When you gaze up above at the stars in the dark sky, know also that they gaze down upon you...

ASTROLOGER (#10/29, #41/365) [POT]

SKILL: 7

STAMINA: 8

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Staff

ARMOUR: None

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Towns, Ruins, Hills, Mountain, Forests

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Neutral-Unfriendly

INTELLIGENCE: High

The ASTROLOGER is a scholarly profession who uses their viewing-scopes and other scrying apparatus to peer into the night-sky scanning the constellations above for hints and clues as to the fates and destinies of those living here on Titan. Their abode is typically a tower or observation hut, containing several brass telescopes and other viewing devices, walls covered in star charts and planetary predictions, and a well-thumbed copy of An Astrologer's Almagest among other tomes and grimoires. One of the most well-known Astrologers of recent times is Liam Astromonius of Grimmund, deep within the Forest of the Night in central Allansia.

Astrologers can construct a horoscope for anybody who can give the Astrologer their date of birth. If this information has not been created previously, use the RANDOM BIRTHDAY GENERATOR at the bottom of this entry. The horoscopes are of four types, cost 10GP or the same in goods in kind, and may or may not work, depending on whether the Astrologer succeeds with their Astrology-Lore roll. The horoscopes are:

• Good fortune: Success: +1 bonus to all LUCK tests for this day or the next day. Failure: -1 penalty to all LUCK tests for this day or the next day.
  
• Guidance: Success: +1 bonus to all SKILL tests for this day or the next day. Failure: -1 penalty to all SKILL tests for this day or the next day.
• Health: Success: all wounds or injuries reduced by -1 STAMINA for this day or the next day. Failure: all wounds or injuries increased by +1 STAMINA for this day or the next day.
• Occult Acuity: Success: +1 bonus to all MAGIC tests for this day or the next day. Failure: -1 penalty to all MAGIC tests for this day or the next day.

Astrology is a difficult art, with varying levels of ability. If an Astrologer is encountered, roll on the following table to determine their exact provenance:

1 Charlatan: Will take the money, but the horoscope will always be a failure. Recipient will realise this the first time it fails.

2 Scholar: Has Astrology-Lore of 3, but no magical abilities. Can cast horoscopes only.

3 Sorcerer with some skills: Has Astrology-Lore of 3, Magic-Sorcery of 3 and a MAGIC score of 6. Determine Components randomly, but first Component will always be an Orb of Crystal.

4 Wizard with some skills: Has Astrology-Lore of 3, Magic-Wizardry of 3 and a MAGIC score of 6. Has 18 Magic Points and the See Future (6) spell, plus other random Wizardry spells.

5 Chronomancer: Has Astrology-Lore of 3, Magic-Chronomancy of 3 and a MAGIC score of 6. Has 18 Magic Points worth of Chronomancy spells.

6 Community of Astrologers: There will be 1-3 Astrologers here (roll again to determine what kinds but ignore rolls of 1 or 6), and 1-6 Apprentice Astrologers (see here for more details on Apprentices).

The Random Birthday Generator (can also use to generate Holy Days)

1 - Deduct the Hero's age from the current year (Titan, p. 114, is set in 284 AC for example) to get the year of birth.

2 - Roll on the following table to get the month of birth:

First Roll 1-3, Second Roll 1: Freeze (31 days) 2: Dark (28 days) 3: Unlocking (31 days) 4: Sowing (30 days) 5: Winds (31 days) 6: Warming (30 days)

First Roll 4-5, Second Roll 1: Fire (31 days) 2: Watching (31 days) 3: Reaping (30 days) 4: Hiding (31 days) 5: Close (30 days) 6: Locking (28 days)

3 - Roll on the following table to get the day of birth, bearing in mind how many days each month has, as given above:

First Roll 1, Second Roll 1: 1st 2: 2nd 3: 3rd 4: 4th 5: 5th 6: 6th

First Roll 2, Second Roll 1: 7th 2: 8th 3: 9th 4: 10th 5: 11th 6: 12th

First Roll 3, Second Roll 1: 13th 2: 14th 3: 15th 4: 16th 5: 17th 6: 18th

First Roll 4, Second Roll 1: 19th 2: 20th 3: 21st 4: 22nd 5: 23rd 6: 24th

First Roll 5, Second Roll 1: 25th 2: 26th 3: 27th 4: 28th 5: 29th 6: 30th

First Roll 6, Second Roll 1: 31st 2-6: Not Applicable

4- Roll on the following table to get the hour of birth:

First Roll 1, Second Roll 1: 1st 2: 2nd 3: 3rd 4: 4th 5: 5th 6: 6th

First Roll 2-3, Second Roll 1: 7th 2: 8th 3: 9th 4: 10th 5: 11th 6: 12th (Noon)

First Roll 3-5, Second Roll 1: 13th 2: 14th 3: 15th 4: 16th 5: 17th 6: 18th

First Roll 6, Second Roll 1: 19th 2: 20th 3: 21st 4: 22nd 5: 23rd 6: 24th (Midnight)

Also, if you want to find out which numbered year corresponds to which Animal Sign, use the following chart:

284: Fox, 283: Rabbit, 282: Spider, 281: Dog, 280: Eagle, 279: Wolf, 278: Bat, 277: Deer, 276: Mouse,  275: Goat, 274: Tiger, 273: Ox, 272: Snake, 271: Lion, 270: Dragon, 269: Horse, 268: Shark, 267: Cat, 266: Owl, 265: Crocodile, 264: Fox, 263: Rabbit, [Cycle repeats etc.]