baleful sorcerer of tsathagkha

8/16/2019 Baleful Sorcerer of Tsathagkha

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An old school, magic-using character class by Venger As’Nas Satanis

Kort’thalis Publishing

TheThe aleful SorcererBaleful Sorcererofof Tsathag’kha Tsathag’kha


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Te Bale ul Sorcerer o sa hag’kha is an old school charac er class crea ed or use wi h every varia ion on he originalan asy, paper & pencil, able op roleplaying game. Te righ s o reproduce his work are reserved or he copyrighholder.

Cop yrigh © 2013 by Venger As’Nas Sa anisKort’thalis Publishing

All righ s reserved. No par o his publica ion may be reproduced, dis ribu ed, or ransmited in any orm or by anymeans, including pho ocopying, recording, or o her elec ronic or mechanical me hods, wi hou he prior writen per-mission o he publisher, excep in he case o brie quo a ions embodied in cri ical reviews and cer ain o her noncom-mercial uses permited by copyrigh law. For permission reques s, wri e o he publisher a Venger.Sa [email protected]

htp://vengersa anis.blogspo .com/ _____

Cover ar : Paul AllenIn erior ar : Zarano

Layou : Edward Wedig, www.edwedig.com

_____

Special Tanks: goes ou o Clark Ash on Smi h, Rober E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraf, Lin Car er, he somnolenoad god sa hag’kha, Brendan S rejcek, Mat Finch, Michael Prescot, An hony Emmel, odd Rokely, Shane Ward,Chris ian S urke, ris ram Evans, and Torswul or inspira ion and help ul sugges ions.

KORT’TH LIS PUBLISHINGKORT’THALIS PUBLISHING



IntroductionIntroduction

Abnon-Ta, however, was no common hedge-wizard, but an adept o long standing in the most aw ul and pro ound arcana o the black arts.knew the spells that kill more quickly and surely than kni e or poison, at a distance; and he knew also the darker spells by which the dead reanimated, even afer years or ages o decay.

Te Charnel God by Clark Ashton Smi

I’m somewha amiliar wi h 20 h cen ury sword and sorcery pulp, bu here are many holes in my learning. Alamany s ories I’ve never read and many I’ve consumed only once and many years ago. I have bu scra ched hsur ace.

Las nigh , I began a weird ale ha gripped me like ew o hers have ever dared, keeping me in i s rapacious grasp uend. Tis shor s ory was, “Te Charnel God” by Clark Ash on Smi h; one o he bes dark an asy s ories I’ve read.

Ta weird ale compelled me o re- hink he radi ional RPG magic-user charac er class. I pos ed my ini ial idea oschool gaming blog. A lo o experienced and hough ul gamers urnished me wi h wondrous addi ions and alTis is he produc o ha collec ive brains orming.

Tere are dis an realms where only he bale ul sorcerer prac ices his obscene ar , and radi ional wizards are nabsen . Tis al erna ive charac er class can be used ins ead o , or in addi ion o, wha is presen ed in RPG abc or xyzshould eel ree o base similar magic-using classes upon wha is presen ed here.

I’m offering his PDF reely o hose who wan i . I he bale ul sorcerer enriches your game, hen I am glad o bePlease pos eedback as I never ire o hearing he ou landish adven ures roo ed in ac ual play. Tose who apprehumble gif migh also be in eres ed in Libera ion o he Demon Slayer… a Lovecrafian, science- an asy dunge

module ha includes bi s o campaign seting and rule op ions. Lo DS is available a DriveTruRPG, RPGNow, and com. A he momen , I’m colla ing de ails or my second campaign-leng h module:Te Islands of Purple-Haunted PutrescenCheck my old school gaming blog or de ails: htp://vengersa anis.blogspo .com/

By His loa hsome en acles,

Venger As’Nas Sa anisGrognard de Noir



The Baleful Sorcerer The Baleful Sorcererof Tsathag’khaof Tsathag’kha

Rela ive o an ordinary man, he bale ul sorcerer osa hag’kha is ex remely power ul… bu his power comesa a errible price! augh his wicked ways by hose who worship he hideous oad god sa hag’kha, his sorcerer isamiliar wi h he living dead, poison, cer ain edged weapons,and a concise selec ion o conjura ions.

His spells o al nine. Tey are lis ed rom easies o hardesin diffi cul y and po ency. A rs level, he sorcerer knowsspell #1. A second level, he unders ands #2, and so on…each advancemen bringing a new ragmen o arcane lore.For example, a 1s level a bale ul sorcerer would only be ableo cas Discern Magic. Upon reaching 3rd level, he wouldhave access o Discern Magic ,Sacrosanct , and Deception.

Due o he par icular na ure o cer ain campaigns, he GMmigh wan o swap he advancemen o one spell or ano her.For ins ance, he par y’s survival could depend upon offensivemagic. I a bale ul sorcerer is he sole magic-user, and o 4 hlevel, he GM can choose o gran Ichorous In erno o hecharac er upon reaching 5 h level, leaving In ernal raffi ckingor Communion wi h sa hag’kha o 7 h.

Te bale ul sorcerer may atemp a higher level spell han he

is curren ly capable o cas ing, bu here is grea risk involved.Upon each and every pursui , he sorcerer himsel mus roll asaving hrow. Failure means he cas er akes he cons i u iondrain himsel , no mater who was selec ed or ha a e, and isalso whisked away by he ba rachian servan s o sa hag’kha, whereupon he sorcerer is imper iled or a ime (1d4 hours) ashis in ernal atendan s acquire all ha he sorcerer knows.I he reveals no hing wor hwhile, a blood-wri pac mus besigned, obliga ing him o per orm ghas ly du ies in he nooo dis an u ure.

Hi Die: D6

Pro ciencies: No armor may be worn. Sorcerers may usedaggers, shor swords, sickles, and scimi ars wi hou penal y. A bale ul sorcerer may use poison as a hie o same level.

Progression: Atack, saving hrows, and all o her progressionsimprove as he s andard magic-user or wizard class.

Special Abili ies: Te bale ul sorcerer has he power orebuke, des roy, or command undead as a cleric o samelevel.

Drawbacks and O her Considera ions: Te sorcerer

can never acquire a amiliar, mul i-class, or be o lawgood alignmen . Upon dea h, he bale ul sorcerer’s soupromised o sa hag’kha. Fur hermore, here’s a 7% chanper level ha he iner husk o a sorcerer-corpse assumessemblance o li e shor ly afer in ermen (1d4 days), risingi s own accord as a Lich.

Because a sorcerer is gran ed his dominion by he hidegrace o he oad god himsel , spell books are unnecessHe doesn’ orge his spells, and is able o cas and kcas ing un il physically spen . Tis mi iga es he drawbao spell limi a ion.

Poin s o cons i u ion drain can ei her occur per spell le(1 poin or a level one spell, 2 poin s or a level wo spe c.) or as no ed in each spell’s descrip ion, depending he GM’s wishes. Te cons i u ion drain affec s a charac es amina, modi ying his hi poin s. However, his drain dno necessarily affec he sorcerer himsel . Ei her wilor unwilling vic ims may share he a igue ins ead o , oaddi ion o, he bale ul sorcerer, as long as, he vic im is eiphysically ouched a he ime o cas ing or he vic im’s bl was drawn in prepara ion, bu no more han an hour old.

Cons i u ion recharges a a ra e o 2 poin s per hour unin errup ed res and medi a ion; afer six hours o sucquie ude, an individual’s vi ali y is ully res ored. Howehose who all o a cons i u ion score o 3 or less mus ra success ul saving hrow o avoid being ins an ly killedsys emic shock rom he sorcery.


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6. Blackish Purple en acles o Abnon-Ta - horrid endrilsrise ou o he ground and ail around, squeezing he li e oo he sorcerer’s oes. Each en acle does 2d8 o cons ricdamage per round o hose grasped (save each round

avoid). Up o hir een man-sized individuals wi hin a radius are affec ed. Cons i u ion drain: 2d4 poin s.

7. Ichorous In erno - s reams o liquid green re spraying oin various direc ions, incinera ing hose in he sorcerer’s wSave o avoid being roas ed alive or 5d6 damage in a cup o 50’ rom he sorcerer; 7d6 a en h level. Cons i u idrain: 1d4 and 1d6 poin s.

8. Necromancy - causing he dead o rise and do ahe sorcerer ins ruc s or one nigh per level o sorcerCons i u ion drain: 2d8 poin s.

9. Ex inguish Li e - he ac o murder via sorcery. Sa versus dea h! A success ul saving hrow means vic im akes 2d6 damage (unless a na ural 20 is rolled whereupno damage is aken). In ended vic im mus be wi hin 100he sorcerer when he spell is cas . Cons i u ion drain: 3poin s.

SPELL LIST SPELL LIST

1. Discern Magic - essen ially de ec magic, read magic,iden i y, and use magical device all rolled up in o a singlespell. Cons i u ion drain: 1 poin .

2. Sacrosanc - he culmina ion o mage armor, shield, andpro ec ion rom arrows, spells, good, evil, e c. Sacrosancgives he sorcerer a bonus o his armor class equal o his level;a 7 h level i also provides 3 poin s o damage resis ance.Cons i u ion drain: 1d3 poin s.

3. Decep ion - or crea ing illusions and disguising hesorcerer or an in ended subjec . Te observer mus haveamiliar knowledge o a person, objec , place, cul ure, and soor h in order o have a chance (as per saving hrow) o seeinghrough he decep ion. Cons i u ion drain: 1d4 poin s.

4. Compel - command; orcing weak-willed individualso do he sorcerer’s bidding. Vic im ge s a saving hrow oresis ini ially and hen once per day o break ree o hesorcerer’s will, as well as, each ins ance o being compelled odo some hing he vic im would ordinarily nd a rocious orrepugnan . Cons i u ion drain: 1d6 poin s.

5. In ernal raffi cking - communica ing wi h, summoning,and binding all manner o Devils, Demons, and Ou siders. Al erna ively, he sorcerer may learnCommunion wi hsa hag’kha ins ead, which pu s him in o direc psychic

con ac wi h he hideous oad god, as well as, allowing hesorcerer o summon a spawn o sa hag’kha. Cons i u iondrain: 1d8 poin s.

baleful sorcerer of tsathagkha

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