Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
The Magician (a campaign-specific core class)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Ciaran" data-source="post: 3054404" data-attributes="member: 756"><p>This is a new character class for my current campaign, a heavily Scandinavian-flavored setting which I am in the process of converting from the <em><strong>Burning Wheel</strong></em> rules. I'd already established that magicians (including the magician PC) have a narrow repertoire of spells, but given how tightly focused spells are in D&D, I've established the magician's system of runes as a compromise mechanism for narrowing the magician's focus while still permitting him a broad range of spells. (I'd originally planned on using the sorcerer, but the magician's player balked; he likes having lots of spells. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> )</p><p></p><p>In terms of gauging the abilities of the class, note that I'm awarding feats at every odd level rather than at every 3rd level. In addition, there is no divine magic in the setting, nor do any of the core D&D spellcasting classes exist. Lastly, we are not using XP, hence the mechanics for avoiding XP costs; the entire group will level up at my discretion.</p><p></p><p>The group has been on hiatus for several months since the group demanded the shift from BW to D&D, so there's still time to revise the class further before we start play. Any commentary is welcome, with the understanding that "it's not balanced against the Cleric / Druid / Sorcerer / Wizard" is irrelevant. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> </p><p></p><p>----</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px">Magician</span></p><p></p><p>Runic sorcery is a rare and powerful art. The runes are not mere letters on a page, but symbolic keys to the cosmos, and only a trained and disciplined mind can unlock their power. Sorcery is a matter of long study and ritual initiation, demanding years of apprenticeship to grasp the force of the runes. Only a few have the wealth or the talent to win apprenticeship in the art.</p><p></p><p>The class functions as a 3.5e wizard in most respects. A magician has the same hit dice, skill points, class skills and spells per day as a wizard. Like a wizard, the magician gains two new spells per level, and can learn more during play from other magicians or from books.</p><p></p><p><strong>Feats:</strong> At 1st level, a magician gains the Eschew Materials feat in addition to Scribe Scroll and Summon Familiar. At 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th and 18th level, a magician gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity he can choose a metamagic feat, an item creation feat, Extra Rune, Rune Focus or Spell Secret.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spells:</strong> Unlike wizards, magicians do not prepare spells. A magician knows all his spells by heart, allowing him to cast spontaneously as a sorcerer does, but without a sorcerer’s limit on spells known. In addition to spells from the Wizard spell list, he also gains access to many spells on the Cleric and Druid spell lists. Some spells, such as resurrection magic, may function differently in this setting. Consult your DM for more information on specific spells.</p><p></p><p>Learning a new spell from a teacher or a written text takes one day of dedicated study per spell level; the student must know an appropriate rune and must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell’s level). If a magician fails a check to learn a new spell, he may not try again until he gains another rank in Spellcraft.</p><p></p><p><strong>Components:</strong> Any spell with expensive material components requires an additional rune of the magician’s choice. Replace all material components listed in the spell description with components appropriate to the additional rune. For example, a version of <em>identify </em>using the Pyre rune might require 100gp worth of rare woods and incense, whose swirling smoke reveals the item’s powers to the magician. Another version of the spell using the Man rune might call for rune-graven human bones to be fractured by heat; the resulting pattern of cracks discloses the item’s secrets. A magician with multiple appropriate runes may devise multiple variants of this nature, at the DM’s discretion.</p><p></p><p>XP costs for spells are replaced by <em>power components</em>: rare items chosen by the DM whose GP cost is ten times the written XP cost. Such spells are ritual in nature, with a minimum casting time of 1 minute.</p><p></p><p><strong>Runes:</strong> The spells a magician knows are based upon <em>runes of power</em>. There are many such runes, and no magician ever learns them all. In order to devise a new spell, a magician must know a rune that is in some way related to the desired effect. For instance, a magician with the Fire rune might devise such spells as <em>burning hands, scorching ray</em> or <em>fireball</em>. A starting magician knows three runes, and gains a new rune at every even level.</p><p></p><p>Sometimes a rune only allows incomplete access to a spell’s effects. For instance, a magician using the Man rune to learn <em>cure light wounds</em> may only cure human beings with the spell. Other pertinent runes may be applied later to broaden the spell effect; the magician does not need to purchase the spell again to do so.</p><p></p><p><strong>Item Creation:</strong> Crafted items also require power components; this doubles the raw materials cost while removing the XP cost. The caster must have an applicable Rune Focus feat for each spell to be built into the item. For each +1 bonus in a magical weapon or piece of armor, the caster must add an additional, distinct rune for which he has the Rune Focus feat. Other items may also require extra runes, at the DM’s discretion. The runes chosen for an item flavor its abilities and appearance in unique ways.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ciaran, post: 3054404, member: 756"] This is a new character class for my current campaign, a heavily Scandinavian-flavored setting which I am in the process of converting from the [I][B]Burning Wheel[/B][/I] rules. I'd already established that magicians (including the magician PC) have a narrow repertoire of spells, but given how tightly focused spells are in D&D, I've established the magician's system of runes as a compromise mechanism for narrowing the magician's focus while still permitting him a broad range of spells. (I'd originally planned on using the sorcerer, but the magician's player balked; he likes having lots of spells. :D ) In terms of gauging the abilities of the class, note that I'm awarding feats at every odd level rather than at every 3rd level. In addition, there is no divine magic in the setting, nor do any of the core D&D spellcasting classes exist. Lastly, we are not using XP, hence the mechanics for avoiding XP costs; the entire group will level up at my discretion. The group has been on hiatus for several months since the group demanded the shift from BW to D&D, so there's still time to revise the class further before we start play. Any commentary is welcome, with the understanding that "it's not balanced against the Cleric / Druid / Sorcerer / Wizard" is irrelevant. :D ---- [SIZE=5]Magician[/SIZE] Runic sorcery is a rare and powerful art. The runes are not mere letters on a page, but symbolic keys to the cosmos, and only a trained and disciplined mind can unlock their power. Sorcery is a matter of long study and ritual initiation, demanding years of apprenticeship to grasp the force of the runes. Only a few have the wealth or the talent to win apprenticeship in the art. The class functions as a 3.5e wizard in most respects. A magician has the same hit dice, skill points, class skills and spells per day as a wizard. Like a wizard, the magician gains two new spells per level, and can learn more during play from other magicians or from books. [B]Feats:[/B] At 1st level, a magician gains the Eschew Materials feat in addition to Scribe Scroll and Summon Familiar. At 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th and 18th level, a magician gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity he can choose a metamagic feat, an item creation feat, Extra Rune, Rune Focus or Spell Secret. [B]Spells:[/B] Unlike wizards, magicians do not prepare spells. A magician knows all his spells by heart, allowing him to cast spontaneously as a sorcerer does, but without a sorcerer’s limit on spells known. In addition to spells from the Wizard spell list, he also gains access to many spells on the Cleric and Druid spell lists. Some spells, such as resurrection magic, may function differently in this setting. Consult your DM for more information on specific spells. Learning a new spell from a teacher or a written text takes one day of dedicated study per spell level; the student must know an appropriate rune and must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell’s level). If a magician fails a check to learn a new spell, he may not try again until he gains another rank in Spellcraft. [B]Components:[/B] Any spell with expensive material components requires an additional rune of the magician’s choice. Replace all material components listed in the spell description with components appropriate to the additional rune. For example, a version of [I]identify [/I]using the Pyre rune might require 100gp worth of rare woods and incense, whose swirling smoke reveals the item’s powers to the magician. Another version of the spell using the Man rune might call for rune-graven human bones to be fractured by heat; the resulting pattern of cracks discloses the item’s secrets. A magician with multiple appropriate runes may devise multiple variants of this nature, at the DM’s discretion. XP costs for spells are replaced by [I]power components[/I]: rare items chosen by the DM whose GP cost is ten times the written XP cost. Such spells are ritual in nature, with a minimum casting time of 1 minute. [B]Runes:[/B] The spells a magician knows are based upon [I]runes of power[/I]. There are many such runes, and no magician ever learns them all. In order to devise a new spell, a magician must know a rune that is in some way related to the desired effect. For instance, a magician with the Fire rune might devise such spells as [i]burning hands, scorching ray[/i] or [i]fireball[/i]. A starting magician knows three runes, and gains a new rune at every even level. Sometimes a rune only allows incomplete access to a spell’s effects. For instance, a magician using the Man rune to learn [I]cure light wounds[/I] may only cure human beings with the spell. Other pertinent runes may be applied later to broaden the spell effect; the magician does not need to purchase the spell again to do so. [B]Item Creation:[/B] Crafted items also require power components; this doubles the raw materials cost while removing the XP cost. The caster must have an applicable Rune Focus feat for each spell to be built into the item. For each +1 bonus in a magical weapon or piece of armor, the caster must add an additional, distinct rune for which he has the Rune Focus feat. Other items may also require extra runes, at the DM’s discretion. The runes chosen for an item flavor its abilities and appearance in unique ways. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
The Magician (a campaign-specific core class)
Top