Performance Magician

You are a charlatan and trickster of a special breed, one who thrives on making the impossible seem possible. Your powers of deception are as famous as your wit and charm. Some might think of you as a con man, but you prefer to describe it as an “honest” con, where you are paid for your deception instead of outright cheating or stealing.

Unless you’re from a big city, you’ve likely traveled a lot in search of new audiences and venues in which to perform. Why did you give up your performing career and seek adventure? Do you intend to return to it?

To be clear: you don’t actually possess magical powers, but you make it seem that you do. As such, this background is best suited to the Rogue class; though a character with arcane spellcasting (such as a Bard or Wizard) might have begun their career in this manner and later gained true magic through discovery of an ancient secret or a deal with a supernatural being.

Skill Proficiencies

Performance, Sleight of Hand

Tool Proficiencies

Magician’s Tools (includes a box with hidden compartment, a handheld mirror, a set of lockpicks, 3 cups, two decks of cards, a pair of dice, a non-magical wand, 4 wooden balls, 4 silk scarves of different colors, fine thread, and other small objects). You can use this tool kit to add your proficiency bonus to Charisma checks when performing tricks and to Dexterity checks to pick locks.

Languages

One of your choice

Equipment

A costume for performance, Magician’s Tools, a small portable table, a small knife, a tiny pet animal (or pair of manacles), 50 ft. of hemp rope (or 20 ft. of chain and two locks), and a belt pouch containing 15 gp.

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Customization

Type of performer:

Performance magic is a broad field, encompassing many kinds of acts and tricks. What kind of magic do you specialize in?

Close-Up Magic: Most magicians start out (and stay) in close-up magic, which deals primarily in manipulation of handheld objects. Your signature tricks involve cards, coins, dice, cups, and other palmable/pocketable objects.

Stand-Up/Parlor Magic: Because you perform in front of mid-size audiences, your tricks must be bigger. They tend focus on manipulation of larger objects, small animals like rabbits, billiard balls, and special boxes.

Street Magic: Your tricks are performed in the middle of an impromptu audience, and your act is a sort of hybrid of parlor and close-up magic. Street magic typically involves sleight of hand tricks performed on a small, portable table and card tricks. Some street magicians work with trained animals like monkeys.

Escapology: You give the illusion that no bonds can hold you — and that might very well be true. Your signature tricks usually involve ropes, chains, locks, and manacles, and sometimes culminate in the illusion of self-teleportation.

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Feature

What is real:

When it comes to illusions, you know all the tricks. You’ve studied the work of the masters, and your mind is like a great illusion-deducing machine. You have advantage on all checks made to detect secret doors, search for hidden compartments or latches, and find hidden objects.

[With GM Approval] Additionally, you may add your proficiency bonus to checks made to decipher the nature of illusion magic (provided the spell allows you to make a check to do so).

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Suggested Characteristics

Magicians are a fiercely secretive lot. They are independent and resourceful, quick-witted and charming, and thrive on interaction with people. Unlike many other kinds of performers, the magician is not typically a spontaneous person, though they go to great lengths to project the impression that they are. They live fast-paced and energetic lives, and are exactly the sort of person you'd want to invite to a party.

Personality Trait

(1) I constantly fidget with small objects.

(2) I tend to talk very quickly.

(3) No matter how I’m really feeling, my face is always smiling.

(4) Nothing is impossible — I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet.

(5) I like to do impressions of famous people.

(6) I make up random lies about unimportant things for no reason.

(7) I hate routines — I never perform the same show twice.

(8) I have a favorite catch phrase that I use on and off stage.

Ideal

(1) Fortune: I’m only in it for the money. (Any)

(2) Fame: I enjoy turning heads as I walk down the street. (Any)

(3) Entertainment: There is no mood too dour that a hearty joke or playful trick can’t brighten. (Good)

(4) Creativity: Illusion frees us from the chains of reality. (Chaotic)

(5) Society: Rather than perform, I use my talents to help law enforcement. (Lawful)

(6) Deception: While I was busy performing, my assistant probably just stole your purse. (Chaotic or Evil)

Bond

(1) My mentor, the man who taught me my first tricks, went missing several months ago.

(2) Local law enforcement does not take too kindly to the tricks I’ve played on them.

(3) I’m secretly in love with my very attractive assistant.

(4) I have a mission I must complete so that I may join the secretive magician’s guild.

(5) I owe a lot of debts because of my extravagant lifestyle.

(6) I adopted a stage name to escape my past. No one can know my real name.

Flaw

(1) My quest for bigger and bolder tricks has put me many times close to death.

(2) There’s nothing I won’t do for a bet.

(3) My life is such a tangled web of lies a red dragon’s breath couldn’t clear it up.

(4) I’m a constant stream of jokes, especially when it’s inappropriate.

(5) I practice my routines with great care to cover to the fact that I’m secretly very clumsy.

(6) Whenever I hear whispered conversations I get paranoid they’re talking about me.

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Variant

VARIANT: Mentalist / Psychic

You create the impression of psychic powers through mind reading, precognition, hypnosis, observational skills, and rapid calculation.

Proficiencies: Replaces all proficiencies above.

    Skills: Deception, your choice of Insight or Investigation.

    Tools: None

    Languages: Two of your choice

Suggested equipment: A costume for performance, chalk, portable chalk board, two decks of playing cards, a deck of tarot cards, several small objects to levitate (such as coins or balls), a Dragonchess set, and a belt pouch containing 25 gp.

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VARIANT: Stage Magic

Bigger and bolder is the game. You specialize in performing tricks for large audiences. You usually work with an assistant or two, and your signature tricks typically include large props such as coffins or armoires as well as sharp objects like swords and saws. Where such animals are available, wealthier performers might even work with exotic animals such as elephants or tigers.

Proficiencies: Replaces all proficiencies above.

    Skills: Animal Handling, Performance

    Tools: Carpenter's Tools (This set of tools includes a saw, hammer, sack of nails, chisel, gouge, craftsman's compass, square, crowbar, plane, and other woodworking tools.) Using these tools allows you to add your proficiency bonus to checks made to construct or repair wooden structures such as boxes, crates, platforms, stairs, and small buildings.

    Languages: One of your choice

Suggested equipment: A costume for performance, 50 ft. silk rope, a cart, a prop saw, Carpenter's tools, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp.

Tags: Magician, Illusionist, Mentalist, Psychic, Escape Artist

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