History of Simon Pendergast

[mr_e]

Simon Pendergast:

Having been born into a remarkably consistent middle-class, land-owning family as the youngest of four brothers, there were certain expectations placed upon Simon. Namely to enter into the service of the local lord as soon as possible, serving alongside his brothers and father (and also his grandfather's ashes). However, it soon became obvious that, despite being perfectly dextrous and free from lice, Simon lacked the strength and desire to progress in his chosen (for him) profession. This was further exacerbated by an uncommon lack of common sense, the likes of which was unknown in the Pendergast family.

Despite his father's frequent exasperated allusions to running out of genes for their last child, his parents, ever practical, were pro-active in finding him a useful role in society. When a local priest noticed his voracious appetite for reading books and eagerness to learn abstract concepts, his parents jumped at the chance: with the Pendergasts' generations of faithful service, and Simon's obvious intelligence, they were able to secure his tuition under the lord's own wizard.

They were proved right in their faith in their son, as Simon excelled in his studies, although his lack of common sense and alarming amount of trust in strangers meant that he was kept under close supervision. To his parents' delight, he was eventually able to participate in combat alongside his family, assisting in fighting off raiders and clearing out goblins and other general nuisances. Some degree of supervision was always required, due to an alarming propensity for flames in confined spaces, amongst other decisions of dubious tactical worth.

Eventually, Simon began to feel stifled in such a limited, although friendly, environment. With much reluctance, his parents let him go to the nearest city, in order to study under one of the mages, and also in secret hope it might jolt some sense in to him, or at least make him slightly less comfortable around strangers. After saying his fond farewells and promising to return some day, he set off for a life of cheap beer and hard study under one of the finest mages...

[mr_e]

Simon tends to wear brown, monk-type robes and cloak when travelling or ready for combat, and as such will appear unremarkable on first glance. He tends towards the classical rural good looks, with his dark hair kept trimmed above his eyes (in order not to further impair his brothers' chances of survival). His disarmingly trusting attitude is backed up by a pleasant, agreeable temperament, which makes him generally likeable. He still retains some of the Pendergast fighting spirit, and can become quite zealous in combat, and still has a preference for big, dangerous spells. Fortunately, clearing out the occasional lair or two taught him that the gentler spells can be useful too, and a sound grounding in battle tactics was given to him during his fine tuition. Burning hands still remains a favourite, however, as he misses not being able to enter hand-to-hand combat as effectively as his other family members.

And now the nitty-gritty:

Class: 6th level magic-user (magician)
Age: over 30
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 10st
Armour class: 8
Hit points: 23

10 Strength
18 Intelligence
07 Wisdom
16 Dexterity
15 Constitution
14 Charisma
16 Comeliness

Weapons will have to be a dagger (or two) and a staff, and expect him to be using a lot of evocation spells where at all possible. Oh, and don't forget to duck.

[Mike]

Oh, and don't forget to duck.

Oh no another mage with the saying "DUCK!"

Like the story John, see ya later.

PS Carrot Cake is achieved!

[Fez]

love the background john - you've even managed to come up with a decent name for once!

[Mike]

I also like the way that your low wisdom roll has informed the character history. Impressive.

[johnriley1uk]

Mike's obscure comment refers to the mage with a Wand of Wonder with the command word "Duck!" (This is for guests or the uninitiated reading this thread)

Generally, the command word was very good advice....

[mr_e]

If I'm quite honest, I tend to roll the stats first, usually only knowing what character class I want to play. I find it more logical, letting the genes dictate some of the characteristics.

Don't ask about the character name: the surname involved a phone book, and Simon just sounded very "youngest son". And don't think I missed you abusing my first name in another thread, Fez!

Well, that didn't go too badly, it feels nice to actually do a character history, even if the lead in to the adventure was left a bit vague. Oh, and if you don't want to hear the word "duck", then I can always use a longer phrase, or develop a stutter...

[mr_e]

Random questions, to make sure I'm getting this spell-casting thing:

I've been told I can have 6/6/3 spells of each level written. Although I may be able to know more, I'm limited by what I actually have in my spell book (or on scrolls, which I roll to know as I find them, correct?), right?
Secondly, is a "write" spell the only way to transfer spells I may find into my spell book? I baulked when I saw the requirements for that, but i suspect it is.

I'm having a stupid moment...

[johnriley1uk]

When mages go for training to increase their level, they laboriously copy a new spell or two into their books as part of the process. Simon Pendergast already has 6 1st level, 6 second and three thrird level spells, but, as you say, he can only memorise some of them at any one time.

If he finds a scroll, he can cast the spell by reading it out loud, but then it disappears from the scroll.

He can opt instead to copy the spell from the scroll into his spell book, it needs a write spell to do so and the spell disappears from the scroll as he copies it.

As a new spell book is found, a Read magic is needed to unravel its code and then the percentage chance to know is rolled to see if what is written is understood.

Hope that helps!

[mr_e]

Thankyou! That does clear things up a bit. Now to try and choose some spells...

[johnriley1uk]

Another thought - in extremis it is possible to cast spells from scrolls that are above the level you could normally use. This is a dangerous thing to try, as one mispronunciation or falter could mean disaster...However, mages do this sometimes and sometimes it works. Your DM has the rules to find out what happens.

Finally, it is also possible to cast a spell straight out of a spell book as if it were a scroll. This is very perilous indeed and will certainly mean destruction of the page involved, maybe adjacent pages as well or even the whole book. Not for the faint hearted!

[Mike]

Dude, you got the coolest familiar EVER! It was a genius idea to use that spell on the uber island. . . . just don't let your super familiar boss you about, you need to know who is BOSS man!

Just for people who were not there - the familiar was a Blue giant owl, it has the ability to have telepathy and shoots twin lightening bolts from its eyes. Not only that but is called Melshimber which is, in my humble opinion, a great name! :D

[mr_e]

It's an okay name, I guess. Pretty impressed he managed to fail his saving throw, but Simon really can't really complain, lucky git that he is. I'm certainly curious as to what other abilities Melshimber posesses, though.

"Leave my tree or I will tear you to shreds": the sign of a quality blue owl.

[johnriley1uk]

A quality blue owl with a really bad attitude....

:)

[Mike]

Will just teach humility - either that or there is some other plan afoot which where he 'wanted' to be a familiar. . . . thats what powerful creatures always say though . . . . the 'I planned for that to happen' attitude. . . .