So excited! My first Dungeon World character. Behold what I hath wrought!
Xanthos
Satyr Wizard
Looks: At first glance, the satyr Xanthos could be mistaken for a warrior as he’s tall (even for your typical satyr) and quite the burly fellow. (Yes, he’s a buff wizard. I like to rebel against the common trope that wizards have to be thin, waifish bookworms.) These traits result from his particular familial line. He is named for the golden color of his hair, trimmed shorter at the sides and back while leaving a bit of a crest standing down the center of his scalp. His flesh seems to keep a perpetual bronze tan. His antlers (to be explained in background below along with a few other “oddities”) look to be made from shimmering opal rather than the typical bone, and their majestic appearance is something of a point of pride for him given that he’s just barely grown into manhood. His amethyst eyes are intelligent but show a glimmer of puckish mischievousness. His ears have a graceful, elvish appearance. His handsome face is completed by pointed blond goatee that he’s fond of tugging at when he’s thinking. His muscular torso often goes bare, and is surprisingly lacking (well, for a satyr) body hair coverage. The exception to this being a ring golden hair circling his navel and then a trail traveling southward… His forearms also display a heavier dusting of blond hair. He carries with him a staff, etched with mystical runes and vines carved to look like rose stems. The tip flares out and is carved to look like a large rose in full bloom. He is fond of slinging this staff horizontally across his shoulders and hanging his arms from it. From waist to cloven, opal hooves he has thick, silky sapphire blue fur. His modesty (what small bit of he has) is usually maintained by a leather kilt of staghide that is embossed with sylvan themes (leaves and thorny brambles); usually, save for the occasional strong gust of well-aimed wind. A strategically placed hole allows his long tiger-striped tail to sway freely; sapphire furred and patterned with amethyst stripes ending with a long blond tuft at the end. His grimoire is bound in staghide and adorned with thin gold filigree. A gold chain runs through the spine which allows him to wear it either slung over one shoulder or cinched about his waist.
Background:
Xanthos, and the tribe of satyrs to which he belongs, hails from the wilds of Arcadia. In these places, human settlements are few and far between. In the time before Karameter lay her curse on the land of Minatos, the humans of these outlier towns were often hostile with the fae (or fey depending on which form the GM prefers) beings of the foreboding woods. The sylvan races objected to the encroachment of the civilized settlements and the humans objected to the sylvan resistance of their own progress and prosperity. This hostile climate was the state of things for as long as anyone could remember. After the curse, things would change. They had to change for either of the groups to survive. As the wilderness of Minatos merged with the wilderness of Arcadia, the emergent monsters cared not for the distinction between the woodland fae or the humans behind their flimsy walls. A pact was struct between each group for mutual protection benefits. One clause called for a semi-annual meeting (or celebration really) where the humans would sometimes visit at the groves of the sylvan races, or the sylvans would visit the towns to foster continued peace. As the state of Minatos grew more dire and the populace began to flee, one young courtesan, unknowingly carrying the son of the Usurper King Agon found her salvation in one of these fae-pacted cities. Her son, completely ignorant of his heritage, grew and eventually met and fell in love with a dryad at one of the celebrations. The son of Agon fathered a daughter with this dryad. That dryad daughter wedded a satyr chieftain and bore him Xanthos. (I’m kind of sketchy on generational stuff. If that’s not enough links between to cover the span of the curse appropriately, I can add more). As a child, Xanthos was curious about the world and seemed to have a knack for the magical arts, and so he was apprenticed to a spellcaster in the nearby city. An accident during an early lesson involving a summoned Chaos Ooze would leave Xanthos altered forever. At least it was only a small, weak ooze. The chaos affected the slight budding horns on Xanthos’ forehead, turning them into something resembling opal stone and as he matured, the buds grew into mighty antlers instead of the usual curled ram’s horns. Additionally, his finger nails took a somewhat claw-like appearance and (along with his cloven hooves) transmuted into opal. The color of his irises changed from blue to amethyst. His fur had once been a pure alabaster white; it turned to a shade of sapphire blue. His once stubby goat-like tail had been changed into something longer and more tigrine. The only other change related to this incident is something Xanthos considers quite private. Other than this hiccup, Xanthos’ studies progressed quite well, to the point his mentor declared that it was time for the satyr to go out into the world to learn. Shortly after leaving his teacher, Xanthos began having strange dreams in which he saw the insides of a ruined temple wherein a peach tree grows. His dreams have shown him Minatos as it was and as it is now. Not only does the potential to further his magical studies, but his very blood calls out for him to journey into this once accursed and still dangerous land.
Stats:
Strength: 13 (+1) (because sometimes, you just have to whack something on the head with a staff. )
Dexterity: 12 (+0)
Constitution: 15 (+1)
Intelligence: 16 (+2)
Wisdom: 8 (-1)
Charisma: 9 (+0)
Damage: d4
Armor: 1
HP: 19 (4+Constitution)
Alignment: Good (Use magic to directly aid another)
Racial skill: Magic is as natural as breath to you. Detect Magic is a cantrip for you.
Bonds:
________ will play an important role in the events to come. I have foreseen it!
________ is keeping an important secret from me.
________ is woefully misinformed about the world; I will teach them all that I can.
Starting Moves:
Spellbook
You have mastered several spells and inscribed them in your spellbook. You start out with three
first level spells in your spellbook as well as the cantrips. Whenever you gain a level, you add
a new spell of your level or lower to your spellbook. You spellbook is 1 weight.
Prepare Spells
When you spend uninterrupted time (an hour or so) in quiet contemplation of your spellbook,
you:
• Lose any spells you already have prepared
• Prepare new spells of your choice from your spellbook whose total levels don’t exceed your
own level+1.
• Prepare your cantrips which never count against your limit.
Cast a Spell (Int)
When you release a spell you’ve prepared, roll+Int. ✴On a 10+, the spell is successfully cast
and you do not forget the spell—you may cast it again later. ✴On a 7-9, the spell is cast, but
choose one:
• You draw unwelcome attention or put yourself in a spot. The GM will tell you how.
• The spell disturbs the fabric of reality as it is cast—take -1 ongoing to cast a spell until the
next time you Prepare Spells.
• After it is cast, the spell is forgotten. You cannot cast the spell again until you prepare spells.
Note that maintaining spells with ongoing effects will sometimes cause a penalty to your roll
to cast a spell.
Spell Defense
You may end any ongoing spell immediately and use the energy of its dissipation to deflect
an oncoming attack. The spell ends and you subtract its level from the damage done to you.
Ritual
When you draw on a place of power to create a magical effect, tell the GM what you’re trying
to achieve. Ritual effects are always possible, but the GM will give you one to four of the
following conditions:
• It’s going to take days/weeks/months
• First you must __
• You’ll need help from __
• It will require a lot of money
• The best you can do is a lesser version, unreliable and limited
• You and your allies will risk danger from __
• You’ll have to disenchant __ to do it
Spells:
Cantrips: Light, Unseen Servant, Prestidigitation, Detect Magic
First Level: Contact Spirits, Charm Person (He’s a satyr, duh. ), Magic Missile
Gear:
Load: 8 (7+Str/7+1). 4/8
Spellbook (weight 1)
Dungeon Rations (5 uses, weight 1)
Leather Armor (weight 1)
Staff (close, two-handed, weight 1)
Healing Potion (weight 0)
Special notes: If PCs had any kind of tags, I’d put the fae/fey tag on Xanthos. If the GM wants to bring up any effects or statuses (positive, negative, or other) that might key off this, I’m cool with it. Stuff like areas with magic wards against the fae, cold iron causing an adverse reaction in him, or other stuff like that for example.
As a note, the game takes place in a Greaco-Roman inspired area, so I just had to play a satyr. I had wanted him as a Druid at first but the group I joined had one already. I mentioned the Terrors of the Ancient World supplement gave satyr Druids the same racial move as elves, so we agreed to apply that logic to wizards.