Flame Mage/Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, the Flame Mage is one of the roles available to the hero from SLASH'EM.
Flame Mages in Hack'EM can be humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes, giants, or doppelgangers, and can be of lawful or neutral alignment.
Starting equipment
Each Flame Mage starts with the following equipment before racial adjustments:
- a blessed fireproof +1 quarterstaff (wielded)
- a fireproof +0 robe
- a fireproof fire bomb
- 2-4 uncursed food rations
- 1-2 uncursed scrolls of fire
- a blessed spellbook of fire bolt
- a blessed spellbook of fireball
- a blessed spellbook of light or detect monsters with an equal probability of each
- 2-4 potions of oil
- a random ring other than than aggravate monster, hunger, and sleeping
- a wand of fire
- a chance of one of the following tools:
Any ring that is generated with an enchantment of +0 or lower is given a random enchantment from +1 to +3. A Flame Mage will never be given a ring of fire resistance or ring of cold resistance.
Orcish Flame Mages are not given extra food like orcish heroes in other roles.
Flame Mages start with knowledge of any applicable racial equipment.
The Flame Mage's default starting pet is a hell hound pup.
Intrinsics
Flame Mages gain the following intrinsic properties upon reaching the given experience levels:
- XL 1: Fire resistance
- XL 5: Vulnerability to cold
- XL 8: Polyself into baby red dragon form
- XL 15: Polymorph into adult red dragon form
Skills
Flame Mages have the following skills available to them:
| Flame Mage skills | |
|---|---|
| Max | Skills |
| Basic | |
| Skilled |
|
| Expert |
|
Flame Mages start with Basic skill in quarterstaves, clubs and matter spells before racial adjustments. They use the wisdom stat to cast spells, and their special spell is enlighten.
Techniques
Flame Mages can learn the disarm technique by reaching Skilled in any weapon, and also gain the following techniques at the listed experience levels:
| Level | Technique |
| 1 | Reinforce memory |
| 3 | Power surge |
| 5 | Draw energy |
Special rules
Flame Mages benefit from a somewhat weaker form of hungerless casting, and gain the exact same benefits of hungerless casting as the Wizard specifically when casting the fire bolt and fireball spells.
Flame Mages have the ability to transform into a dragon of their element: they gain access to the baby red dragon polyform at experience level 8, and can become adult red dragons upon reaching experience level 15. Transforming into a baby red dragon costs 20 power, while transforming into an adult red dragon costs 40 power, with a reduction in power cost if the Flame Mage is wearing red dragon scales or red dragon-scaled armor, and the process takes two turns.
Due to their affinity with the element of flame, fire elementals always generate as peaceful for Flame Mages, and genocide of red dragons carries several penalties to alignment record. A Flame Mage can invoke the artifact Firewall to cast flame sphere. Flame Mages also naturally like fire, which causes them to take extra damage from water attacks and allows them to quaff from forges without taking damage. This also means that cold is antithetical to Flame Mages, which expresses itself in the following restrictions:
- They become vulnerable to cold at experience level 5, and can only obtain a maximum of 50% partial cold resistance.
- They cannot handle Frost Brand or Deep Freeze, and will never receive them as sacrifice gifts.
- They cannot read the spellbooks for cone of cold of freeze sphere, and will never receive those spellbooks as sacrifice gifts.
- They cannot obtain any frosty or watery minions as sacrifice gifts, and also cannot be gifted weapons with the "frost" object property.
Flame Mages only take 1⁄5 damage from breaking wands by applying them.
Rank titles
The status line displays one of the following ranks for the corresponding experience levels:
- XL 1-2: Spark
- XL 3-5: Igniter
- XL 6-9: Broiler
- XL 10-13: Combuster
- XL 14-17: Torcher
- XL 18-21: Scorcher
- XL 22-25: Incinerator
- XL 26-29: Disintegrator
- XL 30: Flame-Master
Gods
The Flame Mage pantheon is based on elements related to flame and heat. Their first sacrifice gift is Firewall.
Quest
The Flame Mage's quest sees them fighting the High Ice Mage for The Candle of Eternal Flame, an artifact magic candle. The Candle of Eternal Flame is always lit, and while carried it grants warning, teleport control and cold resistance. Invoking The Candle of Eternal Flame summons a tame fire elemental.
Strategy
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