Determining Magical Heritage
By Eric Cline
From the writings of Elladan Celebrindal (20th Level Elven Scholar and 5th Level Wizard): Treatise on the Relationship between Genetics and Magery.
I know many will scoff at the information presented here, but I can assure you it is all true. I have traveled the various dimensions of the Megaverse and can attest to its authenticity. The act of casting magic appears to change or add something to an individual that affects us down to the genetic level, which we then pass on to our children. After many years of research I have been able to quantify this across as many as twenty-four generations of magic users. The transference of magical aptitude is certainly never guaranteed, but among those who have parents that are both magical practitioners (of one form or another) and who take up a magical occupation themselves there is a statistically significant increase in the chance that they will have above 'normal' magical power.
The nature of the parents appears to play a part in the variable results as well. Among those with psionic aptitude, there appears to be the same increase in the chance of magical aptitude psionics of significant power. It has already been found that psionic potential has a genetic component to it, but this indicates a strong relationship between magical aptitude and psionic potential; possibly both are carried by the same gene or gene group.
The same statistical relationship appears to exist with 'supernatural' beings and/or 'creatures of magic'; such as I have observed with the Atlantean T-Man.
Environment also appears to have an influence that cannot be ignored. Genetics still plays a crucial role, but in areas that have high concentrations of magical energy; such as near ley lines and nexus points, the chance for an offspring who displays unusually high magical aptitude increases beyond what I have determined to be typical.
Here are the quantitative results of my years of research. If you wish to review my source materials, I can be contacted through Lazlo University and I would be more than happy to provide you with access.
(What follows is the in-game interpretation of Elladan’s research and how it would effect character creation.)
Note: Zero Generation signifies that the parents, as well as the individual, are not mages or of a psionic class. First Generation signifies that the parents of the individual had no special magical or psionic abilities; but that they themselves are a mage or psionic class. Second Generation signifies that the parents of the individual were both mages or had psionic abilities. Third Generation signifies that the parents and grandparents of the individual were all mages or had psionic abilities, etc.
Step One: Roll on the following table to randomly determine your magical/psionic heritage.
| 01-50%: |
Both parents are 'normal'. |
| 51-75%: |
One parent is of a mage class, master psionic class, creature of magic, or supernatural nature. |
| 76-00%: |
Both parents are of a mage class, master psionic class, creature of magic, or supernatural nature. |
Step Two: Roll 1D10 for each 'special' parent and reference the following chart to determine how many rolls your character gets on the Bonus Table, use zero (0) for a 'normal' parent.
| |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
| 1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
| 2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| 3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| 4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
| 5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| 6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
| 7 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
| 8 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
| 9 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
| 10 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Step Three: Roll as many times as previously indicated on the following table and make the indicated changes to your character’s stats and/or abilities.
Bonus Table:
| 01-05%: |
Add 1D6 to PPE base |
| 06-10%: |
Add 2D4 to PPE base |
| 11-15%: |
Add 2D6 to PPE base
|
| 16-20%: |
Add 4D4 to PPE base |
| 21-25%: |
Add 3D6 to PPE base |
| 26-30%: |
Add 5% to applicable magical OCC abilities |
| 31-50%: |
Gains one ability common to Ley Line Walkers, roll 1D6 to determine which one; if already a Ley Line Walker then add +10% to applicable OCC abilities. |
| 51-55%: |
Gains Ley Line Walker ability #7; if already a Ley Line Walker then double normal speed, range, SDC, and bonus to dodge of ability #7. |
| 56-60%: |
No additional bonus or ability. |
| 61-65%: |
Select 1D4 additional spells from levels 1 thru 4. |
| 66-70%: |
Increase typical range of spells by 25% |
| 71-75%: |
Increase typical duration of spells by 25% |
| 76-80%: |
Gain ‘Lore: Magic’ skill at +20% proficiency; continues to improve normally as per level. If this skill is selected separately then apply a +20% bonus, in addition to OCC and/or IQ bonuses. |
| 81-85%: |
Add +1 to spell strength |
| 86-90%: |
Add +1 to save vs magic |
| 91-94%: |
Can magically speak all languages (per the spell Tongues) |
| 95-98%: |
Can magically read all languages (per the spell Eyes of Thoth) |
| 99-00%: |
Due to the influence of a ley line, nexus, or similar place of power you get an additional roll on the Bonus Table; roll again twice. |
