Wizen Clinger
Ever wonder what secret a Wizard's beard holds? How did it get so long? Has this man really not shaved for that long?
Full Description
This creature looks like a ancient Wizard's beard and can be found clinging to a Wizard's chin. It is anywhere from one to four feet in length and comes in colors from silver to white to gray. It appears to be normal facial hair, except for its unusually long length. This is a special creature, a sort of magical parasite...
Once a Wizard has reached an appropriately old age and is beginning to show the signs of the Wizen Elders (the wrinkled brow, the dulling eyes, the growing madness) he will take a journey to the Jungles of Sagewrath. Hoping to attract a Wizen Clinger. He will not be told by the Elders how to get this creature to attach itself to him. But, what he must do is this: He must wander the massive Jungle for days and use up all of his magic, then, when he is exhausted and near giving up... He will fall fast asleep and "die" in a way. When he awakens he will have a grand full beard and new powers leaps and bounds above his previous ones.
However, this magical boosting parasite comes at a cost. It will sap at his magic, and health. It will not kill him, but it will need to feed. He may become sickly and developing a wracking cough that sometimes shows blood or be too frail to walk without a cane. Also, his magic may be more powerful, but he can use it less often.
Additional Information
There is no known was to kill or remove a Wizen Clinger once it had chosen a host. No one is sure where they came from, if they are intelligent, or any of the whats and whys of these creatures. Studys have been done on Wizards with Wizen Clingers with no real results. The Wizen Clinger appears to be a being of massively powerful magic that can even save its hosts life in extreme circumstances. They resits any and all attempts to be magically altered or tampered with. They are mostly fire-proof. Continued exposure to flame may cause them to singe. If you wish to remove a Wizen Clinger you shouldn't have tampered with magic in the first place.
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? Responses (11)
What does it do to anyone who tries to shave it?
This sounds like a nasty rumor definitely not supported by the Wizards' Guild. :)
It leaves me with many whys, such as where does it really come from, and what the heck is it. But the claim that old wizards do inevitably become insane is amusing enough (and do they become stable with that Clinger on?). The 'falling exhausted asleep in a jungle' sounds pretty dangerous... not all will make it. Most importantly, what happens when the wizard dies after all? Will his body be fully consumed, so the Clinger can gather enough power to get back - creating another story of a vanished wizard, too powerful for his own good?
Maybe they are alien creatures from some other world, hoping to get back one day... powerful, but not enough. Maybe they have cultivated these powers in the primitive humanoids, hoping they will eventually find an archmage that will have enough power to help them return... or something else.
It leaves many questions open, but it is a great way to start speculating. Good one.
"Um... excuse me, sir... you seem to have a furry bloodsucking parasite on your face."
So the Wizen Clinger interferes with how often you can cast magic, a hindrance which may by itself outweigh the power boost. Plus, it makes you hobble around and cough blood, you have to walk into the jungle and tempt death to find it, and, lest we forget, it's a PARASITE CLINGING TO YOUR FACE. Sorry, but no.
I think this really needs:
(a) to be more clearly defined as to how it's more help than hindrance, or
(b) to be more clearly labeled as something only the truly insane would go looking for.
As is, it moves the dusty hamster wheel I have instead of a brain (and seems to have inspired Manfred as well), but it's unusable (to me) without a near-total overhaul. 3.5.
I love some of those ideas, manfred. Alien Beards! Stuck in a jungle, they wait for those of magical powers to enter. Then, when the time is right... they make their move. They feed off the Wizard's energy for years, untill the wizard's time is at an end.. then they are fully consumed and the Wizen Clinger can return to its alien homeworld and give a full report of our world. Maybe they are planning an invasion? Silver beards come from the sky and start attaching to anyone they come near, devouring them almost instantly, then moving on to the next victim... Ha!
and.. Misanpilgrim, power comes at a cost.. Usually. If you want to hand out major magical boosts without consequence... Go ahead, feel free to remove any or all of the drawbacks related to this creature. And, if you need an additional benefit: I imagine those being having the power to save their host from significant danger; teleporting them away, absorbing damage, or many other more mysterious or subtle ways.
But, all said... Just imagine some crazy guy running around yelling "Beware the Wizen Cligners that seem to grow from the chins of the powerfull! They are false and will destroy us!" Good times...
Yes, as a rumor it has some definitive advantages. :)
But at the outset, one dangerous feature of the Wizen Elders was mentioned: the growing madness. What if that is the bonus - some measure of mental stability? Sure, they may not be able to lob those potent spells as often (while his normal spellcasting may be unaffected), but the spells of an unstable archmage would be unstable by themselves... liable to twist in completely random ways, and on occasion failing catastrophically.
If that was prevented, the price could be worth it, for those still (relatively) sane.
I understand the theory behind the piece. It is interesting. I don't lke the application, nor the social implications. Perhaps it is just the form, that seems to flippent.
So the concept of a parasite that grants magic, but at the same time weakens the host is adequite. The exploration here is... lacking.... a lot.
Why does it come from a jungle, instead of being summoned from some fell/ demonic/ or extradimensional place? What do these things do to live. I mean there can not be enough wizards in the world to warrent these things existing.
Perhaps there is some artifact or cairn buried here that anchors the gate to the realm of these things. Perhaps they are bound by some ancient agreement, mostly forgotten by "the speaking races". These creatures still remember
So why does it appear as a beard, and what does it look like when it is not attached to a wizards face?
It boosts magic, but grants a few minor flaws.
It is not working for me at all to be honest.
I am not a big fan of the 'no-one knows' type of backgrounds - while they are obviously more easy to integrate, they appear as a lack of follow-through with your ideas. Sure, to the general public their nature and origin is unknown, but that does not mean you shouldn't detail that aspect for GM usage.
Now if the parasite was more generic - a shape-shifter for example, then the beard incarnation makes a little more sense. With the ability to take other shapes, you could have hairpieces as well. (Simpsons Halloween episode reference here..)
I'm afraid I can't see this as other then silly.
On the presentation front, we have several incomplete sentances - "Hoping to attract a Wizen Clinger." and a few spelling errors - "They resits " and odd formatting.
I don't have much to add except to say that I like this! Yes, it is on the silly side, but that just adds to its appeal. I guess I just enjoy the way this irreverent sub doesn't seem to take itself seriously.
I hate it when I have this long detailed comment that pours from me and I hit submit and it doesnt take. Frustrating. I wont retype everything as it took me too long and I forgot most already. However.
As a rumor this would be great, as most mages with the long greying beards are usually old and dying yet have the most knowledge and seeming power. It would fit to have a myth about their beards. As one day they dont have them and they go into a hiding of sorts to study, when they return they have a beard and new powers. Some spells take ages to learn.
The concept on this is a neat one to me, but the approach was muddled. I for one am a sure fire GM that always was of the opinion that with great power comes a huge price. None of my magic items are used without risk, and none of my spells are easy to throw about without worry.
I think it needs much more. More reasoning, more detail, and more attention to the minor details as to why it is the way it is. I personally dont care if it came from another world to instill havok and chaos among humanity, but knowing something about them would be nice. Images of a grey beard swinging through the trees to attack a sleeping mage is amusing to me, yet not very reallistic.
aside: What's with all the wise-ass BH comments lately on subs?
As to the piece, I like it. Quirky and imaginative! I think I'll use a slightly altered version, but the idea rocks!