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Sneak Peek: Tome and Blood: The Scholar Class
By Rayf Drayson

The Scholars of Lore have plied their trade for generations, usually keeping to the background during the major events in Lore's history, happily and dutifully watching, recording, analyzing and studying. Most are content to remain in their libraries and centers of learning, but there are always some who feel the need to go out into the world and study it directly. Their keen powers of observation and adaptation serve them well in the world of Lore, as does their encyclopedic knowledge of the flora and fauna of nature. They are clever, versatile adversaries, able to spot and use their enemies' weaknesses against them.

Soon, you will be able to join their ranks.

Scholar class is the fourth Tier 1, or Base, class, joining Fighter, Rogue and Mage as the foundations of the many-branched class tree in AdventureQuest. Like all base classes, it is designed for characters between the levels of 10 and 30. Where the other three base classes focus on a particular style of combat, the Scholar class focuses on versatility and adaptation. As a Scholar, your greatest asset is your power of observation: learning the enemy's weakness and using it against him or her. Scholar will be a pre-requisite for several classes, even some already in-game, like Dragon Slayer and Shadow Slayer (formerly Vampire Slayer).

Learning the methods of a Scholar is not an easy task. Your mentor in this endeavor, whom you've already met in the game, will send you out into the world to study a variety of different creatures and other denizens of Lore. Your goal: to gain some insight and perhaps adapt that into a new technique to aid you in combat.

For instance, on one quest, you are sent into Darkovia with the goal to study a werewolf during its transformation process. By keenly noting the way its magic infection increases its power, you are able to adapt this observation. Thus, you develop a new technique, one you call a "Lycan Boost," that utilizes some of the same magicks; this allows you to increase your physical power, increasing your STR, END and DEX by a small amount.

On another quest, you travel to Granemor cemetery and observe the wail of the Banshee, noting how it saps your MP, and adapt that to a new technique called "Wailing Blow" that attacks monster MP instead of HP.

You also study a tribe of Orcs, observing their myriad methods of attack firsthand, and manage to acquire some of their weaponry. Thus, you use the Orcish weaponry and attack methods in a new technique called "Orcish Tactics," allowing you to choose your attack type (melee, ranged, or magic).

These are just a few examples of the tasks your class trainer sets forth for you to accomplish, and the new techniques that you, as a Scholar, will develop through your observation and study of these creatures and denizens of Lore.