Astrology (Intelligence; Trained Only)

Astrologers study the physical heavens to better understand and manipulate the world below.

Occult Lore
Author Keith Baker, Adam Bank, Chris Jones, Scott Reeves, and Elton Robb
Series Lore
Publisher Atlas
Publish date 2002

The Astrology skill is crucial for arcane and divine astrologers but has important practical uses for non-spellcasting classes as well.

Characters trained in Astrology but lacking spellcasting abilities are often called ‘computers’ because Astrology requires long hours spent in computation of astronomical and mystical formulae.

Astrology is a class skill for computers and astrologers.

Check: You can make different kinds of horoscopes or read horoscopes calculated by other astrologers. If you also possess the Alchemy skill, you can create pangunculi (see page 27). Use the Craft skill rules as the default for determining the time, cost of raw materials, and number of rolls needed to compute horoscopes, but use the DCs and market prices (and time, if different from the default) listed below. The Craft skill mechanic is partially reprinted below for ease of reference.

Retry: Yes, but in the case of interpreting a horoscope, each additional attempt increases the DC by +5; in the case of making any horoscope besides a spell inception, the entire time and cost of the necessary raw materials is wasted; retries cannot be attempted in the case of a spell inception.

Special: You automatically interpret horoscopes you compute yourself. Interpretation checks are only needed to read a horoscope prepared by someone else.

To compute a horoscope, you must have access to astrological equipment. If access to this equipment is readily available (at a local market or astrologer’s guild, for example), the cost of these requirements is part of the raw material price. Alternatively, you may purchase a portable astrologer’s kit (market price 500 gp) to always have immediate access to needed materials. Using an astrologer’s kit gives you a +2 bonus to skill checks when computing horoscopes. The star charts in these kits, however, need to be occasionally replaced for an “upkeep” cost of 250 gp per year.

If you do not make at least one observation of a clear, nighttime sky for each skill check when computing a horoscope other than a prediction, the DC increases by +5. Each type of horoscope also has its own requirements.

Task	Creation DC	Market Price	Time Required
Interpret a horoscope	10 + creator’s class level	5 x (creator’s class level) gp	30 minutes per creator’s class level
Compute prediction	15 (minimum)	1 gp	3 hours (max)
Compute interrogation	20	140 gp	Varies based on roll
Compute inception	15 (minimum)	30 + (creator’s class level x 10) gp	Varies based on roll
Compute spell inception*	10 + level of the intended effectively	100 gp +	Varies based on roll spell + delay modifier (XP cost of the spell/100)
Compute nativity	25	250 gp	Varies based on roll

* Requires the Computer Spell Inception feat