Customized Wizard Characters[]
While there is a broad selection of specialist wizards to choose from in this book, some players may want to create more unique characters. Player's Option: Skills & Powers introduced the concept of point-based character design; this section now expands that material for wizards. Dozens of new powers, abilities, and restrictions are described here, allowing the creation of almost any kind of magic-using character imaginable.
If you want to use the material here in conjunction with Skills & Powers , this section takes the place of the character class design rules. In addition to the initial allotment of 40 character points assigned to a character in this chapter, a player may also choose to spend points left over from the race design chapter and save points in this step for proficiency selections. Note that there is no restriction on how a character spends his points in this system.
As always, the DM has the final word on whether or not a particular character is appropriate for his campaign. If the DM doesn't like the way a character is put together, he can have the player try again.
Using the Wizard Character Design Rules[]
In case you aren't familiar with point-based character design, here's how it works: You get to decide which class abilities and which hindrances your character will have during his adventuring career. For example, if you want your wizard character to have the hit points and fighting ability of a priest, you can select the appropriate abilities to do so—but chances are good that your character will have to make serious sacrifices elsewhere in order to get this advantage.
When you custom-design a wizard, your character begins with 40 character points. Each ability you select for your character costs character points, but you can gain extra points by choosing limitations. Unless you spend points on special powers or select special limitations, your wizard character uses a four-sided Hit Die, uses the wizard's THAC0 and saving throw charts, gains the ability to cast wizard spells as noted in the PHB on Table 21 : Wizard Spell Progression, may use any magical item normally usable by wizards, may not wear armor, and is limited to the following weapons: dagger, dart, knife, sling, or staff. Note that your customized wizard character must spend points to gain schools from which he can cast spells.
Under these rules, you are under no obligation to build your character as a mage or a specialist wizard. Your character's powers and spell schools will be determined entirely by your choices here. However, for your convenience you may want to use these basic wizard classes as starting points. If you decide to begin the customizing process with a mage or specialist wizard, your character receives no character points to choose new or optional abilities. Since the mage or any specialist wizard is already a complete character class, the only way to add new powers is to compensate for them by selecting new limitations for a net point cost of zero.
The School of Universal Magic: All wizards have full access to this school at a cost of zero character points. This school contains spells basic to any wizard's studies.
Optional Abilities[]
A customized wizard is built from a slate of optional abilities, ranging from schools he may cast spells from to game mechanics such as THAC0 improvement rate, Hit Die size, and weapons and armor allowed. The available abilities are listed below.
Delayed Acquisition of Abilities: A character can reduce the cost of a special ability by choosing to delay it to a higher level. For example, a character may select the ability of reduced casting time, but then delay the acquisition of the ability to 4th or 5th level. An ability that is not acquired until 3rd level is 1 point cheaper than the listed cost; an ability delayed to 5th level is 2 points cheaper; an ability delayed to 7th level is 3 points cheaper; an ability delayed to 9th level is 4 points cheaper than listed; and an ability delayed to 11th level is 5 points cheaper than normal. No ability can be reduced to zero or less points—everything costs at least one character point, no matter how long the wizard waits for the power.
Access to schools (5+): A customized wizard pays 5 character points (CPs) for each school he may learn and cast spells from. A standard mage would pay 40 CPs to gain access to the eight schools of philosophy: abjuration, alteration, conjuration/summoning, divination, enchantment/charm, illusion, invocation/evocation, and necromancy. Customized wizards may choose to have access to thaumaturgical schools or schools of effect if they wish.
Armor (5/10/15): With this ability, a wizard may ignore the normal restriction against using armor. As a 5-point ability, the wizard may wear padded armor; for 10 points, the wizard may wear leather, studded leather, hide, or brigandine armor; and for 15 points, the wizard may wear any armor he chooses. Note that a wizard may not use any kind of shield.
Automatic spell acquisition (2/5): The wizard may add a new spell of his choice to his spell book every time he gains a level, without having to pass a learn spells check. The wizard need not have a copy of the spell but must have seen the spell used at least once. As a 2-point ability, the wizard can acquire spells from one school only; as a 5-point ability, he can choose from any school he has access to. The wizard must be able to cast the spell he chooses.
Bonus spells (10/15): A wizard with this ability increases the number of spells of each level that he can memorize by one. For example, a 1st-level wizard may memorize two 1st-level spells instead of just one. For 10 points, the wizard may select spells of one school as bonus spells; for 15 points, the bonus spell can be any spell the wizard can cast.
Casting time reduction (2/5): Spells cast by the wizard are unusually swift and have a casting time of 1 less than normal. For 2 points, the wizard may accelerate spells of only one school. For 5 points, all spells are faster.
Combat bonus (8/10): A wizard with this class ability is much better in combat than normal. For eight CPs, the wizard's THAC0 advances as if he were a rogue of equal level. For 10 CPs, the wizard's THAC0 advances as a priest's.
Constitution adjustment (5): The wizard may use the Constitution-based hit point bonus of warriors, gaining +3 or +4 hp per Hit Die with a Constitution of 17 or 18 instead of the normal maximum of +2 hp per die.
Detect magic (10): A wizard with this power may use detect magic once per day per two levels (twice a day at 3rd level, three times at 5th, and so on). The wizard doesn't need to memorize the spell, but in all other respects the power operates as if it were actually cast by the wizard.
Dispel (10/15): This power allows a wizard to dispel one kind of effect or spell once per day, or three times per day for 15 CPs. The range of this power is 30 yards, and it requires nothing more than one round of concentration. The base chance of success is 50%, ±5% for each level difference between the dispeller and the creator of the effect to be dispelled. The type of effect that may be dispelled must be a group of linked spells in the same school; for example, charm spells, polymorph spells, or shadow magic and monsters are all good examples.
Enhanced casting level (10): A wizard with this ability may cast spells of one school as if he were 1d4 levels higher than his actual level (roll each time used). All level-based effects of the spell are altered, including damage, range, duration, and area of effect. This power may only be invoked once per day.
Extended spell duration (10/15): Noninstantaneous spells cast by the wizard last an additional time unit (round, hour, day, etc.) per two levels. The exact time unit depends on the normal duration of the spell—if the duration is noted in hours, a 5th-level wizard's bonus would be an extra three hours. As a 10-point power, extended duration applies to spells of one school. For 15 points, it applies to all spells cast by the wizard.
Followers (10): Normally, wizards do not attract loyal followers at high levels like other characters do. A wizard who selects this ability automatically attracts 20 to 200 0-level men-at-arms at 8th level if he establishes a castle, keep, tower, or other place of strength. In addition, 1d6 low-level wizards (1st to 3rd level) will also appear and request permission to study beneath the PC wizard. These loyal apprentices can undertake minor errands or research on the wizard's behalf, as long as they are treated well.
Immunity (10+): A wizard with this power gains complete immunity to one particular spell, at a cost of 10 CPs plus 1 CP per spell level. The wizard ignores the effects of the spell and cannot be directly damaged or harmed by the spell, although he could be indirectly harmed—a wizard immune to charm person could be beaten senseless by a charmed fighter, for example. The character may gain immunity to a group of related spells by spending CPs to become immune to the highest-level spell in that group, so a wizard who wanted immunity to all charms would spend 18 CPs for immunity to mass charm — charm person and charm monster are included with immunity to mass charm. The DM may disallow any immunity that he feels is too powerful.
Improved Hit Die (10/20): For 10 character points, the wizard uses a d6 for a Hit Die instead of a d4. For 20 points, the wizard uses a d8.
Learning bonus (5/7+): The wizard gains a +15% bonus to his chance to learn spells of one school; for seven points, this increases to +25%. The wizard may apply the bonus to learning spells of all schools by doubling the point cost.
No components (5/8): With this talent, a wizard may designate one spell of each level as a spell that requires no material components. For 5 points, the wizard may select spells of one school only; for 8 points, the wizard may select spells from any school. The wizard may not choose spells from the schools of alchemy or artifice for this advantage.
Persistent spell effect (15 +2/spell level): The wizard may select one spell that he knows (and can cast) to have a persistent, permanent effect. He must give up one spell slot of the appropriate level, so a wizard who wants to have ESP as a persistent power must leave one 2nd-level spell slot empty. Only spells with noninstantaneous, nonspecial durations may be selected as persistent powers, and the spell must be one which affects the caster. By concentrating, the wizard may invoke the power and maintain it for as long as he continues to concentrate. Changing the persistent spell requires a full week of uninterrupted work. If the wizard is struck by a dispel magic, the persistent effect fails. First-level spells that are appropriate for persistent effects include: change self, chill touch, detect undead, feather fall, gaze reflection, jump, protection from evil, shield, spider climb, and Ventriloquism.
Priestly wizard (10+): A wizard with this talent may select one minor sphere of access for 10 points or one major sphere for 15 points. The wizard must still use wizard spell slots to memorize these spells; in effect, they're translations or adaptations of priest spells the wizard knows through special training. Priest spells must be learned normally and count against the wizard's maximum number of spells per level.
Proficiency group crossovers (5+): Normally, a wizard may select proficiencies from the wizard and general groups, and must pay a penalty in character points or proficiency slots for choosing proficiencies out of these groups. At a cost of 5 CPs each, the wizard may select another character group for a NWP crossover.
Range increase (5/7+): All ranged spells from one school known to the wizard have their range increased by 25% for 5 CPs or 50% for 7 CPs. For example, the 1st-level spell hold person has a range of 20 yards per level, but with this power the range could increase to 25 or 30 yards per level. The wizard can gain this bonus to all ranged spells regardless of school by doubling the CP cost.
Read magic (5): This power allows the wizard to use read magic once per day per two levels. The wizard doesn't need to memorize the spell, but in all other respects the power operates as if it were a read magic actually cast by the wizard.
Research bonus (5+): When the wizard is performing spell research, spells of one school are treated as if they are one level lower, just like the standard specialist wizard ability. If the wizard doubles the cost to 10, he may apply this bonus to all schools.
School knowledge (5/8): This is a standard benefit for a specialist wizard. Due to the wizard's extensive knowledge of one school of magic, he gains a +1 bonus to saving throws versus spells of that school, and inflicts a –1 penalty to the saving throws of his opponents when casting spells of the school. For 8 CPs, the saving throw modifiers increase to +2 and –2, respectively.
Thief ability (10+): A wizard with this talent possesses one thief ability of his choice. For every 5 additional points he spends, he may choose another thief ability. (Note that backstab is included as a thief ability.) The wizard's percentage scores increase as noted in the DMG on Table 19: Thief Average Ability Table. Modifiers for race, armor worn, and exceptional Dexterity score all apply.
Weapon selection (10/15): For 10 CPs, the wizard may expand his selection of weapons to either the cleric or thief lists (player's choice). For 15 points, the wizard is completely unrestricted in his choice of weapons and may gain proficiency in any weapon he spends a slot to learn.
Weapon specialization (15): With this power, the wizard gains the ability to specialize in a weapon. Choosing this ability doesn't confer specialization—it merely makes it available for the wizard, who is still required to spend the necessary CPs or proficiency slots to actually specialize.
Optional Limitations[]
Limitations are selected much like abilities. Each limitation carries a CP bonus that counters CPs spent on abilities. If a wizard selects 55 CPs of abilities in the previous section, he must come up with 15 CPs of limitations, since the wizard is normally allowed only 40 CPs worth of abilities.
A "standard" mage or specialist wizard can use limitations to pay for unusual abilities he wouldn't normally have access to. For example, if a wild mage also wanted to be able to move silently (a 10-point ability from the preceding list), he has to find a 10-point limitation to compensate. The following is a list of available limitations:
Awkward casting method (5): The wizard's spells must be cast in an extremely obvious fashion, alerting anyone within earshot that the wizard is using magic. The wizard might be surrounded by brilliant dancing motes of light, he might have to shout his vocal component at the top of his lungs, people nearby might feel waves of chilling cold wash over them—however it works, the wizard's spellcasting activity is immediately noticed. Casting spells from ambush is nearly impossible, and casting spells discretely is right out, so a quiet ESP in a tavern will never be available to the wizard.
Behavior/taboo (2): The wizard has a strong set of beliefs that require him to act strangely. For example, he may have to dress in certain colors, avoid physical contact with other people, avoid certain foods, and so on. The behavior chosen is well-known by most NPCs as the behavior of a wizard, so it becomes difficult for the wizard to conceal his profession. The wizard's actions may also make it easier for enemies to find or harass him by exploiting his taboos. Most importantly, a wizard who violates his beliefs loses all spells he currently has memorized; he believes that he can't cast spells until he behaves in the required manner again.
Difficult memorization (5): A wizard with this limitation can study and memorize spells only in very specific circumstances. For example, the wizard must be in his lab to memorize spells, he must be in a temple of the god of magic, or he must perform a rite lasting one full day and using materials worth at least 250 gp per level in order to prepare himself to memorize spells.
Environmental condition (5+): The wizard requires certain conditions for spells to be effective; for example, a wizard may only be able to cast spells by day, while in contact with a favored element, or as long as no priests are nearby. The DM should evaluate the proposed restriction to determine if it applies in everyday circumstances (20 points), common situations (15 points), rare circumstances (10 points), or only under very specific conditions (5 points.) For example, the mage who can only cast spells in daylight hours has an everyday restriction—each night, he's almost helpless. Another mage who can't cast spells during the dark of the moon only has a 5-point restriction, since this occurs for only a couple of days each month.
Hazardous spells (10): A wizard with this limitation pays the price for his magic. Each time the wizard casts a spell, he must attempt a saving throw vs. breath weapon or suffer 1 point of damage per level of spell. Alternatively, the wizard has a 1% chance per spell level, cumulative, of going insane. The madness lasts 3d4 days, during which the wizard may be catatonic, psychotic, paranoid, or generally disturbed in whatever fashion the DM deems appropriate, before the character can recover and reset the chance of madness to 0% again.
Learning penalty (5/8): This is a common restriction of specialist wizards. The wizard may learn spells of one school without penalty; for all other schools, he suffers a –15% penalty to his learn spells roll, or a –25% penalty for 8 CPs.
Limited magical item use (5+): A wizard with this restriction cannot use certain magical items. For each category of magical item that is unusable, the wizard gains a 5 CP restriction. The categories are: potions, oils, and scrolls; rings; rods, staves, and wands; and miscellaneous magical items, weapons, and armor. Another way for this restriction to operate is by barring all magical items that simulate spells of a certain school—for example, all items that have invocation/evocation effects, and so on. This is a 5-point restriction for each barred school. Specialist wizards often take this restriction for their opposition schools.
Reduced hit points (10): Wizards with this limitation use a d3 for their Hit Die instead of a d4. In addition, the wizard is limited to a Constitution hit point bonus of +1 per die.
Reduced spell knowledge (7): The maximum number of spells of each level that the wizard may know is reduced to one-half normal, or 10 if his Intelligence is high enough to allow him to know all the available spells. For example, a wizard with an Intelligence of 16 may know up to 11 spells of each level, but with this limitation he may only know six spells of each level.
Reduced spell progression (15): This is the reverse of the bonus spells enjoyed by specialist wizards. A wizard with this restriction can memorize one less spell than normal at each level, so a 1st-level wizard is reduced from one spell in memory to none at all—a serious disadvantage for lower-level characters.
Slower casting time (2/5): Spells cast by the wizard are unusually complicated and require more time than normal to cast. All spell casting times increase by 3. For 5 points, the wizard's spells automatically increase to the next greater time unit. This means that spells with casting times of 1 to 9 increase to one full round. Spells with casting times in rounds require a similar number of turns, turns go to hours, and hours go to days.
Supernatural constraint (5+): The process by which the wizard gained access to his magical powers transformed him into a supernatural creature with unusual vulnerabilities. Unlike a belief or taboo, these constraints cannot be violated by the wizard by any means. Some examples: the wizard can't cross running water; the wizard can't enter a home or community without an invitation; the wizard can't set foot on hallowed ground; the wizard automatically becomes lost at crossroads; the wizard leaves footprints that can always be tracked; normal animals are terrified of the wizard and won't let him near; and any number of other such constraints. These constraints can be used by clever enemies to render the wizard powerless or severely restrict his movements. The DM should evaluate the proposed constraint and assign a limitation of 5 to 15 points depending on how often it comes into play and how much it interferes with the character on a daily basis.
Talisman (8): The wizard's magical power is inextricably linked with a single object or talisman. He must have this object on his person in order to cast spells. Typically, a talisman might be a crystal, a staff, an amulet, a ring, or some similar item. If the wizard's talisman is destroyed, he can create a new one with 1d4 weeks of work in his laboratory or home base.
Weapons restriction (3/5): As a 3-point restriction, the wizard may never have proficiency in any weapon. As a 5-point restriction, the wizard is not allowed to attempt to wield a weapon at all and may never try to injure another creature with a weapon. Doing so renders all spell use impossible for the character for at least one full month.
Dealing with Game-Breaking Characters[]
While the customized wizard rules allow players a great deal of flexibility in creating their characters, they also allow a clever player to put together a "super-wizard" by carefully selecting limitations that he thinks will rarely hinder the character. Don't despair; this is a zero-sum character creation system, and for every strength a character must also incorporate a corresponding weakness. Here are a few guidelines for handling high-powered characters:
DM's Prerogative: The DM always has the final say on anything in his campaign. If a player insists on building characters that unbalance the game, the DM is within his rights to simply not approve the character or disallow customized character creation in his game.
Point Limits: The DM can limit the number of additional powers purchased by a wizard by setting a limit of 60 or 70 points of optional abilities. After the first 40 points, each additional ability must still be paid for by taking limitations. This prevents a player from building a wizard with every ability on the list and balancing it with every limitation. Optionally, the DM can require that a wizard spend at least 30 points acquiring schools to cast spells from, or set other spending limits in specific areas.
Limitations with a Vengeance: A player might think he's getting away with something when he takes a couple of belief or environmental condition limitations, but a good DM can always find a way to bring these role-playing disadvantages into play. By looking for situations where the super-character's built-in weaknesses cripple him, the DM can graphically illustrate how out of balance the character actually is.
The Bad Guys are Supermen, Too: Naturally, if one character is a walking arsenal of powers and abilities, it stands to reason that some NPCs might have similar skills. No matter how tough a particular PC is, there's always someone in the game world who's a little tougher than him, and meeting that NPC is a super-character's worst nightmare. While this tactic isn't particularly elegant, it's quite effective in letting the player know just how it feels to be in the place of the poor NPCs his character's been terrorizing.
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