#mohrg

(art by TSABER on DeviantArt)

I’ve said it before, but the envoy is very much the skill rogue to the operatives more traditional rogue, though there’s lots of overlap out there in various ways.

And that overlap includes the ability of both classes to tap into a little bit of magic!

Two weeks ago we took a look at the magical assassin operative, which uses magical empowerment instead of precision to deal extra damage, but now we’re looking at the magical expertise envoy, which specializes in more traditional “utility belt” rogue magic!

This alternate option alters their expertise, limiting its uses, but in exchange they gain a little bit of magical power drawn from the mystic spell list.

They might be diplomats or other skilled individuals that have magical talent but were too focused on other things to spend as much time perfecting their arts, or they might have picked up these skills later due to a dabbling interest or desire to round out their abilities. Either way, most use their magic in an almost gadgeteer-like fashion, pulling out the right spell for the job, be it bypassing a locked door, stopping combat with a hostile foe, or even blasting a foe with a surprise magical attack.

So let’s get right into it and take a look, shall we?

Unlike a normal envoy, today’s subject start out being able to use their expertise with mystical knowledge rather than reading others. However, they also gain limited spell knowledge, starting with one cantrip and eventually progressing up to fourth-level magics. However, each spell level has only enough energy for one apiece.

By putting the training they would put into talents back into their magic, however, they can learn another spell and develop a greater capacity of energy to cast.

Conversely, however, when they would use any ability that would require them to forgo their expertise die on a roll, they must expend a bit of their remaining magical energy, which you could flavor as them using a bit of magic to make it work due to their split focus on magic and mundane techniques.

The envoy class at it’s core is all about having clever solutions to every situation, and this alternate class feature is no different. You might focus on expertise talents that don’t have or have situational “forgo expertise die” to keep your spell slots, or not. As for spell choices, you are using the mystic spell list so there are a lot of good utility and buffing spells, so you can easily build with supporting your allies or your build directly as needed. You might even pick an offensive spell for a surprise attack, especially if that spell controls the battlefield in some way. Additionally, you might consider taking the feat chains that grant minor spellcasting from the other three magic classes, such as Technomantic Dabbler, Reality Glimmer, Time-touched, and the Stage Magic line for a truly versatile selection, all to become a magical problem-solver for the party.

Whether your character is Princess Leia or your average YA protag that has learned a little magic but otherwise relies on their non-magical skillset, there’s so many ways to play a magical dilletante or dabbler with this archetype, and all without multiclassing. But how do they feel about their status as minor mages? Perhaps they are self-conscious about not having been able to take their studies further, or maybe they scoff at dedicated mages, delving into esoteric secrets beyond the material world when the world is where all the fun is at?

Like many quorlu, Pungik is a deeply spiritual being and believes in reincarnation and the transmigration of the soul. As such, they believe their own minor magics are memories of their previous incarnation’s magical might. While no true mage themselves, they do make use of them in their role as a negotiator for their mining company.

When one of a pair of magician brothers returns from the grave as a mohrg, the party finds themselves in the middle of a gristly love triangle, as the undead brother believes that his sibling had him murdered to get him out of the way of wooing the woman they were both interested in, while the living brother claims it was just an ordinary mugging gone wrong. There is only a limited time to find the truth as the dead brother’s rage constantly threatens to overthrow his patience.

Always fiddled with the concept of a plant-controlled skeleton