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
Tools of the Trade
This chapter is broken down into two sections. The first introduces the complete rules necessary for chaos mages to begin crafting their own magic items, from initial concept to final infusion. The section closes with a diverse assortment of sample chaos magic items, the better to give you an idea of the wide range of devices you can create.
The second section is a listing of new mundane equipment and standard magic items. While a chaos mage cannot construct standard magic items, nor may he activate those items commonly associated with arcane spellcasters, there are still static magic items which he can benefit from, or which are thematically appropriate to the concept of chaos sorcery in general.
Chaos Magic Items
Magic items are an important element of the fantasy genre. Where would Arthur be without his Excalibur, or young Mister Potter without his wand? While it is actions that define a character and make them great, it is often his signature magical possessions which we remember, even years later.
Magic items are even more important in fantasy gaming, and it the rare player indeed who does not enjoy collecting them for his characters as they advance in fame and ability. In a typical fantasy campaign, characters accumulate items in one of two ways, either by claiming them in exploration and blood soaked battle, or by crafting them.
Enter the spellcaster. Where one finds spellcasters, one is bound to find magic items. Only spellcasters can craft the magic items that skilled heroes need to defeat the most dangerous of foes, and to accomplish the most daunting tasks. Wizards and sorcerers, with their ability to empower staves, wands, potions and weapons with strange and wondrous abilities, are well known as the premiere crafters of magical artefacts of all sorts.
Until now.
Chaos magicians can, like their arcane brethren, imbue ordinary items with extraordinary magical power. Unlike a wizard, however, who can fashion a dozen identical magical longswords, usable by any warrior able to attain them, the chaos mage can craft only one of a kind works of art, weapons uniquely attuned to but a single wielder, usually himself.
Like chaos magic itself, there is a price to be paid when handling such objects of power. First, chaosborne items lack the stability of more traditionally crafted items and their abilities tend to fluctuate over time. At first, the item will work perfectly, but over time, as the chaos energy which suffuses them begins to tug and snap its bonds, it will grow more unstable, eventually erupting in a burst of wild power.
The second drawback is the strain that close proximity to restrained chaos can place on the wielder. In order to use a chaotic item, the wielder must be attuned to the object, melding his energies with its embedded power.
Forging Chaos
Creating items imbued with chaos power is a difficult process. Weak or inexperienced chaos mages are in danger of bodily harm at every turn, and they also risk spoiling thousands of gold pieces worth of expensive materials should they fail to successfully harness the chaos energy.
Chaos mages are free of many of the restrictions which affect their traditional counterparts, which is only fair, as they face a series of difficult steps each time they wish to infuse an object with chaos energy. Once a step is started, it must be completed, but the mage can abandon the process between steps if desired, ruining the item.
Rules Summary
The rules for creating chaos magic item are summarised below, to allow you to familiarise yourself with the principles behind the design system before plunging in to start creating items.
Chaos magic items are extremely flexible. By following the steps below, a player can fine tune and customise the magic items his character creates, to allow for the creation of nearly any item he might imagine. The steps must be followed in order, and each step must be completed before the next can begin.
1) Select Infusion
All chaos magic items bestow a benefit to the character who wields them. The infusion(s) selected determines precisely what the benefit is.
2) Gather Materials
Potent energies are involved with the infusing of mundane objects with the raw power of chaos sorcery, so any vessel intended for use must be of the highest quality. In this step, you will gather all the materials necessary.
3) Create Tempering Solution
Every chaos mage has their own formula for the tempering solution required to prepare an object for infusion with chaos energy. In this step, you will create this expensive solution.
4) Temper Item
The solution is applied to the object, in order to prepare it to receive the force of wild sorcery.
5) Complete Infusion
In this, the final step of the process, the item is impregnated with chaos energy. If all the previous steps have been followed faithfully, the mage is now in possession of a potent chaos magic item.
Step 1 – Select Infusion
In order to create chaos magic items, the mage must infuse it with the raw force of primal chaos. Though there are many different varieties of chaos infusions, all infusions contained within the same magic item must be of the same type. Chaos magic is difficult enough to force into any static form, so attempts to create exotic infusion mixtures must inevitably fail. The following list of infusion types should allow you to create magic items of almost any type.
Augmentation
Augmentation infusions are the most common type, as they are the most immediately useful to adventurers. An augmentation infusion adds an enhancement bonus to any one of the following:
† Damage rolls
† Attack rolls
† Armour Class
† Ability Score
Each augmentation infusion can only affect a single one of the above. Multiple augmentation infusions can be contained within the same item, but each must have a different effect.
All augmented weapons are considered magical for the purposes of piercing damage reduction.
Insight
An insight infusion provides a bonus to a single skill. The skill which will receive the bonus must be specified at the time of creation and cannot be changed later.
Resistance
A resistance infusion directly applies to a character’s saving throws, enabling them to resist specific attacks more easily. This type of item grants an enhancement bonus to either Reflex, Fortitude or Will saves.
Maximum Bonuses
Augmentation and Resistance bonus items are able to provide a maximum bonus of +1 for every 4 caster levels their creators possess. Insight bonus items are able to provide a maximum bonus of +1 per 2 caster levels. There is no effective upper limit to luck and storage items.
Storage
A storage infusion hods a bit of raw, primal chaos for later use by the chaos mage. Having the energy to tap allows the mage to cast more powerful spells than he would normally be capable of, while decreasing the chances he will suffer a backlash.
Any chaos mage attuned to an item with this type of infusion can use the energy it contains to lower the final casting DC of any casting check made while casting a chaos magic spell. A chaos mage can draw up to three points of chaos energy per caster level from a storage infusion for use during the casting of a spell, with each point adding a +1 enhancement bonus to the casting check required to cast the spell. Once the stored magic is used, it is not automatically replenished.
Luck
A luck infusion attempts to bend the forces of chaos in favour of the character wielding, by clustering the object with positive outcomes, or possibilities, while forcing more negative possibilities onto other beings. For every point of luck placed into an object, the wielder can add +1 to any die roll once each day. Up to three points of luck can be used towards any one die roll, providing a maximum circumstance bonus of +3. Each time the character uses luck, however, the Games Master will give the character a -1 per point of luck used circumstance penalty to any one roll the character makes within the next day.
Alternately, the Games Master can express the character’s bad luck in another fashion – perhaps the character’s wineskin springs a leak, or he drops his most prized possession into the mud, or a careless villager empties a piss-pot on his head.
Step 2 – Gather Materials
Once the chaos mage has decided exactly what elements will be included in his magic item, he must gather all the materials. Collecting the precise mixture of materials can be a challenging, time consuming task, requiring an attention to detail and an eye for quality ingredients. This is as it should be; chaos energy resists confinement with the ferocity of a wild dog; who is stupid enough to try leashing a wild dog with substandard gear?
The first step in the process is selecting the base item. Only masterwork items are capable of being infused with chaos energy. Attempts to infuse lesser items results in an explosion of light and force, destroying the object and inflicting 3d8 points of damage to every character within 10 feet of the object. A Reflex save against DC 15 halves the damage suffered.
Items once or currently enchanted with static magic effects are no longer capable of holding chaos infusions, and the reverse is true as well. The power of both chaos and static magic irrevocably and fundamentally alters the structure of the infused or enchanted object, rendering it useless for opposing sorcery.
Step 3 – Create Tempering Solution
Once an item has been selected to receive an infusion, the chaos mage must then brew the tempering solution which will actually bind the chaos energy to the item. This potent fluid will be massaged into the chosen item, to better prepare it for the wild influx of possibility energy it will soon receive.
The Weight of History
As objects age, they solidify their place in reality, becoming ever more anchored into existence. Such items are not easily destroyed, not even by the intrusion of chaos sorcery. Truly ancient items, those over 500 years old, are so jealous of their form and so ingrained in reality that they are considered masterwork for the purposes of holding chaos energy, even if they appear to be rotting, scuffed and battered.Only those objects which have remained (mostly) whole throughout their long existence are suitable for use in this fashion, meaning the shattered remnants of an ancient sceptre are not suitable for use with chaos infusions. Alternately, the Games Master might rule that an ancient item which is repaired by a craftsman of legendary skill can be used to store chaos energy.
There is no one true recipe for creating tempering solution and the ingredients each chaos mage chooses say much about who he is, and what his relationship to primal chaos is. Ingredients are chosen by instinct and only the most self aware of chaos mages have even an inkling as to why they are driven to harvest the specific ingredients they use each time.
The one common element to all tempering solutions is their reliance on rare and expensive components. Common wisdom among experienced chaos mages is that the more value mortals place on an object, the greater the flow of energy released when the item is broken down into its component elements. Gemstones, fragrant oils, rare herbs and the body parts of rare and wondrous creatures are the most common reagents used in the creation of tempering solutions, but blood, powdered metals and almost anything else can find its way into the mix.
The cost for the tempering solution is based on the infusion the mage wishes to embed within the object, as outlined below:
† Augmentation infusions require 500 gold pieces per point of enhancement, up to a total of 2,500 gold pieces for a +5 enhancement bonus.
† Insight infusions require a tempering solution equal in value to 125 gold pieces per point of bonus, to a maximum of 1,250 gold pieces for a +10 insight bonus.
† Resistance infusions cost 250 gold pieces per point of bonus, to a maximum cost of 1,250 gold pieces for a + 5 resistance bonus.
† Luck bonuses require 100 gold pieces per point of luck to be embedded in the device, with no total limit to the amount which can be placed within.
† Each point of stored chaos energy placed within an object requires 50 gold pieces worth of tempering solution, with no upper limit.
Once the chaos mage has assembled all the necessary ingredients, he must spend 1 day per 500 gold piece value of reagents brewing the solution. This requires a steady heat source, such as a fireplace or lava pit, and a cauldron, but no other special equipment is needed.
The ingredients are brewed together in the cauldron for the duration and each day the chaos mage must spend at least 8 hours actively working on the infusion, though he is allowed to take short breaks. He cannot take a day off, however, as once started, the process must continue through to completion. Should the caster be disturbed during his work time, or dedicate less time than he should to creating the infusion, it is spoiled and all the ingredients are wasted.
Once the required amount of time has been spent working on the infusion, the chaos mage must succeed at a Craft (alchemy) skill check at DC 10 + 1 per 500 gold piece value of the ingredients used. If successful, the tempering solution works as planned. If not, the tempering solution is useless, and all the ingredients wasted.
Tempering solutions retain their effectiveness indefinitely – that said, each tempering solution is unique, and may only be used to on the item it was intended to protect. Should a solution be used on an item other than the intended one, it is wasted.
Step 4 – Temper Item
With both the object and the tempering solution prepared, the chaos mage is ready to begin the infusion. This is the most important part of the process, as failure in this step will cost the chaos mage both the object to be enchanted, and the tempering solution.
Tempering the item requires one day per 1,000 gold pieces value of the combined cost of the tempering solution and the base object. During this time, the chaos mage must dedicate a minimum of 8 hours each day massaging the solution into the object. He can take breads during this time, but must spend the required time, lest the tempering solution and object merge too completely, destroying each other. The chaos mage must also receive a full day’s rest each day of the tempering, to restore his internal energies to the level where he can successfully regulate the flow of chaos force which is released by the tempering.
After the required amount of time has elapsed, the chaos mage must succeed at a Craft (alchemy) skill check against a DC of 10 + 1 per 1,000 gold pieces, or part thereof, of the combined cost of the tempering solution and base item. Failure results in the destruction of the object and the loss of the tempering solution. The chaos mage has misjudged the ingredients and the solution corrodes the object rather than enhancing it. Within hours, after the last of the solution is absorbed, the object will first be rendered down into its component elements, then consumed in a flash of light.
If the chaos mage succeeds at his craft check, however, the tempering solution visibly changes the item to be enchanted. Motes of primal chaos swirl beneath its surface, and light begins to refract in strange patterns when it strikes the object. Metal becomes slightly translucent, and wood, cloth and leather shine with vigour. The item is now ready for the final step of the infusion process.
Step 5 – Complete Infusion
Preparation complete, the chaos mage can now begin the last stage of the infusion process, opening himself up to the flow of primal chaos and directing it through his body and into the tempered object. This gruelling process requires hours of torturous effort, during which time the chaos mage must maintain his concentration and pray that his body endures the strain, as it is a very real danger at this stage that he will lose control and suffer immense damage as chaos splits his body like overripe fruit.
This stage of the process requires 1 hour per 1,000 gold pieces value of the item and tempering solution combined. The process requires a quite place, calm and free of distractions, and the chaos mage must remain undisturbed during the entire time – if he is interrupted for any reason, the infusion process is interrupted and the item is destroyed. The resulting burst of chaos energy inflict 1d8 points of damage per hour remaining in the process, with a Fortitude save reducing the damage by half.
At the end of the required time, the chaos mage must make a successful Will save against a DC equal to 10 + 1 per hour after the first, to successfully divest himself of the chaos energy which suffuses him. Should he fail, he suffers 1d8 points of lethal damage per hour of the ceremony (no save allowed), though the item is not destroyed.
Once this final step is completed, the item has been properly infused, and is now ready to be attuned to the wielder.
Properties of Chaos Magic Items
Chaos magic items radiate a magical aura exactly as more traditional magic items do, but will only provide their benefits to a wielder who has been attuned to them, and only if he keeps them on his person.In other circumstances, chaos magic items are treated exactly as their static magic counterparts. They cease work in antimagic fields, and can be dispelled by dispel magic or other, similar spells. A chaos magic item which is dispelled has its powers temporarily suppressed as normal, and will return to full ability when the dispel magic effect ends.
Drained Items
When an item is drained of its last bit of stored chaos energy – as luck and stored energy items inevitably will be – it immediately loses two points of permanent hardness. The item, however, remains tempered, and can be reinfused with the same effect again.Sundered Items
Chaos infused items can be sundered as other magic items can, to both the mage’s and the aggressor’s sorrow. Upon sundering, the item explodes, inflicting 3d8 points of damage to both the chaos mage and the one who sundered the item (if it was sundered with a melee attack). A Fortitude save against DC 15 reduces the damage to half.
Attunement
Once an object is made, it must be attuned. In most cases, only the chaos mage who created the item may attune himself to it, though other characters may attempt to attune themselves, at a much higher cost.
To attune, the chaos mage must spend a full day with the item in an isolated location, during which time he must weaves flows of power between the item and himself, metaphorically stitching and binding his essence to the item’s. The process cannot fail, but when it is completed, the mage is left slightly weakened, since a portion of his personal energy is now tied up in the item.
For each infusion the character has attuned to himself, he suffers a -1 penalty to either his Strength, Dexterity or Constitution. It is not possible to suffer a reduction to an ability score which is directly affected by the item (so a ring which increases the mage’s Strength cannot simultaneously reduce it), or one which is directly tied into an affected skill (meaning an amulet which provides a bonus to Tumble checks cannot reduce Dexterity). This reduction in ability scores is not permanent, but can only be healed once the item is destroyed, or if the chaos mage removes his attunement to the item.
Chaotic Decay
Items enchanted with chaos power are under constant attack by the energies they contain. Chaos resists imprisonment, as static form is antithetical to endless possibility and so any object which contains it begins to deteriorate as soon as it is infused.
An item’s hardness score determines how long it can contain the chaos which boils inside it. More important than the hardness of the item, however, is the strength of the user’s will. Those with great willpower can prolong the life of their magic items almost indefinitely, holding the flux of chaos in check with raw desire.
When an object is attuned, the wielder must succeed at a Will save each week (at the DC shown on the table below), or the object permanently loses 1 point of hardness. There is no way to repair this loss, as the ravenous appetite of chaos literally eats away the item, freeing its essence to once again rage beyond the veil of reality.
Objects which are not attuned suffer an accelerated rate of decay, losing a point of hardness every 3 days, with no possibility of halting the process short of attunement.
Regardless of whether the item has an attuned wielder or not, the corrosive affects of chaos quickly become obvious to those who care to look. The item becomes weak and brittle looking, filled with hairline fractures and even flickering from view on occasion.
Explosive Decay
When the last point of an item’s hardness is destroyed, the object erupts in a brilliant explosion of escaping energy, raw chaos venting its fury at everything in its path.
When an item succumbs, the character attuned to the item must immediately make a Fortitude save against a DC of 15, as the chaotic bonds between the item and himself suddenly explode with liberated energy. If he succeeds, he suffers only half damage, but otherwise suffers the full brunt of the blast. 1d12 damage is inflicted for every +1 enhancement, insight, resistance or luck bonus the item was enchanted with, or for every 5 points of stored energy it contained. In addition, the item explodes, filling a 10 feet radius with shards of debris and burning energy. All within range of the explosion suffer 3d6 points of damage, with a Reflex save (DC 15) allowed to take half damage.
Multiple Infusions
It is possible to infuse an item with more than one bonus, but subsequent infusions accelerate the chaotic decay.
If an item is already infused, it still must be tempered as before to add another infusion. The cost and difficulty are calculated exactly as before, until the chaos mage reaches the final stage of the process. At that point, the will save DC is increased by 5 for every infusion after the first. Failure to successfully infuse the item results in its destruction as normal, with the caster suffering additional damage from the original infusion(s) as though the item were destroyed by explosive decay.
If an item is successfully infused with another effect, the caster need not re-attune himself to the object, though he must still dedicate another point of ability score, as detailed in the attunement section.
When an object which contains multiple infusions suffers explosive decay, the total dice of damage inflicted is multiplied by the total number of separate infusions. The risks of heavily infusing an object may not be readily apparent, but make quite an impression when the item detonates your favourite tower.
Sample Chaos Magic Items
What follows is an eclectic mix of infused magic items, to give you an idea of the sorts of effects you can achieve with the chaos magic item system.
You will note that chaos magic items are not really intended to replicate traditional magic items, nor would they be particularly effective at doing so. Chaos items are intended to bolster the wielder’s prowess, or provide him with much needed stores of energy. They are not intended to allow him to fly, or turn invisible, or create unbreakable bands of iron, or summon elementals from a smoking bowl. That said, you will notice that chaos items can still be used in a variety of ways, to create flavourful items which fit well in the fantasy milieu.
Rabbit’s Foot
The rabbit’s foot is a simple folk enchantment, which provides the attuned character with several powerful bonuses. While the item is not hardy, meaning it can easily fall prey to explosive decay, it is still eminently useful.
The rabbit’s foot provides a +2 resistance bonus to Reflex saves, a + 5 insight bonus to Spot skill checks and 10 points of floating luck, the better to allow him to recognise dangerous situations and react appropriately to them.
Cost: 51 (masterwork rabbit’s foot) + 500 gp (resistance) + 625 (insight) + 1,000 gp (luck). Hardness 2.
Razor of the Gods
The razor of the gods is a dagger with the ability to strike near unerringly and cut anything which finds itself in its path. The Razor contains two infusions, an augmentation infusion, and a luck infusion. The augmentation infusion grants the dagger a +5 to attack rolls, while the luck infusion provides 10 points of floating luck which can be used to further augment the wielder’s strikes when he needs them most.
Typically, a weapon such as the razor will be attuned to the wielder’s Constitution, as a reduction in either Strength or Dexterity could seriously limit the weapon’s effectiveness.
Cost: 2,500 gp (augmentation) + 1,000 gp (luck) + 302 (masterwork dagger) + 2 points temporary ability score loss.
Ring of Thuggery
The ring of thuggery is an innocuous crude iron bauble which grants a powerful bonus to those mages who prefer to attack with their bare hands. The ring grants a +2 augmentation bonus to damage, but only in regards to unarmed attacks and a +4 insight bonus to Intimidate checks.
Cost: 200 gp (ring) + 1,000 gp (augmentation) + 600 gp (insight).
Skullcap of Unmatched Mastery
This skullcap offers the chaos mage both a crucial bonus to his Wisdom score, and a deep well of stored chaos energy to draw from. The mage who wears it (in this case) gains a +2 bonus to his Wisdom, and has 20 points of stored chaos energy to draw from. This means he will successfully cast even the most difficult enchantments with ease, at least a few times.
Typically, the skullcap of unmatched mastery is attuned using a point of the caster’s Strength, as a chaos mage who can so easily cast his spells has little need of physical power.
Cost: 51 gp (masterwork skullcap) + 1,000 gp (augmentation) + 1,000 gp (stored energy). Hardness 2.
Spectacles of Insight
Spectacles of insight are glasses especially enchanted to better allow the chaos mage to understand the ways and whims of human behaviour. When the caster dons the glasses, he takes note of subtle visual cues which reveal to him the true thoughts of those he looks upon. The glasses grant a maximum +10 bonus to all Sense Motive skill checks.
Cost: 1,250 gp (insight) + 51 (masterwork spectacles). Hardness 2.
Staff of Exquisite Magery
The staff of exquisite magery is a relic of olden days, and all that remains of a powerful elven chaos mage lost to the mad ether millennia ago. Unlike most chaos items, this one is permanent, its creator having permanently sacrificed a portion of his essence to forever trap the chaos energy it holds.
The staff provides a +5 enhancement bonus to Wisdom, a +5 enhancement bonus to Armour Class, a +10 insight bonus to Concentration checks and contains 50 points of stored chaos energy. It is among the most powerful chaos items ever created, with a personal cost to the wielder equivalent to the power it grants. Due to the nature of permanent enchantments, the attuned owner must sacrifice 4 points of his ability scores to forever fuse his essence to the staff’s. Most who find the staff consider that a small price to pay.
Cost: 300 gp (masterwork quarterstaff) + 2,500 gp (Wisdom augmentation) + 2,500 gp (AC augmentation) + 1,250 (insight) + 2,500 (stored energy) + 4 points permanent ability score loss.
Characters other than the chaos mage who created the item may attempt to attune themselves to an object, so long as they are willing to pay the penalty. To attune, they must spend a day with the object in quiet isolation, then succeed at a Will save against a DC equal to 10 + 1 per 1,000 gold pieces value of the item (base cost + tempering solution). Other chaos mages may reduce the DC of this Will save by their Wisdom modifier. Should they succeed they are attune themselves successfully, but must temporarily sacrifice 1 point from any two of the following ability scores: Strength, Dexterity and Constitution. Those who fail suffer 1 point of temporary damage to all three ability scores and also suffer 3d8 points of damage (no save allowed), as chaos energy surges through their body. Neither the ability score or hit point damage can be healed by the use of magic, so only long periods of rest will return the victim to his fully healed state.
New Equipment
While chaos mages can, in most cases, use their mastery of chaos sorcery to create tools, that is not always the wisest course. Sometimes, it is better for a character to simply carry the tools he needs, so he need not rely on the vagaries of chaos energy.
The following items of equipment, while in most cases usable by anyone, may prove to be of special interest to chaos mages of all sorts.
New Weapons and Armour
Chaos mages have little use for traditional weapons and armour, lacking both the training and the inclination to wield or wear them. That said, there are some decidedly non-traditional items which they favour.
Weirdstone
Weirdstone weapons are those which have either been embedded with flecks of metal taken from destroyed chaos magic items. Weirdstone weapons are relatively rare, as might be expected, but are not innately magical.
Chaos energy is drawn to weirdstone like a moth to a flame, meaning weirdstone weapons are very effective as targets of chaos effects. A character successfully struck and damaged in combat by a weirdstone dagger suffers a -1 penalty to all saves to resist chaos magic effects for three rounds.
A single lump of weirdstone is sufficient to create a single dagger, or ten arrowheads. Two lumps of weirdstone can create a Medium-sized weapon, and three lumps of weirdstone are required to sufficiently impregnate a Large weapon.
Weirdstone: 150 gp per lump.
Thickened Cloth
Robes and cloaks made from thickened cloth are useful for reducing the trauma inflicted by injuries in combat. The cloth, which is thick and heavy as canvas, is difficult to weave, and rather ugly, but can be a literal life saver.
Thickened cloth reduces the shock trauma inflicted by bludgeoning weapons by 4 points and slashing weapons by 2 points, but only for the purposes of determining whether the mage must make a Concentration check. The character suffers the damage as normal, but need only make a Concentration check if the attack inflicts more damage than the thick cloth can absorb.
For example: While casting a spell, a chaos mage is struck in combat by a goblin wielding a war hammer. The attacks inflicts only 3 points of damage. The mage suffers the 3 points of damage as normal, but the thick cloth absorbs the shock of the blow completely, meaning the mage need not roll a Concentration check to maintain the spell. If the attack had inflicted 5 or more points of damage, however, the chaos mage would need to attempt a check as normal.
Thickened cloth: +50 gp to the base cost, and +10 lbs. to the based cost of the cloak or robe.
New Equipment
Chaos mages do not rely on equipment, but it does make their lives easier. In addition to the normal roster of wineskins, map cases, backpacks, rope and torches that all adventurers carry, and the alchemical gear and specialised research materials most sorcerers and wizards own, chaos mages frequently pack the following items wherever they go.
Grog of Giddy Wonder
This strange alchemical compound is a strong hallucinogen in the form of a potent alcohol. Typically bright green in colour, it is made from a precise mixture of ingredients which are normally quite toxic. Chief among these ingredients is wyrmwood sap, a viscous fluid taken from the tree of the same name – the tree grows only near fairy mounds and can be difficult to harvest.
When consumed, Grog of Giddy Wonder grants the imbiber a +4 bonus to all chaos sorcery casting checks, as he can literally see the flow of chaos in the ether. The positive effects last for 1 hour to all Will saves versus mind-affecting spells or spell like effects and against illusions of all sorts. Since the drinker is already drifting in a haze of imaginary sights and sounds, he is predisposed to believe everything he sees and hears. The negative effects of the grog last for the duration of the good effects (1 hour) plus a further hour.
When the imbiber comes down from his high, he is temporarily sickened by the toxicity of the drink. He suffers 2 points of temporary Constitution damage, which is healed as normal.
Grog of Giddy Wonder: 100 gp per dose.
Salve of Corruption’s Ease
The roots of a chaos mage’s powers are dark and terrible and none who touch it can stay pure, or at least unchanged, for long. Salve of Corruption’s Ease is a powerful tonic which helps prevent a chaos mage from falling further along the Paths of Chaos (see the Paths of Chaos chapter for details).
A single application of the salve reduces the chance of taking a further step along a Path of Chaos as a result of a backlash by 1, to a minimum of 1.
For example: a chaos mage who has taken 4 steps along a Path of Chaos rolls a backlash. Normally, on a roll of 4 or less on a d20, he would then move to the fifth step of his path. If he is protected by Salve of Corruption’s Ease, however, he only takes a fifth step on a roll of 3 or less.
A single application of salve is sufficient to protect a chaos mage for 1 full day, or until after he must roll for his first chaos backlash (whichever comes first).
Salve of Corruption’s Ease: 500 gp per dose.
New Wondrous Items
Chaos mages prefer their own magic and magic items, to those created by traditional static magic. Still, they are not adverse to using those wondrous objects which can enhance their prowess as adventurers, or simply enhance their way of life.
The following objects do one, or the other, or both.
Cloak of the Forever Traveller
The cloak of the forever traveller is a sturdy, well made, but plain looking traveller’s cloak, the kind of clothing seen on peasants and pilgrims along every road. The cloak appears to be made of course, grey wool, but is in reality made of a magical fabric woven from the raw essence of matter itself – in that respect, it is akin to chaos magic.
The powers of the cloak are such that it instantly adapts itself to any environment the traveller finds himself in, becoming a heavy fur cloak in the winter wastes and a silky thin robe in the summer fields.
The cloak of the forever traveller is considered to be appropriate garb for any environment, negating the dangers of exposure and other environmental damage.
The cloak does not protect against the dangers of drowning, but is otherwise no burden to those who swim while wearing it.
Cloak of the Forever Traveller: Caster level 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, find the path, protection from energy; price: 10,000 gp.
Stone of Remembrance
Stones of remembrance are powerful crystals, in a rainbow of colours, which are able to preserve the essence of the one who bears them, preventing them from the ravages of dark magic and the more unpleasant side effects of resurrection and similar magics. It also has the unintended side effect of protecting chaos mages from the ravages of their failed spell casting.
When first grasped, the stone takes a quick ‘snapshot’ of the character, stealing a tiny bit of his essence and preserving it. Should the character be slain and later resurrected, the power of the stone activates, returning the stolen essence to its owner. This has the effect of negating level or Constitution loss from raise dead and other, similar spells.
Chaos mages have discovered that the stone’s peculiar magic also protects them from the ravages of chaos backlash. When a chaos mage fails a backlash check that would normally cause him to progress along the Path of Chaos, the stone activates, counteracting the transformative power of chaos with the portion of soul energy it protects.
In any case, once the stone has been used once it loses its power, and cannot protect the character further.
Stone of Remembrance: Caster level 12th; Craft Wondrous Item, magic jar, remove curse; price: 85,000 gp.
Options, and More Options
Maximum Number of Attunements – Normally, the only limit to the number of attuned items the character possesses is his physical ability scores, or more precisely, the amount he is willing to sacrifice from his ability scores to maintain his items. Instead, the Games Master might wish to impose a maximum number of attuned items equal to the wielder’s Wisdom bonus. This will limit the total number of items the character may possess, and make multi-infused items more common.
Permanent Items – Using this option allows the chaos mage to create permanent magical items, at great personal cost to himself. By permanently, rather than temporarily sacrificing an ability score point to the item, the chaos mage makes it permanent. While the item can still be destroyed, it will never fall prey to explosive decay.
A permanent item cannot later be infused with another effect, unless the character permanently sacrifices an ability score point as before. Those permanent items which contain bonuses which are by their nature temporary, such as luck bonuses, do not lose 2 points of hardness when their supply is exhausted. They can be refilled as normal, and the character does not have to sacrifice an addition ability score point to re-attune himself to the item.
