MAD SCIENCE!, A variant magic tradition. Options

[PlatonicPimp]

It's been a while since I've done one of thess, and the urge hit me tonight.


Mad scientist.

Possession tradition
Combat: Guardian Spirits
Detection: Guidance Spirits
Health: Fire spirits
Illusion: Spirits of Man
Manipulation: Task spirits

Resist drain with Willpower + Logic

The mad Scientist is an anomilous magic tradition, Akin to Psionicists or Miracle workers. They are convinced that what they do isn't magic at all, but "Inspired Science" or just "SCIENCE!" Their work takes place in secret Labs, and they are always enchanters of no small talent.

All spells learned by Mad scientists have the fetish restriction, as they are incapable of conceiving of a "spell" as anything other than a function of their arcane technology. Each Scientist typically creates the fetish themselves, but they could use a fetish created by another mad scientists. Fetishes of this Tradition are always Psuedo-technological in Nature.

Spirits, on the other hand, fall into two catagories depending on whether they are possessing a vessel yet or not. Astral spirits are what the Scientist likes to refer to as "Muses", or Ideas waiting to be created. To the Scientist, the Whole astral is the realm of Ideas, waiting to be given form or reflections of that which already exists. However, nothing there is real. Most Scientists are Mystic Adepts, in fact, lacking the ability to project and sometimes even perceive the astral. Those that do typically rationalize it as self-hypnosis, ESP, or any of the other rationals that a psionicist might use.

Spirits possessing a vessel are seen as artificial life, created by the scientist. Robotic homunculi are popular vessels for scientists, though reanimated corpses are not without precedent. Such possession is seen as "fufilling the muse," though unless bound, the "robot" will cease functioning soon enough. Some scientists interpret this as failure, while others interpret this merely as "running out of batteries." Summoning, possession, binding and rebinding are all accompanied by ritualistic "maintainence" and "repairs" to the "machine" Incidentally, Fire spirits from this tradition frequently manifest as electricity spirits, with the electrical elemental attack replacing the normal flame attack of this spirit. All other stats remain the same.

The fact that real world science cannot duplicate the feats of the so called "super science" is put off by Mad Scientists as stupidity on the part of other scientists. The mockery their personal psuedo-science theories get in academic circles only reinforces feelings of anger and self-rightousness in the Mad Scientist, who was typically bullied as a kid. This often leads to the phrase "The fools, I'll show them all" or other similar expressions.

[mfb]

i've actually got a (3rd ed) magician adept who works along these lines. all of his powers are geased to pieces of equipment he built himself with... electrothaumaturgy, or some made-up-word like that.

[Wakshaani]

Brilliant!

I'm gonna swipe the heck out of this one. :)

[hyzmarca]

Does this mean that I can make a character who binds the ghosts of his sons to the bodies of their force-grown clones every time they are killed?

[PBTHHHHT]

@SMACK hyzmarca
... wait a sec, that'd be an interesting plot for an adventure. hmmm...

[MYST1C]

A really nice idea!
I've alway like the Sons of Ether in Mage: The Ascension.

[Grinder]

I enjoyed the Mad Scientists of Deadlands fame. 8)

[Smed]

Nice idea. I'm going to have to use this!

[PlatonicPimp]

[ChicagosFinest]

I can site one source... Cyber Zombies and blood magic shoul be close tie-in's to this

[hyzmarca]

[PBTHHHHT]

[lorechaser]

I can only add that SCIENCE! is a phrase that can never be uttered often enough.

[BookWyrm]

"Igor, throw the switch!" *a ripped-off toggle switch bounces into view*

[PlatonicPimp]

[RunnerPaul]

GENTLEMEN! Behold!

[hyzmarca]

Butterfly: the other insect spirit

Where the other Insect Mentors are ravenous, alien, and hardy, Butterfly is prissy, fragile, and oblivious. It is not meek, not by a long shot. It is, in fact, quite aggressive. Unfortunately, it is incapable of causing substantial physical harm and is easily thwarted.
Followers of butterfly tend towards incompetence, physical weakness, and delusions of grandeur
Advantages: Followers of Butterfly can learn any flight or aircraft skill at rank 1 for free.
Disadvantages: Followers of butterfly suffer a -4 penalty to both Strength and Body.

Butterfly Spirits
S F-4
B F-4
A F
R F-2
I F-2
L F-2
C F+2
W F
Edge F
Magic F
Essence F

Powers:Innate Spell, Inhabitation
Weaknesses: Evanescence, Allergy (Damage, Deadly), Allergy (Insecticides, Severe)
Skills: Flight

(All butterfly spirits are identical regardless of spirit type)


The Monarch


Str1
Bod1
Agi1
Rea1
Int2
Log2
Cha2
Wil2

Positive qualities
Mystic Adept (Insecto-Science (Insect Tradition with Inspired Science trappings))
Mentor Spirit (Butterfly)

Skills
Flight 1

Knowledge Skills
Super-Science 3

Contacts
Dr. Girlfriend 3/3

Enemies
Dr. Thadeus Venture

[Lagomorph]

Tissue rejection, make a note of it!

[Fortune]

[Demerzel]

If I ever want to make a NPC named Thomas Dolby I know what tradition to make him now...

[PlatonicPimp]

Mentor Spirit: Nikolai Tesla

Tessla is the spirit of invention. He invented radio independantly of everyone else, Created Alternating current, claimed to have built a death Ray capable of writing on the moon, and may or may not have caused the Tunguska Blast. he once calculated the resonance frequency of the planet, but wisely decided not to make use of the knowledge. Tessla was also crasy. He feared body hair, had great trouble interacting with people, even peers, and died alone in an attic full of pigeons. As a mentor, Tessla incourages truesy inspired science. All things are explainable, rational and observable, except, of course, the scientist himself. Followers of Tessla are embodyments of all the irrational, unexplainable, and inconceivable that they insist doesn't exist. They also rarely understand why everyone is looking at them funny.

Advantages: +2 dice manipulations spells, +2 dice to one scientific technical skill off the player's choice.
Disadvantages: -2 dice to ettiquete tests.

[Triggerz]

[Big D]

I can't believe that you guys haven't mentioned the Mad Scientist's ally spirit yet... Igor.

Wasn't your hump on the other side?

...

What hump?

[hyzmarca]

[PlatonicPimp]

Why must Igor be an ally spirit? Why can't the doctor just have a friend? :(

All he wants is a friend! (Cries) :sleepy: