TerraDave said:
Gentlegamer, good pick on the mystic and savant!!
To bad they will remain mysteries to the end (as I guess will all other elements of Gygax's 2nd edition). I remember seeing the Mystic cross refernced in at least one other Dragon article...oh well.
Why do these seem so mysterious? Take Gary's description of them from the
Dragon article, think of how Gary turned other archetypes into character classes, and you'll get it.
Mystic: An oracle, wise woman, seer, fortune teller, astrologer. Consults the runes, the ogham, the stars, the planets. Speaks with the dead, performs seances, predicts the future (and thus gives bonuses to certain rolls to ensure that what the mystic predicted is what happens). Not a warrior like a cleric, the mystic probably has d6 hit dice and a limited selection of weapons and armor (but probably not as limited as magic-users). At high levels the mystic will be communing directly with the gods and adventuring in the dreamtime. High wisdom and intelligence requirements.
Savant: The sage devoted to the magical arts. The mad scientist of the fantasy world. The mysterious scholar. Wizard without the flashiness. Uninterested in pyrotechnics and other destructive spells, desires lore above all else, whether to benefit others, for power, or just because it's his passion. Has a laboratory and library for spell research and arcane experiments. Adventures as a means to further his research, is otherwise uninterested in the slaying of dragons and command of armies. d4 hit dice, no armor, dagger (of staff?) as weapon. Very high intelligence requirement. At high levels will probably be traveling to other planes of existence to gather obscure knowledge and components.
Once you've worked these things out, just come up with some numbers and clarify the spell lists, and you're done.