Alteration

As you get into these, you may notice that I borrowed heavily from The Elder Scrolls (specifically Skyrim). There is also a lot left up to the GM and the characters. For example, in Apothecary, I don't give recipes or information on ingredients or reagents. The same goes for Smithing and Enchanting. such things are up to the group at hand, and it can be very fun and rewarding to tailor the needs and specifics to your group.

Alteration is a quick, utility magic that allows for the casting of relatively basic spells. It deals with natural, simple magics that are good for quick spell casting and defenses as well as how the world and its components interact with each other. While it might not seem much at first glance, it is an incredibly useful tool for doing a great number of things. You could do something as simple as creating a sphere of light to illuminate your way, or you could quickly raise a magic barrier to protect yourself from harm, or even grant you and your allies the ability to breathe underwater and swim more quickly. Eventually you can change your shape and the shape of others. The magic is small, but potent and highly useful.

Primary Stats: Wisdom, Constitution

Bonus to Skill Checks: Heal, Nature

Basic Abilities

Opening this talent tree grants you the following powers and abilities.

Lesser Power Words: You have 5 words of power that have tiny bits of magic in them. They are exceedingly small, and do very little things. One could summon and dismiss a bit of candlelight. Another might be a spark to start a fire. You might have a word of force that could stun an opponent briefly. Whatever you choose, the spell is very small, very minor, but also very useful.

Minor Conjuration: You take the raw power of magic and give it shape. At this level it’s not much, and the easiest thing to create is food or drink. It’s the only thing that’s completely stable and will last. However, with practice and patience you will be able to create real items and artifacts that you can enchant and shape to become something truly powerful.

Transmutation Circle: You draw a specific magical circle that allows you change matter from one thing to another. You can meld metal out of stone, glass from sand, bread from grass, etc. You cannot affect flesh and bone. You cannot summon anything, nor create anything out of thin air, only change something that already exists into something else. This extends to the elements around you. For example, you could have gloves that have a specific transmutation circle on them that allow you to snap your fingers and ignite the air around you. The things you create with this are not as good as real things, nor as durable. For example, you could create bread from grass or wheat, but it won’t have the same nutrition or taste as something that was actually baked with full ingredients, a blade won’t hold an edge for very long, armor will dent and crack quickly, but that doesn’t mean that what you create won’t be useful or helpful, at least for a while. Your skill is limited here but it’s a good start that can lead to more later. 

Mastery: Mastery is a measure of your overall power and ability in a given talent branch. Each rank raises your ability a bit higher, and grants you greater power and access to more abilities further down the line. You must purchase each rank in order. Each rank is explained in detail below.

Rank 1: Your powers are slightly enhanced, slightly reducing the energy you need to cast spells. You can enhance and boost natural abilities in people and animals for a very short time, allowing them to fight harder, recover faster, take less damage, etc. You can summon small bits of fire, ice, lightning, and other natural magics for defensive purposes. The things you create are slightly sturdier and have more of a real quality to them. They also last slightly longer. 10 points.

Rank 2: Your powers are slightly enhanced, slightly reducing the energy you need to cast spells. You can boost Strength, Constitution, or Dexterity by your best stat modifier for no more than a minute, and only one stat at a time. You have the ability to speed up the body’s natural regenerative properties. You can move the earth and summon water. When you create weapons and armor using your transmutation ability, you can imbue the item with qualities from Smithing. They must be qualities relative to your level, so at this point you would have access to things like serrated, extra-fine, etc. The more qualities you put into something, the faster it will disintegrate. 20 points.

Rank 3: Your powers are enhanced, reducing the energy you need to cast spells. You can change someone’s appearance slightly, making them a bit taller, a bit shorter, longer or shorter hair, altering the color, etc. You can heal wounds. You can use small bits of magic for offensive purposes, but it will always be small bursts that stun or disorient for a few moments. To actually hurt someone with magic you need Destructive Magic. You gain another permanent transmutation circle. When you create weapons and armor, you can use the qualities from Smithing. The qualities must be of your level or lower. The more qualities you put into something, the faster it will disintegrate. You can now make Alchemist’s Fire – a green tinted potion that explodes on contact and devours things with a terrible flame. At this level the flame is volatile, but not terribly strong and can be extinguished easily. You gain a +2 to Wisdom. 30 points.

Rank 4: Your powers are greatly enhanced, greatly reducing the energy you need to cast spells. You can polymorph someone for a very short time if you are stronger than they are, but you always have to turn them into something with the same mass. You have greater access to your elemental abilities, allowing spells to last longer and requiring less energy to cast your spells. You gain another permanent transmutation circle. When you create weapons and armor, you can use the qualities from Smithing. The qualities must be of your level or lower. The more qualities you put into something, the faster it will disintegrate. 40 points.

Rank 5: Your powers are greatly enhanced, greatly reducing the energy you need to cast spells.  You can shape shift willing targets and even unwilling targets, provided you are stronger than they are. You can permanently enhance stats for longer periods and by greater amounts, though it will never be permanent and can be used only so often. You can leave bits of elemental magic standing for long periods of times, such as a wall of flame that will disperse with either a command word or after a certain amount of time. You gain another permanent transmutation circle. The things you create now are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. When you create weapons and armor, you can use the qualities from Smithing. The more qualities you put into something, the faster it will disintegrate. Your alchemist’s fire is deadly and few things, aside from a skilled alchemist, can extinguish the flame it produces. You gain a +3 to Wisdom. 50 points.

Permanent Circle: You have practiced one type of transmutation long enough that you know it inside and out, and you’ve learned to apply it permanently to something that would allow you to use it easily and quickly. This could come in the form of gloves that allow you to ignite the air with a snap of your fingers, a pendant that you clutch that allows you to control the earth around you, or a special piece of cloth that allows you to manipulate energy around you to channel lightning. Whatever, it grants you a permanent and easy to use transmutation power that you can control well and on the fly without having to take the time to draw a circle every time. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Mend: You have learned enough about your ability that you can transmute wounds, healing minor wounds almost instantly, and helping others to heal more quickly. You can stymie a gushing wound to a much less severe cut, set bone and help it to heal over more quickly, and more. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 20 points. 

Physical Mastery: You excel at magic that deals with the body. You can enhance the physical nature of people and animals, making them faster, stronger, tougher, etc. Generally it will be magic that comes into play here; however, you can combine it with other abilities. For example, if you were to take Elemental Mastery, you could make someone fly, grant them the ability to breathe underwater, allow them to freeze their opponents with a touch, or even breathe fire. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 20 points.

Shape Shifting: You gain the ability to shape shift. The shape will have your mass and be of a relative size. You start off with 4 different shapes that you have mastered and can easily shift into and out of, and you can learn more and gain greater ability later. You can, if they are willing or you are stronger than them, shape shift other people. This is incredibly difficult and draining. Requires Mastery Rank 3, Physical Mastery, and 15 points.

Dual Cast: Many spells require you to channel energy through your hands, guiding the magic. You now have the ability to cast two separate spells from each hand, or use your hands together to cast the same spell making it a bigger spell with different and more powerful effects. This kind of spell casting requires a great deal of energy and can drain you very quickly. This ability also allows you to use two different transmutation circles together to create new effects. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Power Words: You have a plethora of power words that contain greater magic in them. Now a word can summon a bolt of lightning from the sky, ignite a pillar of flame, or even summon shadows to bathe the world in darkness. You gain an additional 15 power words of your choosing that can be of a reasonable power. They can have different and more powerful effects based on other masteries you have taken and your overall Mastery rank. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 10 points.

Conjuration: You can create many wondrous things, even items with minor bits of power, and powerful weapons and armor. Unless you take the time to make them real, they fade very quickly, and the more you put into them, the faster they fade. You can create items on the fly, but they will take time. If you want them to stay you have to pay for them, but they will still have a cast time, each extra aspect and ability put into it taking longer and longer to create the item, regardless of whether you intend to keep it with points. You can combine this with your transmutation abilities to create things that you need if they aren’t readily available. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 15 points.

Runic Magic: You can create magic runes that have bits of magic in them, ready to spring forth when a certain requirement is met. At first, you can only create runes using power words that you know, but as you grow and learn, you will be able to make new runes and make them more powerful. Requires Power Words, Mastery Rank 3, and 15 points.

Philosopher’s Stone: Through careful study, risk, and dedication, you have unlocked the secrets of making the legendary Philosopher’s Stone – an ancient relic that enhances all transmutation powers. So long as you wear this gem, your powers are enhanced and you can draw more from less in your transmutations. The reagents needed to create this power stone are not easy to come by, but once you have them, you can create something that will grant you amazing abilities.

Level 1 Stone

Your magical powers are slightly enhanced. This includes all spell casting and transmutation abilities. Grants a +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 20 points.

Level 2 Stone

Your magical powers are enhanced. This includes all spell casting and transmutation abilities. Grants a +2 to Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma and a +1 to Constitution. Requires Mastery Rank 4 and 30 points.

Level 3 Stone

Your magical powers are greatly enhanced. This includes all spell casting and transmutation abilities. Grants a +3 to Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma and a +2 to Constitution. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 40 points.

Golem: You can now create and summon a small golem. It could be a small rock, a bit of plant life that you have given legs, or any number of other things. It will be imbued with minor intelligence and abilities based on what you create the golem from. There are 3 different levels of golem which can be summoned and given small and simple commands to follow. They last a short time before becoming inert once more. Each level lasts a bit longer and has slightly greater power, ability and intelligence.

Level 1

Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 15 points.

Level 2

Requires Mastery Rank 4 and 30 points.

Level 3

Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 45 points.

Master of the Elements: You have studied the elements and their movements and effects more than anything else. Through your study you have mastered them and can use them with ease and elegance. You can summon a bolt of lightning to charge a gem, or electrocute a foe. You can turn water from ice to steam in a heartbeat, or create a tidal wave from the moisture in the air. Regardless, you excel in using air, earth, fire, and water in magnificent and creative ways. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 20 points.

Elemental Mastery – Air: It’s all around you and can be shaped and used in many creative and unique ways. You can use the air around you to form a protective bubble, fly, grant you the ability to breathe underwater, and more. You can control the air as easily as you breathe and use it in dazzling and amazing ways. Requires Master of the Elements and 10 points.

Elemental Mastery – Earth: Minerals and rocks, metal and sand, dirt and dust. You have mastered the element of earth, and you can do the incredible with it. From raising massive pillars of obsidian to smash and toss your foes, to making beautiful works of art from sand, your power over the earth is remarkable. So long as you can touch it, you have a valuable weapon and amazing protection. Requires Master of the Elements and 10 points.

Elemental Mastery – Fire: You know it’s dangerous, that it can be wild and unpredictable, but fire is the element you have chosen to pursue. You can feel its ebb and flow, know its moods and currents, and can turn a tiny spark into a raging inferno, or quash the deadliest of flames with a snap of your fingers. It takes almost nothing for you to make fire, and the results of your efforts are both deadly, and wondrous. Requires Master of the Elements and 10 points.

Elemental Mastery – Water: The amazing purity and flexibility of water has made it an appealing thing to master. Whether you need to raise a shield of solid ice to protect you from harm, or to use its delicate properties to heal an ally, water is a versatile tool to aid you in your journey. The smallest drop can bring forth a storm in your capable hands. Requires Master of the Elements and 10 points.

Elemental Golem: Imbued with your intellect and born of the elements themselves, you now can create and summon elemental golems. It will be imbued with minor intelligence and abilities based on what you create the golem from, with each level raising their intellect and abilities. These are permanent companions.

Level 1

Requires Elemental Mastery and 15 points.

Level 2

Requires Elemental Mastery and 25 points.

Level 3

Requires Elemental Mastery and 40 points.

Fleshmaster: You have chosen to take a dark and taboo path that allows you meld and transmute flesh. This can be something as simple as mending a broken bone, or general healing, to something as terrible and dangerous as creating a chimera and resurrecting the dead. There are those that will hate you for taking this path, and your knowledge is both dangerous and powerful, but the rewards you reap are great and the reward far outstrips the risk. You will not be held back by superstition and law and you will do what needs to be done. This path does come with a negative which is the hunted status: You are regarded by magic users and other Alchemists as an outlaw and while you might not be outright attacked there are those that will punish you in their own way through whatever means they see fit. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 20 points.

Master of Anatomy: Your study of flesh and bone has revealed a great many things to you, including just where to strike to make it hurt, and what will affect your enemies in very specific and painful ways. This makes you a better tactician and fighter in general and can help you in those tricky interrogations when you need the subject to stay alive longer instead of bleeding out. Requires Fleshmaster and 15 points.

Chimera: Flesh to flesh, bone to bone, instilling with life and intelligence, you create a new life form with incredible power and ability. You can now create a Chimera companion. Its intelligence and abilities are based on the creatures you combine, as well as your own skill and abilities. The creature will be loyal to you, though it may not like anyone or anything else. Requires Fleshmaster and 15 points.

Advanced Shape Shifting: Your shape shifting ability is greatly enhanced, and you can quickly learn new forms, shift into various forms, and even change size and mass. Requires Shape Shifting, Mastery Rank 5, and 25 points.

Beyond the Gate: You have sacrificed much, made mistakes along the way and even nearly died, but you have come through it all with greater knowledge and infinitely greater power. You no longer need to use transmutation circles. Your powers are greatly enhanced. You gain a +3 to Wisdom. You can imbue things with life for a limited time (this includes corpses and inanimate objects, granting them a minor life of their own, as well as using energy for healing purposes) and you can slightly break the rules of equivalent exchange to a certain extent. Requires Mastery Rank 5, one of the secondary Mastery talents and 50 points.