Topic: How to make a chimera?

[Jengada]

I'm building an adventure that's going to involve a wizard who is  manipulating creatures and trying to create new ones. I'm pondering whether this would be an Essence or Channeling user, I could see either or both. And I could see a hybrid, but in base RM2 rules that hybrid is a Sorceror, which is the antithesis of someone who creates.
Can anyone point me to a Companion class that would be suitable? Anyone have thoughts on a build for this?

[cdcooley]

I can't think of anything that really fits this, but I can see it as a sort of Animist/Druid/Healer/Sorcerer/Alchemist hybrid starting with sorcerer skill costs but adjusting them to be a bit more like an animist. I definitely wouldn't worry about the idea that the Sorcerer is all about destruction. The important part would be the type of spell lists. You could also just treat it as a variant of the Alchemist/Druid with a lack of interest in plants.

You would definitely want the Animist Animal Master list or Druid Animal Mastery list to keep the creatures under control. You'll also want an animal-based variant of the Animist Plant Mastery list to allow for faster genetic experimentation to see if traits are passed down through the generations.

Then you'll need something to allow inter-species breeding, actual grafting parts of creatures together, and/or magically copying traits from one individual to another. Lists like the Open Essence Physical Enhancement could be used in combination with Alchemist style repeated casting to try to create additional traits for an individual creature. As a variation, shapeshifting and other lists which allow borrowing traits and abilities from others could be used to copy traits, but would also need to be used repeatedly in the Alchemist style of magic. Maybe a custom list pulling some spells from the Sorcerer's Flesh Destruction list but with matching healing spells to allow cutting out undesirable features and then healing over the damage done (and potentially grafting in new things).

Spell User's Companion has an Animist Genetic Ways list but it has a very modern, scientific perspective. It might be something you like or at least have some ideas that you could add to other lists.

[MisterK]

For the Grafting part, the RMSS/FRP Construct Companion includes the Chengeling list(s). I'm pretty sure you can take inspiration from it, since it seems to deal exactly with what you want (you can also get ideas from the Amalgams list, though that one deals with dead parts cobbled together and given a semblance of life - but the technical details might be worth it).

Depending on the setting, I would make such a caster a pure Essence, E/C hybrid, or pure Channeling - or even Arcane if this seems too far removed from standard magic in the setting. Depending on the other base lists you assign, I would use Animist, Druid, Sorcerer or Alchemist as a template for skill costs. Channeling types would be inspired either by a god (probably not a 'good' one, since creating abominations is hardly orderly, but not necessarily straight evil) or by an unfathomable alien entity (I can really see an Elder God-like entity 'inspiring' people to research into creating abominations to change the biome of the world). Essence and Arcane types would be self-sufficient but research oriented, either from a zoological or from a magical point of view. The hybrid might be a researcher with a big philosophical question such as 'can man give the spark of true life - a soul - to a creation', and his chimaera are essentially milestones on the way to the great work, but since it deals with the spirit as much as the body, having a hybrid is preferable in my opinion.

An E/C hybrid could also merge living beings (animals, humanoids...) with that of corporeal planar entities such as demons to create planar hybrids, or try to infuse animals with elemental matter to create elemental hybrids (that would be more in the realm of a pure Essence or Arcane caster, probably, though). Once again, I think you can get a wealth of ideas from the Construct Companion.

[Hurin]

Conjurer (pure Essence) from Rolemaster Companion II might be worth a look.

[Jengada]

Thanks for these suggestions, I'll check them out. I didn't even know there was a RMSS Construct Companion! I'm leaning towards this being an Essence user, maybe straight-up Magician, but taking the pieces you all point me towards and creating a set of Arcane spells. The Magician would have developed these through extensive research, and may or may not even realize they're "bigger" than Essence, they may just think they're really complicated and took a lot of work.
FWIW, the outline is that the person began experimenting in order to create better battle-mounts for their lord. They started looking at other possibilities for more significant crossing of abilities or mixing creatures, and though that has been limited in success, they are expanding yet again to see if they can magically graft abilities or creature parts to fully grown humans for exceptional abilities. (Of course, only an insane person would test that on themself first, so now you've got people disappearing and used for experimentation.)

[EltonJ]

I know I'm late, but I second the suggestion that you should look at the Construct Companion.  It talks about Chimeras as well.

[netbat]

You could go with the Arcane Alchemist using the list Animal Reality from the guild companion Feb 2001 issue in the wayback machine.
Personally I would go with any of the arcane pure spell users and require arcane ritual magic to do something like that.

[Jengada]

You could go with the Arcane Alchemist using the list Animal Reality from the guild companion Feb 2001 issue in the wayback machine.
Personally I would go with any of the arcane pure spell users and require arcane ritual magic to do something like that.

Thanks for that tip - from what I could find it may be very apropos. Unfortunately, the Wayback Machine doesn't have it, it comes up missing. The back-issue links on here don't work, either, so I'll message Colin-ICE, he's helped with GC issues in the past.

[netbat]

Yeah, wayback can be finicky. If you don't get something back, try this url to the wayback page for the feb prefix: https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.guildcompanion.com/scrolls/2001/feb/*

[Jengada]

Yeah, wayback can be finicky. If you don't get something back, try this url to the wayback page for the feb prefix: https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.guildcompanion.com/scrolls/2001/feb/*

That worked, thank you! I have learned something about the wayback machine!

[Jengada]

Next question, where was the Arcane Alchemist presented? Not finding any leads in RM2, or my basic RMSS books.

[Hurin]

Have you tried the Alchemy Companion?

[Jengada]

Double checked, and I don't see anything arcane in there. Lots of other subtypes, but nothing about arcane magic.

[jdale]

Arcane Alchemist was in the Guild Companion, December 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20040928074739/http://www.guildcompanion.com:80/scrolls/2000/dec/arcanealchemist.html

I put a couple of chimaera spells on a list here: https://web.archive.org/web/20150106204452/http://www.guildcompanion.com/scrolls/2015/jan/redefiningarcanemagic04.html

[Jengada]

Thanks again all. From these, I'm building a pretty cool "mad wizard" who uses ritual magic to create chimeras. It should be a good adventure!

[brole]

Thanks again all. From these, I'm building a pretty cool "mad wizard" who uses ritual magic to create chimeras. It should be a good adventure!

Hi. How did your mad wizard turn out?

I might be a bit late here but in terms of RM2 stuff I found in SUC the Arcane spell list Matter Manipulation that deals with creating creatures.

I also looked at the Creator in comp VI is like a Frankenstein type the is Lay Healer/Necromancer that is re-animating dead stuff this is the first one I thought of.

These and Alchemists seem like good candidates for creating chimeras.

[Jengada]

I'm still constructing the wizard, but he's going to be a Magician who has drifted into arcane magic. He's going to have 3 arcane rituals that are based on the Arcane Beast and Animal Reality lists pointed out earlier. He's built his retreat on a minor earth node, giving him a bit of a power boost.
The way I'm building the rituals is based on some details of The Essence that I drafted up way back. The structure of a thing is written in its Essence, and so his spells seek to modify that structure in one creature based on what he can see of a trait in another creature. The twist is, it's a little quantum mechanically influenced. If he reads a trait in a creature, he necessarily changes it in that creature. He now has a pattern for the trait, but the source creature is modified in the process. He can then impose the trait on a new creature, but that, too, is uncertain and may affect other parts of the receiving creature's structure. Traits may fit in easily, or they may be temporary, or they may flicker back and forth in unpredictable ways.
Still working on the reason the party will go looking, but I want it to be morally grey, what he's doing. He's helping local villagers survive by improving their livestock, but in the meantime he's killing or maiming other creatures, and his other experiments may not be so altruistic.