Building Bhakashal - Classes - Warlocks

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Warlocks are at the heart of Bhakashal, all Noble Houses have them, and they are revered and feared in the general population. Unlike other places where sorcerers have to hide in the shadows, warlocks live in the light, public figures with power and authority, they are the polar opposite of the reclusive, skulking wizard shown in many fantasy settings. 

The term “warlock” is not gender specific, and most warlocks in Bhakashal are members of a noble House.

I made a few substantive changes to warlocks for the setting, all of which have been extensively play tested. Spell casting now has chances of failure and harm with every casting, and overall numbers of spells castable per day are lower, but spell casters do not have to memorize spells every day, instead once a spell is “known” it is permanently encoded on the warlock’s mind, and they may cast any of their spells up to their daily limit, not a certain number of each level.

In short, in exchange for much greater flexibility, Bhakashal warlocks take on more risk. 

There are explicit rules for scribing scrolls, researching new or existing spells, brewing potions and creating magic items. None of these require the warlock to be high level, but all require access to a library and a laboratory, something the warlock will get from a patron. The goal was to have warlocks actively DOING magic research, not just creating rules that will never be used. 

Rules for patrons are given, as well as for warlock sage like abilities.

Finally, rules are given to allow warlocks to use various kinds of technology. 

Statistics

Stat Minimums INT 15, CHR 16

HD: d4

Weapon and armor - Any*

Weapon proficiency progression: as magic-user

Saving throws and “to hit”: as magic-user

* in Bhakashal, casting spells in leather armor gives a 1 point initiative penalty, in metal armor there is a 2 point penalty

Abilities

1. Learning Spells

When a spell is found on an item, the warlock rolls their “to know” percentage. If they fail the spell can only be cast from the item, then it is lost. Also, if they fail the spell has a 5% chance per level of spell of causing HP damage equal to the level of the spell on the target. If they succeed the spell is removed from the item and permanently encoded in their mind. The maximum number of spells a warlock can encode in her mind is equal to her intelligence + level.

2. Casting Limitations

Each spell casting attempt is psychically draining, a warlock can cast 1 spell per level per day.  So a 5th level caster could cast five spells per day, of whatever level, as long as the spell is permanently encoded in their minds. Once per day a warlock may try to cast an additional spell beyond this, but must save versus spell or permanently lose a point of intelligence. 

3. Component Substitution: Listed material components for spells help the warlock to focus the spell by using a sympathetic component.  However, the warlock may replace a material component and change the spell effect. The component must be specified mundane or fantastic. When substituting components the ref can assign an effect or roll for it as seen to be appropriate.

Mundane: d20

1-2: spell is harmful to caster

3-6: spell fizzles and is lost

7-10: spell underperforms (50% where appropriate, otherwise ref preference)

11-16: cosmetic change to spell

17-20: spell performs as written

A warlock can +/- 2 to the die roll with every 5 levels of experience .

 

Fantastic d12

1-4: backfire: spell is harmful to caster

5-6: spell fizzles and is lost

7-8: cosmetic change to spell

9-10: spell performs as written

11-12: random spell parameter is enhanced

A warlock can +/- 1 to the die roll with every 5 levels of experience

4. 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, odds are as follows:

15 INT - Success: [55% +1% per caster level] - maximum 95%

16- INT - Success [65% +1% per caster level] - maximum 96%

17 - INT - Success [75% +1% per caster level] - maximum 97%

18 - INT - Success [85% +1% per caster level] - maximum 98%

5. 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 the 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.

Be aware of what this means for the game. If a 1st level caster found a 9th level spell and were successful “knowing” it, then they could cast it once per day, the odds of success would be their “to know” + 1%, and if it failed, the odds of a certainly lethal reverse harmful effect would be 45%. Also, if they failed their “to know” then the spell would have a 45% chance of doing 9 HP damage to them, again, a certainly lethal amount of damage to a 1st level warlock.

6. “Level Up” Spells

In Bhakashal, the warlock finds a patron, usually a warlock at a Noble House, that patron has a selection of spells they have acquired over the years, rolled by the referee, that they can teach. When the PC warlock levels, their patron will teach them one spell of their choice of castable level from this selection, and give them a copy of the spell on a scroll.

This is meant to reflect an apprenticeship model of magic, there are no ‘magic schools’, there are magicians, and you pick one and learn from them. When the warlock level’s they are taught the spell, they must roll a “to know” percentage, if they are successful, it is permanently encoded on their minds and any attempt to research the spell and write it (e.g. create a scroll with the spell) does not halve the “to know” percentage when calculating odds of success. 

7. Patron Spells

A warlock patron will have a number of spells permanently memorized equal to [Level + 1/2 level + 1-4] but this total cannot exceed Intelligence + level, e.g. an 8th level warlock with an intelligence of 15 and a rolled 3 would have 15 spells permanently memorized. They will also have [Level/2 + 1-4] in scroll spells NOT permanently memorized. If a PC asks to learn one of those unmemorized scroll spells, they do not get the benefit of not halving the “to know” roll when researching the spell to write it on a scroll the first time. However, if successful, all subsequent times the roll is halved

8. Scribing Spells

The warlock can scribe spells if they have access to a laboratory. 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, giant 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) boiled together for 4 days and attended to by the warlock.  With this ink a scroll spell can be written on any surface, for metal or stone objects the ink is magically bonded with the metal with a burning hands spell. Ingredients (not including the fantastic ingredients) cost approximately 200 gp per level of spell scribed. 

9. Researching Spells 

Spells can be researched if the warlock has access to a suitable library and laboratory. 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 at week 5 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. 

The odds of researching an existing spell are the same as the odds of researching a new one, however, if you have a copy of the spell before the process you do not deduct the level of the spell from the success odds. 

The same rules apply to brewing potions, except that the warlock has to have access to a laboratory and a library, and you use spell equivalents for level determination.

10. Creating Magic Items

For magic item creation:

- Cast Enchant an Item

-Base casting time as PHB: 2 days + 1-8 days, roll save versus spell for enchantment to “take”, with all bonuses that apply for the warlock creating the item

- one spell must be cast for each spell like power of the item in question, each spell takes 1 hour per level of spell to imbue into the item, and it is cast from scroll, not memory. For example, a wand of fireballs, when created, must have the following four spells cast on it once each: burning hands (1 hour), pyrotechnics (2 hours), fireball (3 hours) and wall of fire (4 hours). Each time the item must make a save versus spell for the spell to take. Up to 24 hours can be taken to cast all of the appropriate spells on the item. If they are not all cast successfully, Enchant an Item must be cast again.

-Cost: 200gp per spell level (including Enchant an Item, 6th level spell, 1200 gp) + material costs + incidental costs.

 

For charging of items:

- Cast Enchant an Item

-Base casting time: 2 days + 1-8 days, no save versus magic needed

-Then there is 24 hours to cast as many spells on item as desired to charge it, these spells can be cast from scroll or from memory

-The number of charges from casting a given spell on the item is determined from item description, e.g. a wand of fire casts a 6HD fireball for a cost of two charges, thus a 6HD fireball spell would give the wand 2 charges

-Cost: 200gp per spell level (including Enchant an Item, 6th level spell, 1200 gp) + incidental costs.

11. Advanced Technologies 

Warlocks, in addition to creating new spells, scrolls and potions, 

The warlock's chance to figure out a 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 an advanced technology 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 14. The failure/harm odds are as above.

12. Sage Abilities

Warlocks  operate as sages with a major and a minor field, and two special categories 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.