My friend over at Khara Thel created a ‘burned out mage’ character background so I thought I would chip in with my two copper pieces… Hope he doesn’t mind.
A burned out mage has somehow lost his or her power to cast magic. He may have a ton of magical knowledge from years of magical study or ingrained magic through that of a sorcerer.
I am going on the lines of a human male mage that studies his magic like a normal D&D Wizard. Through some accident or perhaps an over zealous nature to try push the envelope of magic he lost it all, almost…
Character Build
As always, I will use Eclipse here. A simple ‘first level’ human wizard.
Getting Started
Character Points: 54 +6 for bonus feat for being human equal 60. Fast Learner gets plugged into skills or even spells.
The Basics
Hit Dice: d4 – 0cp
Saves: WIll +2 – 6cp
BAB: 0
Proficiencies: Simple – 3cp
Skill Points: 8cp (representing a Wizard Norm of 2 skill points x 4 at level 1)
Totals 17cp
Specials and Magic
Fast Learner, Specialised for Spells (Like a normal Wizard): 6cp
Wizard Spell Progression, without Caster Level. 11cp
Scribe Scroll, Spell Storing (6cp)
Familiar Companion (6cp)
Totals 29cp
This poor bastard has last all Caster Levels so he cannot cast any spell he knows. He can still study magic, learn new spells, and even ‘memorise or prepare’ them. But without some other means of gaining Caster Levels he is some poor sod.
I do this through Hysteria.
Hysteria, 6cp. Gains +1d6 Caster Levels for 1 round. Usable as a ‘free’ action. Not powered by mana or ‘power’. Instead this is powered by life forces or more to the point, death. How does it work? Well. This poor bastard has to kill. Any creature that dies by his hand (GM may want to say living creature here) activates Hysteria. This of courses poses its own problems. He only has to deal the final killing blow, but the victim has to be dead (ie –10hit points). In doing so, Hysteria activates automatically and lasts until the end of his Next Round – thus he can cast spells on his next round and they benefit from the Caster Levels Gained. This means spells can last past this round etc. Figured its a corruption/specialisation modification for effect purposes.
Thats another 6cp
Total ‘class cost’: 17+29+6 = 52cp leaving him 8cp for the usual level 1 feat and another spell or two.
Again, this guy will not live long without backup. Favoured spells will be Killing Spells and Summoning Monsters. Advancements and items of choice would be Quickening Spells Feats, Extending Spells etc. At higher levels he may very well be fully playable especially in heavy combat games.
Further Advancements could push him into more melee or ranged combat as well. Anything that will aid him in Killing more creatures and quicker. He could become an evil old man, haunting the poor neighbourhoods of a city or even a hero by chasing down bands of Goblins.
So, what you think?