The World of Novi

Encyclopedia of Novi: PROFESSIONS

Copyright Lowell R. Matthews 199

During the late 39th Century A.R., the setting in which all Novi campaigns to date have been run, the Eastern Hemisphere (East for short) is in many ways more technologically advanced than is the West, site of the original Novi AD&D campaign. The East is currently experiencing an age of discovery and therefore has essentially the full range of RM professions available. The distinctive "Oriental" cultures of Kharlak, the Mintakan Empire, and the Mornikai domains feature specialized professions as detailed in a special section below.

Profession	Abbr.	Book	Class	Realm	Annuvia
Alchemist The mage-engineer, the primary creator of magic items.	ALC	CL	Pure	E	Yes, M
Animist The herbalist, a nature Channeler.	ANM	CL	Pure	C	Yes, D
Archmage The first mage, uses primal forces of all three Realms.	AMG	RC1	Arcane	All	Yes, M
Arcist Archmage using the individual spell development rules.	ARC	RC4	Arcane	All	Yes, M
Arms Master Command specialist, essentially a Semi Leader.	ARM	RC7	Semi	M	No
Ashigaru The basic Oriental Fighter.	ASH	OC	Non	—	No
Assassin The classic infiltration and assassination specialist.	ASN	RC3	Non	—	Yes, A
Astral Traveller The mage of dimensional travel.	ATR	RC4	Hybrid	E/M	No
Astrologer Reader of the stars, essentially a Cleric-Seer.	AST	CL	Hybrid	C/M	No
Barbarian The classic primitive, a survival specialist.	BAR	RC1	Non	—	Yes, Bn
Bard The classic entertainer, uses music magic.	BRD	CL	Semi	M+	Yes, B
Bashkar The berserker, specialist in frenzied fighting.	BSH	RC3	Non	—	Yes, Bn
Beastmaster The master of animal familiars, also uses combat magic.	BMR	RC2	Semi	E+	Yes, R
Bounty Hunter Fighter specializing in tracking.	BHR	RC3	Non	—	Yes, R
Burglar Essentially a Thief-Acrobat.	BRG	RC1	Non	—	Yes, TA
Cavalier The classic chivalrous Fighter.	CAV	RC3	Non	—	Yes, Cv
Chaotic Lord The Black master of Chaos magic.	CHL	RC3	Semi	C	No
Cleric The classic direct Channeler.	CLR	CL	Pure	C	Yes, C
Conjuror The Gray mage of summoning and circles of power.	CNJ	RC2	Pure	E	Yes, M
Crafter* Essentially a Semi Craftsman.	CFR	RC3	Semi	E+	Yes, M
Craftsman* A craft specialist largely supplanted by the Professional.	CFM	RC3	Non	—	Yes, T
Crystal Mage The material-component mage of Earth and Fire.	CMG	RC3	Hybrid	E/C	Yes, M
Dancer Essentially a martial artist acrobat.	DNC	RC2	Non	—	Yes, Mk
Delver* The mage-architect, essentially a Thief with Alchemist magic.	DLV	RC1	Semi	E	Yes, M
Dervish Religious Dancer.	DRV	RC2	Semi	C	Yes, Mk
Doppelgänger The mage of shape-shifting.	DPG	RC7	Pure	M	No
Dream Lord The mage of dreams and dream realities; the C/M variant is called Spirit Dream Lord (SDL).	DRL	RC3	Hybrid	E/M+	No
Druid Nature Channeler specializing in Earth and animal magics.	DRD	RC1	Pure	C	Yes, D
Duelist Fighter specializing in ritual combat.	DUE	RC3	Non	—	Yes, F
Elementalist The Warrior Mage of elemental forms.	ELM	RC7	Semi	E	Yes, M
Enchanter The mage of charms, also the second-best illusionist.	ENC	RC4	Hybrid	E/M	No
Farmer* The classic agriculture specialist.	FRM	RC3	Non	—	Yes
Fighter The classic generic combat specialist.	FTR	CL	Non	—	Yes, F
Forcemage The mage of physical forces, magnetism, and gravity.	FMG	RC5	Pure	E	Yes, M
Geisha Oriental mistress of the arts and manipulation.	GSH	OC	Semi	M+	No
Gypsy Essentially a Trader-Thief.	GYP	RC3	Non	—	Yes, T
Healer The empathic religious healers, who heal by taking others' wounds onto themselves.	HLR	CL	Pure	C	No
High Warrior Monk Essentially a Warrior Monk with greater specialization.	HWM	RC1	Non	—	Yes, Mk
Houri Essentially a Rogue with seduction magic.	HOU	RC4	Semi	M	No
Illusionist The classic mage of illusions.	ILL	CL	Pure	E	Yes, I
Kuge* Members of the Oriental nobility who do not follow another profession; they are most often diplomats or bureaucrats.	KUG	OC	Non	—	No
Lay Healer Essentially a magically enhanced surgeon.	LHR	CL	Pure	M	No
Leader Command and tactical skills specialist.	LDR	RC4	Non	—	Yes, F
Macabre The Black Warrior Mage of curse and sickness magics.	MCB	RC3	Semi	E/C	No
Magician The classic mage of the elements.	MAG	CL	Pure	E	Yes, M
Magus The mage of Spirit Runes and Command Words.	MGS	RC3	Hybrid	E/C+	No
Maleficant The Black voodoo priest.	MLF	RC5	Hybrid	M/C	No
Mentalist The classic mage of the mind.	MNT	CL	Pure	M	No
Monk Essentially a magically enhanced Warrior Monk.	MNK	CL	Semi	E+	Yes, Mk
Montebanc Essentially a Gray Illusionist-Thief.	MBC	RC3	Semi	M+	Yes
Moon Mage Channeler of moon magic.	MMG	RC3	Semi	C	No
Mystic The mage of subterfuge, also uses the elements.	MYS	CL	Hybrid	E/M	No
Necromancer The classic Black mage of death magic and the Undead.	NEC	RC2	Hybrid	E/C	Yes, M
Nightblade Essentially a Thief with Gray combat magic.	NBL	RC1	Semi	M	No
Ninja The Oriental master infiltrator and assassin.	NIN	OC	Non	--	No
No Profession Jack of all trades, master of none.	NPF	CL	Semi	One	Yes
Noble Warrior The secular version of the Paladin.	NWR	RC3	Semi	M	No
Paladin The classic magically enhanced religious warrior.	PLD	RC1	Semi	C	Yes, P
Professional* The preferred class for noncombat specialists, Professionals can be masters of professions yet still relatively low level.	PRO	RC3	Non	—	Yes
Ranger The classic wilderness Fighter, uses nature magic.	RNG	CL	Semi	C	Yes, R
Rogue Essentially a Fighter-Thief.	ROG	CL	Non	—	Yes, F
Runemaster The mage of the written and spoken word.	RUM	RC2	Pure	E	Yes, M
Sage* The classic mage of information, a spell-using Scholar.	SAG	RC2	Pure	M	No
Sailor The classic mariner.	SLR	RC3	Non	—	Yes, F
Samurai The noble Oriental Fighter to whom honor is all.	SAM	OC	Non	--	No
Scholar* The classic information specialist.	SCL	RC2	Non	--	Yes
Seer The mage of vision.	SEE	CL	Pure	M	No
Shadow Mage The Black Necromancer of the Fey.	SMG	RC7	Hybrid	E/C	Yes, M
Shaman Channeler specializing in dealings with the spirit world.	SHM	RC2	Pure	C	Yes, C
Sleuth The mage-detective, essentially a Rogue with detection magic.	SLU	RC3	Semi	C+	Yes
Sohei An Oriental religious variant of the Warrior Monk.	SOH	OC	Non	--	No
Sorcerer The Gray mage of destruction, physical, mental, and spiritual.	SRC	CL	Hybrid	E/C	Yes, M
Tarot Mage The master of the mysteries of the Tarot.	TRM	RC7	Hybrid	E/C	Yes, M
Thief The classic subterfuge specialist.	THF	CL	Non	—	Yes, T
Time Traveller The mage of time travel.	TTR	Novi	Hybrid	E/M	No
Trader The classic merchant and financial specialist.	TDR	RC2	Non	—	Yes, T
Warlock The mage of fear and physical alterations.	WRL	RC2	Hybrid	E/M	No
Warrior Essentially a primitive Fighter with greater specialization.	WAR	RC3	Non	—	Yes, F
Warrior Mage Essentially a Fighter-Magician.	WMG	RC2	Semi	E	Yes
Warrior Monk The classic master of the martial arts.	WMK	CL	Non	—	Yes, Mk
Witch Essentially an Alchemist-Conjuror-Druid.	WTC	RC2	Hybrid	E/C	Yes, M
Witch Hunter Essentially a Ranger specialized for hunting spell-users.	WHR	RC7	Semi	C	Yes, R
Wizard The mage who manipulates the laws of magic.	WIZ	RC5	Pure	E	No
Wu Jen The Oriental Black variant of the Conjuror.	WUJ	OC	Hybrid	E/C	No
Yamabushi An Oriental religious variant of the Monk, or a magically enhanced Sohei.	YMB	OC	Semi	E+	No

The professions marked with an asterisk (*) are not usually chosen by adventurers. (Of course, even the "adventuring" professions are not equally adept at survival.) "Book" refers to the Rolemaster book in which the profession was introduced, namely Character Law, Rolemaster Companions I-V and VII (RC VI contains no new professions), the Oriental Companion, and the author's original creation (the Time Traveller) marked "Novi." The professions from the Elemental Companion are not in use because they do not fit properly into the Novi world-view (possibly excepting the largely "unexplored" continent of Soldunia), and neither do the Buddhist and Shinto Priests from the Oriental Companion. "Class" refers to the profession’s ability to use magic, being "Non" for nonmagical Arms specialists, "Semi" for those professions which combine combat or subterfuge ability with limited magic use, "Pure" for those Spell-Users which use only one Realm of magic, "Hybrid" for those which combine two Realms, and "Arcane" for those which use the primal magic which combines all three Realms.

Those Realms of magic are Essence, Channeling, and Mentalism. Essence mages or "Essentialists" manipulate the primal forces which bind the cosmos together, Channelers obtain power from supernatural beings (in Novi's case, the Creator and the Powers), and Mentalism mages or "Mentalismists" (distinct from the RM profession Mentalist) channel the Essence through their own minds to enhance their mental abilities in a manner similar to that of the Powers but on a mortal scale. The Realm of Mentalism, in particular, is poorly developed in Annuvia; however, it is still accessible through the Archmage and Arcist professions. Those professions marked with a plus sign (+) in this column have variants of differing Realms. These include Channeling and Essence Bards and Geishas; Channeling and Mentalism Beastmasters, Crafters, Monks, and Yamabushi; Essence Montebancs; Mentalism Sleuths; Pure Essence and Pure Channeling Magi; and Mentalism/Channeling Dream Lords. Of course, Mentalism variants are generally not available in Annuvia. There are many more RM professions allowed in Annuvia than there are in AD&D; however, many of the additions are simply small variations on or specializations of the standard AD&D classes, particularly Magic-User and Thief. The simplest solution would have been to simply declare that all Annuvian magic-users are Archmages.

Special Professions of the "Oriental" Cultures

The Oriental Companion suggests that the following standard or "Western" professions (through the RC V) should be allowed in an "Oriental" culture, with the appropriate cultural restrictions: Alchemist, Animist, Archmage, Arcist, Assassin, Astral Traveller, Astrologer, Burglar, Conjuror, Crafter, Craftsman, Delver, Dream Lord, Farmer, Forcemage, Healer, High Warrior Monk, Illusionist, Lay Healer, Macabre, Magician, Magus, Mentalist, Montebanc, Mystic, Necromancer, Nightblade, Noble Warrior, Professional, Rogue, Sage, Sailor, Scholar, Seer, Sorcerer, Thief, Trader, Warlock, Warrior Mage, and Wizard. It furthermore suggests that the following professions should not be allowed: Barbarian, Bard, Bashkar, Beastmaster, Bounty Hunter, Cavalier, Chaotic Lord, Cleric, Crystal Mage, Dancer, Dervish, Druid, Duelist, Fighter, Gypsy, Houri, Leader, Maleficant, Monk, Moon Mage, Paladin, Ranger, Runemaster, Shaman, Sleuth, Warrior Monk, Warrior, and Witch.

The "Oriental" cultures of Novi consist of the four main Novani (Human) cultures of the continent of Kharlak (the Khar Kang, Khar Sum, Khar Tam, and Khar Zin) and their cultural descendants in the Mintakan Empire and the mountainous Mornikai domains. "Western" influence is noticeable in the Almiran "colonies," but very low in Kharlak itself, where the suggestions of the OC are generally honored with one significant exception: the Cleric is not replaced by the OC Buddhist and Shinto Priests.