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Iituem
2007-02-21, 06:50 AM
An old class I developed a while back, dug up from the files...


The Magician - Tricks of the Trade

Abilities: Dexterity is used in a number of the magician's skills and determines how difficult a trick is to save against, whereas Intelligence determines how powerful a trick he can manage and the number of bonus spells he receives. To perform a trick, a magician must have an Intelligence score of 10 + the trick's level. The magician gets bonus tricks based on Dexterity. The difficulty class of a saving throw against a magician's trick is 10 + the trick's level + the magician's Dexterity modifier (except for confidence tricks, which use Cha). Spell resistance is impossible against tricks because they are not actually magic, although most tricks offer a saving throw.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d4

Class Skills: The magician's class skills are Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (all skills, taken indiviually), Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Profession, Open Lock, Ride, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Swim, Tumble, Use Rope.


Skill points at 1st level: (4 + Int modifier) x4

Skill points at each additional level: 4 + Int modifier







The Magician
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th| 9th

1st|
+0|
+-|
+2|
+0|Trick in a Box, Alchemical Proficiency|3|1

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+0|-|4|2|-

3rd|
+1|
+1|
+3|
+1|-|4|2|1|-

4th|
+2|
+1|
+4|
+1|-|4|3|2|-|-

5th|
+2|
+1|
+4|
+1|-|4|3|2|1|-|-

6th|
+3|
+2|
+5|
+2|-|4|4|3|2|-|-|-

7th|
+3|
+2|
+5|
+2|-|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-

8th|
+4|
+2|
+6|
+2|-|4|4|4|3|2|-|-|-|-|-

9th|
+4|
+3|
+6|
+3|-|4|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-

10th|
+5|
+3|
+7|
+3|-|4|4|4|4|3|2|-|-|-|-

11th|
+5|
+3|
+7|
+3|-|4|4|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-

12th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+8|
+4|-|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|-|-|-

13th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+8|
+4|-|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1|-|-

14th|
+7/+2|
+4|
+9|
+4|-|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|-|-

15th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+9|
+5|-|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1|-

16th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+10|
+5|-|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|-

17th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+10|
+5|-|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1

18th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+11|
+6|-|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2

19th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+11|
+6|-|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3

20th|
+10/+5|
+6|
+12|
+6|-|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4[/table]


Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Magicians are proficient with the crossbow (hand or light), dagger (any type), dart, light mace, sap, shortbow (normal and composite) and short sword. Medium sized magicians are additionally proficient with the club, heavy crossbow, heavy mace, morningstar, quarterstaff and rapier. Magicians are proficient with light armour, although armour that would enforce an arcane spell check penalty applies the same penalty to any trick with a somatic component.

Tricks: A magician performs tricks, rather than casting spells. These are mundane effects meant to mimic magic but do not involve any magical components at all. He can manage a cetain number of tricks per day according to his class level before running out of prepared materials or routines. A magician must prepare his tricks ahead of time by getting at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and spending one hour preparing the various components for his tricks or memorising confidence routines. To prepare or perform a trick, a magician must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the trick's level. A magician's bonus tricks are based on Intelligence, although the difficulty to save against a magician's tricks are based on Dexterity (except for Confidence tricks). Magicians may learn any number of tricks.

If a magician is interrupted whilst performing a trick, he must make a Concentration check as a wizard would to continue carrying out the trick. The magician may make a Sleight of Hand check to identify a trick being performed (DC 15 + trick level).

Trick in a Box: The magician may prepare a trick in advance, packaging it in a box for later use. He can create a box with any trick he knows. Preparing a trick takes one day for each 1000gp in its base price. The base price of the box is its trick level x its caster level x 25gp. To prepare a trick, he must spend 1/25 of this base price in XP and use up raw materials costing half this base price. Tricks with costly material components or XP costs require the material component to be used or the XP component paid in the production of the trick.

Alchemical Proficiency: Although magicians are not spellcasters, they are fully proficient in the science of alchemy and can use the skill just as a spellcaster would be able to.

Portfolio: Magicians must use their portfolio when preparing tricks, a small bag, folder or book containing the details for their various tricks. They require no additional props to prepare Legerdemain or Confidence tricks. Conjuration and Illusion tricks require whatever material components are used in the performance of the trick to prepare. Pyrotechnic tricks require access to an alchemist's laboratory (his own or another's). A portable laboratory can be used, costing 500gp and weighing 8lbs, although this laboratory will not provide the usual +2 circumstance bonus to Alchemy checks.

A magician cannot prepare any trick not noted down in his portfolio. A magician begins play with a portfolio containing all 0-level magician tricks plus three 1st level tricks of the player's choice. For each point of Intelligence bonus the magician has, the portfolio holds one additional 1st level trick. Each time the magician achieves a new level, he gains two new tricks of any level or levels that he can cast (according to his new level). If the magician has chosen to specialise, one of the two free tricks must be from the magician's specialty school. The magician can also add tricks found in other magicians' portfolios.

A magician can use a borrowed portfolio to prepare a trick he already knows and has recorded in his own portfolio, but success is not assured. He must make a successful Sleight of Hand check (DC 15 + the spell's level) to determine the right style to perform the trick. If the check succeeds, the magician prepares the trick. He must repeat the check to prepare the trick again, no matter how many times he has prepared the trick before. If the check fails, he cannot try to prepare the trick from the same source again until the next day. Many magicians write their portfolios in code, requiring a successful Decipher Script check against DC 20 + the trick's level to translate.

Magicians can add new tricks to their portfolios through several methods. If he has chosen to specialise in a school of trickery, he can learn tricks only from the schools he can perform. In addition to the free tricks a magician learns at new levels, a magician can add tricks to his portfolio whenever he encounters a new boxed trick or a trick in another magician's portfolio. If the trick is in code he must decipher it as above, after which the magician must make a Sleight of Hand check (DC 15 + the trick's level) to learn it and spend a full day practising. Although actually learning the trick is based on Dexterity, a magician cannot succesfully learn a trick unless he has an Intelligence score equal to 10 + the trick's level. Magicians who have specialised in a school of trickery gains a +2 bonus on his check if the new trick is from his specialty school (but cannot learn any tricks from a prohibited school).

On a successful check, the magician learns the trick and can copy it into his portfolio. The process leaves a portfolio copied from unharmed, but requires the activation (and thus expenditure) of any boxed tricks used to learn from. If the check gails, the magician does not learn the trick and cannot attempt to learn it again even if he studies it from another source until he gains another rank in Sleight of Hand. The boxed trick is not used up in this circumstance.


Trick Mastery: A magician can take the special feat Trick Mastery. Each time the magician takes this feat, choose a number of tricks equal to the magician's Intelligence modifier (they must be tricks the magician already knows). From that point on, the magician can prepare these tricks without referring to a portfolio. The magician is so intimately familiar with these tricks that he doesn't need notes to prepare them any more.

Trick Specialisation: A magician can specialise in one school of trickery, allowing the magician one extra trick per day from the selected school and a +2 to Sleight of Hand checks to learn new tricks, at the expense of never being able to manage tricks from one other school, even by means of a boxed trick. The magician must choose whether to specialise and what in at 1st level and may never change that specialisation thereafter.

There are five schools from which a magician may draw his tricks; Illusion, Conjuration, Pyrotechnics, Legerdemain and Confidence. Tricks that do not fall into any of these schools are called universal tricks.
Illusion: Deceptions of form, appearance and effect. Convincing an audience that a statue has disappeared is an example of illusion. Not to be confused with the arcane school of Illusion.
Conjuration: The apparent production of something from nothing. Not to be confused with the arcane school of Conjuration, which actually produces something from nothing, Conjuration tricks merely provide the appearance of producing something from nothing. Pulling a rabbit from a hat is an example of conjuration.
Pyrotechnics: A range of tricks from smoke and mirror deceptions to dangerous explosives, pyrotechnic tricks rely on the science of alchemy and combustion to produce most of their effects.
Legerdemain: Tricks dependent on the hand being faster than the eye, employing misdirection and dexterity to enact minor miracles.
Confidence: Routines designed to win the trust of patrons, depending strongly on the magician's own personal strength of character and charm. All Confidence tricks use Charisma for their save DCs, rather than Dexterity.




For extra fun, if you think this class is worthwhile, I challenge you, the reader, to come up with new tricks. This class is going to need a whole new set of tricks yet, so the best ones will be included in the official trick list. Get tricking!


Sample Trick Concepts:

Flare (Pyro 0)- Bright flash, dazzles one creatre (-1 attack).
Prestidigitation (Pyro 0)- Small flashes, smoke and mirrors and similar effects usable for up to one hour. Adds a +2 to Perform (magic act) checks.
Long Reach (Lege 1)- Can steal a 5lb item 25ft + 5ft/2 levels away, provided nobody is watching it and you at the same time.
Produce Creature I (Conj 1)- Pull a Tiny viper, two Tiny monstrous spiders or a weasel out of a bag, hat or pocket.
Instant Disguise (Illu 1)- Lightning-fast costume and make-up change, adds +10 to disguise checks.
Charm Person (Conf 1)- Makes one person your friend.
Razorblade Trick (Lege 1)- 1 razor blade/level as ranged attack (max 5), deal 1d4+1 damage each. With a successful Sleight of Hand check, can avoid being seen to have thrown them.
Sticky Fire (Pyro 1)- A gobbet of sticky alchemist's fire, hits one target and burns for 2d6 damage, lasts 1 round/level. Material: 125gp of alchemist's fire.
Produce Creature II (Conj 2)- Pull a Small viper, Small monstrous Spider, badger pair of hawks from a bag, hat or coat.

Lege: Manacle Trick, Knife Trick
Knife Trick (Lege 3)- Thrown knife, does 4d6 damage plus any modifiers, 1 knife/4 levels. (Max 10d6).

magic8BALL
2007-02-21, 07:42 AM
This is a very nice class, and I can see a lot of application in low magic campaigns.

I am not too sure how long a class like this is effective, though... I mean, by the time your performing Produce Creature VI, and hiding an elephant or something... somewhere... the wizard is disintergrating the stage.

Seems more like a cute* NPC class, not a serious PC intended class. This is becouse of the limitations of expensive material components, such as alchemists fire and vipers, and space limitations (hiding a bunch of snakes in your coat). It is, however a very good idea, and Razorblade Trick and long reach seem very cool. My only concern is with level 4+ tricks.

On that note, just as you have Produce Creature, you could have Conceal Creature: hide one creature to be Produced later.

It's the combo that allows the "dissapearing, reappearing elephant" trick!

*asthetically appealing.

cferejohn
2007-02-21, 01:45 PM
I think this would be cool in a low or no magic campaign as a kind of charlatan, but I agree that it's hard to see how it would keep up with mages and clerics if it's in a "standard" campaign setting.

Iituem
2007-02-21, 05:04 PM
Well, that depends entirely on the tricks available. The aim for constructing them is to keep them in line with existing wizard spells. For example, Sticky Fire would actually be doing damage due for a level 2 spell, but I added a material component that would change the value of a boxed trick (scroll, essentially) to fit that of a level 2 spell so that it was balanced for a level 1 spell.

cferejohn
2007-02-21, 06:37 PM
I think that works fine for lower level spells, but it's going to take a lot to come up with a "trick" that does something on par with disintegrate...or mass suggestion...or wish.

Mewtarthio
2007-02-21, 11:19 PM
I think that works fine for lower level spells, but it's going to take a lot to come up with a "trick" that does something on par with disintegrate...or mass suggestion...or wish.

Disintigrate (Illusion 6)

You cleverly make it appear as though your target has vanished and been reduced to dust. In actuality, the target has been dropped through a cunning trapdoor in the stage where your comrades are beating the gold coins out of him.

cferejohn
2007-02-22, 01:32 AM
Disintigrate (Illusion 6)

You cleverly make it appear as though your target has vanished and been reduced to dust. In actuality, the target has been dropped through a cunning trapdoor in the stage where your comrades are beating the gold coins out of him.

Yeah, that sounds like an hour-to-a-day of planning (depending on whether you have to build the stage with the trap-door), plus the complicity of your comrades to beat the whatever out of him (which is not exactly turning something to dust). In no way is that comperable to a single standard action that results in a save-or-die in any environment with no preparation (other than memorizing the spell; not even that if you are a sorcerer).

Iituem
2007-02-22, 09:14 AM
Cremate (Pyro 6)

On a successful touch attack, you place a highly volatile device that causes an intense yet contained conflagration. The victim must make a successful Fortitude save or be burnt to fine dust on the next round. On a failed save, he still takes 3d6 damage from excruciating pain.

cferejohn
2007-02-22, 12:21 PM
Cremate (Pyro 6)

On a successful touch attack, you place a highly volatile device that causes an intense yet contained conflagration. The victim must make a successful Fortitude save or be burnt to fine dust on the next round. On a failed save, he still takes 3d6 damage from excruciating pain.

I guess I'll buy that. Is the device magic? Otherwise we're talking about modern-ish explosive technology (or at least TNT). I still don't see what you do about powerful mind-effecting spells and things like Wish and Miracle...

mikeejimbo
2007-02-22, 12:34 PM
Mind-affecting spells are easy enough. Magicians are superb liars and excellent at distracting you while they pull their sleight of hand.

Look over there! (Illu 2)

For 1 minute/level, you effectively become invisible.

Iituem
2007-02-22, 04:21 PM
I'd wager it might be made from some very advanced formulas, but it wouldn't be magic. Level 6 really would be getting into dynamite technology, yes.

Wish and miracle... well, they wouldn't happen. It's deception and smart use of knowledge, swiftness and technology, not magic. You can't just magic things out of the air, only appear to.

So no wish spells, no. Maybe equivalents of Shadow evocation/conjuration spells that provide illusions to shock people into thinking they were the intended tricks, but otherwise no.


Also, nice trick, Mike!

mikeejimbo
2007-02-22, 11:46 PM
Thank you! If I think of more "Magician-like" ways to explain other spells, I'll be sure to post them, too. I like the overall idea, I think it's solid.

ArmorArmadillo
2007-02-22, 11:50 PM
I like it. One issue though, are tricks suppose to be weaker than magic? Or just a sort of "magic except not magic" system.

If they're weaker, you should up the hit die to d6 and maybe the BAB.

mikeejimbo
2007-02-23, 12:05 AM
That's true, if they're supposed to be weaker, my "Look over there!" trick ought to be level 3, at least.

Edit: More trick ideas!

Lull (Conf 1) (Based off "Lullaby")

Using a focus such as a light or pendulum, and speaking in the right tone, you are able to cause a subject to become sleepy. While you Concentrate, plus one level afterwards, they receive a a -5 penalty on Listen (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/listen.htm) and Spot (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/spot.htm) checks and a -2 penalty on Will saves against sleep (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/sleep.htm) effects.

Throw Voice (Illu 1) (Based off "Ventriloquism")

For up to 1 min/level, you can make your voice and/or any sound you can normally make vocally appear to issue from somewhere else.

Sleep (Conf 2) (Based off..."Sleep")

Using a focus such as a light or pendulum and speaking in the right tone, you are able to cause a single subject of up to 4HD to fall asleep for 1 min/level. They can be awakened as per the normal sleep spell.

Hypnotic Suggestion (Conf 2) (Based off "Suggestion")

This targets one creature who has been put to sleep by your "Sleep" trick. You may implant a hypnotic suggestion that suggests a course of activity they must perform upon awakening. They are affected by it for 1 hour/level after awakening, or until it is completed. Limitations are as per "Suggestion," however they are always resisted at a -1 penalty (due to being hypnotic), reasonable suggestions at a -2, and suggestions which appeal to their actual desires at a -3. As always, self-destructive suggestions will not be carried out.

You may awake the suggested creature by clapping twice.

Spells that can easily be converted into this type of trick: Hypnotic Pattern, Deep Slumber, Rainbow Pattern, etc.

Then there are some spells that will work down the Hypnotic "Tree": Mass Suggestion, Modify Memory, etc. (Confusion and Insanity could be fun!)

Further thoughts: "Sleep" should perhaps work on multiple creatures, up to 4HD total, to keep in line with the spell. Most of the above spells can be defined as tricks with little changing. Below is one that needs a bit of working.

Gather Thoughts (Conf 2) (Based off "Detect Thoughts")

You may probe a subject who has been affected by your Sleep trick for information. You may only concentrate on one subject at a time, but while you concentrate you may change your target to any subject who is currently asleep from being affected by your Sleep trick.

The first round, you discern surface thoughts: While they aren't actively thinking, these will be things that would generally be on their mind, such as current worries and concerns.

The second round, you may begin to probe deeper: The subject gets another Will save to try and resist this, but if they succeed they do not automatically wake up. They must succeed on two consecutive Will saves to end the effects of the "Gather Thoughts," but they still may be under "Sleep." Should they fail the roll, they will give information they normally wouldn't. (At the DM's discretion for how much they would want to guard the information, the Will roll may be modified.)

And who could forget this one?

Irresistible Dance (Conf 6) (Based off..well, surely you can guess)

You may plant the urge to dance in any of your Sleeping subjects. Upon awakening, they do so, as per the spell, Irresistible Dance.

And now for something entirely different: Also, for all these Hypnotic Suggestion ideas, including Hypnotic Suggestion and Irresistible Dance, rather than upon awakening, perhaps you should allow the hypnotizer to implant a contingency. Rather than upon awakening, it would have effect when something happens. Such as, they will dance when they heard the word "Duck."

Something similar to "Mark of Justice" could be placed on a person Hypnotically too, I would imagine. Whenever they do something specified (the trigger), they subconsciously get a curse bestowed upon them.

Of course, you could just "Bestow Curse" like this too. The only difference is that it would be a subconscious but psychological "holding back," so they could be cured through psychoanalysis. I suppose magic would work too, though.

And thus far, all the Hypnosis effects have been negative. Perhaps you could remove a curse similarly? Not exactly "remove," but convince them they don't have it? And maybe you could implant buffs to your allies, such as "Aid" would do? They could be Morale or Competence Bonuses, because I could see being convinced they can do something subconsciously as being either.

Of course, once again back to the "harmful" effects, you could use it to Dominate the subject.