Dark Wizardry - Empowering Spellcraft through Madness & Planar Instability

[Aethereal]

To help distinguish tolerable/moderate/safe/wise wizards from those who go down the path of power/madness/planar instability beyond their choice of arcane foci or lack thereof and with the added benefit of being a fun but optional and dangerous (may lead to being  kill-on-sight like monster races) mechanic, I suggest that:

Planes sickness / planar instability empower wizards and their magic, depending on the stages of affliction:

1-2500 Infected by the Planes
Merely touched by the planes, the Wizard receives a minor boost to their magic: +1 Spellcraft

2501 - 5000 Afflicted by the Planes
As the planar energy begins to infuse more readily into the Wizard, their spells come easier, but they grow forgetful of things outside of their magic: +4 Spellcraft, -2 Lore, -2 Heal

5001 - 7000 Moderate Affliction by the Planes
The Wizard becomes attuned with the planar instability within themselves, reaching the threshold of acceptability as they begin to glow, their spellcasting becoming even more unstable, their wholesome knowledge of the world in their otherwise gifted minds giving way to raw power. Going beyond this point is to willingly embrace power regardless of the price: +1 INT, +6 Spellcraft, -6 Lore, -6 Heal, -6 Concentration

7001 - 8000 Heavy Affliction by the Planes
Giving in to planar instability, the Wizard has become a conduit of magic, they see the mysteries of reality in a new light, beautiful, chaotic, so full of possibility, their destiny is oneness with their source of power but their form is warping, as is their mind, they have begun to leave their mundane and Prime Material origins: +2 INT, -2 CHA, -2 WIS, +10 Spellcraft,  +10 Lore (planar insights), -5 to all other skills. The Wizard now counts as a monster and will be kill-on-sight, or otherwise shunned by all of society. Bad luck falls upon those around them, and no arcane focus can ever prevent the wizard's magic from doing harm to others.

8001 - 9000 Intense Affliction by the Planes
There is no chance for redemption for a Wizard so glutted upon chaotic planar energies, theirs is a new reality, beyond anything that could ever be considered mundane, new visions manifest before their eyes as they see unseen arcane trails and residues like a bloodhound upon a trail. Seams open up around them when their most potent spells manifest, and wild magic is at their beck and call. They are a master of terrible, insane power, a force to be feared, yet with strange insights no mere mortal could comprehend: Same pros and cons as Heavy Affliction with the addition of +1 Spell DC to all spells, spell resistance 10, +1 Universal Saves, and an additional -1 CHA, -1 WIS, and -2 to all skills besides Lore and Spellcraft. Seams open up with their magic regularly (if implemented)

9001 - 9999 Planar Madness
Teetering on the edge of mortal capacity so swelled up with planar chaos, the Wizard walks the razor's edge between bursting into a super-localised magical mini-nova and spewing out chaos magic all about them: Same pros and cons as Intense Affliction with the addition of On-Hit Chaos Shield and +2/5 Damage Resistance

10000
Death, Endlude (if earned/appropriate) or ? ? ?


The numbers will need tweaking and are more of illustrative of what could be done rather than specifically something I'd suggest be implemented. I really like the idea of distinguishable dark wizards, which also allows the converse of wizards of good repute. These pros and cons could also apply to some sorcerer perks as well, with slight tweaks to be more suited to them, especially Unpredictable sorcerers.

Other possibilities: increase planes sickness generation from their spells when reaching the monster/KOS stage.

This comes with so many new possibilities to portray wizards from making it easier to demonstrate those who are wise and careful and those who pursue the path of power and dark wizardry, while making it stylish to go either way.

[Aethereal]

This is becoming more and more a thing IG. With the rise of the Chaomancers and Ordo Ab Chao. Let's get some discussion in here, shall we?

I'd like to especially see some ideas about how to better differentiate the 'socially acceptable' magus versus those who are clearly not.

[Damien]

I'd agree but err on the side of making it not mechanically beneficial at all. Maybe you start getting alignment shifts, and  -wisdom, and the reward is all the planar questing you are doing.

The danger with giving it some mechanical benefit is people who purposefully keep themselves at a certain level to reap the reward, which is what some people did with withering...

[Blue41]

While I agreed initially with the spirit of this post, I think there's a tricky line to walk for the effects of seam sickness on the wizard. From how it's referenced in-game, it seems like it's intended to represent the reality-destroying nature of their magicks affecting their own body, and breaking it down. It's not meant to be comfortable and that's reflected by the mechanical penalties, which I won't delve into for spoilers reasons but are debilitating at best.  I really can't see a new wave of wizards choosing to keep themselves this way for +2 Int- it's not a great trade.

The other thing is, there's little to show that being heavily seam-sick makes wizards 'stronger'. If anything it's the opposite, powerful wizards are more prone to seam sickness, because they're throwing more instability into the world.  It's great that this is the narrative players are coming up with but it doesn't need to be reflected mechanically. Leave it for PC wizards to pursue or refute as they see fit.