Characters who become sufficiently advanced in their professions begin to develop bags of tricks that less-accomplished characters can't match. These special abilities are similar to nonweapon proficiencies, but characters cannot learn skills from outside their groups. Each skill has a much more dramatic effect than a proficiency and has a minimum level requirement associated with it.

Just like proficiencies, many skills require a die roll to determine if they work. Success is determined by rolling the number indicated or less on 1d20. In most cases, a character's ability scores can alter the chance for success; high stats give a bonus, low stats a minus. A skill's requirements, success numbers, and relevant abilities are listed below for quick reference.

A few skills can be used a limited number of times each day. The success numbers for these skills drop by a fixed amount each time they are used. Once a skill's base score is reduced to zero or less, the character cannot use that skill for a set period of time, usually one day. Any other skill based upon the reduced skill is likewise unavailable. Even if the character's ability adjustmentraises the skill score above zero, the skill remains unavailable until the indicated time has passed. The skill's base score returns to normal after the listed time has elapsed.

Opposed Success Rolls: In some cases, a skill requires an opposed roll in which the two creatures involved both roll 1d20 against an ability score or skill success number. If one opponent fails the roll, the creature who succeeded wins the contest. If both make their rolls, the opponent with the higher roll wins. If both opponents fail, some unusual result usually occurs. All ties are re-rolled.

A skill's base success number can be improved by devoting extra slots or character points to the skill. No mortal can ever have a base score of more than 16 in any skill; wishes have no effect on this limit.

Mental Focus:

By concentrating for one round and making a successful skill check, the wizard can improve one of the three eligible ability scores to the value listed on the table below. The improvement lasts one round per character level. Because the majority of the character's energy is directed to the improved ability score, the other two ability scores are reduced by two for the same duration. The wizard can end the boost-and restore the values of the other scores-at any time. If the character's ability score is already equal to or higher than the value listed on the table, this skill has no effect. The characters sub-abilities are adjusted as well from Mental Focus.

The wizard can take no other actions during the round the character is concentrating on raising the selected ability score. Each attempt, successful or not, during a single day lowers the base skill score by two; the skill cannot be used once the base score falls to zero or less.

Bonuses from an increased score are applied immediately when the skill succeeds and are lost immediately when the boost's duration ends. For example, a wizard who chooses to increase Dexterity immediately gains an improved Armor Class bonus, but loses it again when the character's Dexterity score returns to normal. Likewise, the effects from reduced ability scores are applied immediately when the improvement ends.

A character can have only one ability score improvement from this skill operating at any given time.

Signature Item:

The wizard is free to have as many signature items as he is willing to pay for, but no more than one of any type of item is allowed. For example, the wizard could not have two staffs of the magi as signature items, but he could have a staff of the magi, wand of magic missiles, and a rod of smiting as signature items.

The wizard can choose items from the ring, rod, staff, wand, miscellaneous magic, and weapon categories.

Spell Sculpting:

To use this skill, the wizard must prepare an item to help focus and reshape the spell's magical energy. A focus item can be a small object such as a jewel, wand, or amulet. A focus item must be worth at least 500 gp per spell level.

When sculpting, the wizard must meet all the usual requirements to cast the spell; the wizard employs the focus item as an additional material component, which is normally not consumed. A successful skill roll allows the wizard to change the spell in a minor way, as listed below. If the roll fails, the spell is cast normally. If failure roll is a 20, the focus item is destroyed.

When a wizard successfully sculpts a spell, the character can choose one effect from the list below.

Increase Damage: The spell can inflict an extra two dice of damage of the type normally rolled to determine the damage the spell inflicts. For example, Neja, a 20th-level wizard, could sculpt a burning hands spell to inflict 3d3+20 points of damage. If Neja sculpted a fireball spell to increase damage, the spells would inflict 12d6 points of damage.

Spells that have individual damage dice, such as magic missile, are not increased individually. For example, Neja could cast a magic missile that inflicted a total of 7d4+7 points of damage. The additional damage could be added to a single missile or an additional die of damage could be added to two separate missiles.

Spells that do not use dice rolls to determine damage cannot be sculpted in this manner.

Extend Duration: The spell's total duration is doubled. This applies only to the actual time a spell lasts but not to any special durations a spell may have.

For instance, invisibility would last a total of 48 hours or until the creature made an attack. Spells with instantaneous durations cannot be sculpted in this manner.

Extend Range: The spell's range is doubled. If the spell has a range of touch or 0, its range cannot be extended.

Shorten Casting Time: The spell's casting time is cut in half, to a minimum of 1. If local conditions lengthen the spell's casting time, apply the multiplier first, then cut the result in half.

It is not possible to sculpt a spell more than once. It is possible, however, to employ a metamagic spell, such as extension or squaring the circle, to a spell that has been sculpted provided that the sculpting effect does not duplicate the metamagic spell effect. For example, a wizard cannot extend a spell's duration and use an extension spell at the same time. A wizard could sculpt a spell to extend its range and use and extension spell to increase its duration.

The highest level spell a wizard can sculpt is limited by the character's level, as shown below:

A wizard can learn to sculpt more than one spell but must pay the full cost for this skill for each spell. If the wizard improves the skill's base score, the increase applies to all spells the wizard knows how to sculpt.