The wizard group encompasses all spellcasters working in the various
fields of magic — both those who specialize in specific schools
of magic and those who study a broad range of magical theories.
Spending their lives in pursuit of arcane wisdom, wizards have
little time for physical endeavors. They tend to be poor fighters
with little knowledge of weaponry. However, they command powerful
and dangerous energies with a few simple gestures, rare components,
and mystical words.
Many types of wizards practice the magic arts in the world of
Fälgorna. Among the more common are the mage, the specialist wizard,
elementalist and thaumaturgist. Other less common breeds include
the incantrix, wild mage, witch, sorceror, sha'ir and others even
more rare. When a player creates a wizard character, he must make
a basic decision — should his character specialize in a school
of magic, or should he remain a mage? A mage is equally capable
in all schools of magic and may freely learn and cast spells from
any school. A specialist wizard gains several important benefits
when dealing with his own school, but loses access to certain
spells that belong to opposition schools.
No matter what school of magic or speciality field the wizard
is involved in, Intelligence is his prime requisite (or one of
several prime requisites). Characters must have an Intelligence
score of at least 9 to qualify to be a wizard. Wizards use Table 3.4.1 to determine their advancement in level as they earn experience
points.
The arcane arts are the tools, weapons, and armor that every wizard
shares in common, at least to some degree. He is weak in a toe-to-toe
fight, but when prepared he can strike down his foes at a distance,
vanish in an instant, become a wholly different creature, or even
invade the mind of an enemy and take control of his thoughts and
actions. No secrets are safe from a wizard and no fortress is
secure. His quest for knowledge and power often leads him into
realms where mortals were never meant to go.
Wizards gain one four-sided Hit Die (1d4) per level from 1st-
through 10th-levels. After 10th-level, wizards earn one hit point
per level and they no longer gain additional hit point bonuses
for high Constitution scores.
At first level wizards have a THAC0 of 20 which improves by one
point for every three levels the wizard gains. In combat, a first-level
wizard has a 5% base chance to deliver a critical hit on a roll
of a natural 20 on a d20 and a 95% chance to suffer a critical
fumble when he rolls a natural one on a d20. The chance to cause
a critical hit increases by 1% per level and the chance to suffer
a critical fumble decreases by 1% per level.
