The Conjurer

This week I'm pleased to introduce one of the classes from the Tome of Whispers! The first one up is the Conjurer. This is a primary magic class, but it's also a dedicated "pet class." All Conjurers have a permanent bond with some sort of outsider which they can conjure to assist in battle. Depending on the type of Conjurer, this outsider can take many forms.

Conjuration is but one school of magic, and yet it has the potential to be one of the most versatile. While a typical Wizard might focus on the conjuration school, there are those who turn this expertise into a true obsession. These Conjurers delve so deeply into the mysteries of the school that they unlock secrets that even most Wizards never discover.

Although Conjurers can be thought of as an offshoot of the Wizard class, there are many important distinctions which set them apart. Whereas Wizards are restricted to the arcane magical tradition, a Conjurer's magical tradition varies based on the type of Soul Bond they choose. Even a Conjurer's primary casting key ability can vary with this choice. Even so, a Conjurer has a spellbook and prepares spells like a Wizard does, though with fewer spell slots than a pure Wizard.

Soul Bond

The Soul Bond is the primary focus of the Conjurer class. At first level, a Conjurer summons and makes a permanent bond with an otherworldly spirit entity. This bond is so close that the bound spirit can always be called to assist the Conjurer. Although the relationship may seem like one of servitude, the bound spirit is usually there by choice and might break its bond if mistreated.

There are several different types of entities that can be called this way. Each one has different strengths but also requires the use of a different category of magic to achieve. Once chosen, the spirit type cannot be changed, even through Retraining. Each Bonded Creature is an intelligent minion and uses its actions at its own discretion during its master's turn. There are four types of spirits included in the Tome of Whispers, and we'll discuss each of them in turn.

Gardener

Bonded Creature: Sprite

Magical Tradition: Primal

Casting Modifier: Wisdom

The power of nature is vast, often uncaring, and difficult to access for most. While primal casters dedicate themselves to unlocking this power over the course of years, some mages are able to shortcut the process and convince a nature spirit to work with them directly. These Sprites are, in turn, able to possess otherwise natural flora and use them to do their bidding, and by extension the bidding of the Gardener.

A Sprite is a tiny incorporeal Fey which cannot interact with the material plane in any way, except to inhabit and animate a special Plant of Fungus grown by the Gardener. A Gardener has access to several seeds (for plants) and spores (for fungi), which the power of the Sprite can quickly grow to full size in order to inhabit and utilize them. A Sprite can only inhabit one plant or fungus at a time, and once it inhabits a host it cannot easily leave. It can migrate into a new host when the Gardener makes its Daily Preparations, otherwise the Gardener must spend a Spell Point to facilitate the Sprite's transfer.

A Gardener begins play possessing a limited selection of seed and spore types but has an effectively unlimited quantity of those types they possess. A first-level Gardener can choose three types of creatures from the following list: Assassin Vine, Chromatic Fungus, Elephant Spore, Fungal Creature (one specific type of animal), Living Topiary (also one specific type of animal), or Shambling Shrublet. Gardener-specific class perks can allow a Gardener to expand the list of plants and fungi they can grow and also unlock completely new types that are not available right away!

Pactmaker

Bonded Creature: Servitor Devil

Magical Tradition: Divine

Casting Modifier: Wisdom

A deal with a Devil is a relatively common occurrence. While such deals usually involve a pledge of one's soul in exchange for specific results, some mages eschew the typical contract process for a more direct approach. By utilizing special rituals, one can bypass the grand bureaucracy of Hell, forcibly rip one of its denizens away, and bargain with it directly. These Pactmakers need not even be evil, though making such pacts is anathema to all good deities.

Amongst the possible options for a Soul Bond, the Servitor Devil is the only one that can innately cast spells as well. This gives the Pactmaker an incredible amount of magical potential. Through the power of the devil, a Pactmaker is the only character that has access to second-level spells right from the beginning. The unmatched power of this Soul Bond draws many Conjurers to it, at their own existential peril.

Pactmaker-specific class perks further entangle the souls of the Conjurer and their devil companion. This can manifest as special abilities for the Servitor Devil, or magical power for the Pactmaker. The power of the devil even grants a Conjurer access to Domain Powers, tools which typically require a deity to learn and use!

Spiritualist

Bonded Creature: Phantom

Magical Tradition: Occult

Casting Modifier: Intelligence

Some talk to the dead. Others raise the husks of the dead to do their bidding. Few have the skill and knowledge required to reach the souls of the dead as they pass between this life and the next. For those who can plumb those unknowable depths, allies can be found amongst those that have a lingering desire or need to change the circumstances of the material plane. A Spiritualist can part the veil and bring such a phantom essence of a soul back to the realm of the living, and the two form a powerful dyad. This bond is strongest if the bonded soul is one that the Spiritualist was close to when it still lived.

A Phantom is an anthropomorphic apparition which resembles the creature as it was before it died and, through its deep connection to the Spiritualist, is able to manifest in either ectoplasmic or incorporeal form. Each form has strengths, vulnerabilities, and uses. A Spiritualist can use Spell Points to shift the spirit between forms. The Phantom's ability modifiers are assigned during character creation and are able to be customized.

Spiritualist-specific class perks further deepen the emotional bond between the Conjurer and the Phantom. The power of these emotions unlocks new special abilities that the Phantom can be utilized both in and out of combat. Some emotions provide potent buffs for allies, while others impose devastating penalties on foes, simply for being in proximity to the Phantom!

Summoner

Bonded Creature: Eidolon

Magical Tradition: Arcane

Casting Modifier: Intelligence

The conjure creature spell typically creates a mindless simulacrum of a creature, one that serves its master well but does not plan or think for itself. Yet with enough dedication, a mage can find special rites and rituals that can make the conjured creature a truly idealized version of itself, with its own self-awareness and unique personality. Mastering these techniques and calling an Eidolon is what sets an arcane Conjurer apart from any mere conjuration specialist Wizard.

Each day during Daily Preparations, a Summoner gains full control over the Eidolon's forms and abilities. This can change the Eidolon's shape and allows for fresh choices from the table of abilities found in the conjure creature spell. Once chosen, these abilities are somewhat fixed for the day, though a Summoner can spend Spell Points to tweak its shape and abilities during the day.

The intelligence and flexibility of an Eidolon make it an incredibly potent tool in any circumstance, and the persistent nature of the creature means that the Conjurer does not need to devote actions to concentration as with the conjure creature spell. Summoner-specific class perks further increase the Eidolon's flexibility in form and utility, as well as unlocking new and exclusive abilities that are not available in the conjure creature spell for anyone else!

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The Conjurer is very different from any of the classes in the core rules and is one of two classes in the Tome of Whispers that always and automatically gives you a minion to control without allowing you to "opt in" to having one. Each of the class specializations for the Conjurer are radically from each other, making it almost like four different classes in one. Next week we'll take another look at the Card Game, so stay tuned!