Channellers

Imagine wizards who do not forget spells as they are cast, but instead freely use any spell in their repertoire whenever they wish. Wizards in this system of magic are born with some special spark or gift that allows them to reach some hidden source or supply of magical energy and use this to power their enchantments and spells. A young apprentice knows only one or two ways to harness this energy into useful applications and has a very limited capacity for tapping and shaping magical energy, while a great archmage knows dozens upon dozens of spells and has a nearly unlimited capability for wielding magical energy.

While this may seem like a world where the wizards reign unchecked, there’s an important catch: Reaching for and directing magical energy is a dangerous and taxing exercise, at least as difficult as heavy labor or prolonged exertion, and each spell a wizard casts leaves him weakened and vulnerable. In fact, wizards can exhaust their very lives by casting a spell that’s too much for them to handle or by casting too many smaller spells in succession.

Channelling or summoning magical energy is a very common system of magic in fantasy literature. Here’s how it works in the Player’s Option rules: Basically, the wizard gains spell points as described in the beginning of this chapter, allocates them to fixed magicks or free magicks just as he wishes, and selects the particular spells he wants to have locked into memory as fixed magicks. (Since the wizard takes the time to impress these spells in his mind, it’s easier for him to energize them with channelled magic, and thus the spell point cost is lower than free magicks.) The following optional systems from the previous section are used:

Free magicks may be used to provide the wizard with access to any spell in his repertoire, although they’re still more expensive than fixed magicks.

The wizard may exceed his normal spell level limit using the optional rules described previously.

The wizard may decide to cast spells for greater effect by simply spending more spell points when he actually casts the spell.

The wizard can save spell points by choosing to cast spells with a prolonged casting time or at reduced power.

Lastly, the wizard modifies his spell point total based on his Wisdom and Constitution scores; he may not gain bonus spell points for his Intelligence. The character’s hit point adjustment for Constitution and his magical attack adjustment for Wisdom are added to or subtracted from his spell point total. If this lowers a 1st-level character to less than 4 spell points, he ignores the adjustments; all wizards have at least 4 spell points.

While the character may have some spell points “allocated” or “tied up” in various fixed and free magicks, this actually makes no difference for a channeller. The initial selection of spells is simply used to create a slate of spell powers that the character can access and to define the cost in spell points for making use of these powers. The character may cast any spell that he has available through either a fixed or free magick, except that the magick does not vanish from his memory once he’s cast the spell. Instead, the character deducts the number of spell points required to energize the spell from his spell point total. For example, if a mage with 40 spell points has a magic missile memorized, he can cast that magic missile four times if he wants to!

Channellers and Studying Spells: Since spells never vanish from a channeller’s memory, the character does not normally re-memorize spells during the course of an adventure. However, channellers have no particular obstacles to learning new spells or replacing the spells held as fixed or free magicks in their memory. The character must be well-rested and have access to his spell books. It takes 10 minutes per spell level for the character to memorize a new spell. In effect, he “overwrites” whichever spells he wishes to in order to change the allocation of spell points into free and fixed magicks.

Kerian, a 5th-level channelling invoker, wishes to change the spells he has memorized. Because of his Constitution bonus, he has 61 points to assign to various magicks. After resting, he decides to memorize one fixed (shield) and one free 1st-level magick (12 SPs), two fixed magicks (web and invisibility for 12 SPs), and one prolonged casting time 3rd-level magick (fireball for 7 SPs), and one 4th-level magick that exceeds his level (ice storm at 30 SPs). After memorizing the spells, which takes 1 hour and 10 minutes, Kerian is ready to adventure!

If a character wishes to change just one spell in his current repertoire, he still has to rest and memorize it. For example, if a mage wished to change his magic missile spell to a shield spell, then he would have to sleep for eight hours and spend 10 minutes committing it to memory.

Since spell points in this system represent magic potential or stamina (for lack of better words), expended spell points are naturally recovered as the character’s fatigue fades and his strength returns. Just as a human who runs a wind sprint eventually recovers from his temporary exhaustion, a wizard who casts a spell will soon return to his full magical strength with a little rest. Spell points are recovered as shown on Table 20 : Spell Point Recovery for Channellers.

Characters recover a number of spell points equal to the percentage listed, or the whole number, whichever is better. For example, a 6th-level mage has 55 spell points. If he sleeps, 10% of 55 would be 6 (round up 5.5) spell points per hour, so he recovers 8 per hour instead. In fact, it’s more advantageous for any mage of 7th level or lower to take the listed number, and mages of 8th level or higher to work with percentages instead. For specialists, 7th-level is the break point.

In addition to the long-term prospects of exhausting his spell points, a channelling wizard finds that each spell he casts temporarily tires him. See Table 21 : Spell Fatigue.

Using the Fatigue Chart: When a wizard casts a spell, find the row that matches the caster’s level and then read across until you find the level of the spell. The column it appears in indicates the fatigue caused by the spell. For example, if an 8th-level wizard casts a fireball, begin on the row titled “Wizard Lvl. 7–8” and read across until you find the listing for 3rd-level spell. This spell causes moderate fatigue for the character. If the wizard casts a 4th-level spell, he would suffer heavy fatigue.

Loss of Hit Points: If a character has been reduced to 50% or less of his maximum unwounded hit point total, the fatigue rating of the spell increases by one. If a character has been reduced to 25% or less of his normal hit point total, the fatigue rating increases by two categories. For example, a 5th-level wizard who normally has 16 hit points has been wounded and only has 8 hit points left. When he casts his fireball spell, he becomes severely fatigued instead of heavily fatigued. If he had tried the same spell with only 4 hit points, he would have been mortally fatigued, which is not good.

Loss of Spell Points: In a similar manner, a character who has depleted his magical energy is more susceptible to fatigue, too. The same rules apply for reduced spell point totals. Always count the character’s spell points before the spell is cast, so a 1st-level wizard casting his first spell of the day is beginning with 4 spell points (or more) and not zero! Again, a loss of 50% increases fatigue by one category, and a loss of 75% increases it by two. Specialist wizards add their two point totals together for comparing the points spent to the original total.

Existing Fatigue: If a fatigued character casts another spell, increase the fatigue category of the new spell by one level if he is moderately fatigued, two levels if he is heavily fatigued, or three levels if he is severely fatigued. The character then acquires the new fatigue level of the spell he just cast, or stays where he was, whichever is worse. For example, if the 8th-level wizard mentioned above was already moderately fatigued and he cast a 2nd- or 3rd-level spell, the new spell would be considered heavily fatiguing because of his existing condition, and the wizard would become heavily fatigued. However, if the wizard had cast a 1st-level spell, he would have remained moderately fatigued.

Note that fatigue can accumulate from other sources than casting spells. In the Player’s Option: Combat & Tactics book, there is a fatigue system based on rounds of combat. If this is in play, a wizard who fights for three or four rounds and then attempts to cast a spell may be in deep trouble. Characters who are fatigued under that system are considered moderately fatigued here, and exhausted characters are heavily fatigued.

Effects of Fatigue: Naturally, fatigued characters face some significant disadvantages, as shown below:

Lightly fatigued characters have no combat penalties, but they risk becoming more exhausted. Their movement rate is reduced to three-quarters normal, so most human and demihuman wizards will be reduced from a 12 to a 9. A lightly fatigued character might suffer from a slight headache or just feel tired.

Moderately fatigued characters suffer a –1 penalty to attack rolls and have their movement rates halved. Characters at this level of fatigue might have a persistent headache, slightly hazy vision, and pervasive muscle aches in random areas.

Heavily fatigued characters suffer an attack penalty of –2, and an Armor Class penalty of +1. Their movement is reduced to one-quarter normal. Not only does the character feel exhausted, but he also suffers from a splitting headache, aches all over and could suffer from nose bleeds, etc.

Severely fatigued characters suffer a –4 penalty to all attacks and a +3 penalty to their Armor Class. Their movement rate is reduced to 1. It is almost impossible for the character to stand up at this point (make a Dexterity/Balance check if the character moves). Of course, he can still concentrate enough to cast spells, but just barely. Other problems might be the inability to visually focus on anything for more than a second, extreme ringing in the ears, or whatever seems appropriate to the DM.

Mortally fatigued characters are incapable of attacking or effectively defending themselves and collapse into a trembling heap immediately. The character must attempt a saving throw vs. paralyzation; if he fails, the strain proves too much and he perishes. If he passes, he remains unconscious for 1d6 hours before awaking severely fatigued. Obviously, a channeller should be extremely careful when he begins to feel tired—he can cause his own death if he overdoes it.

Now that Kerian is armed with spells, he decides it’s time to head on out. As he is traveling through a lightly forested area, he finds himself facing down several large spiders. Thinking quickly, he casts his invisibility spell. As a result, he loses 6 spell points and becomes moderately fatigued. In an attempt to get into a better defensive position, Kerian also realizes that he is too weak to even think about trying to run away. He manages to stumble against a jutting boulder. In the meantime, the spiders are having trouble finding the invisible invoker. Kerian takes this opportunity to prepare his prolonged casting time version of fireball. After three rounds of gathering energy, Kerian blasts the wicked group of spiders. Not only does he spend 7 spell points, but now he is severely fatigued. Gasping for breath and sweating profusely, he watches the burnt remains of the spiders. Without warning, another large spider bites Kerian. Now he is faced with a quandary. If he casts even a 1st-level spell, he could perish. But then, if he doesn’t, he will most certainly die. Kerian manages to cast a final magic missile (the free 1st-level magick that had cost 8 SPs) at the remaining spider before lapsing into unconsciousness.

Recovering from Fatigue: Of course, wizards don’t stay exhausted forever. Just as their spell points will eventually replenish themselves, their physical capacities will also return. In order for a wizard to “lose” one step of fatigue, he must make a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation.

Lightly or moderately fatigued characters can attempt a saving throw for each round of resting.

Heavily fatigued spellcasters can attempt a saving throw for each turn of resting.

Severely fatigued wizards can attempt a saving throw for each full hour of resting.

Each extra round, turn, or hour (as appropriate) spent resting gives the character a cumulative +1 bonus on his saving throw, so a heavily fatigued wizard who rests three turns attempts three saving throws—the first with no modifier, the second with a +1 bonus, the third with a +2 bonus, and so on.

After four hours, Kerian regains consciousness and sits up. He is severely fatigued but managed to accrue 8 spell points for each hour that he was unconscious, which brings him up to his full amount. Since there doesn’t seem to be any immediate danger, he decides to stay where he is for an hour. At the end of the hour, Kerian succeeds at a saving throw vs. paralyzation. Although he is now only heavily fatigued, he still doesn’t feel like moving around (his aching body is making him feel slightly nauseous). After two turns and three rounds, Kerian succeeds at two more saving throws. He stands up and resumes his path.

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