Skills

New Skills and New Uses for Existing Skills in Starspeaker

Use Magic Device (Cha, Trained Only) - Additional use

In addition to enabling the use of a wide variety of magical devices, Use Magic Device is the skill a character uses to cast spells through the soulcrystal of a Spell-slave within the required range.  Whether the character originally intended it or not, gaining this skill involves the training required to attune oneself to the vibrations of a specific soulcrystal in order to cast spells through it.

Check:  You can use this skill to cast spells known by the sorcerer whose soul is trapped within a soulcrystal in your possession.  This skill is used in one of two ways depending on whether or not the Spell-slave is willing to allow the casting.

Willing Spell-Slave:  If the Spell-slave is willing to channel the Arcanum, a skill check is not required.  The only limitation is the range of the Spell-slave from his soulcrystal.  The Spell-slave must be within 100 ft. + 10 ft. per rank in the Use Magic Device skill.  A spell-slave must know you want to cast a spell, and which spell you wish to cast in order to agree to channel the required energy.

Unwilling Spell-Slave:  If the Spell-slave resists or is unaware of the upcoming casting, a skill check is required against the Spell-slave’s Will save result.  On a successful skill check, the Spell-slave is forced to channel the required spell and also suffers 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per level of the spell channeled.

Incapable Spell-slave:  If a Spell-slave does not know the demanded spell or has already used all of the slots for the spell level required, you may still attempt to force the casting as though the slave were simply unwilling.  However, the result of a successful skill check will simply be severe pain induced in the Spell-slave, causing 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per level of the spell.  If you simply wish to cause the Spell-slave pain, you need not demand a specific spell, choosing a generic spell level instead.  Using the skill in this way is an evil act, and a skill check against the Spell-slave's Will is still required.

Special:  A Spell-slave must be alive and conscious to channel Arcanum.

To use a soulcrystal, the wielder must know what spells the Spell-slave is capable of casting and have at least one rank in Use Magic Device per level of the spell channeled.  The Spell-slave may (willingly or unwillingly) tell the wielder what spells he can cast, or magic must be employed to discern them from either the Spell-slave or his crystal.  Casting certain spells on the soulcrystal can provide the required information:

·        Identify will reveal the highest level spell known by the Spell-slave.  If the Spell-slave knows more than one spell at that level, the DM must determine which spell is revealed.

·        Detect Thoughts (DC = Spell-Slave’s Will save) cast on the Soulcrystal can reveal spells known by the Spell-slave after three rounds of examination.  Each round of study after the third reveals one new spell.

·        Analyze Dweomer will automatically (no save) reveal all spells the Spell-slave knows, as allowed by the duration of the spell (1 spell per round).

In using this skill, you are limited to the same spellcasting restrictions as any sorcerer, including available spell slots and the trading of higher-level spell slots to cast lower-level spells.  Spell effects, such as power and duration, are dependent on the caster level of the Spell-slave, not on that of the soulcrystal wielder.  Spell casting times are unchanged.  When the spell manifests, the soulcrystal glows—its brightness depends upon the aura strength of the channeled spell (see detect magic on page 193 of the Player’s Handbook). It also appears as though the person using the skill is actually casting the spell as a sorcerer would.