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Hello all.

I was taking a look at the Wind dancer Discipline in the old Denizens and I noticed something odd.

They get Spellcasting (with Thread Weaving and a Spell Matrix) at 4th Circle.... and then Read/Write Magic at FIFTH Circle.

So.. basically they learn to cast 1 Circle before being able to... learn spells?

I checked the old erratas and could not find anything addressing that.

Am I missing something? (yeah I know, Windancers are 'rebooted' in 3rd Edition but still..)

They get 3 free spells as part of their 4th circle abilities.

But YES, it means they cannot learn any other spells until fifth circle.

Spader wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 29, 2019 1:50 am

They get 3 free spells as part of their 4th circle abilities.

But YES, it means they cannot learn any other spells until fifth circle.

But still, how did he wrote those 3 free spells in his spell book?

Sufficiently advanced technology.

Slimcreeper wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 29, 2019 12:35 pm

Sufficiently advanced technology.

.... is indistinguishable from magic...

Bonhumm wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 29, 2019 12:16 pm

But still, how did he wrote those 3 free spells in his spell book?

Osmosis!!

The flippant answers above are actually the correct ones - I would not worry about it. But if you are looking for an in-game answer, it could be the difference between being able to learn something, and somebody else being able to pound it into your head.

Read/Write magic represents your ability to learn new spells on your own. It takes an undetermined amount of time, but is generally assumed to take somewhere between a few minutes and a few hours. It is a magical process with it's own magical rules and has a test to see if it succeeds.

Training takes a week. It is a magical process with it's own magical rules and benefits. It does not require a test to see if it succeeds. At the end of the week your trainer has pounded your new abilities into your head. For a 4th circle windmaster that includes three first circle spells.

As an alternative answer, I don't think it is anywhere in the 4th edition books, but I think that one of the early edition books said that during the training process, the trainer attaches temporary threads from his own talents to the student, therefor allowing the student to practice using the Talents that the trainer has and that the student does not yet have. It could be assumed that part of the windmasters 4th circle training involved lending the read/write magic talent long enough for the spells to be copied.

But once again, it's magic. It happens. It works. Don't worry about it.