Great knowing brings great power.
Ways of Wizardry
- Study well, increasing your understanding
- Use one's mastery of such concepts
- Work great things
Wizards
- Special: Gods of Wizardry are served by wizards who gain a greater comprehension of the things that are within their spheres of influence, whether magical or mundane. Treat them as magic-users except for the rules here.
- Allowed Weapons: Staff, sword, dagger, dart
- Allowed Armor: None.
- Symbols: Those of divinities that match their deeper understandings.
- Can Turn: Supernatural beings that embody that which the wizard understands and those who embody what opposes it. For example, a wizard that has an understanding of Fire can turn beings that embody fire or water or frost.
- Mysteries of Wizardry: Skilled at knowing things, wizards select a concept for every odd level they have (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.), such as Fire, Water, Body, or Mind. What is chosen then becomes something that they have a deeper understanding of- their wizardry, allowing for their magic to work more masterfully when it applies to those concepts, and even allows access to certain cleric and druid spells that match.
What is more, they gain a +3 bonus for skill-related checks and saves related to those things.
In addition, they can increase the difficulty to save against their spells that match by 3. Their wizard magical side-effects are also gauged to favor that of which the wizard has a deeper understanding.
Wizards can choose to generalize, picking different concepts at every odd level, or they can specialize, picking the same one and compounding its benefits.
For example, at 3rd level, a wizard who is knowledgeable in Earth decides to also become knowledgeable in Air. As a result, he can cast such spells better than others, gain access to cleric and druid earth and air spells, gain a +3 to skill checks and saves that are related to earth and air, and even add 3 to his foes' penalty to save against earth or air. If he had instead decided to have more wizardry in Earth again at 3rd level, then he would double the bonuses for it, but have no bonuses for air spells. In any case, he may know spells that involve other concepts, but he doesn't necessarily have a greater understanding of them yet.
What one conceives shows the basis for reality. Roll 1d12.
1. Deny the Dunce's Cap: Unless the wizard has a deeper understanding of the spell, then it will fail to work. Experiencing this result thrice will cause a wizard's test even if he does.
2. Mnemonic Certainty: The wizard needs to understand the magic deeply or else it will only be at 50% its usual potency.
3. Patience is Best: Without a deeper understanding of the spell, its effects will happen just 1d12 rounds later.
4. Wizardly Emanation: All within 120’ have a 50% chance of experiencing minor manifestations of the magic's concept (bright light, fiery anger, a chill, etc.) and thereby have to save vs. spell/ make a Will save DC 15 or experience a + or -1d3 modifier to their rolls for the next 1d12 rounds, depending on if they correspond with that concept or not.
5-9. Standard Casting: The magic works without side-effect this time.
10. Thus, Preponderance: If the wizard has a deeper understanding of the spell being used, then he can augment its effect, range, or duration by 50%, 100% if he takes an extra round to cast it.
11. High Wizardry I: The magic's effect, range or duration is doubled if the wizard has a deeper understanding of it, as well as it not being expended so that it can be cast again that day.
12. High Wizardry II: Apply the result of #11 above, but what is more, the wizard can also immediately alter one quality of the spell too if he wishes, substituting the effect of another concept that he has a deeper understanding of. He could thus cast a cold ball, wall of wind, or lightning missile by combining the qualities of Fireball, Wall of Stone, or Magic Missile with his knowing of concepts such as Frost and Air. In addition, the wizard can make an Intelligence check (DC 15) + (the new spell's level x2) to add it to his spell book after it is cast, codifying his elaboration so that he can prepare and cast it normally from now on. For more details, see Blastings (link).
Wizardry: Deeper Understandings of Concepts
Thanks to long study, often in their secluded towers, wizards gain a better understanding of many things, organized as concepts, listed as topics. Roll or select one they know for every odd level they have (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.) Along with the mundane and magical bonuses described above, they may even learn select cleric and druid spells that correspond with the topics listed for their understandings too, as long as such spells don't deal directly with curing wounds.
Generalist wizards tend to select different concepts, specialist wizards tend to select the same. Some adopt a title related to the color or other topic of the concept they understand the most. For example, one who focuses on the concept of Light might be known as an illumination wizard or as (his name) the white, while one who focuses on Fire might be called a red wizard or a wizard of burning.
Concepts (d14)
1. Light: Illumination, Banishing Darkness, Resolution, Purity, White
2. Fire: Burning, Heat, Rage, Passion, Red
3. Frost: Holding, Chilling, Coldness, Stillness, Ice Blue
4. Air: Wind, Lightning, Weather, Prophecy, Sky Blue
5. Water: Adjusting Liquid, Adapting to Water, Flowing, Waves, Aquamarine
6. Earth: Stone, Fortifying, Solidness, Construction, Brown
7. Shadow: Concealment, Delusion, Fear, Illusion, Gray
8. Beast: Affecting Beasts, Becoming More Bestial, Wildness, Primalness, Orange
9. Plant: Vegetation, Nature, Sustenance, Fertility, Green
10. Body: Altering the Body, Improving the Body, Humanoid Shape, Ideals, Beige
11. Mind: Detecting Minds, Controlling Thoughts, Mind Over Matter, Telepathy, Silver
12. Spirit: Ephemera, Death, Otherworlds, Stopping Undeath, Purple
13. Dark: Corrupting, Draining, Despair, Grimness, Black
14. Magic Itself: Affecting Spells, Generic Effects, Dimension, Travel, Rainbow
For example, a 1st level wizard who selected Shadow would gain advantages with all the topics listed for it, having better magical side-effect results for his spells that involve concealment, gaining +3 to skills and saves regarding delusion, making it 3 harder for others to save against his illusions, or whichever combinations he chooses at any given time. He could also learn certain non-magic-user spells that matched those themes, such as reversed Remove Fear.
Other conceptual understandings likely exist too, though wizards are keen to debate them.
Wizards with similar outlooks may band together into orders as well, whether under the banner of one concept or of various ones. For example, a White Order might espouse wizardry of Light, while a Hermetic Order might include those of myriad foci. Each order often has one or more divinities as their patron that accords with that emphasis as well. See Part III for additional ideas.
Next week: Wizard tests & sagely knowledge
RPG srd Old School 1st ed AD&D Wizard Ars Magica Colleges of Magic Dark Ages Mage Gandalf Lord of the Rings
