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Mariner Mage

by
Thomas N. Baumbach

"Sure, any old wizard can drop a fireball on the bastard's sails, or conjur a gust of wind to help her move, but for my money I'll take a Mariner Mage everytime; they at least know which side is starboard."

The career sailor relies on his knowledge of the sea, the commands of his captain, and his ability to tie a knot. The lucky sailor can also rely on a mariner mage. Mariner mages are a boon to sea going vessels in all things; any ship without a mariner mage aboard is like to find themselves wanting one. From rapid mending of sails, to firebolting the sails of an enemy, the mariner mage uses his magic to enhance and simplify life at sea.

Adventurers: A mariner mage finds adventure in every port and all points in between. Like his mundane counterparts, the mariner mage travels to see and experience the larger world. Along with concerns of treasure and adventure, the mariner mage is concerned with magic and how best to use that magic as a mariner.

Characteristics: Like all sailors, mariner mages seldom stay in one place very long, prefering to travel from port to port and only occasionally spending extended periods of time on dry land. If anything, mariner mages are perceived as more in tune with their ship than the average crewman, a quality usually reserved for the captain.

Alignment: Mariner mages are often of neutral alignment, carrying no bias toward where the next adventure or service might call. A lifetime of interaction with many and varied peoples means the mariner mage often tends toward a good alignment, but there are those who have experienced the sinister side of life, and as such it shows in their alignment.

Religion: Any diety concerned with the sea, oceans, or storms will get attention from a mariner mage. Although a mariner mage is more likely to see common sailor rituals as the superstitions of the simple minded, mariner mages are still likely to seek to appease these gods who will effect travel on the open water.

Background: Mariner mages traditionally come from large port cities, where training and magic and seamanship are equally available. There are as many reasons for mariner mages as their are for a normal person to choose the sailor's life; from a love of the sea to a strong desire to escape a certain place, the mariner mage leaves behind the life he knew for a new one aboard a vessel bound for sunset.

Races: Any race is elidgable to become a mariner mage. Vessels are most commonly comprised of one race, and the captain will most commonly hire a mariner mage of the same race. Still, any race with an aptitude for seamanship, magic, and the willingness to travel makes an excellent mariner mage

						Spells per Day
Level	BA	Fort	Ref	Will	Special Abilities	0	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Sailor Lore, Seamanship +1	3	0	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3	Summon Familiar	4	1	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	+1	+1	+3	+3		4	2	0	-	-	-	-
4th	+2	+1	+4	+4	Favored Spell	4	3	1	-	-	-	-
5th	+2	+1	+4	+4	Seamanship +2	4	4	2	-	-	-	-
6th	+3	+2	+5	+5		4	4	3	0	-	-	-
7th	+3	+2	+5	+5		4	4	3	1	-	-	-
8th	+4	+2	+6	+6	Favored Spell	4	4	4	2	-	-	-
9th	+4	+3	+6	+6	Seamanship +3	4	4	4	3	0	-	-
10th	+5	+3	+7	+7		4	4	4	3	1	-	-
11th	+5	+3	+7	+7		4	4	4	4	2	-	-
12th	+6/+1	+4	+8	+8	Favored Spell	4	4	4	4	3	0	-
13th	+6/+1	+4	+8	+8	Seamanship +4	4	4	4	4	3	1	-
14th	+7/+2	+4	+9	+9		5	4	4	4	4	2	-
15th	+7/+2	+5	+9	+9		5	5	4	4	4	3	0
16th	+8/+3	+5	+10	+10	Favored Spell	5	5	5	4	4	3	1
17th	+8/+3	+5	+10	+10	Seamanship +5	5	5	5	5	4	3	2
18th	+9/+4	+6	+11	+11		5	5	5	5	5	4	3
19th	+9/+4	+6	+11	+11		5	5	5	5	5	5	4
20th	+10/+5	+6	+12	+12	Tsunami 1/day	5	5	5	5	5	5	5

Other Classes: Mariner mages associate well with other classes, as long as the individual has a similar love of the sea. As is common for sailors when dealing with land-lubbers, a marnier mage will come off as arrogant and condescending to those unskilled in seamanship; the situation is furthur complicated when a "dry mage" books passage.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d4.

Class Skills: The mariner mage’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (all skills taken individually) (Int), Knowledge (all skills taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spot (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str), and Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x 4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Mariner mages are proficient with the following weapons: . Mariner mages are not proficient with any type of armor or shield.

	Spells Known
Level	0	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
1st	4	1*	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	5	2	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	6	3	1*	-	-	-	-
4th	6	3	2	-	-	-	-
5th	6	4	3	-	-	-	-
6th	6	4	3	1*	-	-	-
7th	6	4	4	2	-	-	-
8th	6	4	4	3	-	-	-
9th	6	4	4	3	1*	-	-
10th	6	4	4	4	2	-	-
11th	6	4	4	4	3	-	-
12th	6	4	4	4	3	1*	-
13th	6	4	4	4	4	2	-
14th	6	4	4	4	4	3	-
15th	7	4	4	4	4	3	1*
16th	7	5	4	4	4	4	2
17th	7	5	5	4	4	4	3
18th	7	5	5	5	4	4	3
19th	7	5	5	5	5	4	4
20th	7	5	5	5	5	5	4
*Provided the mariner mage has a high enough Intelligence score to have a bonus spell of this level.

Spells: A mariner mage casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the mariner mage spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. To learn or cast a spell, a mariner mage must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a mariner mage’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the mariner mages’s Intelligence modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a mariner mage can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on above. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score. When the above table indicates that the mariner mage gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Intelligence score for that spell level.

The mariner mage’s selection of spells is limited. At most mariner mage levels, he gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Mariner Mage Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a mariner knows is not affected by his Intelligence score; the numbers on Mariner Mage Spells Known are fixed.)

Upon reaching 5th level, and at every third mariner mage level after that (8th, 11th, and so on), a mariner mage can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the mariner mage “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level mariner mage spell he can cast. A mariner mage may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level.

As noted above, a mariner mage need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level.

Sailor Lore (Ex): A mariner mage picks up a lot of knowledge by listening to local gossip in various ports of call or from the sea stories of shipmates. A mariner may make a special sailor lore check with a bonus equal to his level + his Intelligence modifier to see whether he knows some relevant information about local people or history, far away places, or strange superstitions. This check will not necessarily yield true information, as much of the time the sailor has heard the information from someone who heard it from somebody else, who heard it from a friend, who heard it from a guy, etc The mariner mage may not take 10 or take 20 on this check as this sort of knowledge is essentially random. The DM determines the difficulty class; see Bardic Knowledge or the varous Knowledge skills for an idea of appropriate DCs.

Seamanship (Ex): A mariner mage receives the listed number as a confidence bonus to all Balance, Climb, and Profession (Sailor) skill checks.

Summon Familiar (Su): This ability is identical to the sorcerer ability of the same name. More exotic (though not more powerful) familiars are common, including: tropical birds, sea birds, penguins, turtles, monkeys, and occasionally amphibious marine life such as crustaceans. Discuss with your DM the abilities granted by a non-standard familiar.

Favored Spell (Su): The mariner mage's life is devoted to using his magic to make the ship run smoother. As such, he becomes so familiar with the casting of certain spells that the mariner mage learns to cast them most efficiently. Choose one spell up to one level lower than the highest level spell he can cast. Once per day, the mariner mage may cast the chosen spell as though it were cast with the Quicken Spell, Still Spell, and Silent Spell metamagic feats; thus casting the chosen spell is a free action that does not require components other than material. Casting the spell uses one slot of the highest level spell the mariner mage can cast. Each time the mariner mage gains a new Favored Spell, you may choose a different spell to which these effects will apply or gain an additional use per day of a previously chosen spell. The mariner mage loses this ability after one week of being away from the routine of ship life, and regains it one week after returning to his routine.

Tsunami (Sp): Once per day the mariner mage can cast the Tsunami spell at his caster level.

The Tsunami spell originally appeared in Dragon magazin, issue 314.

Mariner Mage Spell List
*Spells marked with an asterisk are described on the spells page. †Spells marked with a cross originally appeared in Dragon magazine, issue 314.

0-Level Spells

Detect Magic
Forecast*
Know Direction
Knot/Untie*
Light
Mage Hand
Message
Mending
Open/Close
Prestidigitation
Purify Food/Drink
Read Magic

1st Level Spells

Air Bubble†
Alarm
Animate Rope
Buoancy*
Charm Animal (Aquatic)
Comprehend Languages
Deep Breath†
Favorable Wind, Lesser*
Feather Fall
Floating Disk
Grease
Gust of Wind
Hold Portal
Identify
Jump
Magic Weapon
Produce Flame
Shield
Speak With Animals (Aquatic)
Obscuring Mist
Unseen Servant

2nd Level Spells

Animal Messenger (Aquatic)
Firebolt*
Fog Cloud
Gentle Repose
Invisibility
Locate Object
Make Whole
Misdirection
Obsure Object
Protect From Arrows
Protect the Sails*
Pyrotechnics
Rope Trick
Spider Climb
Status
Tongues
Warp Wood
Whipsering Wind
Wind Wall

3rd Level Spells

Arcane Sight
Blink
Call Lightning
Clairaudience/Clairvoyance
Dispel Magic
Daylight
Deeper Darkness
Favorable Wind, Greater*
Fly
Haste
Nondetection
Harden Hull*
See Invisibilty
Signal Flare*
Silence
Sleet Storm
Stinking Cloud
Water Breathing
Water Walk
Quench

4th Level Spells

Arcane Eye
Black Tentacles
Commune with Nature
Control Water
Detect Scrying
Dimension Door
Dominate Animal (Aquatic)
Freedom of Movement
Fireball
Ice Storm
Lightning Bolt
Legend Lore
Locate Creature
Minor Creation
Summon Mephit
Repel Vermin
Resilient Sphere
Scrying
Solid Fog
Wall of Water†

5th Level Spells

Acid Fog
Call Lightning Storm
Captivating Song
Control Winds
Downdraft†
Fabricate
Instant Summons
Rogue Wave†
Sending
Silence, Greater
Summon Elemental (Medium)
Updraft†
Wall of Fire
Wind Walk

6th Level Spells

Control Weather
Disintegrate
Dispel Magic, Greater
Extract Water Elemental†
Globe of Invulnerability
Flesh to Stone
Find the Path
Reverse Gravity
Stone to Flesh
Submerge Ship†
Summon Elemental (Large)
Teleport
Wall of Force