Court Wizard School

No one expects a blacksmith or cobbler to rule. Why are wizards any different? Power is not the same thing as judgment.

Court wizards bend knee to people with power and status rather than seeking crowns or coronets for themselves. They view magic as their ticket in, an essential skill they can leverage for position, instead of the focus of their lives. While some truly are humble enough to deem reflected glory their proper place, most combine modesty with other, more practical, concerns. For instance, many court wizards have backgrounds that their society believes disqualifies them from the heights of power such as gender, ethnicity, or social class requiring them to influence events through someone more “appropriate” or at least acceptable to common prejudice. Others simply want the authority and comfort that comes from high office but are canny enough to realize that actual rulers spend far too much time either dealing with tedious nonsense or dodging assassins, ambitious rivals, and revolutionaries. Though, as the name suggests, court wizards typically serve nobility or royalty, this has more to do with how power is usually distributed.

Court wizards willingly pledge loyalty to whatever a society considers an appropriate leader whether a merchant prince, elected official, village elder, or anyone else with the right title. Usually they must start small, working their way up through a hierarchy of lesser rulers before finally landing someone with real clout. Since their plans typically depend on the approval of the ruler they serve, court wizards are often a bit sly and practiced manipulators. The best of them use their political skills to subtly guide their master towards making wise decisions while the worst ruthlessly pull strings to get what they want no matter how it affects others or even the realm.

Adventure tends to find court wizards whether they want it to or not. Court wizards without a position accept danger as necessary to develop their magic and win the attention of potential employers. However, duty often pulls even those with lieges away from their cushy lives. Threats to the realm, or their patron, never stop popping up and all too often they require a wizard’s talents. Since these sorts of problems tend to simmer before finally boiling over, smart court wizards make a point of chasing them down before they become unmanageable. Court wizards also sometimes join up with adventuring parties to learn more about their companions whether in hopes of recruiting them or to determine how much of a risk they pose. Despite that possibility, most parties are smart enough to realize that court wizards, with their contacts and knowledge, are far too useful to turn away. Court wizards who have lost their position, particularly if due to assassination, revolution, or something else beyond their control, sometimes take to adventuring while searching for revenge or to find (or safeguard) a secret heir.

Court wizards develop magical talents that allow them to offer additional assistance when casting helpful spells, move allies to a better location, or to make those they touch even more effective in a number of different ways. Each of these abilities works better when applied to the one particular target, traditionally referred to as a court wizard’s “lord.” Despite the name, court wizards are not required to grant this status to the person they serve and can apply it to any creature other than themselves, even a fellow party member. Court wizards must designate a lord whenever they prepare spells but are free to retain their existing lord from day to day.

School Powers

Power Behind the Throne (Su)

Whenever you successfully cast a beneficial spell on another creature you can also, as a swift action, choose to perform an aid another maneuver on the target. You must still make a hypothetical AC 10 melee “attack” or DC 10 skill check even if you cast the spell from too far away to actually make physical contact. If you succeed, the target gains an additional +1 bonus on the action you are assisting along with the +2 granted by the aid another maneuver. This increases by a further +1 for every five wizard levels you possess up to a maximum of +5 at 20th level. This bonus does not stack with any other action or effect that improves your aid another maneuver. The bonus, except for the +2 granted by any aid another maneuver, doubles when you assist your lord.

If your spell benefits multiple creatures you must choose which one to target with that aid another. Whenever you successfully use this ability you gain temporary hit points equal to the level of the spell or twice that if assisting your lord. These hit points stack with each other and remain until lost due to injury or the next time you prepare spells, whichever comes first.

Out of Harms’ Way (Sp)

As an immediate action, you can produce a wave of telekinetic force that slightly lifts, a few inches, and then moves another willing creature 5 feet to any open adjacent square.

This does not provoke an attack of opportunity. When used on your lord you can move him up to 15 feet instead. If used as a standard action you can increase the distance you move the target by up to 5 additional feet for every two wizard levels you possess (minimum of 5 feet).

This does not count towards the target’s movement during his own move action. You cannot move a creature through an opponent’s square but you need not move him in a straight line. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.

Exalt (Sp)

At 8th level, you can touch another creature and grant a +2 enhancement bonus to any one of the following:

• One ability score (Strength, Dexterity, etc)
• Attack rolls
• Initiative
• One saving throw (Fortitude, Reflex, or Will)
• Checks when using one specific skill
• Weapon damage rolls

This bonus increases to +3 at 10th level, +4 at 15th, and finally +5 at 20th. Each bonus lasts for a number of minutes equal to 1/2 your wizard level. Each day, you can grant these bonuses to either your lord and one other creature or your lord twice. You can grant different bonuses with each application however you cannot withdraw a bonus once granted. You must wait for it to expire on its own even if the target dies, becomes incapacitated, or betrays you.

Court Wizard Spells

• Cantrips—light, resistance
• 1st level—air bubble, ant haul, anticipate peril, crafter’s fortune, endure elements, enlarge person, expeditious retreat, liberating command, longshot, mage armor, marid’s mastery, moment of greatness, protection from chaos/evil/good/law, reduce person, strong wings, touch of the sea, unerring weapon, vocal alteration, winter feathers
• 2nd level—ant haul (communal), badger’s ferocity, bear’s endurance, boiling blood, bull’s strength, bullet shield, cat’s grace, certain grip, cushioning bands, death from above, darkvision, delay pain, eagle’s splendor, endure elements (communal), fox’s cunning, owl’s wisdom, protection from arrows, protection from chaos/evil/good/law (communal), resist energy, slipstream, spider climb, squeeze
• 3rd level—ablative barrier, blood scent, burrow, countless eyes, darkvision (communal), displacement, fins to feet, fly, gaseous form, haste, heroism, magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law, prehensile pilferer, protection from arrows (communal), protection from energy, rage, resist energy (communal), spider climb (communal)
• 4th level—darkvision (greater), earth glide, enlarge person (mass), miasmatic form, protection from energy (communal), reduce person (mass), ride the waves, scorching ash form, telekinetic charge
• 5th level—animal growth, fickle winds, half-blood extraction, life bubble, polymorph, seeming, stoneskin (communal)
• 6th level—bear’s endurance (mass), bull’s strength (mass), cat’s grace (mass), eagle’s splendor (mass), fox’s cunning (mass), heroism (greater), owl’s wisdom (mass), veil
• 7th level—firebrand, fly (mass), invisibility (mass), joyful rapture, planar adaption (mass), polymorph (greater), sequester, statue
• 8th level—mind blank, polymorph any object, protection from spells
• 9th level—foresight, freedom, heroic invocation, mind blank (communal)