Illusionist Profession in The Arbour Coast | World Anvil

Illusionist

Illusionists are “specialist” Magic-Users who focus on the creation and manipulation of illusions, whether visual, auditory, or mental, and at higher levels quasi-real things made of tangible shadow. Though “normal” Magic-Users can create illusions, those created by a true Illusionist are superior in quality and realism.   Illusionists produce magic much like other types of Magic-Users, but have different spell choices. They can learn spells from each other so long as the spells are available to both classes.   A first level Illusionist begins play knowing read magic and one other spell of first level. These spells are written in a spellbook provided by his or her master. The GM may roll for the spell, assign it as he or she sees fit, or allow the player to choose it, at his or her option.

Supplements

  Arcane Bolt   The Illusionist can magically attack once per round. The Arcane Bolt is treated as a normal missile weapon. The player makes a normal combat roll against the target's AC, adding any Intelligence bonus and taking into account the range (10/20/30). The damage is d3. The origin is magic, but the effect is a form of mundane concussion, so it will not affect creatures who are only affected by magic. However, it will affect inanimate objects   Bonus Spells   Illusionists gain bonus spells for high Intelligence. This allows the character to prepare more spells of certain levels than usual. Characters may not prepare spells above the level they can cast, so even though a character with an 18 Intelligence gets a second level spell as a bonus spell, he or she can't prepare second level spells until reaching third level. Use the following table.  
INTELLIGENCE BONUSSPELLS
9-11 No Bonus Spells
12 No Bonus Spells
13-15 1 x 1st Level Spells
16-17 2 x 1st Level Spells
18 2 x 1st, 1 x 2nd Level Spells
Cast at Will   A spellcaster may employ any spell he or she knows (i.e. has in his or her spellbook), so long as the caster has an available slot of the correct level.   Slot Demotion   Slot demotion allows a spell caster to use a higher-level available slot to cast a lower-level spell. This grants no particular bonus; casting magic missile with a 3rd level slot, for instance, neither makes the spell more powerful nor gives the caster any "change" back.   Flavor   Magic reflect the magician's personality. The player chooses visual, auditory, and / or odiferous effects for his spells, though this has no effect on the spell's actual effect in the game. So, one magician's spells might all have a purple aura while another's might all crackle when cast. This option has no effect in terms of the rules, but it's a good dramatic effect that can make playing a magician more fun. It can also be used as a form of signature.

Illusionist Spells

  Illusionists cast spells through the exercise of knowledge and will. They prepare spells by study of their spellbooks; each Illusionist has his or her own spellbook containing the magical formulae for each spell the Illusionist has learned. Spellbooks are written in a magical script that can only be read by the one who wrote it, or through the use of the spell read magic. All Illusionists begin play knowing read magic, and it is so ingrained that it can be prepared without a spellbook.   An Illusionist may only prepare spells after resting (i.e. a good night's sleep), and needs one turn per each three spell levels to do so (rounding fractions up). Spells prepared but not used on a previous day are not lost. For example, a 3rd level Illusionist preparing all three of his or her available spells (two 1st level and one 2nd level) is preparing a total of 4 levels of spells, and thus needs 2 turns (4 divided by 3 and rounded up).     Acquisition of Spells   Illusionists produce magic much like other types of Magic-Users, but have different spell choices. They can learn spells from each other so long as the spells are available to both classes. Like other Magic-Users, a first level Illusionist begins play knowing read magic and one other spell of first level, recorded within a spell book. The GM may roll for the spell, assign it as he or she sees fit, or allow the player to choose it, at his or her option.   Illusionists cast spells through the exercise of knowledge and will, exactly as normal Magic-Users. They prepare spells by study of their spellbooks; each Illusionist has his or her own spellbook, containing the magical formulae for each spell the Illusionist has learned, written in a magical script that can only be read by the Illusionist who wrote it, or through the use of a special first-level spell: read magic. All Illusionists begin play with read magic as their first spell, and it is so ingrained that an Illusionist can prepare it without a spellbook. Read magic has a range of “touch” and is permanent with respect to any given magical work (spellbook or scroll).   Illusionists may learn spells by being taught directly by another Illusionist or by studying another Illusionist's spellbook. The Illusionist may also learn appropriate spells from standard Magic-Users (or other arcane casters, if used the spell always being at the level as it appears on the Illusionist Spell List. Likewise, a Magic-User may learn spells shared by the classes from an Illusionist. If being taught, a spell can be learned in a single day; researching another Illusionist's spellbook takes one day per spell level. Either way, the spell learned must be transcribed into the Illusionist's own spellbook, at a cost of 500 gp per spell level transcribed. A beginning Illusionist starts with a spellbook containing read magic and at least one other first-level spell, as determined by the Game Master, at no cost.

Career

Qualifications

ILLUSIONIST IS AN ADVANCED CLASS TO MAGIC-USER .   To become an Illusionist, a character must have at least an Intelligence score of 13. Illusionists are poor fighters, with fighting ability equivalent to normal Magic-Users. They may not use shields. Like other Magic-Users, the only weapons they become proficient with are the light weapons, including clubs, quarter staves, spears, and crossbows, in addition to daggers and cudgels.   Illusionist can cast magic spells while wearing armor, however spell-casting in armor may cause the spell to fizzle. Whenever an Illusionist casts a spell in armor, roll 1d20. If the roll is equal to or higher than the armor's base AC, the spell is successful. Otherwise, the spell fails and the spell slot is expended.
"Magic is the only honest profession. A magician promises to deceive you and he does"