Building Bhakashal - The Magic-User Reimagined - The Warlock

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When I decided to create Bhakashal one of my goals was to present a different kind of “wizard” than you find in typical fantasy games. Pointy hat “glass cannon” wizards are of course classic, and I’ve played more than I can count. 

Oddly enough the inspiration to make this change came from me doing some math. 

0-level mercenary = 1-6 hp, average 3.5

Magic Missile = 2-5 damage, average 3.5

A 1st level magic-user with AC 10 and 2 hp can very likely one-shot a fully armored mercenary from a distance of 210 feet. 

Nice.

Then there is sleep, a 1st level magic-user can take out 4-16 armed and armored soldiers with this spell, 1 segment casting time, and boom, that’s that.

Once you hit 3rd level you get access to sweet 2nd level spells like stinking cloud, web, levitation, all of which can do serious damage. But rare is the campaign where 3rd level wizards are feared.

So why didn’t wizards live large and act like badasses? I wanted a fantasy setting where the wizards weren’t frail and physically puny robed pointy-hats that had to hide until mid level, I wanted a game where even a 1st level magic-user would inspire respect. I’ve done a number of things with the game mechanics for combat, HP and NPCs to address this, but at the core was a revision of the class itself.

So the first thing to change was the name. Magic-user has nostalgia value, but it’s too bland and neutral, lots of classes use magic. Wizard was definitely out, no Harry Potter here! Sorcerer is moving in the right direction, but it also had the image of a weak or physically uninspiring spell caster.

Warlock

Yeah, that’s the stuff. 

The next step was spell casting. I ADORE the 1e AD&D spell casting system as a whole, I think it’s wonderfully interconnected, versatile and fun, and the spell selection is terrific. However, by mid levels the number of spells a magic-user can cast per day is pretty crazy, I wanted a more Vancian spell caster, Vance's magicians could cast far fewer spells per day than the standard AD&D wizard.

And I also wanted a system where there was more risk associated with more powerful spells, but casters had greater access to more powerful spells.

Finally, I wanted to introduce rules for handling technology in the game, what happens if a warlock finds a laser pistol? AD&D has always flirted with higher levels of tech, I take the romance to the next level. 

So I did some thinking, home brewed something, and playtested it for a year. I needed a long playtest for this as some of the mechanics were based on percentage chances, and the only real way to see how percentage based changes work is to play them for a while, otherwise short runs will occur and give the appearance of a problem or lack thereof. You have probably seen this at the table before, someone has a “bad luck” run and rolls terribly for a session, there’s nothing wrong with the probabilities or the dice, but probabilities work over large spans.

A year of playtesting, about 100 hours, seemed right. 

So here you go, the Bhakashal Warlock.

Bhakashal - Warlocks

The term “warlock” is not gender specific, and most warlocks in Bhakashal are members of a noble House. Each noble House has Lords (also gender neutral) and Warlocks that control the House, and a Magus Warlock who rules the House along with an Ur Lord.

Warlocks need a patron to help them find new spells, get "level-up" spells, and to access their library to research new spells. When a warlock finds a patron the referee will roll up the spells the patron has (generally a high-level warlock patron will have a number of spells in their possession equal to their intelligence, more powerful patrons will have a number of spells equal to their intelligence + level), and the warlock can request spells from that selection. 

Warlocks have a d6 for HD, take a 1 point initiative penalty when wearing leather armor, and a 2 point initiative penalty when wearing metal armor. To hit progression and saving throws are as the 1e AD&D magic-user.

Warlocks are adept at magic and technology

Spells

When a spell is found, the warlock rolls their “to know” percentage. If they fail the spell can only be cast from the scroll, then it is lost. If they succeed the spell is removed from the scroll and permanently encoded in their mind. The maximum number of spells a warlock can encode in her mind in their lifetime is equal to her intelligence + level.

Limitations

Each spell casting attempt is psychically draining, so a warlock can cast 1 spell/level/day, e.g., a 5th level caster could cast five spells per day, of any level. No memorization or advanced choice required. A warlock may try to cast an additional spell beyond their per level limit on a given day, but must save versus spell or permanently lose a point of intelligence to do so. 

Spell Casting

Whenever they cast a spell, there is a chance of failure or harm. For anyone with an intelligence of less than 15, casting a spell has a 95% chance of failure, and a 5% chance/spell level of a reverse/harmful effect.

For anyone with an intelligence of 15 or higher, your odds are as follows:

15 - Intelligence - 55% +1% per level chance of success - maximum 95%

16- Intelligence - 65% +1% per level chance of success - maximum 96%

17 - Intelligence - 75% +1% per level chance of success - maximum 97%

18 - Intelligence - 85% +1% per level chance of success - maximum 98%

Failure/Harm

If a failure is determined, the odds of the failure causing harm to the caster are equal to 5% x the level of the spell less the caster’s level. Eg. if a 1st level caster found a 7th level spell and failed to cast it, there would be a 34% [7th level x 5% = 35 - 1] chance of a harmful result. If a 14th level caster failed to cast a 7th level spell, there would be a 21% [7th level x 5% = 35 - 14] chance of a harmful result.

A warlock may use sheer force of will to counter a harmful result from a spell, but doing so burns one point of intelligence permanently. If the loss of a point of intelligence would cause them to drop below 15 intelligence, the point loss comes off of wisdom instead. A maximum of 3 points of wisdom can be lost this way, after that there is no safety valve for casting. If  their intelligence lowers below 15, their dds of success are 5% and odds of failure are standard. 

Writing Spells

The warlock can scribe spells once they have made a successful “to know” roll on the spell, they can then write it on scrolls, etc. Their chance of scribing the spell successfully is the same as their chance of casting it. Failure/harm results are rolled for in a similar fashion as above, an unsuccessful scribing can be deadly. 

To scribe the warlock must create the ink with a drop of their blood, squid ink, diamond dust, and a special component related to the spell (e.g. gorgon blood for a petrification spell), as well as the listed material component for the spell from the PHB) heated together for 4 days and attended to by the warlock.  With this ink a scroll spell can be written with a write spell, for metal or stone objects the ink is magically bonded with the metal with a burning hands spell. Ingredients cost approximately 200 gp per level of spell scribed, not including the special fantastic component. 

Researching Spells 

Spells can be researched if the warlock has access to a suitable library. The odds of successfully researching a new spell are ½ odds of casting one, less the level of the spell, and requires 2-4 weeks of research, - 1 day for each point of intelligence above 14. The failure/harm odds are as above. If the attempt is unsuccessful each additional week of research adds +5% to the odds, max 25%. If the last check fails the spell is not possible for that caster. If the researcher has help, take the average of the INT scores for all assisting, add this value in % as a bonus to the base odds of success, and use this for the researcher’s chances. 

Sage Abilities

Warlocks  operate as sages with a major and a minor field, and a special category within their major field. This also gives them a 31-50% chance of answering a general question outside of any of their fields, and a 11-20% chance of answering a specific question outside their fields.

Technology

The warlock's chance to figure out technology is determined by their intelligence, level and the technology’s level of advancement. :

Warlock’s Intelligence and Level

15 Intelligence - 55% +1% per level chance of success 

16 Intelligence - 65% +1% per level chance of success

17 Intelligence - 75% +1% per level chance of success 

18 Intelligence - 85% +1% per level chance of success

The levels of advancement are basic (1), developed (2), very developed (3) or advanced (4). Basic technologies are things like levers and waterwheels, developed are things like spyglasses and basic firearms (e.g. flintlocks, muskets) and steam power, very developed are things like more advanced firearms (rifes, machine guns), cars, planes, basic computers, phones, machine tools and nuclear, solar power. Advanced is “quantum drives”, laser pistols, replicators, etc. 

Then a penalty of 5% per level of advancement is applied. 

Example: A 5th level warlock finds a laser pistol. She has an intelligence of 16, she has a 65+5=70% base chance, less 20%, so a 50% chance of figuring it out.

If a failure is determined the odds of the technology producing a harmful failure are the inverse of the odds of figuring it out, halved. E.g. if a warlock had a 80% chance of figuring out the technology and failed the roll, there would be a 10% chance of it harming them in the breaking. Otherwise it would just be broken. 

For the warlock to be able to recreate or fix a technology of developed or higher advancement requires a month of study and then the odds are the same as above to be able to recreate or fix the technology, and the odds of failure/harm are as above, assuming that the requisite materials are available.

The odds of making a new technology are ½ odds of repairing one, and requires 3-5 months of research, - 1 week for each point of intelligence above 16. The failure/harm odds are as above. Any technology of very developed advancement or higher requires a working example or detailed plans for the warlock to create it. In other words, your 1st level warlock can’t invent a laser pistol, but once she found one and rolled to recreate or fix it (in this case "fixing it" means taking it apart to see how it works), she could then start to try and make other related new technologies at the very developed level or higher.