The Scribe (SNS)

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: Grahlista had been most informative. It seems that Cardax had once been a powerful advisor in the court of Martia's grandfather before he turned to black magic.
: After the death of Martia's grandmother, her grandfather had been overcome with grief. He ordered his strongest wizard and his best friend to come up with a method to return the beautiful young queen to life.
: Martia's grandmother, a raven-haired beauty named Manditia, had been assassinated by a killer from a rival kingdom. Not only had the hired blade stabbed the young lady in her sleep, he had also decapitated her. Without that vital piece of her anatomy, even the most devout priests in the kingdom could not restore the young queen to life. She was forever dead.
: However, Cardax had been unwilling to accept that verdict. He tossed himself into the study of necromancy and disappeared from court entirely while he apprenticed himself to some of the darkest wizards to walk the planet.
: Even though the young wizard mastered all of the dark arts, he still couldn't raise the queen from the dead. The strain of his frustration and the evil pacts he had made with extraplanar fiends finally shattered Cardax's sanity.
: He had staged a coup of the kingdom, killing the king and forcing the royal kin to flee for their own safety. In his madness, he set himself up as the supreme ruler of the kingdom and began his conquest of the entire continent.
: Cardax's reign had become synonymous with terror; the evil necromancer executed anyone who publicly disagreed with him and then restored the victims to unlife. The numbers of his undead minions had swelled until he was the terror of the entire region. The surrounding nations had swiftly banded together and had driven Cardax's legions back within his nation's original borders.
: After relating all of this to Martia, Grahlista had reached into a trunk at the foot of her bed﻿ and withdrew a scroll. She had unrolled it, showing it to Martia. "This scroll was stolen from Cardax's keep while he was away at the capitol. These days, it's impossible to get within 100 yards of the place, but back then, when his attention was elsewhere, it was not so difficult."
: She had pointed to the writing on the page. It was in a strange set of characters that Martia could not read. Grahlista had cackled sarcastically. "No one can read it, child. The language in which it is written hasn't been spoken for centuries.
: "Legend has it that the words on this scroll hold the key to Cardax's downfall. You will need to return to the capital to get it deciphered. There are none here who are the equal of such a task.
: "In the city, there is a man named Wilshire. Long ago, he was the finest scribe that the country had ever seen. He has spent many years in the service of Cardax, but now that the necromancer has been driven back to his keep, you may find that he is willing to help. May the wind be at your back, child, for Cardax will not suffer being trapped in this swamp for long."
: * * *
: The hovel was dark, but even so, Martia could smell the filth. The warrior cursed her luck. It looked like yet another rumor had led her into another dead end. The scribe had gone into hiding after Cardax's fall, afraid of possible repercussions for his work with Cardax. Word was that he had been too scared to brave the wilderness.
: Martia's contact had been sure Wilshire would be here. She kicked down the door and stormed in. Lifting her lantern high above her head, she saw a lumpy mattress in one corner of an otherwise barren room. A filth-encrusted man sat upon it and blinked into the light. "Wilshire!" Martia demanded. The man nodded meekly. "Welcome back to the land of the living. You're coming with me."
Very few people in medieval society actually possessed the ability to read and write-despite the fact that the written word had been in use for centuries. Most people went about their daily lives occupied with more practical concerns. Writing and reading were best left to the nobility, cloistered clerics and wealthy merchants.
In most fantasy worlds, however, the ruling classes routinely write proclamations, writs, and contracts. Spellbooks and thaumaturgical texts contain mostly written words, and even maps use written labels.
This means that the ability to read, while actually held by few, is needed by many. The basic laws of supply and demand have created a market in which literate people can sell their services to those who cannot read or write-often at exorbitant prices. Scribes are also useful to the literate community. Long before the invention of the printing press, copies of books were made by hand. These highly trained professionals laboriously duplicate each and every penstroke from an original to a fresh new copy.
In addition, many scribes specialize in translating written words from one language into another. This can be a vital means of communication, particularly between nations. In a particularly tense diplomatic situation, a mistranslated phrase could actually have the power to hurl both countries headlong into war.
More experienced scribes are even of use to wizards. These scribes can read magic, just like a thief, and even copy spells and scrolls. Most powerful wizards employ a scribe to handle most of the "mundane" magical copying-such as transferring low-level spells and copying simple scrolls.
==Experience, THAC0, and Hit Dice==
﻿Scribes have their own level advancement scheme as shown on Table 24: Scribe Experience Levels below. Scribes are the white-collar workers of medieval-fantasy society. They spend their days entirely indoors, slaving away over new and ancient documents. They often work late into the night and their eyesight suffers badly from poorly lit conditions. For these reasons, scribes use the wizard's THAC0 and saving throw tables.
Scribes are rarely known for their abilities in combat. In fact, these generally non- active NPCs are more likely to flee an impending conflict than defend themselves. In addition, a scribe's time does not allow him leisure to work on his physique.
Because of this, scribes receive one d4 as a hit die for each level of experience up to the 8th. These NPCs only gain 1 hit point per level after the 8th and do not receive bonus hit points from high Constitution scores.
 Table 25: Scribe Experience Levels
Level	XPs 	Hit Dice (d4)
1 	0 	1
2 	1,200 	2
3 	2,400 	3
4 	4,800 	4
5 	9,500 	5
6 	19,000 	6
7 	38,000 	7
8 	76,000 	8
9 	150,000 	8+1
10 	300,000 	8+2
11 	450,000 	8+3
12 	600,000 	8+4
13 	750,000 	8+5
14 	900,000 	8+6
15 	1,050,000	8+7
16 	1,200,000	8+8
17 	1,350,000	8+9
18 	1,500,000	8+10
19 	1,650,000	8+11
20 	1,800,000	8+12
==Ability Scores==﻿
Good scribes are as hard to find as honest merchants. A scribe is in a position of complete power when employed by an illiterate person. Few such people have enough gold to double-check the scribe's labor, and so "conning" an individual who can't read or write is easy to accomplish.
Honest or otherwise, the scribe needs to be able to read and write impeccably. He must have excellent penmanship and an excruciatingly accurate attention to detail. Without these, he will make too many mistakes to remain in business.
Of course, the scribe must also possess an ability to understand foreign languages. Otherwise, his value to certain employers (those who tend to pay the most) will be greatly diminished.
For these reasons, all scribes must have a minimum Intelligence score of 15. The scribe's prime requisite is Intelligence.
==Permissible Armor and Weapons==
﻿Generally speaking, scribes do not enter combat if at all possible. They are simply not suited for the martial life. Scribes cannot wear any armor
Similarly, scribes have very little use for weapons. Scribes can learn the following types of weaponry: dagger, dart, knife, sling, and staff. Normally, scribes do not carry weapons, as they wish to promote a nonthreatening image to potential employers.
==Individual Experience Awards==
﻿Scribes earn experience points through the use of their own unique abilities. They tend to work in scriptoriums and libraries, and rarely ever adventure.
A scribe's main goal is not to rescue the weak (often, they are the weak) or to vanquish monsters. They just want to do the best job that they possibly can-and get paid handsomely for it. For this reason, scribes receive most of their experience points by way of the monies they collect for their services.
Assigning experience points to a scribe is fairly straightforward. Refer to Table 25 for the scribe's earned experience rate.
 Table 26: Scribe Experience Awards
Action 	Award
Per gp earned as a scribe 	1 XP
Per magical scroll duplicated	2,000 XP
Per spell copied 	1,000
﻿Note that experience points awarded for duplicating spells and scrolls are cumulative with any points the scribe earns for being paid for the work. For instance, if a scribe receives 250 gp to copy a scroll, he earns both the duplicating award (2,000 XP) and the wage award (250 XP) for a total of 2,250 experience points.
==Proficiencies==
A scribe receives one weapon proficiency slot at 1st level and earns a new one every six levels (at the 6th level, 12th level, and so on). A scribe suffers a -5 penalty when using any weapon with which he is not proficient.
A scribe also receives four nonweapon proficiencies at the 1st level and gains a new proficiency every three levels after that (at the 3rd level, 6th level, and so on). At 1st level, a scribe must take the following nonweapon proficiencies: Reading/Writing and Forgery.
Reading and Writing is obviously essential for a scribe, but why Forgery? The reason lies in the fact that scribes spend a great deal of their time painstakingly duplicating documents down to the finest details. In effect, they are creating forgeries of the original.
It is also recommended that the scribe take the following nonweapon proficiencies:
* Heraldry: The knowledge of family crests can come in handy when employed by a member of the nobility or upper-class. Sometimes even the slightest error in duplicating heraldic symbols can spark great conflict.
* Etiquette: This proficiency not only aids the scribe in dealing with rich and noble clients, but also helps him translate documents into other languages. A letter penned with an incorrect formal greeting can cause a diplomatic fiasco.
* Languages: Learning additional languages increases a scribes market value. In addition, many scribes learn Ancient Languages in order to specialize in the translation of historical documents.
Scribes do not have to fill their nonweapon proficiency slots with specific proficiencies as they progress in level. However, noble families and powerful wizards often choose their personal scribes from among the most talented of this NPC class. Thus, most scribes fill their slots with applicable proficiencies.
After 1st level, a scribe can exchange any and all of his weapon proficiencies for nonweapon proficiencies. This exchange takes place on a one-for-one basis.
Scribes can choose proficiencies from the general, rogue, and wizard nonweapon proficiency groups without any additional
cost.
==Equipment==
﻿Scribes require a steady supply of paper, pens, and ink. A scribe cannot work without these basic tools. Additionally, most scribes prefer to work at a desk or other stable, flat surface. Any time a scribe works on a rough or unstable surface, he suffers a -3 penalty on his proficiency checks.
Maintaining an office which includes a desk and the necessary scribing supplies- costs a scribe 50 gp per level. The scribe must pay this maintenance fee every time he advances to a new level. For instance, when Brion the scribe advances to 7th-level, he must pay 300 gp to upgrade his facilities and supplies.
Scribes who fail to pay this maintenance fee cannot advance to the next level. In addition, they receive a -4 penalty to all proficiency checks related to scribing until they pay the fee.