a wizard's life is hard
You're travelling with a group you met in town to a nearby cave where you heard from a bard there are cirrilium crystals, which you need for a spell you've been investigating as of late. Your party comes across two ogres which are not very friendly nor happy that you've trespassed in their homestead. Your comrades spring to action, firing arrows, flailing swords, getting bashed and beaten, the priest is chanting prayers to keep the wounded from perishing. But you do nothing. You're sitting back on a rock, watching the fight. You remove your pipe and take a few puffs. Suddenly you call out in Ogre tongue "Behind you!" An Ogre turns to see you sitting on a rock, smoking your pipe. He gives a puzzled look, then continues with his business, turning back just in time to see a knight shove a sword into his belly. After the fight is over your comrades rummage through the Ogres' belts to find trinkets, rusty keys, and herbs. The archer holds one up and you call out to him from your rock, "Pill, let me see that root." He tosses it to you and goes about his rummaging. You look it over and, with a satisfying puff of your pipe, stow it away in your satchel.
The party continues through the cave, encoutering giant bats, imps, and skeletons. Each time you sit back, only having to raise your staff to parry some creature gone awry in your direction. When you come to a witch you match wits with her, beguiling her in a tongue foreign to your allies, until she lets you and your friends pass. At last you find your way to the Ogre's treasure cove. Your comrades immediately begin filling their satchels with gold, steel shields, jewel encrusted goblets, and other shiny things. You take a chisel to a wall on the cave's interior and chip off a few handfuls of crystals, which you stow away. In addition to things you take one, dusty, clay chalice that pales in the shimmer of the gems that surround it. You and your party make to leave, and as soon as you've made your way outside the cave, smoke begins eminating from your allies' pouches. They investigate to find their treasures evaporating. Disillusioned, they march fiercely back to their village. You leave on horseback and return to your hut, where you unload your treasures, still intact. You put the root in a chest marked "Ingredients" and the crystals in a chest marked "Minerals." You take the chalice to your desk and study the engravings around its edge. You determine it is elvish and begin rummaging through your books. By doing so you come to identify the chalice as one that belonged to an elvish hero some two thousand years back. It has properties to turn ordinary water into water that can be used for divining magics. You smirk, a day well spent. You put the chalice on a shelf and lock it.
Amazing you were able to accomplish so much isn't it? No, not really. You'd talked to the bard to learn he was a nephew of the witch. That's how you knew what tongue to study before venturing to the cave. You'd spent a few nights before departing exploring the cave with a divining spell, then, using ingredients and minerals you'd already prepared, casted an illusion spell to create treasure. You then travelled to a nearby village, disguised as a mystic, acted drunk at a bar and told of treasures in a cave nearby gaurded by Ogres. When you returned as yourself you were easily able to convince a band of heroes to go with you, they having already heard tell of riches in a cave to the east.
Did any of this take brute force? Was any of it adhoc? No. This is how wizards should be, premeditated and interested primarily in studying the world and perfecting their craft. Wizards here are not strong, they are not very useful during battles. They cannot go into dungeons and cast fire bolts on imps and ensnare their foes. They can, however, enchant things, and they are very knowledgable. This is where the strength of the wizard should lie, in his or her knowledge. Wizarding, therefore, is not for everyone, but only for those who are willing to devote much time and energy to exploration and gathering. They can effect the world in great ways, but only subtly. They may call up a storm to obscure an enemy armies' vision, thus impeding their advancement, or they may divine where some lost treasure is, or imbue a paladin's armor to guide him safely from fire so as to tackle some impending obstacle. They effect the world in subtle, but incredibly significant ways, but it takes great practice and a great deal of influence which takes time. A wizard's life is hard, and only few will rise to the challenge of becoming a successful one.
The party continues through the cave, encoutering giant bats, imps, and skeletons. Each time you sit back, only having to raise your staff to parry some creature gone awry in your direction. When you come to a witch you match wits with her, beguiling her in a tongue foreign to your allies, until she lets you and your friends pass. At last you find your way to the Ogre's treasure cove. Your comrades immediately begin filling their satchels with gold, steel shields, jewel encrusted goblets, and other shiny things. You take a chisel to a wall on the cave's interior and chip off a few handfuls of crystals, which you stow away. In addition to things you take one, dusty, clay chalice that pales in the shimmer of the gems that surround it. You and your party make to leave, and as soon as you've made your way outside the cave, smoke begins eminating from your allies' pouches. They investigate to find their treasures evaporating. Disillusioned, they march fiercely back to their village. You leave on horseback and return to your hut, where you unload your treasures, still intact. You put the root in a chest marked "Ingredients" and the crystals in a chest marked "Minerals." You take the chalice to your desk and study the engravings around its edge. You determine it is elvish and begin rummaging through your books. By doing so you come to identify the chalice as one that belonged to an elvish hero some two thousand years back. It has properties to turn ordinary water into water that can be used for divining magics. You smirk, a day well spent. You put the chalice on a shelf and lock it.
Amazing you were able to accomplish so much isn't it? No, not really. You'd talked to the bard to learn he was a nephew of the witch. That's how you knew what tongue to study before venturing to the cave. You'd spent a few nights before departing exploring the cave with a divining spell, then, using ingredients and minerals you'd already prepared, casted an illusion spell to create treasure. You then travelled to a nearby village, disguised as a mystic, acted drunk at a bar and told of treasures in a cave nearby gaurded by Ogres. When you returned as yourself you were easily able to convince a band of heroes to go with you, they having already heard tell of riches in a cave to the east.
Did any of this take brute force? Was any of it adhoc? No. This is how wizards should be, premeditated and interested primarily in studying the world and perfecting their craft. Wizards here are not strong, they are not very useful during battles. They cannot go into dungeons and cast fire bolts on imps and ensnare their foes. They can, however, enchant things, and they are very knowledgable. This is where the strength of the wizard should lie, in his or her knowledge. Wizarding, therefore, is not for everyone, but only for those who are willing to devote much time and energy to exploration and gathering. They can effect the world in great ways, but only subtly. They may call up a storm to obscure an enemy armies' vision, thus impeding their advancement, or they may divine where some lost treasure is, or imbue a paladin's armor to guide him safely from fire so as to tackle some impending obstacle. They effect the world in subtle, but incredibly significant ways, but it takes great practice and a great deal of influence which takes time. A wizard's life is hard, and only few will rise to the challenge of becoming a successful one.
posted by Ransome | 2:58 PM
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