Building Bhakashal - Character Creation - PCs - The Thaumaturge
When working on the Bhakashal classes I wanted to create things that were adjacent to AD&D, so related but not completely different. I created the Vox, a magic-user whose spells are all verbal, the Caveral, a magic-user whose spells are all somatic, the Myrmidon, a magic-user whose magic is all drawn from potions, and the Thaumaturge, a magic-user whose spells are all scroll based.
The Thaumaturge in particular was inspired by an odd little 1e AD&D rule that was inspired by Jack Vance, the idea that high level thieves can use magic-user scrolls, I always loved this little bit of flavor, but it came up so infrequently due to it being such a high level ability. The Thaumaturge takes that basic idea and runs with it to create a thief/magic-user class whose magic is entirely based in scrolls. No need to memorize spells, but all spells become “one shot”, use it or lose it. This changes the relationship to magic, as some spells have saves and can be essentially useless. On the other hand, Thaumaturges can cast all their spells if they like, there are no “per day” restrictions on scroll spells, and they have no failure odds for spells below half their level. The class plays very differently at the table than you might expect.
The referee has to become more comfortable with the idea that their PCs Thaumaturges will be finding and creating scrolls in larger numbers than perhaps your regular D&D campaign. This may seem overpowering, but they are all “one and done” and thus do not represent accumulating power the way regular magic-user casting does.
This wouldn’t work for a strictly magic-user class, but for a dual/multi class PC with other abilities it works remarkably well. So for today’s entry into the January Character Creation Challenge I present a 5th level Thaumaturge NPC that I will be introducing to my Friday game.
And just for perspective, with the XP progression in Bhakashal reaching 5th level requires around a year or so of weekly play.
Away we go!
Process
A. Choose a character class
B. Choose a Playable Group and Faction
C. Generate Stats
D. Calculate Saving Throw Bonuses and HP
E. Add Skills and Playable Group Abilities
F. Choose Deity and Languages
G. Choose Equipment and Clothing
H. Pick Armor and Weapons and Assign Attack Bonuses
I. Calculate Wealth
J. Calculate Encumbrance
K. Assign Spells/Class Abilities
M. Assign Personality Traits (optional)
N. Customize Playable Group Lore (optional)
O. Name Character
P. Assign magic items (for creating NPCs and PCs above level 1)
A. Choose Class (d20)
Thaumaturge (spider/magic-user - scroll spells only)
Faction - Brass Blade Spider’s Guild [LE]
Note that as a 5th level Thaumaturge, this PC has a title and a role at the Bhakashal Brass Blade Thieves Guild. These roles have responsibilities, that the PC is assumed to be working on “off stage” between adventures, etc. However, the referee can use these roles by weaving them into the tasks given by patrons, and pursuing them in “solo play” with individual PCs. For Thaumaturges, who are part of the Thieves Guild, a 5th level PC is a:
Magician Master Trickster (5th)
Roles - finding rare materials for scroll creation, transcribing texts, scribing spells, coordinating Magician Tricksters.
B. Choose Playable Group (3d12)
Emberi (human)
C. Generate Stats
For each stat roll 3d6
5 6 3 /3 2 6/ 5 1 6/ 2 5 6/ 6 4 4/ 1 5 3
S 14 / I11 / W12 / D 13 / C 14 / C 9
Apply stat minimums
INT 15 DEX 10
S 14 / I15 / W12 / D 13 / C 14 / C 9
Switch any two stats (you cannot produce a result less than a minimum)
Switch CON and CHR
S 14 / I15 / W12 / D 13 / C 9/ C 14
Apply playable group bonuses
+1 CON +1 WIS
S 14 / I15 / W13 / D 13 / C 10/ C 14
Apply Ability Modifiers
S -14 [+2]
I - 15 [+2]
W - 13 [+2]
D - 12 [+2]
C - 10 [+1]
C - 14 [+2]/+10%
D. Calculate Saving Throw Bonuses and HP
All classes get a +1 bonus per 2 levels of experience, so a 5th level Thaumaturge gets +3 base
Paralyzation STR and CON [+6]
Poison CON and DEX [+6]
Death Magic WIS and CON [+6]
Petrification CON and CHR [+6]
Polymorph WIS and CHR [+6]
Breath Weapon DEX and INT [+7]
Spell WIS and INT [+7]
Hit Points
Class based, roll or take the average (1/2 HD), 5th is the last level you roll for HP, so let’s roll for the lot, with a d6 for the roll: 1 2 5 5 1 - 14hp
E. Add Skills and Playable Group Abilities
PCs get a skill(s) related to their playable group
Scribe (chosen)
All PCs then get a roll on the Bhakashal Skill table once for every point of INT bonus
Rolled: 55 and 98, Jeweler and I’ll take Scribe again so Scribe [+1]
Playable groups also have abilities
- move at 12” on land and 9” through trees.
- selective vision control:
infravision 120’
+4 on saving throws against brightness related blindness.
- selective hearing control
Stop take an action and concentrate: enhance hearing, reducing surprise to 1 in 6 as longa as maintained
+4 on saves against sonic damage
Bhakashal Skills
F. Choose Deity and Languages
Kurlog – Luck, Overcoming Challenges
Characters get the language of their playable group and one other language of their choice, and then one roll on the table for every point of their INT bonus. If a duplicate is rolled, roll on Special Table 1 instead
So: Emberi, Saan. Rolled: Saan and Rakasta. Duplicate gets us to Special Table 1, where I roll a 12, which gets us to Special Table 2, which produces Mind Flayer. Whoa!
Bhakashal Languages - (3d12)* Special Table 1 - (d12)
Special Table 2 - (2d12)
G. Choose Equipment and Clothing
Backpack, 50’ rope, (3) iron spikes, flint and steel, (3) torches, waterskin, iron rations, blanket, (3) candles, (3) flasks of oil, lantern, small sack, Thieves tools, scribal materials - 270 gp encumbrance, 30gp cost
Clothing: Blue pants and vest, leather boots and gloves
H. Pick Armor and Weapons and Assign Attack Bonuses
No armor - 2 point DEX bonus - AC 8
A Thaumaturge is a martial/arcane PC, so +1 every 3 levels, which means +2 to hit
Weapons
By 5th a Thaumaturge has 4 weapon slots. I decide to specialize this PC a bit, and give them two weapons with proficiency bonuses, a short sword and a slingshot. Each weapon gets a +1/+1 from the proficiency bonus and a +2/+2 from STR bonus.
Short Sword [+3/+3] 1-6/1-8, WS: 2, WvrsAC: -1M/+2L/+3N, Criticals: Dual Wield/Remain/Stab
Weight 35 gp cost 8gp
Slingshot (20) [+3/+3] 2-5/2-5, WS: 2, ROF: 1, Range: 6/12/18, WvrsAC: -3M/+1L/+2N, Critical: Remain
Weight 30gp, cost 1gp
I. Assign Wealth
All PCs start with 50 gp, a 50 gp gem and 50 gp piece of jewelry, plus 10gp per ability score bonus point in whatever form they want, for PCs and NPCs above 1st level, add [100 gp + 100 gp gem + 100 gp jewelry]/level plus 50gp per ability score “+” to wealth.
So: 1160gp + 450gp gems + 450gp jewelry = 50gp, 5 200gp rubies, 450 gp diamond, (2) 200gp silver rings, 50gp silver earring
Deduct cost of equipment, armor and weapons - 39 gp
Final (rounded*): 50gp, 5 200gp rubies, 400 gp diamond, (2) 200gp silver rings, 50gp silver earring
*when creating pregens it isn’t necessary to be exact, I convert some of that gold into gems but I assume that there is some loss in the conversion, and I take the cost of equipment and weapons from any one of the items listed. In this case I reduced the 450 gp diamond to a 400gp diamond and assumed the 50gp was used to buy equipment and weapons and such.
J. Calculate Encumbrance
Weapon Weights are found in the weapon listings - 75gp
Armor Weights are found on the Armor Table - none
Equipment weight is precalculated for equipment packs, otherwise consult the Equipment Weights table - 270gp
Deduct 50gp per point of CON and STR bonus - 150 gp
Total all weight and consult the Weight/Movement table - 195 gp, so 305 gp can be carried before slowing down
K. Assign Spells/Class Abilities
Spells
For NPC/PC warlocks from 2nd to 5th level, assign Level + [INT bonus] x 2 spells = 9
Since this PC is a Thaumaturge, and can ONLY cast with scroll spells, I add a few to this number, as the system is set up for spell casters who have both memorized and scroll spells. In this case I will shift them up a category. Keep in mind that scroll spells often come on scrolls of multiple spells, for the purposes of this example I will give the PC single spell scrolls for their “main” scrolls, for their “temporary magic item” scrolls, if I roll any, I will roll and potentially get scrolls with multiple spells.
For NPC/PC warlocks from 6th to 9th level, assign Level + [INT bonus] x 3 spells = 11 spells
Spell distribution is up to the Referee, as in principle a warlock can cast spells of any level, no matter what their level is. However, lower level spells are more common on the scroll lists, so Bhakashal recommends that you take the total number of spells and divide it into three bands, give the most spells to the first band, the second most to the second band, and the least to the third (highest level) band, with the caveat that no spell should be of a level more than 2x the caster’s level.
So for a 5th level caster with 11 spells
1-3rd: 6 - rolled: 1,2,3,1,3,2
4-6th: 3 - rolled: 4,4,6
7-9th: 2 - rolled: 7,7
I decide to roll offensive, defensive and misc in order through these spells, randomly rolled, and divide these further into 3 scrolls, not individual scrolls for each, so:
Scroll 1
1 - Offensive - Lharr Nezzurazdun’s Shorn Strands
2 - Defensive - Foslan’s Epic Endurance
3 - Miscellaneous - Tongues
1 - Offensive - Burning Hands
3 - Defensive - Emyar’s Armor Lock
2 - Miscellaneous - Fool’s Gold
Scroll 2
4 - Offensive - Charm Monster
4 - Defensive - Remove Curse
6 - Miscellaneous - Guards and Wards
Scroll 3
7 - Offensive - Binnatav’s Sudden Viscosity
7 - Defensive - Monster Summoning V
Bhakashal Spells
Lharr Nezzurazdun’s Shorn Strands (Alteration)
Level: 1
Casting Time: 1 segment
Range: 1” per level
Duration: 1 round per level.
Area of Effect: 1’ material per level
Components: V,S,M
Saving Throw: none
The shorn strands will tear any fabric or otherwise braided material apart, creating a permanent rip in the object in question. The AOE listed is the maximum, and if the tear is long enough to cover the entire object it can tear it in half. For example, it can be used to tear a sail, a cloak, a robe, a scroll, a rope, a belt, a strap, anything made of fibrous material woven together. If the material in question is magical it gets a saving throw against magical fire, if not it does not. Magical bonuses (e.g. a +2 cloak of protection) get directly applied to saving throws, each power generates a +1 save bonus as well. Scrolls get a save bonus of +1 for every spell on the scroll, protection scrolls get a blanket +2 bonus on their save. The caster may attempt at most twice with any given casting of the spell to rend a magical item, and the spell may be directed at one target per round.
Foslan’s Epic Endurance (Alteration)
Level: 2
Casting Time: 2 segments
Range: touch
Duration: 6 turns/level
Area of Effect: 1 square mile per level
Components: V,S,M
Saving Throw: none
Foslan’s signature spell increases the constitution of the target for the duration of the spell as follows:
Class/Subclass Minimum-Maximum Constitution Gain
Seer 1-6 (d6)
Mercenary 1-8 (d8)
Warlock 1-4 (d4)
Spider 1-6 (d6)
Spartan 1-8 (d8)
If the increase in CON gives the target a bonus or increased bonus it will apply to the relevant saving throws for the duration of the spell. In addition, every point of CON which is added gives the target 1 temporary HP. The spell may not raise constitution to a value of more than 18, but for every point it “goes over”, there is an additional 1 temporary HP added. All damage that occurs in the duration of the spell comes off the additional HP first. All other relevant variables associated with constitution (e.g. system shock, -HP total before death) are at the enhanced level for the duration of the spell. The material component of this spell is a small piece of granite.
Emyar's Armor Lock (Alteration)
Level: 3
Casting Time: 3 segments
Range: 1" per level
Duration: 1 round/level
Area of Effect: special
Components: V,S,M
Saving Throw: neg.
If the target fails their saving throw Emyar's Armor Lock freezes metallic armor in its place, reducing movement to 3", eliminating dexterity bonus to AC and making all attacks by the armored victim -4 to hit for the duration of the spell.
If the caster desires they may attempt to crush the victim, requiring an additional saving throw versus paralyzation (STR bonus applies) roll, if the roll is failed the victim takes 1-8 HP of damage, plus 1hp damage per round, and the armor stays locked, until the spell expires. In addition armor must save versus crushing blow or be destroyed, falling apart when the spell expires. If the saving throw against being crushed succeeds the spell ends immediately.
Binnatav’s Sudden Viscosity (Alteration)
Level: 7
Casting Time: 7 segments
Range: 1” per level
Duration: 1 rd/level
Area of Effect: 3” rad. globe
Components: V,S,M
Saving Throw: none
The Sudden Viscosity instantly makes the air in the AOE viscous and thick, difficult to move through and to breathe. All victims in the AOE except the caster and one designated target per caster level will suffer the following impacts:
They will move as if impacted by a slow spell (move and attack at one-half of current rate, negates a haste spell, cumulative with existing slow spell)
All attacks with sharp melee weapons are at -4 to hit and damage, blunt melee weapons -6 to hit and damage
All attacks with missile weapons are at -8 to hit and damage
Spells with somatic components may not be cast
Each round they are in the AOE they must make a saving throw versus paralyzation or collapse unconscious due to difficulty breathing.
It is possible to move out of the AOE and escape the spell, at the appropriate reduced movement rate.
Class Abilities - Spider
Surprise: Spiders get the regular chance to surprise targets (e.g. 2 in 6), if this fails they get their thieving percentage (MS) or (HIS) as appropriate, to try and surprise
PP: 60 OL: 52 FRT:50 MS:50 HS:41 HN:20 CW: 90 RL:25
+10% to all for DEX bonus
Expanded Ability Descriptions
- Pick Pockets: A spider can PP twice a round, failure by more than ½ of the remainder indicates detection (e.g. if they have a 30% chance, rolling higher than 65% indicates detection). Also Includes: cheating at cards, switching out, hiding or planting objects, distraction. Divide the PP percentage by 5, and add this to the encounter reaction roll on top of charisma for a confidence game or swindle, to fence an item or fleece a mark.
- Open Locks: Includes removing a component of a mechanism without breaking it, extracting jammed objects, tieing-untieing knots (escaping bonds), reinforcing existing locks, fastening something against removal. NOTE: A successful OL roll means that a binding done by the spider (e.g. tying up a victim in rope) will reduce any chance of breaking the binding by half (e.g. if you have a 2 in 6 chance of untying yourself from the ropes, it is reduced to 1 in 6).
- Finding and Removing Traps: includes disassembling objects, small item and weapon repair, locate secret doors (passive). Also, thieves can use complex technology (up to and including up “developed” technology e.g. basic firearms) with a FRT roll.
- Move Silently - If a spider is trying to avoid tripping weight traps give them their regular roll to avoid tripping the trap, if it fails they get their MS roll to avoid.
- Hide in Shadows - includes both hiding in the dark and hiding behind objects in daylight. Combo Move: spider distracts a target or becomes hidden while in combat with a successful HIS roll (the PC must identify a hiding spot or a distraction method), then makes a MS attempt next round, if successful, the spider can backstab.
- Climb walls - includes acrobatic and parkour moves, e.g. tumbling rolls to avoid damage from being dismounted or knocked prone, tightrope walking, pole vaulting (20’+1’ per point of DEX or STR bonus), high jumping (5’+1’ per point of DEX or STR bonus), broad jumping stand (10’+1’ per point of DEX or STR bonus), broad jump running (20’+1’ per point of DEX or STR bonus), and dive attacks (same damage profile as backstabs, minimum 20’ above ground)
- Read Languages - Includes: reading magic (not casting spells), assessment of jewelry and gems, magic item values, reading of command words on objects, “street lore” if the spider is familiar with the area (e.g. knowledge of who is influential, who is beholden to who, who has pulled off big jobs recently) and knowledge of magic item properties or cursed magic items.
- Hear Noise - Hear noise actively reduces chances of being surprised, e.g. if the spider applies the skill and surprise is indicated against the spider, they get their hear noise roll to avoid surprise. Active listening requires the spider to be stationary and silent, e.g. cannot be done in melee. Hear noise includes: identify composition and number of unseen group, recognize accents and dialects, hear and remember command words for items used in presence
L. Assign Personality Traits (Optional)
Moody, articulate, bold
M. Customize Playable Group Lore (Optional)
none
N. Name
Donlin Wistfall
O. Magic Items
For PCs and NPCs being made above 1st level, assign magic items as follows:
Level / 3 in permanent magic items (round up)
Level / 2 in temporary magic items (round up)
2 permanent and 3 temporary magic items
Borgental’s Razor Sword +1 - Sword does large target damage against all targets
Ring of Swimming
Potion of Extra-Healing
Scroll of 4 spells: Magic Missile, Levitation, Kamberlin’s Grievous Restitution, Omm-Karon’s Oscillating Orb
Bhakashal Spells
Kamberlin’s Grievous Restitution (Alteration)
Level: 4
Casting Time: 4 segments
Range: touch
Duration: 1 turn/level
Area of Effect: individual
Components: V,S,M
Saving Throw: 1/2
Once cast the Grievous Restitution “sits” with the magic user. When the caster is successfully hit by a melee weapon or natural attack, the attacker is immediately shocked for 3-18 + 1 hp per level damage, save for ½. If the spell is not discharged in the duration it fades.
Omm-Karon’s Oscillating Orb (Alteration)
Level: 5
Casting Time: 2 segments
Range: 1” per level
Duration: 1 round/3 levels
Area of Effect: 1”x1”x1” cube/ 3 levels
Components: V,S,M
Saving Throw: none
Omm-Karon’s spell starts with the magic-user bouncing a rubber ball on the ground three times, after the third bounce they hurl the ball into a group of victims. The ball moves indiscriminately, so if there are friendlies in the area of effect they can be hurt by the spell. The spell must be cast in an enclosed space like a dungeon corridor or a room. The caster can restrict the orb to the area of effect, if at most two sides of the space are open (e.g. if cast in a dungeon corridor four sides of the cube would be made by the corridor, and the spell would restrain the ball as if there were walls at either end of the cube. When the orb hits anything it ricochet’s until it hits another target. It will hit targets for the duration of the spell or until the magic-user bids it to stop. The ball moves so violently and so fast that it will impact everyone in the AOE once per round. Each collision does 2 hp damage, no save. The material component for this spell is a rubber ball smeared with a drop of mercury.
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