Incantifer

Long ago, the great planar city held a faction called the Thaumaturgate, convinced that wizardly magic was the key to the multiverse, strong enough to rewrite worlds and frighten gods, and that anyone determined could master it. They hoarded every magic item and scrap of lore in a dark fortress, the Spire of Spells. Rivals bargained or schemed for their secrets, and for a time the Thaumaturgate called the tune.

Then one day the Spire was simply gone from the skyline of the city's scribes' quarter. Some claimed the city's silent sovereign had cast them all into her mazes; others said they had challenged her and lost, or that the other factions had joined to destroy them. In time the faction was forgotten. It is not wholly gone. Now and again a surviving member appears, still pursuing the impossible goal of mastering all magic. These are the incantifers, every one a selfish, ambitious caster of tremendous power.

An incantifer looks human, but magic has saturated and warped it inside, much as a tanner's trade clings to his skin. Most look extremely old and frail, having used magic to cheat death without caring about youth, which they can fake when needed. Two signs give them away: eyes of blank, shining silver, and an uncanny grace and agility that their magic grants despite their decrepit bodies.

They scorn physical combat, though as a last resort they have effective Strength 18/51 and punch for 1d3+3 or strike with a staff or similar magic weapon, usually only to make room to cast. Each casts as a mage of level d8+10 (9th to 18th), usually a specialist; evokers, conjurers, transmuters and wild mages are most common. Hit Dice follow caster level, giving 9d4+18 hit points at 9th level and +1 more per level beyond. They have had centuries to find spells nobody else has heard of.

Expect 2-5 potions (invulnerability, gaseous form, extra-healing and invisibility are typical), 1-3 scrolls (petrification, dragon breath, protection from undead), 1-2 rings (regeneration, wizardry, protection, mind shielding), 1-3 wands and 2-5 other items. Armor Class derives from magical protection plus Dexterity 18; an armor spell, a cloak of displacement and a +3 protection ring together give AC -3. Lasting wards such as stoneskin, armor and permanent detect invisibility or protection from normal missiles are common. They burn memorized spells first, since those come back, and hoard single-use items.

What sets them apart from any well-prepared mage of equal level is that they absorb magic. Whenever spells, spell-like powers or spell-casting items are used on one and it passes its magic resistance roll, it soaks up the effect, healing 1 hp per spell level and gaining the ability to cast spells without losing them from memory, as with a rod of absorption. Even dispel magic can be absorbed; only magic weapons and antimagic areas cannot. If the resistance roll fails, normal saving throws still apply. Its altered body needs no air and shrugs off mundane heat, cold and hostile surroundings.

Only a handful of original members survive; their pupils and servants turn up more often. Now and then one agrees to teach a gifted mage and works the rituals that transform the student, producing a young incantifer of 9th to 14th level.

They are deeply paranoid about their hoards, never leave them unguarded, and haul as much as they can on their persons, sometimes draped in dozens of satchels, pouches and packs. Laughing at one is unwise. Most have lost all social graces and see everyone as a possible source of magic, and in a tavern they come across as rude and condescending, with no patience for haggling or insults, though they do not always resort to force. Many shady schemes trace back to them, and they pay well for dangerous jobs, usually prying some rare magic away from its rightful owner.

Transformation frees them from eating, sleeping and breathing; collecting magic is all that sustains them. Each month it must take in as many spell levels as it has levels, or lose one permanently. A drained magic item counts as one spell level for every 500 XP it is worth, so a 16th-level incantifer needs 16 spell levels, 8,000 XP worth of items, or a mix, every month, or it drops to 15th. Some trapped in dead-magic zones have starved.