Characters: Wizard
Our series on character types concludes with the one you’ve been waiting for — the wizard. Read on!
Wizard
The full wizard in action is a terror to behold. His is an ancient bloodline, heir to the magics of old and able to command their full array; given enough time and preparation, there is very little to limit what a wizard can accomplish beyond the fetters of his own belief in what he can do.
In short, a Wizard of the White Council is a lean, mean, arcane ass-kicking machine.
HARRY: Boo yah!
The power comes at a price. Wizards are practically walking contraband, the way their own White Council watches over them. The Council’s policemen, the Wardens, are particularly vigilant (or at least were until things got… interesting) about making sure that all known wizards walk the straight and narrow. The Laws of Magic were laid down for a reason, and it’s the capabilities of the mortal wizard that made them necessary.
Plus there’s that little problem of a raging, ongoing war between the vampires and the wizards, brought on by one of the White Council’s own members. Players of wizard characters who are not active in their support of the White Council’s war efforts will need a damn fine reason for why they aren’t off fighting the good fight. That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of such reasons — but the war is so big, so far-reaching, it simply can’t be ignored.
Every wizard is different, with his or her own special aptitudes and approach to magic, but they are all potentially powerful individuals with a common core set of abilities. They stand with a foot in each world — the mundane and the magical — and are the object of deep interest by a variety of organizations, from the White Council of Wizards, to the Courts of the Faerie and Vampires, to the mortal police and the mafia, and more.
Musts: A wizard must have a high concept aspect that declares his or her nature as a wizard (e.g., WIZARD FOR HIRE or FAVORITE SON OF THE WHITE COUNCIL). In addition, the character must take the following supernatural abilities:
- Evocation
- Thaumaturgy
- The Sight
- Soulgaze
- Wizard’s Constitution
See the power descriptions for more details. Players of spellcasting characters should take some time to work out their most often used, practiced spells before play.
Options: Wizards may (and in fact, should at least once) take the Refinement ability as many times as they can afford, even multiple times for one particular mode of spellcasting (Thaumaturgy or Evocation).
@fred
That is the way of the Dark Side of Dresden.
@Jaden
My group and I ALL want to play, so we reached a compromise. We will work together on creating the Dresdenverse Sacramento (our city), then create our PCs together as a group of friends/colleagues. Each PC will have a “personal GM,” and we’ll take turns running stories where our “assigned” PC is the star, and he/she calls upon the other PCs for aid (and, in some cases, there may be “alternate” characters played in particular stories). Hopefully we’ll be able to weave the stories together into a cohesive long collaborative story.
@JohnstonMR, that is a fantastic idea for how to handle the dilemma.
@JohnstonMR
That really is a good idea, thank you for sharing it.
anybody in minnesota planning on playing this me and 2 freinds plan on it but im sure we would love to find a group
@riotopsys
words should be weighed, not counted
Wow, this is a great template. Had to contemplate a little over it, but now I love it. Reminds me a little bit of an “Order of Hermes”-Mage from the old Mage: The Ascension. Since I miss that much, I think the Dresdenverse could absolutly replace this one. And make it more balanced for non-magic-users. Which means: I need that book!
Do you still ship to Germany? I think its Sphaerenmeister, isn´t it?
@ChrisM, there are two German distributors we do business with who keep placing orders, and Sphaerenmeister is one of the stores they serve. So… yes!
Great! Thank you…