Alienists or Summoners

Alienists deal with powers and entities from terrifyingly remote reaches of space and time; for them, magical power is nothing more than the triumph of the mind over the rude boundaries of dimension and distance. With knowledge and strength of will, the eons that lie between the stars themselves can be conquered, and unspeakable things from the endless black gulfs of space whisper terrifying secrets to the wizard who dares communicate with them. Each spell, formula, or enchantment represents a hidden truth in the structure of universe, a secret man was not meant to know, and the alienist plunges without fear into abysses of chaos and entropy that would blast a weaker man.

While the warlock deals with supernatural powers, his patrons are creatures with near-human intelligence and motivations. They may embody vice, malice, or corruption of the worst sort, but these are human faults. On the other hand, the alienist’s allies are entities of cosmic evil older than time itself and thankfully ignorant (or uncaring) of the very existence of mankind.

A campaign that features this philosophy of magic is a dark and dangerous one indeed. The cosmology of an alienist campaign necessarily reduces human deities and powers to mere phantasms or petty children, who are themselves blissfully ignorant of the outer gulfs that surround humanity. If the DM decides that contact with alien powers is the source of magical ability in his campaign, player character wizards should be extremely scarce.

Alienists fall into three general categories: priests, intellectuals, and scholars. Since the alienist’s patrons are powers in their own right, many cults or forgotten religions venerate these entities, and some alienists are priests or students of these vile societies. Intellectuals are characters who simply desire more and more knowledge, the chance to plumb the reaches of space and time with the power of their minds; all too often, these alienists blunder into a dimension or a being that is so inimical to human thought or perception that they return as raving lunatics. The last type of alienist, the scholar, is a character who approaches his work with the greatest caution. Often, the scholar’s goal is to learn just enough to interfere with another alienist, and nothing more; he understands that there are things human eyes should never see, and carefully avoids them.

The alienist progresses as noted under the spell point system, with the following options in use:

The wizard may only choose fixed magicks.

The alienist may exceed his normal spell level limit , with the penalties

described in the beginning of this chapter applied.

The alienist can choose to reduce the spell point cost of a spell by making use of

a prolonged casting time or selecting a special casting condition.

The character gains bonus spell points for his Intelligence score, as described

earlier in this chapter.

Alienists memorize spells normally by using their spell point allocation to choose how many spells of which level will be available. When selecting spells, an alienist can reduce the spell’s cost by choosing a longer casting time or special casting condition. The alienist’s spells are cast normally and vanish from memory after use, and he recovers spell points normally, so on the surface the alienist seems to be fairly close to a standard wizard—the flexibility of the spell point rules simply allows him to customize his arsenal of spells.

Unfortunately for the alienist, learning a spell in the first place is the problem. At 1st level, the alienist begins with 1d4+1 1st-level spells. Each spell he attempts to learn after this initial selection places his sanity at risk. (The chance of insanity varies with spell level; see Table 24 : Risk of Insanity by Spell Level.) Although the secrets unveiled by the spell may drive the wizard mad, going insane doesn’t prevent the wizard from learning the spell. In fact, the comprehension of a particular spell is far more unbalancing than attempting to learn a spell and failing, as reflected by the increased chance for insanity when a character succeeds in his roll.

Conducting spell research, investigating the formulae for potions or scrolls, or researching the ingredients or process for creating a magical item all create a chance for insanity. The level of the spell in question (or the nearest equivalent spell in the case of a potion, scroll, or magical item) is used for the insanity check.

If the wizard fails his insanity check, he must attempt a saving throw vs. death magic with a penalty of –2. If successful, the wizard is merely delirious or incoherent for 1d3 days as he tries to reconcile his notion of the cosmos with the awful truth revealed to him. During this time, the character cannot cast spells, and fights with a penalty of –1 to his attack rolls. If the wizard fails both the insanity check and the following saving throw, he must roll on Table 24 : Random Insanity Chart.

Many of these conditions are not true forms of madness, but instead represent plagues, curses, or afflictions that may trouble the character. High-level spells are much more dangerous than low-level spells for this purpose, since the most powerful spells grant the wizard insights into the blackest gulfs of cosmic horror. The following list detail effects of the various conditions:

Delirium: The character lapses into a state of delirium lasting for 3d4 days during which he wanders aimlessly and mumbles to himself or rants and raves. He does not recognize friends and is incapable of any rational action; he is easily frightened and flees most encounters. The character cannot cast spells, and if he is restrained or threatened by combat, he becomes catatonic for 1 to 6 hours. After the delirium passes, the character returns to normal.

Disorientation: The wizard’s surroundings make no sense to him, and he is temporarily unable to recognize places, people, or even his own possessions. Unlike amnesia, the character retains command of his normal skills and abilities, although he fights with a –2 penalty to his attack rolls and has a 20% chance of miscasting spells. However, he has a difficult time initiating or following through on actions; if told to stay put, he may wander off, or if his comrades flee from a monster, he might remain behind, unaware of his danger. The character has a 5% chance per day, cumulative, of recovering from his state.

Attraction: The character develops an unhealthy obsession with a particular place, thing, or type of item. This manifests as an uncontrollable desire to be close to the subject of the attraction. Good examples might be a particular star in the sky, a mountain, a special site, the sea, an artifact or item, and so on. This desire drives the character to drop everything he’s doing and travel to the site (or in its direction, in the case of a celestial object). If the wizard’s friends stop him, he’ll become disoriented for 1d6 hours, and then bend all his efforts towards resuming his trek by whatever means are necessary. There is a cumulative 5% chance of recovery per day.

Phobia: Exposure to some terrifying stimulus leaves a lasting mark in the character’s psyche and makes him mortally afraid of some condition or creature. A character confronted with the subject of his phobia automatically flees the scene with all possible speed for at least 1d3 full turns. If the character cannot escape the condition, he lapses into a catatonic state that lasts for 1d6 days. The DM can assign an appropriate phobia, or roll on Table 25 : Phobias.

A character does not normally recover from a phobia, but certain spells or psionic effects may desensitize him to his fear or repair his mind.

Paranoia: A wizard afflicted with this form of insanity becomes convinced that the agents of the Outer Powers are abroad in his world, his homeland, and even in his home town. They could be anywhere. At first, he is merely suspicious of strangers, but as the condition progresses, his suspicion spreads to those nearest him—his friends and family—and grows in strength, so that he begins taking precautions to guarantee his own safety. These precautions eventually include lethal attacks and plots against his former allies and friends.

The paranoid’s condition only grows worse as time passes; without magical healing or psychic surgery, he will not recover. Generally, a paranoid PC becomes a NPC under the DM’s control after 1d6 months have passed, or whenever the DM feels that the player isn’t role-playing his character effectively anymore.

Alienation: The character experiences an acute sense of dislocation or wrongness in his surroundings. He is certain that he belongs somewhere else, although he cannot say where that might be. While the paranoid experiences alienation towards people, an alienated character regards everything in his surroundings—people, places, and things— as unnatural and threatening. As the condition progresses, the character loses his ability to function in society and gradually sinks into dementia praecox or catatonia over the course of 1d6 months.

Amnesia: Unable to absorb the secrets revealed to him, the wizard instead purges his mind of anything that reminds him of the horrors he has explored. Only his language skills remain; everything else—his class skills, his proficiencies, knowledge of people and places—vanishes. He retains his hit point total and original saving throw values, but for all other purposes he is now a 1st-level character with no proficiencies. The amnesiac has a noncumulative 10% chance of recovery each month. During his amnesia, the character may actually begin his adventuring career all over again, possibly even changing class and alignment.

Hallucinatory insanity: The character’s insights into the true nature of things leave him with the ability to perceive sights, sounds, or sensations from the awful, alien dimensions that parallel our own. To other characters, the wizard appears to be hearing things, seeing things, or experiencing things that don’t exist. Unfortunately, these hallucinations have a very tangible reality for the character himself, and for any given action he undertakes—casting a spell, making an attack, even trying to walk across a room or study his spells—there is a 33% chance (2 in 6) that one of his hallucinations distracts him, preventing him from completing the action. Each month, there is a 10% chance that the character learns how to ignore these frightful apparitions and regains control of his perceptions.

Melancholia: The insignificance of humanity in the face of the Outer Powers is a terrifying concept, and a wizard afflicted with melancholia suffers endless fits of brooding and depression as this knowledge sinks into his mind. Each day, there is a 5% cumulative chance that the character experiences an acute episode that completely disables him for 1d3 days. The melancholic will have no volition to travel, fight, cast spells, or even look after his own survival, although his friends may be able to lead him along on a journey or keep him out of the way on an adventure. Melancholia persists until magically or psionically treated.

Dementia praecox: This condition is similar to melancholia, but consists of a hopelessness or loss of volition. The character just can’t bring himself to care about what is going on around him, even ignoring direct attacks or immediate threats to his life. Each time the character attempts an action, such as undertaking a journey, participating in a fight, or casting a spell, there is a 50% chance (3 in 6) that his dementia overwhelms him and he instead does nothing. If the character loses his will to fight, he will not even defend himself, losing any Dexterity adjustments to AC and suffering other penalties as the DM deems appropriate. Dementia praecox persists until magically or psionically treated.

Monomania: The wizard becomes obsessed with a single goal and works ceaselessly until his goal is achieved. Depending on the alienist’s origin, it might be the summoning of one of the Outer Powers, the secret of the next spell level, or the destruction of a particular cult or occult tome. As long as the wizard can pursue his goal, he can undertake any actions that further his purpose, but if he is somehow blocked or prevented from acting, he is likely to lapse into catatonia or become manic. Note that the wizard’s single-minded devotion to his cause is not healthy; he ignores sleep, goes without food, and otherwise neglects both himself and others. Monomania persists through 1d4 linked, long-term goals; when the wizard accomplishes them, he more or less returns to normal.

Mania: Terror of unimaginable depth turns the alienist into a stark, raving madman. Every day, there is a 25% cumulative chance that he will suffer a manic episode lasting 1d6 hours, during which he attempts to attack or destroy anything around him. The maniac’s Strength is incredible; a character’s Strength increases by 6 points (count each percentile category of 18 as one point), to a maximum of 19. While the maniac is raging, he can easily turn on and kill people close to him, but he’s just as likely to run off or try to gnaw the bark off a tree. Even if the wizard is temporarily in control of his senses, he cannot cast spells or embark on long or complicated tasks; the struggle to retain control consumes too much of his attention. The alienist has a 5% chance per month of recovering his stability.

Manic-depressive: This condition combines the worst features of mania and melancholia. Every 1d4 days, the character’s mood swings from the one condition to the other. A manic-depressive’s condition lasts until magically or psionically treated.

Hebephrenia: Some horrors can forever destroy the mind unfortunate enough to perceive them; a character suffering from hebephrenia withdraws from reality into a childlike state, wandering aimlessly, ignoring most external stimuli and babbling or mumbling to himself constantly. This condition is completely debilitating. The character is effectively feebleminded, unable to participate in normal society or survive without constant care. The alienist may never recover from such a profound shock and has only a 5% chance (noncumulative!) per month to regain his sanity.

Catatonia: The catatonic completely withdraws from reality, ignoring all forms of external stimulus. He cannot move, speak, or act in any way, and may even ignore food placed in his mouth or painful injuries. There is only a 5% chance per month (noncumulative) that the catatonic will recover from his state, although it is possible to provoke a catatonic into a temporary rage lasting 1d6 rounds by continuously annoying or pestering the poor fellow.

Delusional insanity: The alienist believes that he is something other than himself. In many cases, he believes that his mind or persona has been placed into the wrong body, believing that he is actually a creature or entity of some distant dimension trapped in human form. The steps he takes to rectify this could range from attempts at suicide to complex summonings designed to open the “right” dimension to him. The character may refuse to recognize his former friends and companions, or seek new allies more appropriate to his “true” self, but he generally retains all his skills and abilities. There is a 5% chance per month that the delusion may end of its own accord; otherwise, only magical or psionic treatment can help the character.

Schizophrenia: An alienist’s encounter with schizophrenia is an extraordinarily dangerous event. An entity or power from the outer reaches of the cosmos invades the alienist’s body, forming a second personality that has its own goals and skills distinct from the wizard’s normal personality. This second persona may wish to do nothing more than observe the host’s world, or it may plot to open a dimensional gateway to the plane of its origin and bring others like itself to the mundane world.

Each day, there is a 25% chance that the second personality takes over, retaining control for 1d4 days while it pursues its own purposes, whatever they may be. During this time, the wizard is an NPC under the DM’s control. This condition occasionally corrects itself after a time (if the invasive personality finishes whatever it was doing and leaves voluntarily), but most of the time the wizard will need magical or psionic help in order to exorcise the spirit.

Homicidal mania: This resembles schizophrenia , as described above, but it’s much worse. The invasive persona is a creature that delights in mayhem and murder, and wants nothing more than to kill until it is sated. When the wizard loses control of his mind, the entity begins stalking and killing its chosen victims (often those closest to the host), often employing bizarre or disgusting methods to further its enjoyment. As described above, there is a slight chance (5% per month) that the entity leaves voluntarily.

Psychic translocation: Perhaps the most jarring event that could occur to an alienist, psychic translocation exchanges the wizard’s mind and persona with that of some inhuman entity from beyond the stars. The effects are somewhat similar to that of a magic jar spell in that the wizard finds himself trapped in another’s body while some alien intelligence animates his own form. The invasive intelligence may simply be curious about the wizard’s home, it might have forced the switch in order to escape from a precarious predicament in its own dimension, or it might have waited for eons for a chance to project its mind to the alienist’s world, with some dire purpose or summoning in mind. There is a chance that the intelligence will leave of its own accord, or that the wizard may find a means to reverse the situation and reclaim his own body. The DM is encouraged to be creative and malevolent.

Pursuit: There are entities in the dimensions beyond our own that are so inimical and insatiable that even speaking their names or catching a glimpse of their existence courts disaster of the worst kind. An alienist who blunders across something of this nature accidentally attracts the notice of a monstrous alien intelligence, which then follows the wizard back to his home. The pursuing entity may be a powerful monster that desires to devour or possess the mortal that roused it, or it could be a forgotten abomination of formless intelligence that desires to devour or possess the alienist’s entire world. Again, the DM is encouraged to be creative and somewhat malevolent; mortals who tamper with powers of this magnitude risk catastrophes of cosmic significance.

Recurring Episodes of Insanity

While a wizard may emerge from a mind-blasting experience with his senses intact after a few weeks, he is never the same afterwards. Each time the wizard is forced to roll on Table 24 , regardless of the actual result, his Wisdom score drops by 1d2 points permanently. Wisdom represents stability, strength of will, and mental fortitude; it is a good measure of how many shocks a single person can sustain in the course of his lifetime. Should a wizard’s Wisdom score ever be reduced to less than 3, he becomes permanently insane, and he will never recover from whatever condition(s) he currently suffers from.

However, there are ways to bolster a character’s strength of mind after he suffers a Wisdom loss. A condition that is treated by means of a restoration or wish spell, successful psychic surgery, or an elixir of health does not cause a Wisdom loss, since the mind is restored to its original state. Of course, when someone attempts to heal the condition by using a spell or psychic surgery, there is a 1% chance that the healer will contract the condition. As a result, it might be a little difficult finding someone willing to help heal a character’s insanity.

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