Return to D&D®
Ability Requirements: Dexterity 13
Prime Requisite: Intelligence
Races Allowed: Human
Duelcrafters are battle wizards who focus their training on casting spells quickly and efficiently. Their arcane understanding of magic is based on an interaction of five principal Ethers. These Ethers oscillate in both distance and time, growing strong in certain locales while all but cancelling themselves out in dead regions. The reality we see is held together by these unseen Ethers, and the nature of the physical world is determined by their interaction.
Duelcrafters usually specialize in the interaction of two or three of the Ethers, thereby becoming more adept with particular spell schools. At each level of experience, an Etruscan Duelcrafter receives five points of Ether training. These can be distributed among any of the five Ethers, but no more than two points can be assigned to any one Ether per level.
The Duelcrafters agree on existence of the following Ethers, based on their properties while interacting with the physical world:
Each magical spell is cast by manipulating and linking these Ethers to various degrees. Thus it is possible to specialize in the manipulation of particular Ethers and thereby cast a narrower range of spells more effectively.
Whenever a Duelcrafter casts a spell, consult the table below to determine the two principal Ethers for the spell school, then take the lowest of the Duelcrafter's Ether training levels. This is the class level at which the spell is cast. If the resulting spell casting level is twice the minimum required to cast the spell, then the casting time is reduced by one segment. However, the casting time can never be reduced below one.
Specialist Duelcrafters focus almost all their time and efforts on two primary Ethers. As a result, two points of Ether training is always spent on each of these primary Ethers per level, leaving only one point remaining to be assigned to any of the others. In addition, the focus on the primary Ethers will usually create a discord in one or more opposing Ethers, so specialists are unable to cast spells from schools that draw upon the discordant Ether. (See the table below.)
In some cases the primary Ethers will have two separate discordant Ethers. These consist of the schools of Conjuration, Enchantment, and Necromancy. In this case, spells can not be cast from schools that draw from both ethers. Schools with only one of the discordant Ethers are weaker in form.
Any Duelcrafter can employ Lesser Divination spells, since they rely on the interaction of all five Ethers. However, the level at which such are cast is the lowest of all five Ether training point totals. Note that, due to the uniqueness of their craft, specialist Duelcrafters do not receive the benefits of a normal specialist wizard.
| School | Principal Ethers | Discordant Ethers | Opposed Schools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abjuration | Resilience and Harmony | Turmoil | Conjuration, Illusion, and Invocation |
| Alteration | Creativity and Resilience | Corruption | Invocation and Necromancy |
| Conjuration | Turmoil and Harmony | Creativity and Resilience | Alteration |
| Greater Divination | Harmony and Corruption | Creativity | Alteration, Enchantment, and Illusion |
| Enchantment | Harmony and Creativity | Corruption and Turmoil | Invocation |
| Illusion | Creativity and Turmoil | Harmony | Abjuration, Conjuration, and Enchantment |
| Invocation | Turmoil and Corruption | Resilience | Abjuration, Alteration, and Necromancy |
| Necromancy | Corruption and Resilience | Creativity and Turmoil | Illusion |
Duelcrafter magic has been honed into a fine art with a particular focus on subduing a foe. This battle magic can give an armies a significant edge against most opponents. Due to the mores developed by the Duelcrafters, however, they are very reluctant to harm others and will usually only employ their spells in a defensive manner.
The Duelcrafters take their code of honor very seriously, and it is not uncommon for duels to occur between wizards over a perceived breach. The rules for these duels must be followed to the letter or the wizard risks banishment from the organization. Due to their strict code of honor, Duelcrafters are not allowed to perform surprise attacks with their magic.
If they are called to a duel, they will closely follow the standard code of conduct for settling such affairs. Unless agreed beforehand, the fight is ended when one of the combatants is subdued or rendered unconscious. The time and the location for the contest is negotiated by the seconds, and a neutral third party acts as an impartial referee who will terminate the fight after honor has been served.
A Duelcrafter will usually have some skills in melee combat to protect himself from more mundane threats. While certainly not an elite fighter, his weapon skills are not to be scorned. He has been coached in the fine arts of tactical combat by some of the best weapon masters available.
Duelcrafters gain the same proficiencies, THAC0, and hit point dice as a Thief. They make their saving throws as a Wizard and can use any magic item that can be employed by the Wizard class. For weapons they are limited to the club, dagger, knife, short sword, staff, or sling. As is true for the wizard class, a Duelcrafter can wear no armor. Use the table below to determine their wizard spell progression.
| Duelcrafter Level |
Wizard Spell Level | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 5 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 6 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - |
| 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | - |
| 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
| 12 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - |
| 13 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 14 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 15 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |