OSR Class: Oracle Wizard

"The arcane currents are dangerous and unpredictable, true, but a learned man may find insight and knowledge within such mysterious deeps." - Marius Helden, oneiromancer to King Ven II of Myrland.

More wizards! This one is a norn-ish, oracle, fortune teller type. Boons & Banes are of course borrowed from Shadow of the Demon Lord, others are credited where appropriate.

All wizards harness the power of the arcane that infests and permeates the veil between worlds. Wizards of the Orthodox schools are known for their flashy, though undeniably effective, spells and their knowledge of scholastic lore. The Moderati knit flesh and draw poison with a touch - haughty, pious, and secure in their mastery of the physical body. But it is the Oracles who delve deepest into the well of power.

There is no overarching school of Oracle wizards, though covens and choirs of them are formed here and there. They are singular individuals who came into their powers through a variety of ways, all of them traumatic. Despite this separation, all Oracles bear a white staff engraved with arcane symbols. Spellbooks are useless to them, for all Oracles are blind to the material world. Their sight is instead turned to the currents and threads of the arcane, where they sift and weave the truth from myriad reflections and echoes from the material world.

Their powers allow Oracles to discern events past, present and future, determine truth from falsehoods and divine the whims of fate, for they can see the movements behind the mirror of reality and peer into the chaotic abyss from which all magic originates. Some Oracles live on the outskirts of society as travelling fortune tellers, others take up position as sages in remote locations and offer advice to those who prove worthy, while some few are recruited by those who seek their knowledge in spite of their unrecognised status.

Credit, Tomáš Olekšák

Wizard: Oracle

Additional Starting Equipment: engraved white staff, 3 sachets of tea leaves, embossed tarot cards, steel mirror, 1d6sp.

Status: Outsider.

Perk: You are aware of the location of objects and creatures within a line of sight of 50', even in darkness (though magical darkness fogs this sense). You can perceive the focus of your fortune telling. You have a system of tactile writing and your engraved staff counts as your spellbook - it costs the same to replace if necessary and has the same spell capacity.

Drawback: You are blind to the material world. Your Perk allows you to move and fight relatively unhindered, but you cannot read the words on a page, gauge someone's facial expression, tell what a specific object is without first touching it or tell whether you are in light or shadow etc.

I didn't want to cripple this class, but being blind has some serious drawbacks. Being able to sense things in total darkness could come in very handy, however.

Cantrips:

1. You may recall your staff to your hand with a gesture. It curves around objects that you couldn't feasibly move.

2. You always know the location of your staff, as long as it is intact.

3. You can make your eyes glow a bright white.

Keeping hold of your staff is pretty important as an Oracle, but you can also use it as a primitive tracking device or knock someone or something off balance. Also you can creep people out with your spooky eyes.

Credit, Yuu D

Oracle Spell List

1. Unseen Servant

Range: 0'; Target: N/A; Duration: [dice] Turns

You fashion a servant of magical energy from the aether. It is a mindless force and will obey your verbal commands - it can open doors, move light objects and so on. The servant is not capable of attacking enemies directly, but it could push something off a ledge onto them. The servant has no physical form and cannot be damaged. It counts as flying for movement purposes. There is no maximum distance that the servant can travel to, but it may end up out of earshot for the purposes of commanding it, in which case it will wait until the spell expires or a command is given that it can clearly hear.

2. Insight

Range: 50'; Target: [dice] creatures; Duration: [sum] Rounds

You tweak the ethereal currents surrounding the target, weighing fortune in their favour. The target makes all rolls with 1 Boon for the duration of the spell.

3. Magic Missile

Range: 50'; Target: Varies; Duration: Instant

You unleash [dice] darts of coruscating energy from your hands that streak unerringly towards your target like ethereal piscids. You produce [dice] missiles and may divide them between targets as you see fit. Each missile does 1d4+[dice] damage.

4. Polyglot

Range: 0'; Target: Self; Duration: [dice] Turns

You attune yourself to the astral currents surrounding your audience and divine the truth of spoken words. For the duration of this spell you can understand and speak a language that you do not already know. Idioms and figures of speech will not translate as easily - the spell just literally allows you to understand the words, not the meaning behind any expressions. It is obvious that you are not a fluent speaker of the language.

5. Message

Range: 50'; Target: One object or surface; Duration: Permanent (until triggered)

You enchant an object or surface to bear a message. This could be a verbal, pictographical or written message, or a message in tactile writing. You must state the message and the trigger that will reveal it. The message can be as long as a short letter, and written messages will fade after a minute or two.

6. Whirling Staff  

Range: Touch; Target: Staff; Duration: [sum] Rounds

You can cast this spell as a free action. You get +1 Defense while you whirl your staff around with both hands. The next attack you make with the staff does an additional 1d6+[dice] damage and counts as magical. This spell lasts for [sum] Rounds or until you attack. You can also throw a whirling staff 50' with a standard attack, dealing 1d6+[dice] damage.

Stolen from Skerples here.

7. Augury

Range: 0'; Target: Self; Duration: [dice] Turns

You focus upon an appropriate vessel - tea leaves, a tarot set, swallow entrails etc. - and slip into a meditative trance as you drift on the currents of the aether and gaze back through the porous veil that separates reality from utter chaos. You may ask the GM a question regarding a person, creature, object or location in the world. The question must be posed in in-game terms, no asking for HP totals or AC etc. The GM will narrate a vision that answers your question, which may require interpretation. Each [dice] you contribute allows you to ask a follow up question on the same topic. Once you have cast this spell regarding a particular thing, you must interact with that thing before you are able to glean further information by use of this spell. You can still ask questions of other things or places.

I wanted a spell that allowed for divination and information gathering, but without allowing the PCs to sit back and hoover up information. A bit of preparation is fine but I'm not about to hand over my bestiary and adventure notes.

8. Clairvoyance

Range: Unlimited (see below); Target: See below; Duration: [dice] Turns

You scry an intimately familiar or obvious location (i.e. the caster's home, behind a door, or the roof of a tower in the distance) in a mirror or bowl of water. You can see and hear as if you were standing in that location. You can perceive the image that emerges on the scrying surface, despite your blindness, and any noise from the scrying emanates from your location as well.

9. Recollection

Range: 0'; Target: N/A; Duration: [sum] Turns

The aether knows neither past nor future. All is now. You focus your power and extract an object (technically a copy that the universe creates to prevent itself from imploding) from the past and draw it into the present. This object must be something that you have handled or at least seen in the flesh. This copy will last until the material world snips the threads linking it to the past and ties them off, destroying the copy and preventing the source from being copied again.

Handy in a pinch to grab that rope that was dropped down a chasm a few hours ago, but hopefully you aren't climbing it when it vanishes.

10. True Sight

Range: 0'; Target: Self; Duration: [dice] Turns

Your blindsight is extended to 100' and you can see through mundane and magical darkness, see through illusions, and see the true form of invisible things and shapeshifters. If you cast this spell with three or more [dice] then you can also see through non-magical disguises, recognise a liar on sight and perceive a person's surface thoughts if you concentrate.

Emblem Spells

11. Threads of Fate

Range: 20'; Target: [dice] creatures; Duration: Current combat

You pluck and weave the strands of fate surrounding the target(s), diverting harmful and catastrophic futures. The targets may each ignore a total of [sum] damage from enemy attacks as the blows miraculously glance off armour and swing wide at the last second.

This is the big one - 4 PCs can ignore 4-24 (averaging 14) points of damage each.

12. Geas

Range: Touch; Target: One creature; Duration: Permanent

Can only be cast with 4MD. Your control over the astral strands of fate is absolute. You compel the target of this spell to perform a service to you, whether they like it or not. Once the spell takes effect the target must devote their absolute attention to furthering this goal and once it is complete they are freed of the spell. The target can Save to resist the effects of the spell, but failure allows you to inflict a curse upon them.

Credit, Nikolay Moskvin

Mishaps

1. MD only return to your pool on a 1-2 for 24 hours.

2. Take 1d6 damage.

3. Random mutation for 1d6 Rounds, then Save with a -4 penalty. Permanent if you fail.

4. Your blindsight flees you for 1d6 Turns.

5. You are stunned by horrific visions of desolate futures for 1d6 Rounds.

6. Take 1 Bane on all rolls for 1d6 Turns.

Dooms

1. The skein of fate winds itself around your soul. Make all rolls with 2 Banes.

2. The knots of destiny tighten around you. Your suffer critical failures on a roll of ≥15.

3. Your soul is dragged screaming into the maelstrom of doom. Everyone within 100' loses all money and treasure and magical items have a 2-in-6 chance of becoming inert. Your body remains catatonic and will slowly die of thirst and starvation.