Dirk Wilder's page

Monsters, as a rule, were not tolerated in England, and during the middle ages, were eliminated. By the industrial revolution, not only had the fey withdrawn completely from the isles, but all traces of elvish heritage were so dilute as to be non-existent. Historians suggest that other non-human races such as dwarves “faded” from Western Europe, although it is probably more accurate to say they were murdered. As such, the majority of Europe exists without rational fear of boogeymen, ghosts, and certainly not dragons. After all, the last dragon of England’s bones are on display in the royal museum.

Once all the fuss about burning witches died down, and the more scientifically minded Victorians got around to really thinking about it, magic was basically just a science. Studying it became something of a hobby for the elite blue-bloods, something to brag about. Unfortunately, all of the truly powerful spells were lost, and modern wizards seem unable to create new spells of a similar caliber. The existence of such higher magics has been mathematically proven, as well as heavily implied via the use of “metamagics.” Understanding of the circles of magic, sometimes referred to as “levels,” allows one to prove rather simply the existence of the elusive 4th circle spell. Many mages have made it their life's mission to discover such a spell, but as of yet, none have publicly taken credit for it. Magecraft, as a profession, or as a hobby, has grown out of favor in the past few decades, and instead has been replaced with a vested interest in alchemy, which is commonly considered to be a far more rigid science than the rather temperamental arcane arts.

Miracles on the other hand, have largely gone the way of the dodo. There hasn’t been a recognized miracle by the Church of England for over 300 years. There were tales of old, detailing casters empowered with abilities that even wizards were not born with, granted by god. Those are either decried as falsehoods, wizardry, or relics of a bygone age by the current administration and as such, the only priests that can cast spells are those who have trained in the art of wizardry. Tales of strange, heathen casters from across the ocean have opened additional theological, as well as magical discussion, but as of today, there are no divine casters in England.

School: Necromancy Level 1
Casting time: Standard action
Target: Creature touched
Components: V/S/M (Blood from the caster or other source)
Duration: 5 rounds/see text
Range: Touch
Saving throw: Fort negates (harmless) Spell resistance yes: Harmless
Effect: The subject gains fast healing 1 for the duration of this spell. If a non-human blood is used, the caster may make a DC 20+CR heal check during the casting of this spell to attempt to augment the effect. This augmented effect is subject to DM approval. If the heal check fails, the spell behaves normally.

We are all familiar with the spell of the first circle, blood healing. Indeed, it is a common occurrence for those who still dabble in the unrefined art of wizardry to practice their craft by using their blood magics to cure minor injuries of the common folk in return for a small fee. A less refined spell than the alchemical process of curing light wounds, it nevertheless deserves recognition for its consistency in curing the same injury the same amount every time it is used, (albeit over the course of 30 seconds) unlike the more unstable alchemical version, which has the capacity to heal considerably more substantial injuries, and requires substantially less bleeding from the alchemist to be effective, as well as being instantaneous. Less well known however, is the addition of more potent blood to the casting of blood healing by a skilled doctor can cause additional beneficial, but temporary side effects, dependent on the nature of the blood or ichor of the creature it was gleaned from. Some wizards of ill repute, and even some alchemists of low moral fibre have taken the principles of this spell, and attempted to extrapolate a way to permanently increase magical capacity by ministering blood transfusions of potent magical energies. This inevitably leads to the creation of a Kith, or in particularly hideous cases, a Chimera or Amalgam. However, when the blood of one of these beasts is transfused to another living soul, the mutagenic properties are lessened, although almost imperceptibly. Over the course of 30 or more administrations of these infusions, the blood grants upon the patient magical capacities without many of the negative consequences of infusing magical blood. These individuals have an innate understanding of their abilities, seemingly able to bypass the years of ritual study a mage must undergo. However, the downsides are numerous as well as crippling. They seem to be unable to learn new magics through traditional schooling of any means. In addition, most seem to lose their memories previous to the event, as well as suffering from mild mutagenic deformities. Further complications can arise as the blood fights for dominance within the patient, often leading to the fracturing of the mind, criminals more dangerous than a simple rampaging beast. For this reason, any sorcerer discovered will be put under the care of the state, and kept under constant surveillance from at least one wyrd warden at all times, under penalty of death. The creation of a sorcerer is highly frowned upon, and punishable by no less than a fine of 10,000, and no more than hanging by the neck until dead.

3rd Level
23 point buy (+1 build point per level in addition to the flat +1 every 4 levels)
Human only (Exceptions are limited, see spoiler about "sorcerers." If your build requires you be a tiefling to work, then you’re an alchemical creation, not a descendant of a devil.
2 traits, drawback for a 3rd allowed
No Occult Classes except Kineticist, once again see “sorcerer.”
No divine casters
No spells of 4th level or higher. (Metamagic ok)
Guns are martial weapons
Improved Unarmed Strike is a martial weapon
Background Skills
VMC
Words of power allowed, and encouraged for spontaneous casters, but not required

Combat Maneuvers only provoke if they fail
+1 teamwork feat at 1st, 4th, and every 4 levels after.
Detection spells based on power source: IE a fey sourced version of detect poison would detect cold iron, but probably not poison berries.
Infernal healing removed, replaced with Blood Healing (See spoiler)

You will all be under the employ of Her Royal Majesty’s Wardens of the Wyrd. This organization was originally created after an event known as, “The Applewood Incident,” where a powerful sorcerer resulted in an entire neighborhood needing to be purified with fire. Afterwards, a Minister of Magic I know, I know… was appointed, and an entire organization was formed to root out sorcerers. After ethical concerns of terminating all humanoid sorcerers were raised, as well as concerns about destroying potentially useful magical tools, the Wardens began using captured sorcerers who were of a helpful nature in limited scenarios. As the creation process inevitably wipes the memories of an individual, some have wondered at the exact nature of what makes a “helpful sorcerer.” In any case, be it after days or years, the sorcerous agents break down, and have to be terminated, quite often by their own squad that they work with.
The role of the agency has expanded over time. Once the state researchers that were part of the Wardens re-discovered the secrets of ancient metallurgy, recovering both adamantine and mithril from the vagaries of time, both their funding and scope increased. When it was discovered some 3 years ago that Fey gates had started opening up in England once again, it was the Wardens who first scouted out the area immediately within the circles, arches, or other gate forms.
These past 3 years have been quite busy for the Wardens of the Wyrd. In an attempt to claim the fey wild as part of the English empire, a 2 sq mile area inside of the Feywild has been cleared of it’s most dangerous aspects, and Parliament is hopeful that further expansion can take place. Your job will be to take expeditions into the Wilds, and report back what you can find. At least one of you will have the authority to make negotiate on behalf of the Wardens with the local denizens, but your job is to perform scouting of the area so that England can expand it’s area of influence. Long live the Queen!