Scholar

Introduction

In the Professions Primer, the following statements are said to be true:

• An Artificer celebrates Players who are Makers, elevating immersion and physical representation.

• A Bard celebrates Players who are Performers, bringing culture and art to the community.

• A Merchant celebrates Players who are Givers, providing Goods, Quests, and Services.

Therefore, a Scholar celebrates Players who are Storytellers, elevating lore and sharing information with the community.  The Profession’s focus is on the collection and transmittance of information.  To this end, most Skills have a roleplay or phys rep requirement that involves sharing information about the relevant topic.

Who is Scholar For?

In addition to academics, the Scholar Profession is more expansive than covering character concepts involving traditional academia.  Non-traditional inspirations for the Profession also include but is not limited to ideas such as:

• Monster hunter (Monster Biology)

• Druid (Herbalism)

• Priest (Theology)

• Miner (Geology)

• Doctor (Medicine)

• Tradesperson (Economics)

Just as there are many rich traditions that make up Osterra due to the Everwar, knowledge takes many forms.  Players should not be limited by the language of the mechanics of the Profession, which reflect a more traditional academic space.

Keywords

Findings

In order to use certain Scholar Skills, a document known as a Finding must be held on the person of the Scholar performing the action.  Findings represent the knowledge the Scholar has on the topic that allows them to perform the Skill, and should be written in a way that is both in-character and justifies why the Scholar’s knowledge enables them to perform the action.  

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• [Inspire Awareness]: an excerpt of a holy text that tells a story of the way a holy figure meditated

• [Invoke Element (Fire)]: a description of the properties of an oil used to apply fire damage to a weapon, as well as the trade routes used to acquire it.

• [Arcanic Literacy]: an excerpt from an early-reader picture book in runes.

Findings are not considered hard facts about Osterra, and may be contradicted by other Scholars or Game Masters as the setting continues to expand. 

See Appendix A for example Findings.

Phys Rep Requirements

A Scholar Finding must contain:

• A label denoting the the phys rep is Scholar Finding

• Name of Scholar

• Name of Ability

• Tier of ability

• Rules text for Skill

• Requirements for the associated Lecture

• Immersive written text and/or diagrams that tie Scholar’s expertise to the skill, as discussed above

• At enough non-rules content to fill out the size of an index card

Only one Finding can be generated per event-day.  Findings are also able to be stolen/looted, at the same priority as Artificer Schematics.  A stolen Finding may be used for Lectures by other Scholars.  A non-Scholar may turn in a Finding to the Organizers to personally receive the effect of the Skill denoted on the Finding, regardless of the author’s Scholar Tier.

Peer-Review (Getting Approval)

In order for a Finding to be allowed to be in play, it must be Peer-Reviewed by two other players in Factions that are not your own, and not each others’.  They must also have previously successfully undergone Peer-Review. For this purpose, the Free Folk are considered a Faction.

A Finding may instead be approved by an Organizer, but in general you should seek approval from fellow Scholars.

For example:

• A Scholar of Cedar Hill wants their Finding to undergo Peer-Review. They are not able to ask two Scholars of the Free Folk, they could only ask one of those Scholars. For their second Reviewer they must find a Scholar from another faction, such as the Wardens.  

• A Scholar of the Free Folk could not ask another Scholar of the Free Folk for Peer-Review.

  
  

Once a fellow Scholar has Peer-Reviewed your Finding, they must sign the phys-rep to indicate that it has been approved. This signature can be on the back of the document, or a space may be set aside on the front. 

Criteria for Peer-Review Findings include:

• Does the document have the character’s name?

• Does the Finding have all the required rules-text?

• Does the In-Character text correspond with the Skill?

• Does the In-Character text make a good-faith attempt to expand upon or explain an element of Osterra?

  
  

Peer-Review is strictly an out-of-character mechanic.  While it may be disappointing if a Finding fails Peer-Review, players are encouraged to view the feedback as an opportunity to iterate upon their ideas.  To that end, it is expected that reviewers keep their feedback constructive.

Lectures

Certain Skills require a roleplay component upon activation, referred to as a Lecture.  Lectures are roleplay scenes that are an exhibition of the Scholar’s knowledge.  They have a minimum length, which is listed in the relevant Skill.  Findings for the relevant Skill provide a useful framework for the information contained within a Lecture.

Lectures can take many forms, but are not limited to:

• An academic lesson

• A surgical, magical, or scientific demonstration, in which the Scholar explains the procedure

• A sermon

• A guided meditation

All Lectures have a specified number of participants that can receive the effects of the Lecture, even if others are present in the scene. This number is equal to your Scholar tier, though you may pay an additional equivalent of 1 Gold or a Tier 1 Gem to increase your effective tier for this calculation by 1 any number of times.  The Scholar performing the Lecture cannot be a participant receiving the effects of the Lecture, unless they have taken the Skill [Self-Study].

A Scholar can deliver one Lecture per event-day. They may deliver additional Lectures in an event-day by paying the Scholars’ Guild the equivalent of 5 Gold or a Tier 5 Gem per additional Lecture. This cost represents the fictional costs of doing business, such as paying staff, collecting reagents, arranging speaking venues, etc.

A player under the effect of a Lecture must wear a golden ribbon around their wrist for the duration of the Lecture effect.

Treatises

Some skills, particularly ones that confer longer-term effects, may require a Treatise instead of a Lecture.  Treatises are formal written documents that are entirely in-character.  Treatises are approximately one page at minimum, and any additional requirements (if any) will be listed in the rules of the relevant Skill.  A Treatise must list both the name of the Scholar and the Skill being activated.  See Appendix B for an example.

Peer-Review

Like Findings, Treatises have to undergo Peer-Review (see Findings).  Treatises must pass Peer-Review and be submitted to a representative of the Scholars’ Guild before the Skill can be activated.  If the Skill is to be activated again, the Scholar may be required to write a new Treatise.  Treatises will periodically be distributed to the realm by the Scholars’ Guild.

Criteria for Peer-Review Treatises include:

• Does the document have the character’s name?

• Is the Treatise, at minimum, approximately 1 page?

• Does the In-Character text correspond with the Skill?

• Does the In-Character text make a good-faith attempt to expand upon or explain an element of Osterra?

Disquisition

Completing a Disquisition is a requirement for progressing from Milestone 1 to Milestone 2.  

In order to complete a Disquisition, a Scholar must have taken 4 Scholar Skills, including one from each Tier.  Each instance of a Skill that can be retaken counts towards this total.  A Scholar must, at a Campout or Festival event, complete a minimum 5 minute scene in which the Scholar conveys information about their domain of knowledge.

Thesis

Completing a Thesis is a requirement from progressing for Milestone 2 to Milestone 3.  

In order to complete a Thesis, a Scholar must have taken 10 Scholar Skills, including one from each Tier. Each instance of a Skill that can be retaken counts towards this total.  A Scholar must, at a Campout or Festival event, complete a minimum 5 minute scene in which the Scholar conveys information about their domain of knowledge.

Additionally, the Scholar must author an approximately two page minimum document on a topic of their area or expertise, that includes both a title and the Scholar’s name. Unlike Findings or Treatises, a Thesis must be true to the realm of Osterra, and to that end, the document will be submitted to the Organizers via the Scholars’ Guild for approval.

Skills

Skills may have a cost associated with them, which can be paid via coin or gems to the Scholars’ Guild. Similar to how Lecture costs are treated, these costs represent the material cost of the research along with other overhead.   

Tier 1

• Inspire Awareness

  • Through their Lecture, the Scholar is able to explain how to temporarily expand one’s senses, much like in the grounding rituals performed by Oona Cardot.  When spending a Skill Point to take this Skill, the Scholar must select one of the following Skills: [Detect Trap], [Sense Holy/Cursed] or [Sense Arcana].  

  • This skill may be taken more than once.

  • Those who attend the Lecture are able to use the chosen skill once (or once more) that Event Day, regardless of prerequisite skills.

  • Requirement: Lecture (30 seconds), Finding

  • Note: the Scholar must provide an Incantation for those who attend the lecture if [Sense Holy/Cursed] or [Sense Arcana] are chosen.

  • Note: The Scholar does not need to have the base Main Parth Skill they are conveying.

  
  

• Sharp Mind

  • Through intense study, the Scholar is able to improve some talent in regards to their Main Path.  They are now able to permanently use that skill once more per day.

  • This Skill can be taken once per Scholar Tier.  It cannot be applied to the same Main Path Skill more than once, and cannot be applied to a Main Path Skill above the Scholar’s Scholar Tier.

  • Cross-trained Skills are counted as the Tier at which they can be cross-trained.

  • Requirement: Treatise

  
  

• Course Audit

  • By expending a use of a Lecture, the Scholar may become a participant in another Scholar’s Lecture without counting towards their participant total.

  • Requirement: None

Tier 2

• Arcanic Literacy

  • With the support of literacy efforts in Osterra, the Scholar can help Lecture attendees understand runic texts in a limited way.

  • Lecture attendees are able to use the skill [Read/Write Arcana] in order to cast scrolls of spells that are the Tier of half the Scholar’s Scholar Tier rounded up, or below.  The effect lasts for 4 hours.

  • Requirement: Finding, Lecture (30 seconds)

  
  

• Lab Wererat

  • Due to the Scholar’s work, such as King Nézmear’s work with monster parts, they have gained resistance to some poisons. Upon taking this Skill, the Scholar must choose a type of Poison. The Scholar is immune to this type of Poison, as long as the Poison’s level is less than or equal to half of their Scholar Tier, rounded down.

  • A Scholar may take this Skill multiple times, choosing a different Poison each time.

  • Requirements: Treatise

  • NOTE: This Skill does not confer the benefits of the Rogue Skill [Poison Use].

  
  

• Invoke Element

  • Through their studies, a Scholar may change the damage type of the weapons of their allies.

  • Upon taking this Skill, choose a damage type.  A Scholar may perform a Lecture that changes the damage type of one weapon, up to the maximum of the number of allowable participants in a Lecture for the Scholar’s Tier to that damage type for the rest of the event-day or until the wielder’s death. This damage type change supersedes previously applied damage type changes, but does not affect any bonus damage conveyed.

  • The damage type must be marked with a ribbon tied to the weapon, with the following requirements:

    • Magic: Green

    • Holy: Blue

    • Fire: Red

    • Ice: Grey

    • Lightning: Yellow

  • A Scholar may take this Skill multiple times, choosing a different damage type each time.

  • Requirement: Finding, Lecture (30 seconds), Phys Rep Ribbon

  
  

• Refresher Course

  • Through a Lecture, a Scholar may restore one use of a chosen Skill possessed by all of the participants of that Lecture.  The Skill chosen must be at or below the Scholar’s Scholar Tier.

  • Requirement: Finding, Lecture (30 sec)

Tier 3

• Prolific Writer

  • Once per Season, a Scholar may write a new Treatise that grants one extra Skill Point for an event they are attending.

  • Requirement: Treatise

  • Note: This extra Skill Point can be applied to any Character.

  
  

• Operations Research

  • By writing a Treatise and paying the equivalent of 3 Gold or a Tier 3 Gem to the Merchant’s Guild at the beginning of a Season, a Scholar may allow a single Merchant to take an additional Perk (whose requirements the shop meets) that season.

  • Requirement: Treatise, equivalent of 3 Gold or a Tier 3 Gem

  
  

• Efficient Artifice

  • Through their Lecture, a Scholar is able to explain ways to improve the efficiency of an Artificer’s practice.

  • Following the Lecture, reduce the gem cost of activating an Artificer Object by 1 tier (this gem can be no larger than your Scholar Tier) for a single activation.

  • Requirement: Lecture (30 seconds), Finding

  • Note: A maximum of one participant is allowed to receive the effects of this Lecture, regardless of Scholar Tier.  Additional participants cannot be added to this Lecture via gold or gems.

  
  

• Music Theory

  • Through their Lecture, a Scholar is able to assist a Bard in the performance of their songs.

  • For the duration of the Lecture event-day, the length of music required to be played in order to perform a Bard Skill is reduced by half, rounded up.

  • Requirement: Lecture (30 seconds), Finding

    
    

Tier 4

• Thesis Offense

  • By performing a Lecture, the Scholar can grant participants the ability to deal an additional +1 damage for the rest of the event-day or until death.  

  • Multiple instances of [Art of War] cannot be stacked, and cannot be stacked with other sources of additional damage, such as [Enchant Weapon] or [Holy Relic].

  • Requirement: Lecture (30 seconds), Finding

  • Phys Rep: Brown ribbon tied around weapon

    
    

• Self-Study

  • The Scholar is sometimes able to gain insights from their own Lectures.

  • When performing a Lecture, the Scholar may be counted as a participant of their own Lecture.

  • Requirement: None

  
  

• Disputation

  • By engaging in intellectual debate, the Scholar is able to apply the effects of another Scholar’s Lecture, as if they had given it themself.

  • Once per Season, a Scholar may interrupt another Scholar giving a Lecture, inform them of their intent to debate by stating the word “Disputation,” and choose a number of Lecture participants.  The Scholars must roleplay a 2 minute scene debating or discussing the topic of the original Scholar’s Lecture.  When the debate is complete, participants chosen by both Scholars receive the effect of the original Scholar’s Lecture.

  • Requirement: None

  • Note: The Scholar need not know the Skill the original Scholar is using.

    
    

Tier 5

• Hit the Books

  • There comes a time in a Scholar’s life where they must visit the Library of Osterra to make progress on their studies.

  • If a Scholar has missed an event, they may write a Treatise and pay the equivalent of 3 Gold or a Tier 3 Gem in order to gain a Skill Point.  They may only gain a maximum of 1 Skill Point per event this way, regardless of event type.

  • The Skill Point is gained upon successful Peer Review.

  • Requirements: Treatise, equivalent of Tier 3 Gem or a 3 Gold

  
  

• Proficient Teacher

  • The Scholar has become so practiced and efficient at lecturing, that they have found the means to best reach their participants.

  • The Scholar is able to include a participant in a Lecture that is already under the effect of a different Lecture.  The abilities apply simultaneously.

  • Requirement: None

    
    

• Snake Fight

  • Through some means, whether it be an herbal concoction, inspiring words, or otherwise, the Scholar can enable others to push past their limits in a combat situation.

  • The participants of the Lecture are granted the ability to use [Mighty Blow] once during the effect duration.  Once this use is expended, they receive a minor wound to each limb, regardless of Armor Points.

  • Effect Duration: Event-day

  • Requirements: Finding, Lecture (30 seconds)

  
  

Tier 6

• Coming soon!

Progression

A Profession takes time and effort to master.  In addition to slowly learning, some Scholar Tiers are gated by specific Milestones.  Regardless of your Main or Subclass Tier, you will not be able to take Skills above a certain Tier unless you have fulfilled Scholar-specific special requirements.

• Like Cross-Class Paths, your Tier in the Scholar Profession is the highest-skill-point ability you have.

• Like all Professions, you may not take Skills in Scholar until you are Tier 3 in your Main Path. 

• The Scholar must have at least one Scholar Skill in a Tier to progress to the next highest.  

• Unlike Main Paths, a Scholar may not take more than one Profession Skill per full event-day (regardless of Skill Points).  For example, if an event is two days (a campout), a Scholar attending both days may spend Skill Points to earn a skill the first day and then learn a skill at the beginning of the second day.

• The Scholar has specific Milestones that gate Skills.  All characters may access Tier 1 and Tier 2 (Lecturer).  There are special requirements that gate access to Tier 3 and 4 skills (Fellow).  Further requirements must be completed to ascend to full Mastery of the Profession (Tier 5 and 6).

• Profession Focus: Though anyone can dabble, a character may only invest deeply in ONE Profession. Progressing past the first milestone means limiting (or for full Mastery, eliminating) Skills and Benefits in other Professions.  This does not apply to the Merchant Profession.

To progress from Lecturer to Fellow, one must complete a Disquisition.  In order to progress from Savant to Master, one must complete a Thesis.

Appendix A: Findings Example

Appendix B: Treatise Example

Treatise: A Meditation on the Transaction of Fire

By Elspeth Ortell, for the purpose of [Sharp Mind: Protection from Fire]

Consider now, the Transaction of Fire, and how it affects our communities:

We gather in the presence of Pecune, Immanent in all objects of value, source of all wealth manifest, to honor the primordial Transaction that warms our hearths and builds our world.

From the raw fuel, holding dormant potential, awaiting the call to exchange,

For the alchemical exchange of substance for energy, the sacred combustion that blesses the air with warmth and light,

For the labor and diligence required to gather the fuel, tend the flame, and harness its power for the common good.

For the hearth fire, the heart of the home, gathering families and friends in its radiant glow, a Transaction to acquire warmth and presence.

For the beacon fire, guiding the traveler and the merchant, a Transaction to acquire light for safe passage and profitable exchange.

For the communal fire, around which stories are shared, agreements are struck, and the bonds of fellowship are strengthened, a Transaction to acquire shared space and shared spirit.

For the forge fire, shaping raw metal into tools of labor and objects of trade, unleashing the potential within the earth.

For the kiln fire, hardening clay into vessels of utility and art, transforming earth into enduring value.

For the potential unlocked, the needs met, and the value created through this elemental exchange since the dawn of civilization.

That we may always honor the processes of transformation and recognize the inherent value in all things.

That we may never squander the resources given, nor deny the opportunity for value to be realized through Transaction.

Bless us, Pecune, God of Wealth and Prosperity, that our own actions and exchanges may, like the sacred fire, unlock value, meet needs, and build thriving communities, for our shared prosperity.