In the Late 70s the author Robert Asprin wrote a series of YA novels. The titles were all some kind of pun using the word Myth. By his own account the first book was a ripoff of a Bob Hope movie. Anyway I loved them when I was young and they have a funny mix of high magic and con artists pretending to be powerful mages. Like most novels it’s difficult to get the flavor of magic in a book to magic at the table. The mechanics and the way the players interface with them strip that away. But 5e is special. There’s so much room for customization that it can be done. My first attempt was to try and cobble together a character like The Great Skeeve by taking a few levels in different classes. I could get a character who could do all the things the character in the series could do but he could do too much. Skeeve knew like 3 spells in the first couple books but withe sleight of hand and showmanship from his mentor Aahz they convinced the multiverse that Skeeve was a truly powerful wizard. And it was fun. So I’ve started making a new class.
I call it the Magik User as a nod to 1e AD&D and because that’s how they spell it in the book. It’s a little bit thief, and bard, they’re just Half casters, the learn like a wizard but cast like a sorcerer. The spell selection in the setting is very limited. I don’t thik that would work in a standard campaign but I’m looking forward to play testing it in a 1-3 shot campaign. It puts a lot of pressure on the players (especially at low levels) to use the spells creatively to make them seem more than they are. A persuasion, performance, sleight of hand, stealth, and intimidation skills are going to do a lot of heavy lifting.
To make it feel like the book I’ve eliminated a lot of higher level spells. For example the telekinesis spell is just mage hand using a higher level spell slot. Flame strike turns into burning hands and probably fireball. Prestidigitation levels up into several different illusion spells.
I don’t have it all in a presentable format yet but I think it’s going to work.
I’ll also rework a few other classes so we can have a well rounded party. I’ll share it when I’m done.
In the Late 70s the author Robert Asprin wrote a series of YA novels. The titles were all some kind of pun using the word Myth. By his own account the first book was a ripoff of a Bob Hope movie. Anyway I loved them when I was young and they have a funny mix of high magic and con artists pretending to be powerful mages. Like most novels it’s difficult to get the flavor of magic in a book to magic at the table. The mechanics and the way the players interface with them strip that away. But 5e is special. There’s so much room for customization that it can be done. My first attempt was to try and cobble together a character like The Great Skeeve by taking a few levels in different classes. I could get a character who could do all the things the character in the series could do but he could do too much. Skeeve knew like 3 spells in the first couple books but withe sleight of hand and showmanship from his mentor Aahz they convinced the multiverse that Skeeve was a truly powerful wizard. And it was fun. So I’ve started making a new class.
I call it the Magik User as a nod to 1e AD&D and because that’s how they spell it in the book. It’s a little bit thief, and bard, they’re just Half casters, the learn like a wizard but cast like a sorcerer. The spell selection in the setting is very limited. I don’t thik that would work in a standard campaign but I’m looking forward to play testing it in a 1-3 shot campaign. It puts a lot of pressure on the players (especially at low levels) to use the spells creatively to make them seem more than they are. A persuasion, performance, sleight of hand, stealth, and intimidation skills are going to do a lot of heavy lifting.
To make it feel like the book I’ve eliminated a lot of higher level spells. For example the telekinesis spell is just mage hand using a higher level spell slot. Flame strike turns into burning hands and probably fireball. Prestidigitation levels up into several different illusion spells.
I don’t have it all in a presentable format yet but I think it’s going to work.
I’ll also rework a few other classes so we can have a well rounded party. I’ll share it when I’m done.
Wow, I loved those books as a kid but I haven't thought about them in forever. I love this idea.
pronouns: he/she/they
It’s so nice to find someone else who remembers them