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Academician Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +2 bonus on any single Knowledge skill. This racial trait replaces the obsessive racial trait.
Dancing Lights (1/day) (Sp) With Charisma 11+, cast Dancing Lights once per day.
Elemental (Air) You may change any energy spell to use [Electricity] energy.
Elemental Ray (7/day) (Sp) Ranged touch attack deals 1d6+1 Electricity damage
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Focused Mind +2 to Concentration checks
Ghost Sound (1/day) (Sp) With Charisma 11+, cast Ghost Sound once per day.
Gift of Tongues Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks, and they learn one additional language every time they put a rank in the Linguistics skill. This racial trait replaces defensive training and hatred.
Illusion Resistance +2 racial bonus to saves against illusions.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Prestidigitation (1/day) (Sp) With Charisma 11+, cast Prestidigitation once per day.
Speak with Animals (1/day) (Sp) With Charisma 11+, cast Speak with Animals once per day.
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Background:
Aziza grew up among the caravaneers and travelers on the roads of Varisia. Her parents left the sanctuary of their home in the Sanos Forest not long after she was born, hearing the call of Desna to explore the wonders of the land, and to seek out new novelties to stave off the blight of the bleaching. Consequently the young gnome-child spent her youth among the Varisians and other nomadic outcasts who called the wilds and by-ways of Varisia home, and over the years she has visited, or at least seen from afar, many of the landmarks and cities of the region. Always an inquisitive girl, Aziza was fascinated by the scattered yet plentiful ruins and artifacts to be found everywhere, relics of a long-lost civilization that had once ruled there - Thassilon. From the Irespan in Magnimar to the Lady's Light in the southern Mushfens, these testimonies to a forgotten time aroused the voracious curiosity of the young gnome.
In fact the only thing which captivated the girl more was the wild fury and beauty of the storms which would sometimes sweep in over the hills and forests. The raw elemental power of the skies resonated with something in Aziza's blood, and during such weather she would seek out the highest nearby vantage point that she could, heedless of any danger from the wind, lightning and wild energy. Recognizing in her daughter the signs of quickening arcane power, her mother, a sorceress of some small ability herself, began to train Aziza to shape and control the elemental magic rising within. The young gnome woman learned her mother's lessons well, soon showing signs of being able to surpass her in power, if not in wisdom.
During this time of apprenticeship, Aziza continued to indulge her curiosity about the lost Thassilonian civilization, taking any opportunity to question the bards, mystics and occasional scholar whom the caravans would encounter along the roads for further facts and legends. Although she was by temperament unsuited to a life of cloistered academic study, with time Aziza became quite a talented amateur scholar in her own right, her aptitude for sorcery aiding in this pursuit when it came to deciphering ancient glyphs carved into the tumbled stones of a ruined temple, or when trying to discern how to activate a long dormant magical device. Her skills, knowledge and ability to shape magic all developed by leaps and bounds.
Already imbued with the walking fever common among her folk, and wanting to learn more, Aziza left her parents and the community of the caravans, who were headed north to Riddleport, and turned south to a backwater on the Lost Coast known as Sandpoint. Known for its Glassworks, theater, and good harbor (but not much else) Sandpoint also held a ruined Thassilonian structure known as the "Old Light" which had long been passed over by the few scholars who still cared about the ancient empire. Wanting to make her mark as an archaeologist and perhaps develop her still-burgeoning arcane skills, Aziza determined to find out all she could about the Old Light. And so her path led her down the Lost Coast Road to the very town itself.
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Appearance:
For a gnome Aziza is only of moderate height, standing just over three-feet tall in her stockings, but her usually sunny and excitable disposition, fair-hued skin, bright violet eyes, and the shock of electric blue hair atop her head make her stand out in a crowd. One unusual feature is her ears, which are pointed like an elf's, most unlike a normal gnome. She favors sturdy yet colorful clothing for her dress, blues and purples predominating the mix, and her hands and face are often smudged with violet ink from the pen which she uses to make obsessive notes about her 'discoveries' on various scraps of paper and parchment.
