Conjurer

Inculcator Tzarborellous glides through the lower entry to the breach chamber. She makes momentary eye contact with her colleague, Exemplar Barseti, who stands atop the dais at the center of the room. She cracks a genuine smile before she spins to face the new students who have begun to file into the room. A buxom pretty woman in her early thirties, Svaj Tzarborellous is all red curls and effervescence. She wears a black robe with gold threaded hemming from which grows elaborate patterns of the same colored embroidery; it is the traditional conjurer’s robe for ceremonies and special occasions. She adjusts her glasses before speaking up in her cheerful voice; she ensures that students who have yet to enter the class hear her, “You may take a seat at any available desks today. Seats will be assigned next week on the first day of instruction.”

The students enter one by one, many voicing surprise or gasping at the grandeur of the chamber. Modeled after a circular auditorium, the dais at the center of the room is made of black granite which shimmers as if subjected to a breeze. It is five steps down to the lowest level in the room, where a large pathway encircles it. The pathway as well as the floor and walls in the rest of the room are a grey ochre marble. Branching outwards and upwards from the pathway are five stairways which lead up to five distinct levels which ring the room concentrically. At each of these levels are two person desks made of fine ebonwood.  On the floor, on the outermost edge of the dais is an azure band of complex inscriptions which emits a steady light. At the center of each descending step from the dais are similar inscriptions.  The pathway itself is banded by five violet bands of inscription which emit a much duller light. A thin band of light shines from the top of the room, all in all providing sufficient light.  

As the last student enters the room, Tzarborellous addresses once more suppressing a bit of her energy, “Welcome to the Quinary, so named after the Quinarian Law or the Law of Fives, which dictates that magical power achieves balance and stability at multiples of five. Each one of the Wizard Academies employs a unique auditorium such as this one. We, as Conjurers, refer to it as a Breach Chamber, though you might hear other Wizards talk of a Discharge Theater or a Thought Shelter—they are all more or less a congruent.” She pauses as the door to the hall shuts and the sound of many interlocked gears spinning slowly echoes throughout the room. With a final clonk, the gears stop moving. Tzarborellous continues, “As a safety precaution before the chamber is put in use, the lowermost entry of every Breach Chamber is locked mechanically and magically. Should emergency egress be necessary, at the end of each stairway is an exit which can be opened quickly and which will automatically shut if all magical wards are destroyed.” A few students vocalize their worry at the possibility. Tzarborellous reassuringly states, “In over 300 years since this chamber’s creation, not once have all the wards been destroyed. Rest assured, we as your instructors are more at peril than you. We would without a second thought put your lives before ours. To explain and demonstrate the purpose of this chamber, though I suspect most of you already know, I present to you Exemplar Barseti. He is one of the leading experts on our craft and one of the few who have visited the outer planes.”

Barseti takes one step down from the dais and looks around at all the students. He wears a robe similar to the one Tzarborellous wears, though tailored for his stature. Despite being a young man, he has the mannerisms of a much older one. His face verges on gaunt, yet there is a warm twinkle in his green eyes. Atop his head is a mess of black hair. There’s a hint of a quaver in his voice as he speaks, “Hello novices.  My name is Kirzen Barseti, though I suppose proper wizardly decorum demands that I be addressed with my title.”  He briefly pauses and clears his throat, attempting to speak more loudly, “I recall my first day in this chamber many years ago on the day of orientation.  With barely any command over any school of magic, I was uncertain what my future as a Conjurer was to be like.”  He runs his hand through his hair and looks towards the dais for a moment, before producing a crystal wand from his pocket.  He obliviously gestures with it in hand as he continues to recount, “It was during a breach exhibition like the one you will see today that my path as a Conjurer was made clear and that my uncertainty of the future transformed into motivation and strength.  It is precisely why I have taken on the honor and duty of the breach exhibition—to inspire and to guide.”  Barseti clears his throat once more, “Not many people know that Conjuration was once called Breaching. The complex magics involved exploit the very nature of our realm. A breach can be thought of as a fabric that conforms perfectly to the shape of an otherworldly entity, only that fabric is a portal. As a Conjurer, you hone your senses with specialized magics to sense incipient breaches between Myr’Nora and a plane on which you set your focus. The simple truth is that breaches are always centered on an extraplanar entity, something some of you will undoubtedly make your life’s work trying to explain. Once you’ve located an incipient breach, you then simply hasten its eventuality.  As you are in control of the breach, you can in a fashion control the entity. I could continue explain the finer details, but that is what your classes are for and you know what they say, ‘Seeing is believing.’”

Barseti takes his eyes off the students and looks towards Tzarborellous, they exchange knowing looks. Tzarborellous utters a short incantation as a staff shoots up from the ground into her hands. She drags the bottom end of the staff through the rings of inscription; sparks begin to fly. As she drags the staff from the innermost to the outermost ring, each one flares brightly as her staff passes over them. Then upon reaching the last one, she chants loudly, her voice booming throughout the chamber. As her incantation ends, a shock wave is emitted from a ceiling tall cylinder of pure violet energy. It’s thickness covers the intervening space between the five bands of violet inscription. Tzarberelllous then takes her staff and thrusts it into the outside of the barrier. A series of lines begin to form the complex glyph for planar ejection, which she sustains as a contingency spell. From inside the barrier, Barseti, now standing atop the dais, begins an incantation, but his voice is muted. He points his wand at the barrier and a beam of blue energy shoots out and begins to spread, coating the inside of the barrier. It thrums with energy as a thunderous sound marks a pulsation of inward flowing energy. A blue cylindrical barrier shoots up, positioned over the first step to the dais. His beam continues hitting the new barrier and again, a thunderous sound and a second barrier is erected on the second step. In short order, the other three barriers are erected. The students look on; a mixture of awe and trepidation upon their faces.  

Barseti turns his attention to the center of the dais. He begins another incantation, this one transcends the barrier, sounding as if it emanates from the ground itself. The room shakes and a small tornado shoots up out of the ground on the dais, spiraling to the roof of the chamber—rocks and stone flying everywhere. They disintegrate before even reaching Barseti. His wand emits a pulse as all the energy is vacuumed to the center of the dais; a hulking beast stands where the tornado once was. It bears a striking resemblance to a lion, only four times as large.  It’s body appears to be roughly shaped red clay and its mane looks to be made of sand. Its face is also startlingly similar to a lion’s, but with overly large fangs that look like stalactites. It turns to Barseti and without notice rushes towards him. He quickly erects a spherical barrier. The lion pounces but explodes into four boulders that hover midair. A smaller version of the lion forms from each boulder in turn, making a unique attack against Barseti. Each attack is completely nullified as the Lion reforms a short distance away from Barseti. He gestures with his wand and the being turns to dust which seemingly blows away.

Barseti, without respite, begins yet another incantation. Once again, this one transcends the barrier, but a barely perceptible hum is carried into the air.  In that hum, the students can hear his voice which bears an almost metallic quality. A ball of liquid metal forms from nothing above the center of the dais. As it grows, it begins to vibrate wildly, emitting a high pitched sound. Just as the sound crescendos, Barseti thrusts his wand towards it, shooting a lightning bolt at it. After mere moments, the sphere of metal is slammed into the ground forming a flat round disc. Hundreds of silver metallic snakes slide out from the metal. They then amass into a torus, slithering in one direction. Without pause, the torus becomes thinner as it widens and spreads out. Inside of the torus, lightning begins to corruscade as it flashes a brilliant blue. Then, bolts of fuschia strike at the inner barrier. One strikes Barseti, who once again has already erected a defence. Instead, the bolt persists as it drags him inwards towards the vortex of lightning. A stream of the metallic snakes branches off from the torus, small fanged mouths attempting to bite him. They are ineffectual as they are each  shunted by an invisible force. Barseti raises his wand to the sky and a blast of energy pulses outwards. The snakes stop in their tracks and rapidly shrink to nothingness.

Unperturbed by the first two conjurations, Barseti begins a third. This time, a melodic sound can be heard emanating straight from the wards themselves. Barseti’s mouth moves, but only pure tones are heard. He holds his wand in front of him and a deluge of white frosted crystals apparate from nothing and shoot towards the ground in front of him. Uncharacteristically, they stick to the ground and almost melt, but then begin to grow and extrude rapidly. A soft white mist begins to form inside the barrier as a humanoid form rises and walks out from the growing mass; it has the appearance of a female elf but appears to be completely made of crystal clear quartz. She exudes matronly affection. As she moves away from the crystalline mass, it melts away. A silky diaphanous garment fades into existence as does wispy purple hair that undulates as though in water. Her eyes are two flecks of blue. She lays her piercing gaze on Barseti who appears astonished; he recognizes her. Barseti hesitates before visibly mouthing a word.  Unpredictably, he flinches as if startled and begins to make precise movements in an effort to cast a spell. He is stopped in his tracks as the woman of quartz opens her mouth. All that can be heard outside the barrier is the most beautiful melody—a veritable siren’s call. The students are mesmerized. Tzarberellous stares off into infinity, her eyes glazed with admiration. Her sustained spell begins to flicker brightly as the spell regresses—the glyph reversing its growth. As energies flow back into her, a substantial surge impacts her and she comes to her senses. Without missing a beat, she begins an incantation with urgency to trigger the spell. She shouts the end of the incantation with a resounding, “I banish thee Kareenya!”  Barseti begins to walk towards the crystalline woman and she to him. The glyph grows once more, enveloping the entirety of the outside barrier in an instant. The woman embraces Barseti, just as the glyph spreads through the floor and all the encompassing barriers. It wraps around her and in a flash, she is sucked out of existence, shunted back to her plane. Barseti turns to Tzarberellous, relieved—an expression of gratitude on his face. Something is awry as a strand of light ethereally floats in space, clinging to his midsection. He becomes aware of a thin crystal that pierced his midsection. Barseti runs his fingertips over the warm wet fabric surrounding the crystal. As he peers at his blood-tipped fingers, in a blink, the crystal shatters, threads of light spreading through his entire body. Tzarberellous can only gasp as Barseti is sucked into a point of light, ejected to another plane.

Conjurers are Wizards who dive deep into the studies of extraplanar powers. When planar powers breach over to the mortal realm it begins to create infinite realities, most of which seldom favor the beings of Myr’Nora. Conjurers interact with beings endemic to other planes in their studies to understand the state of their extraplanar existence. It is in this way that they gather the knowledge to quell threats from other planes—ever willing to shift reality to further their pursuit of knowledge. Some extraplanar beings can exist simultaneously across an infinite number of planes and can both be harmless and dangerous. With the proper concentration and power, a Conjurer can pull anything across the planar threshold. Moreover, at times the most talented Conjurers have been sanctioned to lead incursions into the planes in what is known as a reverse breach. With infinite planes comes infinite possibilities, but also at great risk. Since this concentration is very taxing, a conjurer has to be careful what they pull or push across the planar threshold or fear losing control.

At the Mage’s Arch, Conjurism is perhaps the oldest surviving Paradigm, having its roots in the establishment of the Mage’s Arch itself. As such, Conjurers are naturally afforded great respect from all other Paradigmata. Pedagogically, Conjurism is perhaps the most treacherous magic to learn, despite centuries of effort to make it safer. There is a high incidence of Academic Capitulation amongst novice Conjurers, which allows the student to transfer to another Paradigm’s Academy. Because of this, it is not uncommon for an Elementalist or Enchanter to have some training as a Conjurer. Amongst all Wizards, Conjurers are perhaps the most reclusive. It is not entirely an expression of reticence, but as Conjurers visit Places of Power keyed to different planes, they begin to learn the intricacies of their craft and form connections with beings from other realms. They often learn alien extraplanar cultures and languages in the process. Even though Wizards of different Paradigms can form mono-paradigmatic cliques, this phenomenon has a much higher occurrence amongst Conjurers.  

Leading one of the three Hemiarks, Conjurers perhaps have the most political power. They have established diplomatic relations with many beings across the planes. As a consequence, many of these accords protect extraplanar creatures from being freely breached into Myr’Nora without their consent. While Conjuration is fraught with unpredictability, the few beings who maintain an amicable accord with Conjurers provide them with ready and willing allies.  Additionally, Conjurers are bound by agreements with Druids and Clerics, to never breach into the Sidaar Thuinn and more generally, the domains overseen by the gods. Those realms remain the sole jurisdiction of Druids and Clerics respectively. The Hemiark of Conjuration has established a wide information network, comprised of mages and the like, to assist in proactively addressing unwanted extraplanar influences. They will, with great prejudice, banish any entities who seek to harm Myr’Nora and its people. They will often banish and bind said entities to Carceras, the Plane of Imprisonment. It can be said that this is the sole plane over which they have jurisdiction.

Gameplay

Clothed in robes made of the finest extraplanar materials, Conjurers are armed with the usual assortment of Wizardly paraphernalia such as wands, staves or orbs. In battle, they are heavily reliant on the entities they can breach in from other planes, which are colloquially referred to as summons. They supplement their summons with a suite of spells that provide control over lesser ephemeral conjurations. These lesser conjurations involve micro breaches that channel in energies from other planes, superficially appearing very similar to some Elementalist magics. As such, the concert of a summon’s battle prowess and the Conjurer’s lesser conjurations makes for a formidable and very capable opponent.  

Additionally, Conjurers employ an interface known as the Ecliptic Manifold in order to channel the wild planar energies created by breaching.  A breach involves between two and three planes, each visually represented by a concentric disc with Myr’Nora at the center. These discs are referred to as Ecliptics.  Each Ecliptic has its own representation of the breach. This can be thought of as a solar system where each Ecliptic represents the orbit of a planet and the planet itself is the breach. At the center, the role of the Sun is fulfilled by Myr’Nora. As each Ecliptic unidirectionally rotates in response to spells cast by the Conjurer or actions taken by the summon, they enter into Conjunction or Opposition with one another. When all Eccliptics are in some form of Conjunction or Opposition, the summon’s ability set changes and in many cases, the summon becomes more bidable. Certain properties of the breach can also be modified through this mechanic, such as widening the breach to provide reality bending benefits to allies who stand near the summon or to apply disadvantages to enemies. 

Roles

Pet DPS
Burst DPS
Utility

Primary Stats

Intelligence
Constitution

Favored Armor

Cloth

Favored Weapons

Staves
Wands
Orbs
Tomes