Books I Sell

2018/01/08

OSR: Wizards of the White Hand

The White Hand wizards are a chartered order imported from Foreign Parts. Their order is not very numerous, but their feats are widely seen as legendary. They are seen as the kindest of all wizard schools, mostly due to propaganda efforts and the occasional feat in battle. They have a strong but blessedly academic rivalry with the Orthdox Wizards. The ant-lings famously produce many White Hand wizards with tattooed white circles on their foreheads.

They are notoriously pious, but in a judgemental and unsympathetic way. You always feel like you’re being disrespectful when a Wizard of the White Hand is around. They tend to donate to the Church and avoid obvious temptations. They prefer villages to isolated towers and polite respect to fawning adoration or cold contempt.


Some ideas stolen from here.

CG-Sister

School: Wizard of the White Hand

Perk: Any spell with a range of touch can be cast a target you have previously touched, up to 10 miles per Wizard template. You can only have one link at a time. 

Drawback: You cannot eat meat. You must wear a white circle, either on your robes or belt or otherwise marked visibly on your body.

Cantrips
1. Press your hands together and count as Str 20 against being pushed, shoved, or moved.
2. Spend 10 minutes running your hands over your clothes to remove any stains or dirt.
3. If an attack would reduce you from full HP to 0 HP or less, you may spend all your remaining MD to survive it with 1 HP. You must spend at least 1 MD. 


The White Hand wizard cantrips are fairly useful. You can be an excellent anchor for a climbing team and you'll always be the best explorer dressed in a horrible damp cave. You also have a built-in method to survive early-game death.

Jesper Ejsing

White Hand Spell List

1. Cure Light Wounds
2. Vigor
3. Protection from [Element]
4. Light
5. Magic Missile
6. Mighty Thews
7. Olfactory Revelation
8. Inflict Pain
9. Necrography
10. Black Hand
Emblem Spells
11. White Hand
12. Vivigraphy

1. Cure Light Wounds
R: touch T: creature D: 0
Target creature heals [sum] HP. It costs 2 HP to remove one negative HP. This spell cannot remove Fatal Wounds, cure diseases, or heal lost limbs. 


2. Vigour
R: touch T: creature D: 6 hours
Touched creature has it's maximum HP increased by 2x[dice].


3. Protection from [Element]
R: touch T: [dice]x[dice] targets D: 10 minutes / 8 hours
Reduce all damage of the chosen type by 4 for the next 10 minutes. Alternatively, the spell protects its targets from the negative effects of the element (desert heat, arctic chill) for the next 8 hours.


4. Light
R: touch T: object or creature D: [dice]x2 hours
Object illuminates as a torch, with a radius of 20’+[dice]x10’. Alternatively, you can make an Attack roll against a sighted creature. If you succeed, the creature is blinded for [sum] rounds. If [sum] is greater than 12, the creature is permanently blinded. You can chose the colour of the light. If you invest 4 [dice] or more this light has all the qualities of natural sunlight. Alternatively, if you invest 4 [dice] or more the light can be purest octarine, although it will only last for 1 round. Octarine light is extremely dangerous.


5. Magic Missile

R: 200' T: creature D: 0

Target takes [sum] + [dice] damage, no Save. As a Wizard of the White Hand, your spell is a coruscating bolt of white light or a glowing fist, cast with appropriate hand gestures.

6. Mighty Thews
R: touch T: creature D: [dice] hours
Touched target treats their Strength bonus as 1 point higher when calculating weapon damage.


7. Olfactory Revelation

R: 0 T: self D: [dice] minutes
You gain an unbelievable sense of smell. Functions like darkvision up to 60’. Doesn't allow you to identify things you haven't smelled before.


8. Inflict Pain

R: Touch T: creature D: 0 

Touched target saves or takes [sum]+[dice] psychic damage. Only works on things that feel pain. Cannot inflict Fatal Wounds or drop a creature below 0 HP.

9. Necrography
R: Touch T: corpse D: 10 minutes
Touched corpse is compelled to answer [dice] questions. This is the flesh body answering, not the mind. The body will answer honestly, but flesh bodies technically see/hear/experience everything the living body does, but they only remember things that involve food, sex, pain, adrenaline responses, and stuff like that. Usually the corpse will talk using it's normal mouth, but it may also communicate the response in other ways. It's always understandable, although sometimes a bit cryptic.

10. Black Hand
R: 0 T: self D: [sum] rounds
One of your arms turns invisible. You get an illusory arm on the same side that you can control freely. Small objects, like a dagger, held in this arm become invisible. The arm can interact with ghosts, pass through walls, etc.

Emblem Spells
11. White Hand
R: 0 T: self D: [sum] rounds
One of your hands becomes as hard and durable as steel. It doesn't become any heavier and deals no extra damage, but it is completely impervious to damage. You can even use it to parry sword blows. It grants +1 to Defense. It can pick up anything, manipulate fire, stir acid, etc. 


12. Vivigraphy
R: touch T: creature D: 10 minutes
Touched living creature is compelled to answer [dice] questions. This is the flesh body answering, not the mind. The body will answer honestly, but flesh bodies technically see/hear/experience everything the living body does, but they only remember things that involve food, sex, pain, adrenaline responses, and stuff like that. Usually the body will talk using it's normal mouth, but it may also communicate the response in other ways, like spelling out answers in freckles. It's always understandable, although sometimes a bit cryptic.

Mechanical Notes on the White Hand Wizard Spell List

These guys are Orthodox Wizards from a different land. Over there, white hand is as common as fireball. The spell list has a good mix of direct damage spells, utility spells, and some really bizarre ones. Unlike some other wizard schools, there aren't many spells that will actively get you into trouble, unless you decide to use your long-distance link and inflict pain, or some other unusual combination.
Kseniia Tselousova
Mishaps

1. MD only return to your pool on a 1-2 for 24 hours
2. Take 1d6 damage
3. Random mutation for 1d6 rounds, then Save. Permanent if you fail.
4. Blind for 1d6 rounds
5. Deafened for 1d6 rounds
6. Spell targets you (if harmful) or enemy (if beneficial) or fizzles (if neutral).

Doom of the White Hand
1. You fade from existence for a day, leaving only your shadow behind.
2. You fade from existence for 3 days, leaving only your shadow behind. Your shadow roams without you.
3. You permanently fade, leaving a ravenous shadow behind to plague the living.

This doom can be avoided by avoiding total darkness for the rest of your life, or by traveling to the surface of the sun.

2 comments:

  1. I like it! The cantrips are especially cool and flavorful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love all of your work, everything is so creative and flavorful.

    ReplyDelete