NEO-ARCANIST OCC(A 2nd edition BtS adaptation and interpretation of the 1st edition PCC of the same name)TERMS USEDBtS-I means the 1st edition Beyond the Supernatural, BtS-II refers to the 2nd edition, HU confers you to the 2nd edition Heroes Unlimited, PFRPG is the Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Game and Arcanist is spelt with a capital “A” when referring to the OCC and with a small “a” when referring to wizarding types in general.
IMPORTANT NOTICEAs this is an adapation of a class already existing in an older Palladium product, I neither want to regurgitate what has already been written nor infringe upon copyright. I will therefore refer to especially the arcanist section of BtS-I where what was said there can be applied as is. Sadly, this makes this post far less usable as a stand-alone. Yet, for the stated reasons it is not the purpose of this post to invent the wheel a second time. Conversely, where I see it demanded by 2nd edition necessities (notably changes due to the occupational system and the arcanist variant ideas I had) I will give my reading of how the rules of today can be applied to make an arcanist work in the framework of 2nd edition. Well, at least that is what I am setting out (fixin' for some) to do. Have fun reading the following and I hope it will be of some use to y’all.In the following I will show a possible adaptation of the 1st edition Arcanist for BtS-II. Use it as you will! I should like to invite you to refer to pages 50 ss. BtS-I (
BtS-I downloadable here).
BtS-I is still an extremely recommendable book and in my personal opinion can serve as a skeleton Arcanum until the 2nd edition version of that long awaited book will finally see the light of day.PREAMBLE & FURTHER SOURCES OF REFERENCEThe Arcanist was built very much as the generic magician for a horror setting, even if with a clear bent on the studious magician-scholar. My primary target in the following will be quite simply to translate the 1st edition class to BtS-II.
Additionally, I will offer some variants of the Arcanist for BtS-II which are meant to enable BtS-players to use it beyond the bent of the old Arcanist and to play the scholarly wizard (the classical sits-in-his-study-and-ponders-magic guy) as much as a more instinctive or [literally] outgoing spell caster (talent, little or no schooling) or a ritual magician, be that an evil cultist or the white mage warding off demons and other horrors.
Aside from this – entirely unofficial, naturally – little forum post I think it wise to refer you to other fine sources of magecraft. There are a couple of alternative sources to draw spell casting OCCs from for BtS-II, be that as a model or for outright use (with a little adaptation probably). The major part of the following has been pointed out by others in the discussion in the “Arcanist” thread (BtS subforum), but I shall summarize it here if only to give precise references for any reader’s convenience:
1. There is the excellent article by our own Mephisto in Rifter 46, pages 53 ss. (download Rifter 46 here), which contains such beautiful nuggets as the Digital Mage. Mephisto really succeeded in giving us some cool new variations of a modern, tech-savy mage. At the same time, obviously, these mages will be of less value when you play a campaign in another age, such as me (I play a 1930s campaign).
2. The Nightbane books offer several spell casting OCCs; I should like to point out the veritable “Through a Glass Darkly”, pages 9 ss., which has especially the Sorcerer, Mystic, Acolyte and Channeler OCCs.
3. Heroes Unlimited knows magic as well, of course. The Mystic Study (pages 150 ss., HU core rulebook) has been mentioned repeatedly, and for very good reasons, in our discussions.
4. Certainly, the Palladium Fantasy RPG can be an excellent further source. OCCs like the Summoner (pages 135 ss.) or the Diabolist (pages 117), circles and wards, may all serve as a brilliant source of inspiration and adaptation. I find that these two OCCs may possibly represent the “classical” cultist best, although both classes are fairly powerful and I should like to advise caution using them in BtS-II especially as classes for the use of players. The latter should be a well considered step as it might open a box of Pandora. As far as I am concerned: I would not allow Summoner or Diabolist as player classes; summoning and all that is calling the supernatural and that should not – or in a very limited fashion only (and, neither of these OCCs is really that limited) – be for the players to do, but that is just my line of thinking. In any case, note that players calling demons and such clearly stand the danger to change the “we fight the supernatural and are the good boys” tenor of BtS-II considerably.
5. I am sure there are many more worthy sources for men of magic in the panoply of OCCs offered throughout the Megaverse. I have, for example, completely ignored any potentially fitting RIFTS OCCs but only because I know Rifts less well and not because it is a MDC system, which in my opinion is for what I want to try to achieve here a minor issue.
Now in medias res:FLUFF TEXTThe Arcanist OCC is
not a psychic character class. Arcanists, to varying degrees dabble in or deeply study magic; their spell use is in no way a psychic exercise. The term arcanist refers to all and sundry men of magic, as diverse a group as that is. You, or they, may refer to themselves as mages, wizards, warlocks, witches, enchanters, illusionists, necromancers, mystics, etc. etc. – and, yes, you will even find “priests” among them, especially those of dark cults. N.B.: Do not let yourself be confused by that broad definition. In game terms an Arcanist is still only one OCC and, for example, not a Witch OCC in the sense of PFRPG.
Whatever an arcanist may call himself, the Arcanist OCC can be used to represent very varying spell casters, maybe to the point that all arcanists have some abilities in common but especially due to the BtS-II specific combination of class and occupation not two of them may in the end be alike. The Arcanist shall not serve to make other future BtS-II specialized, or just special, types of mages superfluous – on the contrary. In the absence of other wizarding classes for BtS-II, I have supplied variants for the Arcanist OCC as well, which I hope will help you bridge whatever kind of magic user you want into BtS-II. For further fluff please refer to any of the above sources, especially the Arcanist write-up in BtS-I.
O.C.C. BONUSES (in addition to possible attribute bonuses):Needs a 14 or higher to save vs. psychic attacks, +2 to save vs. possession, +2 to save vs. magic and curses, +3 to Perception Rolls when looking for magic occurrences/events/creatures/presence, +10% on Lore: Magic and Lore: Magic Arcane
OCC LIMITATIONS AND PENALITIES:Open to the Supernatural! (
as described in BtS-II on page 91, but no minus on saves vs. illusions)
My logic behind the OCC bonuses and the limitation is that someone who has SENSE MAGIC should be more open, and ultimately more suceptible, to the supernatural than someone who is not as passionately and patently interested in all things magic and supernatural as the Arcanist - it is a case of "curiosity killed the cat" possibly - but at the same time the Arcanist, due to his studies, has learnt some tricks and "warding signs", he knows his way around magic and the supernatural better than many others, so he will have an easier time to save versus possessions, magic and curses. Further, even though he is no psychic I suggested the slightly better than for the Ordinary People OCC save versus psychic attacks as I think that fits better.
DETERMINING PPE POINTSThe Arcanist receives 1D6+6 PPE and is open to the supernatural.
Variant Rule: Recluse or Astute (Optional)
Instead of having only one Arcanist OCC, you could simply make two out of it with a simple twist. You can either let your players roll for it (Astute on a 1 on D4) or let players choose.
1. Arcanist Recluse: This Arcanist is closed to the supernatural (he still has the abilities like "Sense Magic etc. as stated herein) and he has 1D6+6 PPE.
2. Astute Arcanist: The second type (much rarer, say only 1 in 4 arcanists are like that) is open to the supernatural but has 2D6+10 PPE. The latter one is more powerful but more often in trouble, which goes a long way to explain why only every 4th arcanist is of that kind
PRESENCE OF THE SUPERNATURAL AND OTHER EFFECT ON PPEThe PPE will be multiplied under the same auspices as ISP. Kindly confer to the “Proximity Equals Power” sub chapter on pages 30 ss., BtS-II. (N.B.. Despite all discussions on the subject, BtS-II in my opinion clearly stipulates already that PPE are affected by the presence of the supernatural as ISP are!
WHY MAY AN ARCANIST BE INTERESTED IN SEEKING OUT THE SUPERNATURAL?An arcanist is all about reasearching and ultimately casting spells, although the bookworm/mystic/scholarly type may be actually more interested in the theoretical part. Does it then not stand to reason that he would actually seek out the supernatural? Mind you, most mages would not really want to combat the supernatural as that would clearly be (a) dangerous and most scholars are anything but daredevils and (b) not so very productive because spell casting under duress is neither a scientific nor a calm approach, i.e. combat is not conductive to most research. However, a magician might have a great interest to for example
- capture supernatural creatures to gain a PPE boost in their presence,
- collect magical items, relics or what not that may have the same or a similar PPE augmentation effect,
- seek out ley lines or "special mystical places" for where he lives.
A FURTHER NOTE ON THE PECULIAR PREFERENCES OF MAGES: Real EstateIncidentally, property prices between mages will have a completely different background. I see a mage living and doing his studies in the worst part of town, a ghetto or derelict old village, and if he sells it to another arcanist may still make out like a bandit because his shabby area home is a "prime ley line piece of real estate". Real estate near a ley line or maybe even right on top of an ancient mystic site will fetch high prices between mages; in any case that may be sites arcanists long for. This also seems to suggest that mages may actually get really serious when someone else is occupying such a crème de la crème piece of real estate.[/list]
SPELL COMPONENTS (optional)This is an optional rule as it may seriously imbalance spell costs. Now for one way of a spell component rule:PPE may be augmented by special spell components. It MUST always entirely remain within GM discretion which components add to the temporary PPE value: I also strongly suggest to introduce the rule “magic components set no solid precedents”, i.e. eye of newt may boost a spell today, but not on another day [/i]). I thought about giving a list of examples and PPE-yield but decided against it (mainly, I will admit because of the work load). Hence, let me try to cover this in the abstract:
(1) Common items (jar of cow's milk, screwdriver, blood of a dog) will not give a PPE bonus.
(2) Rare and valuable items that fit the spell (an expensive ruby hailed as the "fire of India" however may give a small-medium bonus on FIRE SPELLS).
(3) Super-special, best supernatural themselves, items (for example: a phoenix feather, the horn of a unicorn and such grand stuff) will give a large PPE bonus. Note: Such magnificent items will always have exciting stories to them and they should be very much sought after in the very smallish magic community of independent and - I guess - jealous minds of mages (as well as several OTHER interested parties).
Small bonuses will be up to 10 PPE, medium bonuses will be up to max. 50 PPE but usually less, and large bonuses shall lie entirely within GM discretion [probably around 100-200 PPE for really rare or unique items of special import]. Note that such items will as a rule be consumed in the spell casting process, only your GM will know when that is not the case and a component can be used up piecemeal! Please note also that if your GM allows such components at all to add to your PPE, this will remain at best a “clean add-on”, i.e. they will be, if they can be consumed piecemeal, temporary until used up and will always be used up first. PPE gained through components will never be multiplied by the presence of the supernatural. Lastly, please note that supernatural components will NOT serve as a ISP/PPE multiplier themselves by virtue of their supernaturalism (although one may argue that you are technically in the presence of the supernatural when they are around) - in any case, it is always either-or.
AUGMENTING PPE BY ARTEFACTS (Optional)(
This is a bit of unchartered territory as well, as far as I am aware from the top of my head, but here goes:)
PPE may further be augmented by the presence of special relics, artefacts, etc. This is or can at least be handled markedly different from components. For example when the arcanist holds THE Holy Grail in his hands, he will feel a surge of raw power – maybe that comes at a price, maybe he will only feel it under certain circumstances (true heart or whatever the GM sees fit for such item – but essentially this will be treated according to the scale given under “Proximity Equals Power”. A GM should feel free to restrict power surges from artefacts as he wills it; for example, a feather of Quetzalcoatl (as in the god of that name) may give a power surge akin to "Presence of the Supernatural", i.e. a multiplier of PPE, to
anyone using magic, questions of faith aside, but maybe only if it is wind or air magic, i.e. only what would fit the peculiar background and preferences of such god, creature, etc. Maybe a unicorn horn only gives power to a female wizard, perhaps a deevil's hoof would only give power to an evil mage.
In any case,
if there is more than one multiplier in force at the same time, for example the arcanist holds said Grail in his hands (for example: x8) but is facing an Ancient Evil (x10), only the higher multiplier will effect the PPE (in the example: x10).N.B.: CAPTURING THE SUPERNATURAL AS A POWER SOURCE:
(
unchartered again)
Some arcanists may actually actively seek out the supernatural and instead of killing it try to capture it to serve as a PPE-multiplying battery [if the GM allows this kind of stunt]. This very well explains also why so many or the rare arcanists are not found on the side of good but on the side of evil, it is basically, if dangerous, moving place of power and for some arcanist not only knowledge but also the rush spell casting may provide and the power it conveys may be motivating forces. That said, even the whitest mage may be interested in that. After all, not only can he draw more power if he is in the presence of the supernatural, but these creatures (and artefacts, etc.) may be, to him, extremely exciting study opportunities (don't laugh about that, physicists have also said that they developed the atom bomb and were surprised it is used for war). GMs, arcanists going that route are in for a treat - it is a dangerous study field – case in point: there is a reason for all those summoned demon stories!
LEY LINES & PLACES OF MAGICAnother source of (temporary until used up and always used up first) PPE are ley lines and places of magic. For an excellent treatise on that issue – including wonderful fluff (aka background text) – I should like to refer you to BtS-I, pages 131 ss. BtS-I is your best resource there. Still, you will find similar rules in other books, RIFTS for one if I recall correctly. The following is simplified from BtS-I (for more variance please look into that still great book):
1. Being with 5 miles (8 km) of a ley line will add 5 PPE per melee (note this does not stack; you get +5 in melee one, you spent 3 PPE, at the beginning of round 2 you are at +[5-3]).
2. Being at a ley line nexus point ups the PPE gain to 10 points, again not cumulative.
3. At special times like planetary alignment, equinox, solstice, and whatever else the GM may designate as special the base PPE are doubled, but only when the arcanist is at a nexus point. He will still receive an additional +10 PPE per melee, not accumulative.
Similarly, places of magic and power, which may or may not be at a nexus or even near a ley line – although I assume they often will be – such as a powerful pyramid, Stonehenge, etc. can also effect PPE. The same goes for so-called "Rips of Magic", "Transitional Places of Power" and "Power Triads" (Bermuda Triangle and such). BtS-I gives a lot of information on that; the corresponding chapter in BtS-I is a good read and extensive (cf. BtS-I, pages 128-153!) In lieu of that use the above as a guideline.
PPE RECOVERY PPE are recoverd as ISP – BtS-II, page 32.
SPECIAL TRAINING AND SKILLSThis subchapter of the Arcanist OCC has, as its name implies, two aspects to it: one is about skills and the other about special training or abilities. You will find it on pages 51-52 of BtS-I, to which I should like to refer you.
1. SKILLSThe skill part of the 1st edition version required some re-thinking. The skill system in BtS-I has skill programmes (not unlike in N&S). Just giving the arcanist a complete dedicated skill set on top of what you find in 2nd edition BtS in an occupation would in my opinion not work in BtS-II. In 2nd edition class and occupation are two separate factors in building a character and only – with some rare exceptions (i.e., abilities that constitute essentially dedicated bonus skills) – the occupation (NOT the same as an “OCC”) will govern what skills a character will have. The consequence for the Arcanist OCC adaptation to BtS-II, to my mind, is that by far the greatest part of skills must only be governed by the actual occupation. Thus:
Skills are learnt as per occupation. Beyond or rather supplementing that arcanists may receive certain skills as special training (see below).
Making an arcanist occupation as well serves as a work around for the problem of what would constitute a double occupation if the arcanist were to retain (a) his arcanist skill set from BtS-I as well as (b) a BtS-II occupation. Our new Arcanist OCC could therefore very well also have an arcanist occupation [GMs: you are very free to not allow that occupation]. You will find the new arcanist occupation further below.
2. SPECIAL TRAINING (General Rule: straight adaptation from BtS-I)The special training part is easy to adapt as “Understanding the Principles of Magic”, “Read Magic”, “The Practiced Use of Magic”, “Sense Magic” and “Recognize Magic Enchantment” (BtS-I, pages 51-52) can be applied in BtS-II just as they are.
Each arcanist starts with the following number of spells:- 1D6 for each of the spell levels 1-3
- 1D4 for each of the spell level 4-9
- No spells beyond level 9
When you know the total number of spells roll 4D6. The result will determine for which of your incantations you know the ritual as well as the spell variant, for any remainder you will have to decide for each spell whether you know it as a spell or as a ritual.
For the difference between rituals and spells as well as regarding learning spells you can either apply the rules in BtS-I (pages 95 ss.) or the very similar stipulations in the - awesome - Nightbane core book ("pursuit of magic" chapter, pages 124 ss). I tend towards the latter and suggest applying the rules for the Sorcerer OCC on spells/rituals and spell acquisition per level (NB core, pages 115 ss.). Regarding rituals the sorcerer only has to differentiate between spell and ritual starting with spells at 7th spell level; I think that for BtS it needs to be possible to also have lower level rituals, so the 7th level thing does not apply for BtS.
Learning new spells when advancing in level:An arcanist can learn as many new spells at a new level or even in between levels, provided he has sufficient funds (money may have to be paid for books, teaching, etc.), time (time is required to study anything!) and learning materials (teacher, books, etc.). This should be treated in a reasonable manner between GM and player. Players: unless there are exceptional circumstances, it will be unlikely that you gain much more than 6 new spells per level. GMs, give the guys at least one or two new spells per level, or more when they work hard at it!
ALTERNATIVE RULE on "Learning new spells when advancing in level":An arcanist gains 1D4 new spells of random level (1D10; higher level spells only when he finds a teacher or tome of magic). These are spells he either recalls from his basic teachings but only then, as he gains more experience, fully understands or he has finally discovered these spells as a result of his intensive studies that come to fruitition on levelling.
***A NOTE ON SPELLSI think the spells can be applied as are, basically. Or, one can very simply draw on any of the other spell sources in the megaverse (notably in my opinion PFRPG, Nightbane and Rifts - although: using spells from a SDC system will definitely make things much easier)
*** VARIANT SPECIAL TRAINING: colouring the arcanists (OPTIONAL RULE) There have been various wonderful ideas in our discussion what an arcanist could be and should have beyond or in lieu of what was represented in BtS-I. I should therefore like to invite you to take a peek at various conceivable arcanist variants I have developed. They are basically OCC sub-types if you will. It is a lot of fluff, but maybe it resonates with you. Aside from the fluff I make suggestions for different sets of special abilities per variant.
ARCANIST VARIANTS: Common Special AbilitiesWhat all arcanists share is a penchant, a talent if you will, for magic. Most will already have been able from a young age onwards to
--> SENSE MAGIC
--> RECOGNIZE MAGIC ENCHANTMENT
--> THE PRACTICED USE OF MAGIC (aka spell casting)
What is true for anyone with a pronounced talent is true for arcanists as well: only some will understand their talent, less will bring it to fruitition and advance their knowledge of magic by forging their natural inclination into dedication. Only the latter breed of arcanist will become scholars of magic and only those rare scholars will learn to Read Magic. But this is just one example for what may be special, chiefly also the knowledge to cast spells can be bred from different sources; that said, on to the variants.
ARCANIST VARIANTS TABLEAnd, of course, before I say much about them, here is a Pally-typical table to determine what your variant is randomly [any subject to GM approval]:
01-15: Hereditary Arcanist: it runs in the family (roll on heritage sub-table)
16-20: Hereditary Arcanist: Emotional mage
21-40: Scholarly Arcanist: Professor
41-55: Scholarly Arcanist: Private Scholar / landed gentleman
46-60: Scholarly Arcanist: Blue collar / hobbyist
-------: Cultist: Powermonger / fanatic
-------: Cultist: Grand Pawn
61-65: Cultist: Ex-Cultist [if you roll this, ask you GM if he allows it and with which prerequisites/consequences]
66-75: Fighting Arcanist: Trophy Hunter
76-85: Fighting Arcanist: Champion
86-100: Fighting Arcanist: Seeker of Mysteries
I have not given chances to become an active evil cultist because I do not think to play such is within the beautiful and exciting theme of BtS. As with anything, feel free to put in a chance for these if you want (or, of course, as always: to change whatever you will).
HEREDITARY ARCANISTThere are two types of the hereditary arcanist, for the first magic runs in the family and it very much defines at least with which kind of spells he starts out, the second one casts magic even more instinctively, his magic is fused by strong emotions.
It runs in the familySome arcanists have learnt to cast spells by way of heritage. Maybe an old spell book, you could maybe call it a recipe collection, was handed down from mother to daughter, generation to generation. Perhaps a family of farmers have always had uncanny “luck” with the weather and their crops, each storm passed them by, precipitation always was just right, and young Jimmy learnt that it is important, his family’s way, to gather for the great family feast late winter and dance the cold away – and it always would, even if the Jackson’s farm only 20 miles away would still be covered by a blanket of snow for another 2 weeks. Young Jimmy may never realize that it was magic that does that, but he knows the rituals, and recognizes similar “blessings” when he sees them, he might just never call them “magic”.
All hereditary mages receive the following two special abilities:--> PERIPHERAL MAGIC KNOWLEDGE (Nightbane Through a Glass Darkly, page 13)
--> +2 Spells fitting with heritage (the spell level of each of those two spells is determined by a D10)
Some hereditary mages, notably the one with a family history in witchcraft and the warrior family arcanist, will receive additional special abilities, but wherever a sub type has additional abilities the “+2 Spells” are lost.
Heritage Sub-Table (1D8)1: Family of farmers. Never call him a redneck mage! Has only knowledge of air, wind, weather and or nature magic, but may learn more later (provided he finds the teachers, etc), but may not want to learn different magic.
2:Witching background. Note: This need not be the evil witch from PFRPG (and I advise strongly against bridging that particular and evil powerhouse into BtS, at least on the player’s side). Can brew 3 basic potions (if GM allows)
--> FAMILIAR LINK
--> BREW 3 POTIONS (roll 1D8 3 times: 1= charm potion, 2= love charm potion, 3=chameleon, 4=change appearance to look youthful, 5=fleet feet, 6=healing, 7=shrinking, 8=truth serum; cf. PFRPG, page 253)
3: Aboriginal heritage: African, American Indian, Australian aborigine, etc. heritage. This hereditary arcanist will have access to shamanistic magic. An originally Haitian family may pass on Voodoo magic.
4: Family of Warriors. This hereditary arcanist can probably name at least one relative / ancestor for every single war his nation undertook in the last several hundred years (family background lore: 1800 -1D6x100 years), not necessarily of higher rank, but always in the thick of the fight and highly decorated. If he is US American, Canadian, Australian et al. and his knowledge goes far enough back – see family background lore roll – he will also know the main family warrior’s history for the nation (territory) his family mainly springs from. Probably the magically talented scion of warriors is a soldier by occupation (may be on reserve status now, but likely saw combat) himself. Instead of the normal hereditary mages boons, the hereditary warrior receives:
--> BOOST OF STRENGTH (P.S. +2D6 for 1 round for 10 PPE)
--> ARROW OUT OF THIN AIR (can create up to 1 per 5 levels bullet, arrow, sling stone, bolt for 5 PPE, does x2 damage to supernatural beings)
5: Artists and Craftsman. This family has always been especially talented in some craft or art. Maybe they are famous even as aritists in their craft, maybe just extremely – if not to say: supernaturally – good plumbers. Whatever the craft or art may be, all the spells the craftsman hereditary arcanist has should fit or at least aid / fit with the theme of that craft or art, if possible. You can, of course, determine the art or craft with this table, which is anything but complete:
01-10%: Plumber
02-20%: Carpenter
03-30%: Car mechanic
31-40%: Painter
41-50%: Sculptor
51-60%: Smith
61-70%: Electrician
71-80%: Fitter
81-90%: Taxidermist
91-100%: Poet
--> Receives one skill (fitting his art of craft) at +20%
6: Extremely religious. This family has been devoutly [insert non per se evil religion of your choice] religious. This hereditary arcanist may actually be a member of the cloth and is 1000% sure that his magic comes from God [whichever, but not evil] and needs to be used to his glory. This arcanist has an excellent motivation to combat the supernatural (evil). His spells should fit with his God [GM discretion]; being able to exorcise demons and such may be open to him.
--> SENSE SUPERNATURAL EVIL (HU 2nd edition, “Mystic Study” chapter, page 153, left column; if that is not available the use the very similar corresponding descripton of this ability in BtS-II, page 90 (Psychic Sensitive PCC's "Sense Supernatural Evil" ability)
7: THIEVES! Uncanny crooks all of ‘em: This family has quite the criminal record. Probably, the arcanist has a criminal occupation himself (but not “hitman”, killers and thugs may use the warrior family backdrop, be an emotional mage or a fighting arcanist). What makes the thief arcanist different is that his family has always been better at stealing, embezzling, etc. than anybody else in the business or so it seemed. They always had an unexplainable edge over the competition, respectively their colleagues. All spells must fit with crime – mental influence (great for scams and such) and subterfuge type (fog, go through walls) spells seem recommendable [GM discretion, as always].
8: Circusmen! This family has never really settled, maybe gypsies, circusmen, entertainers, etc. Likely occupations are acrobat or stage magician. Maybe the character is a distant relative of the great Hoodini or can refer you to the National Portrait Gallery in London for a picture of one of his ancestors as the King’s fool.
--> either STUNNING FEAT OF ACROBATICS (this ability grants a bonus of +20 to any daring or dangerous feat of acrobatics; also: even without an acrobatics skill, the arcanist-circusman with this ability is able to do simple acrobatic stunts, such as make a cartwheel or swing on a candelabra without a chance to fail)
--> or LAST LAUGH (quick of mind, quick of wit, the arcanist has received some clown training and always has a little quib or taunt that shakes another's resolve; use the last laugh once per combat to make humans loose combat initiative and 1 attack (no save) in one given round)
--> or SIMPLE ILUSSION (will be detailed in a later post, I need to re-read illusions, but I am thinking of simple sleight of hand stuff)
The Emotional MageThe second type of the hereditary arcanist is the emotional mage, he is basically to magic what the hulk is for superheroes, an incalculable quantity, a person using magic without refinement and often without thought. An emotional arcanist is restricted in that he can only summon up his talent and actually cast spells when he is in some state of emotional stress, such as aggression or panic. In a state of calm he may learn new spells but he can only cast them when a situation is stressful or even dire. Technically, this restriction is not that bad because of the PPE-multiplier rule all arcanists will not have a great reservoir of PPE to cast spells anyway when not in a stressful situation, i.e. when prowling or confronting the supernatural, still, this may give the arcanist an interesting twist.
--> CONTROLLING THE (MAGE) RAGE: 20%+5% per level; with this ability the emotional mage can either work himself up even if the situation as such is not stressful or he can calm himself down (see UNCONTROLLED CASTING).
--> UNCONTROLLED CASTING: When the emotional mage is in a state of uncontrolled mage rage he cannot fully control what spell he casts; his tendency will be to cast the most powerful first. When in doubt, or just as a nice random alternative the GM may allow the player to choose 6 spells at levels 1-3, 5 at levels 4-6, 4 at levels 7-9, 3 at levels 10-12 or 2 at levels 13-15 and then determine randomly which one will be cast.
SCHOLARLY ARCANISTFor the hereditary arcanist, magic is
not a scientific thing or something that necessarily requires much work, let alone research. Magic is simply part of them, they grew up with it - magic for them is like learning your native tongue: virtually effortlessly.
This is
very different for the scholarly arcanist. For these men of intellect, impassionate reason and - often insatible - hunger for knowledge, magic is their one true calling.
Professor ArcanistIt is very unlikely that this kind of arcanist will take up a non scholarly occupation, being a policeman would only be in the way of his studies and that is just not him. Scholarly arcanists will choose occupations that complement their passion for magic as favourably as possible, for example by becoming an archaeologist, a dealer in antiques or almost any professorial job. GM's are encouraged to either allow corresponding choice or restrict the randomly available occupations for a "Professor Arcanist".
--> READ MAGIC
--> 4 academic skills +10
--> Lore: Arcane +15
Private Scholar / Gentlemen of MeansOnly an extremely rare few are better off even than that. They are already made men, people with enough money to pursue any “hobby” they choose, the quintessential private scholar, a gentleman of means. They have the funds to buy what they need and, what may be more, they can afford to study and research the whole day without having to deal with trivial distractions like mundane work.
--> GENTLEMAN OF MEANS (The gentlemen of means is rather well to do. He will often have a yearly stipend, for example from an inheritance trust fund or a benefactor/patron or maybe he was successful with a start up company sold it dearly and now enjoys private live. He has an annual income of about USD 1D6 x 100,000, a sizeable house, he may have 1D3 cars and either a “custom bought” chopper or an oldtimer. GM’s are advised to curtail these funds as desired.)
--> READ MAGIC
--> 1 academic skill +10
--> Lore: Arcane +10
“Blue Collar” / Hobbyist ArcanistYet, perhaps the arcanist scholar has a (much) harder lot in life and comes from a poor or at most lower middle class background. He did not have the choice what to do for a living. He would not be rich enough to do as he pleases, he may be forced to work from a young age on instead of pursuing a university career. However, as in real life you will find many people who are impassioned with one interest and despite having to work hard in a day job, will use every single second of their spare time, and often long hours in the night, to further their private interest. Some are collectors, some re-enactors of history and some play theatre, etc. I am sure there are millions of people who are passionate about something that is not their job and will spend inordinate hours and maybe even irresponsible amounts of cash on it. An arcanist in this position will use all of his often very hard earned cash to try to get a certain old spell book on ebay, will use up his vacation time to travel to a special second-hand bookshop in a small village in the French part of the Pyrenees, and rather than going out with buddies will sit in his study and happily study his copy of a 16th century German combat spell that he found hidden within a page of one of Hans Talhoffer’s fencing books. These “hobby”-scholars will often be loners, there is just no time for socializing when you work by day and must study by night! Maybe this type of arcanist will be most impassioned for magic and feel a burning need to research and further his knowledge about magic. He will know it is his true calling and worth the sacrifice.
--> READ MAGIC
--> 1 academic skill +20
--> Lore: Arcane +20
--> Streetwise +10
NB: If you think it fits the scholar-arcanist, maybe especially the 1000% dedicated hobbyist-arcanist may suggest himself for also gaining
--> FAMILIAR LINK
CULTISTThe cultist is a very special breed of arcanist. These arcanist fanatics either are power hungry scholars who think that summoning a demon or working in the employ of an ancient evil will further their knowledge and, thus, power. These cultists will think, at least in the apparent secrecy if not necessarily sanity of their mind, that for now they have to toe the party line but you bet they will at the same time try to carefully manipulate the evil being. There plan will be however to – when the stars are right –to subjugate the evil entity.
Other cultists think that magic flows from a divine source and to increase their arcane and sacred knowledge they must faithfully worship this source. The latter are maybe the most willing and easy to manipulate mages in the entire world; they often are the entirely selfless and compliable subject of an ancient evil or old one – a great tool, a wonderful missionary and an ideal martyr (as well as an emergency ration, if you will).
For all cultists:
--> Lore: Religion +20
--> Lore: Mythology +20
--> 1 further Lore or Parapsychology skill
--> READ MAGIC
--> Horror Factor rolls +1
--> Save vs. Insanity checks -3
--> All spells beyond level 3 are all rituals (cf. to BtS-I, pages 95-97 for how rituals work)
A word of caution regarding the ex-cultist: the ex cultist is a reformed worshipper of evil (if a PC:
not fake reformed), and most interestingly he will have an automatic enemy group right from the beginning. Worshippers of evil do not like their people to turn away from them and are rather drastic about remedying such situations; letting an ex cultist go around is just not good evil policy, he knows too much and sets a bad example. That alone makes the ex cultist a real challenge to play. Also, GMs may not allow this subtype at all because he requires a special kind of campaign and the GM and the group should be comfortable with this.
As an interesting side note: if you take the word "cultist" in the less horror novel kind of way but literally, every religion is a cult and in that sense, maybe with a couple of little changes, you could also make a "
good cultist", e.g. a priest of a non-evil religion. To play that would not endanger a campaign (methinks).
FIGHTING ARCANISTSome will be nothing more or less than a dedicated trophy (and spell component!) hunter, at best an
Allan Quatermain, at worst merely a soldier of fortune type.
Others will see themselves as champions of Man. The latter understand themselves to be blessed / tainted / lucky enough / burdened with a talent and knowledge and see their duty in having to use it to the good. The champion cannot shy away from his responsibility and so he gears up and finds the next supernatural thread.
A third kind of the fighting arcanist is maybe for the magic trade what Indiana Jones is to archaeology. He is drawn to mystery and the supernatural. He wants to understand; as it happens over this he gets to fight a lot of the generally less than cooperative supernatural monsters.
For all fighting arcanists:
--> SENSE SUPERNATURAL EVIL (HU 2nd edition, “Mystic Study” chapter, page 153, left column; if that is not available the use the very similar corresponding descripton of this ability in BtS-II, page 90 (Psychic Sensitive PCC's "Sense Supernatural Evil" ability)
--> Lore: Mythology
--> 1 W.P. of choice
***ARCANIST OCCUPATIONAs announced above I have now sat down and present hereinafter a write-up for a new occupation: the arcanist. I do not think we really "need" it. A fine, fine Arcanist can be made with e.g. the scholar occupation, which is while more generic not that dissimilar from the below I find. Anyhow, I though it would still be nice to have that option because I think a certain skill set needs to be made available to represent the 1st edition Arcanist most faithfully and that is the whole point of my labour here. The only thing I think does not work is what would in BtS-II terms essentially result in choosing two occupations (the BtS-I Arcanist had about what is stated below plus he could choose a skill programme)! Enough said on the motif, here goes:NOT every Arcanist must have the occupation of the same name! At the same time, the arcanist occupation need not only be available for members of the Arcanist OCC, but it should only be available to players with the consent of the GM. Basically the arcanist occupation is a specialised form of the scholar occupation. However, if you choose to use this new occupation, it is worth pondering on a case by case basis whether a given Arcanist OCC character would not actually benefit from having a different occupation; he could then be much more interesting and varied. As you will see - I have, of course, chiefly modelled this occupation after the skill pack the Arcanist OCC got under BtS-I - that I have toned down the bonuses quite considerably. I think this is very necessary so that the arcanist occupation is not waaay beyond what other occupations of BtS-II offer. Further, I have struck "Lore: Religion" from the list, because that for me never made sense but can be learnt as an Elective skill anyhow. I have given the arcanist occupation some other skills, notably "Streetwise: Weird" because especially the latter made tremendious sense to me.
===
NOTE:
One does not need to change the random occupation determination table for this. I believe in choosing more than in rolling anyhow. However, if you want to roll, then I suggest you put in the arcanist either simply instead of one other occupation of your choice that does not fit an Arcanist in your mind or just say that if the player rolls "scholar" it is an "arcanist" if he has the Arcanist OCC. ===
Occupational Skills:
Language: Native Tongue (+20%)
Literacy: Native Language (+20%)
Language: one ancient (+5%)
Literacy: two ancient (+5%)
Lore: Demon and Monsters (+ 15%).
Lore: Ghosts and Faeries (+ 15%) .
Lore: Geomancy and Lines ofPower (+ 15%).
Lore: Magic (+20%)
Lore: Magic Arcane (+20%)
Lore: Superstition (+20%)
Mathematics: Basic (+15%)
Research (+25%).
Streetwise: Weird (+20%)
Elective Skills:
Select seven total from the standard available categories, but the character gets a +10 bonus on Paranormal, Science, and Technical skills.
Secondary Skills available:
Select three from the standard available categories at level one, +2 additional skills each at levels 3, 6, 9 and 12
Special Bonus:
+10 on a single skill (stacks with any other bonus) to represent the arcanist's special area of expertise.
***ADDING FURTHER FLAIR FOR THE ARCANIST Sorcerous Proficiencies and Limitations from NightbaneSorcerous Proficiencies and Limitations are part of the very well done optional rules in
Nightbane Sourcebook 3 "Through the Glass Darkly, pages 24 ss.[/i]] PetiteElfGirl has suggested to use them for BtS-II. I would not mind that. I basically think that all of them can be applied for mages in BtS. Especially with regard to the LIMITATIONS, though, I think
caution is well advised. Some limitations, "Bloodmage" in particular comes to mind, should maybe only be used by evil arcanists, i.e. NPCs. With respect to the “proficiencies” it bodes thinking about that all but especially some, SENSITIVE TO MAGIC and SENSITIVE TO THE SUPERNATURAL come to mind, are essentially "special abilities" or "talents" that are normally dished out in only a very restricted fashion, i.e. on character generation and only as per OCC. A GM would need to think hard whether he really wants to allow a "PROFICIENCY" as an additional boon as a freebie or for example allow taking a proficiency in exchange for an OCC special ability like "Read Magic" or "Sense Magic". I would like to suggest (if you use "Proficiencies") allowing players to swap a proficiency with a boon (i.e.,special ability) they have, otherwise you just allow stacking power up and up, which I would think should be avoided.
Arcanist Horror Factor! (
brief discussion with Mephisto above; our ever creative Mephisto has argued for all arcanists to have a horror factor)
When magic bolts shoot through the air and a highly powerful arcanist employs the full panoply of his magical abilities, even some supernatural creatures may see the wisdom in flight or freeze in fear or run in panic. Certainly, this could be handled like in Nightbane, where every Bane has its own horror factor. However, for BtS-II I would prefer to have this, if at all, more restricted. In any case, It should remain within GM discretion if an Arcanist exudes a Horror Factor at all. I would restrict that to extremely powerful arcanists and only under special circumstances! That said, if they got a horror factor it would HAVE TO work against anyone, at least that is how I understand the HF rule, which actually would make sense. As a personal note, however: if players are "fearsome" that is great for Nightbane, but I think it sort of misses the point for BtS-II.