Usurpers

D&D 3e (3.0/3.5) Rules

by J. Taylor Lewis II

Entry in the 2006 Nexus Organizations Contest.

History

The Usurpers have existed for nearly as long as the Orders of High Sorcery have. Their founder was a man known only as Yuri, one of the original students of the three original mages. He wore the White Robes of Solinari and used his magic for the betterment of Krynn; at least for a little while. He slowly grew bitter at the Orders, though he never spoke to his fellows as to why.

Over the years, he became more and more unhappy with what the Orders were doing in the world. He selectively recruited the brightest young minds of Wizardry to begin a subtle campaign of subversion that would not destroy the Orders, but take away from their dominance in all matters arcane. Yuri eventually worked his way up the ranks of the Order and was considered by some to be a likely candidate to be the Master of the Tower of Palanthas after its current leader.

One dark night in midsummer, Yuri and his Usurpers struck. They waited until the Master of the Tower was walking in the grounds outside the tower and unleashed their previously unknown spells upon him. They stole the Master's magic away from him, using it to feed their own spells. It was over before he knew what happened. The Master was dead, and it was time for a new Master to be chosen.

The Gods of Magic had seen what transpired and they in turn allowed all the Orders to know of Yuri's treachery. He was turned over to the Order of the Black robes and they were told to do with him what they would. His death was a masterpiece of Black Robed art. His followers hid as best they could, training only a few apprentices each generation. That is how they have existed to this day; hiding and biding their time. During the Fifth Age, they were among the first to discover the process of leeching magical items from the Fourth Age. In fact, many among them claim to have had this knowledge prior to the Fifth Age and had used it to great effect. No on knows if this is true or not.

Strangely, the Usurpers have no record of any of their numbers using primal sorcery during the Fifth Age.

Goals/Motivations

Destabilization and disorganization of the Orders of High Sorcery. The Usurpers want to take magic away from those who they deem "unworthy" of wielding its power. They steal magic from other Wizards in order to further their eventual goal of reorganizing the Towers in the image that their founder had imagined. They follow the words of their founder; "Those who have not taken their power by force do no deserve to wield it. Knowledge gained through quiet supplication is inferior and must be cleansed."

Headquarters/Areas of Influence

Anywhere there are wizards, there are Usurpers. Usurpers hide amongst their fellows, causing discord through the ranks. Seldom do they cause a large enough disruption as to be noticed. They occupy mainly low to mid ranking positions in the Order, though it has been said that two of the Council's members are Usurpers. Speculation runs rampant as to who these members might be, if they even exist.

Leadership/Organization

There is no formal power structure within the Usurper brotherhood. Each member plays the role they feel most comfortable with. Some meddle quietly within the bureaucracy of the Tower, others act as recruiters in the minor magic schools across Ansalon. The most powerful members of the Usurpers are respected by their fellows, but are in no way "in charge" of those less powerful than they.

Allies

Ironically enough, most of the "allies" of the Usurpers are within the Orders of High Sorcery itself. If these "allies" found out that they were helping people subvert the Orders, they would most likely jump into the "enemies" category very quickly.

Enemies

Those who are the Usurpers' greatest allies are also their greatest enemies. Those in the Orders who know of the Usurpers are generally not very amicable to them. In most cases, the one who is found out is given a chance to repent before being "fed to Nuitari" as the Usurpers colloquially call their punishment. Being ritualistically dissected, while still alive, by the Black Robes isn't exactly their idea of a good time.

Membership

Being a member is a thankless task, but does lead to some interesting paths to power. Membership is obviously a secretive thing, and a member is expected to act as any member of the Orders of High Sorcery when dealing with those outside their ranks. They are also expected to be on friendly terms with as many other members of the Orders as they can; to better subvert the Orders and steal their power.

Joining the Organization

A current member of the Usurpers contacts apprentices who seem to fit their criteria during training. The prospective member is brought to a secret location and indoctrinated over the course of several months. The lessons are conducted each night after the student is done with his regular studies. This tends to leave the prospective Usurpers tired and lethargic during their regular lessons; much to the dismay of their teachers. After the basic training is completed, the new Usurper is further indoctrinated by their master. Prospective members who decide against joining either have their memories of the encounter erased or are "fed to Nuitari".

Costs and Benefits of Membership

The only cost of membership is undying loyalty to the cause. The benefits of joining include access to the Usurper Mage prestige class and the two feats detailed below.

Steal Arcana [General]
Prerequisites: Membership in the Usurper Mages, ability to prepare and cast 2nd level arcane spells.
Benefits: Once per day, as a full round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, you may attempt to absorb another prepared arcane caster's power. The target of this power must be within (25 feet + 5 feet per level) and you must succeed on a ranged touch attack to initiate the absorption. The target must make a Fortitude save (DC [10 + your Intelligence modifier + ½ your caster level]) or lose a spell of their highest spell level. The next spell you cast has its effective caster level boosted by the level of spell which was stolen (ex: If a 3rd level spells are stolen, the next spell you cast has its caster level raised by 3). This may allow you to exceed normal damage cap limits (ex: If your normal caster level is 11, and you steal a 3rd level spell, your damage with a Fireball spell would be 13d6).

Yuri's Vengeance [General]
Prerequisites: Membership in the Usurper Mages, Steal Arcana, ability to prepare and cast 4th level arcane spells, member in good standing of the Orders of High Sorcery.
Benefits: Your ability to Steal Arcana is increased. You gain one additional use of the Steal Arcana feat. In addition, Wizards of High Sorcery have a -2 penalty to their Fortitude saves against its effect.

Usurper Mage

Prerequisites:

Feats: Steal Arcana, Spell Focus (any), Spellcasting Prodigy (Wizard).
Spellcasting: Ability to prepare and cast 3rd level arcane spells.
Special: Must have passed the Test of High Sorcery, and be a member in good standing of the Orders of High Sorcery.

Hit Die: d4

Class Skills:

Bluff (Con), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill points per level: 2 + Int mod.

Class Abilities:

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: The Usurper Mage gains no proficiency with weapons, armor, or shields.

Spellcasting: When a new Usurper Mage level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class in which he could cast 3rd-level spells before he added the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained.

Mind Over Matter (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a Usurper Mage uses the higher of either his Intelligence or Constitution modifiers for determining bonus hit points. This ability applies only to Usurper Mage levels.

Steal Arcana (Ex): At 4th level, the Usurper Mage gains another daily use of the Steal Arcana feat.

Yuri's Vengeance (Ex): At 5th level, the Usurper Mage gains Yuri's Vengeance as a bonus feat. If the Usurper Mage already possesses this feat, he instead gains another daily use of the Steal Arcana feat.

Ex-Usurper Mages:

Any Usurper who violates the teachings of Yuri is stripped of his membership and loses all granted abilities and feats of this class. The Usurpers usually then brand the traitor as a renegade and allow the Renegade Hunters (Towers of High Sorcery, pg. 32) to do their work.

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