Wizard

Wizards are scholars of the unseen currents that wind through creation—mystics who bend raw mana into countless effects. Whether you hail from an ivory tower, a ruined library deep beneath the earth, or the hidden conclave of moon‑lit savants, your power springs from long study and a mind attuned to arcane patterns. In Alacrity, a wizard is defined by high Mind, a deep well of Mana Points, and a suite of setting‑specific effects they have fought to learn.

Core Build

• Primary Stats: Mind (essential for Magic skill, Mana Points, Arcana/Lore, Perception/Investigation).
• Secondary Stats: Dexterity (important for Dodge to avoid harm).
• Tertiary Stats: Body, Strength (minimal importance; defense comes from foresight and magic).
• Signature Skills: Magic, Arcana (or setting‑specific Lore), Perception, Investigation, Dodge.

Equipment

Wizards typically travel light, relying on their intellect and magic over mundane gear. Common equipment includes robes or scholar’s outfits, perhaps a staff or wand (often used as a focus), a dagger for utility, a pouch for material components (even if only for flavor), a writing kit, and basic adventuring gear. They are almost always unarmored.

Foundations of the Arcane

Your first step is narrative: work with the GM to explain how you came to grasp magic (study, apprenticeship, innate gift, etc.). This grants permission to initiate the Magic skill:

• Initiate Magic: Spend 20 XP to gain the Magic skill. Its starting baseline percentage equals your Mind statistic. This grants you a Mana Pool (MP) equal to your Magic skill percentage.
• Advancing Magic: Every point invested thereafter (1 XP per percent up to 60, 2 XP per percent beyond) raises your casting accuracy and expands your personal mana pool by the same amount.

Mastery Through Effects

Individual spells and abilities are “Effects” that must be learned:

• Discover Effects: The GM provides a menu of effects appropriate to the world (cantrips, wards, bolts, etc.). You must first uncover an effect in play—through research, ritual, tutelage, or revelation.
• Learn Effects: Once discovered (GM approval), spend 5 XP to inscribe the effect into memory. Only then may you attempt to cast it.

The Dance of Mana

Casting relies on managing your Mana Points (MP), which always equal your current Magic skill percentage:

• Casting: Spend the effect’s MP cost (set by the GM when the effect is introduced). Roll your Magic skill, applying situational modifiers from the Difficulty Ladder.
• Outcomes: Success unleashes the effect. Failure burns the MP but nothing happens. A critical success (01) empowers the magic (GM discretion). A critical failure (00, snake eyes) strikes you with backlash, costing Hit Points equal to the MP spent.
• Heroic Casting: If MP is depleted, you may choose to spend Hit Points instead (1 HP per 1 MP). This HP damage cannot be healed magically and imposes a cumulative –10% penalty on all rolls for each HP spent this way until you rest.

Focus and Advancement

In character creation and beyond, focus your XP on the skills crucial to your craft: Magic (to deepen your pool and sharpen spells), Arcana or Lore (to understand magic), Perception and Investigation (to spot magical signs), and Dodge (to survive). Body and Strength are secondary; a wizard’s true defence is foresight and the right effect—be it a living wall of stone or a cloud of choking embers.

With every test of Magic, you demonstrate that your power is no mere convenience but a hard‑won craft. In Alacrity, the true measure of a wizard is not the length of their spell list but the depth of their mana pool, the strain they can bear, and the stories that brought each effect to life.

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File Created: 05/05/2025
Last Modified: 05/05/2025