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I know, right?
I became inspired to make this lovable, tentacled caster for an upcoming Skull and Shackles game I'll be running. I don't know what his role would be, or when/where/how to introduce him, or if I'll even do so. Still, it's been fun conceptualizing such a creature. A couple things I'd like some help fleshing out though:
What would such a Wizard use as a spellbook? And what choice would he make for his arcane bond?
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His spellbook is written in fish bones, shells and pebbles, spread across a wide patch of sandy ocean floor. It requires constant maintenance to protect it from eroding away or being disturbed by passing scavengers.
He has a lobster as a familiar. It communicates by snapping its claws in an elaborate language that only the two of them understand.
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His spellbook is tattooed across his body. He tattoos himself using sea urchin spines and the ink from his squid familiar.
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I feel like the obvious familiar choice is... octopus.
Either it's sort of a "Mini Me" situation, or even maybe some family connection (from pre-awakened days), but I love the visual of this smaller octopus just bobbing along after the larger one.
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In my Freeport campaign, the party met quite a few aquatic spellcasters due to the setting involving a good deal of sea travel. Most were divine or spontaneous, rather than wizards, so I don't think I ever had them find an undersea spellbook. But I did make a few scrolls available as loot, and those were inscribed on seashells. An aquatic wizard's spellbook would likely be something similar--perhaps strung on cords of woven kelp, or held in a net, to make transport easier.
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He could have a wizard archetype that trades the spellbook for keeping spells in his familiar, like Familiar Adept or Spirit Whisperer.
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A series of carvings along the bottom of the hull of a small fishing boat known as the S. S. Pellbook
Great ideas, thanks everyone! The archetype that trades out a spellbook seems like the obviously correct choice, but I think I'm still going to try to incorporate the spellbook somehow.
I guess I need to figure out if I want this guy to be stationary or not. If he typically stays in one spot day after day, the idea that his spellbook is spread out along the ocean floor with fish bones, pebbles, etc., or maybe carved into a sunken boat hull would be the way to go. If he's more of an on-the-go octopus wizard, he'd need a more mobile spellbook, though I'm not so sure about kelp - seems like it would tear or break really easily. Maybe coral, or maybe scrimshawed onto something, though that could get heavy...
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Perhaps his octopus familiar functions somewhat like a spellbook? Instead of whispering in its master's ear, it forms arcane runes out of its chromatophores, like a living text?
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Alright, this might be a boring solution (coral books and seabed writing is far more interesting), but how about Book Ward? You can make your Spellbook
waterproof for days.
Or otherwise, Secluded Grimoire and have it study its spells on dry land (or a diver bell). Might also be where your party meets it / why they heard rumors about it.
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Also, any thoughts on an item-based Arcane Bond? Octozard isn't going to have a super high Int score (only 15 after every investment possible, including HD bumps), so maybe an extra spell per day would be more useful?
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I like the idea of a bonded staff to eventually become a Cephalopod Staff. Uses it to help walk upright on land and swims around with it to sketch designs into his ship (assuming it is made of reinforced coral or stone instead of wood).
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Also, any thoughts on an item-based Arcane Bond? Octozard isn't going to have a super high Int score (only 15 after every investment possible, including HD bumps), so maybe an extra spell per day would be more useful?
Why so low? One in 216 Awakened animals have an INT of 18. Or you would just cheat and say it was a Maximized Awaken. Either way, 15 is by no means a maximum for the Octozard. Plus, a couple of Ioun Stones or a Headband of Vast intellect will also help.
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The Octowizard should live in an underwater garden, just because.
Why so low? One in 216 Awakened animals have an INT of 18. Or you would just cheat and say it was a Maximized Awaken. Either way, 15 is by no means a maximum for the Octozard. Plus, a couple of Ioun Stones or a Headband of Vast intellect will also help.I guess it's because Awakened add 2d6 to Int(and 1d6 to Cha) in addition to the base intelligence of the animal. So 12 from the dice, plus two(the octopus base intelligence) plus 1 from a level-up.
The Empower metamagic could also help here. I don't know much the rules of metamagic rods, but I wonder if it's possible to use a maximised rod on an empowered awakening, as the spell is already 6 level and maximised give +3 to the spell level and empowered +2 making the level a virtual 11.
An awakened animal gets 3d6 Intelligence, +1d3 Charisma, and +2 HD. Its type becomes magical beast (augmented animal). An awakened animal can't serve as an animal companion, familiar, or special mount.
3d6, not 2d6, and the base Int doesn't matter at all.
Maximized+Empower would be interesting, though. You would need a rod, but giving a base 27 INT would be quite formidable.
Actually, the most it could get is 24, I realize. And even that only has a 1/6 chance of happening, because Empower would only tack on an extra +1.5d6, rounded down to +1d6, for a maximum of 24+1d6=24. Still pretty great for a base- that's smarter than a lot of dragons.
But I digress.
because Empower would only tack on an extra +1.5d6, rounded down to +1d6,
That's not how that works.
If you Maximized and Empowered the Awaken spell, you would have an Intelligence of 18 + (3d6/2).
You would roll all 3d6, then halve the sum, and add that to the 18.
So the average would be 10.5, for an increase of 5.25 (rounded to 5), or 23.
Where did you get 24 before Empowering? 3d6 Maximized is 18.
because Empower would only tack on an extra +1.5d6, rounded down to +1d6,That's not how that works.
If you Maximized and Empowered the Awaken spell, you would have an Intelligence of 18 + (3d6/2).
You would roll all 3d6, then halve the sum, and add that to the 18.
So the average would be 10.5, for an increase of 5.25 (rounded to 5), or 23.
Where did you get 24 before Empowering? 3d6 Maximized is 18.
24 after Empowering. I'm pretty sure there's a FAQ (but I can't seem to find it) that Maximize is applied before Empowering, and the extra Empower dice must be rolled.
But this is getting off-topic.
Perhaps the octowizard has researched a spell that allows them to roll and unroll seashells, enabling them to practically use conch shells (and similar) as scrolls or their spellbook? It would be pretty cool, both aesthetics-wise and rules-wise, for this octopus to have a whole library of shells (perhaps with Shrink Item on them) carried along or stored in a reef, and can be unfurled for reference or use.
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I feel like the obvious familiar choice is... octopus.
Either it's sort of a "Mini Me" situation, or even maybe some family connection (from pre-awakened days), but I love the visual of this smaller octopus just bobbing along after the larger one.
Alternatively, the Octopus Wizard has a Tiny Humanoid Familiar. You see, if you were to follow the pair back in time far enough, you would have instead found a Humanoid Wizard with an Octopus Familiar -- nothing that would seem TOO unusual. But the Wizard started experimenting with ways to Awaken Animals (in total defiance of advice that this should be left to Druids and Shamans). Then, the Wizard started experimenting on ways to bypass the restriction against using Awaken on Magical Beasts, such as Familiars. And then, SOMETHING WENT TERRIBLY WRONG . . . .
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I'm pretty sure there's a FAQ (but I can't seem to find it) that Maximize is applied before Empowering, and the extra Empower dice must be rolled.
The reason you can't find it in the FAQs is that it's in the Core rules, in the feat descriptions:
Maximize Spell (Metamagic)
Benefit: All variable, numeric effects of a spell modified
by this feat are maximized...
An empowered, maximized spell gains the separate
benefits of each feat: the maximum result plus half the
normally rolled result.
Oh boy...3d6 is much more than 3d3. That's one way to mistake my maximum Int...
Dot.
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OK so after adjusting for my mistake for calculating an Awakened animal's new Int score, I now have Octozard fully statted. I italicized bonus feats and non-class skills, because that's just how I usually format stat blocks. I used the Fractional Base Bonuses rule from Unchained. Please enjoy.
Alice Inkwell
Awakened Giant Octopus Diviner 6 (20 HD; CR 11)
CN Large Magical Beast (Aquatic, Augmented Animal)
Init +9; Senses: Low-light Vision; Perception +14 (+16 Alertness)
AC 20; Touch 13; Flat-footed 16 (+4 Dex, +7 Nat, -1 Size)
HP 144; Fort +14; Ref 17; Will +11
Defensive Abilities: Ink Cloud (30' Radius)
Speed 20', Swim 30', Jet 200'
Melee: Bite +16 (1d8+4 plus Poison), 8 Tentacles +14 (1d4+2 plus Grab); Magic and Silver
Space 10'; Reach 10' (20' with Tentacles)
Special Attacks: Constrict (Tentacle, 1d4+2)
Wizard Spellbook (CL 6th; Concentration +12; Spellbook // Prepared // Scrolls)
0 (At Will) - Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Flare, Ghost Sound, Haunted Fey Aspect, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Resistance, Spark // Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Ray of Frost, Read Magic
1st - Anticipate Peril, Comprehend Languages, Detect Secret Doors, Grease, Identify, Long Arm, Mage Armor, Shocking Grasp, Touch of Gracelessness (DC 17), Unseen Servant // Grease, Mage Armor, Shocking Grasp, Touch of Gracelessness, Unseen Servant // Comprehend Languages, Detect Secret Doors, Identify, Long Arm, Shield
2nd - Alter Self, Arcane Lock, Blur, Bull's Strength, Locate Object // Alter Self, Blur, Bull's Strength, Locate Object // Arcane Lock
3rd - Arcane Sight, Beast Shape I, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Daylight, Lightning Bolt (DC 19) // Beast Shape I, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Lightning Bolt // Arcane Sight, Daylight
Str 18 (+4; +10 vs. carrying capacity and break DC's), Dex 19 (+4), Con 17 (+3), Int 22 (+6), Wis 14 (+2), Cha 7 (-2)
BAB +13; CMB 24 (+30 Grapple); CMD 37 (can't be tripped)
Feats: (Alertness), Combat Reflexes, Eldritch Claws, Eschew Materials, Imp Init, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Scribe Scroll, Signature Skill (Disable Device), Skill Focus (Disable Device), (Stealth), Stealthy
Skills: Acrobatics +17, Appraise +19, Climb +12, Craft (Scroll) +15, Disable Device +25, Escape Artist +22, Knowledge (Arcana) +17, (Engineering) +15, (History) +15, (Nature) +17, (Religion) +15, Perception +14 (+16 Alertness), Sense Motive +12 (+14 Alertness), Sleight of Hand +14, Spellcraft +17, Stealth +22, Swim +16
Languages: Aquan, Common, Giant, Morse Code
SQ: Forewarned (always act in surprise round), Knowledge is Power (Arcane Discovery; add Int mod to CMB/CMD, and to Str mod for lifting and break DC's of objects)
Treasure: In a battered treasure chest (broken condition) on the seafloor, Alice keeps the paper scrolls he recovered from slain sailors, which are by now all torn, soaked, and damaged to the point of being unusable. Casting a Make Whole spell on a scroll recovers it to the point of being usable. The scrolls are of Arcane Lock, Lightning Bolt, and Shocking Grasp. After copying these scrolls to his spellbook, Alice didn't see much point in making efforts to preserve the fragile pieces of paper, but still had the sense to keep them.
Alice scribes scrolls onto giant clambshells, which he keeps inside the partially buried sunken ship that he lives in. These scrolls are of Anticipate Peril, Arcane Lock, Arcane Sight, Comprehend Languages, Daylight, Detect Secret Doors, Identify, Long Arm, and Shield. An Arcane Lock has been applied to the door of the hold in which the scrolls are kept. In addition to his scrolls, Alice has collected a small assortment of other treasures, including an interlocking puzzle of movable parts of Dwarven design worth 1,200 gp, a +1 Harpoon of Animal Bane, and a tapestry of woven seaweed, kelp, and other indigenous plants, depicting a giant octopus performing a number of different tasks with its different arms, including tearing a sailor from the safety of his boat, playing chess, calligraphy, smoking a pipe, etc. worth 800 gp. The puzzle is his favorite part of his collection, and if anyone can prove their intellect by solving it (with a DC 20 Int or Knowledge (Engineering) check and a DC 20 Dex or Disable Device check) they will make Alice more helpful by 1 step.
Alice's familiar is a king crab named Bruce who helps him maintain his territory by keeping plants trimmed and undo erosion.
The Druid who awakened Alice was brought aboard the Swift Octopus as a replacement to the ship's deceased spellcaster. He was immediately affronted when he saw the treatment of the octopus and began surreptitiously gathering the materials he would need to awaken the poor creature as an act of freedom and revenge. Unfortunately, the Druid was discovered as he finished the casting of the spell. While the pirates didn't understand the spell or what it did, they didn't appreciate magic being applied to their mascot without their knowledge or permission. The Druid was killed for his insubordination in plain sight to the freshly sentient octopus.
Alice didn't fully understand his connection with the Druid, but knew that he wanted freedom from his cage, as well as revenge on those who killed his friend. With his next feeding time, he got his wish. He killed his feeder and escaped his cage. Using his impressive stealth, Alice then sneaked through the ship and killed the captain and his crew in their sleep before abandoning ship for good.
The Swift Octopus' location and heading put Alice a short distance from the isle of Many Eyes, where he made his new home. With his immediate perils of escape, revenge, and shelter satisfied, Alice began to wonder what he should do with himself and his new intelligence. It wasn't until after attacking a longboat heading for shore and killing its occupants, where he found several magic scrolls that Alice discovered his new sense of curiosity. The idea of magic and all its mysteries fascinated him, so he took to studying the arcane arts.
This same longboat carried a woman, who was killed by Alice like the others. While Alice searched the bodies for other knickknacks, he pulled a thick, leather-bound journal from the woman's pack. Inside the cover was written "this journal is the property of Alice". The concept of names and labels hadn't occurred to the giant octopus before that, but his inquisitive mind left him wanting to fill this void as well, and liking the name, took it for himself. Of course, Alice has little understanding of humanoid cultures, including masculine and feminine tendencies, and isn't aware of the tragedy of his name choice. If this is explained to Alice, he will only find it humorous and suggest his acquaintances call him Al, but will otherwise keep the name.
Throughout his residency of the isle of Empty Eyes, Alice inevitably met Sefina, the Nereid who lives in the grotto near his home. Curious and anxious to meet and learn from another intelligent creature, Alice introduced himself. Though initially interesting to his socially/intellectually starved tendencies, Alice quickly grew to dislike the Fey's flaky behavior. Alice couldn't understand why any creature blessed with intelligence didn't use such a gift to expand their horizons as wide as possible. Likewise, Sefina quickly grew bored with Alice's pursuits of knowledge and scientific hypotheses, being more interested in tales of daring and songs of love. In an attempt to pique Alice's interests in the arts, Sefina created the beautiful tapestry found in Alice's treasure room. Alice accepted the gift politely, but kept his distance from the fey after that. PCs will find that efforts to befriend Alice may negatively impact their friendship with Sefina, and vice versa.
Alice's spellbook is actually a series of long strands of seaweed growing near his sunken ship. Using impressive levels of dexterity, Alice has groomed and tied numerous knots into each strand, writing his spellbook out in Morse Code vertically along each strand of seaweed. A Comprehend Languages spell can be used to decipher Alice's spellbook after 1 full hour spent studying the seaweed.
Alice occupies the Bay of No Hospitality on the Isle of Empty Eyes, where the Giant Spyglass Octopus normally resides. Instead of a black-and-white kill-the-monster encounter, this will be a more complicated matter. When Alice notices the PCs' ship entering the bay, he will wait for its crew to board a smaller boat, and attempt to grab one of the people aboard it. With his hostage in "hand", he will demand to know what the PC's are doing in his home. He will respond hostilely to being intimidated, or likewise hostile actions. If reduced below 30 hp, Alice will retreat with his Jet ability outside of the bay, returning after he has healed above 100 hp. At this point, Alice may board the PC's ship and attempt to sabotage it, or commit some other act of subterfuge, being then aware of the PCs' superior combat abilities.
Besides being pointedly affronted/threatened, Alice is quick to resort to Diplomacy if the PCs mention that they're here to rid the island of any threats and make it their new base of operations, or else mention any sort of exploration or treasure hunting. Alice is a very curious creature, and will immediately sympathize with anyone who can help him further his pursuit of knowledge.
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The pages of his spellbook could be made of gold or something. That could even be a hook for why the PCs are looking for him.
He could also have an air-filled underwater cave full of spellbooks and miscellaneous treasure that were left there by some previous aquatic wizard and he discovered them and taught himself magic (presumably after some druid or shaman wandered by and awakened him).
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Ha! I love the name! especially Inkwell! :D And the Animal Shape spells! XD
My only question is what is his schools of opposition?
Ah, I knew I forgot something! He doesn't bother himself with Enchantment or Necromancy. Being a former captive, the idea of exerting his control over other creatures doesn't appeal to him, and Ench and Necr fit that role better than most.
I feel like Conjuration would be better to give up than Necromancy. That way you keep the Necromancy spells that destroy and combat undead.
^Problem is that Conjuration is probably the most powerful school (and second largest). Of course, if you're willing to spend a feat at 9th level or higher (which is still a bit in the future of the build posted above), you could take Opposition Research to get back unhindered access to an Opposition School.
The Octowizard should live in an underwater garden, just because.
Heh, so once more, with feeling (synthesized)? ;)