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Mage (wizard variant)
by Wm Jay Carter III, inspired by the Incanter class from Spheres of Power
Having studied in an academy of arcane education, the mage finds her truest self in the possession and wise use of knowledge. She prizes information above most other treasures and pities the fools who do not have enough sense to use what knowledge they have. To her magic is a science; empirical and exact. For this reason the mage’s approach to magic is a practical, methodical, and exhaustive.
A mage in Athanasia begins as a scholar magician in Elementary School where she learns how to harness the classical elements from arcane textbooks called grimoires. There, she also learns the Wizard’s Creed, a set of ideological tenets that are intended to guide a mage’s actions when using magic. The next step is Dueling College where she learns the form and function of the Wizard’s Duel, and focuses her arcane learning toward one or more specializations (spheres).
Those mages who learn the arcane arts outside of Euzoria’s educational system are known as hedge-mages. Hedge-mages make up for their shallow education in breadth of experience. They might train with a solo practitioner, trade goods or services with a guild in exchange for the use of their grimoires, or simply reverse engineer the magical techniques they encounter through their own private research.
Among spellcasters, archmages are the academic elite, regarded as the foremost authorities in their specializations, even taking part in composing grimoires for the up-and-coming generation of scholar magicians. Archmages may choose to teach in institutions of arcane learning, or establish their own guild. An archmage’s journey is not complete, however, until she one day becomes a fully-fledged wizard.
Wizards are spellcasters appointed by the Wizard’s Tribunal to be the steward of some powerful magical artifact or crucial ley-line. A wizard is granted a tower in order to better safeguard her magical charge, and she receives a personalized staff from the Tribunal as a symbol of her position. Should a wizard ever fail to follow the Creed or dishonor the Tribunal and her craft, her appointed stewardship is revoked, she is dismissed from her tower, and her staff is broken.
The Wizard’s Tribunal is composed of three governing members: Alkandros of the bóreans, Kléber of the leonians, and Ipiktok of the seraphim, each of whom holds one of the three remaining staffs of power. Based out the Tower of Towers, the Tribunal oversees the creation of arcane curriculum, enforces the proper use of magic by the Wizard’s Creed, and monitors the activities of all wizard’s towers across Athanasia.
Throughout a scholar magician’s education, career as a mage, and her potential appointment as a wizard, she is always seeking knowledge from any source available. The most accessible source is a network of formless, ambient intelligences that pervade the length and breadth of Athanasia. According to extensive academic research, these intelligences are theorized to be the state of fey beings before they materialize in the Fey Realm. Regardless of their true nature, however, they are employed constantly to aid a mage in her research, most notably through the Divination sphere.
The subject of a mage’s research is most often words of power from the language of the Strangers (Druidic), a language that actually defies being written, and is only comprehensively understood by the dendrites. The Wizard’s Tribunal has formally requested that the Circle divulge the language many times, always with the provision that its use would be duly regulated, but over the centuries the Circle has consistently refused.
Spheres
Mages from Euzoria consider at least some knowledge in Divination and Destruction as essential components of their magical education. Beyond this, they are equally likely to learn any other sphere, with the sole exception of the Death sphere (Necromancy), which is forbidden by the tenets of the Wizard’s Creed. Hedge-mages (from inside or outside Euzoria’s boundaries) do not follow the Creed and acknowledge no such limitations—much to their dismay when the Tribunal sends representatives to censure them...
Hit Die: d6
Starting Wealth: 3d6 x 10 gp (Average 105 gp) In addition, each character begins with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
Class Skills
The mage's class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Knowledge (all; Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Ranks Per Level: 2 + Int modifier
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Simple Weapons
Casting (Su)
A mage may combine spheres and talents to create magical effects. A mage is considered a High-Caster and uses Intelligence as her casting ability modifier. (Note: All casters gain 2 bonus talents and may select drawbacks the first time they gain the casting class feature. Mages may not select the Focus Casting or Somatic Casting drawbacks, or the Metamagic Expert boon.)
Spell Pool
A mage gains a small reservoir of energy she can call on to create truly wondrous effects, called a spell pool. This pool contains a number of spell points equal to her level + her Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). This pool replenishes once per day after roughly 8 hours of rest.
Magic Talents: A mage gains a magic talent every level, according to Table: The Mage.
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Every scholar magician learned the tenets of magic use by attending an institution of arcane learning. During her time there, she was required to choose a specialization. At character creation, the mage chooses one sphere as her specialization. She gains this as a bonus sphere at level 1 and has a +1 bonus to her caster level when using abilities, talents, and powers from this sphere. This choice cannot be changed.
As a mage’s ability to use magic comes from study, she must always refer to a book of instructions—called a grimoire (grim'-wär)—in order to use sphere talents and abilities. The grimoire must be held in one hand, which can become tiresome if the mage is wearing anything heavier than light armor. Without her grimoire, she can only use sphere talents and abilities if she succeeds on a concentration check, and even then only if she replaces the magical diagrams from her grimoire with arcane hand gestures. This counts as the Focus Casting and Somatic Casting drawbacks.
Duel Training
Scholar magicians are taught defensive magic from the first year of their education. This comes into play no more often than in the Wizard's Duel, a long-standing tradition of chivalrous competition among other students. At character creation, the mage gains Counterspell as a bonus feat, even though she does not meet the prerequisites.
In an environment where every advantage must be exploited in order to win, scholar magicians become accustomed to modifying their spells to eke out every last bit of potential, making them experts of metamagic. This counts as the Metamagic Expert boon.
In an environment where every advantage must be exploited in order to win, scholar magicians become accustomed to modifying their spells to eke out every last bit of potential, making them experts of metamagic. This counts as the Metamagic Expert boon.
Bonus Feat
At 2nd level and every even level thereafter, a mage gains a bonus feat. This may be spent to gain an extra magic talent, any feat which has casting as a prerequisite (craft item feats, metamagic feats, sphere focus, circle casting, etc.), or a guild power (see below).
Guild Training
The natural next step in a scholar magician's education is to train with a mage's guild. The saying goes that in order to become an archmage the mage must learn more and more about less and less until she knows everything about nothing. While this may not be strictly true, the mage's tendency is to spend ever-increasing amounts of time learning the nuances of only a few fields of magic.
Between 2nd and 14th level, each time the mage would gain a bonus feat, she may instead take guild training in a sphere she already possesses. The first time a mage takes guild training in a sphere she gains the minor power from the corresponding guild. Whenever the mage takes guild training thereafter, she may choose to take guild training in a new sphere, or gain access to the next higher power from a guild she has already trained with (lesser, greater, or master).
A mage cannot gain a lesser power before 4th level, a greater power before 8th level, or a master power before 10th level (unless specified otherwise). You may only gain a maximum of 7 guild powers total, and you can never take guild training after 14th level.
The more a mage dedicates herself to a guild, the less time she has for private research. The first time a mage gains a lesser guild power she loses her 20th level bonus feat, the first time she gains a greater guild power she loses her 18th level bonus feat, and the first time she gains a greater guild power she loses her 16th level bonus feat.
Conversely, the more training a mage takes in a given sphere the easier it is for her to recall the steps necessary to use magic from that sphere. Each time the mage gains a power from a given sphere, she also gains a +5 circumstance bonus on all concentration checks made to use magic from that sphere without the use of a grimoire.
When a mage gains a master guild power in a sphere she also gains access to any of that sphere's advanced talents. Thereafter she is known as an archmage and is eligible by Euzorian law to start her own guild. Archmages often dedicate themselves to gaining all advanced talents in a single sphere of magic and might compose grimoires for sale (Craft [calligraphy]). An archmage may train others in any guild powers or advanced talents she possesses.
Hedge-mages don't join guilds and typically only dabble in guild training, if they seek it out at all. They might take minor guild powers, but never take lesser, greater, or master guild powers. Due to this, they have more time to devote to private research (bonus feats).
A mage cannot gain a lesser power before 4th level, a greater power before 8th level, or a master power before 10th level (unless specified otherwise). You may only gain a maximum of 7 guild powers total, and you can never take guild training after 14th level.
The more a mage dedicates herself to a guild, the less time she has for private research. The first time a mage gains a lesser guild power she loses her 20th level bonus feat, the first time she gains a greater guild power she loses her 18th level bonus feat, and the first time she gains a greater guild power she loses her 16th level bonus feat.
Conversely, the more training a mage takes in a given sphere the easier it is for her to recall the steps necessary to use magic from that sphere. Each time the mage gains a power from a given sphere, she also gains a +5 circumstance bonus on all concentration checks made to use magic from that sphere without the use of a grimoire.
When a mage gains a master guild power in a sphere she also gains access to any of that sphere's advanced talents. Thereafter she is known as an archmage and is eligible by Euzorian law to start her own guild. Archmages often dedicate themselves to gaining all advanced talents in a single sphere of magic and might compose grimoires for sale (Craft [calligraphy]). An archmage may train others in any guild powers or advanced talents she possesses.
Hedge-mages don't join guilds and typically only dabble in guild training, if they seek it out at all. They might take minor guild powers, but never take lesser, greater, or master guild powers. Due to this, they have more time to devote to private research (bonus feats).
Large urban centers commonly have mage’s guilds for every sphere except Death, Conjuring, and War. Necromancy (the Death sphere) is forbidden by the Wizard’s Tribunal, and is only practiced by hedge-mages who refuse to follow the Wizard’s Creed. Conjurers and war mages tend to be solo practitioners and do not congregate in guilds. Smaller towns may only have a handful of unique guilds, while villages might only have a solo practitioner who can train in one or two guild powers.
If a mage’s guild specializing in a given sphere is not available at the time a mage would choose her next guild power, the GM may rule that choosing a power from that sphere is not possible. Alternatively, hedge-mages or traveling guild representatives might lend grimoires to the occasional adventuring mage...for a price or other favor. The GM is the final arbiter for whether training in a particular sphere is available.
Guild Powers
Guild powers are identical to the specialization abilities offered in the Incanter class from Spheres of Power; the first specialization ability counts as the minor guild power from the same sphere, the second ability counts as the lesser guild power, and the third counts as the greater guild power. Master guild powers are based on Advanced Talents from Spheres of Power and are listed below. If a master power has prerequisite talents, you gain these prerequisite talents when you gain the master power (if you do not already have them).
Alteration
Minor: Shapeshifter's Renewal
Lesser: Battleshaping
Greater: Change Shape
Master: Permanent Transformation
Conjuration
Minor: Summoner's Charm
Lesser: Unstable Bonds
Greater: Aura of Banishment
Master: Diagram
Creation
Minor: Creator's Focus
Lesser: Create Gear
Greater: Forceful Alteration
Master: Fabricate
Dark
Minor: Home in the Dark
Lesser: Binding Darkness
Greater: Shadow Step
Master: Shadow Walker
Death
Minor: Power over Undead
Lesser: Bolster
Greater: Spirit Touch
Master: Possession
Destruction
Minor: Intense Magic
Lesser: Movement Burst
Greater: Elemental Wall
Master: Elemental Defense [custom guild power] You gain resistance 10 vs. one chosen energy type—acid, cold, fire, or electricity. This resistance increases to 15 at 14th level and 20 at 18th level. This stacks with other sources of energy resistance.
Divination
Minor: Forewarned
Lesser: Diviner's Fortune
Greater: Foretell
Master: Scrying
Enhancement
Minor: Physical Enhancement
Lesser: Augment
Greater: Perfection of Self
Master: Bestow Life
Fate
Minor: Fated Protection
Lesser: Prescience
Greater: Tugging Strands
Master: Greater Geas
Illusion
Minor: Extended Illusion
Lesser: Illusionary Marvels
Greater: Invisibility Field
Master: Permanent Image
Life
Minor: Life Essence
Lesser: Steal Essence
Greater: Life Sight
Master: Resurrection
Light
Minor: Lighteyes
Lesser: Blinding Ray
Greater: Revelation Aura
Master: Daylight
Mind
Minor: Enchanting Smile
Lesser: Terror
Greater: Aura of Despair
Master: Greater Communication
Nature
Minor: Animal Companion
Lesser: Wild Empathy
Greater: Empower Companion
Master: Rapid Growth (14th level)
Protection
Minor: Resistance
Lesser: Protective Ward
Greater: Energy Absorption
Master: Anti-Magic Aura
Telekinesis
Minor: Telekinetic Stability
Lesser: Telekinetic Impediment
Greater: Great Flight
Master: Effortless Telekinesis
Time
Minor: Fast
Lesser: Slowing Touch
Greater: Retry
Master: Temporal Stasis (14th level)
War
Minor: War Mage
Lesser: Seize the Initiative
Greater: Cooperative Defense
Master: Commander
Warp
Minor: Warp Mastery
Lesser: Shift
Greater: Dimensional Lord
Master: Portal
Weather
Minor: Untouched
Lesser: Wind Servant
Greater: Cloak of the Elements
Master: Climate
Grimoire Chronicler
(created by Adam Myers, lead designer of Spheres of Power)
Mage Feats
Grimoire Chronicler
(created by Adam Myers, lead designer of Spheres of Power)
When reading and writing in your grimoire, you incorporate all sorts of notes to aid your spellcasting.
Prerequisite: Must possess and be able to use a Grimoire
Benefit: Whenever you encounter a creature, you may make a note of them after the combat is over, writing down their habits and how your magic interacted with them. Whenever you encounter a creature of that type and subtype again, increase all DCs of your magic by 2.
Prerequisite: Must possess and be able to use a Grimoire
Benefit: Whenever you encounter a creature, you may make a note of them after the combat is over, writing down their habits and how your magic interacted with them. Whenever you encounter a creature of that type and subtype again, increase all DCs of your magic by 2.
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