Chaos Mage Path v5

Step 1
Anima Thought:  Chaos forever marks the mage, dulling his emotions. While the mage's emotions dull and he becomes less opinionated, his mind becomes more logical and analytical. Often times the chaos mage will find himself analyzing the consequences of an action and choosing that which benefits his cause the most, rather than choosing based on a set of values or beliefs. To others, the mark of chaos on the mage may not be evident at this point, and he may be mistaken for an overly analytical person.

Step 2
Winches and Pulleys: With the next explosive backlash, chaos rips through the mage's body. This chaos stiffens the mage's movements and transforms his muscles from flesh into a fleshy rope-like substance that drills into his bone like thread through a needle. His movements become rigid, though it may still be possible to hide how chaos is influencing the mage. These fibers reduce the mage's mobility, resulting in a 1d3 penalty to dexterity.

Step 3
Mechanical Apathy: A third explosion of chaos tears through the mage's mind, depriving him of base feelings. Things that once were terrifying are surprising at best, and doesn't phase the mage at worst. What was once somber or joyous now inconveniences the mage more than influencing him, as others around him fluctuate with emotion. At best, this leaves the mage seeming impatient. At worst, he can seem cruel or heartless. This lack of emotion grants the mage a +1 bonus against mind-affecting effects, but also results in a -3 penalty to bluff, diplomacy and intimidate.

Step 4
Expressionless Silhouette: The fourth time the mage fails to control the chaos around him, it's effects are more subtle. His hair twists together and stiffens into a more thread-like or yarn-like substance, and ceases to grow. The burst leaves the mage's face blank and emotionless, non-essential parts of the face barely moving. At this point, the mark of chaos on the mage is undeniable. Even if the mage hides his physical changes, the unnatural aura that his unmoving face and emotionless demeanor produce makes most people uncomfortable around him. His unnatural appearance grants him a +3 bonus to intimidate, but further degrades his ability to act diplomatically, resulting in a -2 penalty to the skill.

Step 5
Forest Flesh: Another wave of chaos crackles through the mage, washing over his skin and transforming it. The mage's skin stiffens and takes on a wooden texture. His skin further stretches and constricts in a way that hides much of the roundness his body may have once had, replacing curves with sharp edges. Much of the mage's body now looks like it was carved--not grown. While this hardened flesh is hard to pierce, which grants the mage a +2 bonus to his natural armor; it is also less human-like, and he looks like an animated golem much more than a unnatural being, causing him to lose the bonus to intimidate he received on the previous step.

Step 6
Empty Mind: A sixth chaotic burst blasts through the mage, eating away at his mind once more. What few emotions he once had are viciously torn away. Only the very strongest emotions so much as register to the mage, making interacting with most creatures nearly impossible for the mage. The mage takes a -5 penalty to all charisma-based skills, except for Use Magic Device, however he becomes immune to mind-affecting effects.

Step 7
Mask of Chaos: The next explosive backlash the mage suffers causes his flesh to grow erratically over his face. The new flesh completely covers his old face and fuses to it. His new face looks much less like anything human, and more like a block of wood that was painted to look somewhat like a human. The mage can still see and breathe, but the only parts of his new face that can move are his mouth and eyes. This mask is new and strange to the mage, and his lack of experience with his new methods of experiencing the world result in a 1d3 penalty to wisdom.

Step 8
Detachable Parts: An eighth explosion tears through the mage's body, reducing flesh and blood to little more than wood and thread. His blood slows to a sticky resin and joints are whittled away to simple ball sockets. The mage's body parts become detachable--losing his head becomes little more than an inconvenience to the mage. A DC 20 strength check can tear off any of the chaos mage's body parts, but they can easily be reattached--though the entire process is painful. The mage is no longer killed if he is decapitated, making him immune to the vorpal effect, and his limbs can now bend in all directions, granting him a +5 bonus to escape artist. However, he now falls apart much more easily than a flesh creature, resulting in a -1 penalty to constitution.

Step 9
Machina Self: A ninth failure rends the mage's body. What little that resembled a creature of flesh within the mage's body is lost, transforming fully into a marionette-like construct. However, chaos sustains the mage's soul, which continues to inhabit and animate the construct body. The mage's creature type changes from what it once was to construct, and he gains all the penalties and benefits that brings. Unlike a true construct, the mage can still be healed by magical means, but he only receives half the benefit. He does not restore hit points through rest, however.

Step 10
Soul Imprisonment: With the final snap of chaos, the chaotic presence that once sustained his spirit snaps and abandons him. The mage loses that which kept him animated. While he remains bound to the marionette, he is inanimate, unmoving, unable to interact with the world. Worse still, with the departure of chaos his mind returns. Emotions he's not known for an age come flooding back to him as he realizes the situation he's trapped in. Forever locked in the inanimate body of the marionette, he is unable to interact with the world in any way. Alive, but in a fate far worse than death. Locked forever in solitude, able to see a world that he will never again be a part of.