The Madcap Sorcerer's Paste [Magic Item]

MADCAP SORCERER’S PASTE
This magical treasure is an unpredictable and dangerous paste, typically found in exquisitely wrought phials studded with tiny glittering crystals. Sages tell its creator was the insane dweomercrafter Dyst Terrab, who was known in his lifetime as the Madcap Sorcerer.

Fitting with Dyst's quixotic and imaginative persona, the thick paste must be worked into the user's hair (or beard!) to be effective. Bald users may smear the paste on their heads (thereby using it up) but are not affected by it. Once applied, the user gains the use of one of the following spells once per day (roll d6):

1) Amnesia (when cast there is a 2-in-6 chance the spell affects the user and his allies)
2) ESP
3) Suggestion
4) Confusion (when cast there is a 2-in-6 chance the spell affects the user and his allies)
5) Feeblemind (when cast there is a 2-in-6 chance the spell affects the user)
6) Mnemonic Enhancer

Regardless of the user's actual level, the daily spell gained from the paste is cast as if by a 9th level magic-user.

The enchantment of the paste lasts for 1d6 days and cannot be negated except by a limited wish or wish spell. A dispel magic spell will nullify the effects of spells cast by the user normally, but has no effect on the paste itself. If the user chooses not to cast the spell gained from the paste on any given day, he loses 1d6 points of Intelligence and Wisdom as the paste eats away at his sanity.

If the user's Intelligence or Wisdom reach sufficiently low scores (or if the user is victim of his own feeblemind), the only spell available each day to the user is the lone daily spell from the paste. This spell still functions regardless of the mental acuity remaining in the user's wrecked mind.

Lost Intelligence and Wisdom recover at 1 point per day. If the user is reduced to 0 in either ability (or both), he goes insane, raves and drools, becomes a vegetable man, and so forth. Alternately, if the referee chooses, the user instead develops a permanent mental illness but is otherwise capable of regaining some or all of his former Intelligence and Wisdom scores with sufficient rest.

Usable by: Magic-users (and elves, if race as class is used in game).

This item could lead to an interesting, or completely nuts, cycle of feeblemindedness on the part of the spellcaster. Have at it!

Update: I've also added the racial secondary skills tables previously posted on the blog to the downloads page (or click here to get the PDF). The tables now include gnome and half-orc, in addition to dwarf, elf, halfling and human.

Fortnight of Chaos Booklet PDF

One last note before I'm off ... I've added the Fortnight of Chaos series of posts as a booklet-sized PDF called Chaos Hordes to the blog. You can download it from the Borderlands Downloads page (link up near top) or directly here. Cheers!

Racial Secondary Skills Tables

The Borderlands blog will be going dark for the next couple of weeks while my wife and I take a holiday down in the Caribbean. This past winter was particularly long and cold, so this vacation is long overdue and we will definitely enjoy soaking up the sun. And rum. :-)

Today I'm posting my goofy little racial secondary skills tables for Labyrinth Lord (or any old-school games). Basically, I've taken the secondary skills/professions and rather arbitrarily broken them out and added some additional ones based on the stereotypical notions of the "basic four" fantasy races. It's pretty vanilla stuff and its origin goes way back to my Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay days in the late 80s.

Enjoy, and see you all soon!


SECONDARY SKILLS

Roll on the appropriate racial table below to determine your profession or occupation before you became an adventurer. You know how to do the things associated with your profession and the referee will determine when your knowledge is helpful or beneficial to adventuring situations.

SECONDARY SKILLS TABLE: DWARF

Roll d20	Profession	Roll d20	Profession
1	Archivist	11	Locksmith
2	Armorer	12	Man-at-arms
3	Artisan	13	Mapmaker
4	Blacksmith	14	Merchant
5	Cook	15	Miner
6	Engineer	16	Runescribe
7	Gemcutter	17	Slave
8	Initiate	18	Soldier
9	Jailer	19	Stonemason
10	Jeweler	20	Weaponsmith

SECONDARY SKILLS TABLE: ELF

Roll d20	Profession	Roll d20	Profession
1	Animal trainer	11	Hunter
2	Artisan	12	Initiate
3	Astrologer	13	Jeweler
4	Blacksmith	14	Merchant
5	Bowyer/Fletcher	15	Minstrel
6	Cook	16	Sage
7	Furrier	17	Smuggler
8	Gambler	18	Soldier
9	Guide	19	Vintner
10	Herbalist	20	Weaponsmith

SECONDARY SKILLS TABLE: HALFLING

Roll d20	Profession	Roll d20	Profession
1	Animal trainer	11	Herder
2	Artisan	12	Jeweler
3	Blacksmith	13	Locksmith
4	Brewer	14	Merchant
5	Butcher	15	Militiaman
6	Cook	16	Miller
7	Farmer	17	Scribe
8	Gardiner	18	Smuggler
9	Gypsy	19	Tailor
10	Herbalist	20	Woodsman

SECONDARY SKILLS TABLE: HUMAN

Roll d20	Profession A	Roll d20	Profession B
1	Animal trainer	1	Locksmith
2	Artisan	2	Longshoreman
3	Baker	3	Man-at-arms
4	Blacksmith	4	Mapmaker
5	Bowyer/Fletcher	5	Mercenary
6	Brewer	6	Merchant
7	Butcher	7	Miner
8	Cook	8	Scribe
9	Farmer	9	Slave
10	Gambler	10	Smuggler
11	Gardiner	11	Soldier
12	Guide	12	Squire
13	Herbalist	13	Stonemason
14	Herder	14	Street thug
15	Hunter	15	Tailor
16	Initiate	16	Tax collector
17	Jailer	17	Torch bearer
18	Jester	18	Vintner
19	Jeweler	19	Woodsman
20	Leatherworker	20	Weaponsmith

Note: Roll d6. On a result of 1-3, roll d20 on Profession A column. On a result of 4-6, roll d20 on Profession B column.