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 Path of Bloody Rage
For some chaos mages, the flow of chaos through their veins fills them with strange visions and feelings of immortality. For others, its is like an angry, red tide, leading to an existence tortured by dreams of blood and violence. The power of chaos often unlocks base instincts in those who tap its flow; those who stumble upon this path will find their darkest thoughts made manifest by the forces they believed they commanded. The Path of Bloody Rage is a constant companion, a twisted shadow which colours and flavours the world in wet, red bitterness and fury. In the end, all who walk this path will feel their soul, their body and their mind burn away in an all – consuming maelstrom of rage.
Step 1 – Chaotic Anger
The practitioner is always on the edge for no particular reason. Tiny problems are magnified to become unsurpassable difficulties and anger spirals out of control. Frequently this is not noticed as a mark of chaos, as many chaos mages are of a fiery temperament anyway. Those watching closely will be able to note the lack of true control, and the hint of madness in the mage’s eyes.
When confronted with a trying situation, the chaos mage is prone to fits of petulant anger. Any time a setback occurs (at the Games Master’s discretion), the chaos mage must succeed at a Will save against a DC of 10 or give in to anger. This anger has no mechanical effect, but is definitely noticeable to those who know the caster well.
Step 2 – Venomous Tongue
Irritation grows, every remark is a slight, every whisper quiet slander, each action a call for immediate, caustic response. The chaos mage finds it difficult to be civil to those around him, even with his closest friends and when failure to do so will lead to trouble.
Whenever the chaos mage finds himself in a position where being polite would prove helpful, he must succeed at a Will save against DC 15 or lose control of his caustic tongue. As a result of this, the chaos mage suffers a -1 penalty to all Diplomacy skill checks.
Step 3 – Howling Epithets
The mage’s uncontrollable anger is now apparent to all but the chaos mage himself. At this step of the path, anger and irritation give way to outright verbal rage. Anytime the character fails an action (whether through dice rolls or roleplay), He spends one move equivalent action barking curses at all around him. The chaos mage firmly believes that others are conspiring to make him fail and no amount of evidence to the contrary convinces him otherwise.
Unable to be civil for longer than a few minutes at a time, the chaos mage suffers a -1 penalty to all Charisma-based skills (with the exception of Intimidation) and he gains a +1 bonus to all Intimidation skill checks.
Step 4 – Barbed Speech
At this point, the chaos mage is consumed with seething anger at all times. Frequently, this is accompanied by crawling paranoia and suspicion. Everyone, friend and foe alike, is against him and he must strike back. Burning passions and a sense of barely restrained violence are present at all times, frightening calmer individuals. Anyone who opposes the mage, who so much as disagrees with him, is subjected to 1d4 rounds of verbal abuse.
This level of anger is somewhat of a boon to the mage, at least in some ways, as he gains a +2 circumstance bonus to all final casting DC checks when using Direct Damage effects against those who are opposing him. In addition, his bonus when making Intimidation attempts increases to +3. Conversely, he suffers a -2 penalty to his Charisma score.
Step 5 – Anger’s Hand
Any kind of temper control is beyond the reach of the chaos mage and he is consumed with white-hot anger at all times. His very soul becomes blacked by unrestrained hate and anyone who crosses his path is in danger of sudden attack.
The chaos mage is so filled with hate that he must succeed at a Will save against DC 10 or assault anyone that angers or opposes him in any way. If the save is successful, the mage must still spend a full round venting his anger and disparaging the target of his outburst.
Possessed by cold fury at all times, the character gains 2 points of Strength . On the downside, he suffers a further -2 penalty to Diplomacy skill checks and now suffers a -2 penalty to Sense Motive checks – he automatically believes everyone is out to get him, so he is unable to truly understand the motives of others.
Step 6 – Lash of Rage
At this point, the mage is truly mad, anger and hatred having consumed him, to the point where cold relentless malice grips mind and soul when burning rage does not.
The chaos mage can turn this fury to his advantage, at least to some degree. His circumstance bonus to final casting DCs with Direct Damage spells increases to +3, and his bonus to Intimidation skill checks increases to +5. However, his rage makes it difficult for him to concentrate and he suffers a -2 penalty to all Concentration checks.
Step 7 – Face of Hate
Boiling undercurrents of chaos twist the caster’s features, reflecting the hatred burning within. This takes many forms, some overt, others subtle. These changes can range from eyes that burn like hot coals to small, ineffectual devil’s horns, to most anything else the Games Master and player can imagine. Even if the changes are not overtly obvious, the depths of the mage’s insanity cannot be hidden. Hygiene suffers as bathing becomes a thing of the past, and even defecation is merely another way of venting ire and rancour upon the world. The character’s penalty to Charisma-based skill checks increases to -3 (with the exception of Intimidation) and is unable to be civil for more than a minute at a time.
Step 8 – Dire Provocation
At this point, the victim is so consumed with fury that he can no longer discern friend from foe, meaning anyone who opposes him may become the target of attack, or at the very least a severe tongue lashing.
Anytime the character is confronted, for any reason, he must succeed at a Will save against a DC of 15 or attack the individual who provoked him with his full power. At this point, all non-player character reaction checks are assumed to be hostile and the character suffers a further -2 penalty to all Concentration checks.
Step 9 – Thirst for Blood
The chaos mage is now a berserk killer, having realised that the solution to any problem is the application of extreme violence. The ‘problem’ can be almost anything, from a direct insult to an accidental jostling in the marketplace. The chaos mage’s wrath can take any form, from cold-blooded stalking and murder, to outright orgies of slaughter.
The character must kill one sentient being every day or suffer from horrible fits of rage that incapacitate him for hours. If the character fails to kill, he must succeed at a Will save against DC 20 or sink into 1d12 hours of raving and berserk fury. If any attempt to argue or oppose the character during this time, the mage attacks with murderous intent.
Step 10 – Spirit of Anger
The moment the chaos mage succumbs to this step, his body explodes in a cataclysm of ichor and boiling flame. This will cause the Xd6 damage (where X is the character’s chaos mage level) to all within 10 feet of the caster, with a Reflex save allowed for half damage (DC equal to 10 + the character’s chaos mage level). His life is snuffed in a moment and his soul is devoured by chaos instantaneously.
