Quote:
Arcanum is a catchall term for the art of manipulating magic. Like the Knowledge and Artisan skills, Arcanum is actually a collection of 5 Arcanum Traditions; each is a different skill with its own Primary Attribute. When you gain this skill, you must pick one of these Traditions. If you wish to learn another Arcanum Tradition, you must learn each one as an individual skill.
Specializations are restricted to specific races. Cants (Theurgy), Sorcery (Eldritch), and Shamanism (Primal) are available to most races, while Meditation (Psionics) is limited to val Heroes and Thaumaturgy (Elder) is limited to elorii Heroes.
Southernskies wrote:
You can share a Tradition (the knowledge) without sharing a Source (ability to cast spells) to learn . Access to a Source is severely restricted, due to jealousy amongst the gods.
Requiring the ability to also cast spells of that Source prevents Martials and (non-casting) Experts from having a reason to broaden their skills.
Attacking a heavily armoured foe with a dagger is a good time to instead provide assists (melee or Ritual Casting).
The way the word "Tradition" is used in the
Arcanum skill description is quite clearly
not the same meaning of the word Tradition in the other magic rules of the book, but the skill description uses the word "Tradition" to convey what other parts of the rules mean by "Source." Compare
ARPG pages 141 with 322-42.
It is not clear based on the wording of the skill use whether it intends to allow those without the ability to cast spells to be able to assist in casting spells. I can see it argued either way, though I personally feel that only spell casters should be able to assist in casting. A definitive answer would be appreciated.