Fail Mage (3.5e Class)

Fail Mage
Cursed by the gods of luck, these eccentric mages have all the casting ability of a wizard and then some. The only problem is, they can't always control their magic, causing mishaps at the most inopportune times.

Making a Fail Mage
Fail mages cast all the spells a wizard can and has all the same strong points, but they have one glaring weakness, their magic isn't always controlable. It can, and will, fail, often spectacularly.

Abilities: Intelligence is required to cast any spells. A strong constitution, dexterity, and wisdom will help a fail mage survive their own spells.

Races: Any race that can become a wizard can become a fail mage.

Alignment: Any.

Starting Gold: 100 gp.

Starting Age: As Wizard.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the fail mage.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Fail mages are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with a fail mage’s movements, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail.

A fail mage must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time (see below).

To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the fail mage must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a fail mage's spell is 10 + the spell level + the fail mage’s Intelligence modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a fail mages can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Fail Mage. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score.

Unlike a bard or sorcerer, a fail mage may know any number of spells. He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting a good night’s sleep and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook. While studying, the fail mage decides which spells to prepare.

 (Su): Whenever a fail mage casts a spell, the DM secretly rolls a d%. On a roll of 1-5, the spell fails as a mishap with a scroll.

Doing so takes 24 hours and uses up magical materials that cost 100 gp. A familiar is a magical beast that resembles a small animal and is unusually tough and intelligent. The creature serves as a companion and servant.

The fail mage chooses the kind of familiar he gets. As the fail mage advances in level, his familiar also increases in power.

If the familiar dies or is dismissed by the fail mage, the wizard must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude saving throw. Failure means he loses 200 experience points per fail mage level; success reduces the loss to one-half that amount. However, a fail mage’s experience point total can never go below 0 as the result of a familiar’s demise or dismissal. A slain or dismissed familiar cannot be replaced for a year and day. A slain familiar can be raised from the dead just as a character can be, and it does not lose a level or a Constitution point when this happy event occurs.

A character with more than one class that grants a familiar may have only one familiar at a time.

 (Ex): At 1st level, a fail mage gains Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat, except that any scrolls written by a fail mage incur the chance of Failure.

 (Su): On a roll of 6-15, the spell's effect is delayed by 1d4 rounds, but then activates as if under the Widen Spell metamagic feat, except that its spell level remains the same.

 (Su): On a roll of 16-25, a spell that deals a particular type of energy (such as fireball or Magic Missile) has its energy type changed. The DM rolls a d8 to determine the effect. 1 causes fire damage, 2 causes cold damage, 3 causes electric damage, 4 causes sonic damage, 5 causes force damage, 6 causes non-elemental damage, 7 causes negative energy damage, 8 causes positive energy damage. Note: Creatures healed by positive or negative energy are affected normally for the energy type. (A wight hit by a negative fireball would gain HP for example). Any excess hitpoints are gained as temporary hitpoints that last for three rounds.

 (Su): On a roll of 26-35, a line or cone spell is effected by having its properties changed. A line is reduced to a cone of half its length. A cone is expanded to a line of twice its length.

 (Su): On a roll of 36-45, a spell cast on a single target grows to an area spell effecting any targets within 5 feet/fail mage level.

 (Su): On a roll of 46-55, a spell is treated as if under the Maximize Spell metamagic feat.

 (Su): On a roll of 56-65 any spell cast by a fail mage can be substituted for another spell of the DM's choice of the same level, but a different school.

 (Su): On a roll of 66-75, a spell can simply fizzle, leaving in its place a masterwork weapon of the DM's choice. This weapon lasts for five rounds and deals the effect of the spell on a successful hit. If the spell is a range of touch, only a melee touch attack with the weapon is required.

 (Su): At twentieth level, a fail mage can produce the effects of a wish spell once per day with no cost. This wish can, and will invariably, go wrong in a way of the DM's choosing.

He cannot prepare any spell not recorded in his spellbook, except for read magic, which all fail mages can prepare from memory.

A fail mage begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level wizard spells plus three 1st-level spells of your choice. For each point of Intelligence bonus the fail mage has, the spellbook holds one additional 1st-level spell of your choice. At each new fail mage level, he gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that he can cast (based on his new fail mage level) for his spellbook. At any time, a fail mage can also add spells found in other wizards’ spellbooks to his own.


 * Arcane Spells and Armor

Ex-Fail Mages
A fail mage who has 27 instances of Remove Curse cast upon themselves one immediately after another, becomes a Wizard of the same level.

Epic Fail Mage
Spells A fail mage's magic continues to progress as a wizard's magic at epic levels.

 (Su): On ar oll of 76-85, any spell cast that targets a specific creature and has a duration gains the following effect: when the duration ends, a surge of magical energy wells up in the target, causing 1d8 damage per fail mage level to the target, fortitude save for half. the DC is equal to the fail mage's level plus his intelligence modifier. This damage is treated as chaotic aligned for the purposes of damage reduction.

 (Su): On a roll of 86-95, a spell that requires a ranged touch attack becomes a line of damage (up to the maximum distance of the spell) with a reflex save for half instead.

 (Su): On a roll of 96-100, a spell becomes altered as a Mordenkinen's Disjunction spell effecting everything the target has if they fail a reflex save DC the fail mage's level + his intelligence modifier.

Gnome Fail Mage Starting Package
Weapons: Quarterstaff

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Feat: Spell Focus (Illusion).

Gear: Standard Adventuring Gear, Alchemical Burn Curing Salve, Trail Rations x5, Spellbook.

Gold: 25gp.

Playing a Fail Mage
Religion: Ironically, most fail mages tend to venerate gods of luck, praying for aid on occasion why they especially don't want their spell to blow up in their face.

Other Classes: Most classes are unable to differentiate a fail mage from a wizard, other than the fact that their spells occasionally self-destruct. Fail mages tend to get along well with other classes, but are often apologetic to any of their allies that get caught in their spells.

Combat:Fail mages tend to fill the same role as a wizard in combat.

Advancement: Most fail mages are intent to continue to follow the path of a wizard, but have been known to entirely give up the magical arts in favor of something that won't explode in their face.

Fail Mages in the World
"He said feed the toad, not blow it to bits!"

Fail mages can be anything a wizard can, if having a reputation for being somewhat eccentric or unpolished.

A Day in the Life: Domar coughed violently as he emerged rom the cloud of smoke. A simple cantrip had exploded covering everything within a thirty foot radius in soot.

"Boccob give me strength" he groaned. He was advancing just as fast with magics as his peers at the academy, but for some reason, everything he did just felt... unpolished... in comparison. Focusing his arcane powers, he summoned forth a slight breeze to blow the soot out the window. Thankfully, that one worked right.

"Perhaps conjury isn't your line of work, my friend, have you concidered illusion?" came a voice from behind. A gnomish wizard whow as studying just barely out of reach of the blast was looking at him. "They tend not to explode quite as much."

He sighed "Maybe you're right, but I just can't seem to devote myself to one field of study like some of you can. I love all magic... even if it doesn't work quite right."

"Then don't give up, look at it this way, you managed to create quite an impressive explosion for using so little magic. Maybe this isn't a bad thing, try to build on it, you could be the next Bigby if you can lean to control things like this."

Notables: Kubori (Catastrophe) Apbori, Gnomish fail mage

Ashardlon, Elven fail mage who died in a catastrophic misfire

Organizations: Fail mages rarely congregate in groups of their own, but often mingle with wizard and sorcerer groups.

NPC Reactions: NPCs tend to view fail mages as they would an eccentric wizard... from very, very far away.

Fail Mage Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) can research fail mages to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Fail Mages in the Game
NPC fail mages can be anything from a no-talent comic relief wizard who can't even perform simple cantrips correctly to the secret weapon of an army, intent on loosing their chaotic magic in the heat of battle, hoping for a big enough boom to take out the enemy army.

Adaptation: Similar versions of Psions, Clerics, Druids, or Sorcerers could be easily designed simply applying the same failure chance to their spells.

Sample Encounter: A large explosion comes from the next room and billowing clouds of smoke pour forth from the door. Out stumbles a human wizard covered from head to toe in soot.

"*Cough* *Cough* Sorry about the noise," he says, starting to brush himself off, "I was trying to just light a candle. I didn't expect things to get that out of hand."

EL 2