Drug Trance Mages for Labyrinth Lord and OSR

I have been recreating the Chivalry & Sorcery magic user classes for the OSR. Here is my Drug Trance Mage class for use with Labyrinth Lord and other OSR games.

Drug Trance Mage

Requirements: INT 9, CON 12

Prime Requisite: add INT to the PR of base class

Drug Trance Mages make magical drugs in the form of potions or powders. By taking the drug, they gain the ability to cast a spell for a period of time. Drug trance magic is a part-time pursuit, so any character class can also pursue being a drug trance mage. All drug trance mages advance as Magic Users. Referees may decided to treat it as a skill similar to Alchemy.

Drug-trance mages do not have masters that they learn spells from, nor can they learn from books or scrolls, since this style of magic is intuitive and not an academic form. Sometimes, drug trance mages form secret societies to share knowledge and protect their members. Visions from the drugs can lead the drug-trance mage to the leadership or meeting place of the local secret society.

A drug-trance mage has a maximum spell level of one-half their level rounded up. So, a 3rd level drug mage has a maximum spell level of 2. Drugs they create will contain spells of that difficulty or less.

Formulating Magical Drugs

The drug-making process is a form of enchantment, comparable to writing scrolls. Each drug consists of either a powder or potion made from seven different ingredients, a unique recipe for each spell.

The drug mage chooses the level of the spell they are trying to enchant into the drug, but they don't know what spell will be in the drug until they test a dose. Mages should keep records of their recipes, because the same ingredients will produce the same spell effect. These drugs and recipes are specific to the mage who created them -- they cannot be shared with other drug trance mages.

The ingredients must be worth a total of 100 gp per level of spell, plus 50 gp per dose produced. The mage can make up to ten doses at a time. The process takes one week, though the drug-trance mage only needs to spend two hours a day tending the enchantment process. For example, it costs 750 gp (300 + 450 gp) to make 10 doses of a 3rd level drug.

The end result is a potion if three or more of the ingredients are liquids, or a powder otherwise. Use the sample ingredients lists supplied or create your own. Potions are quaffed and powders can either be smoked, snorted, or mixed with food or drink. Liquids are quicker to consume than powders, but liquids require fragile bottles or expensive metal flasks to carry. Many drug trance mages have a preferred drug form.

The Drug Creation Roll

At the end of this period, the Referee should secretly make a spell saving throw. On a success, the mage completes the enchantment and produces the number doses specified at the beginning of the process. On a critical success, the drug mage can choose the spell placed into the drug within the limits of the level of the recipe. On a normal failure, impurities have been unknowingly been introduced and the drug is Tainted (see below). If a critical failure is rolled, the drug is Addictive (see below).

Drug Testing

To test the drug, the mage consumes a dose. The Referee determines the spell by rolling randomly between all spells of the proper level that aren't already in the drug repertoire of the mage. The drug takes effect after d4 rounds and the high lasts 2d6 turns (the Referee makes the duration rolls secretly). As soon as the drug takes effect, the mage gets a vision of what spell is in the drug and whether it is tainted. Any Side Effects also begin once the drug is active.

For the duration of the drug high, the mage can cast the spell once. Mages can use these drugs safely once a day per level of the drug mage plus the CON Modifier. If this limit is exceeded, the mage has Overdosed (see below). For instance, Jill is a 3rd level drug mage with a CON Modifier of +1. She can take level + 1 = 4 drugs per day. If she takes five drugs in a day, she has Overdosed. If a drug trance mage takes a drug while still under the influence of another drug (duration of first drug has not expired), treat the magic user as if they have Overdosed. If the drug is Addictive, the mage must make a saving throw against poison (add CON Modifier to saving throw) to avoid becoming Addicted.

Tainted Drugs and Overdoses

Tainted drugs are still usable, just more risky. Overdose magic users may still be able to cast. If the drug is Tainted or the drug-trance mage has Overdosed, the mage must make a saving throw vs. poison (plus CON Modifier) to avoid a 'bad trip'. On a success, the mage can cast the spell in the drug normally. On a failure, the caster passes out for 2d6 rounds. On a critical failure, the caster loses consciousness for 2d6 turns. At the end of this period, the mage must recuperate for an equal amount of time to regain their strength.

After two weeks of research, the mage can make another batch of a Tainted drug from the same recipe, trying to tweak the formula using the same ingredients, and avoiding contamination of the new batch. Reroll the Drug Creation roll at +2 for each successive formulation.

Drug Addiction

If a mage consumes an Addictive drug, they must make a poison save (plus CON modifier). If they fail their Addiction save, they become Addicted to the drug. Each day thereafter, the caster must make a saving throw against spells (plus WIS Modifier) or they must take a dose of the drug. If the caster already has an Addiction, the roll is -5. If they take the drug, it works normally, subject to Tainted and Overdose rolls. If the mage rolls a critical success, they have broken the addiction. A character can be addicted to more than one drug at a time.

Side Effects

Using magical drugs can have side effects. Each time a drug is used, check the Side Effects Table to see what happens on this trip. These side effects do not affect the mage's spellcasting ability.

Side Effects Table

d20 Side Effect

1-5 No side effects

6-7 Intoxicated (-2 on all rolls)

8-9 Mellow and friendly (-2 on taking violent actions)

10-11 Lecherous (distracted by preferred gender)

12-13 Sleepy (-2 on all skills)

14-15 Hallucinations (distracted by things that don't exist)

16-17 Paranoid (distracted by constant enemies)

18-19 Angry and violent (-2 on taking non-violent actions)

20 Roll twice

Modifiers: (cumulative)

Tainted +2

Overdose +2

Mixing drugs +2 for each additional dose

CON 13+ subtract CON Modifier

Example Magical Drug Ingredient List

Plants (leaf, root, flower, seed, fruit) Aloe Belladona Boneset Cherry Cloves Frankincense Gardenia Jasmine Lavendar Lotus Mace Mistletoe Mushroom Musk Myrrh Narcissus Nightshade Nutmeg Opium Orchid Peony Pepper Poppy Rose Saffron Sage Sandalwood Sunflower Liquids Beer Blood Brandy Oil Enchanted pool water Holy water Hot spring water Mead Water Wine

Animals (bone, horn, teeth, hide, organs) Ape Basilisk Bat Boar Bull Chimera Crocodile Dog Dove Dragon Eagle Eel Elephant Elf Fish Frog Ghoul Giant Hawk Hippogriff Horse Human Imp Leviathan Lion Lycanthrope Manticore Minotaur Ogre Reptile Rhinoceros Sea Mammal Shark Sparrow Squid Stag Swallow Tiger Toad Troll Unicorn Wolf