The Magician

The Magician has access to any power, but at a low power level. However, by taking time and using ritual casting tools, he can access greater magical potency. A large number of supernatural feats allow him to further customize his magical skills and increase the chance of a successfully cast spell.

Role Type Adept

Attack Progression Slow (2 points). The combat bonus is equal to 1/2 the character’s magician levels.

Skill Progression 6 + Int (1 1/2 points)

Feat Access 4 from Adept or General. In addition, the magician gains one bonus Adept feat every even level (1/2 point)

Save Progression Good Will, normal Fortitude and Reflex (0 points)

Power Progression Slow, Unlimited (1 point). The character’s power rank is equal to half his magician levels (rounded up) + 1.

High Ritual (Core Ability) Through years of study you have learned how to make your spells more powerful by performing them in a ritual manner. You can use any power as a High Ritual. This allows you to take additional time to cast your High Ritual, adding a +1 to your power rank and die bonus for every step down the Time Chart you take, up to a maximum bonus of 1/2 your magician level (rounded up). You may add an additional +1 bonus to your High Ritual if you speak magic words aloud in a clear voice or gesture boldly with one hand; if you use a specially prepared casting tool such as a wand, amulet, or ring, raise this bonus to +2. Preparing such a tool takes one hour and costs a point of Conviction; you may never have more than one at a time.

Essentially, this role gives “low-magic” to anyone with Adept levels, but allows specialized Adepts (those whose first level is in the magician role) to access “high-magic” with time and if she is willing to perform the more obvious elements of working magic. The idea is loosely based on the notion of Accurate/Power Attack and other similar feats in M&M/True20, except that instead of "leveraging" attack bonus and damage, the magician leverages time and magical power.

This role differs from the True20 Companion’s “Arcanist” in one other respect: it exchanges 8 skill ranks/level for 6 ranks/level with bonus feats. This is done to help preserve the Expert’s niche. To make this work, the Magician must have a large selection of useful feats to choose from. This will be fleshed out by a collection of magical techniques which the Magician can learn to further increase his bonus with specific powers (but not his ranks). For example, an “Astrological Magic” feat will allow Magicians to gain bonus to specific checks (but not power level) on specific days according to the influence of the planets. Another “Sympathetic Magic” feat will allow the Magician to get a bonus to his die roll if he has hair, fingernail, blood, or other fragment of the target’s body. A high level magician will have several of these feats, making his magic more reliable, but he will have to take ever-increasing amounts of time to use his magic at full power.

The magician role works side-by-side with the True20 Companion’s “Psychic” role, which we will rename Spiritualist for genre reasons. The Psychic offers Fast progression in a limited number of powers, while the Magician offers Slow progression in any power.

Feats (Yet to be Written) Sacred Architecture, Alchemy, the Law of Names, the Law of Similarity, the Law of Contagion, Sacrificial Magic, Pure Magic, Language Magic, Calendar Magic, Auspicious Birth Sign, Planetary Magic, Astrological Magic, Alexandrian Magic, Word of Power

Susan Temple

Type 1st-level Magician (High Ritual)

Abilities Str –2, Dex +1, Con +0, Int +3, Wis +1, Cha +3

Background Mystic

Skills Bluff 4 (+7), Concentration 4 (+4), Diplomacy 4 (+7), Knowledge (current events) 4 (+7), Knowledge (history) 4 (+7), Knowledge (supernatural) 4 (+7) (B), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 4 (+7) (B), Language 4, Notice 4 (+5), Stealth 4 (+5), Ride 4 (+5)

Feats Imbue Item (B), Jaded (B), Wealthy

Supernatural Powers Fire Shaping 1 (+4), Teleport 1 (+4), Ward 1 (+4)

Combat Attack +1 (-3 with derringer); Damage +2 derringer or Fire Shaping, -1 hatpin, or –2 unarmed; Defense +1 (+0 flat-footed); Initiative +1

Saving Throws Toughness +0; Fortitude +0; Reflex +1; Will +3; Sanity +7

Conviction 3; Wealth +12; Reputation +1; Virtue; Vice

Equipment hatpin (Dmg +1), whalebone corset (+1 Toughness saves), derringer (Dmg +2), brooch casting tool

(B) denotes bonus feats and skills derived from Susan’s background. Her key ability score is still Intelligence.

I think this Susan combines all the best qualities of the various magic systems we have discussed. She can Teleport just like versions I and II, with only a 50% chance of success if she spends the usual standard action, but with up to 65% chance of success if she spends a full round on the spell, gesturing with her wand and invoking Hermetic names. Her Fire Shaping works similarly: a DC 15 check sets the target on fire, which makes it unlikely to succeed unless she takes more time and wiggles the wand. Finally, her Ward can be set up at the "quick and dirty" level (1d20+4) or the "slow and steady" method (1d20+7).

Note she also has plenty of skills. Actually, she has just as many as I listed for the Arcanist (version II) because I didn't give the Arcanist as many skills as she should have had (an astonishing 13!).

I changed the name of the "Spiritualist" background to "Mystic" to avoid confusion with the Spiritualist Role. I also swapped out "Supernatural Focus" for "Imbue Item," though I may just add it to the Bonus Feat list for a little flexibility of character design.

As Susan grows in level, her ability to work rituals will increase. At 5th level, for example, she will be able to spend 5 minutes on a ritual, for a total bonus (presuming casting tool, incantation and gestures) of +5 to her power rank. This would essentially double her bonus for a given power, from 4 (+7) to 9 (+12). Of course, casting such a spell would be impossible in any kind of tactical situation, but could be used quite effectively out of combat. She'll also have 2 more bonus adept feats by that point, increasing her bonuses, but not her power, making it increasingly likely that her spells will succeed (but not increasing her juice without High Ritual casting times).