[Kromm]

The scholar is hived off in a little supplement with the artificer because neither profession suits all Dungeon Fantasy campaigns.

In the specific case of the scholar, the character type is essentially "the NPC sage of first-gen tabletop RPGs, but as a PC." It isn't viable as a delver unless the GM's taste in adventures runs to heaping on punishing task penalties for lacking obscure, need-this-once-in-a-career skills; concealing vital clues behind otherwise-worthless languages; and maneuvering the adventurers into dead ends as the penalty for not doing their homework. The idea is that once the party finds a quest, the scholar pores over books and maps, memorizing all the knowledge necessary to serve as their tour guide, translator, and code-breaker when it comes to finding the dungeon and interpreting its subtle warnings.

The coolest part is that the scholar can reset to do this on every adventure without spending further points on new languages and skills. In effect, the initial points in special abilities can be reused to cover this need forever. Of course, resetting happens in town – dragging books around to do it in the field is deliberately a pain as a curb against excessive cheese. ("Oh, I'll just whip out my notebook and reconfigure my brain like Neo in The Matrix" was never the goal . . .)

If the GM is more fond of the "Here's the dungeon – start slaying and looting!" approach to the genre, and admits brute-force or magical workarounds to lack of specific knowledge, makes sure that no single clue is essential to adventure success, and is always open to the heroes backing out of a dead end to try another path . . . well, there's nothing a scholar can do that the party's bards, scouts, thieves, and wizards can't do better. Then the scholar's points in special abilities are wasted and the character becomes nothing more than a one-shot caster with no cool combat moves.

Note that this thinking applies equally to many professions. Why play a holy warrior, for instance, if the GM's campaign is all about fighting orcs, orcs, and more orcs (and the occasional ogre or troll), and there won't be any undead or demons? Just play a cleric or a knight. Why play a shaman outside of a campaign that involves dealings with the Spirit World? Just play a cleric, druid, or wizard.