A remix of the Wonder-Worker from the eminent Locheil, adjusted for my own setting preferences.
The Universal Sage walked down to the earth and chose seven people to be his apprentices. A soldier, a charcoal burner, a farmer, a thief, a sailor, a hermit, and a prince were they, and the Sage attempted to teach each the secrets of magic. However, each of them only partially understood what he taught, and abused their misunderstanding of magic. Disappointed, the Universal Sage broke magic so that none may wield it like they once did, and walked back to his palace above the universe.
You, wonder-worker, make do with the scraps of scraps.
THE WONDER WORKER
Starting Items: Travelling clothing, Grimoire (1 Slot), three Implements from any combination of the lists (see below).
A - Crown, Working Wonders, School, +1MD
B - Bag of Holding, +1MD
C - Caution, +1MD
D - Artisan, +1MD
Crown
You can only do direct magic inside your ‘Crown’, which is [templates] * 10 paces.
Effects that would leave your Crown falter and fail unless otherwise stated. Effects must originate within your Crown.
Working Wonders
To work wonders, combine a Word, and up to [templates] Implements.
Words are often found as sacred glyphs wrought in platinum, in the books of other wizards or painted on the walls of ancient ruins. When in a place of great knowledge, you can roll 1d8 on the Word List of the associated School.
Your Words are kept in your Grimoire. You can only use Words if you have a physical representation of them in your Inventory (usually in, say, your Grimoire).
A Grimoire has no practical limit on the number of Words it can contain.
It takes a day to copy one word into a Grimoire.
A new Grimoire costs 100g.
Implements must be found in the world, until you can make your own.
School
Your School determines what Words you know.
Roll 2d6 on your School’s Word List at Template A, and 1d8 each level thereafter.
Bag of Holding
Gain 4 extra Inventory Slots.
Caution
You can re-roll 1MD a day and take either result.
Artisan
You can now make Implements.
You can take an otherwise mundane object and prepare it with a day long ritual.
Now, take the prepared item, and cast a total of 20MD on it - across as much time as you like.
It is now an Implement - if it doesn’t have a written effect below, then you can suggest an effect.
Magic Dice, Mishaps, Dooms
You roll MD to make spells. They return on 1-3 and expend on 4-6, as usual.
Mishaps happen on doubles, Dooms happen on triples. They’re themed around whatever Word you were using at the time.
Once you’ve started on the Doom of [Word], whenever you roll triples again, you advance towards it. Dooms have three steps…
Cosmetic change themed around [word].
Transformation themed around [word].
Messy demise with collateral damage, themed around [word].
A given spell has [sum] points of power - dealing [sum] damage, reducing [sum] damage, etc.
Things beyond just damage allow creatures with the same or more HD than you to save.
Schools:
The First Apprentice
Who shut himself in his keep.
Color: Red
Symbols: Castle, demonic mask, forge
Classic Implements: Horn, Wand
Fuel
Smoke
Bullets
Fear
Locks
Roar
Metal
Walls
The Second Apprentice
Who burned herself alive.
Color: Orange
Symbols: Flames, series of towers, word squares
Classic Implements: Orb, Pure Salt
Eye
Glass
Dawn
Writing
Paper
Mirror
Fire
Light
The Third Apprentice
Who was murdered, ignobly.
Color: Yellow
Symbols: Spiral, grain sheaf, fat smiling sun, pitchfork
Classic Implements: Rope, Gauntlet
Grain
Heat
Strength
Fatigue
Livestock
Boulder
Distance
Sun
The Fourth Apprentice
Who twisted into a terrible beast.
Color: Green
Symbols: Pillar, frogs, grasping hand
Classic Implements: Lockbox, Alembic
Slime
Frog
Acid
Disease
Healing
Mud
Water
Life
The Fifth Apprentice
Who still races across the sky.
Color: Blue
Symbols: Swans, waving flags, clouds
Classic Implements: Paint, Lots and Tables
Fish
Luck
Ship
Rain
Clouds
Flight
Wind
Speed
The Sixth Apprentice
Who dug beneath the world.
Color: Indigo
Symbols: Blinded eye, pits, a capering body
Classic Implements: Hammer, Seeing Stone
Dreams
Poison
Magnetism
Monsters
Pressure
Darkness
Stone
Thoughts
The Seventh Apprentice
Who became a great tyrant.
Color: Purple
Symbols: Crown, wings, maps
Classic Implements: Mask, Bow
Silk
Music
Gem
Awe
Horn
Gold
Royalty
Dragon
Implements
Implements take up 1 Inventory Slot unless otherwise stated.
1d20 Implements with Direct Effects:
Wand - Create or conjure [word] at a distance.
Rod - Make a strike charged with [word]. Add 2 to [sum].
Staff - Fire a cone-shaped blast of [word]. 2 slots.
Sword - Cut through [word]. 2 slots.
Orb - Get a vision of nearby [word], or something in nearby [word].
Horn - Affect all in your Crown with [word].
Bell - Drive out all [word] from your Crown.
Lockbox - Draw in [word], sealing it in the lockbox. Contains 1 thing at a time.
Hammer - Break [word] with a strike.
Mask - You are invisible to creatures of [word], and [word] itself.
Seeing Stone - Look through [word] in your Crown.
Lots and Tables - Speak with [word] for a time.
Alembic - With an hour’s work, create a Potion of [word]. Takes 2 slots.
Gauntlet - Move [word] within your Crown.
Rope - Contain [word], preventing it from moving.
Mirror - Reflect or deflect [word] while the mirror is aloft.
Key - Insert the key to open a door through [word].
Pure Salt - Make a circle to summon a spirit of [word]. Consumable, has 6 uses.
Paint - Imbue the wearer with the properties of [word]. Consumable, has 6 uses.
Bow - Create an arrow of [word], which can be fired as a normal arrow even outside of your Crown.
Consumable implements vanish upon use, necessitating finding or buying more.
1d20 Implements with Modifying Effects
Blackberry - Increase [sum] by 1 when you're chewing it. Consumable. Start with 10.
Flint Knife - Cut yourself with the knife, adding the damage you take to [sum].
Gourd of Clay Figurines - Affect up to [dice] extra targets, but reduce [sum] by the number of targets.
Braided Cord - Delay an effect for up to [sum] minutes, setting a condition upon which it triggers. You don’t need to be conscious for it to trigger. If the time passes without it triggering, the effect simply doesn’t occur.
Empty Vessel - While the vessel is open, the [sum] of spells affecting you is lowered by 3.
Bronze Idol - Produces a foot wide “bubble” of your Crown, allowing you to affect things near it. Stops being yours if you spend more than a day away from it.
Paper Veil - Increase [sum] by 3 when no other wizards are present.
Spirit Flask - Increase [sum] by 3 when drunk, but mishaps are more severe.
Furled Bloom - Spells overspill to things near them. Consumable. Start with 6.
Blood Red Root - Increase [sum] by however much HP you're missing. Consumable. Start with 6.
Black Linen Hood - When wearing this, people in your Crown must save to realise effects originate from you.
Loyal Hound - A good dog, specially trained. Always counts as being in your Crown, and can transfer your effects to things touching them, unless you give them reason to no longer trust you. Takes up to 4 slots if you have to carry them.
Fungal Clump - Replace [word] in this spell with Mushroom. Consumable. Start with 6.
Hero’s Shot - Allows spells to affect the inside of people and animals. Consumable. Start with 6.
Oricalchum Coins - Spend it 1-to-1 to increase [sum]. Consumable. Start with 10.
Horn Cane - Allows you to affect horned animals you can see, even if they’re not in your Crown.
Fossilized Skull - The effect repeats [dice] rounds in a row. 2 slots.
Iron Fishhook- When this is stuck in you, reduce all [sum] by 3, but increase all [dice] by 1. Deals 1d3 nonlethal damage when pulled out.
Gold Medallion - Increase [sum] by 2 when in direct sunlight.
Black Powder - Causes [word] to violently explode. Consumable. Start with 6.
This is not an exhaustive list, of course. Stranger implements do more numinous things.
For example…
1d10 Taboo Implements
Glass Needle - Damage yourself with this needle, losing Max HP equal to the damage. Permanently increase all [sum] by the Max HP lost. You lose this bonus if you lose the needle.
Glass Cat’s Eye- Sleeping people you can see are inside your Crown, at any distance.
Cyclopean Eye - Mummified and leathery, the size of a lemon. If you know a fearful or shameful secret of a Wizard, their eyes are considered to be inside your Crown, at any distance. The only escape is making the secret public.
Dried Tongue - When you see another Wizard use a Word, you can mangle that Word into a related one - Fire to Smoke, for example, or Iron to Lead. Has 6 uses, then burns to ash.
Wizard Femur - Add 4 to [sum] if harming another Wizard. 2 slots.
Pearly Grasshopper - For each day gone without sleep, increase [sum] by 1.
Blasted Heartwood - Replace [word] in this spell with blackfire. Blackfire makes no sound, light, or heat, invisibly burning things to ash
Ivory Idol - Infuse a corpse with [word], giving it motion and a strange power. You command the resulting shamblers.
Warped Nails - Your Crown also originates from any body, living or dead, that has 3 or more of these nails in it. You start with 8.
Wizard Skull - You can hide a [word] inside this, and then recall it to you at any time, from any distance. Allows you to sneak words into places where they take your Grimoire off you. If you don’t have paper ready, the Word brands onto your skin, dealing 1d6 damage.
