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.

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