The Shadowdark Core Rules describe an apprentice as a “cloaked magician with a thin, freshly bound spellbook.” The apprentice has limited magical abilities, including beguile and magic bolt. A GM could replace these with other spells if desired. It’s your game, after all.
A GM could play an apprentice with a variety of personalities. The apprentice could be shy, academic, curious, and/or cocky. There are those apprentices who are eager to learn and those who think they know more than they do. While the rules do not state it directly, the name apprentice implies that they would be affiliated with a mage, an archmage, or perhaps some sort of wizard school.
Encounter Seed: When the characters approach a bridge along the road, there is a man standing near the edge of the river. Next to the man is a lump on the ground. Closer inspection will reveal the lump to be a dead body! If questioned, the man (an apprentice) says he did not kill the victim, but he saw who did. He blames a troll who lives under the bridge. [Note: Whether there is a troll is strictly up to the GM.]
Encounter Seed: “You moved the dice. I saw it. You used magic and moved the dice!” The burly man (thug) at the tavern is angry at his gambling partners. He stands up and draws a dagger just as two individuals (apprentices) run from the table with a handful of coins.
Encounter Seed: A woman (apprentice) is alone, staring intently at the statue of the former mayor. She traces her fingers along his stone thigh as if in deep contemplation. If approached, she is initially shy. She might eventually share that her teacher is testing her to find magic runes upon the statue. Embarrassed that she has found none, she is beginning to wonder if this is not some sort of prank.
Adventure Seed: A nervous teenager (apprentice) approaches the characters requesting help. The apprentice was ordered by a mage to check in on the well-being of an archmage who has not left his tower in several months. The teen is anxious to travel alone, saying that wizards’ towers tend to be well guarded.
Adventure Seed: Gosiah, an overzealous apprentice, has stolen a powerful wand from his master. Gosiah is heading to his hometown to get revenge on a former bully. While his master understands Gosiah’s reasoning, she is concerned the apprentice will hurt himself or see himself thrown into the town dungeon for murder.
Ridiculous Adventure Seed: While his master is away, a young apprentice borrows his master’s hat and uses it to control musical instruments. He accidentally summons a water elemental. Chaos ensues, and he wants it to stop. [Note: This works even better if the apprentice also has wererat characteristics.]
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