ranks: You can talk to local animal spirits to find out what's going on. This functions as a lay of the landSpC spell, except that it is a supernatural ability and requires 2 hours of communing with local spirits in a quiet place. Its caster level is equal to your ranks in Animal Handling - 3.
  • 14 ranks: You can ask the Great Spirit of the Land for advice. Once per day, you can use contact other plane as a spell-like ability, except that using it takes only 1 hour. The Great Spirit of the Land is considered to be an outer plane demi-deity for the purpose of what they know. The caster level for this ability is equal to your ranks in Animal Handling - 3.
  • 19 ranks: You can call animals to your aid, no matter where you are. Twice per day, you can use summon nature's ally IX, except that it is a spell-like ability, and the creatures persist for 10 minutes.


Skin Like Armour [ToP Skill] You're so tough that you can walk around naked and people still can't hurt you. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Endurance.

  • 4 ranks: Your skin is so tough that you receive a +4 armour bonus to AC. This receives a +1 enhancement bonus when you have 6 ranks in Endurance, and an additional +1 for every 3 ranks in Endurance over 6 that you have. You also become proficient with unarmed strikes, and your unarmed strikes are considered magic weapons for all purposes. If you are already proficient with your unarmed strikes, they deal damage as if they were one size category larger.
  • 9 ranks: Your skin's armour bonus to AC applies to touch AC as well. Your unarmed strikes receive a +1 enhancement bonus, and an additional +1 for every 3 ranks in Endurance over 9 that you have.
  • 14 ranks: You ignore 50% of all successful critical hits and sneak attacks made against you. Your unarmed strikes are considered to be adamantine weapons for all purposes.
  • 19 ranks: Your tough, leathery skin is hard to injure with almost anything. You gain DR 10/- and energy resistance 20 against all types of energy damage.

Special: While you can still wear armour on top of your skin, it's probably not a good idea to, as the bonuses won't stack. Additionally, the numeric benefits of this feat (enhancement bonuses, fortification, DR and energy resistance) are only half as effective (rounding up) if you wear armour.


Theologist [ToP Skill] Your learning of divine matters gives you power from a deity. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Thaumaturgy.

  • 4 ranks: Choose a deity and a domain offered by that deity. You gain the domain's granted power, and can also use that domain's 1st level spell as a spell-like ability 1/day. Its caster level is equal to your ranks in Thaumaturgy - 3, and its save DC is 10 + 1/2 of your caster level for this feat + your Charisma modifier.
  • 9 ranks: Your deity occasionally deigns to speak to you. With 10 minutes of introspection, prayer and similar activity suited to the deity chosen for the rank 4 ability, and a Thaumaturgy check, you can duplicate the effects of commune as a spell-like ability. Its caster level is considered to be the check result - 30, and if this gives a caster level of 0 or less, the attempt fails. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your ranks in Thaumaturgy divided by 4, rounding down.
  • 14 ranks: You may use the spell-like ability gained from your rank 4 ability 3/day instead. Additionally, each day, you can gain one spell between 2nd and 6th level, from the domain that you gained the rank 4 spell-like ability from, as a spell-like ability useable 1/day. To do this, you must spend 15 minutes in prayer and contemplation, and once you choose the spell, you cannot change it for 24 hours. Its caster level is equal to your ranks in Thaumaturgy - 3, and its save DC is 10 + 1/2 of your caster level for this feat + your Charisma modifier.
  • 19 ranks: Once per week, you may attempt to gain favour from the deity chosen for your rank 4 ability. This manifests as a limited wish, with a range of effects appropriate to that deity. Its caster level is equal to your ranks in Thaumaturgy - 3, and its save DC is 10 + 1/2 of your caster level for this feat + your Charisma modifier.


Touch Me If You Can [ToP Skill] Nobody can quite put a finger on you. Or anything else, for that matter. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Acrobatics.

  • 4 ranks: You gain a +3 dodge bonus to AC.
  • 9 ranks: You gain a 20% miss chance against all attacks. This is a (Su) glamer effect that can be countered as if it were a normal illusion.
  • 14 ranks: If you would be hit by a melee or ranged attack, or a melee or ranged touch attack, you can spend an attack of opportunity to turn that attack into a miss instead. You can do this after the hit has been determined, but before any of its effects are resolved.
  • 19 ranks: You gain a 50% miss chance against all attacks instead of your 20% one. Only 30% of this is a (Su) glamer effect, however, and you retain the remaining 20% miss chance regardless of attempts to determine your true location. You just move that fast.

Special: This feat gives no benefits if you wear armour heavier than light, or carry a load heavier than light.


Traceless Stalker [ToP Skill] Some of us leave not a ripple behind to indicate our passing. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Stealth.

  • 4 ranks: When you creep along, it is difficult for anyone attempting to use Survival to track you. So long as you move no faster than your base rate in a round, you add your stealth check - 10 (if positive) to the base DC to track you.
  • 9 ranks: You may add your stealth check - 10 to the DC to track you regardless of how fast you move in a round. If you do not move faster than your base rate, however, you may extend this tracking benefit to those within 30 feet of you through your Team Player stealth skill ability.
  • 14 ranks: You have such control over the traces you sounds you leave behind that you can drop false ones. As a standard action, you can control ambient sounds within 30 feet of yourself for a round. You can specifically duplicate any effect from Control Sound, Silence, or Ventriloquism, and in general can make sound you've heard come from any part of the area, displace sounds in the area, or suppress any sounds or sounds.
  • 19 ranks: You're so quiet that people don't even remember you when you're standing right next to them. Your opponents count as flat-footed whenever you attack them.


Trendsetting Xenophile [ToP Skill] You are gregarious, shockingly popular and humble too! Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Affability.

  • 4 ranks: You are very popular with creatures not of your type, to the point that when you beckon, they will come to you. As a swift action, you can force a creature within 60' to make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Charisma modifier). If the creature fails, on its next turn, it must use all of its actions approaching you as fast as possible. It will use any means at its disposal (including magical or supernatural ones) if they will get it there faster. Once it is there, it cannot move away until its next turn (although it is free to do whatever it wants with its remaining actions).
  • 9 ranks: People tend to respond well to your 'suggestions'. When you use your Push an Agreement ability, you also benefit from a use of your Seriously Likeable ability. You use the same check to determine the results of both abilities, but you take a -5 penalty to the Seriously Likeable check. You can not shift their attitude negatively as a result of this ability.
  • 14 ranks: Other creatures cannot help but admire you - even if they want to stab you in the kidneys. Any creature which wishes to take a hostile action against you, directly or indirectly, must make a Will save (DC identical to the 4 rank ability of this skill) or choose not to do it. Creatures cannot retry the same action (or one that is similar in outcome or effect) for 1 day if they fail this save. For this ability's purposes, a 'hostile action' is anything that would negatively impact your wealth, health, social standing or anything similar, and which is consciously aimed to do so (accidents don't count).
  • 19 ranks: Your incredible popularity and fame make give you the power to stop creatures in their tracks. By spending a full-round action, you can mimic the effect of a mass hold monster spell, except that it is a spell-like ability. Its caster level and DCs are identical to those from the 9 rank ability of this skill.


Unseen Assailant [ToP Skill] You specialize in stabbing your opponent in the face while somehow remaining hidden. Benefits: This is a skill feat intended for use with the Tome of Prowess. It scales with your ranks in Stealth.

  • 4 ranks: While you are successfully hiding from an opponent, your melee attacks against them benefit from precision based sneak attack damage. You gain 1d6 sneak attack dice per 3 ranks in stealth under these circumstances. These dice do not stack with any other sneak attack dice you may have. If you have a sneak attack pool that is larger than you would receive from this benefit, you may instead add one extra sneak attack die to your normal pool.
  • 9 ranks: You no longer reveal your location after attacking someone while hiding. The penalty to your stealth check for fighting while attempting to avoiding notice is reduced to -5, but only against those you strike in a round. In addition, you may gain a blur like 20% miss chance for 1 round by spending a swift action. This miss chance has no effect against perception checks to notice you and is considered an illusion with a caster level equal to your stealth check bonus -5.
  • 14 ranks: When using stealth to avoid notice, you can't be detected by anyone taking 0 on their perception check. Additionally, you no longer suffer penalties for attempting to avoid notice while fighting.
  • 19 ranks: Once spotted, you need not dive for cover to hide again. You gain the Hide in Plain Sight class feature. If you already have this feature from another source, you instead deny all bonuses to find you due to familiarity. Your concealment ability improves to mimic the effects of displacement for one round.


Gear for the Skilled[edit]

Most of the mundane gear presented in the SRD works just fine with the Tome of Prowess. And since masterwork tools no longer stack with bonuses from feats or race, they work as a nice way to grant bonuses to characters who should expect to have them.

We do need to add one mundane item to the list of options, however. This item allows characters without spellcasting access to the full range of abilities from certain skills.


Etheliometer
An etheliometer is a rather crazy collection of knobs, levers, gears, and dials that requires two hands to operate. Those who understand a bit about how magic works can use the various fiddly bits on it to detect the presence of magic and to learn information about it. As a result, only characters with ranks in Arcana, Geomancy, or Thaumaturgy can use it effectively.

When used, however, an individual with ranks in one or more of the above skills can determine the presence of magic in a 60' cone (radiating outward from the etheliometer) as a 1-round action. With an additional 1-round action, the wielder can determine the direction and distance to each magical effect within the cone. Once located, they may spend a 1-minute action the wielder can determine additional information about a magical effect or item so long as they are within 5' of it. This last function is treated as a use of the Identify Magic ability in the Arcana, Geomancy, or Thaumaturgy skills. The wielder gains additional information about the effect based on the result of their check.

Price: 50 gp
Weight: 2 lb.

Magical Skill Items[edit]

We discussed magic item changes back in the rules chapter, and about the items that you would need to get rid of. Here are the replacement items, as well as rules for determining the market price of other sorts of skill related gear.

Amulet of Second Glances
Price: 500 gp (1 re-rolls); 2,000 gp (2 re-rolls); 4,500 gp (3 re-rolls); 8,000 gp (4 re-rolls); 12,500 gp (5 re-rolls); 18,000 (unlimited re-rolls)
Body Slot: Neck
Caster Level: Granted Re-rolls x 2, or 15 for unlimited
Aura: Minor Enchantment (3 or 4 re-rolls); Moderate Enchantment (5, 6, or 7 re-rolls); Strong Enchantment (unlimited re-rolls)
Activation: Free
Weight: 0.1

While wearing this amulet, you may immediately reroll any Appraisal ability check as a free action. You do not have to use this new result if you do not want to, and may instead keep your original roll. You may use this reroll ability up to the number of times per day granted by the amulet.

If you use multiple items that grant re-rolls for the appraisal skill, you may not benefit from more re-rolls than the largest number granted by an item in any given 24 hour period.

Prerequisites: Craft Item of Prowess, Character level equal to granted re-rolls x 2 (or 15 for unlimited), Appraisal as a Class Skill.

Hands of the Deft
Price: 1,750 gp
Body Slot: Hands
Caster Level: 5
Aura: Minor Transmutation
Activation: Continuous
Weight: 0.1

"My fingers know what needs to be done."

While wearing these gloves, it only takes you twice as long to take 15 on any devices check that you make. Further, you may take 10 on any devices check that you make under pressure, even if you do not have 4 more ranks than the minimum required to use the particular skill ability.

Prerequisites: Craft Item of Prowess, Character level 6, Devices as a Class Skill.

Headband of Attention
Price: 500 gp (4 ranks); 2,000 gp (6 ranks); 4,500 gp (8 ranks); 8,000 gp (10 ranks); 12,500 gp (12 ranks); 18,000 (14 ranks); 24,500 gp (16 ranks); 32,000 gp (18 ranks); 40,500 gp (20 ranks); 50,000 gp (22 ranks)
Body Slot: Head
Caster Level: Granted ranks - 2
Aura: Minor Enchantment (4 or 6 ranks); Moderate Enchantment (8, 10, or 12 ranks); Strong Enchantment (14, 16, 18, 20, or 22 ranks)
Activation: Continuous
Weight: 0.1

"This headband is crazy! I almost can't close my eyes while I'm wearing it."

While wearing a Headband of Attention, a character acts as if they possess a number of ranks in the perception skill. The number of ranks granted in this way is determined by the strength of the headband. These ranks grant the wearer skill abilities as normal. If a character already possesses more ranks than the headband would provide, they gain no additional benefit from these ranks.

Prerequisites: Craft Item of Prowess, Character level equal to granted ranks - 2, Perception as a Class Skill.

Unnoticed Cloak
Price: 1,750 gp (4 ranks); 3,500 gp (6 ranks); 6,000 gp (8 ranks); 9,500 gp (10 ranks); 14,000 gp (12 ranks); 19,500 (14 ranks); 26,000 gp (16 ranks); 33,500 gp (18 ranks); 42,000 gp (20 ranks); 51,500 gp (22 ranks)
Body Slot: Shoulder
Caster Level: Granted ranks - 2
Aura: Minor Transmutation (4 or 6 ranks); Moderate Transmutation (8, 10, or 12 ranks); Strong Transmutation (14, 16, 18, 20, or 22 ranks)
Activation: Continuous
Weight: 0.5

"I couldn't even tell you what color the cloak was, or was it a scarf..."

While wearing an Unnoticed Cloak, a character acts as if they possess a number of ranks in the stealth skill. The number of ranks granted in this way is determined by the strength of the cloak. These ranks grant the wearer skill abilities as normal. If a character already possesses more ranks than the cloak would provide, they gain no additional benefit from these ranks.

The cloak also provides a +3 competence bonus on all stealth checks. This competence bonus does not stack with any other competence bonus, including those granted by race, masterwork item, or feat.

Prerequisites: Craft Item of Prowess, Character level equal to granted ranks - 2, Stealth as a Class Skill.

Creating Magical Skill Gear[edit]

Any character who possesses the craft item of prowess feat may spend their time and energy creating skill items like those listed above.

Magical skill gear is broken up into two main categories: items that grant skill ranks and items that grant rolling abilities or modifiers. Skill gear does not grant additional skill abilities at all, unless it is granting them through a feat (which can not be imbued with the craft item of prowess feat).

Gear That Grants Ranks[edit]

Items that grant ranks need to be priced in such a way that characters who possess them can not buy power above their level, and can not buy substantial flexibility too early. They thus cost quite a bit of money.

Gear that provides ranks in skills follows the following pricing formula: (Granted Ranks - 2) x (Granted Ranks - 2) x 125 gp. This works out to the following:

Granted
Ranks

Price
MIC Item
Level
4 500 gp 4th
6 2,000 gp 7th
8 4,500 gp 10th
10 8,000 gp 12th
12 12,500 gp 14th
14 18,000 gp 15th
16 24,500 gp 16th
18 32,000 gp 17th
20 40,500 gp 18th
22 50,000 gp 19th

The ranks granted by these items do not stack with the ranks a character already possesses. If you use an item that grants ranks, you use either your ranks or the ranks that it provides to you.

A character with the craft item of prowess feat can create a rank granting item for any skill which they possess as a class skill. The maximum rank they can imbue into an item is equal to their character level + 2.

Gear That Modifies a Roll[edit]

There are several ways to modify a roll, from a straight numeric bonus to re-rolls to more esoteric things. The most common ones are discussed here.

Competence Bonuses[edit]

A skill item may provide a +3 competence bonus to a skill. The market price for this upgrade is 1,000 gp.

A character with the craft item of prowess feat can create a competence bonus granting item for any skill which they possess as a class skill. They must have a minimum character level of 4 in order to do so.

Re-Rolls[edit]

Re-rolls are a useful tool in the hands of a skilled character. Since they are rarely used except when an initial roll results in failure, they work to increase successful rolls without also increasing the bonuses associated with them. All re-rolls granted from these items replace the original check result, even if the re-rolled result is worse. This means that most re-rolls will be vastly more useful for low rolls than high rolls.

The value of re-rolls in general is somewhat decreased by the ability to take 10 on a roll, since a success without a roll eliminates the potential to need a re-roll in the first place. It is important to note, however, that if a character "takes 10" with a skill ability, they can still use a re-roll if they have one available. "Taking 10" simply assumes that the die came up 10, so if they find that result insufficient they can use a re-roll to make a real attempt. Likewise, if a character is able to take 10 on a roll, they can roll initially and elect to "take 10" with a re-roll if they could normally choose to "take 10". They can not take 15 or 20 in conjunction with a re-roll, as those have a different action cost than a roll.

When a character makes a check and then uses a re-roll to "take 10", they are effectively setting the minimum possible roll result to 10. This is not a concern once in a while at lower levels since it just makes characters slightly more successful, but it would be detrimental to the game if it happened too often because it breaks expected success rates. At higher levels, this is less of a concern as the abilities trail off and it becomes less likely that a character would fail an ability check in the first place, except against equal-level foes where taking 10 isn't a guarantee of success anyway. The pricing for re-rolls has been set with these concerns in mind.

Gear that provides re-rolls is priced, per skill, as follows:

Daily
Re-rolls

Price
MIC Item
Level
1 500 gp 4th
2 2,000 gp 7th
3 4,500 gp 10th
4 8,000 gp 12th
5 12,500 gp 14th
Unlimited 18,000 gp 15th

Note that you can not benefit from more re-rolls for a skill in a 24 hour period than the largest granted by one of your re-roll items. It doesn't matter which items actually grant the re-rolls, as long as the total does not exceed the amount granted by the item granting the largest amount.

A character with the craft item of prowess feat can create a re-roll granting item for any skill which they possess as a class skill. They must have a minimum character level of twice the granted number of re-rolls, or 15 for an unlimited item, in order to do so.

Other Modifiers[edit]

Gear that modifies the conditions of ability use or a roll, such as the ability to take 10 regardless of ranks or to take 15 in half the time, is relatively cheap. The listed benefits are not substantial boosts in power, as taking 10 early just makes you consistent (and possibly consistently bad) and taking 15 or 20 in half time won't be used in combat very often. Additional hurrying of "take X" options should not be allowed on a standard magic item, as they simply become large bonuses if they have no substantial time cost. Items that provide these benefits are listed in the examples above.

The ability to "take 10", "take 15", or "take 20" under pressure before meeting the rank requirements, as well as the ability to "take 15" or "take 20" in half the required time can each be placed within an item, and are added individually. Their market price is 1,000 gp each.

A character with the craft item of prowess feat can create items with these properties for any skill which they possess as a class skill. They must have a minimum character level of 4, +1 per additional ability, in order to do so.

Gear That Provides Multiple Benefits[edit]

Gear that provides multiple benefits from different categories, like skill ranks and a competence bonus, is treated as having multiple different abilities. The highest priced portion is used as the base price, and each additional aspect is added to this cost with a 50% surcharge. Adding a competence bonus to a rank granting item increases the market price by 1,500 gp, for example.

This is also the case for gear that provides benefits to different skills. An item that provides re-rolls for two skills is 50% more expensive than buying two items that each provide re-rolls for 1 skill.

Gear that provides multiple benefits from the same category, like taking 10, 15, or 20 under pressure without the rank requirements, is treated as having multiple similar abilities. The highest priced portion is used as the base price, the next highest priced addition gets a 25% discount, and any subsequent additions get a 50% discount.

Pricing Skill Items with the Book of Gears[edit]

The Book of Gears work in the Tome series proposes alternate magic item pricing guidelines, breaking items into Minor, Moderate, and Major categories. If this work is in use, items with a price less than 15,000 gp are considered minor items. A moderate skill item simply grants its wielder one of the following benefits: Character level + 3 (minimum 14) ranks in one skill, or unlimited re-rolls with one skill. A major skill item would grant two moderate benefits.

Magic for the Unskilled[edit]

Since magic and the skill system are intended to achieve similar ends while interacting as little as possible, some spells have been removed while others have been rewritten.

Removed Spells[edit]

Note: Some of these spells may be re-added as variant spells in the future. Greater Heroism in particular is only problematic because of its skill bonus size. If this is reduced to +3 it can be otherwise used as is, though it is not as valuable as it previously was.

Rewritten Spell Descriptions[edit]

The following is a list of spells that have been rewritten to work with the updated skill system presented here.


Frighten
Necromancy [Fear, Mind-Affecting]
Level: Blackguard 1, Bard 1, Cleric 1, Death 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: 15 ft
Area: Cone-shaped burst
Duration: 5 rounds or 1 round, see text
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

A shadowy blast passes briefly over your enemies; in its wake, only fear. You wiggle your fingers creepily and say "Ooga booga" for effect.

Enemies within the area of effect become frightened for 5 rounds. If a creature with 6 or fewer hit dice succeeds on their saving throw, they are only shaken for 1 round instead. Creatures with more than 6 hit dice suffer no effect on a successful saving throw. Frighten counters and dispels remove fear.

Frightened and Cause Fear
Frighten is intentionally set at the same level as cause fear, and if you include it you should not expect spellcasters to prepare cause fear in their first level spell slots. You may want to allow casters to prepare a version of cause fear with a 1 round duration as a 0 level spell (cantrip or orison) instead.



Jump
Transmutation
Level: Assassin 1, Druid 1, Ranger 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Targets: Up to four creatures touched
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes

The subjects are able to clear a gap up to 20' wide, plus 2 1/2' per caster level over 1 (maximum of 30' at level 5) without any chance of failure. During this magical jump, the subjects can reach a height of 10', plus 1 1/4' per caster level over 1 (maximum of 15' at level 5); this height occurs no later than the midpoint of the jump. Subjects do not need to use the full width or height of the jump if they are constrained for some reason. If the jump is short but the subjects are within a distance to a ledge that is equal to or less than their height, they automatically grab the ledge, and may pull themselves up later.

Use of this jump requires a move action from each subject, and the effect is lost if it is not used within 1 round of the spell being cast.

Material Component: A grasshopper’s hind leg, which you break when the spell is cast.

Skilled Classes[edit]

The classes linked below are designed with the updated skills in mind, but are not a core part of this work. They are intended as replacements for core classes, and are only listed here for ease of reference. Additional classes that are compatible with this work may be found here: Category:Tome of Prowess Compliant.



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