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Killian the Mad; renegade wizard
(c) copyright 2000 Brandon Cope
Total Points: 280 Points
Age mid-40s; 5'6"; 145 pounds; a man with hazel eyes and
light brown hair, slightly balding.
ST 12 [20] - thrust 1d+1, swing 1d+2
DX 13 [30] - basic speed 6.25, move 6, dodge 6
IQ 15 [60]
HT 12 [20]
WL 15 [-]
ADVANTAGES: Literacy [10]; Magery 3 [35];
Unusual Background (Special Magical Training)
[20].
DISADVANTAGES: Bad Temper [-10]; Enemy (any local
mage, 6-) [-10]; Intolerance (Most mages)
[-5]; Manic-Depressive (Controlled, see below)
[-10]; Reputation -4 (insane wizard, 10-)
[-10].
QUIRKS: Dislikes using magic; Sometimes talks to himself in
different languages. [-2]
SKILLS: Alchemy-15 [4]; Area Knowledge (Local
City)-16 [2]; Body Sense-13 [4]; Crossbow-15
[4]; First Aid-15 [1]; History-14
[2]; Knife-14 [2]; Knife Throwing-14
[2]; Literature-14 [2]; Polearms-15
[8]; Riding (Horse)-13 [2]; Research-16
[4]; Shortsword-13 [2]; Spear-12
[1]; Spear Throwing-14 [2]; Staff-12
[2]; Stealth-12 [1]; Thaumatology-16
[1]; Spell Jet (Air)-14 [2]; Spell Throwing
(Curse Missile)-14 [2]; Spell Throwing
(Lightning)-14 [2].
LANGUAGES: Arabic-14 [2]; English-15 [0];
Latin-14 [2].
GRIMOIRE: Air Jet-16 [1]; Alarm-16 [1];
Apportation-17 [2]; Aura-17 [2]; Blink-17
[2]; Body of Air-16 [1]; Clumsiness-16
[1]; Colors-16 [1]; Complex Illusion-16
[1]; Control Limb-16 [1]; Counterspell-17
[2]; Create Air-16 [1]; Curse Missile-16
[1]; Death Vision-16 [1]; Deflect Missile-16
[1]; Detect Magic-16 [1]; Foolishness-16
[1]; Forgetfulness-16 [1]; Garble-17
[2]; Grease-16 [1]; Haste-16 [1];
Heal Plant-16 [1]; Identify Plant-16 [1];
Identify Spell-16 [1]; Ignite Fire-16 [1];
Illusion Disguise-16 [1]; Illusion Shell-16
[1]; Imitate Voices-16 [1]; Itch-16
[1]; Lend Health-16 [1]; Lend Strength-16
[1]; Light-16 [1]; Lightning-18 [4];
Mage Sense-16 [1]; Magic Resistance-17 [2];
Missile Shield-16 [1]; Poltergeist-17 [2];
Preserve Food-16 [1]; Purify Air-16 [1];
Recover Strength-16 [1]; Retch-16 [1];
Scryguard-16 [1]; Scrywall-18 [4]; Seek
Plant-16 [1]; Sense Emotions-16 [1]; Sense
Foes-16 [1]; Sense Life-16 [1]; Shape Air-16
[1]; Shield-16 [1]; Simple Illusion-16
[1]; Sound-16 [1]; Spasm-16 [1];
Strike Dumb-16 [1]; Summon Minor Demons-17
[2]; Teleport-17* [4]; Tell Time-16
[1]; Test Food-16 [1]; Truthsayer-16
[1]; Voices-16 [1]; Walk on Air-16
[1]; Zombie-16 [1].
*M/VH spell
EQUIPMENT
Killian wears heavy leather armour (enchanted with +2
Fortify, +2 Deflect and Lighten [50%], for a total
of PD 4, DR 4), and is armed with both a glaive and a
crossbow with 20 bolts. He also carries three four-point
Powerstones, and a single six-point Powerstone.
BIOGRAPHY
Killian is a living contradiction: a mage who hates mages.
He originally wanted to be a regular soldier in the Megalan
army, but didn't make it through basic training before his
formidable natural talent for magic - which he had carefully
kept hidden - was discovered. Indeed, during testing by
several Court Wizards, it was discovered that he was
manophobic.
Rather than accept this and let him go back the career he
wanted, the wizards pooled their abilities together and
cured him of this 'unnatural affliction'. But this came at a
heavy price - Killian slowly started mentally unravelling,
becoming more and more unstable. While the wizards were
aware of this, they estimated that it would take several
years for the extent of Killian's insanity to run its full
course, and that they could still get ample use out of him
before then.
He was put through intense magical training; he was made to
learn more spells - and at a far faster rate - than any
normal apprentice. Finally, when they were satisfied, the
Court Wizards presented Killian to the Grand General as
their new "secret weapon". The General was impressed with
their work and immediately sent the young warrior-mage out
on a raid against al-Wazif; unfortunately, Killian
snapped.
All he could think about was having his revenge on the
wizards who had turned him into what he was. He deserted the
troops he was with, and made his way back into Megalos.
Using the spells they had trained him to use, Killian
stalked, ambushed and killed each of his wizard tutors, one
by one. After his murderous rage ended, he fled back to
al-Wazif.
Over the years, he continued to grow more mentally unstable,
ultimately becoming fully manic-depressive. He located an
alchemist who knew the formula for an elixir that was able
to temporarily suppress his manic-depressive tendencies;
Killian spent all his money on as much of the stuff as he
could carry.
For several years he didn't cast a single spell, wanting to
forget that part of his past. However, one incident changed
that. While journeying with a caravan from Donlis to Gebel
Thamad as a foot soldier, he entered a village in which
several travelling mages were pushing the local townsfolk
around, like cats playing with mice. Angered, Killian
unleashed his full arsenal of spells and martial skills,
killing all the mages in a very bloody fight. He stripped
all items of value from the bodies and gave them to the
villagers.
Killian left the caravan with a new purpose in life - to
eliminate mages who abuse their power (which, in Killian's
eyes, is virtually all of them). He has, from time to time,
taken on an apprentice, his goal to teach young mages that
they have a gift that should be used rarely - for the
benefit of all - rather than greedily, or for
self-advancement. For the most part, he has supported
himself as an enchanter and alchemist.
Many mages, naturally, see Killian as a threat to their way
of life and several attempts have been made on his life over
the years. None has come close to succeeding, and on a few
occasions the assassin's mangled corpse was left on the
front steps of the local mage's guild with a note pinned to
the body reading:
"You can surely do better, can't you?"
ENCOUNTERED
Killian wanders a great deal, and appears in all normal
regards to be a mercenary warrior (unless the party has
mages that know the Aura spell and routinely use it). Few
people know what Killian the Mad looks like, and he
typically travels under an assumed name, so unless he takes
someone into his confidence or unleashes his full magical
talents, no one is likely to know who he is.
Spell Strategy
In general, the more points Killian has invested in a spell,
the more likely he is to use it in any appropriate
situation. (The vast majority of his spells were learned as
part of his special training, and he has rarely - if ever -
cast most of them). He dislikes using spells in combat, and
will normally cast them (if appropriate) before-hand.
Also note that Killian likes to combine his "mundane" combat
skills with his magical ones; he has been known to Teleport
next to an unsuspecting foe, then attack with his glaive.
However, he prefers not to use his magic unless needed.
CANONICALITY
Killian varies a bit from the normal GURPS rules. His
Unusual Background is intended to justify his high point
total in spells (thus exceeding the normal suggested age x2
limit on skill points). He also has 45 points in
disadvantages, a minor rules violation.
Also, Killian uses a medication (of sorts) to control his
Manic-Depressive tendencies; the usual price of -20 points
(p.CI92) is reduced to -10 points. The disadvantage may be
better represented as a Dependency or Addiction, depending
on the GM's campaign. A combination of the two ideas would
be to modify the Manic-Depressive disadvantage with the
"mitigator" limitation (p.BIO137) to model Killian's
alchemical medicine; a -50% mitigator would be an expensive
($1000+ per dose) or experimental treatment taken on a daily
basis.
Finally, while he certainly has Secret at -40 points, it was
not given to him to keep his total closer to the -40 point
limit; other GMs may wish to include it.
WHAT IF?
Fantasy: Although his present background is set on Yrth,
Killian the Mad could be moved to most fantasy settings
without too much modification. As an insane and powerful
wizard, he fits right into GURPS Discworld (as long as he
stays away from Anhk-Mopork; as powerful as he is, GMs
should resist the temptation to have him tangle with the
wizards of the Unseen University - he simply wouldn't live
very long against them).
Contemporary: Perhaps Killian was an unwilling recruit of
the Cabal or other Secret Masters (or even a Black Ops
project gone bad).
ADVENTURE SEEDS
A Hired Hand: Killian could easy be hired by a party who is
unaware of his true nature. As time passes, the PCs should
notice that he's a bit odd. Of course, once a major fight
breaks out, Killian may let go with his full powers; it is
then very likely that at least one PC will realize who he
is. So what do they do?
Hello, Master: A PC mage without disadvantages such as
Greed, Megalomania or Bully could start the game as an
apprentice of Killian. While the mage would not interfere
often in the PC's activities (a likely appearance roll of 6
or less), the character would have to be careful to keep his
master's identity secret. Also, the apprentice might end up
being the target of attacks aimed at Killian, or even
captured and used as bait. Because of these potential
problems, Killian is worth only a base 20 points as a Patron
(and in most cases, 10 points).
- written by Brandon Cope (copeab@hotmail.com)
- formatted and editted by andi jones
(andi@angelwerks.com)
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