Warhammer Quest

Wizard's Apprentice

By Thecustodian

The Collages of Magic have a variety of methods of recruiting and training their young members. However, the typical warrior-wizard is not constrained by the methods of the Collages. If a young wizard decides to take up this career then he often seeks the patronage of an older, more powerful wizard to guide him to magical supremacy. The relative youth and vigour of the young man is often a stark contrast, undiminished by years of study, or the toll that living by magic takes, to his master. Indeed, some of the older Wizards take apprentices based more on their apparent ability to act as bodyguard, rather than their magical ability.

In some circumstances, a young wizard might venture on the same sort of quest his master did, even without his protection. He might be on a quest for the old man, proving his skill, or perhaps have decided that he was tired of sweeping up messy experiments, and have struck out on his own, determined to learn the rest of his trade by experience. Perhaps his master has been slain, and the young wizard seeks to take his revenge. Thus, it is not impossible for a young wizard to go adventuring, provided that he can find companions stout enough to defend him until he masters his own potential.
Note that to play as the Apprentice you will need access to my Wizard's Guild expansion.

Starting as an Apprentice

Before he left his master, the Apprentice chose an item of magical power from his master's vaults.
He may choose one such item from the list below.
Spell Sword- The Sword acts as normal, and stores a spell in it. It has the Stored Spell ability- make the appropriate roll on the table from the Wizard's Guild. This is a permanent attribute. In addition, the sword is a magical weapon.
Wizard's Staff- The Apprentice can only access a portion of this Staff's energy. It starts with the Power Store and Reroll Power Dice ability, though it only carries 1D3 power points initially (though can be charged to 6). The Staff follows all of the usual rules for Wizards Staffs.
Potions- 1D3+3 potions, chosen randomly from all of the tables in the Wizard's Guild.
Jewel of Power- Carries an extra 1D3+3 Power Points. Unlike normal Jewel of Power, this one can be recharged, to a total of 6 Power Points.
Cloak of Mystery- The wearer may use this 1D6 times each adventure, either to make them at -1 to be hit for a turn, or to break pinning automatically.
Spell book- roll 3D6 and buy spells as normal. These spells can be used as if the Apprentice knows them, but the Apprentice may do nothing but cast spells in a turn he uses his Spell book.

In addition to this, the Apprentice receives a Sword. If he selected a weapon for his magical item, he receives a single potion, rolled randomly from the tables.

 Starting Spells

To select the initial spells, roll 1D6+1. The Apprentice may draw this many cards from the initial spell list. He must discard all but 2.
The Apprentice receives Power equal to the Power Dice each turn.
He begins with 1D3 Stored Power.
Rules for Treasure and Equipment
The Apprentice can use anything usable by the Wizard.
 

Starting Skills

To represent his martial prowess, the Apprentice also gains skills. He may roll for one Skill from the list at the end.

 
Advanced Rules

Generally the Apprentice can be assumed to follow the rules for the Wizard. However, he is also a better warrior, in part because he has devoted more time to learning such skills. This means that he is slightly more 'physical', but is also less skilled at matters of the arcane that a fully-fledged Wizard.
Power
The apprentice gains the following bonuses to the Power Dice. These are not applied if the Power Dice is a 1.

Apprentices in Settlements

Apprentices very much enjoy the cosmopolitan buzz of the city, and tend to do well. They can visit all of the places the Wizard can get to, and have much the same modifiers. In alehouses and such, their youth and inexperience will betray them, so they have the same negatives, but in upper-class joints they fit in well, having been trained to mingle with society, so gain the positives.
The Apprentice may also visit the Fighting School if he feels particularly mercurial, rolling 2D6-2.

Seeking a Patron

Now that the Apprentice is separated from his original master, it makes sense for him to seek another sponsor. This sponsor, will not necessarily travel with him, but will still offer him some assistance, in return for a bit of work.
To Seek a Patron the Apprentice must roll 1D6. A Novice must roll 4+, a Champion 5+, a Hero 6+, while a Lord may not attempt this. If the roll is a success the Apprentice must work for 1D6 days. Then he may roll on the table below to see what aid he is given.

Training

The Apprentice trains as normal, paying his money and taking a week to advance. Because he is trying to maintain a fighting form as well as learn magic, he has to compromise between the two extremes. Each time he goes up a level he gains 3 new slots for spells, and a new skill. He must decide which he wishes to give precedence to. If he chooses the spells, he can roll 3 dice and buy spells as normal. However, he cannot use his new skill in the next adventure. If he chooses the skill, he learns it as normal and may use it immediately, but gains no spell dice. He must use the usual procedure to gain new spells and fill his slots, though he cannot do this on this visit to the settlement.
As well as this, the Apprentice gains 1D6 Stored Power as usual each time he gains a Battle Level. If he has a Wizard's Staff, it gains attributes at the appropriate levels.
Note that if the Apprentice starts with a Spell Book, these spells cannot be changed.

Visiting the Master

There is one other thing that the Apprentice can do between his adventures. For whatever reason, he left his first master. Sometimes he can try to go back… Each time he advances a Title (at BL 2, 5 and 9) then he may go to visit his master. If his reason for leaving was that his master died, then he will return to examine his tower. If he left because he was thrown out, he will be sneaking into the vaults to see if he can steal anything else.
The Apprentice must travel 1D6 days to reach the tower. He may bring any other warriors who want to come. When he arrives, he goes to the vault (after greeting his old master, if appropriate). Place the Tomb Chamber, and roll on the Objective Room Table, modified for how many warriors are present. Fight the combat as normal. These monsters are either magical creations, placed to guard the vault and to test you, or real monsters that have come to inhabit the vault. Any Spell-casters benefit from an extra 1D6 Power each turn. Chance-casters (Elf Ranger) gain +1 to the Power Dice per turn. This is because the tower has been situated to best channel the winds of magic.
Once the combat is over, each warrior may take an Objective Treasure. The Apprentice also gains one of the Magical Items he chooses from at the beginning of his career, though he cannot gain more than one of any of them.

Skills

The Apprentice's reliance on his fighting skills separates him from more experienced warrior-wizards. As well as this, his relative youth (and arrogance!) allow him to attempt magical feats that other, wiser wizards would never dream of trying. If he is lucky, he will live to know better!

Roleplay Guidelines

The Apprentice can be played in a number of ways. He could be a studious type who doesn't really want to go adventuring. Equally, he could be a young warrior, destined for great things, who uses magic as just another tool. He might be a typical student, trying to experience something of the world (which translates into getting drunk) before settling down to a life of toil. Equally, he might be hell-bent on revenge, and be trying desperately to gain the skills necessary. A lot depends on what you choose as his background. If you cannot decide why he went adventuring, roll on the following table:

This should be a clue to how to roleplay him.

Wizard's Apprentice Battle-Level Chart

Notes

The Apprentice was actually something of a spoof warrior when I started, but it seems to be fairly serious. As ever, he is entirely unplaytested, and I have not balanced all of his skills. He may actually be a more powerful wizard than the Wizard himself after a while, especially as I couldn't think of very many 'magical' skills.
The idea for a Wizard's Apprentice came from the Hero Quest games, where I believe they could be hired as additional warriors. I thought vaguely that it might be a good idea for a warrior, but didn't really do anything. Then I started thinking about a Student of the Collages of Magic, which led me to this.
It could be quite interesting if the Apprentice was present with his master. I would cut back on his Stats, to make him weaker, but give him bonuses for magic, as his master instructs him.
Enjoy!

Thecustodian
4th October 2003
"Bigger Tables! Better Choices! More Rules!"