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The Magus : A Character Class for Second Edition AD&D
By David Bolack
Magus are a rare member of the fantasy society who are so in tune
with the forces of magic that they are able to directly
manipulate it at will.
Chances of becoming a magus are directly related to both the
character's parents and the character. To see if a character has
a chance of being a magus roll percentile die. Based of the
following chart determine whether or not the characters parents
had the abilities of the magus. Then roll again. If the
character's parents had the ability, then the characters normal
chances are tripled.
Chances of becoming a Magus :
Human 10%
Elf 9%
Halfling 6%
Half-Elf 9%
Gnome 4%
Dwarf 2%*
Mother Was Mage +5%**
Mother Was Priestess +3%**
* Even though the Dwarf is a highly non-magical creature, they
have been known to weild this ability, though rarely. Obviously
the Mother was Mage bonus cannot apply to dwarves.
** Do not use these bonuses when determining a parent's chances of
having been a magus.
For AD&D purposes the magus can be either a semiclass or a class.
If used as a semiclass treat the character as a multiclass no
matter the characters race; however, instead of averaging their
hit points, add the bonus listed below. Semiclassed Magus may not
be either Mages or use normal magic (IE Bards can't cast magic
user spells, and any homebrew classes that cast spells may no
longer do such.
Level HP Bonus (Cumulative)
1 1d2
2 1d2
3 1d4
4 1d4
5 1d6-1
6 1d6
7 1d6+1
8 1d8
9 1d10-1
10 +2
Classed Magus fight as a Cleric. They also save a mage, though
they have a +2 bonus to all but Dragon Breath. High level magus
are rumored to have a +2 save versus dragon breath. (IE DM call.
Reasoning, Dragons are of a highly magical nature which allows
the magus alter some of the damage.)
Magus may use any weapon, but bladed weapons cause strange
problems for the magus' ability to pull forth enough raw magic to
perform their amazing abilities; (IE active mana is cut in half !
see below for more info on mana use.) Arrows and spiked weapons,
however, don't cause such problems. Hide, leather, and any armor
heavier than chain cause similar problems. (Same penalty)
Mana Use
The magus' has the ability to manipulate raw magic of the world.
The magus can use this in the following ways. Heal, Defend,
Attack, and Special. These abilities can be used to either
emulate known spells or to 'create' their own. If a known spell
is copied then it costs the character 4 mana per level of the
spell. (Note that a magus can only emulate spells he has seen, or
can reasonably think up.) Otherwise, a generic effect under one
of the above attacks costs as below.
Effect Cost
Heal 2 per D4 healed
Attack 2 per d4 damage
Defend 5 per AC Bonus
3 per Save Bonus
4 for other bonuses (Versus Dragonfear,
specific damage type, etc)
Special (These are generally compared to a specific
Spell.)
Effects can be combined into one 'spell' if predetermined and if
they are of the same category. For example, a defend 'spell
effect' can give a character +2 AC and +2 on all saves for a
total of 35 mana, but a 'spell effect' can't do the above and add
2d4 worth of hit points. The cost of combining effects an
additional mana point per different effect. the above example
would cost an additional 5 mana points.
Effects can also have special modifiers. For example, the desired
effect is a lightning bolt that attacks one target and then
spreads out to attack his partners. Based on the following chart
that would cost the normal amount for the damage +3 mana per
additional target + cost for damage to additional targets. Now if
a desired effect did as above, but the effect attacked X random
targets it would cost normal damage + additional damage + 2 mana
per additional target.
Effect Bonus Cost Bonus
Specific Additional Target +3 per target
Random Additional Target +2 per target
Decreasing Damage +1 per base d4 damage
Delayed +2 per segment
Mana Progression
A Magus gains mana based off of a quarter level system. Although
levels and HP are gained as per a priest. Every 1/4 level a
character gains +1d6 points of mana. Every full level a character
gains 1d12 mana. A character starts out with a mere 1d8 of mana.
I could use some suggestion for term renaming and additional effect bonuses,
though I think I've covered most that will be used.