Mages and Wizzards

The Wizard

There are two types of Mages in the world.  Those who serve Factia Power, and those wild mages commonly referred to as Hedge Wizards, or simply and derogatorily, Wizards.

Factia Mages

Factia Mages are specialist wizards who grow in the Service to the Hidden Tower. 

All Mages are from the Alignment Casts.  Invoker Mages being servants of Factia Invokata.  Their hierarchies are rigid, and all lesser mages serve greater mages.  The head of each Factia is the Facta. 

The Tower has an ultimate guide which is referred to as the Primerium.  This position is occupied only by one of the Facta’s.  How and who and when these positions change is known only to a few.  The Current Primerium is Maginus, he assumed the role when Obend Fouge was slain in the Outer Planes.  The Factas are not very cooperative but not at war, as Facta Necromanta has nothing to gain from fact Invocata power or magic items or energies.

Their agents are always abroad in the world, looking for relics of their cast, and furthering the goals of the Facta they Serve.

They are referred to as Servants of the Tower abroad. 

Factia Mages may join parties as NPC’s, but are always servants of the Tower First.

Wizards

That brings us to “wizards”.  These are mages that are not specialists.  They hoard knowledge and power and rarely teach others.  They are almost all self taught, though loose confederacies exist.  Almost all Wizards have a teacher in the beginning but that is only for the first few levels, as they soon forge their own paths and teach themselves the mysteries of the world.

Factia Mages dislike them and condescend them but do not openly attack them.

They are the bulk of the Mages that exist in the world.  Almost every village has a hedge wizard or two.

From 1^st to Third Level, a Wizard must be taught.  Once they have acquired a Library, a Laboratory and a Focus, they may begin training themselves up in level, but this may not occur sooner than training for 4rth level.  

·        Spell Book

o   Every Hedge Wizard has spell books and there are Many Spell books in the world.  They are personal Statements by wizards.

o   The Libraries of Factia Knowledge are available only to Factia wizards and the libraries never leave the tower.  All Factia mages use only memorized spells abroad or their magic items.  There is a section of the Facta Encanta Library that has over 200 books written on the  sleep spell and its variants, philosophies, studies, perversions and uses.   A Servant of the  Hidden Tower may spend a decade plumbing the depths of the Sleep spell, write several papers and possibly even a book along the way. 

o   Wizards are not bound by the Conventions of Factia Law or its restraints. 

o   All spell books in the world are those of Wizards.  Sometimes they are statements, or written for a specific journey or quest.  Sometimes they are like personal journals containing potion recipes and maps along with spells, passwords, command words and musings, as well as bestiaries. 

o   Wizards must study their books every day.  A spell can take a few minutes to an hour to memorize, but once memorized, it is available to be cast until cast. 

o   Wizards have a percent chance to cast spells above their level but it is a slim chance and the cost of failure is usually significant.

Spell books usually make up the bulk of a wizards library.  While the spell Fear may be the first spell in a wizards spell book, there are at least 4 pages of notes on the spell and references to components. 

·        Library

o   A wizard is always collecting books for their library and they are very protective of their books.  The larger the library, the easier it is for a Wizard to raise in level.  Most low level wizards pay a hefty price to study with an older Wizards library.  A library must be of roughly 1gp Value for each experience point a Wizard needs to convert for level advancement.  For instance a Wizard has acquired 3,000 experience points and is ready to raise a level.  He needs a library of 3,000gp worth to spend roughly a week in in order to advance to 2^nd level.

o   Similarly all Spellbooks have an innate gp value that is a generally accepted value of the book.  This is how the value of the library is determined.  A spell book counts towards the Value of a Library, but only at 50%ofits value.

o   To install shelves, a desk, a comfortable chair, reading lights, etc all add to the value of the library. 

o   Only after 7^th level can the books that a Wizard writes contribute to the value of the library.

o   To research new spell, a library must be 3,000gp in value per level of the spell with an attendant value in a Laboratory should Material Components be required for the spell.

·        Spells

o   Wizards gain Spell Points which can be used to cast spells or consume with other functions and abilities of the Wizard.

Wizards start with the base spell table used in the PHB.  Each time a new level of spell is available to learn the Wizard gains an additional 0-3 spell points.  For instance.  A wizard awakes.  They are Third level, which means they have 2x1st and 1x2nd spell points, which equates to 4 spell points.  Because they can cast both 1st and 2nd level spells, they gain an additional 0-3 spell points for each level, so (1d4-1) + (1d4-1) as spell points usable to cast memorized spells or spells from their book.  Lets say they are lucky and now have 10 spell points, and they know a second level spell, they can cast it four times, assuming they can.    

o   A first Level a wizard has between 1-4 additional spell points per level.  It takes good rest or divine healing or similar supernatural events to replenish this power.  this is rolled each morning when a good nights rest occurs.   

o   Igurn can memorize the Magic Missile spell in the morning but then camp is broken suddenly and he has had no time to memorize other spells.  Now all she can cast is magic missile, although she can cast it four times.  Instead she tries to cast fire ball in desperation, using her book and a crude unstable light, she has a 15% chance to succeed.  She fails and consumes the party in a brief but horrible fire, hurting everyone and causing many items to alight and begin burning.

o   Igurn has not learned Sleep yet.  She reads the spell daily and has cast it successfully four times, unsuccessfully about 10 times.  While reading the spell from the book under great circumstances, she is successful again, the spell works claiming one spell point, and she moves to 90% memorized.  Once She moves to 100% Memorized, she will not need to read the spell from the book in order to cast it anymore.

·        Laboratory

·        Focus

A focus helps a Wizard memorize and cast spells.  They have various abilities.  Some add 20 points to the ability to memorize a spell that is lost if the Focus is lost.  Some burn an inscense that improves casting ability.   Some store spell energy drawn from the world that add to spell points.  

Melibor Red Vest has an interesting Focus that warps the value of spell points making them more abundant when used for invocation/evocation spells, and typically fire, for all intents and purposes, they cast one level lower than normal, ie Fireball is a second level spell for him.  The Servants of Facta Invocata seek this item and he is ever watchful lest they slay him and take it.  It also stores Fireball Spells, and can hold 20hd of them.  It is a fist sized red rough gemstone.  It gives him a +30% chance to memorize spells if he studies in its red light.  It does make it nearly impossible for him to memorize divination spells.

Normal magic items can be used for this purpose as well but Focuses are different and often unique.

It is not uncommon for fledgling wizards Not to have a Focus, and it is usually a Focus that allows them to step from the shadows of their teachers.

·        Rings

There are many types of magic rings.  A wizard may wear one per finger.

·        Wand

There are many types of wands.  Almost all have a Command word.  These are carefully guarded and destroyed when memorize.  Found wands require a great deal of divinatory research to reveal their words. 

·        Familiar

Wizards attract familiars and may have several.  The benefits include being able to control them temporarily, see and hear through their eyes and even, Jar them.  Similarly, wounding or killing a familiar directly effects the wizard it is bonded to.  Killing a familiar cannot kill a wizard but it will hurt them a great deal and possible render them unconscious from pain.

Wizards fatigue from casting spells, and each spell point temporarily takes away from their Stamina (ST+CO).  When stamina reaches 50%, the wizard has difficulty moving and begins having difficulty casting spells.  at 25% stamina, spell casting is difficult and a wizard cannot stand on their own.  At 5 or fewer stamina a wizard can pass out.  Lets say an eighth level Wizard has 40 spell points available, and a Stamina of 22.  once they have cast 11 spell levels they are at 50% stamina.  If they fall below 2 Stamina, they need to make a system chock survival check to stay conscious.  Stamina is restored over time, all Stamina can be restored in 2 hours of rest and refreshment.  

·        Memorization and Casting.

o   Wizard use the following chart for memorizing new spells.  Everyone starts at a base 25% chance.  The base chance is modified permanently by the Intelligence of the Wizard, basically adding the wizards intelligence to the percent. 

o   The percent chance to memorize a spell is the same percent chance to successfully cast it. 

o   Until a Spell is memorized, it can only be cast directly from the book.

o   Once memorized, the spell does not need to be read, or cast from the book.  It can be cast at any time so long as the Wizard as sufficient spell points available. 

o   A spell is Memorized once the percentage chance to cast it/memorize it, reaches 100%.

The Permanent Cumulative Percentage Bonuses for Memorization are;

§  Each time the spell is studied.  +1%.

§  Each Time the Spell is successfully cast.  +1%.

§  Each time the Spell casting attempt is failed.  -1%.

§  Good Rest, Singular Modifier of +5%.

§  Well Fed.  Singular Modifier of +5%.

§  Distracted, Moving or Combat.  Singular Modifier of -20%.

Each Magic Item possessed increases the chance to memorize a spell by 5%.
Each Magic Potion Possessed increases the memorization chance by 2%.
Each Spell point available to the Wizard that day adds 1% to the chance to memorize.
Each Level of the Spellcaster beyond 1st, adds a 10% to their base Chance.
Each level of the spell -8% chance to memorize.

o   The Modifier for Casting a spell above your level is -10% Per Level beyond ability.

o   The chance to learn a spell above your ability can never increase to greater than 25%.

o   Failure to cast a spell above your level always carries a penalty.

o   Although failure to cast a spell that is within the grasp of your level does not always carry a penalty, it can in certain circumstances.

o    Each Spell a Wizard is trying to learn has a counter next to it that represents its memorization, that also serves as the chance to successfully cast.