BTS Archanist question

[SpiritInterface]

The Archanist out of Beyond the Supernatural have an ability 'Read Magic'. I am wondering if the Dragon ability 'Read Magic' is the same?

[Grand Paladin]

For me, they are essentially the same.

But how it's applied in context for the Archanist vs the Dragon that would be different. The Archanist's skill would apply to only the BTS setting/dimension, with any applicable difficulty penalties a GM might assign.

The Dragon's skill, in my view would be Megaversal in scope, with little or no penalties since they are creatures of magic, and they also psychically get skills from their birth parent(s??) which I believe the 'Read Magic' skill is one of. So the Dragon's ability to 'Read Magic' will be much broader by it's own nature.

If a BTS Archanist ever made it out of the BTS dimension, as a GM I'd assign a substantial penalty for any skill attempts to read magic that did not develop on Earth, let's say in the -25% ro -40% range.

[Tor]

Read magic (or an automatic 'decipher magic', sounds the same) was an ability of all Witches in PRPG...

I am now officially suspicious of Arcanists.

[drewkitty ~..~]

At the time when BTS1 was written the assumptions about magic writings were different and from what I can tell closer to what D&D had as it base assumptions. That magic writings could only be read by a select few and in a special language.

Now the skill means nada, since the text are now in whatever language the mage writing it is literate in.