Greater Divination

Description: This school includes a variety of spells that reveal information that would otherwise remain hidden or secret. Greater divination spells reveal the existence of specific items, creatures, or conditions, as well as information about the past, present, and future. This school also includes spells that contact creatures from other planes of existence, but do not induce direct action from those creatures.

Specialist Name: Diviner.

Allowed Races: Elves, half-elves, and humans are all eligible to specialize as diviners. (Note that Table 22 on page 31 of the Player's Handbook is incorrect-- gnomes cannot be diviners. )

Ability Requirements: A wizard must have a strong intuition and exceptional willpower to master divination spells, reflected in a high Wisdom score. Specialists in this school must have a minimum Wisdom score of 16.

Saving Throw Modifiers: All opponents modify their saving throws by -1 when attempting to save against a divination spell cast by a diviner. A diviner adds a +1 bonus when saving against divination spells or any magical devices that duplicate these effects.

Bonus Spells and Acquired Powers: A diviner can memorize an extra spell at each spell level, providing that at least one of the memorized spells is from the school of divination.

When a diviner reaches 17th level, he acquires immunity to all forms of scrying spells, such as ESP and know alignment, as well as immunity against magical items that duplicate these effects. An opponent using ESP on a 17th level diviner has no more success than if he were attempting to read the mind of a stone. An opponent using clairaudience on an unseen 17th level diviner neither receives information nor becomes aware of the diviner's presence.

When a diviner reaches 19th level, he receives the ability to cast a special find traps spell three times per day. The spell has an area of effect equal to a 10-foot-path up to a range of 30 yards. To cast the spell, the diviner must merely point in the desired direction and concentrate; no verbal or material components are required. Similar to the 2nd-level priest spell, find traps reveals the existence of all normally concealed magical and mechanical traps, including alarms, glyphs, and similar spells and devices. The diviner learns the general nature of the trap (magical or mechanical) but not its exact effect or how to disarm it.

When a diviner reaches 20th level, he receives the ability to cast a special divination spell once per day. To cast the spell, the diviner must concentrate for one full turn; no verbal or material components are required. Similar to the 4th-level priest spell, divination reveals a useful piece of advice concerning a specific goal, event, or activity that will occur within the next seven days. The revelation may take the form of an omen, a short phrase, or a cryptic verse, but it always reveals specific advice. In all cases, the DM controls the type of information revealed and whether additional divinations will supply additional information. The base chance for a correct divination is 80 percent, adjusted by the DM for unusual circumstances or extreme requests (such as a diviner trying to learn the exact location of a powerful artifact). If the dice roll fails, the diviner knows that the spell failed, unless specific magic yielding false information is at work.

Oppositional Schools: The diviner is denied access to the school of conjuration/summoning.

Spell Analysis: The variety of spells available to the diviner is more restricted than any other school or specialist. Offensive spells -- that is, those that inflict damage on opponents either directly or indirectly -- are nonexistent for this school. Defensive spells that either inhibit an enemy's attack ability or provide direct protection for the diviner and his companions are likewise unavailable. This doesn't mean that the diviner is useless on the battlefield; it means that his strength lies elsewhere.

As a gatherer of information, the diviner is without peer. A diviner can anticipate unexpected dangers, can separate the truth from lies, and is exceptionally effective as a spy. He can bolster his party's defenses by alerting them to the presence of normally undetectable opponents. Although the repertoire of divination spells is relatively small, the diviner has access to more schools than any other specialist.

There are two general groups of greater divination spells. One group includes spells that reveal information about a specific object or creature, such as ESP and locate object. A second group reveals information about any type of object or creature within the range of the spell; this group includes detect invisibility and clairvoyance.

Most Desirable Spells:

Low-Level: All 1st-level through 4th-level divination spells are part of the lesser divination school, and are available to all schools. These are discussed in more detail in the Lesser Divination section below. However, a well-rounded diviner will have detect magic, read magic, and ESP included in his repertoire; know alignment and clairvoyance are also important basic divination spells.

Medium-Level: All of the medium-level divination spells are strong, with legend lore and true seeing likely to get the most use. Contact other plane is a valuable spell if the diviner's party lacks a conjurer or other wizard capable of contacting extraplanar creatures.

High-Level: With only a handful of high-level greater divination spells, the diviner has few choices. Note that foresight is one of the few divination spells that offers the diviner protection from harm.

Ethos: Diviners are perhaps the wisest of all wizards. Their investigations into the world around them and their perusal of events of the past and the future empower them with a base of knowledge and insight rivaled only by the most learned scholars. A diviner typically possesses a striking insight into the workings of men's minds; few are better judges of character than diviners.

Diviners tend to be cautious and deliberate in their actions. Because their divinations have taught them that men are prone to hiding their true feelings and motivations, many diviners are suspicious and distrustful, sometimes to the point of cynicism. Those diviners who allow distrust and cynicism to overwhelm them tend to be of evil alignment. Those who accept man's ambiguous character as a part of the natural order tend to be of neutral alignment. Those who maintain faith in man's innate goodness tend to be of good alignment.

Diviners are not predisposed to the adventuring life, and accept such a career only reluctantly. They are not natural combatants; in fact, wizards lacking in physical prowess are drawn to divination more than any other specialty. Still, diviners make valuable additions to adventuring parties; their judgement, cunning, and plain common sense are welcome commodities. A party must take care to provide protection for diviners since they usually lack any significant ability to defend themselves.

Diviners are loners at heart and do not make close friends easily. They rarely raise large families. Diviners of good alignment generally harbor no ill feelings against other people, and will usually assist them when asked. Still, they prefer to live alone in remote areas where they can conduct their research and investigation undisturbed. Stone towers on cliff sides or atop high hills are ideal residences for diviners. Though they show little interest in material possessions, diviners earn money by charging for their services as seers, fortune-tellers, and finders of lost objects and persons

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