Calligrapher Supplies
General
| Type | Toolkits |
| Value | 25 gp |
| Weight | 5 lb |
| Components | • ink • a dozen sheets of parchment • three quills |
Calligraphy treats writing as delicate, beautiful art. Calligraphers produce text that is pleasing to the eye, using a style that is difficult to forge. Their supplies also give them some ability to examine scripts and determine if they are legitimate, since a calligrapher's training involves long hours of studying writing and attempting to replicate its style and design.
A skilled calligrapher would be in demand for tasks such as:
- Writing invitations for events put on by the rich and powerful
- Writing official legal documents
- Creating pieces of drawn art that requires delicate details
- Adding decorative elements to books, maps, and other documents
- Applying and designing tattoos, both magical and mundane
Calligraphy
Apply or Remove a Tattoo | Trained
More information and rules can be found on the Magical Tattoos page.
Create Artwork | Trained
Calligraphers can create artwork of animals, people, locations, and anything else that they could imagine. Generally, this artwork is simply a mundane way of capturing an image or location, or perhaps to make some extra coin in town, and does not require a check unless there is a specific goal behind the intention that has a chance for failure. Creating an artwork takes time, and the time can vary from 30 minutes or an hour to a simple sketch, to a full day for a complex, detailed piece, and the amount of time required is up to the DM's discretion.
| Base DC | Examples |
|---|---|
| 10 | A simple or stylized likeness of an individual or item that could be sold as a street-side caricature artist. |
| 15 | A likeness of a location that could count as "Description/Seen Once" for the purpose of teleport. |
| 20 | An accurate likeness of an individual or item for the use of a scrying or locate object spell, or a location that could count as "Seen Casually" for the purpose of teleport. |
| 25 | A likeness of a location that could count as "Very Familiar" for the purpose of teleport. |
| 30 | A likeness of a location that permanently counts as an "Associated Object" for the purpose of teleport, functionally eliminating the chance for failure. |
Decipher Meaning | Trained
Those trained in calligrapher supplies are adept at deciphering the meaning of written texts, such as legal writings, old scrolls, or even artwork such as runic frescoes. This could manifest in the way the text is organized, specific language used, or the hidden meaning in the arrangement of images, which might have symbols hidden within them. The DC of such a check is determined by the result of the calligrapher supplies check to hide the meaning in the first place.
Hide Meaning | Trained
While calligraphers have no innate skill in creating ciphers and codes, they are adept at hiding them in plain sight. While this requires the calligrapher to know the cipher, it can add an additional layer of security for those that wish to transmit secret messages through writing or artwork. They are also good at adding double-language to contracts and similar manuscripts, which can give them, or their employers, additional loopholes.
| Base DC | Examples |
|---|---|
| 10 | Hiding a simple code phrase in a letter. |
| 15 | Hiding a medium-length message in the pages of a pamphlet; add mild, nondestructive loopholes to a contract. |
| 20 | Hiding a detailed message in a multiple-page manuscript or several consecutive images. |
| 25 | Hiding a detailed message or cipher in the pages of a pamphlet; add severe, damning loopholes to a contract. |
| 30 | Hiding a complex cipher and detailed message in a very limited space, such as a single sketch or a one-page letter. |
Identify Scribe or Forgery | Trained
You can identify traits of the writer of a script, and in the process you can potentially recognize the scribe or details that could help to narrow down who the writer may have been. This is especially useful in identifying forgeries, but this can also allow for innate understandings into minute details of the writer: such as their mental state, whether the text was written under duress, what hand they used to write it, and other such information. For specific forgeries, the DC typically equals the check of the forgery kit roll that was used to forge the text.
| Base DC | Examples |
|---|---|
| 10 | Broad details about the scripture, such as what kind of ink or pen they used. |
| 15 | Broad insinuations of mental state, such as how quickly the scripture was written; details such as what hand was used to write the text. |
| 20 | Subtle insinuations of mental state which may indicate whether or not the writer was under duress; more specific details such as how heavy-handed the writing was and whether or not it was attempting to imitate writing that was not natural for them. |
| 25 | The likely gender or social class of the writer. |
| 30 | Extreme details about the writer, including details such as whether or not the script was transcribed from a spoken voice by someone else, and who may have been the actual speaker. |
Write Manuscript | Trained
Calligraphers are skilled in creating professional scripture and manuscripts, which makes them invaluable in penning things such as invitations and legal documents—a skill that could grease the wheels in meetings with nobility or other high-class individuals as it could present the holder of such a manuscript as having more notoriety than they do. The length of time required to write such a manuscript varies based on length and complexity.
| Base DC | Examples |
|---|---|
| 10 | A simple writ of rank or introduction card. |
| 15 | An invitation to a gathering meant to impress the upper class. |
| 20 | A mundane, professional contract. |
| 25 | A convincing marketing pamphlet for an object that is clearly of little use or dangerous. |
| 30 | A thorough, air-tight contract fitting for use with extraplanar dealings such as powerful devils. |
