This request came along a while back and I have finally gotten around to it! When I finally set to puzzling it out, it was a difficult one to figure out the specifics of. Fortunately, the relatively recent release of Book of the Dead gave me just the means to do so. As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in an attempt to fit the character. These choices might not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
Let's get into the build for Olgierd von Everec from the Witcher!
OLGIERD
CHARACTER Olgierd von Everedc
SOURCE The Witcher
GOALS
o Olgierd is the eldest son of a noble and respected family who grew up learning how to read, ride, shoot, and fight with a saber
o He and his brother joined a band of rogues who raided Velen and Temerian borderlands, inspiring fear among locals at his mere name
o When his family fell on hard times, a cruel debt collector seized their estates and belongings, leaving them homeless
o Olgierd traded his own brother’s life for three wishes to regain his family’s fortune and immortality
o When the drawback of his wishes became apparent, he started learning Goetia, a practice of summoning creatures across dimensions for bargains
o Skilled in horsemanship and prone to taking good care of them
o Wields a scimitar with considerable skill
o His study into Goetia has taught him how to summon minor demons and fiends as well as the ability to teleport short distances
o Aside from liberal employment of this tactic, in combat he favors repeated series of strikes to overpower his foe and will use his free hand to hurl a dazzling powder at foes
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Skilled Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Skill
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Crafting (trained), Society (trained)
Background: Noble
o Ability Boosts: +Intelligence, +Strength
o Skill Increase: Society (trained), Heraldry Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Courtly Graces
Class & Subclass: Laughing Shadow Magus
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Arcana (trained), Athletics (trained), Diplomacy (trained), Occultism (trained)
o Spellbook: Cantrips – acid splash, gouging claw, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, ray of frost, telekinetic projectile; 1st – admonishing ray, echoing weapon, magic weapon, shocking grasp
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 12)
The build doesn’t get into Olgierd’s immortal nature until later so the first step in build him will be trying to build in his more general abilities. As a laughing shadow magus, he picks up dimensional assault, giving him his numerous teleports. Initially, he can only do this once per combat but he’ll build towards being able to do it more than once. His background establishes him as a member of a noble family though doesn’t reach as much into his time among raiders. This could possibly be reflected by swapping out his training in the Diplomacy skill for Intimidation, but sticking with Diplomacy initially felt like it gave him more of a noble upbringing. As for spells, Olgierd doesn’t actually seem too flashy outside of his teleports, which led to the selection of pretty basic spells, including ones that aren’t quite as flashy while still being effective. In particular, echoing weapon works well with the idea of Olgierd making multiple repeated strikes as he presses the attack.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Spell Parry
o Skill Feat: Arcane Sense
o Spellbook: 1st – horizon thunder sphere, longstrider
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Arcana (expert)
o Spellbook: 2nd – acid arrow, telekinetic maneuver
o Gear: +1 scimitar, ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Ritualist Dedication
o Skill Feat: Magical Shorthand
o Spellbook: 2nd – darkness, flame wisp
o Gear: flaming star, +1 scimitar, necklace of knives, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 19, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 14)
o Ancestry Feat: Unconventional Weaponry – Aldori Dueling Sword
o Skill Increase: Crafting (expert), Occultism (expert), Stealth (trained)
o Spellbook: 3rd – organsight, time jump
o Gear: +1 striking Aldori dueling sword, flaming star, golden legion epaulet, necklace of knives, ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
In his fight against Geralt, Olgierd seems to parry some of his attacks, and the best way to achieve that within the confines of the magus class was with the Spell Parry class feat. Ritualist Dedication is unrelated to his combat style but is instead meant to reflect his study into Goetia and the dark magic he gained from it. This dedication will give access to rituals that might allow Olgierd to summon stand-ins for the Black Cat and Dog or possibly the Caretaker. While the scimitar is a fine weapon for Olgierd, since it seems to be what they call his sword in-game, and works with the multitude of swings he makes, it doesn’t function as well with the magus playstyle. Using his ancestry feat of Unconventional Weaponry to gain proficiency with the Aldori dueling sword works a little bit better with that playstyle, but players that prefer the multiple attacks should stick with the scimitar and instead take Natural Ambition to get Familiar as a representative of the Black Cat or Dog. Picking skill feats was somewhat difficult for the character and eventually just resulted in leaning into his study of Goetia with numerous magic-focused feats, such as Arcane Sense and Magical Shorthand to help him better learn magic. Finally, the Fleet general feat buffs Olgierd’s Speed to better make use of his dimensional appearance.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Flexible Ritualist
o Skill Feat: Resourceful Ritualist
o Spellbook: 3rd – cozy cabin, wall of wind
o Gear: +1 studded leather armor, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword, bag of holding (type I), flaming star, brooch of shielding, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Arcana (mastery)
o Spellbook: 4th – blink, dimension door
o Gear: endless grimoire, +1 studded leather armor, ring of minor arcana, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword, flaming star, golden legion epaulet
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Efficient Rituals
o Skill Feat: Alchemical Crafting
o Spellbook: 4th – freedom of movement, stoneskin
o Gear: boots of bounding, endless grimoire, wand of noisome acid (2nd-level), +1 studded leather armor, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword, bag of holding (type I)
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition - Familiar
o Skill Increase: Society (expert)
o Spellbook: 5th – blink charge, flowing strike
o Gear: +1 resilient studded leather armor, boots of bounding, deathless armor rune, endless grimoire, ring of minor arcana, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 20, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 16)
o Class Feat: Dimensional Disappearance
o Skill Feat: Connections
o Spellbook: 5th – shadow walk, mantle of the frozen heart
o Gear: greater hat of the magi, +1 resilient leather armor, greater flaming star, boots of bounding, endless grimoire, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword
Olgierd wants to complete the Ritualist Dedication quickly as there’s another archetype that he wants to get to. But as a man that delved into Goetia largely on his own, Flexible Ritualist allows him to perform more rituals without others while Resourceful Ritualist fills a skill feat slot while playing into his reaching beyond himself. Efficient Rituals more plays into the mechanical side of things, allowing Olgierd to complete his rituals quicker when time is tight. Finally, the Dimensional Disappearance class feat is again a bit beyond the scope of what he does, but can be said to resemble the smoke that somewhat conceals him when he teleports. For those that stuck with Unconventional Weaponry at 5th level, they can pick up Natural Ambition for the Familiar class feat, following the same logic as previously detailed. Toughness is simply a handy feat, especially on an 8 HP class that is up on the frontline, while Connections is meant to reflect his nobility and some lingering connections of his family. Finally, picking up the Alchemical Crafting feat allows Olgierd to work towards learning formulas such as a blindpepper tube, blindpepper bomb, and possibly thunderstones to stand in for the disorienting pocket sand that he tosses out. With the lower Intelligence of this build, Olgierd’s DCs won’t be high, leading to the picking of spells that aren’t as reliant upon them. Blink charge works fairly well for him but there’s otherwise a slight focus on teleportation magic and some hopefully less flashy but still effective spells.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Occultism (master)
o Spellbook: 6th – collective transposition, true seeing
o Gear: +2 striking Aldori dueling sword, greater hat of the magi, greater pendant of the occult, +1 resilient leather armor, boots of bounding, deathless armor rune
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Lich Dedication
o Skill Feat: Consult the Spirits – Occultism
o Spellbook: 6th – disintegrate, teleport
o Gear: +2 resilient leather armor, +2 striking Aldori dueling sword, cape of the mountebank, greater hat of the magi, crown of the fire eater, greater flaming star
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Shadow Pact
o Skill Increase: Society (master)
o Spellbook: 7th – power word blind, true target
o Gear: +2 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, +2 resilient leather armor, greater endless grimoire, cape of the mountebank, greater hat of the magi, greater pendant of the occult
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Hand of the Lich
o Skill Feat: Schooled in Secrets
o Spellbook: 7th – magnificent mansion, plane shift
o Gear: boots of speed, +2 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, ring of wizardry (type III), +2 resilient leather armor, cape of the mountebank, greater endless grimoire
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 21, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 18)
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Arcana (legendary)
o Spellbook: 8th – polar ray, power word stun
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather armor, boots of speed, keen weapon rune, +2 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, cape of the mountebank, greater endless grimoire
In this block of feats, Olgierd finally picks up his ‘immortality’ through the use of the Lich Dedication, with the soul cage allowing him to return from death in a few days. This is significantly slower than normal for Olgierd, but is the only way to tap into his trademark immortality. Players that wish to reduce the time this takes should consider investing further in Crafting to get it to legendary, so that Olgierd could take Bolster Soul Cage. Picking up Hand of the Lich is mainly intended to give Olgierd greater protection against threats such as disease and poison, but does give him a quick attack that he can make with his off-hand in a pinch. Diehard and Fast Recovery further play into the undying nature of Olgierd. The idea behind Shadow Pact is linked to his knowledge of Goetia, as the ability feels very occultish and based on similar ideas – sacrificing part of yourself to create something. Schooled in Secrets and Consult the Spirits follow a similar design idea.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Hasted Assault
o Skill Feat: Unified Theory
o Spellbook: 8th – disappearance, discern location
o Gear: greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather armor, major endless grimoire, boots of speed, +2 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, ring of wizardry (type III)
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Bounce Back
o Skill Increase: Society (legendary)
o Spellbook: 9th – power word kill, resplendent mansion
o Gear: +3 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, dragonscale amulet, greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather armor, boots of speed, keen weapon rune
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Conflux Focus
o Skill Feat: Disturbing Knowledge
o Gear: belt of giant strength, +3 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, speed weapon rune, greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather armor, major endless grimoire
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Numb to Death
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather armor, belt of giant strength, vorpal weapon rune, +3 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, dragonscale amulet, greater flaming weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 22, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Supreme Spellstrike
o Skill Feat: Bizarre Magic
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (trained)
o Gear: +3 major striking Aldori dueling sword, +3 greater resilient leather armor, true endless grimoire, belt of giant strength, grimoire of unknown necessities, wand of slaying (7th-level)
For this block of character choices, Hasted Assault gives Olgierd an additional focus point for extra dimensional assaults, but he can also simply use hasted assault to deliver a flurry of slashes. Conflux Focus is mainly picked up to allow him to more readily use his focus spells, the more recent of which he should retrain after gaining Supreme Spellstrike. This leaves him permanently quickened, removing the need for Hasted Assault. A good replacement would likely be Runic Impression or possibly Force Fang, which may be a little less useful to Olgierd. This isn’t necessarily bad, as it means that he can focus on using his focus points for dimensional assault instead. Bounce Back and Numb to Death play into his immortality. Unified Theory mainly just simplifies his skills while Disturbing Knowledge and Bizarre Magic continue to play into his strange studies into Goetia.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: This is obviously a build that would benefit from the free archetype rule. I wouldn’t change much on the archetypes used, but one change I would make is a heavier focus on Crafting, potentially to get it all the way up to legendary. The skill I would likely sacrifice for this is Society, but getting it up to legendary proficiency will allow Olgierd to pick up Bolster Soul Cage, so he can return from death quicker. If Olgierd is still lacking archetypes between picking what you want from Lich Dedication and Ritualist Dedication, the final archetype I would suggest is the Witch Dedication – a patron fits well with the idea of the wishes he made for a better life. With the freed up class feats, I suggest taking additional focus spells so that he can more regularly use his dimensional assault. Other feats that might be a good pick include Magus’s Analysis, the simple but handy Steady Spellcasting, Attack of Opportunity, and possibly Spell Swipe since his attacks due tend to be a bit wide and arcing.
CONCLUSION
From the get-go, Olgierd’s noble lineage is reflected through his background while the magus class grants him the ability to flicker in and out of combat thanks to his dimensional assault. While he can initially only do this once per combat, he can do so more frequently once he gains other focus spells and much sooner for people playing in a free archetype game. His fighting style of numerous advancing swipes and slashes doesn’t work great with magus until he gets haste or hasted assault. The study into the dark magics of Goetia can be reflected in his own magical studies as well as his deep dives into the skills of Arcana and Occultism, especially the numerous skill feats he gains in them. The Ritualist Dedication further plays into this study, giving him rites and rituals to call forth fiends from other worlds, such as the companions he has attending his wife. The most difficult aspect of building Olgierd was his immortality, an ability to restore even the removal of his limbs and his head. Ultimately, the best option I could find was the Lich Dedication with its soul cage allowing him to continually return from it.
Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build and who else you might like to see!
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Until then, have a fantastic Friday!
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