:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.: -----=====Earth's Dreamlands=====----- (313)558-5024 {14.4} - (313)558-5517 A BBS for text file junkies RPGNet GM File Archive Site .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. Subject: SORCEROR character class (NOT sorcerER!) This class has been successfully play tested in an email environment ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE SORCEROR Sorcerors are the great seekers of knowledge; their goal in life is to understand and master the mysteries of the world in which they reside. They are very intelligent; they must have an INTELLIGENCE of at least 18, and minimum WISDOM of 14. In addition, they also require a good perception of at least 12. A Sorceror who has both WISDOM of 18+ and PERCEPTION 15+ gains the benefit of adding 10% to all experience points earned. (PERCEPTION is rolled on 3d6 only.) Only humans, elves and half-elves may be sorcerors. Sorcerors originally started out in life as sages of great distinction. Such was their pursuit of knowledge, they drew the attention of Thoth, the great God Of Knowledge (see "Legends & Lore"). Impressed by their dedication, he bestowed upon them his own knowledge of spells and languages. Hence, sorcerors are able to cast any spell and know all languages, within the confines of their experience level. SPELL USE As stated above, all spells are employable by Sorcerors. Spell casting does, however, require great concentration and mental effort; only through experience does the Sorceror master the ability and expend only the minimum of effort. Such mental strain drains energy, causing the character to become weaker; only uninterupted rest may the sorceror recover. Hence, hit points lost through spell casting may not be replenished in the same fashion as "physical" damage (spells such as "Cure Light Wounds" only affect hit points lost through physical effort, such as due to combat). eg. A first level sorceror with 24 hit points casts 2 spells in the course of the day (using 20 hit points), and is struck in a battle for another 3. A fellow Cleric casts "Cure Light Wounds" for 5 hit points. However, only the physical points lost may regained in this way, hence 3 points only are restored. Hit points lost due to spell casting are regained at a rate of 1hp/level of experience per hour of uninterupted rest. Any disturbance during this time could cause the loss of that hour's rest. .---------------------------------------------------. | Base Level % chance of losing hour's rest : 90% | | Modified for each level of experience : -5% | | | | To a minimum % of : 40% | `---------------------------------------------------' Not all spells require the same concentration. The environment in which the sorceror undertook study has effect on which spells are easier to cast. There are four degrees of difficulty: .------------------------------------------------------------------------. | Spell-Type Magic User Illusionist Cleric Druid | |------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Natural Environment +2 +5 +1 0 | | Religious Environment +1 +4 0 +2 | | Urban Environment 0 +2 +3 +5 | `------------------------------------------------------------------------' Hence, a 5th level Sorceror from an Urban Environment can cast a 2nd level Magic User Spell using a total of 12 hit points, but a 2nd level Druid spell would take 17 hit points. COMBAT Due to the degree of dedication of their disciplines, Sorcerors abhor physical combat. Hence, initially they have no weapon proficiencies or indeed, may not employ weapons of any sort. On achieving 6th level, however, sorcerors may then employ a staff, of which they become proficient at 7th level. This may only be used for defensive purposes (attacked first). Sorcerors will prefer to study battle tactics, but will uae magic as they see fit to aid their associates in battle. Neither armour or shields may be employed by Sorcerors. Instead, as a gift for their faithful study, a special robe has been provided. This has been woven from the finest, strongest fibres, and has an armour class of 5. In appearance it has a grey colouring, with faint streaks of silver that occasionally glitter when in bright light. It has been endowered with certain magical properties : a) the robe offers the same abilities as the Cloak Of Elvenkind. b) the armour class of the robe may be increased magically by use of a special spell known only to Sorcerors - "The Strength Of The Shield" - which, when cast upon a magical shield (+1 or more) will draw the magical bonus from the shield and impregnate it into the robe itself. .------------------------------------------------. | Base Chance Of Spell Success 25% | | Modified by level of caster above 5th +5% | `------------------------------------------------' ie. An 8th level Sorceror has a 40% chance of transferring the bonus. Failure to transfer loses the property, and the shield becomes normal. These magical bonuses can be lost as with any other magical item. If this is the case, the robe reverts back to its initial armour class of 5. NOTES ON SPECIAL ABILITIES LANGUAGES: Due to the special favour that they hold, Sorcerors have the inherent ability to comprehend languages; they can make out what has been written down, and follow the course of a converstation. To fully understand a language, to speak, read and write fluently, the Sorceror may request "help" from Thoth himself. If granted, this knowledge is bestowed onto the Sorceror; however, it is not permanent and is lost after resting. To use it again, the Sorceror must request help once more. HELP: The knowledge of Thoth is very extensive, and it is often necessary for Sorcerors to draw upon this; the willingness of their lord to impart requested information is given in the Experience Level Table. Help may be requested about anything - the DM decides what is applicable. Such things that can be requested include Language understanding (above), and the determination of the effects of MAGIC ITEMS. ALIGNMENT: The majority of Sorcerors are of Neutral alignment; thus they are untainted by ideals and are able to operate in any environment and collect knowledge from virtually all aspects of life. Occasionally, however, Thoth choses sages of other alignments, seeing them as keys to obtaining knowledge on other darker, lighter, lawful or unlawful aspects of life. These sages would "see" things that those of the neutral alignment cannot comprehend. Hence, the greater knowledge of life may be left in the hands of his "eyes and ears", leaving Thoth to pursue other, more "demanding" projects. ALIGNMENT CHANGE: Failure to maintain alignment, or the dereliction of duty may cause Thoth to become displeased and withdraw his guidance (determined by the DM). This results in a reversion to the degree class in which the Sorceror was proficient (from the Environment Modifier Table). Such action causes two levels of experience to be lost, along with half of total hit points gained. The comprehension of languages remains, and the character may now use weapons applicable to his/her class - however, no weapon proficiencies may be gained. SPELLS SPANNING TWO CLASSES: Where spells are duplicated in two classes, the class with the MINIMUM spell level is used. Hence, "Phantasmal Force" is taken to be 1st level Illusionist, NOT 3rd level Magic User. HENCHMEN: Sorcerors are solitary in nature; though they accompany parties in order to acquire knowledge, and can indeed become a trusted friend, sorcerors NEVER have followers or henchmen. No level of commitment is therefore formed, thus allowing Sorcerors to come and go as they please. EXPERIENCE LEVEL TABLE: level help experience cumulative hit dice 1 1% 0 - 2500 20 + 1d10 2 2% 2501 - 5000 20 + 2d10 3 3% 5001 - 10000 20 + 3d10 4 4% 10001 - 22500 20 + 4d10 5 6% 22501 - 32500 20 + 5d10 6 8% 32501 - 57500 20 + 6d10 7 10% 57501 - 97500 20 + 7d10 8 15% 97501 - 157500 20 + 8d10 9 20% 157501 - 257500 20 + 9d10 10 25% 257501 - 372500 20 + 10d10 11 30% 372501 - 572500 20 + 10d10 + 1d6 12 35% 572501 - 875000 20 + 10d10 + 2d6 13 40% 875001 - 1275000 20 + 10d10 + 3d6 14 45% 1275001 - 1675000 20 + 10d10 + 4d6 15 50% 1675001 - 2075000 20 + 10d10 + 5d6 16 60% 2075001 - 2475000 20 + 10d10 + 5d6 + 2 17 70% 2475001 - 2875000 20 + 10d10 + 5d6 + 4 18 75% 2875001 - 3275000 20 + 10d10 + 5d6 + 6 19 80% 3275001 - 3675000 20 + 10d10 + 5d6 + 8 20 85% 3675001 - 4075000 20 + 10d10 + 5d6 + 10 21+ 90% 4000000 per level 2 hp per level SPELL DRAINAGE AT LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE Level of Spell I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX L 1 10 - - - - - - - - e 2 8 - - - - - - - - v 3 6 20 - - - - - - - e 4 4 16 35 - - - - - - power (hit) l 5 3 12 30 - - - - - - points 6 2 9 25 50 - - - - - used O 7 1a 6 20 40 - - - - - f 8 1 4 15 35 - - - - - 9 1 2 10 30 75 - - - - E 10 1 1a 6 25 60 - - - - x 11 1 1 4 20 50 75 - - - p 12 1 1 2 15 40 60 - - - e 13 1 1 1a 10 30 50 80 - - r 14 1 1 1 6 20 40 75 - - i 15 1 1 1 4 15 30 60 100* - e 16 1 1 1 2 12 25 50 90 - n 17 1 1 1 1a 9 20 40 80 125** c 18 1 1 1 1 6 15 30 75 120 e 19 1 1 1 1 4 12 25 60 115 20 1 1 1 1 3 9 20 50 110 21 1 1 1 1 2 6 17 40 100 22 1 1 1 1 1a 5 15 35 90 23 1 1 1 1 1 4 12 30 85 24 1 1 1 1 1 3 10 25 80 25 1 1 1 1 1 2 9 22 75 All spell drainage above 25th level are at the Dungeon Master's Discretion ALL spells require concentration - the MINIMUM drainage is 1 hit point for any spell. - This level of spell may not be cast a Spell class degrees have one less hit point per level at 1. eg. Natural Environment, casting 1st level Illusionist Spell 7th level = 6 hit points 8th level = 5 hit points . . 12th level = 1 hit point 13th level = 1 hit point, etc * 8th Level Spells only if WISDOM is 18 or above. ** 9th Level Spells only if both INTELLIGENCE and WISDOM 19 or above. SAVING THROWS level paralyse petrify rod/wand breath spell 1-4 10 12 11 15 12 5-8 9 10 9 13 10 9-12 8 8 7 11 8 13-16 7 7 5 9 6 17-20 6 6 4 8 4 21+ 5 5 3 7 2 THAC0 (where used) level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 THAC0 20 20 20 20 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 etc :.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.: -----=====Earth's Dreamlands=====----- (313)558-5024 {14.4} - (313)558-5517 A BBS for text file junkies RPGNet GM File Archive Site .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. Okay, I've had a couple requests for details about the sorcerer class, so here goes. Much of what is here is original, some I've revamped for compatibility with more general campaign specifics. Character Class =============== Sorcerer Description. One in a family of magic-users, the Sorcerer class is perhaps the most self-reliant of all the mage types. They utilize the power of their will and combine it with words of direction to give shape to their visions. In essence, their power springs directly from within. They do not merely channel existing energy from some source as do normal mages; they generate it within themselves and unleash it with speech. Restrictions ============ A Sorcerer must always be of the Free Races. This group of races includes humans and animals. As no normal animal has the gift of true speech as we understand, Sorcerers must always be human. This restriction to Free Races came from the creation of the Universe. Three great Races were created : The Fair Races, the Free Races, and the Dark Races. THe Fair and Dark Races were inherently good and evil, respectively. Because sorcery deals with balance, as we shall see, the bearer must not be born predisposed toward any ethos. Humans, as a rule (in my world anyway), are always born neutral. A sorcerer can be of any alignment, for Humans can choose their path more freely than other races. A sorcerer's choice of alignment does not violate his belief in the balance. A sorcerer can not wear any armor, nor utilize any type of magical defense. Bracers, rings, cloaks, and potions are all useless for aiding his defensive ability. THe sorcerer can carry and use only one weapon. It can be any one-handed weapon, and may be magical. (Oh, sorry, a Defender won't work either!) Requirements ============ A Sorcerer must have: Int: 16 Con: 16 ALSO The Sorcerer's CON can never drop below 12. If it does, his body is unable to contain the forces created within, and he will be destroyed at the first use of Sorcery. Magical means of raising it are permissible. Sorcery ======= Okay, here's the sticky part. THere are many ways to assign values for what a sorcerer can do. The DM can arbitrarily decide, for one. However, here's my way, which allows clever characters to make good use of their points. Sorcery Points - (Int*2) + Wis + (Level*2) First, assume a sorcerer has say, four main manipulations : trunsmutation, obliteration, creation, and probing. Next, imagine types of creatures these powers could be done upon : non- or semi-intelligent animals, normal creature, magical creaures or creations, divine or ultra powerful beings. OR, materials upon which these powers can be used : fire, water, wind, earth, rock, metal, flesh... Now assign each a multiplier, representing a dgree of difficulty. SO now we have something like a chart. Power - Mult Creature - Mult Material - Mult ============= =============== =============== Probe 1 Animals 1 Wood/Wind 1 Create2 Normal2 Water/Fire 2 Transmute 5 Magical 5 Steel/Rock 3 Destruct 5 Divine10 ** Magical 5 Now, a more complete chart is necessary for a good setup, but this crude one will do for our purposes. Say our sorcerer, named Belicose (har, har!) wants to do something : he wants to create a normal hunting dog to accompany the party, the DM looks at the chart and says: "Two for creation times one for normal animal equals two points spent." And the dog is there! Moving on, Belicose's party encounters a dense wood. They hear a noise, and they know something lurks within. Belicose probes, and the DM decides a dragon awaits the party. He determines : 1 for probe, times 5 for magical creature, plus one for wood's interference, equals 6. Later, Belicose attempts to turn an enemies sword into wood. The DM says it will be 5 for transmute, times 2 (3 steel minus 1 wood), plus 3 due to sword's +3. 13 points. Unfortuneatly, the sword saves versus magic, and Belicose fails. And so on... THe important thing is, make your charts as comprehensive as possible. The one here is by no means exhaustive. My own is lost, alas! I had over 100 specific actions scored for, and all were used often. The idea here is new, and more adaptable. Other sorcery stuff =================== I said before a sorcerer couldn't wear armor or use magic to help. He can do some thing just as good, though. HE can choose to spend a certain number of points, and subtract the total from his AC. THis lasts for an hour. HE does not have to concentrate, and he will not recharge these points during any gather (see below) within this hour time period. Limit is 10 points for this function. Gathering is the recharging ability of sorcerers. This is what makes them more versatile than standard MU's. In one round, the sorcerer can bring himself up to full points (see exception above) by simply gathering his will. HE will glow blue for a moment, and he cannot move or take damage. His force shield, if present, will protect him. Gathering can be done 5 times in a day. A sorcerer will always be recharged after a full 8 hours sleep. A sorcerer will always note the presence of another sorcerer within 100'. Spell effects ============= Probe : this is a mind probe. Thinking directly of Polgara's use, it allows the Sorcerer to feel around with his mind. He can read the emotions of any target creature, and know rudimentary thoughts. This can also sense a certain item. Creation : this power allows the sorcerer to create something. This has one big restriction : the object created must exist. The sorcerer can never create a divine being. Transmute : this changes something to something else. It is the transmutation factor times the difference of the two factors that the object is moving from and to. If this is zero, it becomes 1 (wood to air). Area of effect is one pound per level. A sorcerer can never transmute a divine being. Destruct: a bad word, this is the attacking aspect. If it is used to burst a door or such, it is 5 times the material factor. If it is used to attack, it is as follows. The sorcerer uses a Rogue 's ThAC0, and for every point he spends (limit 10), he adds one to his 'to hit' roll. Damage is his level times the number of points he spent (so you must spend at least one!) Okay, It's late, and I'm beat, and I'm sure there's a million questions. I'll try to gather some more stuff. In the meantime, write and tell if I made any major screw-ups. I'm sure i've forgotten imprtant stuff, or I'm assuming some things. Serpentine