GLoG: The Spellslinger
Still from The Gunfighter, 1917, plate from Film Fun
"Now you might be too young to remember this, but back in the Wizard Wars, they were pressing every able-bodied so-and-so into the service. They'd put you in a uniform, shove a stave and a mess kit in your hands, then march you off to Elfassas or Wydoricsburg to blast the other side. Turns out those seers and sorcerers couldn't handle 10 magic missiles per minute per soldier."
"When the War wrapped up, they tried their best to gather up all the loose stickwork, but gods know folks stashed 'em all over. Some folks went West, looking for a place to settle down. Other folks followed to prey on 'em. Nowadays, seems like every other day some drifter rolls into town with a Rod of Wending Bolt and something to prove. When the shooting starts, you just hide under the table and hope you don't get turned into a frog."
Background: 1. Academy Dropout | 2. Bandit | 3. Deserter | 4. Sheriff
Starting Gear: 2 random wands with a capacity of 2 MD each, a fistful of coins (d10), distinctive hat
A: Wandfaire, Home on the Range
B: Notches
C: Spellplay
D: Razzle, Dazzle
Wandfaire
You can draw or stash a wand, rod, or stave (henceforth, just "wand") from your pack instantaneously, without taking an action.
You can deduce what spell is stored in a wand by giving it an experimental flick.
Home on the Range
When making camp while under the open sky, choose one:
- You can hear anyone approaching your camp before they enter line of sight.
- You and the rest of your party get a deep and restful sleep, waking with +Templates temporary HP.
- You trickle charge each wand in your possession by 1 MD.
Notches
Whenever you get 10, 20, 30, and 50 kills or "assists" with a wand, you gain a special ability when using that wand. Track each wand's notches and abilities separately. Choose from the following:
- +1 to [Sum]
- -1 to Saves
- +1 to [Dice] then overheats, unusable for 1 day.
- A special ability negotiated with your GM.
Spellplay
You are specialized in a particular style of fancy fighting:
- Two-Fistin' - You can use a wand in each hand with a single Action. When you do so, all rolled MD are counted together for the purposes of miscasts and dooms.
- Horse-Ridin' - Spells you cast with a range of "self" can be cast on your mount as well, and you may reroll any number of MD one time while doing so.
- Trick-Shootin' - You can change the shape or visual form of your spells as you see fit as long as they occupy the same total volume.
Razzle
Whenever you roll Initiative, you may cast a spell before anyone else takes a turn.
Dazzle
When you best a notable adversary in single combat, any witnesses to the fight roll a Reaction. If the result is better than their current opinion of you, that's what they think of you now and what they'll tell all their friends.
Design Notes
This design sprang to mind after hearing a description of Keith Baker's Frontiers of Eberron: Quickstone. I'm sure that book has a more comprehensive treatment of the subject, but I don't intend to actually read it. I toyed with making them a full caster, then realized I was more interested in a magic user that can't learn spells (and thus is extremely attached to their wands).
As a GM, you'd probably want to sprinkle some amount of wands into your loot tables with this character around. This is something I always like to do anyways, but sometimes forget to in the heat of the moment.
Lots of capacity for busted stuff here. +1 to [dice] via Notches can be extremely powerful with certain spells. Ditto for multicasting via Spellplay. I think that might be balanced out by the lack of access to ready regeneration of MD (particularly while adventuring in the dungeon proper), but who knows?
Of course, the references to Skerples' Fighter are thick on the ground. Credit where credit is due.