Need help building a street gang of teenage 1st level casters

[Jay R]

I’m running a game in which magic, and magic creatures, are just coming back into the world. There have been a few low-level casters for the last 400 years, but very few even of those. Upper level spells and items haven’t worked, and it’s been mostly a mundane world. [There are magic items that nobody remembers are magic, just because they haven't worked for centuries.]

The magic has started to return during the first session, and the PCs will be pretty much at the forefront of it. At second level, the PCs were the highest level casters their small village had ever seen.

Now that the magic is back, and growing, it is much easier for people to become casters. This means (among many other things) that kids are far more likely to become casters than previous generations were. And they often have nobody to train them – or even to understand then.

This led me to the idea of a teenage street gang of several 1st level casters. They won’t be wizards, because that takes the kind of study that peasant kids don’t get. There are very few casters in their town, and none of these kids have any contact with them. They may reach 2nd level soon, so keep that in mind.

They are probably all humans. The world has no elves, very few dwarves, and the goblins and orcs are enemies, who don't ever come to this town except as a raid. The gnomes and hobbits live in their own part of town, and are scorned by many of the humans. These kids are peasants, and are also held in disdain, so they might be more likely to include non-humans in their gang. I will accept a non-human if I have a good reason to, so go ahead and include any great gnome or hobbit halfling builds

So help me design six or so 1st level thief casters. Since they are NPCs, I’m not looking for rules shenanigans, but I am looking for useful first (and maybe 2nd) level builds. These should be builds useful for a gang of disaffected kids, not interested in anybody except themselves.

I’ve already figured out that one of the beguiler’s two feats will be Precocious, and his one 2nd level spell will be invisibility. [Yes, I know the fluff for Precocious Apprentice, and even the name, implies being trained. Don't worry too much about fluff.]

I’m thinking the Cleric’s domains will be trickery and luck, but I’m not sure. [The gods, being major magic, are still asleep, and will be for awhile. Yes, clerical spells work anyway.]

So what do you suggest?

While the primary goal is to build this gang. I’m also trying to learn more about how to design low level characters, so feel free to offer suggestions beyond the gang itself.

And feel free to ignore my restrictions if you have a great build; they aren't set in stone. I'm considering a gnome illusionist, even though I've said no non-humans and no wizards.

[Vizzerdrix]

Warlock instantly springs to mind.

[Particle_Man]

Are all books allowed? Because a human cleric with midnight metamagic, extend spell, and two alignment domains (chaos and evil?) can 1x/day summon an LG/CG/LE/CE critter that lasts for 6 rounds at level 1. That ain’t bad.

If fluff doesn’t matter, warmage gives you the boom boom. Versatile Spellcaster let’s you get more boom boom.

[Jay R]

Warlock instantly springs to mind.

OK, but I’ve never played one. What least invocation do you recommend? What feats (or skills) work best for a 1st level Warlock?

Are all books allowed? Because a human cleric with midnight metamagic, extend spell, and two alignment domains (chaos and evil?) can 1x/day summon an LG/CG/LE/CE critter that lasts for 6 rounds at level 1. That ain’t bad.

In general, yes, all books are available. I reserve the right to veto something outrageous (Dweomerkeeper, Pun-Pun,, etc.) but I hope I never have to veto a player’s idea.

In this case, however, I’ve never played with incarnum. If a player asked for it, I’d do the research to learn about it, but I don’t plan to do that just for a 1st-level NPC.

If fluff doesn’t matter, warmage gives you the boom boom. Versatile Spellcaster let’s you get more boom boom.

Good idea. What do you recommend for his second feat? What skills?

I’m learning what I need to. Thank you both.

Does anybody have recommendations for what spells to choose? What feats are most useful for a 1st-level sorcerer, cleric, druid, bard, whatever? What skills?

Keep the ideas coming!

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Jay R
Does anybody have recommendations for what spells to choose? What feats are most useful for a 1st-level sorcerer, cleric, druid, bard, whatever?

Grease is often surprisingly effective even at higher levels, and for a first-level bard it could be very helpful in keeping a mark from running away. Sleep, Charm Person and Hypnotism could all be useful as well.

[spectralphoenix]

A couple short ideas I came up with -

Knuckles - Human Male Duskblade - the muscle of the group. Adopts a tough guy persona to hide the intelligence needed to learn his spells.
Cassandra - Human Female Cleric - spends most of her time in her own world, talking about gods and prophecies no one has ever heard of. Always seems to be in the right place at the right time though.
Shorty - Gnome Female Beguiler - probably wouldn't be allowed in to a normal human gang, but between her Invisibility spell and thief skills, she allows the group to commit sophisticated burglaries in addition to purse snatchings and stealing from street vendors. Takes the business side of things more serious than the rest of them, she's trying to provide for her family in the Foreign Quarter.
Lucas - Human Male Bard - the leader of the group, or at least the one who convinces everyone else to do what he wants. Ran away from his family to be an adventurer instead of a merchant, settled for the gang.
Frederick - Human Male Warlock - Frederick is creepy. The other kids hang out with him since he brings plenty of magic to the fold, but something just seems wrong about him in a way no one can put their finger on. He does his best to fit in, but deep down he just wants to watch the world burn.
James - Human Male Druid - works with animals on jobs. Can't abide seeing an animal mistreated, which tends to borrow trouble at exactly the wrong time. Otherwise, he's pretty quiet and follows the rest around, especially Lucas.

[Palanan]

Also, check out p. 25 of “Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave,” which has a first-level human sorcerer ready to drop into your street gang.

[Jay R]

Palanan: nice recommended spells. I also suspect that disguise self and silent image will be crucial for petty crimes, in a town where nobody thinks about magic spells. [And mage hand, of course.] And thanks for the reference to a fully-built sorcerer.

spectralphoenix: Very complete set of classes. I’m working with them, trying to develop the builds I’m after. I still don’t know what least invocation the beguiler should use, and I’m trying to work out what feats will be best at 1st and 2nd level, for a gang.

But I may have just taken care of that with a new idea. I’ve decided something about the gang, based on a fact about the world I didn’t give you, so there’s no way you could have known.

As the magic went away, virtually all the magical creatures did too, into separate planes. They are slowly coming back, starting with the smallest and least powerful. There are very few clues about what will come back where. But there are a few.

Two that I expect my players to ignore are that this town is called Drachenheim, and the oldest tavern is the Dragon’s Egg. Yes, by the time the most powerful monsters re-appear, there will be dragons here again, as there were 400 years ago.

So I’ve decided that each member of this gang will have dragonblood — Draconic Heritage if a sorcerer, or Dragontouched if not. [Note: the PCs didn’t “choose” these feats. This is the results of their ancestors 400 years ago. They don’t even know about it.] The Dragontouched cleric will also have Dragonfire Channeling. The bard will have Dragonfire Inspiration. The duskblade (who is hiding his intelligence) will have Draconic Knowledge, and will have one rank in every Knowledge skill. Somebody will have Draconic Senses.

While they don’t know that they have the dragonblood template, it is a reason that they feel comfortable with each other, and uncomfortable with everybody else. It’s the unconscious bond of this group.

Your suggestions have helped a lot. Any other advice?

[Particle_Man]

Well there are some nice feats chaining off of dragonblood because many of them get more powerful the more of them you get (I think one gets you blindsense if you get enough dragonblood feats) so if flaws are on the table you could (for instance) get a gang member with blindsense at level 1.

[spectralphoenix]

Some thoughts on spells/invocations -

For the duskblade, Color Spray is a good, nonlethal option for disabling guards or winning a street fight. Shocking Grasp is a good direct-damage option, but won't really come into its own until Arcane Channeling comes online at level 3. Swift Expeditious Retreat could be handy as a utility spell.

See the Unseen could be pretty handy for a warlock turned to thievery in a world where everyone is human and has normal vision. Miasmic cloud could be good for escapes/debuffing.

The bard only has cantrips at level one, so would probably stick with bardic music buffs and fascinate. There are some useful cantrips for thievery though, such as distracting people with Ghost Sound, filching things with Mage Hand, or coordinating the team with Message.

The cleric, druid, and beguiler all have access to their entire lists, so you don't need to make hard decisions there. I kind of see the cleric focused on buffing, the druid on charming/summoning/enhancing animals to assist, and the beguiler doing pretty standard beguiler stuff.

[thorr-kan]

May I suggest, if this is a "The Magic Came Back" campaign at street level, prepared casters might not be thematically appropriate?

Go all spontaneous casters:
bard, beguiler, dread necromancer, favored soul, sorcerer, warmage, ETA: spirit shaman

Add:
all three incarnum classes, all three initiator classes, all four psionic classes, shadow caster, dragon adept, draconic shaman, warlock

Maybe:
binder, truenamer, adept?, magewright?

ETA:
Ban:
wizard, cleric, druid, archivist

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by thorr-kan
Go all spontaneous casters....

This is a good idea, especially since most teenage street thieves probably won't have the patience or the discipline to spend an hour a day in study or prayer.

[vasilidor]

I could see cleric in this situation working as it would just take the deity granting the magic an explanation as to how it works and then it works.

[Jay R]

Particle_Man, I was ignoring flaws, because I mostly think they’re just a cheap way to get an extra feat. But these kids are disadvantaged, and not really a part of the society. I’ve taken your suggestion and run with it. All of them will have a flaw.

Spectralphoenix, I took your earlier suggestion for the duskblade and moved it to the warlock. She’s now the one who hides her intelligence, but is interested in learning anything she can. She has taken Draconic Knowledge, and put at least one point in each knowledge skill (except psionics, which don’t exist). So her least invocation is Otherworldly Whispers. [She isn’t really creepy. Creepy is an act. She’s ultra-curious and disdainful of most people who aren’t.]

Your point about the duskblade needing a non-lethal attack is a good one. I’ve changed his spells to include color spray.

thorr-kan, that’s a good point about thematic appropriateness. I'm approaching it slightly differently. I’ve said no wizards, because they have to be shown how to write the spells down in a book; that’s not a possible result. There’s only one (low-level) wizard in town, and he wouldn’t waste his time with a street kid. I don’t see a problem with clerics and druids – particularly given that the gods are pretty quiescent now. [I expect some very disgruntled clerics several months later, when the gods are fully awake, and start enforcing their will on their clerics.] I believe that a 1st level cleric can know how to prepare spells in the morning as easily as a sorcerer can know how to spontaneously cast them.

Besides, I’ve spent several days on this gang already (while suffering from the flu). That’s far more time than I’ve ever spent on a group of 1st level NPCs. I am not particularly motivated to throw two of them out and start over.

[Having said that, I just started working on a warmage, and may look at a dragonfire adept. I’m really bad at making a final decision and sticking to it.]

Everyone, thanks for all the advice. You’ve really helped, even when I didn’t take your advice. In case you’re wondering, here are the basics.

Georg 1st level Dragonblood Cleric (fire)
Luck, Trickery domains
Feats: Dragontouched (bonus), Dragonfire Channeling , XXX, YYY
Flaw: Shaky (-2 ranged combat rolls)

Clarissa 1st level Sorcerer
Feats: Draconic Heritage (brass), Draconic Toughness, Draconic Breath
Flaw: Noncombatant (-2 on melee attacks)
Huitzil Familiar (name?)
Cantrips (DC 14): daze, ghost sound, mage hand, prestidigitation
1st Level (DC 15): color spray, silent image, sleep (pick 2)

Hans 1st level Bard
Feats: Dragontouched, Dragonfire inspiration, Draconic Toughness
Flaw: Vulnerable (-1 AC)
Cantrips (DC 13) [O O O]: lullaby, mage hand, message, prestidigitation

Conrad 1st level Beguiler
Feats: Dragontouched, Precocious Apprentice, Draconic Breath (?)
Flaw: Vulnerable (-1 to AC)
2nd level spell: Invisibility

Greta 1st level Druid
Feats: Dragontouched, Draconic Senses, XXX
Flaw: Shaky: -2 ranged combat
Phynxkin Animal Companion

Ilsa 1st level Warlock
Feats: Dragontouched, Draconic Knowledge, Draconic Toughness.
Flaw: Pathetic (-2 Dex)
Least Invocation: Otherworldly Whispers

Knut 1st level Duskblade
Feats: Dragontouched, Draconic Claw, Draconic Toughness
Flaw: Shaky (-2 on ranged attacks)
Cantrips (DC 13): acid splash, disrupt undead, ray of frost, touch of fatigue.
1st level (DC 14): color spray, magic weapon

You can see that they aren’t finished. I hope to complete it in a day or two when my head isn’t pounding. If you have any suggestions or critiques, please feel free to pass them along.

[thorr-kan]

thorr-kan, that’s a good point about thematic appropriateness. I'm approaching it slightly differently. I’ve said no wizards, because they have to be shown how to write the spells down in a book; that’s not a possible result. There’s only one (low-level) wizard in town, and he wouldn’t waste his time with a street kid. I don’t see a problem with clerics and druids – particularly given that the gods are pretty quiescent now. [I expect some very disgruntled clerics several months later, when the gods are fully awake, and start enforcing their will on their clerics.] I believe that a 1st level cleric can know how to prepare spells in the morning as easily as a sorcerer can know how to spontaneously cast them.

But disagreeing with the way I'd do it is Wrong Hurting Fun...(no it's not). :)

Joking aside, a Design Choice, like I said. I totally get where you're coming from. Be fascinating to see how it would unfold.

Besides, I’ve spent several days on this gang already (while suffering from the flu). That’s far more time than I’ve ever spent on a group of 1st level NPCs. I am not particularly motivated to throw two of them out and start over.

Man, I know how that feels! Totally understood! And why waste all that time invested?

<SNIP! Characters.>

Nice batch of characters. You should consider the #CharacterCreationChallenge in January

[Jay R]

Man, I know how that feels! Totally understood! And why waste all that time invested?

<SNIP! Characters.>

Nice batch of characters. You should consider the #CharacterCreationChallenge in January

Yep. Having said that, I’ve written up two more. I have no idea if I will use these, or maybe replace others with them. The gang will not be more than 6 people.

Fritz 1st level Warmage
Feats: Dragontouched, Draconic Heritage (brass), Draconic Toughness,
Flaw: Noncombatant (-2 on melee attacks)

Erik 1st level Dragonfire Adept
Feats: Dragontouched(bonus), Draconic Knowledge, Draconic Heritage (brass), Draconic Senses.
Flaw: Vulnerable (-1 to AC)

I tried to create a Favored Soul, but couldn't come up with a build that suited me.

I've also adjusted some of the others, so that if they need Draconic Heritage for another feat, they have it. [This means several have Draconic Heritage and Dragontouched, which is overlapping, but non-sorcerers can't have Draconic Heritage without Dragontouched.]

Does anybody have a good argument for whether the Draconic Heritage and Dragontouched save bonuses to sleep and paralysis should stack?

As always, please critique and suggest at will. You have helped me a lot.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Jay R
They also had an encounter with a gang of pickpockets. I never even set up a map.

Saw your reference to this gang in another current thread. I'd be very interested to hear more about how this encounter played out. You've inspired me to do something similar, and I'd love to know how you set it up and how your players responded.

[Crake]

With the magical training feat you can pseudo simulate a gestalt level 0.5 caster at level 1 with any other class. That lets you open up a whole slew of “mutliclass” options, while still allowing them to utilise some level of magic.

Arcane mark can be used as a sort of “gang symbol”, mage hand has obvious benefits, message to communicate with one another across crowded streets, light is always useful, and of course, prestidigitation, as many uses as you can think of.

[Jay R]

Saw your reference to this gang in another current thread. I'd be very interested to hear more about how this encounter played out. You've inspired me to do something similar, and I'd love to know how you set it up and how your players responded.

It went incredibly well.

Ellyjoy, Filé, Fiona, Merey, and Niclas are PCs; Conrad is the game beguiler; Ilsa is the gang warlock.

It was a purely political session; they needed to disrupt a treaty conference with Lord Flanders, because he was at war with Lady Ystadt, and intended to attack her Keep. Merey's father had previously promised Lord Flanders her hand in marriage. So she ran away and became an adventurer. Lord Flanders has been building a large army, mostly of conscripts. He intended to pay them with the pillage from Lady Ystadt's keep.

The gang was supposed to be a continuing thorn in the party's side. Instead they eventually became uneasy allies, because the party (in large part accidentally) pushed all the right buttons. I love it when my PCs do something I didn't believe was likely.

The gang are all street kids. They grew up in a world with essentially no magic. They have been a gang for a couple of years, and have no idea why they all felt so connected. When the magic appeared three weeks ago, they all discovered that they had some magical abilities. Every one of them has Draconic Heritage or Dragontouched, they are all connected to brass dragons, and none of them know it. Nobody in town had ever treated them with any respect, and nobody else they know can do magic. Therefore they have no loyalty to anybody except each other.

[Day 2, afternoon] As the greetings and ceremonies commence, Niclas sees somebody (Conrad, a 12-year-old) cut Ellyjoy’s purse. He grabs Conrad just as Conrad turns invisible. Merey tells him, “Drop the purse. You don’t want to fight us; this is not the time.” She is hit in the back with an eldritch blast that she does not recognize. Filé attempts to grapple the invisible feet, and cannot successfully grab them. Eventually they tell Conrad just to drop the purse and he can go. A purse falls and turns visible at their feet, and Conrad turns visible again, so Niclas lets him go. A few moments later, Niclas realizes that his own purse is now missing. [Conrad turned visible because he stole Niclas's purse.] The dogs trail Conrad to a nearby stream. [Conrad had seen the dogs, and so went where the scent trail would not follow.]

[Day 3, evening] Meanwhile, Merey is going to other taverns, and spreading a few rumors herself. Along the way, she sees Conrad, and goes to talk with him. At first he is resistant, but she demonstrates her disguise self spell. This is the first time he's seen anyone outside the gang do any magic. And at the first encounter, she didn't try to hurt him; she just said that this was not the time. So she convinced him that they weren’t (necessarily) enemies, and that it might help the gang for them to talk. They arrange a time and place.

When Merey arrives, she sees Ilsa waiting. They start to get to know each other, and soon go to a home to talk privately. [While Merey never knew it, it wasn’t Ilsa’s home. Nobody in the gang lives in a place that nice. But they know several places where the people are away on a regular schedule.]

Ilsa has never met anybody as intelligent as her before, and had never been treated as an equal by anybody outside her gang. [Ilso has INT 18; Merey has INT 20.] They get along extremely well, and Merey’s magic is crucial in getting Ilsa’s trust. Merey utterly fails to convince Ilsa that treating other people well could have any value at all, but gets good results with a promise to pay. They agree that the gang would do some interesting work for gold. Merey tries to convince Ilsa that they are working for Lady Ystadt. Ilsa doesn’t care. Merey’s paying; Merey’s who they care about. [I rolled diplomacy only twice in a long conversation, because Merey was giving Ilsa exactly what she wanted. You don't need to roll for that.]

[Day 4] Fiona and Niclas had no social skills, so they went back to Harcourt, a city they had rescued earlier. They took another ally, and defeated the two encounters I put in their way. At Harcourt, they convinced the mayor that Flanders needed to be defeated for Harcourt's continued safety. On the way, they also recruited a group of gnomes.

[Day 5] Merey tells Ilsa to concentrate their thefts on soldiers. Specifically, rob any soldiers who have gold. [The soldiers haven't been paid lately, and some have been looting.]

[Day 7] A couple of soldiers are found in an alley, burnt to death. Ilsa tells her that they wouldn’t back down, so Olga had to breathe. [This is the first indication Merey has that some of the gang can breathe fire.] Merey recognizes that she’s had to kill in the past, and does not blame them.

She asks them to focus on harassing the army. Filé offers several suggestions, including stealing and burning their boots, setting their arrows on fire, etc. He also gives them a bag of caltrops.

[Day 8] The gang set fire to an armory with the largest store of arrows. According to reports, it wasn’t a small fire that grew; it was as if the entire building caught fire at once.

Merey pays the gang 2 gold pieces each, with promise of more to come. It seems to have a big effect on them. They’ve gotten gold from theft, but have never been paid in anything but copper before.

[Next few days] Things were happening quickly, and I stopped taking complete notes.

Numbers of soldiers were abandoning the army, and it was decided that the army had to move out immediately. The gang kept harassing them. Many soldiers marched out barefoot, and the caltrops were even more effective. Minor spells also made things worse. The army had only three casters, all marching near the front.

After the army left, Merey, Filé, and Ellyjoy went to Flanders Keep, with the gang in tow. The gang was told to only follow Merey’s lead. They had gold in their pockets; they were agreeable. Of course, if anyone attacked them they were going to attack in force. [I actually was expecting this to happen when Merey tried to fight her way inside.]

Nope. Ellyjoy used the wand of glibness on Merey, who simply told all the guards, servants, and other castle denizens that she was taking over. Everybody accepted the fact, and soon she was completely in charge. Lord Flanders had inspired very little loyalty, and morale was very low, in large part due to the party's recent actions. And everyone with personal loyalty to him were on the march.

Flanders's attack on Lady Ystadt's keep failed utterly. Fiona and Niclas were up there by then, with numerous allies they had recruited. [Again, this was a complete surprise to me. I had expected the party to have to deal with an army of over 100 attacking a keep with 34 defenders. It turned out to be a dispirited army against 100 defenders, behind a wall and uphill.]

A small group of the enemy, including a wounded Lord Flanders, successfully fled the battle without surrendering. They headed back to Flanders Keep, intending to hide there, heal up, and make new plans. Flanders was not happy to see his own castle walls closed to him. Fortunately, he didn’t have to endure that humiliation for long.

They approached the closed gates and demanded entrance. [Why were the gates closed? Because Merey has a raven familiar, and she knew when they were arriving. Besides, rumors and reports travel much faster than an army with many wounded and not enough boots.] Merey, Filé, Ellyjoy, and the gang were all on the ramparts when they arrived.

Flanders was utterly shocked to find his supposed fianceé on the wall giving commands. Of course he commanded her to obey him as she should, and open the gates. Somehow this didn’t work. He made an absurd threat (I don’t remember it) and was hit with three breath weapons. If he hadn’t been wounded he’d have survived even this. But he didn’t.

Several soldiers standing within fifteen feet of Lord Flanders died in that dragon fire. The rest were told to surrender. They had no choice. They surrendered.

Nine hour session. The PCs not only prevented the alliance, but also basically won the battle, and took over Lord Flanders's lands. Merey has just signed the alliance treaty herself. I love it when my PCs do something I didn't believe was likely.

I don't know what will happen with the gang; I do know that the party won't be there much longer.

[Palanan]

Thanks for the detailed summary. Sounds like a superb session with some excellent players.

Is the money paid to the gang on a par with similar services? Or is Merey paying them the equivalent of pocket change? If the latter, the gang might do some comparing around and decide they need to be paid what they think they’re worth…whether or not that assessment is accurate.

[RaiKirah]

I'm a bit late to the party, but if the gang sticks around and picks up other members, you might consider adding in a Spellthief (gangs steal things some times). Make them someone's kid sibling who isn't all that great with magic and has to make do with stealing others'. Use Dragontouched and Dragonfire Strike as level one feats for your theme, then do whatever thief-y things you feel like with the rest of the build (spellthief goes into Chameleon pretty nicely if you delay Dragonfire Strike till 3). It sounds like the PCs are spellcasters, so stealing their slots can be effective, and by the time they level to 5 the Spellthief can make use of the Warlock's Invocations.

[thorr-kan]

It went incredibly well.

DUDE!

The gang was supposed to be a continuing thorn in the party's side. Instead they eventually became uneasy allies, because the party (in large part accidentally) pushed all the right buttons. I love it when my PCs do something I didn't believe was likely.

Ain't it grand? Equal parts pulling-out-your-hair at the derail and straight-up-joy at the ingenuity.

This is why we play.

Next few days] Things were happening quickly, and I stopped taking complete notes.

That happens some times.

Nine hour session. The PCs not only prevented the alliance, but also basically won the battle, and took over Lord Flanders's lands. Merey has just signed the alliance treaty herself. I love it when my PCs do something I didn't believe was likely.

Epic session, epic playing, epic output. Times to treasure.

[Jay R]

Thanks for the detailed summary. Sounds like a superb session with some excellent players.

Thank you. I am extremely lucky in my players. They all started role-playing in the 1980s or 1990s, and they are all intelligent, creative and imaginative.

Is the money paid to the gang on a par with similar services? Or is Merey paying them the equivalent of pocket change? If the latter, the gang might do some comparing around and decide they need to be paid what they think they’re worth…whether or not that assessment is accurate.

There are no "similar services". There was almost no magic in the world a month or two ago. The only other casters the gang know about are Merey, Ellyjoy, and Fiona.

I'm a bit late to the party, but if the gang sticks around and picks up other members, you might consider adding in a Spellthief (gangs steal things some times). Make them someone's kid sibling who isn't all that great with magic and has to make do with stealing others'. Use Dragontouched and Dragonfire Strike as level one feats for your theme, then do whatever thief-y things you feel like with the rest of the build (spellthief goes into Chameleon pretty nicely if you delay Dragonfire Strike till 3). It sounds like the PCs are spellcasters, so stealing their slots can be effective, and by the time they level to 5 the Spellthief can make use of the Warlock's Invocations.

It's a great idea, but it doesn't match the narrative of the gang. When they discovered that they could do magic, they didn't know anybody else who could. The idea of having spells is part of their "us vs. the world" mentality. Even now, the only ones he could steal spells from are the rest of the gang, or their current employer.

Epic session, epic playing, epic output. Times to treasure.

It was. And I do.

[bookkeeping guy]

I'm curious about your reasoning of what caused the disappearance of higher level magic in the first place. And the solution that caused its return. It would be good if this is well thought out and has some strong reasonings to make the world you are doing have a lot of appeal.

[Jay R]

I'm curious about your reasoning of what caused the disappearance of higher level magic in the first place. And the solution that caused its return. It would be good if this is well thought out and has some strong reasonings to make the world you are doing have a lot of appeal.

Here’s what I posted half a year ago, right before the game started.

Spoiler: The Story of Gaea

Show

Throughout the known history of Gaea, there have been Ages of Heroes. Paradoxically, these times are started by an influx of Chaos, Evil, and the Wild. Civilizations are beaten back or crumble, and the forces of Chaos grow strong. Eventually, heroes develop who are strong enough to push back against the encroaching Wild, force them back, and re-establish a civilized culture that can slowly grow.

In the 200 years B.P.C. (Before Player Characters), the wilderlands have been (mostly) quiet, and the civilized forces has slowly grown. That does not mean universal peace, of course, but it has been generally good times. The village Stamford on the very edge of the wilderness was established about 100 years ago, and in many other places, the empire has expanded. [All the PCs but one came from Stamford.] The monsters in the wilderness are still there, but they are … sleepy. They don’t have the drive to mount attacks on civilization. The underground is not connected to the surface, and most people on both sides have forgotten that there was ever another world above or below them.

There is not universal peace, however. 100-120 years ago, the dwarves were wiped out in the dwarf-frost giant wars up north, and there is a low rolling revolution going on in the empire. The emperor died nearly 20 years ago, and five different claimants are warring over the succession. They are so busy with each other that the far-flung provinces have been ignored. Some are falling apart; some are declaring themselves independent. Lord Angmar is holding the westernmost province together in nominal loyalty to the empire, but even he doesn’t know the emperor is dead. And he hasn’t been able to get around to his borderlands. [One PC came from Lord Angmar's province, fleeing from a forced marriage.]

The world is quiet; the wilderness is quiet; even magic is quiet. There are very few casters of any sort. The prime material plane has had no visitors from other planes. Magic items are forgotten, or treated as legends. Except for a few minor casters here and there, this is basically an ordinary medieval world.

At the start of year 1 A.P.C., the ball of force that is Chicxulub’s prison comes to earth. Chicxulub is a god-equivalent from another plane, usually not connected to any of the standard D&D planes. He was imprisoned on this plane in a ball of universal force (arcane, divine, bardic, electric, fire, cold – everything). He has near infinite power, but at present cannot affect anything outside the ball of force.

When the PCs investigate the earthquakes and fissures, they will discover him imprisoned within a ball of force, banging on the sides causing more quakes and fissures. They can prevent this only by releasing him. As soon as he is released, he will leave this plane (and any plane usually connected with it) forever.

The sheer physical impact of its landing has opened up new entrances to the underworld. When he is freed, there will be an expanding wave of cosmic forces extending outward. For who are standing next to it will be filled with the force so much that they will go up one level, gain +1 on every ability score, and have one wish fulfilled. [The purpose of this is to mark the PCs as special.]

Slightly further out, people will gain one level. This will only affect the kobold scouts who will arrive not long afterward. Further out than that, dead bodies will become zombies or skeletons. [Whatever the PCs killed to get there, they will need to kill them again to get back out.]

The release of this much power on the Prime Material plane has caught the attention of the most powerful denizens of other planes, and there will be travel from them soon.

The wave of magical force will spread out, eventually hitting the entire world, ushering in a new Age of Chaos (with accompanying Age of Heroes). Moribund or latent magic will be awakened. People will discover their arcane or divine potential. Monsters will develop into major threats.

In short, a D&D game is about to break out.

Since then, I have invented more of the background. Something went wrong with the creation of Gaea, and magic can’t work as it is supposed to. It is uncontrolled, because the universe itself is not made right. The only solution (most of the time) is to find a way to send magic away.

It keeps coming back. When it does, there is an Age of Chaos (and an accompanying Age of Heroes). But as the wildness of the magic grows, it becomes impossible for even the greatest heroes to hold back the chaos. Cities crumble, empires fall, and they usually have to find a way to banish the magic to make the world safe again. [Also, records are mostly destroyed, so this history is not easily available to the PCs.]

There is a great relic in the center of Gaea, left over from Creation, broken and corrupted. Normally no mortal can approach it, because it is the core and focus of the entire universe. But this party has been marked by the new magic brought into the world, so it is possible that they, and they alone, might be able to approach it and heal the world, so that magic can be stable.

It is too large and too cosmic for any mortal to comprehend. The druid will see it as a great world tree, with some roots that are withered and broken. The bard will “hear” is as a great symphonic song without harmony. The wizard will process it as an incredibly large spellbook with no organization to its pages. The ranger will feel it as a great and untrammeled wilderness -- with no circle of life. And the rogue will experience a complex world-girdling city, without organization, government, trade, or community.

The general plan is for them to be able to collect the necessary artifacts to try to heal it by the time they reach 18th or 19th level.

Meanwhile, the threats are growing.