Sage Ability

Sage Abilities encompass a broad range of skills and training that define a character's knowledge points and specialized capabilities. These abilities are organized into sage "studies", which serve as subject headings, and are further grouped under broader categories known as sage "fields". The system is designed to encompass all aspects of character knowledge and mundane abilities, including those that influence game mechanics such as magical research, combat, world-building, and even divine communication.

Most sage abilities incorporate elements of craftsmanship, detailed knowledge of the world, physical conditioning, mental development and magical practices that do not involve direct spellcasting. There are over a thousand sage abilities, many of which are currently just concepts outlined by this wiki. Over time, more of these abilities will be fully developed, and new ones will continue to be introduced. Due to their vast number, most player characters will never possess more than a fraction of them. However, as every character — player and non-player alike — is defined by their sage abilities, there will always be individuals in the world who specialiae in even the most obscure fields of knowledge.

Acquiring Abilities

Once a character’s ability stats have been generated and their class selected, the player chooses one of the available sage fields. Most classes have four sage fields, though the druid has three, and the bard—an unusual class—has sixteen. Once a field is chosen, the studies and sage abilities within that field are classified as “in field” for the character, while all other studies and abilities available to the class are considered "out of field."

The player then selects a study within the chosen field. Generally, each field contains four studies, though variations exist. Each study includes a set of sage abilities, some of which become part of the character’s repertoire. There is no point-buy system involved; rather, advanced sage abilities become accessible as the character gains levels, as described below.

Sage abilities represent actions the character is able to perform. For example, a druid with the study of oceanography is automatically capable of swimming well — no die roll is required. The same character would also possess full knowledge of tides, understand which waters are safe, know the best fishing locations, and be familiar with the basics of sailing. These abilities are assumed as part of the character’s knowledge and do not require additional verification.

This system defines not only what the character can do but also what they cannot do. A character without sailing ability is incapable of functioning as a sailor, though they may still follow directions and gradually acquire the skill over time. This is achieved through instruction.

Ability Ranking

Starting with childhood, characters begin with no knowledge at all. As levelled individuals, their formal schooling starts at the age of ten, with more advanced training for their character class beginning between ages 13 and 15. Before entering the campaign, a character accumulates 10 knowledge points, which is sufficient to reach "amateur" status in their chosen study. At this stage, they acquire two or more sage abilities, forming the foundation of their expertise.

As the character advances in experience levels, they gain additional knowledge points, which are distributed across multiple studies, both within and outside their primary fields. Over time, these accumulated points allow the character to become an amateur in other studies, progressively acquiring new sage abilities in different areas of knowledge. Upon reaching 30 knowledge points in a single study, the character attains "authority" status. At this level, they unlock new sage studies that reflect a deeper and more specialized understanding of their field. Further progress allows them to achieve authority in multiple studies, each providing additional abilities. This progression continues as the character reaches "expert" status at 60 points and eventually "sage" status at 100 points.

As knowledge accumulates, the character evolves from having basic familiarity with a handful of abilities to becoming a well-rounded expert, mastering dozens of abilities within their class’s scope—potentially covering sixty to seventy different skills. As long as the character continues to gain levels, this intellectual progression is inevitable. However, the order in which sage abilities develop and the extent to which each study advances depends on the early choices the player makes regarding the character’s interests and focus.

Non-Player Characters

Persons throughout the game world, from children to hostile humanoids to certain intelligent monsters, have varying degrees of knowledge in different studies ... and therefore sage abilities of their own. Many non-player characters (NPC) without an experience level are functioning as cooks, mahouts, historians, musicians, brewers, moneylenders, beggars, farmers and so on, each of which may have between 10 and 50 points of knowledge specifically in one sage ability, all of which is gained through instruction and none through gaining experience levels. These persons have no skill at gaining a wide range of knowledge in many studies or multiple fields ... yet they can train a levelled person how to cut a diamond or ride a warhorse as well as anyone.

For the most part, there's little need to exactly determine the extent of an NPC's knowledge, unless the character is of great importance. Many persons won't have a single amateur-status ability, being uneducated, poor, unable to learn or as yet too young to acquire the necessary knowledge. However, with many sage abilities — such as those associated with athletics, for example — even a single point of knowledge brings some benefits.

Gaining Additional Abilities

As stated already, additional knowledge points can be learned through instruction. The particulars are described through the link. Any character can learn any sage ability from any character class, provided they are able to successfully continue their training and they can find an instructor of sufficient knowledge to train them further in that ability.