Mage who's not a mage...

[Mechanize]

Ok, this may sound stupid. I just got a weird idea to play a mage who, on the outside, looks like a nobody, a peasant. A bum in which miracles and crazy stuff happens to him or those around him.

Essentially, I want to be able to use still spell, silent spell, etc to have spells go off around me and have no one actually be able to tell that it is me doing it.

Is there any way to pull this off? Are there classes, PrC, items, or feats that help me pull this off easier? I am sure I will be sacrificing all of my high level spell slots, but I'd like to be somewhat useful if possible. Any chance at making this work?

Probably impossible at low levels, but I am going to be in a game starting at level 12 so that gives me some chance...

[Rubik]

Psion. Auto-Still, Auto-Silent, no verbal, somatic, or material components, can be done in armor, and the sounds/light/smells/ecto goo can be blamed on hauntings.

Just choose the right power set and you're good.

[Mechanize]

Guess I never even thought about psion.... it seems to get so much hate. No one ever plays it, dms never allow it and I never even looked at it. Any tips on building one and not pissing off the DM? lol

[Segev]

I believe those using psionic powers can also suppress the display (sounds, smells, ecto-goo, etc) with a Concentration check made when manifesting the power. So this is probably the right way to go.

Pick up Animal Handling, if you can, and have a pet dog and a small herd of goats or something. It will complete the "hapless peasant" look and is a key part of a combat-capable first level commoner build, anyway. (The animals are trained to fight, and can use Aid Another for their Commoner master to have a decent AC or to hit.)

[Rubik]

Guess I never even thought about psion.... it seems to get so much hate. No one ever plays it, dms never allow it and I never even looked at it. Any tips on building one and not pissing off the DM? lolPsions are a lot harder to render useless than a wizard, but they don't have nearly as many game-breaking tricks. Just follow the number one rule of psionics: "You cannot spend more power points on any manifestation than your manifester level" and don't go out of your way to break the game, and you'll be okay.

Just make sure you familiarize yourself with the rules.

[Mechanize]

I believe those using psionic powers can also suppress the display (sounds, smells, ecto-goo, etc) with a Concentration check made when manifesting the power. So this is probably the right way to go.

Pick up Animal Handling, if you can, and have a pet dog and a small herd of goats or something. It will complete the "hapless peasant" look and is a key part of a combat-capable first level commoner build, anyway. (The animals are trained to fight, and can use Aid Another for their Commoner master to have a decent AC or to hit.)

1 thing that may be a problem is that I am starting out at level 12. If I want to pull this off, the 88k I was allowed to start off with would be pointless. Kinda hard to look like a bum if I have this super gear all over me. Or if people even see me using anything even remotely magical. Any idea what the spend the gold on? Are there any feats that give me bonuses for not having items? I remember a cleric in a party once taking a vow of poverty but not sure if that actually did anything for him lol.

[John Longarrow]

You could play a beguiler.

Toss on a Hat of Disguise so you look different...
Plus glamored armor....

And a big beat stick that doubles as a rune staff!

[TuggyNE]

If I want to pull this off, the 88k I was allowed to start off with would be pointless. Kinda hard to look like a bum if I have this super gear all over me. Or if people even see me using anything even remotely magical. Any idea what the spend the gold on?

Assuming this is a deliberate ploy on the part of your character (i.e., they are fully aware of their nature, and are putting on a mask in order to avoid hostility), get or make custom versions of passive magic items that look raggedy and mundane. For example, a sweat-stained leather headband of intellect, +1 rags of heavy fortification, crudely hand-carved wooden necklace of natural armor, etc.


Are there any feats that give me bonuses for not having items? I remember a cleric in a party once taking a vow of poverty but not sure if that actually did anything for him lol.

Vow of Poverty is the only real way to do it; for almost any purpose, it's mechanically substantially inferior to having regular items, but it is considerably better than just going without. You might poke around to find one of the fixes on the homebrew forum here and ask your DM to let you try that.

Keep in mind VoP requires you to be extra-super-duper-Good.

[Slipperychicken]

"You cannot spend more power points on any manifestation than your manifester level"

Quoted for emphasis. Misunderstanding this rule is what leads to the perception of psionics as overpowered.

[icefractal]

Hide your gear inside yourself.

Step 1: Get a slotless item (a marble) of Sustenance.
Step 2: Swallow it. No more digestive activity.
Step 3: Make your other items also slotless marbles, and swallow them.

The only problem would be retrieving the items if you ever wanted to sell or upgrade them. Possible solution - make one of the items cast Unseen Servant, from inside your stomach (unseen servants don't take up space), and have it move the desired items out through your throat.

Slightly disturbing? Yes. But good for disguise.

[Rubik]

1 thing that may be a problem is that I am starting out at level 12. If I want to pull this off, the 88k I was allowed to start off with would be pointless. Kinda hard to look like a bum if I have this super gear all over me. Or if people even see me using anything even remotely magical. Any idea what the spend the gold on? Are there any feats that give me bonuses for not having items? I remember a cleric in a party once taking a vow of poverty but not sure if that actually did anything for him lol.Look up "The Big Guy Is With Me." Spend most of your money on outfitting your psicrystal with gear, with a few simple-looking trinkets for yourself, such as an anklet of translocation, headband of intellect and belt of battle, each of which is a simple (albeit magical) worn leather braid. Nothing fancy.

Call your psicrystal your spirit guide or something.

[Captnq]

TT your DM and make a custom PrC? Here's something I made for a campaign that never materialized.

Cabalist

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Spells per Day
1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Spell Power +1 level of Arcane Class
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Increased Intelligence +1 level of Arcane Class
3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Silent Casting +1 level of Arcane Class
4th +2 +1 +1 +4 Improved Casting +1 level of Arcane Class
5th +2 +2 +2 +4 Spell Power +1 level of Arcane Class
6th +3 +2 +2 +5 Still Casting +1 level of Arcane Class
7th +3 +3 +3 +5 Increased Intelligence +1 level of Arcane Class
8th +4 +3 +3 +6 Improved Casting +1 level of Arcane Class
9th +4 +4 +4 +6 Spell Power +1 level of Arcane Class
10th +5 +4 +4 +7 Greater Eschew Materials +1 level of Arcane Class
Hit Die: d4.
A cabalist is a member of an exclusive group of mages who have taken being a sorcerer to a whole new level. They have devoted themselves to the pursuit of perfection in the arcane arts. Their spells are harder to overcome both from training and increased knowledge into the mysteries of the arcane.
This order has the purpose of understanding and watching over the magic of the world. While not everyone accepts their claim to being the ultimate authority on magic, they see themselves as such. A cabalist is a driven soul who has decided that magic is everything and anything else is secondary. For this reason, they see it as their mandate that they investigate and discover all forms of magic.
Cabalists have a secondary duty to hunt down and destroy all wizards that they encounter. The typical Cabalist is a dawn elf, but they have been known to accept promising members of other races into the fold, but never in any position of authority.
Abilities: A cabalist's primary stat is intelligence. They are devoted to improvement of arcane magic and intelligence is the state that maximizes a sorcerer's potential.
Advancement: Advancement is by improving one's arcane might. The cabal as an organization respects intelligence and power, thus usually the most powerful cabalist advances within the organization. However, personal advancement within the organization is not necessary to advance in the class, and vice versa.
Adventures: Cabalists either are sedentary watchers who coordinate the activities of other members, or they are the out in the field types blowing things up in the name of furthering arcane studies.
Alignment: Note, there is no alignment restriction on joining the cabal, although they do tend towards lawful and good. Evil cabalists have a place, as long as they are driven to further the cause of magic and have proven their loyalty to the cabal.
Background: Almost all cabalists are sorcerers. First you must seek out a cabalist who will sponsor you. Then the cabalist takes the prospective member before a counsel of five cabalist of at least 5th level. They then decide if the potential member is worthy. If he does not prove his worthiness, he may be sent away after being told what he needs to do to qualify, he may be sent away after being magically branded and told he may never apply again, or he might be outright destroyed.
Combat: A cabalist usually blasts his enemy with as much firepower he can bring to bear as quickly as possible. There is little subtle about a cabalist in combat. At 6th level, a cabalist often dons armor and shield and clanks into battle when he no longer has to worry about arcane spell failure.
Daily Life: A cabalist has devoted himself to an organization and thus often gets marching orders from them to accomplish important goals. They are free to turn down assignments, but in doing so, they lose the support of their follow cabalists.
In The World: Cabalists are a secretive lot and usually do not advertise what they are. They tend to watch from the shadows considering all options before tackling a problem. Some are subtle, some are overtly violent, but all are concerned with matters of the arcane.
NPC Reactions: Not much. Very few even know the cabal exists, those that do either fear them or envy them. Most NPCs just assume dawn elves are exceptionally powerful sorcerers and leave it at that.
Organization: The cabal is the organization that all cabalists are a member of. They police their own and consider all cabalists to be under their command. In the advent someone who is not approved to be a cabalist learns this class, he will both covertly and overly be targeted for recruitment or elimination, depending on his ability and situation. Over all, they are a shadowy organization that seeks to fulfill their agenda of control.
Playing: You act like a typical sorcerer and don't let on that you are a cabalist or that you even know what a cabalist is. When dealing with your fellow cabalists, you tend to act reserved and need to play politics. Members have a lot of leeway, but more then one maverick member has had an accident in the field, so it's best to play your cards close to your chest.
Races: Any sorcerer or bard can be a cabalist, but over ninety percent of all cabalists are Dawn elves. The dawn elves work hard to maintain this balance.
Role: A cabalist fulfills the position in the party of the offensive spell thrower. Cabalists are good at hurling spells and do it very well.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 10 ranks, Spellcraft 10 ranks.
Feat: Eschew Materials, Still Spell, Silent Spell
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast 4th-level arcane spells.

CLASS SKILLS
The Cabalist class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

CLASS FEATURES
All the following are class features of the Cabalist prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Cabalist gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At each level, a cabalist gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in an arcane class to which she belonged before adding the prestige class level. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of turning or destroying undead, a bonus feat, and so on). If she had more than one arcane class before becoming a cabalist, she must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.
Spell Power: At 1st, 5th, and 9th level, this ability increases the effective level of the caster by one for determining level dependant effects, such as range, damage, or other variables, including caster checks. That brings it to a total of +3 at 9th. It does not increase the number of spells available to the caster. This stacks with other increases in effective spellcaster level.
Increased Intelligence: At 2nd and 7th level, the cabalist's intelligence increases by +2 as an unspecified bonus for a total of +4 at 7th level.
Silent Casting (Ex): At 3rd level, the cabalist gains the ability to use Silent Spell feat on all his spells with no additional casting time, nor higher spell level. Effectively, all spells a cabalist casts from now on are Silent.
Improved Casting (Ex): At 4th and 8th level the cabalist gains a +2 to the save DCs of all his spells for a total of +4 at 8th. This stacks with all other increases to his save DCs.
Still Casting (Ex): At 6th level the cabalist gains the ability to use Still Spell feat on all his spells with no additional casting time, nor higher spell level. Effectively, all spells a cabalist casts from now on are Still. This means that the cabalist is no longer effected by arcane spell failure and can freely wear armor and use shields without harm to his spells.
Greater Eschew Materials (Ex): At 10th level the cabalist no longer needs any spell component. He can choose to instead spend xps to cover the material cost. Divide the gp cost by 25 and that is how many xps it costs to eschew the material. All fractions are rounded down, so any material less then 25 gps costs nothing.


It sounds like what you want, but it's totally 3rd party. Maybe your DM will modify it into something he'll let you play. As it stands, it was made for a setting where all casters were spontanous, Wizards were NPCs, and the primary attributes for various classes were altered. You'll have to rewrite it, but it should give you something to work from.

I always intended to rewrite the PrCs to be compatable with standard d20, but never got around to it.

[Maginomicon]

Look up "The Big Guy Is With Me." Spend most of your money on outfitting your psicrystal with gear, with a few simple-looking trinkets for yourself, such as an anklet of translocation, headband of intellect and belt of battle, each of which is a simple (albeit magical) worn leather braid. Nothing fancy.

Call your psicrystal your spirit guide or something.
Furthermore, there are "Psicrystal Substitutions" in Dragon Magazine #345 pages 88-89 that permanently upgrade your psicrystal to give you a psi-like ability appropriate to its personality type that generally lasts until the end of the encounter:
{table=head] Personality | Lesser (300gp + 300 XP; 1/day) | Greater (900gp + 900 XP; 1/day)
Artiste | 1st; Create 10ft Ectoplasm Cube | 8th; Create 20x20ft Ectoplasm Wall |
Bully | 1st; TK Bull Rush | 16th; As Lesser, but an additional daily use |
Coward | 1st; +5 on a Hide check | 8th; As Lesser, but grants +10 |
Friendly | 1st; +5 on a Diplomacy check | 8th; As Lesser, but grants +10 |
Hero | 1st; Immune to poison for 1 minute | 8th; Immune to death effects for 1 minute |
Liar | 1st; Concealing Amorpha | 6th; Greater Concealing Amorpha |
Meticulous | 1st; +5 on a Search check | 8th; As Lesser, but grants +10 |
Nimble | 1st; Reroll initiative, keep 2nd roll | 8th; Reroll initiative, keep best roll |
Observant | 1st; Ignore concealment for 1 minute | 8th; Ignore total concealment for 1 minute |
Poised | 1st; Evasion, land prone | 11th; Improved Evasion |
Resolved | 1st; Immune to a compulsion | 11th; Immune to mind-affecting effects for 1 minute |
Sage | 1st; +5 on a 1+ rank Knowledge check | 8th; +10 on a 4+ rank Knowledge check |
Single-Minded | 1st; Swift action for 50% chance to regain psionic focus | 8th; Swift action for 75% chance to regain psionic focus |
Sneaky | 1st; Reroll Move Silently, keep 2nd roll | 8th; Reroll Move Silently, keep best roll |
Sympathetic | 1st; Create Lens of Truth granting +5 to conversational Sense Motive | 8th; As lesser, but grants +10 |
[/table]

[nedz]

I'm going to second the Beguiler idea.


Plenty of skill points to pose as almost anything else
Can easily take the Concealed Spellcasting Skill-trick at 2nd
Silent Spell at 5th
Still spell at 10th

[Segev]

Yeah, if you're 12th level, it does require that you decide if your character knows he's faking being less competent and wealthy than he is, or if he's just that unobservant of the world around him that he believes it despite the numerous evidences to the contrary. If the latter, I suggest a low Wis as a role-playing assignment of stats, since Wis is the "sees and understands the world around him clearly" stat.

If the former, then a simple Hat of Disguise will go a long way towards maintaining that appearance for another 3-5 levels, at least. It'll still be a while before you run into things that regularly use True Seeing and the like.

[Firebug]

By 10th level you can have Unseen Seer's Guarded Mind ability, which functions as a Permanent Nondetection. Meaning anyone who wants to check if your gear is magical (detect magic) or determine if you are telling the truth (discern lies), or to see if you even exist (scry) or use True Seeing on you has to beat a caster level check = 15 + your level. I'd argue that you could use your caster level if it is higher then your actual level, but that is probably a house rule.

Go with Spellthief 1/ Wizard 3/ Monk 1/ Unseen Seer 5/ Enlightened Fist 2. Probably ending with 1 more Enlightened Fist, 5 Abjurant Champion and 2 more Unseen Seer. Slower spell progression but as long as every level after this gets +1 caster level you will get to 9th level spells at 20. No one can tell if have magic, you get your Int to AC with Carmedine Monk (and can increase some aspect of being a monk by 2 levels), and Silent Spell for free. And at Enlightened Fist 3 you can 'accidentally' disintegrate someone/something by slapping them. Oh and steal their spells.

Hat of Disguise? I prefer Ring of Chameleon Power if you have the spare cash.

[erikun]

A sorcerer, perhaps? I can't help but think that carrying around a book everywhere won't hint people off as to what you are. And if you're not tied to arcane magic, a druid can work as well.

If you really want to play a wizard, then I might mention the Illusion Mastery (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm#illusionistVariants) illusionist variant, which applies the Spell Mastery feat to all your illusion spells. This means that all your illusion spells (along with Read Magic) can be prepared without a spellbook, and if you're willing to go without essentials like Detect Magic, you have no need for a spellbook at all. Throw in the Eschew Materials feat, and you won't even need the clothes on your back to cast spells.

Another option is Disguise Spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#disguiseSpell) for a bard. As long as you are using the Perform skill, your spells cannot be identified and people watching can't tell that you are casting a spell. Combine with Eschew Materials and probably Sublime Chord and you have a lot of spells that you can cast without anyone knowing they are coming directly from you.

[Mechanize]

Yeah, if you're 12th level, it does require that you decide if your character knows he's faking being less competent and wealthy than he is, or if he's just that unobservant of the world around him that he believes it despite the numerous evidences to the contrary. If the latter, I suggest a low Wis as a role-playing assignment of stats, since Wis is the "sees and understands the world around him clearly" stat.

If the former, then a simple Hat of Disguise will go a long way towards maintaining that appearance for another 3-5 levels, at least. It'll still be a while before you run into things that regularly use True Seeing and the like.

I think I want to go the latter. Completely oblivious, low wisdom for sure. Spells that go off around him almost come so natural that he doesn't know he's doing it. Maybe he believes he is cursed, or blessed, in some way, but he surely doesn't think he is doing it. Things happen around him and he isn't sure why.

It's weird because most wizards coherently cast spells. I'm going to roll play it almost like there is a guardian angel on his shoulder that casts spells reactively to protect him and his friends.

This really isn't hard to pull off with metamagic... I was just worried about losing all of my high level slots for silly role play. Are there items or feats that feed metamagic so that I don't have to spend such high slots?

I'm still looking into psion. Kind of confused though. You have to pick a discipline for psion, and then the spell list I was reading on d20srd didn't tell me which discipline each spell fit into.

[Lord Haart]

I'm still looking into psion. Kind of confused though. You have to pick a discipline for psion, and then the spell list I was reading on d20srd didn't tell me which discipline each spell fit into.

Every psion, regardless of the discipline, can take any powers from the general Psion/Wilder list. In addition, he can choose powers from (far shorter) discipline-specific list (same webpage, below the general list and above the psychic warrior list) for his discipline. So, majority of powers is in common access (but you are still closer to a sorcerer than to a wizard in that you have to pick a limited number of powers known). It's like domains on a cleric (with granted powers being replaced by additional class skills) — you can fare just fine without them if you want to.

Also, just because somebody has to: a manifester can't spend more power points on manifesting a power than his manifester level. That includes metamagic and other cost increases (and decreases). Not knowing that rule is the reason some people think of manifesters as overpowered.

[Mechanize]

Every psion, regardless of the discipline, can take any powers from the general Psion/Wilder list. In addition, he can choose powers from (far shorter) discipline-specific list (same webpage, below the general list and above the psychic warrior list) for his discipline. So, majority of powers is in common access (but you are still closer to a sorcerer than to a wizard in that you have to pick a limited number of powers known).

Also, just because somebody has to: a manifester can't spend more power points on manifesting a power than his manifester level. That includes metamagic and other cost increases (and decreases). Not knowing that rule is the reason some people think of manifesters as overpowered.

Oh ok... I got it. Thanks!

[Azoth]

You can use Sleight of Hand Vs. Spot to cast without it being recognized as spellcasting. This is an expanded use of the skill presented in Races of Stone.

You can lead line/coat items to mundanely block perception of their magical auras. Best used on your cloak to hide all gear within.

You can create an item to cast Nystul's Mystic Aura and remove your item's magical auras for you.

You can also specifically have your items crafted to look raggedy and common to avoid anyone intentionally wanting to check them.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Psion. Auto-Still, Auto-Silent, no verbal, somatic, or material components, can be done in armor, and the sounds/light/smells/ecto goo can be blamed on hauntings.

Just choose the right power set and you're good.

Emphasis mine. You can start bypassing those with concentration checks. If you fail to suppress them the power manifests normally. You can look totally unassuming.

[nedz]

You can use Sleight of Hand Vs. Spot to cast without it being recognized as spellcasting. This is an expanded use of the skill presented in Races of Stone.

The Conceal Spellcasting Skill-trick from Complete Scoundrel allows you to do this and avoid provoking an attack of opportunity.

[Firebug]

The Conceal Spellcasting Skill-trick from Complete Scoundrel allows you to do this and avoid provoking an attack of opportunity.

And an often missed point with skill tricks is that they are only usable once per encounter (or once per minute for non-combat), which puts a little bit of a damper on the shenanigans.

[Slipperychicken]

What would happen if our "Mage" was a senile old man who believed that the magic effects happening to him were the result of demons or other mischievous entities, seemingly couldn't control when the powers manifested, and regularly freaked out in fear and confusion whenever they happened?

Perhaps we could fluff it as the mind of a psion being stuck in a peasant's body (perhaps the result of a True Mind Switch gone wrong?) alongside the peasant's own mind, protecting it (out of necessity) like a guardian angel because the body's death means they both die...