Hesabin Class

Hesabin are spellcasters well trained in the theoretical aspects of magic. Those who follow other spellcasting Disciplines sometimes disparage Hesabin as "book magicians," but very few have the guts to call a hesabi that to his or her face.

Most hesabin are Ajami - strangers to the Land of Fate whose abilities lie outside the realm of native magics. They may still operate in the Al-Qadim campaign, but do so under limitations. The hesabi is the classic foreign wizard, and as such has some sort of position in the Land of Fate. Many Hesabin practice their arts in the Land of Fate.

Hesabin study stars, names, mystic patterns, scriptures, the fall of sticks and the entails of animals to find the mystic correspondences they need to use their magic. This type of magic is not yet common in Zakhara, though it is becoming increasingly so.

Role: Ajami Hesabin are treated with suspicion. Even the most cosmopolitan citizens of Zakhara harbour a distrust of strangers who hail from beyond the borders of "civilization"; those who wield magical power are doubly distrusted. Whether a native of the icy North, of the oriental lands of the East, or from space itself, a hesabi who exhibits powers outside the limitations set by Fate is considered a potential danger.

The few native Hesabi are often considered exceedingly wise, and work as teachers around mosques or other holy sites. Certain moralists despise and persecute them, however.

Equipment: An Hesabi usually lugs around lots of strange stuff; astrolabes, intricate charts, the skulls of strange creatures. They value these things immensely, but if they are lost they usually acquire new stuff very quickly.

Restrictions: Any race and either gender may become an Hesabi. It is possible for a Zakharan to become an Hesabi, but it is a strange an unusual discipline. The male plural title is hesabin, the female title hesabaya and the female plural hesabayin.

Rules: Hesabin function exactly as normal wizards (PH, p 52).