Wizards Revisited

Advanced Rules

by Jeff Zitomer
Illustrated by Lorelle Ahlstrom


Whit Publications' Wizards RPG is based on Ralph Bakshi's Wizards and the mouie of the same name. The animated movie Wizards came out in 1977 and became a cult classic among gaming circles around the country.

"You killed Fritz!" and "Here's a little trick Mom showed me when you weren't around," became catch phrases in more than one campaign.

The following rules were originally slated to become part of the Wizards Advanced Player's Handbook. When that project fell through, the author made them available for publication in SHADIS and we readily accepted.

Please note that the following material is in no way 'official' and has not been approved for use with Wizards by Whit Publications.

--Editor

Racial Advantages:

The following are free (i.e. zippo CGP cost!) for the listed races and do not count against the five advantage maximum:

Dwarves: 50' Nightvision. This isn't infravision, but the ability to see in minimal light. Beyond this range, the character will only be able to see shadows and vague shapes. However, the character is somewhat light-sensitive and PER rolls are -1 under bright conditions. Gnomes may purchase this as an advantage (without the PER limitation) for 2 CGP; 3 CGP for the other Faerie races.

Fairies: It was assumed, but never specifically stated in the rules that Fairies can fly. Players should be aware that fairies make noise when they fly; the flapping of their tiny wings sounds like the chirping of crickets. Fairy wings resemble gossamer insect wings but are more flexible. If necessary, a fairy could easily wear a cloak or loose-fitting jacket.

Elflings: Elflings have vestigial fairy wings, and although they are too big, to fly, they can use their wings to provide added balance. In game terms, elflings gain a bonus of +1 with Climbing, Dodge and Tumbling rolls. Like fairies, elflings can disguise their wings under a large cloak.

Robot Player Characters

With their Game Master's approval, players can play a rogue robot. Use the basic attributes listed on page 96. There are many advantages to playing a robot. They look cool, get some pretty exclusive skills and can carry Big Guns.

However, there are many significant drawbacks which should be carefully considered by any player who sees a robot character as the ultimate opportunity to kick butt:

  • Robots do not need to eat or sleep.
  • Robots are immune to poison, disease and radiation.
  • Robots do not have a Technological Stigma (see Disadvantages section). Yep, use 'em if ya got 'em.
  • Robots may select the Assassin or Machinist skill packages.

And now the bad news:

  • There may only be one robot per party. Rogue robots are very uncommon.
  • Robots have the Distinctive Appearance disadvantage (this does not count against the 5 disadvantage limit).
  • Robots must take at least one mental disadvantage. This aberration is a side effect of going rogue. It is strongly suggested that the robot also take the Enemies disadvantage. Such is the life of a professional killer.
  • Robots represent the evil that can be achieved through technology. They should not expect a warm welcome in the Faerie lands. Does FRANKENSTEIN ring a bell?
  • Robots can use magic items and they can be affected by magic just like anyone else, including mental spells, but they can never learn to use magic.
  • Blackwolf will reprogram the robot ever gets his hands on it again. Dead robots can be rebooted in Scortch 1. Since the robot will retain all memories, their previous travelling companions will be in grave danger. You were warned.

Charisma

  • The cost to improve Charisma (for PCs only) is now 4 CGP. The reason for this is that the characters from the movie tend to be charismatic. The characters should be too.

    Luck Points

  • A Luck point may be used in one of four ways: ù To increase HP and SP totals from zero or below to 1.
    • To make any skill attempt an Ace. Don't bother rolling, go straight to the Ace results table.
    • To do maximum damage in any successful attack (as though a 6 was rolled on each damage die).
    • Optional at GMs discretion: to change a Blunder into a normal failure.

    Background Skills for PCs

    Increase the starting CGP total to 50. The extra 10 points may only be used toward the purchase of background skills. These represent the skills taught and encouraged by each community during the character's formative years. These skills:

    • Count toward the 4 level improvement limit.
    • Cannot be used to purchase or improve Impossible level skills.
    • Cannot be used by Faeries to purchase technological skills (i.e. Small Arms, Vehicles).
    • Must include at least one level of the, following:
        Elves: Trade or Riding
        Dwarf:Linguist (Dwarrow)* and either Blacksmith or Mining (see New Skills)
        Gnome: Linguist (Dwarrow)* and Instruction
        Fairy: Bard or Carousing (see New Skills)
        Elfling: Bard or Seduce
        Mutant NPCs: Linguist (Red or German) and Survival

        *Assuming the character was from a region where the predominant language is Elvan, such as East Elfland or Montagar (see Common Skills, page 23). If not, swap this for Elvan and the character's primary language will be Dwarrow.

    Names

    We didn't spot this one until we designed characters for our demos at GenCon! Very few Faeries have surnames. Faeries will identify themselves in formal situations by stating their name, followed by their father's name, and their official occupation (properly embellished to sound important).

    Red Elves: Named after natural events, like the Indians. ex. Weehawk, Hartmoon

    Yellow Elves: Arabic or Norse names. ex. Abdul

    Brown Elves: British names (first or last) or places. ex. Alfie, Brighton

    Dwarves: Husky first names followed by a personal adjective. Particularly reclusive Dwarves will only provide their nickname to strangers, preferring not to reveal something as personal as their birth name. ex. Hank Grumble, Frank Baldskull

    Gnomes: Use the surnames of appropriate writers and philosophers. ex. Asimov (for a scientist), Thoreau (for a naturalist)

    Fairies: Medieval historical names work well, especially British names. ex. Rupert, Sean, Charlemagne

    Elflings: These names should be ethereal and somewhat biblical- sounding. ex. Elinore, Delia, Abraham, Endora.

    Mutants: German first names are popular, especially if the character is in the military. For obvious reasons, mutant names are usually simple. ex. Fritz, Max, Ork, Charlie, Archie.

    More Wizards

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