The Quintessential Chaos Mage
The Quintessential Chaos Mage front cover
| Author | Patrick Younts |
| Series | Quintessential Series |
| Publisher | Mongoose Publishing |
| Publish date | 2003 |
| Pages | 128 |
| ISBN | 1-904577-54-7 |
| OGL Section 15 | qcmg |
Note: Material in this section may be "mature" in nature.
The material below is designated as open game content
Step Six: Casting the Spell (Required)
After all the elements of the spell have been chosen and the modified casting DC of the spell determined, it is time to cast the spell.
To see if he successfully twines the threads of chaos, the chaos mage simply needs his casting check to equal or exceed the casting DC of the spell (a casting check being 1d20 + caster level + Wisdom modifier). Success results in the spell working as the chaos mage desires. Such a thing is to be commended, as the way of chaos is not an easy path to follow. Failure, however, can have dreadful consequences.
The chaos mage suffers lethal, rather than nonlethal, damage when casting the spell and is also considered stunned until the beginning of his next turn.
In addition, should a chaos mage roll a 1 on his casting check, he suffers a backlash of chaos energy – see the Paths of Chaos chapter for complete details of what this means for the character.
Triggers
Chaos magic can be exceptionally difficult to cast, with truly prohibitive casting DCs for the most powerful spells. This suits the nature of chaos well, as it should be difficult to tame the pure essence of unpredictability. To compensate for this, chaos mages quickly master a few tricks which, while they limit the spell’s overall utility, serve to ease the difficulty when casting the more difficult enchantments.
These tricks are generally known as triggers, referring to the fact they limit spells to taking effect only when specific, beset conditions are met. When that condition is met, the spell is triggered.
Triggers can be set to react either to the attempt to do something, in which case they go off before the attempted action, or as a response to an action taken, in which case they go off immediately after the successful completion of the action.
Like chaos magic effects, triggers come in different categories, as described below. Regardless of the strictness of the conditions, no trigger can reduce the casting DC of a spell to less than half of its base effect DC (rounding up). So, for example, a chaotic reconstruction effect (base DC 30) could not be reduced below a casting DC of 15.
No more than one trigger can ever be applied to a particular spell, regardless of how many spell effects are included.
Common Triggers (DC -5)
Common triggers can be easily met and are most often used to set chaos magic ‘traps’. While a trigger might not be tripped, thereby rendering the spell useless, a little practice will allow the chaos mage to craft spells and triggers that are almost assured to be unleashed by his enemies or allies, as the case may be. Examples of common triggers include, but are not limited to, the following:
The spell is actually transferred through a physical attack and will only affect those who are physically struck. Note that this does not mean the chaos mage must do the hitting – the spell could be cast upon an allied fighter, for example, who then transfers the effect to targets he strikes. Note that this trigger supersedes the Touch area element; a spell with this trigger is transmitted with a standard attack, not a touch attack.
The spell only affects those who perform a specific action within its area of effect, such as making a melee attack, casting a spell, drawing a weapon or running. Note that the trigger must be a volitional act that requires real effort on the part of the affected party – a trigger that affects anyone who breathes, for example, is not valid.
The spell can be set to detonate immediately after the triggering event occurs, or togo off after a specific amount of time has passed, but this time can be no less than one minute. The time between casting and triggering does not count against the spell’s duration element.
The trigger goes off when a specified, common environmental condition occurs, such as snow in the mountains.
Uncommon Triggers (DC -10)
Uncommon triggers are more difficult to set off and my never be tripped at all. These require a specific action of a specific type to be fulfilled, as illustrated by the sample triggers below.
A trigger which is only activated when a fireball is cast is an uncommon trigger.
Attacking the chaos mage (or another, specified target) will fulfill the trigger and cast the spell.
Using a specific skill is an appropriate condition for an uncommon trigger.
The trigger goes off when a specified, uncommon environmental condition occurs, such as snow in the desert.
Rare Triggers (DC -15)
Triggers of this sort require the fulfilment of conditions which will, likely as not, never occur in the course of normal adventure. These triggers require the performing of a specific action of a specific type against a specific target, at the minimum, before they take effect. Examples of rare triggers include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Casting a lightning bolt at the chaos mage.
- Using the Decipher Script skill to decode a specific message.
- Reciting a particular piece of poetry while standing at a specific spot.
The trigger goes off when a specified, rare environmental effect occurs, such as when snow falls in the jungle.
Very Rare Triggers (DC -20)
Very rare triggers require carefully worded conditions, lest they be doomed to never being triggered from the moment they are cast. Very rare triggers require a specific action be performed by a specific individual in either a specific location or against another, specified being. Examples of very rare triggers include, but are not limited to, the following:
- A specific warrior attacking the chaos mage with a specific type of weapon (for example, a sword).
- A specific being reciting a particular piece of poetry at a specified location.
The trigger goes off when a very specific environmental effect occurs in a specified location, such as when the first snow of winter falls on the rooftops of a certain castle.
Triggers and Spell Duration
The duration of a spell does not begin until its trigger has been tripped. At that point, the spell goes off as normal and its Duration element begins. A spell with a trigger will persist for one day per caster level, or until its trigger has been tripped. Should a caster wish to insure that his triggered spell last longer than that amount, he can add the following enhancement to the spell.
Extend Dormancy (DC + 5)
A spell effect which has extended dormancy will persist for one week per caster level, or until its trigger has been tripped.
Triggers and the Limits of the Mortal Form
The ability to use triggers to store spells is a powerful one and if not limited, can easily lead to chaos mages covering themselves and their allies with a
veritable arsenal of ‘just in case’ dormant spell effects. Fortunately (in game balance terms) it is the nature of chaos to resist long confinement. A chaos mage can have only 1 dormant spell per 2 caster levels at any one time, to a maximum of 10 stored spells waiting to be triggered. A chaos mage can choose at any time to cancel a dormant effect, either to replace it with a new one, or to simply let it dissipate back into the ether.
