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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