Rogues Gallery: Bigby (Gary Gygax)

 

Bigby
medium humanoid (human), neutral
wizard (evoker) 13th level; background: scribe

AC: 18; HP: 78 (13D6+26); Initiative: +4; Senses: passive Perception 18; Speed: 30 ft.

STR: 11, DEX: 18, CON: 15, INT: 17, WIS: 16, CHA: 15

Saves: INT +9, WIS +9; Skills: Arcana +13, Deception +7, Insight +8, Investigation +8, Perception +8, Persuasion +7, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +9; Feats: Magic Initiate (Wizard); Tool Proficiency: calligrapher's supplies; Languages: Common, Abyssal and Infernal; Weapon Proficiency: simple; CR: 03 (700 XP); PB: +5.

TRAITS

Arcane Recovery (1/Long Rest): When he completes a Short Rest, he can recover up to 6 spell slots, none of which may be 6th level or higher.

Empowered Evocation: Whenever he casts an Evocation spell, he can add his INT modifier to one damage roll of that spell.

Memorize: When he completes a Short Rest, he can study his spellbook and replace one spell of 1st+ level with another from his spellbook.
Resourceful: Gain Advantage when he completes a Long Rest.

Ritual Adept: Can cast any spell as a ritual if that spell has a ritual tag and the spell s in his spellbook. He needn't have the spell prepared, but he must read from the book to cast a spell in this way.

Sculpt Spells: When he casts an Evocation spell that affects other creatures he can see, he can choose a number of them = spell level +1. Those chosen automatically succeed on their saves against the spell and take no damage if they would normally take half damage on a successful save.

ACTIONS

Dagger +1: melee magic weapon attack (+9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: D4+4 piercing damage)

SPELLCASTING

Attribute: INT; Spell DC: 16; Spell Attack: +8; Prepared Spells: 17.
Prepared Spell (1/Long Rest): mage armor

Cantrips (at will): acid splash, fire bolt, light, mage hand, ray of frost, prestidigitation, shocking grasp

1st (4 slots): burning hands, protection from evil and good, shield, unseen servant

2nd (3 slots): invisibility, knock, shatter

3rd (3 slots): clairvoyance, fireball, sending

4th (3 slots): arcane eye, confusion, dimension door

5th (2 slots): Bigby's hand, scrying

6th (1 slot): disintegrate

7th (1 slot): prismatic spray

SPELLBOOK -- 13th level

1st -- burning hands, chromatic orb, detect magic, disguise self, identify, mage armor, protection from evil and good, shield, sleep, thunderwave, unseen servant

2nd -- alter self, continual flame, darkness, flaming sphere, gust of wind, hold person, invisibility, knock, scorching ray, shatter

3rd -- clairvoyance, dispel magic, fireball, lightning bolt, sending, tongues

4th -- arcane eye, confusion, dimension door, divination, fire shield, ice storm, vitriolic sphere, wall of fire

5th -- animate objects, Bigby's hand, cone of cold, passwall, scrying, telekinesis, wall of force, wall of stone

6th -- chain lightning, disintegrate, eyebite, globe of invulnerability, summon fiend, sunbeam, truesight, wall of ice

7th -- forcecage, plane shift, prismatic spray, teleport

SIGNIFICANT ITEMS
Dagger +2: Confers bonus +2 to both attack and damage rolls.
Efreeti Bottle (unopened): See DMG for description of this item.

Ring of Protection +1: Confers bonus of +1 to AC and saves.
Ring of X-Ray Vision: Costs an action to use. Can see through solid matter from a distance of 30 ft. for 1 minute. Vision can penetrate 1-ft. of stone, 1-in. of common metal and up to 3-ft. of wood or dirt. Thicker substances or a thin sheet of lead blocks this vision. Whenever the ring is uses, the character must succeed on a CON save DC15 or gain 1 level of exhaustion.

Sources: Rogues' Gallery, Dungeonmaster's Guide 2024, Player's Handbook 2024

DESCRIPTION

Reclusive by nature, Bigby seldom adventures anymore unless it is absolutely necessary. Instead, he conforms to the role of the traditional wizard, pale and studious. Although smart and wise, he is less of a leader of men and more of a spectator of them. When adventuring, he prefers to travel n the company of friends, partaking of their adventures and fun, but seldom instigating any himself. He does enjoy the deception of posing as a withered trader; he finds that it often gives him the advantage of surprise he needs. He is quite willing to describe some of his greater exploits and can be in general quite talkative. He is just slightly moody, and when certain ill-fated expeditions are mentioned, his good humor becomes rather forced.

--CKW

DESIGN NOTES

When Gary Gygax started work on creating AD&D or 1E, he handed Greyhawk to Rob Kuntz to run in the meantime. Bigby started out as a low-level evil NPC wizard. But Gary's character Mordenkainen was able to charm him and make him into something of a henchman. Through determined roleplay, Gary was able to convert his alignment to True Neutral. Rob then let him run Bigby into a minor PC for him to run.

For previous editions, I would have given him a whole bunch of his named spells for his spellbook. But in 5E, most of those spells in function have been folded into the one spell. Bigby's hand is an evocation spell, so I made him an evoker. I gave him some other "hands-y" spells such as mage hand and burning hands. Additionally, I gave him summon fiend for a spell and abyssal and infernal as languages to reflect his formerly evil nature.

--LM