Has anyone ever created a Stage Magician class?

[Tuzenbach]

Would there be a practical value for doing so?


Instead of "spells", there'd be "tricks"......



Disappearing in a puff of smoke?


Instantaneously producing a homing pigeon?


Bedazzling theatrics that serve to slow onlookers?



Yea or nay???

 

[Dandu]

Can't you do this with a Rogue and the right alchemical items combined with sleight of hand?

Anyways, the Charlatan prestige class is what you're looking for.

 

[trancejeremy]

Isn't that basically an illusionist? (The original Oe/1e). I mean, the reason we have stage magicians in the real world is because we don't really have magic, so psychology, chemistry, and physics are used as tools to create the impression of magic.

In the average D&D world, there is magic, so magic would be the tool used to create illusions.

But with that said, one of my favorite series of fantasy novels has all sorts of different types of magic and magicians, including "prestidigitators", who are essentially just stage magicians. The only time they actually came up was when the main character of one of the novels needed to hire a magician to help fight and found the prestidigitator's tricks to be mostly useless from a practical point of view.

 

[Tuzenbach]

Can't you do this with a Rogue and the right alchemical items combined with sleight of hand?

Anyways, the Charlatan prestige class is what you're looking for.

Read more: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...-created-a-Stage-Magician-class#ixzz44h29TpfH

Well, no. The Charlatan prestige class is NOT what I'm looking for, but if I'm creating a Charlatan character, I'll be sure to utilize the framework you've provided.


Thanks!!!

 

[Tuzenbach]

But with that said, one of my favorite series of fantasy novels has all sorts of different types of magic and magicians, including "prestidigitators", who are essentially just stage magicians. The only time they actually came up was when the main character of one of the novels needed to hire a magician to help fight and found the prestidigitator's tricks to be mostly useless from a practical point of view.

Have you, perchance, seen the movie "Willow"....? In the climactic scene, the Evil Sorceress is foiled not by a Magic Spell, but by a Magic Trick. If Stage Magic worked in that setting, essentially to save the given realm in question, there's no reason why it cannot be used to similar effect in the D&D world.

 

[Morrus]

It seems to me that the demand for fake magic would be pretty nonexistent in a world with real magic. A 1st level wizard can do more impressive things than even the most impressive real-world stage magicians. It's be like having a fake singer or a fake dancer or something, when there are people who can actually sing and dance all around the place.

 

[Herobizkit]

It would, however, be a great story for a solo campaign: guy with no magical talent at all becomes a town's "hedge wizard", lives fat off the generosity of the townsfolk until a real issue comes into play that needs "real" magic to solve.

And I'm pretty sure there's at least one movie that has a group of illusionists committing bank heists (Now You See Me)?

 

[religon]

Dragon magazine #120 had a 1st edition Charlatan class… thief, beguile, poison, disguise, potions, read magic and cantrips. While not the intent, the cantrip effects could be non-magical.

 

[MwaO]

It seems to me that the demand for fake magic would be pretty nonexistent in a world with real magic. A 1st level wizard can do more impressive things than even the most impressive real-world stage magicians. It's be like having a fake singer or a fake dancer or something, when there are people who can actually sing and dance all around the place.

The Wizard of Oz might say otherwise...or all the MythAdventure books which is mostly a bunch of wizards all pretending to be super-powerful, but actually most barely have the slightest idea what they're doing.

Good example of exactly what might be able to get away with, when everyone thinks you're a Wizard - and Wizards are basically all-powerful. And or you're trying to con or mislead a group of people.