The Vagabonds, known for their adaptability and ability to connect with diverse elements of the world of Arelia, have developed a unique skill: Arcane Connection. It is essentially a form of spontaneous connection and interaction with arcane magic sources commonly mastered by Magicians. This ability enables them to interact with Arcane Magic in two primary ways.

Firstly, Vagabonds can attempt to cast spells of arcane magic, albeit in a limited capacity. Unlike traditional Magicians who meticulously study magical formulas, Vagabonds rely on their worldly experiences, acumen, focus and dedication to mastering this skill. Through emulation, they can try to replicate magic formulas, achieving effects similar to those produced by Magicians. However, they are restricted to learning magic formulas associated with a single arcane discipline and cannot replicate complex spells known as "potent sorceries".

Secondly, they can utilize magical objects and enchantments typically reserved for Magicians.

Replicating Arcane Power

To acquire the ability to cast arcane magic spells, a Vagabond must meet two specific requirements. They must possess a Focus score of at least 45 and reach a minimum score of 25% into this ability. In this calculation are taken into account the points allocated to this ability along with any modifiers based on their race, class, and Acumen score. Importantly, this requirement may be met at later stages of character development rather than during initial creation.

This ability is modified by the score that the Vagabond has in Focus as follows:

Alignment with an Arcane Discipline

The process of aligning with a specific arcane discipline involves selecting from the available options and undergoing an Acumen test, subject to a penalty of -10%. Success in this test indicates alignment with the chosen arcane discipline. However, failure prompts the Vagabond to attempt alignment with another arcane discipline through a similar test. If this second attempt also fail, the arcane discipline will be determined randomly from the remaining options. Note that the Vagabond cannot use fate points to influence this test but may have the opportunity to use Divinity Points. There are nine arcane disciplines:

1) Arcanomancy
2) Darkcraft
3) Elementalism
4) Fascination
5) Manifestation
6) Miragecraft
7) Transmutation
8) Wardcraft
9) Revelation

Once Vagabonds have determined their aligned arcane discipline, they can proceed to identify the specific spells within that arcane discipline that they have access to and can attempt to cast during their adventures.

Spell Selection

When Vagabonds are first created and at each subsequent level of experience that is reached, they have the opportunity to choose the arcane spells available to them for their missions. The number of spells they can potentially select is determined by their level of experience and their Arcane Connection ability score. In this calculation, only the points allocated to this ability are taken into account, along with any modifiers based on their race, class, and Acumen score. Access to spells is determined by referencing the following table. For instance, if a Vagabond has attained the fifth level of experience and possesses a 50% score in their Arcane Connection ability, the Vagabond can choose a spell of Grade 1, two spells of Grade 2, and a spell of Grade 3 from Arcane Rank I and a spell of Grade 1 and a spell of Grade 2 from Arcane Rank II. Note that the Vagabond cannot use fate points to influence this test but may have the opportunity to use Divinity Points.

The following rules are used to determine the specific spells available for the Vagabond throughout their adventures. For every spell at the Vagabond's disposal, they must choose three potential spells to learn. All the spells have to be selected among those available within the Arcane Discipline the Vagabond is aligned with.

Spells that, because of their complexity, cannot be written in Arcane Magic Scrolls cannot be selected by Vagabonds.

Once the three spells are chosen, the Vagabond designates a favorite one and undergoes an Acumen test. The Vagabond has to apply a penalty of -5% for each Holy Rank of the spell and an additional penalty of -3% for each Grade of complexity of the spell above the first (that means an additional penalty of -3% for spells of Grade 2 and of -6% for spells of Grade 3). Success allows them to choose their preferred spell from the three selected. Failure results in a random selection from the remaining two spells. By applying this rule to each available spell, the Vagabond can select their access to arcane spells. It's important to note that if the Vagabond has access to multiple spells of the same Grade within the same Arcane Rank, they must select three different spells each time, excluding those previously chosen (even if not eventually selected).

Spell Casting

Within each twenty-four-hour cycle beginning at midnight, the Vagabond can try to cast a maximum number of spells available to them (irrespective of the success or failure of the attempts), dependent on their level of experience, as outlined in the table below.

In doing so, the Vagabond must adhere to all spellcasting rules. Note that although Vagabonds like Magicians must allow magical energies to flow freely with their movements, their familiarity with light armors allows them to decrease the chance of failure in casting when wearing armors by 10% (this bonus does not add to any similar bonus, only the highest bonus shall be applied).

Note that Vagabonds have the option to access the war art known as "Martial Magic" by investing 200 War Points, a reduced cost from the standard 300 War Points commonly paid by Magicians. However, Vagabonds are restricted to using this technique solely for casting spells through the Arcane Connection ability. Notably, instead of expending an additional magic point for spell casting, they will face a casting failure chance distinct from other failures, set at 4% when wielding small-sized weapons and 7% when wielding medium-sized weapons. This casting failure percentage remains fixed and cannot be altered by Fate Points; Divine Points may be regularly used on this roll. Otherwise, Vagabonds must strictly adhere to all the other rules as provided for by this war art. Should a Vagabond also be part of the Magician macro class and opt to acquire this war art at its full price of 300 War Points, he or she can utilize it both in the aforementioned spell casting mode via Arcane Connection and in regular spell casting mode as a Magician. Furthermore, if a Vagabond, who is also a multi-class Magicians, has acquired the war art "Advanced Martial Magic," he or she can use it to indistinctly to cast spells granted by the Arcane Connection ability and regular Magicians' arcane magic. In this case, Vagabonds will have no chance of failure in casting the spell through Arcane Connection and will apply the regular rules provided by the war combat art to all these spells.

Please note that the Vagabond cannot modify in any way the method of casting, it may possible only using magic items or other enchantments that usually Magicians use through the Use Arcane Enchantments methods. They may only decrease the Tier of Spell Casting of the spell they cast.

When attempting to cast a spell, the Vagabond must pass an Arcane Connection test, with the following modifiers applied. Success results in a regular spellcasting outcome, while failure entails that the spell has not been cast and any consumable material components has been consumed.

- For each attempt (even if unsuccessful) of spell casting after the first within the same 24-hour cycle: -5% cumulative.

- For spells of the I, II, III, IV, or V Holy Rank, penalties of -3%, -6%, -9%, -12%, and -15% respectively are incurred.

- For spells of difficulty Grade 2 and difficulty Grade 3: penalties of -3% and -7% respectively.

- For each attempt (even if unsuccessful) of casting the same spell after the first within the same 24-hour cycle: -10% cumulative.

Tier of Spell Casting

If the casting is successful, the spell will be considered cast at a tier of spell casting determined by the Vagabond's level of experience, as outlined in the following table.

Arcane Enchantments Affinity

Arcane Enchantments

The Vagabonds who invest points in this skill gain the ability to use magical items typically reserved for Magicians. These items can vary in type but must be usable in some abstract manner by the Vagabond, not solely reliant on skills exclusive to Magicians. For example, a Vagabond could wield a magic wand but couldn't utilize a magical item that increases magic points, as they lack such points. To ascertain if a Vagabond can use a specific magical item, they must undergo an Arcane Connection test with a penalty based on the potency of all the enchantments present on the item: for every 500 value of the enchantments or fraction thereof, there's a -3% penalty. When attempting to use a magical item typically reserved for Magicians, the Vagabond must pass a skill test. Success means they've effectively used the item as a Magician would. However, this test must be rerolled for each subsequent use of the item. If the test fails, the item activates as usual but fails to produce any magical effect. For magical items with continuous magical effects when worn, the validity of the roll extends until midnight each day and must be repeated daily to determine if the item functions for the Vagabond.

- If the Vagabond try to use an enchantment from the Arcane Discipline he is aligned with, a bonus +5% applies.

Arcane Magic Scrolls

The same skill can be used by Vagabonds to decipher the magical formulas used by wizards to write spells on the Arcane Magic Scrolls. Through a successful skill test, they can unlock the secrets of these arcane scripts. When attempting to decipher these formulas, Vagabonds must consider modifiers based on the Arcane Rank and Difficulty Grade of the spell. Each spell requires a separate test, which is a complex action lasting a full round.

Arcane Rank I: No penalty
Arcane Rank II: -4% penalty
Arcane Rank III: -10% penalty
Arcane Rank IV: -18% penalty
Arcane Rank V: -28% penalty
Arcane Rank VI: -40% penalty
Arcane Rank VII: -54% penalty
Arcane Rank VIII: -70% penalty
Arcane Rank IX: -88% penalty

Preparatory Spells (Difficulty Grade 1): No penalty
Academic Spells (Difficulty Grade 2): -3% penalty
Advanced Spells (Difficulty Grade 3): -6% penalty
Powerful Sorceries (Difficulty Grade 4): -9% penalty

Upon a successful test, the Vagabond gains insight into:
- A brief indication of the magic's effects (only if the reader of the scroll is familiar with magic, thus understanding what spell it is). A successful test on the Spellcraft skill, may reveal more details about the magic, its main effects, and how it works.
- The Arcane Discipline, Rank and Difficulty Grade of the spell as well as the casting tier at which it has been written.
- The success rate of inscribing the spell onto the scroll.

If the test is unsuccessful, the Vagabond is unable to decipher the spell and would be able to try to decipher it again with a new test only after reaching a new experience level.

Only if a Vagabond as successfully deciphered a spell inscribed on an Arcane Magic Scroll, he/she may try to cast it using the scroll.

This is a different way of using this skill compared to deciphering magical formulas to understand their meaning (successfully deciphering the formulas on a scroll beforehand does not help the thief pronounce the spell correctly when casting the spell). For this reason, even if the Vagabond has previously deciphered the formulas on a scroll, he must make a new test at the time of casting the spell based on the above modifiers.

To summarize, if a Vagabond attempts to cast a spell from a Arcane Magic Scroll, he/she must make the following tests:

1) Arcane Connection Test: The Vagabond must make the test in the skill with the modifiers listed above. If the test fails, the Vagabond will not have been able to correctly pronounce the magical formula, and the action will result in nothing (the magic will remain written on the scroll, and the Vagabond can only attempt to cast it again upon reaching the next level).

2) Writing Defect: If the Vagabond has correctly pronounced the magical formula, it is necessary to verify if the one who wrote the magical scroll did so correctly. As specified in the section regarding the writing of Arcane Magic Scrolls, in fact, every Magician, when producing a scroll, has a certain percentage of writing a spell correctly. Only at the time of casting will it be possible to determine if he succeeded. If the roll is not successful, the magic will vanish from the scroll (burning the part of the scroll on which it was written), and nothing will happen. If, instead, the roll is successful, the magic can be cast normally.

3) Level Difference: If the second roll is also successful, the difference between the experience level of the Vagabond using the scroll and the casting level of the spell written on it must be considered. If, indeed, the Vagabond's level is equal to or higher than the latter, the spell will be cast without problems. If, however, the Vagabond's level is lower than the inscription level of the spell, he will have a chance of error in casting the spell equal to 4% per level difference. Furthermore, an additional 6% chance of failure will be applied for each Arcane Rank of the spell higher than the highest power level the Vagabond would have access to if he/she was a Magician of the same experience level. Therefore, if this roll fails, the spell will vanish from the scroll, and nothing will happen; unless the Vagabond has made a roll equal to or less than 1/2 of the rounded down failure percentage (1% from 2% to 3% failure, 2% from 4% to 5% failure, 3% from 6% to 7% failure, and so on...). In this case, not only will the spell vanish from the scroll, burning the part of the scroll on which it was written, but there will also be a Special Failure in the casting. Note that to calculate the level of difference, instead of using the Vagabond's level of experience, the Vagabond will be considered as a Magician of a level of experience determined by the Vagabond's level of experience, as outlined in the following table.