Tag Archives: Magic-users

Spell: Freamon’s Well Trade

May 29, 2015 8:22 pm / 1 Comment /

Because the last three modules I read have a well in them, I offer you a level 2 Magic user spell for OSR Games. In DCC format. Notes for other systems below.

Wizard Spell, Level 3. Range: Special, Duration: 1 minute per caster level, Casting time, 1 minute. Save: N/A

General: There are wells everywhere. This spell requires the kind of well with a rope and a bucket or a similar mechanism for lowering things in and bringing things up. The well can be dry and still work. When the caster performs this ritual, she connects randomly with another spell caster who is performing a similar spell or using a technology with similar effect on a well in some other country, time, planet or dimension.

While repeating the spell’s words, the caster or an ally places something of any size up to an elephant in the bucket and lowers it into the well until it is out of sight. After 1d20 seconds there is a slight tug on the rope. When the bucket is brought up, it contains something else, determined by the table below. In DCC, the nature of the item will be determined by a spell check and Judge discretion. The exchange happens simultaneously on both sides of the connection and items received cannot be sent back. The item can be much larger and heavier than the bucket; if it is larger, it will expand once removed from the bucket. The value of the item sent will largely determine what is sent back. Unless the caster rolls a very high spell check, a copper piece will not bring forth magic sword!

This can be repeated until the spell’s duration is extinguished, so careful tracking of the time is required. Assume the bucket can be raised and lowered in about 20 seconds on average if the players act quickly. Repeated trades are at -1 spell check cumulative. Unless otherwise stated in the table, the same two wells are connected for the duration of the spell.

Those who have used the spell several times have learned that it can help to include a note with the first traded item. Often a drawing of the desired item or the situation at hand is sent down with an offering of gold, medicine or food. If a written note is sent, the caster makes a luck check at -3 in the hopes that whoever is on the other end can understand the writing.

Any success of 30+ will prevent the caster from using this spell again for 1d6 months of game time.

Manifestation. Roll 1d3: 1) Loud splash as bucket reaches water, a few drops of which splashes up over top of well (or dust if well is dry);  2) A geyser of iridescent liquid of unknown and undrinkable composition rises from the well, pushing the bucket up mere seconds after the objects are swapped; 3) The bucket is hard to hoist (twice as long to bring up) no matter the weight of the item coming up.

Corruption. Roll 1d8: 1) Caster vomits far more liquid than she could possible have in her body; 2) Caster will feel severely dehydrated for 1d14 days; 3) for 1d4 days, caster’s hair will stand up completely as if touching a static electricity ball; 4) Caster will be convinced she is being cheated in all exchanges and divisions of treasure for 2d7 days; 5) caster will not be able to see what is exchanged, ever; 6 minor; 7) major; 8) greater.

Misfire. Roll 1d3:  1) Caster realizes she has accidentally exchanges her most valuable possession instead of what was intended; 2) The rope breaks, sending the item into the well to be lost forever; 3) The well explodes as a geyser of hot, geothermally  heated water, causing 1d8 of damage to all within 25 feet each round. It will then erupt every hour on the hour for five seconds. The item is obviously lost. Roll 1d6 modified by luck: on 6+ the item is found in the bucket 50 feet away.

 

Spell check results:

1) Lost, failure and worse! Roll 1d6 modified by Luck: (0 or less) corruption + patron taint + misfire; 1-2 corruption; 3) patron taint (or corruption if no patron); 4+ misfire.

2-6) Lost. Item sent is dangerous or makes the situation worse. Examples: a vial of oil in a forest fire; a poisonous snake; evidence the caster is the killer (even if she’s innocent).

6-11) Lost. Item returned is a total zoink and not useful at all except for the most clever of players. Examples: a knuckle bone; a cup with a hole in the bottom; a dirty limerick in the language of the pegusi.

12-13) Failure, but spell is not lost (nor is sent item). Spell can be attempted again in 4 hours.

14-15) An item of roughly equal value is returned. While it might be useful in the situation, it will be of the same world and within the same bounds of reality as the caster’s. Examples:  key to locked chest; the letter of marque from a farway land; a wand of1d4  magic missiles.

16-19) An item of slightly greater value is returned. It will definitely be useful and might even be something the caster hoped for. It could be slightly unusual for the existing campaign. Examples: a bag holding a swarm of hornets; a scroll of time travel -1 hour; a glass horn that summons giant rabbits.

20-21) An item definitely more valuable than the item sent, both from a situational and market value standpoint. It could have come from another world with different technology. Examples: the crown jewels of the king of frogs; contact lenses that reveal class/level; a lighter requiring no fuel.

22-25)The player can as the caster choose any item of similar value that the Judge will allow. It is not from another world (so it must be something the character can contemplate) but might be exotic for the existing campaign. Examples: a scroll of banish evil; a pound of purple mushroom powder; the piece of evidence that shows the baron was indeed a traitor (Which does not need to be true. The player must explain how it fits the crime, even if it is a frame up).

26-29) The player can choose an item (that the Judge will allow). This can be something of similar value in the player’s world or a world from another fiction that the DM will allow. It will be expended upon use. Examples: a machine gun with 80 rounds of ammunition; a pickup truck with a full tank of gas; a raven that delivers messages to far away places then dies; a triceratops.

30-31) The caster cannot believe the other side sent this item through, it is such an uneven! This is definitely from another place or time that will not only greatly help our immediate situation but could also fetch a fortune at market. Examples: a laster pistol with 1d20 charges; a ring of charm giant; a bottle of 40 penicillin; a talking triceratops warrior.

32-33) The Judge can decide an item that will disrupt the current situation or serve as an adventure hook for a side quest. Examples: a medical tricorder, an electric guitar that spits fire, Baba Yaga’s phone number (and a phone).

34+) The Judge will choose a ridiculous item that will either sole the crisis or transport the party from the current reality to another. Examples: an medical droid that can raise the dead once. A clone ray that creates 10 independent exact copies of a PC. A portal to another dimension/campaign setting.

Wow. DCC spells require lot of time to write!

If you use LotFP, Swords and Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, B/X, Basic Fantasy, 0e -5e and so forth, use the table above but roll d100 and divide by 3, rounding down. Add the any of the caster’s spell casting ability score or bonus as a raw number (INT bonus is +3, add 30 to the d100 before dividing by 3). You should probably make this a level 5 or six spell while you are at it.

If reader feedback warrants revision, I will post it here. I hope this is not too powerful!

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Posted in: Dungeon Crawl Classics, spells / Tagged: , ,

Mages and the Hats that Cover Them

August 11, 2012 1:22 am / 4 Comments /

Magic users have a fetish for hats. With all that chaos gas in your head, you’d wear one too, lest the sun cause your head to explode!

Mages

As I posted previously, magic users (I will use the shorter “mages” from this point on) are outcasts, victims of a memetic disease that has caused chaotic energy to build up in their brain. Their only relief is casting spells, which release that energy, and they all crave new formulae to recite to get that release. Since spell research is a lost art, they search the world for rare spells or resort to cannibalism to gain their rival’s knowledge. All this while avoiding the wrath of organized churches, zealous clerics and superstitious villagers.

What are mages like, then?

Masters of Disguise

Any mage who has lasted longer than a few years has learned how to pass for normal when required. They pick up on local customs, details, clothing trends and accents. In LotFP terms, they would all have at least a 2 in 6 skill at disguise and mimic.

Social Animals

A lone mage is a rare mage, but they do exist. Most mages seek out their own kind for mutual protection. A dozen first level mages will stand stronger against a mob of villagers much better than one. Some mage communities also have real-world occupations such as caravans, acting troupes or mercenaries. There are many that do not try to pass for anything but what they are. They live in borderlands, travel at night and generally try not to bring the wrath of the local lord upon them. Many of these are extended families or clans, who pass on the curse to their children.

Frenemies

Mage communities are both rivals and codependents. They might war against one another for years yet observe a truce during large gatherings. They identify their clan or lineage by their dress, which is usually expressed as a choice of hat or decoration thereof.

Customs

In western Europe-themed games, mages share a common set of customs that have been passed down ‘because’.

A fleeing mage is entitled to sanctuary from pursuing non-mages if he asks for it. He must leave once the danger has passed and his safety is guaranteed for two days. If he stays past the day the danger has passed, he does so of his own will and his safety is not assured. If the leader of a community offers hospitality, however, a visiting mage may not be harmed under any circumstances while that leader is still in charge.

A mage is not obligated to go out of his way to rescue another mage or to block pursuers. If a mage saves another’s life, the rescued mage owes him a brain-debt, which means the rescuer is entitled to his brains should he die before they part company. Some interpret this as a right to rescue then eat another mage’s brains right away.

Magic communities have their own courts and codes of behavior. It is important for a visiting mage to learn the local rules, especially when it comes to casting and duel etiquette. In some communities, teaching someone a spell is the equivalent of marrying them. So watch out how you interact with the locals.

Introductions

Mages often introduce themselves to one another by repeating the phrase of the read magic spell they first learned. Often this becomes a special name used among other mages and which regular folk cannot pronouce or understand. If a mage wants to impress, she might list certain spells she knows (which reveals ‘level’ and therefore status). Mages also like to point out identifying characteristics of their hats.

An example of a mage introducing himself to a band of strange mages:

I am Sakura, also known by the seed syllables ‘marak-tah-lem’. I am a master of the ball of fire that reduces my enemies and their kin to ashes! You will notice my red turban, which is the customary hat of my people, who hail from across the Kraken’s sea. It has a blue jewel in the center, which represents my having attained the sixth level of mental calm and focus. The observant will also know me by how tightly it is wrapped, which is necessary to contain the power within my skull. Should you ever try to unwrap it and cut your way to my brains, you would find scorpions and many other surprises between its folds!

Men with Hats

Which brings us to hats. Most people in the world wear hats, but mages wear HATS. The more outlandish, the better. The more foreign, the better. Hats are used to signify attainment, identify clan or community membership, hold spell components, small items and even traps for the unwary. A hatless mage is a vulnerable mage. Two mages removing their hats to one another is an act of intimacy, either friendly or romantic. It signifies deep trust. Tipping the hat is a way of showing deep respect. Touching a single finger to the hat is a common way to greet another mage for the first time. It is a symbolic tipping of the hat and denotes polite respect.

Mages who must pass in civilization have more modest hats, usually following the local style (although they will be as nice as the mage can afford and perhaps a bit ostentatious). These normal hats are scorned by the magic communities of the borderlands as ‘small hats’.  Bareheads have managed to grow gravity-defying hair that can also be used for storage. Wigheads wear white wigs in the local fashion and use their wigs as others use their hats.

 

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The Big Magic User Post

August 10, 2012 1:42 pm / 6 Comments /

So here’s some stuff you can use to make magic users more interesting. Some of this stuff is an elaboration on others’ ideas (“Brains” for example). These can be applied to many first-edition games.

Magic Users

Its origin is lost to time. Its study crumbled with empires past. But the mantra that opens the door of chaos in the mind survives. Called the ‘first spell’, by those who repeat it, the mantra pulls chaotic vapors from space and fill the mind of someone who hears it. The pressure from these vapors must be released and the only safe way is through repeating the first spell or other spells that were preserved through oral tradition or discovered in ruined libraries.

You somehow heard this first spell and its song was stuck in your head. Now you spend your days mumbling to yourself as you search the world for new spells to clear the vapors from your skull.

Read Magic

Magic Users can all read magic at will. “Read Magic” is the first spell. It is long enough and complicated enough to function as a rudimentary language. Magic Users can communicate basic ideas in this “mage’s cant.”

Magic Users can detect magic in the immediate area by concentrating for 1 minute and sniffing, listening and looking. Magic can be detected on a specific item or person only by touch.

Brains

The brain of a magic user contains all the memorized spells that are ready to cast. If the magic user is killed by a blow to the head, there is a 50 percent chance for each spell that it will go off on the spot. If the spell requires a target, a random bystander is the target. If it requires touch, then consider any loose brain matter to be a touch.

If a magic user is killed but the head is undamaged, his or her brains can be eaten by another magic user, who permanently learns any spell of the levels he or she can cast. Any spells above allowed levels can be cast once, as per a scroll, but cannot be memorized for later use. A magic user’s brain can be dried out and used by anyone as a ‘spell grenade’ or ground into a powder and mixed with wine as a potion of that spell.

Spell Research, Spellbooks, Scrolls

The art of creating new spells was lost millenia ago. There are a few hundred known spells and variations on spells. All of them were found in libraries, caves, old books, etched in the skin of snakes and in the songs of rare birds.
Unearthing a new spell is, therefore, a major accomplishment for a magic user and something that will forment both admiration and jealousy in his peers. The newfound spell is usually named in honor of its discover, even if his peers futher honor him by hunting him for his brain.
Spells can be written into books and scrolls using any alphabet. A spellbook can be a normal book, a painting, a tattoo, etched on the skin of a familiar or written in tiny letters on an everyday object. A magic user never reveals to anyone what his book is unless absolutely necessary.
When a spell is written on a scroll, any magic user can copy it into her book or it can be cast, even if it is on a spell level higher than allowed for that character. Any other class can also cast a spell from a scroll, but there is a 20 percent chance of backfiring (roll on a mishaps table) and a 20 percent chance per level that the character will be infected with the magic meme and become a magic user permenantly. GMs can decide to switch the player’s class on the spot, secretly or give the option of declaring the character an insane NPC.
Magic Users re-memorize their spells on a daily basis. Some do so by studying their spell book in private. Others might hum a cycle of tunes strumming an instrument. In all cases, they need uninterrupted time.

Spell Components

Spell components are things such as berries, grasses, liquids, small items of various sorts that can be used to supplement the power of a spell. They are consumed in the casting. The magic user is entitled to an OPTIONAL second roll for damage, to hit, on a table and so forth if she doesn’t like how the first one turned out. There is no guarantee the second roll will be better, but it becomes the official roll if the first is not taken. Lists of components and the spells they compliment are almost as sought after as undiscovered spells.

Chaos Number

Magic Users have a chaos number. It starts at 0 when they begin as 1st level.
Whenever they cast a spell, their chaos number goes up by the level number of the spell.
A magic missile spell is a first level spell, so that would raise the number by 1.
This number continues to go up as he casts spells until there is a chaos effect.
Every time a Magic User rests to study and relearn his spells, he must roll a d100. If the result is under his chaos number, there is a chaos effect.
If there is a chaos effect, the player rolls 1d10 and adds that to his chaos number. He tells the GM the resulting number.
The GM will look at a table and determine what happens, if anything. There may or may not be anything to tell the player…
The mage’s chaos number is reset to 0.

(I will post some examples of chaos number tables soon).

Hunted

Magic users have been hunted for centuries in most parts of the world. They live as outcasts either alone or in travelling communities. They have their own customs and laws (or at least expectations). Most magic users travel incognito when in civilized lands. For the purposes of adventuring, clerics and mages are usually at odds but for the purposes of having an enjoyable night of gaming should not be directly at one another’s throats or extorting one another for healing or help.

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Fifty Things Found in Magic/Alchemy Lab

April 21, 2012 6:02 pm / 3 Comments /

Heikki Hallamaa said:

 

As many as you can come up with: Interesting, weird and dangerous stuff lying around in an alchemist’s/wizard’s workshop.

As you see, I used a lot of my older items, which some might not have seen before.  I added links after those.

roll d100 Item
01-02 ten heads of small unknown creatures
03-04 medicinal grubs
05-06 glass bottle of eyeballs that rotate to follow movement
07-08 razor sharp insect wings, sixteen inches long
09-10 wig
11-12 driftwood shaped like one party member
13-14 block of red salt
15-16 three foot diameter dried dung
17-18 marionette made of small humanoid skeleton with horns and wings
19-20 four-foot braid of bright green kinky hair
21-22 eight foot eyelash against wall in corner
23-24 green glass bottle, about 8 inches tall, slim neck, small mouth. undecipherable script on side.
25-26 three headed mouse in small cage
27-28 glass maze. small dragon chasing tiny wizard. (tm JV)
29-30 glass jar with saury mermaid in vinegar http://www.rolang.com/archives/431
31-32 map of doughnut-shaped planet
33-34 candle that gets taller as it is burned
35-36 iron rose
37-38 folded parchment containing shaving stubble
39-40 six inch mummy
41-42 carnivorous cactus
43-44 one box of LOTFP purple lotus powder
45-46 elaborate hydra sculpted of halfling bone
47-48 barrel of salted fish that grant water breathing for one day when eaten
49-50 ceramic box full of small hydrae http://www.rolang.com/archives/45
51-52 chess piece: queen of assassins http://www.rolang.com/archives/95
53-54 script of Courtship of the River Women http://www.rolang.com/archives/166
55-56 a magic butler http://www.rolang.com/archives/99
57-58 a random cursed coin http://www.rolang.com/archives/388
59-60 six-demon bag http://www.rolang.com/archives/353
61-62 random bottle of parfum from Enri de Karpani http://www.rolang.com/archives/225
63-64 half-completed map of an unusual prison http://www.rolang.com/archives/382
65-66 charter of a halfling settlement bent on cornering the salt market http://www.rolang.com/archives/168
67-68 a bogpiggie in a cage. it will bite someone if handled and escape. http://www.rolang.com/archives/133
69-70 a skeletal hand with ambition http://www.rolang.com/archives/274
71-72 bracelet that shrinks 10 percent per round when put on until it disappears, severing wrist
73-74 half bottle of very old distilled alcohol. mossy taste, very fiery. immune to fire 1 turn.
75-76 bat-summoning whistle (not magical, bats must be near, no control)
77-78 prototype pill grants +1 con for 1 day, site effect: laugh uncontrollably when trying to sneak
79-80 carbonation equipment
81-82 funnel that doubles the amount of liquid that goes through it
83-84 a 2HD mimic disguised as a potion bottle
85-86 bottle of HOT sauce. completely disabled for 1 turn
87-88 ball gown with opening for tail in back
89-90 love potion that attracts only reptiles/reptilians
91-92 non-magical mirror that ads slight expression of smugness to reflected image
93-94 book that magically records intricate and comprehensive combat statistics of any nearby battle.
95-96 note from mage explaining he will be back in one hour. hourglass nearby almost empty.
97-98 pouch labeled ‘secret ingredient’ contains sneezing powder.
99-00 several large, gaudy hats
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Posted in: campaign window dressing, legacy D&D / Tagged: , , ,

d20 Table of Wizard Obsessions

December 13, 2011 5:09 am / 8 Comments /

Doyle Wayne Ramos-Tavener writes:

I would very much like a table of 20 weird obsessions engaged in by sorcerers.

Here you go.

d20 Table of Wizard Obsessions
Roll d20 for behavior (a) , roll again: odds roll again use column (b); evens roll again use column (c)
roll d20 Behavior (a) Obsession (b) Obsession (c)
1 collects halflings sphinxes
2 builds faerie manticores
3 summons chess pieces minotaurs
4 disguises self as troubadour sings centaurs
5 tries to transmute (roll column 2) into (roll column 2) coins pennangalen
6 knows literally everything about but will not approach miniature bottles of spirits pixies
7 seeks and destroys pigs warriors
8 seeks and then hides statues frogs
9 wants to create the perfect operas bats
10 has a sexual fetish for plays (roll dAny: odds tragedy, evens: comedy) mummies
11 wants to become a wounds werewolves
12 invented and is obsessed with the decline in quality of numbers zombies
13 believes there is a dark secret locked inside/about stars shoggoths
14 desperately seeks one special, specific elves poems
15 plays war games using miniaturized dwarves forms of government
16 wants to be the emperor of/seeks adoration of crab people sports teams
17 keeps as a pet/races dragons torture instruments
18 writes operas about cats shameful memories
19 believes self to be the friendly magical protector of puzzles dice games or card games
20 leads parties on suicide missions in hopes of obtaining diseases speculative essays

You want to make a request?

 

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Belt of Fireball Skulls

January 6, 2011 4:53 pm / Leave a Comment /

First, an undamaged skull must be cleaned, inside and out. The jaws also need to be affixed to the skull with metal wire.

The skull is placed on a very hot fire. For three hours, the mage must chant to encourage the skull to take the fire in, then for another three she must convince it to shrink until it is the size of a pine cone. Both of these stages require a saving throw or intelligence attribute check to proceed. If they fail, the skull shatters.

At the conclusion of this chanting, the soul is pulled back to the skull, which then speaks with the mage, who has but a few minutes to strike a deal. In return for some favor, the soul will hold the fire in the skull. Common favors include acts of vengeance, contrition, the delivery of a message or just letting the skull see the sun set over its homeland one last time.

The favor must be accomplished within the year, but once it is, the skull becomes a fireball grenade.  When the mage says hold the skull and reminds it of the favor done, the fireball automatically hits and does maximum damage at one level higher than the mage’s casting level. These can be given to others to use, but they must know the favor and speak it aloud to throw (this is the ‘pin’).

If the mage screws up the favor, or does not complete it within the year, or dies, the skull goes mad, flying around breathing fire (as a young dragon) for one turn, targeting the mage and then any random bystanders.

These are often worn as part of a necklace, belt, bone bikini or other ridiculous fantasy getup.

Note: This is a first level spell with a casting time as mentioned above. One need not know the fireball spell to make one.

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Drow Are Elves Who Use Too Much Magic

December 7, 2010 1:45 am / 2 Comments /

Human magic is a chaotic, warping influence. Yesterday I suggested that Magic Users, should they somehow live to an old age, would inevitably become liches. I’ve also suggested that elves cast human magic, not their own magic, which has been lost to the ages. Where humans warp into liches, elves become dark elves.

If you think of the scenes where Smeagol becomes Gollum as portrayed in the Lord of the Rings films, you get where I’m going with this.

Drow are tortured, pale elves whose over-use of human-style magic has reversed their connection with nature. The sun hurts, the trees no longer speak, they hiss. Animals shun them. Only insects, worms and creatures of decay will come near them.

Their heads enlarge and features warp. They cast human magic as if they were four levels higher. They do not form underground civilizations, but retreat to caves and huts in the swamp.

Elves are not aware of why some of their elders get sick and run into the woods, never to return. Some think it must be a disease. Others think it a curse tied somehow to the fall of their civilization. A few are hoping to find a cure.

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All Magic Users Are Destined to Be Liches

December 6, 2010 2:48 am / 5 Comments /

Instead of Lichdom (Lichery?) being the end result of a lot of effort, why not make it the inevitable result of a lifetime of meddling with chaos? At some randomly determined age, a mage starts to slowly dry up and desiccate. Remember that in ancient times, 40 was considered quite old to many, so perhaps 30+2d20 would be an appropriate age for the transition. Over the course of the year, even if no adventuring or spellcasting happens, the mage gains a level and no longer resembles a living human.

The lich-in-transition would suddenly take an interest in cosmetic illusionist spells, anti-stench spells and start looking for a safe base of operations and perhaps servants. At any rate, he or she is suddenly unable to knowingly commit suicide or allow someone to kill them without a fight.

When I do get a campaign going next summer, I’ll use a lot of the ideas from my series on the Magic User. One of the more important ideas in it is that Magic Users are not trusted or wanted at all in society. They are the ultimate taboo to normal men. Perhaps part of that is that they have the reputation for becoming immortal ghosts or demons. Among the magic using community, there may be a profession of slayers, whose job it is to kill those who begin to turn.

Here’s your plot hook: There’s a mage caravan headed out toward Vulture Pass, hoping to make it south for the winter. They are lead by Marius, a tenth level mage who must be at least 50 years old. There was a rumor that Marius had a bad smell about him at the last Gathering of the Argnac clans. One of his students and a mercenary were sent by the Great Bulwark to investigate last spring, but there has been no word sent back.

The party is somehow asked to look into it. Perhaps the party mage is a former apprentice of his, or a niece. Some possible developments (Roll 1d6) :

1- Marius is a lich and has killed then animated is caravan.

2- The investigators were killed in route by bandits, Marius does indeed smell but is not a lich.

3- Marius is actually a mage/vampire. He has converted the two investigators.

4- Marius is in the process of turning, has unwillingly murdered his caravan and others to protect himself and will desperately fight the party he hopes will kill him where others have failed.

5- Marius is not a lich, because he has found the fountain of youth.

6- I can’t think of 6 tonight. Roll again.

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Outcast Mages

October 18, 2010 6:03 am / Leave a Comment /

In my last two posts, I’ve played with the idea that Magic Users can be established in a campaign as hermits, con-men and outcasts. This can be done without changing the rules or the class in any appreciable way, aside from perhaps changing the way the Read Magic spell is learned.

Here’s a few brief character backgrounds that you might find useful.

Renard (level 1) was a wagon driver’s son. When a hitchhiking traveler felled bandits by throwing rainbow lights from his hands, he was in the way, but lived. The old man’s chanting suddenly made sense to him, which lead to nightmares. Years later, as an apprentice to a bookbinder, he discovered he could read a client’s book that contained the old man’s verse. This was First Spell (read magic). He copied the entire book and has memorized one other poem from it (magic missile). He can’t wait to say the verse aloud to see what happens.

Nicolette (Level 2) married well, passing from her father’s modest but noble household into the house of her husband’s father, the Count Dufresne. The morning after her wedding night, her mother-in-law instructed her in the expectations of the ladies of House Dufresne. She was horrified to discover that the women of Dufresne, unbeknownst to their husbands, have maintained the family position and wealth through the use of witchcraft. After a year she escaped, hoping to find some way of atoning for her great sin of sorcery. Unfortunately, she cannot get through the day without spells in her head, so she has brought along a spell book. She has no idea where she will go and is sure her mother-in-law is hunting her. (She is right but does not know her mother-in-law is a lich).

Asa (Level 5) is a wife, mother of four and the matriarch of troupe of traveling performers. She is no longer the acrobat she once was, but the magic she learned as a child from her grandmother has helped her on many occasions. She uses it to enhance fireworks, catch falling acrobats, cover the tracks of her pickpocket son, and grow and remove the beard from her prettiest daughter. The women of her clan know the spells of illusion and scrying. The men learn magical combat and the ceremonies of summoning. Her husband is level 4. Most of the clan’s adults are levels 1-3.

Le Grognard (Level 12) is what the locals call Pollard of Huc. He mumbles to himself as he goes about his day. He is old, fat and unkempt. He spends most of his time traveling to far-away cities, looking through old libraries and temples for bits and pieces of spells. He is convinced that he can unlock the secrets of the spell creators. Although he himself knows a fortune’s worth of spells, he considers them of little value and sells them to anyone with the coin he needs to keep up his research. He cares not for good nor evil and is capable of both in great extremes, provided they further his quest.

Prince Johann (Level 4) wanted to be a mage since his nanny first tried to frighten him with stories of mages who turn bad little princes into newts. He killed an outcast mage girl for her spells, after making her teach him the First Spell at knifepoint. He pays top dollar for spells and kills any seller he deems weaker than himself. This expensive habit could not be hidden from his father’s bookkeepers, so he has incurred considerable personal debt in pursuit of his hobby. He has considered going on the road to seek out new spells and new treasures, hoping to either pay back or kill his debtors.

Leo (Ex-Cleric level 5, now a Mage level 2) was the Abbot of the Swan Abbey. He had sent a Knight of the Sun on a quest to bring him a scroll that, according to Leo’s interpretation of scripture, outlined the long lost vigil prayer Raise Dead. Leo was close, but wrong on one crucial detail. The scroll contained the First Spell, followed by an arcane spell which animated the bodies of the abbey’s long-dead abbots. After those monsters killed all Leo’s brothers and burned down the monastery, Leo was, to say the least, a changed man with a crisis of faith. He is now quite mad, and knowing no other spells, casts animate dead almost daily, hoping to resurect his lost monks. (Yes, he isn’t high enough level to cast it normally. Who cares? He’s an NPC.)

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Rethinking Magic Users 2

October 7, 2010 2:22 am / 6 Comments /

Magic is not learned from a college. Like jazz, blues and any non-formalized style of music, it’s acquired by observation. You steal it from your betters.

Let’s look at how mages come to be. He or she might come from any walk of life, but most mages are born slaves, peasants or in wandering communities of traders, thieves or actors. As I mentioned yesterday, mages are reviled in most places. Their magic is considered blasphemy by clerics, uncontrollable by kings and dangerous by normal folk. They are often persecuted and must hide their talents.

So how does one get on this road?

It starts with the First Spell, which has many names, but in game mechanics, it most resembles Read Magic. It is a short spell that can be understood by anyone, regardless of their native language.

In its verses are every sound of spoken magic and a thorough and unsettling explanation of the chaotic worldview that underlies all non-divine magic . Anyone speaking the entire spell can thenceforth read their native tongue and any written magic (provided they have recited the spell enough to commit it to memory so it comes off the tongue as easily as any cast spell). He or she is also immediately of chaotic alignment (this is obviously taken from LotFP Weird Fantasy). The meaning of the verse is not kind knowledge and some who do memorize it and speak aloud its secret go mad, never to learn a second spell.

Anyone who hears the spell often enough is bound to learn it eventually. A mages’ lover, spouse, child or even close neighbor will hear it under her breath as she performs almost any activity (this is similar to the way Tibetans repeat mantras in everyday life). If you pester a mage as he sits in a pub, disturbing his peace, he might grab you by the collar and shout the words in your face until you piss off. You might pick up the entire spell by accident. Some mages will teach it to those they feel the petitioner would fit in well with the community or who have money, food or other service to offer. Many mages fall into magic because they have no other prospects, no land to farm and no skills.

Once one has said the spell, he or she is forever a mage and is overcome by a desperate need to learn more spells. This stage is most like an addiction. New spellcasters have been known to spend their last penny or sign into service for a year or more for a simple spell or two (an experienced mage would teach nothing dangerous to a novice). This is as close to a master/apprentice relationship as you are likely to find and it does not always end happily. After the first few levels, the mage is able to calm down and the need is more of an intense desire or life goal than a desperate need.

In the mage community, wealth has a tendency to travel quickly to the top, where mages with large spell books are able to charge fortunes from the less-skilled.

There are magic users who actually research, but they are very rare. It is difficult to conduct experiments from a mule-drawn wagon and there are many costs and dangers associated with settling down. The few labs there are can be found in remote towers or underground caves. Besides, most mages would tell you that researching magic is a waste of time. Magic’s secrets are long lost and the errant fools who would re-invent it would be better off searching the world for long lost spell books than blowing themselves up in labs. Spells are usually named after their discoverer, not the author (if even a name is known).

One dirty secret the elves don’t like to talk about: Many assume that arcane magic came from the elves. Some mages even hunt or extort elves to get more spells. A select few know that elven magic of old was far more powerful than anything any human mage has cast. The elves are actually very capable casters of human magic, magic they have learned from vagabonds and con-men.

I’m going to cook u a few backstories to serve as examples, but I think you are all bright enough to come up with your own scenarios.

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