Occult Philologist (Wizard/Oracle)

All wizards believe in the power of words, particularly the written word. Words possess tremendous power, whether it is capturing an idea, conveying feelings, or unleash potent magic. The occult philologist takes this a step further, for he reveres the written word as something supernal, as a symbol or manifestation of the divine. As such, occult philologists seek to decipher ancient codes and devise new ones, greedily search out lost tomes of magic and legends, and unleash their magic through the use of written text. Whether a cabalist or scientist, or a calligrapher, poet, or linguist, the occult philologist can be all these and more. (Original Concept by Bardess)

Primary Class: Wizard.

Secondary Class: Oracle.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Dice: d6.

Bonus Skills and Ranks: The occult philologist may select three oracle skills to add to his class skills in addition to the normal wizard class skills. An occult philologist also adds his mystery skills to his list of class skills. An occult philologist gains a number of ranks at each level equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The occult philologist is proficient with all simple weapons, with light armor, but not with shields. He can cast wizard spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, an occult philologist wearing medium armor, heavy armor, or a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component. A multiclass occult philologist still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.

Spellcasting: An occult philologist casts arcane spells drawn from the wizard’s spell list and gains his mystery spells at the indicated levels. An occult philologist prepares his spells by scribing them onto special leaflets and casting them by reading the spell directly from the leaflets (see Philology). An occult philologist otherwise learns spells as a wizard of equal level.

Arcane Mystery: At 1st level, an occult philologist gains the oracle’s mystery ability. An occult philologist may only choose the Ancestor, Dark Tapestry, Heavens, Lore, Occult, or Time mystery, or the new Spirits mystery or Words mystery. An occult philologist gains one mystery spell slot for each level of spell he can cast, from 1st on up. Each day, an occult philologist can prepare his mystery spells in those slots. An occult philologist can select a mystery spell modified by a metamagic feat to prepare in his bonus slot, but it uses up a higher level mystery spell slot. The occult philologist may also prepare mystery spells in his normal spell slots if he so chooses. An occult philologist must select two magic schools as his oppo