Regarded as the wickedest of wizards ever to plague the Known World, Sezrekan the Elder was born to a peasant family and cursed with the knowledge of higher worlds. Straining to hear the music of the heavenly spheres, the aspiring wizard found only chaos and madness. Forsaking patron and liege alike, Sezrekan sought to free himself of the world and his mortal coil, regardless of the cost. Those who claim him as their patron are expected to follow in the Master’s footsteps, sacrificing kith and kin in the single-minded pursuit of mastery of self and thereby the multiverse. The Old Master has little regard for those that cannot help themselves, offering his aid only to spellcasters of proven dedication and talent.
Invoke Patron check results:
| 12 - 13 |
Sezrekan cannot be troubled by such an insignificant petitioner. He grants the caster an additional
6d4 hit points. These may be burned in spellburn, with every 4 hp equaling a point of attribute. At
the end of the hour, all the extra hit points are lost. Damage and spellburn are deducted first from
the additional hit points. For example, a caster that is granted 16 hit points and takes 14 points of
damage in the hour, would then lose only the 2 remaining hit points when the duration expires. |
| 14 - 17 |
Sezrekan teleports the caster to a location 1d100 miles distant. The caster cannot choose the location,
but is not in immediate danger upon his arrival. |
| 18 - 19 |
Sezrekan permits the caster to recall a previously lost spell. |
| 20 - 23 |
Sezrekan notes the caster’s potential talent, granting +5 to the caster’s next spell check. |
| 24 - 27 |
Sezrekan teleports the caster and up to 8 allies to a location 5d100 miles distant. The caster cannot
choose the location, but the party is not in immediate peril upon their arrival. |
| 28 - 29 |
Sezrekan is impressed by the caster’s might and deigns to grant a total of +10 to the caster’s next
two spell checks. The points can be allotted as the caster sees fit, but must be declared prior to the
castings. |
| 30 - 31 |
A phantasmal specter of Sezrekan appears, raining down hellfire on those that would dare challenge
such a talented adept. Meteors and comets fall streaking from the sky, striking any foes within 50’ for
3d8 damage (Ref save vs. spell check to avoid). The rain of fire continues for 1d3 rounds. |
| 32+ |
Sezrekan recognizes the caster as a peer (albeit, a lesser peer) worthy of his aid in their shared efforts
to cast off the shackles of an uncaring universe. He grants a total bonus of +30 to the caster’s
next five spell checks. The points can be allotted as the caster sees fit (up to +10 per spell check),
but the allotment must be declared prior to the casting. |
Patron Taint: Sezrekan
Whereas other patrons scar their petitioners with foul taints, followers of the Old Master inflict injuries on themselves while in pursuit of the Sezrekan’s mastery of magic. When patron taint is indicated, roll 1d6 on the table below. When a caster has acquired all six taints at all levels of effect, there is no need to continue rolling any more.
| Roll |
Result |
| 1 |
Incited to madness and brimming with occult knowledge, the caster spends his next action carving a third
eye into his forehead (inflicting 1d3 points of damage in the process). Upon return to civilization, the caster
seeks out a tattooist who inks a third eye on the caster’s forehead using exotic inks costing no less than
1d5 x 100 gp. If the result is rolled a second time, the caster insists on wearing a blindfold for the next 1d4
days, in the earnest hope of awakening his third eye. If the result is rolled a third time, the caster stabs a
dagger into each of his real eyes, blinding himself. (There is a 3% chance, per level, that the self-mutilation
brings the PC’s third eye to life.) |
| 2 |
Dazzled by his new insight into the terrifying nature of the multiverse, the caster is spurred into offering up
sacrifices in thanks to the Old Master. The caster is driven to enact the ritual as soon as it is reasonably safe,
though the caster’s threat assessment may not agree with that of his peers. In a ritual lasting 1 turn, the
caster offers up wealth totaling at least 1d5 x 100 gp in honor of Sezrekan. All the items are consumed in
searing blue flames, and there is a 3% chance that Sezrekan honors the sacrifice with a +1 bonus to the
caster’s next spell check. If the result is rolled a second time, the caster must sacrifice a magic item; there is
a 6% chance that Sezrekan honors the sacrifice with a +2 bonus to the caster’s next spell check. If the result
is rolled a third time, the caster must sacrifice a friendly ally to prove his single-minded devotion; there is a
9% chance that Sezrekan honors the sacrifice with a +3 bonus to the caster’s next spell check. |
| 3 |
In a passing moment of déjà vu, the caster realizes that Sezrekan demands his service. Subject to the judge’s
discretion, the caster must adventure to retrieve an occult item or lost relic for the Old Master, located within
1d4 days travel. The caster has a clear vision of the item, but only a rough sense of its location and wards. If
the result is rolled a second time, the item is well warded and some 1d4 weeks distant. If the result is rolled a
third time, the item is guarded by ancient wards, traps, and fiends, requiring 1d4 months of dangerous travel. |
| 4 |
In a lucid dream of mighty Sezrekan, the caster realizes his own spells are terribly flawed and dependent on the
aid of outsiders. Forsaking their influence, the caster gives up a known first level spell, vowing to never cast it
again. (If, later, the caster discovers another spell of the same level, it can take the place of the original spell
among the caster’s known spells.) If the result is rolled a second time, the caster must surrender a second level
spell. If the result is rolled a third time, the caster must surrender a third level spell. Should the caster refuse to
give up any of the spells, he forsakes Sezrekan as his patron. |
| 5 |
The daunting scope of the caster’s knowledge induces a creeping madness that begins to seep into his everyday
life. The caster must declare a common substance (iron, water, steel, cotton, gold, silver, silk, wood, leather,
velum, meat, etc.) and declare it taboo. Henceforth, the caster makes every effort to avoid contact with the
taboo substance. If the result is rolled a second time, the caster must choose a second taboo; furthermore,
contact with the forbidden substances causes searing burns that inflict 1 hp of damage per round of contact.
If the result is rolled a third time, the caster must pick a third taboo, and contact inflicts 1d4 hp of damage per
round of contact. |
| 6 |
The caster is caught up in a dream world of hallucinations for the next 1d5 rounds, as a spectral image of Sezrekan
strides through his vision. The caster can still interact with the real world, but if he chooses to ignore his surroundings
and watch only the Old Master, he gleans hints and indications of Sezrekan’s dweomercaft mastery. If
the caster spends the next 1d4 days in solitary research, he is able to learn a new spell of his choosing. Failing to
immediately retire to study causes the insights to be lost, like the fading memory of a dream. This result can be
rolled up to three times. |
Patron Spells: Sezrekan
Those daring to follow of the Path of the Mad Mage eventually learn three unique spells, as follows:
Level 1: Sequester
Level 2: Shield Maiden
Level 3: Phylactery of the Soul
Spellburn: Sezrekan
Sezrekan does little to aid his followers. Those that are strong and willful distinguish themselves by their might, while the weak and pitiful are worthless tools to be discarded. And yet, the Old Master has been known to admire those that sacrifice their own bodies in pursuit of the impossible. When a caster utilizes spellburn, roll 1d4 and consult the table below or build off the suggestions to create an event specific to your home campaign.
| Roll |
Result |
| 1 |
The power of the spellburn opens the caster to the maddening horrors of the universe and leaves him weak (expressed
as Stamina, Strength, or Agility loss) and disoriented. The caster must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or
be unable to cast spells for 1d3 rounds. If the caster succeeds on the save, the caster gains a +1 bonus to all future
attempts at the spell. |
| 2 |
Admiring the caster’s ambition, Sezrekan grants the caster the opportunity to burn an ally’s attributes (Stamina,
Strength or Agility) in place of his own. The target must be willing. For every point burned to augment the spell,
the target loses 1d3 points of the same attribute. If any of the target’s attributes fall to 0 or less, the target dies. |
| 3 |
Sezrekan mocks the caster’s feeble grasps at power. The caster receives but 1 point for every 2 points of attribute
burned. |
| 4 |
Horrific madness seizes the caster’s mind, and the awful meaninglessness of the universe is driven deep into his
mortal soul. The caster is granted a single DC 15 Will save; on a successful save the caster crumples to his knees,
weakened by the spellburn, yet firmly grounded in the common reality. On a failed save—in lieu of the spellburn—
the caster receives a +5 bonus to all spell checks for the next 1d6 rounds, yet perceives both friend and foe
alike as all-devouring monsters from the outer dark, a truth far too real to contemplate. |
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