(Passive) [Familiar] INT
  Possessed By: Some Humans, Grey Elves, Bards, Mages, Monks, Rogues, Alienists, Loremasters, Shadowdancers, Magic priests.
  Effects:  The Decipher Script skill has the following applications:
   * Read Scrolls (Passive): The primary use of the Decipher Script skill is reading magical scrolls; this may be attempted regardless of whether the character actually has the skill. The base DC to successfully read a scroll is 20 for a scroll of a 'buff' spell, 15 for an offensive spell and 10 for a general purpose spell. Added to this is twice the spell level, minus 1.
   Characters have a +5 competance bonus to read any spell from a scroll that is on their class spell list, that they have access to at their current level. (Note the difference between chart levels and spell access as described in the Multiclass Spellcasters section.) If a character reads a scroll of a spell they actually know and are able to cast normally, the casting is automatically successful and costs no mana.
   If the reader's Decipher Script check beats the required DC by 10 or more, the reader has a 50% chance of being able to preserve the scroll and use it again.
   The effective caster level of a scroll-read spell is the higher of twice the spell's level minus one and the reader's Decipher Script level - 2. Thus, low-level characters with high Decipher Script skills can often produce impressive castings from scrolls. It takes [50 - (Decipher Script x 2)] segments to read a scroll, to a minimum of 10 segments.
   * Damaged Spellbooks (Passive): When a mage attempts to cast a spell that she only has in a spellbook that has suffered damage, a Decipher Script check is necessary to make out the partially illegible text. This check has a DC of 10 + 1 per 10% of the spellbook's hit points that have been lost.
   * Item Identification (Passive): Certain items of various types are identified by the game as 'runed', 'enscribed', 'rune-covered' or so forth. By reading these runes with the Decipher Script skill, a character may be able to identify the item. This requires that the character actually have the Decipher Script skill as a class skill, and requires a check against a DC of 10 + twice the item's level. This check is made automatically at the same time Intuition information is gained; success reveals the item's plus and magical nature to the player.