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
The Living Forge
The living forge embodies the fire of creativity that burns in the heart of all dwarves. Though their magic is seen as alien and frightening, they are revered as master craftsmen whose talents were quickened, stoked and shaped on the forge of the dwarven All Father. Living forge chaos mages live and work alongside the greatest dwarven smiths and smithpriests, using their magic to create mighty works that inspire the dwarven people to greater creative
heights.
Roleplaying: Living forges know their place and their worth in the community. Having been accorded great respect from birth, they are accustomed to being given deference in all things, reacting poorly to those who consider themselves to be their equals. They do, however, greatly respect those skilled in the arts of the smith, or the mason, or the jeweller, and have a grudging respect for warriors of all sorts.
Why Play a Living Forge?: The living forge is a great character for a player who wished to be a dwarf, but isn’t comfortable playing dour characters. The living forge is also an excellent choice for those who are fond of the archetypal dwarven smith, but understand the difficulties of hauling a forge and tools on country-spanning adventures.
Adventuring: Those living forges who choose to adventure typically do so to gain a better understanding of the forge skills of other races, or to pursue lost artefacts of dwarven design. Occasionally, they will adventure to find rare materials for the forge, or simply to obtain experience using their abilities in battle and other stressful situations.
Living forges get along well with warriors of all sorts, though they have a particular fondness for fighters and paladins, who often wear heavy arms and armour and who usually appreciate the strength of dwarven forge work. Unlike other chaos mages, living forges do not enjoy the company of more larcenous rogues and bards; though they appreciate their skills and at least understand their carefree ways, they are distrustful and resentful of those who would deprive them of their wealth and creations. In the party, living forges operate
behind the front lines, strengthening swords and armour and gifting their companions with skin as hard as stone.
Benefits: Living forges have a knack for using Materialisation effects, and for extending the length of chaos magic spells with Materialisation and transformation effects.
When casting a spell which includes Materialisation effects or Transformation effects, reduce the casting DC of the duration element by 5 (to below 0, if applicable). This means that living forges can attach a By Round duration element (DC + 5) to a Materialisation or Transformation spell without increasing the final casting DC. This can even lower the final casting DC by using a single round duration element (DC + 2, modified to -3) or instantaneous duration element (DC + 0, modified to -5).
Penalties: While living forges are exceptional creators and sculptors, they have little ability in wreaking magical havoc or affecting the minds of others. Living forges must add one and one half times the normal base casting DC when adding Direct Damage or Domination effects to their spells. For example, a Raw Damage effect would be considered to have a base DC of 15, rather than 10, when used by a living forge.
