"I require an assistant, this one will do." With these words and a small sack of coin the child who would be Chaney passed out of mortal knowledge for the next 176 years.
The child who would be Chaney was purchased from the 'Sandy Caye Ropeworks and Orphan Home' in Ilizmagorti. The man who purchased him, one Joseph Leopold Ratinckx, was a respected if acerbic and unfriendly alchemist living in the oldest part of the city.
Joseph however was not the simple potion peddler he appeared. In fact he was a wizard of some skill who over the years had crafted his squat tower in the Medina into a significant Place of Power.
Time passed...
The child grew up and living in a Place of Power under the control of a semi-mad wizard, occasionally grew down or even sideways. Puberty under flexible time was ... interesting. Through all of this the child served as Ratincks's assistant and occasional experimental subject. The child survived and slowly learned enough to become a wizard in his own right.
Eventually the power of Ratinck the Black, as Jos Leopold now styled himself, grew to threaten the Red Mantis rulers of the city. The Mantis found they could not work against him. Powerful, expensive, and painful rituals ensured that any action they took against the wizard was doomed to failure.
So the Mantis waited and made Ratinck the Black their friend. Thdey involved him in their plots, gave him resources, and if they were not as careful as usual to keep his name and involvement a secret. Well you can't really blame them. He was not a Mantis after all.
Eventually word got out and a group of Consortium aligned adventurers looking into the contract murder of an aristocrat/Consortium member in Absolom found evidence of the wizards direct involvement in the killing.
They arrived in the Medina and to cut a long story short(too late) they did what they did best and killed every living thing in the tower including the old wizard, his assistant and the cat that lived in the scullery.
Luckily for our hero (and the cat) the adventuring party's Life channeller was killed by a brass golem and the resulting Death Move/dimensional breach pumped out enough raw life energy to undo most of the damage done by the ranger's arrows. The former assistant was able to crawl out of the ruined tower and into the shadows before the Blood Guard sealed the area. The cat still lives in a cafe near the ruin.
A few months later Chaney (The name was taken from the life oracle/channeller) VanLon (Lon from a mythical city in an allegorical poem the old master was having Chaney search for ritual clues when the attack began) now a respectable journeyman wizard stands aboard the Jenivere ready to start a new live somewhere far from the Mantis and the unreliably faded memories of his former master.
Spellbook
You have mastered several spells and inscribed them in your spellbook. You start out with three first level spells in your spellbook as well as the cantrips. Whenever you gain a level, you add a new spell of your level or lower to your spellbook. You spellbook is 1 weight. See notes for contents.
Prepare Spells
Spend an hour or so in quiet uninterrupted contemplation of your spellbook and lose any spells you already have prepared in order to prepare new spells of your choice from your spellbook whose total levels don’t exceed your own level+1. Cantrips are prepared at the same time and never count against your limit.
Cast a Spell
When you release a spell you’ve prepared, roll+Int.
*10+, the spell is successfully cast and you do not forget the spell—you may cast it again later.
*7-9, the spell is cast, but choose one:
~You draw unwelcome attention or put yourself in a spot. The GM will tell you how.
~The spell disturbs the fabric of reality as it is cast—take -1 ongoing to cast a spell until the next time you Prepare Spells.
~After it is cast, the spell is forgotten.
Spell Defense
End any ongoing spell immediately and use the energy of its dissipation to deflect an oncoming attack. The spell ends and you subtract its level from the damage done to you.
Ritual
Draw on a place of power to create a magical effect, tell the GM what you’re trying to achieve and the GM will give you one to four of the following conditions:
~It’s going to take days/weeks/months
~First you must ____
~You’ll need help from ____
~It will require a lot of money
~The best you can do is a lesser version, unreliable and limited
~You and your allies will risk danger from ____
~You’ll have to disenchant ____ to do it
Alignment: Neutral. Discover something about a magical mystery.
Gear: Max Load is (7-1)6
Spellbook (1 weight)
Dungeon rations (5 uses, 1 weight).
Bag of books (5 uses, 2 weight, +1 to spout lore)
Healing potions (3 uses, 0 weight, heal 10 or 1 debility)
Dagger (hand, 1 weight)
Antitoxin (3 uses, 0 weight. cured of one poison)
Bonds:
Keith is keeping an important secret from me.
Amy is woefully misinformed about the world; I will correct that before it kills all of us.
NOTES:
Spellbook contents:
Cantrips
Light.
An item you touch glows with arcane light as a torch. It gives off no heat or sound and requires no fuel. You have complete control of the color of the flame and the spell lasts as long as it is in your presence.
Unseen Servant.
A simple invisible construct that can do nothing but carry items. It has Load 2 and carries anything you hand to it. It cannot pick up items on its own and can only carry those you give to it. Items carried by an unseen servant appear to float in the air a few paces behind you. An unseen servant that takes damage or leaves your presence is immediately dispelled.
Prestidigitation.
You perform minor tricks of true magic. If you touch an item as part of the casting you can make cosmetic changes to it: clean it, soil it, cool it, warm it, flavor it, or change its color. If you cast the spell without touching an item you can instead create minor illusions no bigger than yourself. Prestidigitation illusions are crude and clearly illusions; they won't fool anyone, but they might entertain them.
Level One
Cure light Wounds.
At your touch wounds scab and bones cease to ache. Heal an ally of 1d8 damage.
Detect Magic. (Divination)
One of your senses is briefly attuned to magic. The GM will tell you what here is magical.
Invisibility. (Illusion)
Touch an ally: nobody can see them. They're invisible! The spell persists until the target attacks or you dismiss the effect. While the spell is ongoing, you can't cast another spell.
Magic Missile. (Evocation)
Projectiles of pure magic spring from your fingers. Deal 2d4 damage to one target.
