Wu-Jen (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Wu jen are variants wizards with a far eastern theme. They are seldom found living with the rest of human society. Instead, they live as hermits in the wilderness, purifying their bodies and minds to contact the various natural and supernatural powers of the world. From these entities they learn their spells—magical means to control the invisible forces of the world. Wu jen crave magical power outside organized colleges of wizardry. Their thirst drives them to seek out others like themselves— hermits, recluses, or exiles who have gained the secrets they seek. Most wu jen are trained by a single mentor in this fashion, outcast from proper society and set apart by their fearsome supernatural powers. Some gained their power on their own, trough the aid of spirits,or as dropouts from other magical classes. Wu jen starting age is in the youngest age bracket for their race.

Alignment: Wu jen tend to stand apart from the lawful societies predominant in most cultures, flouting the rules and norms of decent folk. They have a strong tendency toward chaos, but in any event they cannot be lawful.

Background: Wu jen crave magical power outside organized colleges of wizardry. Their thirst drives them to seek out others like themselves— hermits, recluses, or exiles who have gained the secrets they seek. Most wu jen are trained by a single mentor in this fashion, outcast from proper society and set apart by their fearsome supernatural powers. Some gained their power on their own, trough the aid of spirits,or as dropouts from other magical classes. Wu jen starting age is in the youngest age bracket for their race.

Game Rule Information

Wu jen have the following game statistics.

Class Skills

A wu jen’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Fly (Dex) Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Perform (Cha), Spellcraft (Int), and Survial (Wis).

Skill Points Per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All the following are class features of the wu jen.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Wu jen are proficient with all simple weapons and with the longsword. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with a wu jen’s arcane gestures, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail. This replaces the wizard's normal weapon and armor proficiencies.

Bonus Languages

A wu jen add Draconic and Giant for one of the bonus languages available to the character because of her race, since many ancient tomes of magic are written in these languages and apprentice wu jen often learn them as part of their studies. This replaces the wizard's normal bonus languages.

Watchful Spirit

Once per day, a wu jen can reroll an initiative roll she has just made before she knows her place in the initiative order. She takes the better of the two rolls. This replaces the Scribe Scroll bonus feat wizards receive at first level.

Power Secrets

A wu jen can ferret out an advantage from supernatural creatures that she (or her companions) defeat. The creature must be killed (within the last minute), rendered helpless, or surrender. A certain creature can only offer its power to one wu jen once per day multiple wu jen working together must share. The rite to gain a power secret takes one minute. In this ritual, the wu-jen can prepare an additional spell of a level no higher than half the defeated creature's challenge rating and of a school depending on the creature type. These additional spells are still limited by the wu jen's capacity to prepare spells per day - this is a handy way to replace used spells or to exchange prepared spells that seem more useful. A wu jen that conquers a creature can choose what spell to recover from it, using either school or elemental school, regardless of any school specialization she may or may not have. Opposition schools still take up two spell slots of their level.

Creature spell secrets, by school Abjuration - Ooze Conjuration - Outsider Divination - Aberration Enchantment - Fey Evocation - Monstrous Humanoid Illusion - Fey Necromancy - Undead Transmutation - Magical Beast Universal - Fey, Magical Beast, Monstrous Humanoid, Outsider, or Undead Air elemental arcane school - Air subtype Earth elemental arcane school - Earth subtype Fire elemental arcane school - Fire subtype Metal elemental arcane school - Construct (if made of metal) Void elemental arcane school - Augmented subtype Water elemental arcane school - Water subtype Wood elemental arcane school - Plant creatures

Spell schools by creature type Aberration - Divination school Construct (if made of metal) - Metal elemental arcane school Fey - Enchantment, Illusion, or Universal schools Magical Beast - Transmutation or Universal schools Monstrous Humanoid - Evocation or Universal schools Ooze - Abjuration school Outsider - Conjuration or Universal schools Plant - Wood elemental arcane school Undead - Necromancy or Universal Augmented subtype - Void elemental arcane school Air subtype - Air elemental arcane school Earth subtype - Earth elemental arcane school Fire subtype - Fire elemental arcane Water subtype - Water elemental arcane school

The second column is the first column sorted by creature type (and suptype) - it contains the same information, presented differently.

Dragons are special in this regard, a dragon can give up a power secret of any school. Animals and humanoids do not hold power secrets to wu jen. Nor do familiars and animal companions. This replaces the wizard's arcane bond.

Example: Dao Jen and his companions defeat an Efreet. This is an "outsider (extraplanar, fire)" with a challenge rating of 8. Dao Jen can gain a conjuration school or Fire elemental arcane school spell of 4th level or lower.

Arcane Schools

Wu jen tend to specialize in one of the elemental schools of magic, but this is not a restriction, just a trend.

Spell Secrets and Taboos

At 3rd level, and every level thereafter, a wu jen can choose one spell known to her that then becomes permanently modified as though affected by any one metamagic feat. The spell’s level does not change. As the wu jen goes up in level, she can choose the same spell to be modified in different ways with multiple spell secrets. A single spell can be modified so that its spell level + metamagic modifiers are no higher than the wu jen's level at the time the spell secret is learned. She does not need to know the Metamagic feat she applies to the spell.

Alternatively, the wu jen can learn the Spell Mastery feat applicable to the selected spell as a spell secret. Applying Spell mastery or a Metabagic feat with a spell level modifier below +1 does not require the wu jen to take a taboo

The wu jen accepts taboos in order to placate the spirits and and anchor her spell secrets in the physical world. Depending on the level increase of the chosen metamagic feat, the wu jen must accept a taboo of varying intensity. The more powerful the rating of the taboo, the more debilitating it is for the wu jen. The table below lists common wu jen taboos, their strength, a description, and the game effects of each. Except as noted, each taboo can only be picked once. Overlapping taboos are allowed.

Rating	Taboo	Consequence
1	Can only use simple gear.	Cannot use masterwork items - Magic items do not count.
1	Cannot bathe.	Eccentricity 1.
1	Cannot cut her hair.	Eccentricity 1.
1	Cannot cut her nails.	Eccentricity 1.
1	Cannot eat eggs.	Eccentricity 1.
1	Cannot eat grain, bread or gruel.	Eccentricity 1.
1	Cannot eat salt.	Eccentricity 1.
1	Cannot eat spiced food.	Eccentricity 1.
1	Cannot sit facing in a certain cardinal direction.	Eccentricity 1.
1	Clothing must always include a certain color.	Eccentricity 1, can be picked several times for a motley look.
1	Must not restrain body gasses (burps, farts).	Eccentricity 1.
1	Must not sleep indoors.	Eccentricity 1.
2	Can only sit facing in one cardinal direction.	Eccentricity 4.
2	Cannot use alcohol.	DC +5 on Medicine checks to speed healing or fight poison and disease.
2	Cannot eat meat.	+5 on Survival DC to forage for food.
2	Cannot handle non-magical fire.	+5 DC on Survival rolls to avoid natural hazards.
2	Cannot touch a dead body.	Cannot loot the fallen, inspect bodies for clues and so on.
2	Cannot touch wounds or infections.	Cannot heal or perform first aid.
2	Cannot use metal armor.	Can only use cloth, leather, and hide armor.
3	Cannot speak to one gender.	Creatures the wu jen summons will never be of this gender.
3	Cannot touch one gender.	Prohibits touch spells, Heal checks etc. Creatures the wu jen summons will never be of this gender.
3	Cannot use metal weapons.	Non-metal weapons are the club and quarterstaff.
3	Must loudly announce the name of each spell cast.	Makes spell identification automatic.
3	Must make an offering when preparing spells.	Spell preparation takes an additional hour Cost is insignificant (flowers, food, incense).
3	Must walk on tiptoe.	Land speed ¾ of normal (round down to the nearest increment of 5 ft). 30 ft. becomes 20 ft., 20 ft. becomes 15 ft.
4	Can only eat food she gathers himself.	Must use Survival to gather food or starve (normally DC 15).
4	Cannot handle money.	All wealth must be handled by comrades or an assistant.
4	Cannot own more than she can carry.	Can only own personal gear and portable wealth.
4	Cannot speak.	Cannot speak to other creatures Can still cast spells with verbal components and to control summoned creatures.
4	Cannot touch flowing water.	Besides the obvious, +5 on Survival DC to forage for food.
4	Cannot touch other creatures.	Prevents touch spells, Heal checks etc.

Breaking a taboo costs the wu jen the use of all spell secrets until she next prepares spells.

Certain taboos have little effect besides making the wu jen seem more eccentric to outsiders. Total the wu jen's eccentricity rating from taboos; this number is added to any Diplomacy check to gather information about the wu jen as his reputation for eccentricity increases. If the total exceeds the wu jen's Charisma, she has become obnoxiously eccentric and suffers a -5 penalty on Bluff and Diplomacy checks. Wu jen players are encouraged to come up with additional quirky 1-point taboos whose sole game effect is to add eccentricity.

At level 5 and each 2 levels thereafter, the wu-jen can replace one of his old spell secrets and taboos with a new one. This is the only way a spell secret can be changed.

This replaces the bonus feats the wizard receives at level 5 to 20.

External Links

• World of Otep Wu Jen