This week I'd like to share the Mentalist class and subclasses in Gathox, including a light and quick wild magic table. The Mentalist follows the Magic-User tables from Swords & Wizardry: Whitebox, and features a couple of points of departure.
Mentalists
Mentalists spend
their lives in study and ritualistic practice, learning to harness
psychic gravity wells and astral confluences for the purposes of
invoking magic. In Gathox, they find themselves in the service of
elite families, advising gang leaders, or carving out pieces of the
city for their own weird devices. Some ply their trade ministering to
the masses, forming cults to extant godlings or dreaming up their
own. Yet others plumb the depths of reality to expand their
consciousness or see beyond the veil of the cosmos.
Mentalists
use the advancement tables and abilities listed for the Magic-User
in Whitebox. A
Mentalist
can choose to be a Spiritualist,
a Faith Healer,
or a Cosmic Doctor
at the beginning of play. Each possesses a unique ability to aid in
distinguishing themselves from their cohort.
Unlike Whitebox,
a Mentalist may use any weapon; however, any weapon that is not a
dagger or a staff does 1d4 points of damage instead. This allows the
Mentalist to deploy in combat with ranged weapons or polearms at
second rank, but diminishes their effectiveness.
The
Spiritualist
Mankind’s
adventures into the world of the self have culminated in the studies
of the Spiritualist. Tapping into magical reserves within themselves,
Spiritualists have learned to see beyond seeing, and often sell these
skills for exorbitant prices. Although occasionally derided as ‘table
knockers,’ Spiritualists genuinely possess powers which yield
results.
The Spiritualist may
use Psychometry, which allows her to glean a piece of
information from touching an object with bare hands. This requires
one turn of focused, uninterrupted attention, and the information
sought must be posed in the form of a question to the GM. At levels
one through four, this power can be used once per day; at levels five
through nine, twice per day; at levels 10 and above, 3 times per day.
The Faith Healer
This Mentalist has
been touched by the mystic forces of Gathox - not the city built by
hands, but the God That Walks Forever. The Faith Healer preaches from
soap boxes, climbs the esoteric ranks of cults, and treats the sick
for sums of gold. Although despised by many as bilkers or spiritual
tyrants, Faith Healers possess magic as strong as any other
Mentalist.
The Faith Healer may
use Lay On Hands to heal the injured. He must touch his bare
hands to a prone subject, and at the end of a round heal them of 1d4
hit points of damage, plus one point per level. At levels one through
four, the Faith Healer may do this once per day; at levels five
through nine, twice per day; at levels 10 and above, three times per
day.
The Cosmic Doctor
Cosmic Doctors
consider themselves the true purveyors of the arcane, the final
arbiters of the divide between the worldly and supernal, the ordained
masters of reality. Their studies have taken them so deeply down the
rabbit holes of paradox that they become eccentric and bizarre, often
with appearances to match. Cosmic Doctors find work in Gathox as
advisors to elite families and traders in rarities of all sorts.
Cosmic Doctors may
listen to the Echoes of the Future, gaining crucial clues as
to an intended path of action. Requires 1d4 rounds of unbroken
silence, and the GM arbitrates the results as she sees fit. Usable
once per day at levels one through four, twice per day at levels five
through nine, and three times per day at levels 10 and above.
Wild Magic
Given that
Mentalists are constantly invoking magic in the midst of city-wide
psychic fluctuations while riding on the back of a world-hopping
godling, strange side effects can occur while casting a spell. When a
spell is successfully cast, there is a 1-in-8 chance of wild magic
effects; on a roll of 8, consult the chart below.
Roll (1d10)
|
Wild Magic Effect
|
1
|
The air ionizes, creating a burnt oxygen smell in a 20’x20’
area.
|
2
|
The caster’s skin changes hue 10% warmer, toward red.
|
3
|
The caster’s skin changes hue 10% cooler, toward blue.
|
4
|
Light rapidly shifts from bright to dark, like a strobe, 10’
radius, for 1 round.
|
5
|
A thin sheet of ice materializes on everything in a 20’
radius.
|
6
|
The sounds of laughter in reverse fill a 20’ radius for 3
rounds.
|
7
|
The spell leaves a permanent holograph hovering in reality at
the point of casting.
|
8
|
The caster’s face transmogrifies into an entirely different
face for a day.
|
9
|
The skin melts off the caster’s hands, leaving exposed muscle
and bone. No damage.
|
10
|
The caster’s eyes become two glowing orbs of purple light.
|
