Author Topic: Base Classes Roleplaying Resources and Lore  (Read 15380 times)

EO

  • Assistant Head DM/Developer
  • Head DMs
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 22401
  • The one and only, the one everyone wants to be!
Base Classes Roleplaying Resources and Lore
« on: May 24, 2021, 10:15:23 PM »
Below is a complete list of Prisoners of the Mist's available Base Classes, with information to be used as a resource for character development.

Custom Base Classes:
« Last Edit: January 20, 2024, 03:42:37 PM by EO »

EO

  • Assistant Head DM/Developer
  • Head DMs
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 22401
  • The one and only, the one everyone wants to be!
Hexblade
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2021, 10:15:48 PM »
The Hexblade

Combining the dynamic powers of martial prowess and arcane might, the hexblade presents a deadly challenge to opponents unused to such a foe.

Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

Adventures: Hexblades adventure for personal gain, whether that gain is power, prestige, wealth, or all the above.

Characteristics: The hexblade balances talents in combat and arcane spellcasting. At lower levels, the hexblade relies on melee ability augmented by his special power to curse his enemies. As he gains experience, he becomes capable of casting a limited number of spells while his curse ability becomes more potent and he gains the ability to warp the normal laws of probability. He can also draw upon the service of a familiar to further augment his abilities.

Alignment: The style of the hexblade tends to be selfish, sometimes even cruel, though it is by no means limited to evil characters. Still, even the friendliest hexblade is at best neutral. Hexblades may be tyrannical or free-minded, disciplined or creative, and thus have no particular bent toward law or chaos.

Religion: Most hexblades aren't very pious, relying on their own talents rather than counting on a deity to protect them. Those who revere a deity often choose neutral or evil deities of death or magic.

Background: Like that of the sorcerer, the power of the hexblade often displays itself at an early age, frequently in the form of unexplained accidents or other incidents of bad luck experienced by those around the budding hexblade. Hex magic tends to occur in poorer areas where magical training and education are unavailable, though this is not always the case. Some embrace this ability, becoming evil or neutral hexblades bent on vengeance and retribution. Others fight it, seeking to transform their innate powers into something more positive. These youths tend to study sorcery in depth, becoming sorcerers and forsaking the dark blight of hex magic entirely. The former are more common -- the allure of hex magic is especially strong. They embrace a "might makes right" attitude, viewing academia as pointless, asceticism as foolish, do-gooders as deluded, and book-learners as weak.

Though the hexblade is ultimately a self-taught character, many receive rudimentary training from another arcane spellcaster who acts as a mentor, such as an older hexblade, sorcerer, wizard, or bard, before setting off on their own.

Unlike sorcerers, hexblades share a unique bond. Though two hexblades who meet in a tavern or apothecary won't necessarily strike up a lasting friendship, it is rare for two hexblades to oppose one another unless great personal gain is on the line.

Personality: Nothing fazes a hexblade. They are the sons and daughters of darkness, gifted with powers that others find unnerving (at best) or outright evil (the usual case). Most are loners who travel to gain power, riches, and pleasure. They seek vengeance against any who get in their way and brook no fools or the faint of heart in their travels. This makes them perfect agents for neutral and evil deities of vengeance and retribution.

Their adventures carry them far and wide, because they rarely find it easy to stay in the same place for long. Sooner or later the whispers and guarded glances begin again, and it is time to move on. No one understands their powers, and most people they meet wonder exactly how they're going to stab them in the back when they finally show their true colors. Hexblades have a bad reputation in many quarters, but whether your character is the exception or the rule is up to him.

One or more of the following character themes could apply to a hexblade:

Spoiler: show
Darkhunter: Sometimes evil is the best weapon to wield against evil. The character is a grim and dark avenger, using his baleful abilities to hunt down and slay villains and monsters more evil than himself. Even if his methods and motivations are not particularly pure, who can question his results?

As a sworn enemy of evil, he does not hesitate before taking on a quest to destroy or drive off even the most horrible monster. He commits to the hunt with little expectation of reward. But once he's chosen an enemy to defeat, he'll stop at nothing to come out on top. Bargain away his orc captives to the mind flayers to gain passage through their territory to the place where his true adversary lairs? No problem. Sanitize an outbreak of lycanthropy by killing all the bitten villagers? It's hard, but necessary. He rarely indulges in cruelty or excess, but he can be a remorseless foe indeed.

He is absolutely convinced that he's the only person who really knows what's going on in most situations. He'll cut off people who talk too much, before they waste more of his time. He doesn't bother to tell people what he's going to do, and never explains his actions afterward. His companions don't have the stomach for the work at hand, so it would be better if they didn't get in his way or question his methods. He can always find new allies.

Darkhunters are silent, nameless figures who do not deign to speak to their foes—or their allies, for that matter. When they do, they tend to be terse, grim, and blunt.

"Enough talk. Now it's time to die."
"Go home, bar your door, and ignore anything you hear outside from sundown to sunup. You may live to see the dawn."
"Do not follow me. I will kill anyone who does."
"I've seen worse."

 
Sellsword: He is a sword for hire -  nothing more, nothing less. He judges the worthiness of a cause by the amount of money it can put in his pocket. While he always looks out for number one, he does recognize the value of loyalty to his comrades - he doesn't have many friends in this world, so it's smart to stay on the good side of the few he has.

Since his powers are poorly understood, he goes to some lengths to hide them from people he doesn't know. Let them think he's simply a fighter, or perhaps a fighter-sorcerer. Witch-hunts, sinister rumors, and ugly accusations are all bad for business.

Besides, it's useful to keep a few tricks up his sleeve; one never knows when a surprise hex might be the only way to save his skin.

He rarely gets worked up over the opposition, because to him, it's all business. Goblyns rampaging through the domain? He can fix that. Demons murdering the priests of the Morninglord? He'll adjust his rates and take his best shot at stopping them. He needs a record for reliability and success if he's going to make any real money.

Others might view him as cold or heartless, but he knows that it's wisest to avoid emotional entanglements. He can't stand it when people start acting against their self-interest in the name of a nebulous "cause," and he detests deal-breakers. When dealing with potential employers, he looks them right in the eye and states his terms.

"What's in it for me?"
"I'm not getting paid to do that."
"The dragon wasn't in the contract. If you want the dragon taken care of, you're going to have to up your offer."
"Nothing personal. It's just business."
"Sounds like you have a real problem. It's going to cost you."


Tormented Champion: Dark forces manipulate him. People he loves get hurt, causes he supports founder and collapse, and places he visits fall into ruin. He has been marked for a tortured and restless existence, and his fate is to be a harbinger of doom and woe.

He swings from morose depression to desperate acts of blazing anger. Most of the time, he struggles with despondency and gloom. He makes dark pronouncements and dire predictions about things he observes, and points out flaws in his allies' plans.

Sometimes he is moved to rail against his fate and lashes out with blind, unreasoning anger at whatever obstacle or foe frustrates him. He might leap headlong into a throng of enemies, heedless of his safety. Or he might shake his fist at the gods and curse them bitterly.

"The vampire's been watching us the whole time. We're doing exactly what he wants."
"Some of us aren't getting out of this alive."
"You'll get halfway across, the rope will break, and you'll fall into the river there and be swept away into some black, airless cavern where you'll die trying to claw your way through cold, hard stone."
"Is that all you've got?"

Races: As with sorcerers, most hexblades are humans or half-elves. Those few gnomes who enjoy a cruel twist to their levity may take up the tradition. Elves wishing to mix magic and warfare more often become fighter/wizards. Dwarves and halflings rarely exhibit the self-centered behavior common among hexblades.

Among the savage humanoids, hexblades may be found as leaders or advisors.

Other Classes: Hexblades tend to get along best with other classes whose members look out for themselves before others, including rogues, rangers, and barbarians. They avoid paladins and other characters dedicated to the service of good or other high-minded ideals. Hexblades sometimes feel jealous of the sorcerer's superior arcane talents, and they shun wizards as weak book-learners.

Role: Though a capable melee combatant, the hexblade relies on opportunistic use of his spells and special abilities to augment this role in the group. A hexblade with the proper skill selection can make a fine leader for a group comfortable with his style.

Hexblades from Ravenloft
Much like sorcerers, hexblades are born with inherent magical powers. Depending on one's point of view, this may be a fantastic gift or a wretched curse. As a rule, the denizens of Ravenloft are highly suspicious of any beings with inherent magical powers, viewing them as both more and less than human. Common folktales, however misguided, claim that hexblades are witch spawns, changelings left by the fey, or reviled practitioners of witchcraft, or even that they gain their powers through trafficking with fiends. Hexblades sometimes manifest among caliban and Vistani. Male Vistani who exhibit hexblade powers are killed at once, lest they grow to become Dukkars.

Hexblades from Eberron
Hexblades appear randomly among the various peoples of Eberron, as if singled out by a dark power. Some say that hexblades are the chosen minions of the Shadow, though hexblades believe the Traveler to be the source of their power. As with the legend that sorcerers are descended from dragons, the full truth will probably never be known.

Hexblades from Oerth
Hexblades who revere a deity often choose Wee Jas (deity of death and magic) or Boccob the Uncaring (deity of magic). Some particularly evil hexblades venerate Nerull (deity of death) or Vecna (deity of secrets).

Hexblades from Faerūn
There is only one hexblade college on Faerūn, Hexcidon, and it is housed in Bezantur. At this school, generations of hexblades study to become elite bodyguards and generals for Thay.

Hexblades who act as agents for neutral and evil deities of vengeance and retribution most commonly follow the divine guidance of Hoar, Kiaransalee, Loviatar, Shevarash, or Uthgar. The first two of those are discussed here. Hoar has guided the footsteps of a number of hexblades in their search for vengeance. These warriors travel around Faerūn in search of wrongs to right. They are almost entirely neutral -- not merciful but also not cruel. They treat all offenders the same, meting out punishments that fit the committed injustice.

Most drow hexblades are loners and assassins. A small but sizable minority, however, serves the whims of the Revenancer. Each of these agents, known as "revenant blades," serves a single cell of priests devoted to Kiaransalee. They are frequently accompanied by undead minions supplied by their priestly masters or through their own feats and abilities. They take revenge on the foes of the Vengeful Banshee, especially worshippers of Eilistraee, Dumathoin, and Kelemvor.

A small presence of hexblades exists among the Imaskari. These members serve the Lodge of Retributive Masters by taking revenge against those who have sinned against the society. These hexblades study in a manner similar to other Imaskari arcanists, but they are more focused on a practical mix of vengeance magic and martial prowess than on magical esotericism.

While most hexblades wear only light or medium armor, that is not a rule, especially among those belonging to the Vengeance Knights, an order of tyrannical warriors that serves the Knights of the Shield, a loose network of greedy and paranoid Southern merchants. These warriors favor the heaviest armor they can find. They typically take the Battlecaster feat, wearing mithril armor and using mithril shields. This allows them to avoid suffering arcane spell failure with their hexblade spells. They serve the malevolent Knights of the Shield as bullies and enforcers much of the time, but when called to duty, they can be agents of brutal vengeance.

Hexblades from Gothic Earth
Hexblades are as reviled as warlocks on Gothic Earth. With their aura of misfortune, they are known to attract agents of the Red Death wherever they go, and thus are shunned by society, forced to live underground.

Sources: Complete Warrior, Player's Handbook II, Player's Guide to Eberron, Class Chronicles: Hexblades and Ninjas
« Last Edit: August 23, 2022, 09:21:57 PM by EO »

EO

  • Assistant Head DM/Developer
  • Head DMs
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 22401
  • The one and only, the one everyone wants to be!
Warmage
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2021, 10:16:38 PM »
The Warmage

Some spellcasters care for only one thing: war. They dream of steel and mighty blasts of devastating magic, the march of troops, and the unleashed destruction found on battlefields everywhere. Graduates of special arcane war colleges, those known as warmages are drilled only and utterly in the casting of spells most useful for laying down destruction, confusing an enemy, or screening an allied action. The utilitarian spells used by wizards and sorcerers have little importance to a warmage's way of thinking. What are support casters for, after all? A warmage cares only for success on the battlefield, or, in some cases, in the series of smaller campaigns favored by adventuring companies.

Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

Adventures: Warmages sign up for stints with adventuring companies that require straightforward, military-style blasting magic. Warmages hone and develop their arts through action rather than study, so without prolonged use of their powers in combat they cannot reach the pinnacle of their profession. Good-aligned warmages are concerned with rebuffing the movements of warlike groups-who better to blast into smoking ruin than those who have it coming? Evil-aligned warmages feel no constraints on who might become the targets of their spells. They adventure to gain destructive power.

Characteristics: Warmages access their magic peculiarly, at least compared to the way wizards, sorcerers, and clerics do. A warmage selects his spells from a limited pool of knowledge that rarely changes. Early in their difficult training, warmages instill deep within themselves the knowledge of all the spells they will ever need. Warmages know fewer spells than wizards and even sorcerers, but the spells they do know are enhanced. Warmages do not need to study spellbooks, but they do need to prepare their spells each day by spending time to call up the knowledge from their unconscious minds. Warmages do not specialize in schools of magic the way wizards can.

In their training, warmages also learn a few mundane warlike skills. They develop proficiency with some weapons and armor, learning to use such items without incurring a risk of arcane spell failure.

Alignment: Because all alignments must be prepared to fight for their causes, warmages might be found among virtually any army that uses spellcasting as artillery on the battlefield.

Religion: While some warmages favor deities of magic and death, many revere no deities at all.

Background: Warmages are chosen (or apply) to attend special arcane war colleges. Such colleges are not for the weak of spirit. The rigors of both body and mind bear little resemblance to the apprenticeship undergone by regular wizards, or the self-taught fumbling of sorcerers. Warmage colleges are more similar to boot camps sponsored by large nation-states.

Throughout their training, warmages are forced to wear ponderous garments (meant to familiarize their bodies with the limitations of movement in armor) while drilling constantly with spells, most of which are too high in level to be cast by the student. This vigorous drilling instills the spells in a warmage's unconscious mind, so that as he grows in power later in life, those spells become available for his use without his needing a spellbook.

After their training, warmages share a deep feeling of camaraderie with their fellow students and continue to feel a slight affection for any well-run military outfit.

Personality: Magic's application to warfare is more than an academic's theory - it is the warmage's life! They dream of blasts of devastating magic, spells of steel, and the clarion horn calling the warriors to battle. The stamp of marching troops is the sound dearest to their ears, though the blast of a fireball ripping through the ranks of massed line of enemies has its place.

They graduate from war colleges, where every day they drilled in the dark predawn light, through the heat of the day, until the bugle played its nightly signal that today's training was done. The magic of war is ingrained in them, and they ache to release it on the battlefield, or in a smaller skirmish where their skills will be all the more visible.

One or more of the following character themes could apply to a warmage:

Spoiler: show
Foul-Tempered: A student of hard knocks, the character is given to bouts of abusive or venomous language, though he peppers his speech with choice bits of invective even when he's not blaming a subordinate, censuring a compatriot, or expressing his bitter and deep-seated ill will regarding all that walk on two and four legs.

Though he's been known to swear a blue streak, the character has also learned that using foul language is far more effective if rationed - a choice curse or shout at just the right moment has far more impact than a constant stream of epithets... though on occasion the situation calls for just such a string of slurs and imprecations. He's also found that it helps company unity if he swears mostly at foes and restrains from applying his venomous tongue to his compatriots.

"What are you looking at, cave creeper?"
"Where to, chief?"
"Idiocy drips from the fool's mouth."


Military Heritage, High Rank: The character comes from a military tradition, having served either in the king's army or in a large, respected mercenary company. He distinguished himself and even achieved a reasonably high rank. When he emerged from the war college he was commissioned as a company grade officer and thus began his service as a lieutenant, but soon advanced to captain.

He still proudly wears the rank insignia of a captain, despite having been discharged from the company he originally served. He wears the insignia as a shoulder patch. Others who served recognize his insignia, and he recognizes theirs.

Because of his military heritage, he is familiar with military jargon and makes use of it, as well as elements of military strategy.

Military Historian: The character is a student of conflict, an expert on the subject of the famous battles between prehistoric tribes, ancient militaries, and modern armies between kings and necromancers.

Tactician: While a military strategy is an overall plan for a large conflict, tactics are the actual means used to attain a goal in a particular fight. As someone who achieved the rank of captain, the character knows effective tactics and likes to employ them in a fight, depending on the situation.

Camouflage: When at all possible, the character attempts to hide his presence and his party's from potential enemies, hoping to discourage ranged weapon accuracy and targeting until he can close, or even completely hide from an enemy force until he is ready to attack.

"Change into your darkest clothes, and don't forget to rub charcoal across your faces."

Decoy: One of the character's favorite tactics is the use of a decoy. Whether a spell that provides the illusion of a powerful heroic ally or a monster in his thrall, or just a loud noise or fabricated conversation, he uses a decoy to distract a foe or foes from what is truly important - usually his group's true position and strength.

"We need the illusion of dragon charging their line - then we can sneak in around back."

Ambush: When possible, the character prefers to attack his foes from concealment when they least expect such an assault. Good options include striking from dense underbrush or firing ranged weapons from a high position.

"We have to establish a killing ground, position two groups to cut off any escape, and post someone to keep watch so we know when to launch the ambush."

Frontal Assault: Sometimes, the best tactic is a direct, hostile advance toward the foe. The hope is to overwhelm the enemy with strength. However, the character knows that it's rank stupidity to call for a frontal assault against a foe in a fortified position.

"We've run out of options. Time for a suicide strike ... er, frontal assault!"

Pincer Movement: If the character is with a group large enough to pull it off, and if he's fighting a foe in numbers large enough for it to matter, he likes to employ a tactic called the pincer movement, where he attacks the massed flanks of the opponent simultaneously in a pinching motion after his foe has committed forward. The character's forces ideally respond by moving out to surround the foes.

"Surround them, envelop them, don't let any escape!"

Flying Wedge: In some ways like a frontal assault but more refined, a flying wedge is a charge where all the character's allies are arrayed in a V shape. He puts a bruiser at the point of the V, hoping to breach the foe's line; then the following attackers can widen the gap. This maneuver carries a certain risk: If the foe can slow or pause the wedge, the character has given his foe an opportunity to try a pincer movement of its own.

"Beat him down, break the line, bowl them over!"

Races: Most warmages are humans or half-elves. But the toughness of spirit needed to survive a term at an arcane war college can manifest itself in any of the common races. It is rare for savage humanoids to be accepted into a war college, though some of the more organized societies might set up their own war colleges for arcane spellcasters.

Other Classes: Warmages find they have little in common with sorcerers and wizards, who learn their craft without the rigors or discipline of a warmage's apprenticeship. In fact, warmages are likely to be more comfortable with the regimented classes-those that appreciate military training- such as paladins, monks, and fighters.

"Sorcerers? Dilettantes. Why dabble in parlor tricks when you can become a master of the battlefield?" - Ferno the warmage

Role: The warmage's spell selection is already determined. He is the ranged magical artillery that military troops rely on, or the center of a smaller adventuring company's offensive power. An adventuring company with a warmage should strongly consider including a second spellcaster, such as a bard, cleric, druid, or even a wizard, to complement the warmage's offensive focus with defensive and utilitarian abilities.

Warmages also make excellent shipboard artillerists, launching deadly evocations at enemy vessels. This arcane caster is also well equipped to defend himself in the event of a boarding party attacking his ship, thanks to his armor and shield proficiencies.

Warmages from Ravenloft
Traditionally, Warmages are trained in academies. In Ravenloft, such institutions are rather rare. The domain of Tovag hosts a great military college, which trains warmages to fight in their lord's Kas never-ending war with Vecna. Those who survived the war and managed to desert now roam the Core, offering their services to professional armies and mercenary bands alike.

In recent years, the Ministry of the Arcane has started training warmages in the Radiant Tower, though Vlad Drakov remains skeptical of their military use. These warmages are fiercely loyal to Vlad Drakov and are given a wide berth from other soldiers who rightfully fear their power on the battlefield. In response to this, the late Joséphine Chantreaux sponsored the creation of a joint academic program between the Faculties of Arcane Sciences and Military Studies of the Université de Port-ą-Lucine to produce warmages to bolster the nation's small military. Their arrival hasn't been well received in the academic world. Professors and students alike look down on the warmages as simple craftsmen rather than as peers, though none would dare tell them that, and with the memories of Falkovnian invasions never far from their mind, they can't deny the usefulness of having a contingent of these casters in their army.

The Red Academy in Hazlan has also been training a small contingent of warmages since the Great Upheaval; these limited casters are employed by Hazlik to put down Rashemi rebellions. Several tales tell of Rashemi villages razed to the ground by Hazlik's warmages. Much like Dementlieuse, the Mulan look down on warmages as narrow-minded louts, good for one thing only, inflicting damage, but hardly worth the respect real wizards merit.

It is rumored that a small warmage academy may exist in the foreign land of Sri Raji, where the intense discipline needed to become a warmage is compared to that of the fakir.

Finally, Invidia's ruler, Malocchio Aderre has been known to employ Falkovnian warmages either as mercenaries or loaned soldiers, to bolster his armies, despite his troops' fear of arcane magic.

To the common man and woman in most of the Core, warmages, like other arcane casters, inspire nothing but terror. And those who have seen the destructive power of their magic know that the presence of a warmage means that death is fast approaching. As such, warmages tend to keep a low profile, not revealing their presence unless necessary, lest they be killed by a fearful mob. Even among the military of the Core, they are given a wide berth by other soldiers. Because of this isolation, they generally prefer the company of other warmages.

The way that arcane spellcasting is looked upon in the Demiplane colors the attitudes of the locals and prohibits any large-scale efforts to train these mystics more openly.

Warmages from Athas
Warmages are unheard of on Athas, but this may simply be that most Athasian would not know the difference between them and other arcane casters. Magic is still magic, and it is outlawed in most city-states. The nature and purpose of their spells also makes them naturally inclined toward defiling magic so they must take extra care to keep their talents hidden. Most would be members of secret cabals that may be part of the Veiled Alliances. It is likely that sorcerer-kings would also employ small retinues of warmages for use in their incessant skirmishes against each other. However, such warmages thread on a doubly perilous path. The sorcerer-kings don't want further defiling (other than by themselves), and they’re loath to support potential future rivals. They would make use of their warmages up to a certain point, then make sure they are destroyed lest they grow too powerful.

Warmages from Eberron
True to their name, most warmages were trained to serve in the Last War. Lacking the versatility and scholarly bent of wizards and the mysticism of sorcerers, warmages wield magic as a tool for a single purpose: the annihilation of enemy forces. Cyre made the most use of warmages during the Last War, and the greatest warmage college in Khorvaire was leveled on the Day of Mourning. The tradition survives among Cyran warmages in exile, however, particularly in New Cyre in eastern Breland.

Rekkenmark Academy in Karrnath also trains spellcasters for war, producing a number of warmages in continuation of the tradition begun in Cyre during the Last War.

Warmages from Oerth
Some Oerthian warmages favor Boccob (deity of magic), while others follow Wee Jas (deity of death and magic). Many warmages revere no deity at all.

A handful of warmagic academies are scattered on the surface; though one among them stands out. On the arid hills of the Abbor-Alz stands the old fortress of Tarth Moorda, once used by the garrisons of Urnst where they guarded against gnoll and nomad raids from the Bright Desert, but falling into eventual abandonment and ruin when adventurers drove away the humanoid tribes. Fifteen years ago, the Duke of Urnst gave the fortress over to the Order of the Fire Hawk, a society of warmages loyal to the realm who desired an isolated stronghold where new initiates could be trained in solitude.

With its dun-colored walls rising forbiddingly above the rockstrewn hills and the sweeping view of the Bright Desert to the south, Tarth Moorda is now the principal academy in which warmages loyal to the Duchy of Urnst are trained, and the emptiness around it rings with the sounds of martial exercises and mighty battle-magic. The uncomfortable climate of the citadel is seen as a distinct advantage by the order; the heat and rugged terrain serve to increase the rigorous nature of the initiates' exercises and training.

The Fire Hawks adhere to a strictly ordered martial hierarchy and vigorously patrol the hills and sands near their stronghold. Initiates who have not yet learned to cast their first spells serve as footsoldiers and sentries under the command of more senior students. As High Warmaster, the formidable warmage Sereda Ostarte is head of the order, and six warmasters under her directly oversee the training of new initiates. Sereda is quite concerned with the rise of Rary's sinister realm in the Bright Desert, and aggressively questions any adventurers found passing through her lands as she seeks word of events deep in the desert (even while hoping to ferret out any spies in the service of the fallen archmage).

Typical Day: In Tarth Moorda, the day begins at dawn, with a wakeup call from the bell outside the armorer's shop. After breakfast, the students divide into groups, with some going to class in the Warmasters' Hall, some participating in outdoor weapon or spell practice, some on guard duty, and the rest sleeping. These positions rotate throughout the day. Lunch occurs at midday, and supper at dusk. The students have the opportunity to talk and play games in the lobby of the Students' Quarters in the evenings and between their other engagements.

Sereda Ostarte spends some time each day observing the students, as do the other warmasters. Each keeps notes on the students' progress, and the council members compare notes weekly.

The senior students are those who have spent some time in the armed forces or adventuring, but returned to the academy for private tutoring from the instructors. In return for this service, they act as guards, advisors, and residence hall monitors.

Warmages from Faerūn
Warmages are the undisputed magical lords of the battlefield, equipped with a greater array of destructive evocation and conjuration spells than any other class. Despite their great power, warmages suffer from a fundamental lack of versatility. They are unable to cast the breadth of utility spells - protection, concealing, information gathering, transportation, and other magics - that make wizards powerful. To some of the cultures of Faerūn, the ability to destroy in a variety of ways is (or was) too much to ignore. To other cultures, warmages serve as elite battlefield generals, espousing the old adage that the best defense is overwhelming offense.

The ancient Raumathari battlemages were some of the most fearsome examples of warmages in Faerūnian history. While many of the battlemages were wizards and sorcerers, a significant portion was made up of warmages. The art of this forlorn empire may be mostly lost, but those few who still practice it are extremely dangerous. Raumathari battlemagic involves a mixture of both destructive arcane magic with swordplay, blending the two in terrifying destructive synergy. When the Bronze Battletower (UnE -- the home of the powerful Raumathari battlemage Vostas) was under siege, her lover, a warmage by the name of Welbohn Khuul, defended it to his last breath. It is believed that Welbohn's spirit was absorbed into the tower after his death, leaving the warmage to haunt the tower forever. Locals whisper that the current resident, a renegade Wychlaran by the name of Iaokhna Nuchlev, is being driven mad by Welbohn Khuul's spirit. Khuul is trying to drive out the durthan in the hopes of bringing students back to the Bronze Battletower to study battlemagic. He can't drive her out himself, because she hides in a room that is shielded from him in his undead state.

While many Thayans look down on warmages as narrow-minded louts, they can't deny the usefulness of having a contingent of these casters in their armies. From the perspective of the Red Wizards, warmages make excellent subjects because they are powerful weapons but lack the magical protections to defend themselves against mental control. A band of politically neutral warmages has arisen in Thay in recent years under the leadership of Norano Reked. Calling itself Daarthos Koruna after a strange magical artifact the members discovered in the Sunrise Mountains, the band serves Thay as mercenaries for hire. The Daarthos Koruna are seven circlets that render their wearers undetectable by magical and psionic means. For the most part, the band clears out the ruins of the Sunrise Mountains and Delhumide, but they have been known to perform special missions for a number of zulkirs.

Warmagic traditions have developed among a number of other races and lands. A small number of warmages are found among the War Wizards of Cormyr, though the order generally looks askance at the narrow focus of these members. The Shoon Imperium kept an elite cadre of warmages known as the sihirbalak. Many members fled to the Heartlands and Inner Sea lands after the fall of the Shoon Empire in 450 DR. Among the sun, moon, star, and wild elves, warmages are uncommon but do exist. They were instrumental in a number of battles against demonic hoards before the fall of Myth Drannor.

Currently, several warmagic academies are scattered across Faerūn. A small academy, appropriately known as the School of Warmagic, has been open for the last three years in Halarahh, the capital city of Halruaa. Though boasting only 50 students, this academy doesn't have the negative reputation that warmage schools have in other parts of Faerūn. A small department at the Wizard College of Gheldaneth in Mulhorand teaches warmages, though only 75 are enrolled. Some of the other students in the college look down on the warmagic students, but the nation sees them as an important line of defense in its continued existence. Small private academies also exist in Waterdeep, Silverymoon, and Suzail.

Warmages from Gothic Earth
Only the earliest civilizations, those which existed prior to the arrival of the Red Death or that came to be shortly after, would count warmages among their ranks. With the advent of the Red Death, and the corruption of magic, this pursuit became increasingly dangerous over the years and was soon abandoned, along with the last remaining great schools of magic.

Warmages from Krynn
Warmages are the masters of magical warface, using their arcane might to turn the tide of battle. They use their talents for a variety of causes and against a variety of foes, dating back to the time of Magius and beyond.

In the Age of Mortals, warmages are found in many groups throughout Ansalon, whether they are White-Robed Mages fighting for the Whitestone forces, Black-Robed Mages fighting for the dragonarmies, Thorn Knights in the service of the Knights of Takhisis, or Legion Sorcerers fighting against the forces of the Dragon Overlords. Warmages may also be independent operators, acting as mercenaries, joining the ranks of various military organizations.

Warmages from Wildspace
For all its emptiness, space is as much a place of war as the surface of any inhabited world. Every spelljamming vessel must be prepared to defend itself against the natural hazards and intelligent enemies that infest the spaces between the stars. In every sphere, there are those who have dedicated their lives to the art of battle. None are more feared than the warmages.

Arcane casters who have dedicated themselves to learning the tactics and techniques of spelljamming ship-to-ship combat, they are employed by military ships as experts on battle. On the ships they serve they play two roles: expert helmsman and magical artillery. They are familiar with the tactics of ship-to-ship combat and are often combat officers on the ships where they travel.

They are seen by many wizards as ferrymen who have sold out their magical talent for the glories of war.

Races: Elves have many fine warmages; the elven Imperial Fleet maintains a strong corps of these specialists, and one can be found on any major elven spelljamming vessel. They hold a special place in spacegoing elvish society, and are viewed so highly that some half-elves have gained acceptance by pursuing the life of a warmage.

The rastipedes and the xixchil have little use for warmages. The rastipedes consider dedication to a life of war to be needlessly wasteful, while the xixchil do not see the personal benefit in such pursuits. Those few scro casters who are not multi-classed cleric/wizards, however, are almost all warmages, as the scro need such specialists to improve their tactical spelljamming.

Drow Warmages
Though they rank lower than clerics, drow wizards and their ilk are important to the survival of dark elf society. Their ingenuity and magical talent make possible many of the luxuries found in the cities. It is tradition for a matriarch to send her second or third son to study magic. The apprentice returns home only after he has learned enough to lend his power to the defense of the house and to fulfill his mother's wishes.

Many house wizards study to become warmages. However, the eldest among them are more likely to be wizards or specialist wizards, preferring versatility to the raw destruction wielded by the younger upstarts.

Wizards and sorcerers are found in nearly equal numbers among the drow, and the race's superior Intelligence and Charisma works well for both. There are many magical societies and schools that tutor and train wizards, and sorcerous talent runs strong through the chaotic and inherently magical drow. Warmages are embraced and trained to serve as house wizards, and the most prestigious universities and noble houses turn out master wizards, archmages of power that rivals that of the high priestesses. Necromancers are not unheard of, but are always viewed somewhat distastefully-why work to manipulate the dead, when manipulating the living is so much more infinitely interesting?

Sources: Complete Arcane, Player's Handbook II, Player's Guide to Eberron, Class Chronicles: Warmages and Favored Souls, Stormwarck, Complete Arcane Supplement: Tarth Moodra
« Last Edit: September 23, 2023, 06:24:00 PM by MAB77 »

EO

  • Assistant Head DM/Developer
  • Head DMs
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 22401
  • The one and only, the one everyone wants to be!
Beguiler
« Reply #3 on: June 01, 2021, 08:42:14 PM »
The Beguiler

Some hold truth to be the greatest virtue, but it can do more damage than fiction. Everyone lives in a constant state of deception. White lies, false smiles, and secret thoughts keep society running smoothly. Honesty is a virtue only up to a certain point. Beguilers understand these ideas better than anyone, and they use deception, misunderstanding, and secrets as skilfully as a soldier employs weapons of war.

Beguilers see lying and manipulation as tools. Just as a hammer can be used to build a house or crack a skull, deceit and the ability to control others can be used for good or ill. A lie whispered in the right ear can ruin lives, but a dishonest smile and honeyed words can open doors, turn foes into friends, and even end wars. Beguilers have reputations as rakes, thieves, spies, and puppet masters, but they can also be diplomats, peacemakers, or heroic leaders who give hope in desperate situations.

Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

Adventures: A beguiler may adventure because he desires excitement. Someone with his smarts gets bored with mundane pursuits. Alternatively, he might have set off on a life of adventure after some trick or manipulation gone wrong. He has to keep moving, and adventuring offers him a regular change of scenery. In any case, a life of adventure allows him to see new things, meet interesting people, and garner a name for himself. Of course, it might not be his real name, but fame is fame.

Characteristics: Beguilers are unusual amongst learned mages in that they honed their craft by rote and practical study rather than the more traditional book-learning. Their knowledge is specialized; anything that rests outside of that specialized knowledge, they find that they can fake easily enough through scrolls, potions, and dweomers but they do not achieve the depths of theoretical comprehension that other learned arcanists rely on. Alternatively, they can easily win over those who possess skills that they don't have.

To them, the somatic components of a spell are no different from the sleight-of-hand practiced by charlatans, cheats, pick-pockets, and con-men. This leads many beguilers to be confused with these sorts, an arrangement which suits them perfectly. They enjoy being underestimated; all the easier to catch their future marks unaware with their canny wit. In time, beguilers get so skilled at misdirection while casting that they learn how to forego either somatic or verbal components altogether. Beguilers do not believe in the notion of a fair fight. Any advantage they see in combat, they will seize and capitalize upon.

Alignment: The beguiler's outlook about truth is neither good nor evil, and beguilers of all alignments walk the world. Nevertheless, those well practiced in the arts of deception and manipulation rarely put much stock in others' laws, and they often display a self-centered attitude. Lawful good beguilers are like lawful good necromancers - rare and foreign even to their fellows.

Religion: Beguilers favor deities who share their unfettered outlook and who would seem to appreciate their schemes and strategies.

Background: Beguilers do not learn their craft in large institutions or sprawling academies as a wizard might; they are not self-taught, either, like a sorcerer would be. The beguiler is instead tutored one-on-one, or in a small group, not entirely unlike one wizard teaching one or a few apprentices. What makes this relationship different from the traditional relationship between a wizard and their apprentice(s) would be the context in which the lessons are taught.

Beguilers are not merely taught the magic they need to befuddle or enthrall hapless marks; they are also taught a host of other skills, including how to disarm traps, pick locks, and conceal their true identity. This is because many beguilers belong or once belonged to criminal organizations, power-brokers, subversive faiths, or more secretive mages' guilds where these skills would be valued.

Personality: The beguiler is the archetypal trickster. They have quick wits, deft hands, and compelling personalities. They always look to expand their knowledge and increase their power. They are clever enough to know there's always more to learn. Although they tend to be self-reliant, they understand the value of friendship and allies in their pursuits. Truth might be mutable, but friends value honesty and trust, so they make sure not to entangle their allies in their webs of lies and trickery.

The way a beguiler behaves depends on his or her individual sense of morality. Some think nothing of adopting false identities or impersonating others as a matter of course. They rely on their spells and their charm to get others to give them what they want. Other beguilers find themselves driven to use their powers of persuasion to help people. They see the daily troubles of others and can't help getting involved in solving arguments, matchmaking, and ending feuds. Regardless of outlook, a beguiler in a civilized area rarely gets bored. There's always something to meddle in or some grand scheme to enact.

Beguilers can become great leaders. With their sharp minds and great charisma, beguilers would be natural leaders were it not for their inconstancy. Beguilers regularly devise brilliant plans for espionage or trickery - plans that usually require them to play a major role - but their natural penchant for improvisation and secrecy often means that such plans possess unpredictable elements or key parts hidden from all other participants. If a beguiler earns the trust of companions, they value her leadership. Lacking that trust, a beguiler rarely leads for long.

Beguilers often gain notoriety for their deeds, although usually under a false identity. They earn fame, rather than infamy, when they use their abilities to serve a greater good. A famous beguiler did so when she tricked an entire orc army into a box canyon where it could be ambushed, and again when she charmed a leader of a city and learned that he had already been charmed by a mind flayer. Since she was pretending to be a famous elf bard at the time, that beguiler can still maintain a low profile despite her famous deeds, which is just the way she likes it.

Beguilers don't organize together, but they often join other organizations, especially thieves guilds and secret political groups. A beguiler joining an organization probably has a specific goal in mind and takes a position that best allows her to attain it. A long-term commitment to such a group rarely appeals to a beguiler, but if the organization champions a cause close to the beguiler's heart, it can count on her very best efforts.

Beguilers also make great villains. By manipulating people and situations, an evil beguiler can operate behind the scenes and trick others to his own ends.

Few common folk understand beguilers to be different from sorcerers or wizards who have some rogue training, and many more mistake them for bards. Beguilers further confuse the issue by regularly adopting false identities and hiding their varied abilities. Thus, the reaction a beguiler gets from those she meets depends on what she is pretending to be at the time. Individuals who know about the beguiler class and the outlook common to its members greet beguilers with an attitude one step more hostile than normal. Paladins and knights in particular look poorly upon beguilers, as does anyone who puts great importance in forthrightness.

Races: Beguilers can be found among any race, but gnomes and half-elves seem to most appreciate the beguilers' flexible philosophy about truth. Being tricksters and inquisitive by nature, gnomes gravitate to the beguiler class due to the interesting deeds it allows them to accomplish. Half-elves, trapped as they are between the worlds of elves and humans, find that a beguiler's abilities help them better exist in both. Humans, elves, and halflings also foster beguilers in their midst, but dwarves and half-orcs rarely become members of the class. Dwarves tend to dislike dissembling, and half-orcs typically lack the mental discipline and likable personality required to make a good beguiler.

Other Classes: Few know of beguilers because many pretend to be something other than what they are, and they can easily pass as a rogue, bard, wizard, or sorcerer. Those who learn of the class often have a poor impression of beguilers unless they call one a friend. Wizards consider them to be undisciplined and limited in their magic. Knights, paladins, and monks rightly think of them as untrustworthy. Rangers, dragon shamans, barbarians, and druids rarely have patience for their prevarications and their enjoyment of civilized society. Rogues, sorcerers, and fighters tend to be more practical: If the beguiler's abilities make their jobs easier, then he finds a welcome reception. Bards often find the life led by beguilers fascinating and are intrigued by a beguiler's exploits.

Role: Beguilers possess many useful skills and spells. If their adventuring group lacks a rogue, they make a great substitute for most of the rogue's abilities. If the group lacks a wizard or other arcane caster, they can also fill that role with their command of illusions and enchantments, although they lack a wizard's array of spells that deal damage and possess less spellcasting versatility. Their main strategy should be to control enemies, bolster their allies, and take command of the battlefield.

Beguilers from Ravenloft
Because magic is shunned in many parts of the Core, and places where magic can be taught are rare, many that seek an understanding of the mystic arts might find themselves trading knowledge in worldly circles. Beguilers are most common in the western Core, particularly in the countries of Darkon, Dementlieu, and Richemulot.

In Richemulot, beguilers often find themselves employed by noble families to gather information on their rivals. They may even go so far as to falsely incriminate that family's rival in crimes they did not commit or scandalize them for something they did not do. Occasionally, a few pool resources and try to become a group of powerbrokers in their own right; however, this almost invariably makes them a target among those who might fear the influence they might wield and they are destroyed soon after.

Within Dementlieu, beguilers are primarily stage and street magicians; many find a home within La Société de Legerdemain, though other similar, albeit smaller organizations exist, as well as lone wolves. Some of these organizations turn towards crime when they lose the focus and attentions of the aristocracy, their skill-set making them ideal thieves.

In Darkon, beguilers tend to be found mostly in Martira Bay. Small groups offer to teach the curious what they know, though their knowledge is rarely given for free. There is said to be a number of beguilers who are a part of the innocuously named "Bards' Guild", headquartered in Martira Bay, though to learn, one must serve.

Outside the Core, beguilers can be found in Paridon where they sometimes work for the aristocracy, using their ability to blend in and assume different identities to spy on others, and more commonly for the street gangs that prowl the streets at night, acting as thieves or spies.

Beguilers from Eberron
Beguilers typically work independent of other beguilers, and to their own ends. Changelings make good beguilers because of their natural tendency to the role of spy, assassin or trickster. Beguilers might belong to the Cabinet of Faces or hold position among some of the royal families across Khorvaire as well as agents amongst the dragonmarked houses. Any large organization is sure to have at least one beguiler among their ranks, though whether they are working for or against the organization (or both) is at question.

Beguilers from Faerūn
Beguilers first appeared among churches dedicated to the preservation and guarding of secrets. They were sorcerers trained to focus on illusion and enchantment. Young children with sorcerous potential were chosen to be raised in the church and taught its deepest secrets. High priests relied on beguilers to weave webs of deceit that concealed and preserved the knowledge of their faith.

The faiths that most frequently used beguilers included Gargauth, Mask, Leira, Sehanine Moonbow, Shar, and Baravar Cloakshadow. In recent years, these faiths have experienced a variety of changes and conflicts that drove away or expelled their beguilers. With the exception of the church of Baravar, no more beguilers are linked to churches in Faerun.

Among Gargauthans, beguilers served an incredibly important role. Using their magical abilities, they wove webs to conceal the vast conspiracies and corruptions set in motion by "the Tenth Lord of Nine." When secrets began leaking out and spoiling many of the church's plans, the beguilers suffered horrible punishments. During the Time of Troubles, they were blamed for the unraveling of many of the church's schemes. With increasing punishments -- maiming, horrible scarification, and other tortures -- the beguilers abandoned "the Hidden Lord's faith." They are now hunted by the Gargauthans to destroy the secrets they possess.

The beguilers of Mask and Leira formed a single organization known as Demarch's Alliance, which served both churches. It is unknown who or what Demarch was, and the remaining former members won't provide any details. When Mask betrayed Leira, an irreconcilable rift opened in the alliance. In the Halls of Demarch -- a secret guildhall hidden beneath Tantras -- a massive battle known as Demarch's Fall was fought between the two factions. In bloody, mist-shrouded skirmishes, the beguilers of Mask and Leira tore each other to pieces, leaving behind an undead-infested network of tunnels obscured in fog. Surviving members fled to all corners of Faerun, fearing retribution and the "reacquisition" of the secrets they possessed.

Of all the churches formerly employing beguilers, the situation in the faith of Sehanine Moonbow is most surprising. It is unknown precisely what occurred to anger "the Luminous Cloud," but rumors abound. According to the most oft repeated, in the Year of Lightning Storms, "the Lady of Dreams" became furious with the beguilers of her faith. They fled from her temples, using their superior powers of illusion to conceal themselves from the elven deity's clergy. Whatever crime they committed must have been dire, for followers of Sehanine are tasked with bringing back the rogue mages dead or alive.

The Church of Shar expelled its beguilers, no longer finding any use for their abilities. The primary task of the beguilers of Shar was to conceal the existence of the Shadow Weave. When the "Lady of Loss" revealed its existence, openly flaunting her masterful creation, their usefulness waned. The beguilers were forced out of the church, sometimes violently.

The church made little effort to hunt them down at that time. It is now beginning to regret letting them go because of their knowledge of secrets that could be compromising to the faith.

When rogue beguilers ran from their churches, they used their abilities to conceal their whereabouts. They taught their abilities to young people with sorcerous potential, hoping to foster apprentices for protection and to carry on their legacies. Most of the runaways remained independent from any groups, but a few joined organizations or became operatives for governments -- a job their training and experience left them well prepared for. Benevolent beguilers have been found among the Harpers, Guardians of the Weave, Lords' Alliance, Moonstars, and Soft Claws. Malevolent beguilers have joined the ranks of the Cult of the Dragon, the Shadow Thieves, the Twisted Rune, and the Zhentarim.

The only church that hasn't lost its beguilers is that of Baravar Cloakshadow. Gnomes who worship other deities claim that The Sly One's faith is becoming increasingly twisted and insular. While no formal organization exists among the clergy, the change seems universal, as if the god himself is infecting his followers with increasing paranoia. The chosen of that faith, Embrel Berrodwyn is rumored to be close to Baravar's goal of concealing all gnomes from detection. Even the Knights of the Shadowy Cloak are affected, becoming more aggressive in their fight against the gnomes' eternal enemies.

Beguilers from Oerth
Most Oerthian beguilers look to Olidammara for obvious reasons, but others prefer Fharlanghn since he shares their love of new beginnings and travel. Gnome beguilers largely put their faith in Garl Glittergold, and some nongnome beguilers follow suit. Many also follow Boccob; the Lord of All Magics cares little to what use beguilers put their spells, and beguilers prefer it that way. Evil Oerthian beguilers often join Vecna's fold - the Master of All that Is Secret and Hidden welcomes beguilers, manipulating them toward ever greater acts of villainy even as they take advantage of their victims.

Sources: Player's Handbook II, Class Chronicles: Beguilers and Dragon Shamans, Beguiler -- Master of Deception, Eberron Wiki
« Last Edit: November 09, 2021, 06:10:25 PM by EO »

MAB77

  • Moderator
  • Dark Power
  • *
  • Posts: 6423
Ranger
« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2021, 10:34:46 PM »
The Ranger

The forests are home to fierce and cunning creatures, but more cunning and powerful than these beasts is the ranger, a skilled hunter and stalker. He knows the wilds as if they were his home (as indeed they are), and he knows his prey in deadly detail.

Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

Adventures: A ranger often accepts the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. In addition, a ranger carries grudges against certain types of creatures and looks for opportunities to find and destroy them. He may adventure for all the reasons that a fighter does.

Characteristics: A ranger uses a variety of weapons and is quite capable in combat. His experience and skill allow him to survive the harsh conditions of the wilderness, to locate his prey and to avoid being detected. He also has special knowledge about certain types of creatures, this means it easier for him to locate and defeat such foes. An experienced ranger has such a tie to nature and the land that he can draw upon it's natural power and cast divine spells much akin to the way a druid might.

Alignment: Rangers can be of any alignment. Most rangers are good, these rangers usually function as protectors of the wilderness. In such a role a ranger seeks out and destroys or drives off evil creatures that threaten the wilderness. Good rangers protect those who travel through the wilderness, serving as guides and sometimes as unseen guardians. Most rangers are also chaotic, preferring to follow the ebb and flow of nature of of their own hearts instead of rigid rules. Evil rangers, although rare, are certainly to be feared. They take pleasure in nature's cruelty and seek to imitate her most feared predators. Evil rangers gain divine spells just as their good counterparts do, as nature herself is indifferent to good and evil.

Religion: Through a ranger gains his divine spells from drawing from nature, he like anyone else may worship a chosen deity. Silvanus (Greater Deity of Wild Nature) and Chauntea (Greater Deity of Cultivation), are two notable powerful deities that rangers might follow.

Quote from: PotM Server Rules
If required by the setting of origin, paladins, rangers and druids must also possess a deity, or they will be unable to level up.

Background: Some rangers might have gained their training as part of special military teams, but the majority learned their skills from solitary masters who accepted them as students and assistants. The rangers of a particular master might consider themselves cohorts, or they may be rivals for the status of best student and thus the rightful heir to their master's fame.

Personality: Rangers are stoic guardians or warriors of nature, they put nature first and often have disagreements with Paladins due to their code or honor. Rangers often get along with others who are not like them as they are used to living in solitude as they watch over the wilderness. Rangers often interact with others and guide them when required but most of their life is spent training under their master or wandering the wilderness to learn the land.

Some rangers end up working in a group or with druids as guardians, which allows them to become social among their peers or equals. This can lead to them being more relaxed and in tune with nature and themselves as they travel or watch over an area of wilderness as a group.

The training they undergo requires a strong willpower and dedication to their ideals, they work their senses and body to be able to survive the harsh wilderness and so their minds become often similar. Rangers who move on from their masters often spend the majority of their lives alone as they live in the wilderness and become colder to society and civilization. Often times only interacting with druids or other rangers to converse or work together.

They travel to places where few others dare to tread. Relying on a potent combination of stealth, woodcraft, magic, and fighting skill, they are the masters of the wilderness. Where others see a trackless forest, they see an impenetrable refuge. Where others see a burning desert, they see a deadly trap for enemies they lure within. Where others see impassable mountains, they see high roads to new lands. They are the ultimate explorers, self-reliant and adaptable. No other adventurer comes close to their independence and sheer versatility.

One or more of the following character themes could apply to a ranger:
Spoiler: show
Bounty Hunter: Unlike other rangers, the character is equally at ease in the wilderness or in the cities and towns of humankind. He hones his woodcraft and tracking skills to use them against other people instead of forest-dwelling monsters. He might be a cold-hearted mercenary, an intrepid tracker, or even an outlaw or highwayman who uses woodcraft to get close to his quarry. For the character, the lore of the wilderness is a tool that he employs for his particular ends.

The character's choice of favored enemy makes him more effective at tracking (and defeating) particular quarries, so choose wisely. It's not unusual for a bounty hunter to choose his own race as a favored enemy — not because he's a misanthropic killer, but simply because he wants to be especially good at following villains who happen to be of his race through the wilderness.

The character should keep a record of each quarry he stalks over the course of his career, and preferably a trophy or souvenir from each success. He would show off his trophies and boast a little about his victories when he has the chance. He wants word to get around about who he is and what he does, so that villains who find him on their trail will be more likely to panic, slip up, and make a fatal mistake.
    "The price is 100 gold—no less, no more."
    "Only one bounty has ever escaped me—so far. I keep a constant eye out, just in case."
    [/list]

    Driven Avenger: When he was a child, his town was burned to the ground by orcs, or displacer beasts devoured his family, or a dragon hunted his tribe to extinction. Whatever the tragedy, he has been left with an endless thirst for vengeance against the monster or monsters that ruined his life.

    The monsters responsible for his loss are at the top of his list of favored enemies. His backstory prominently features a tragic loss at the hands, claws, talons, or fangs of these monsters. Create a suitable tale of woe and suffering, and write it down - he'll tell it over and over again to anyone who asks.

    In any situation or challenge the character confronts, he should look for signs that his mortal enemies are somehow involved. For example, if drow enslaved his village, he should suspect drow involvement in almost any problem he encounters.
      "The drow are behind this. You'll see."
      "Only drow attack with such precision."
      "I didn't like the way that innkeeper was watching us. I bet he's secretly in league with the drow, spying on us for them!"
      "The only good drow is a dead drow."
      [/list]

      Master of Beasts: The character has allies everywhere he goes. The birds and beasts are his friends, and even the fiercest creatures suffer his presence. While his animal companions do not help him in battle like the druid's help her, he values them for more than their fighting skill. Animals give him senses that he otherwise would not possess, allow him to keep watch over vast areas without being seen, and can carry messages over great distances.

      The character should avoid fighting naturally occurring animals if possible. Instead of killing a cave-dwelling brown bear in his path, see if he can lure it away from its lair or merely frighten it off. Sometimes he has to resort to lethal methods to fight off dangerous animals, but there is no honor in such a battle; he should help his companions to avoid encounters of this sort instead of killing animals that are only acting as their nature dictates.

      It's not unusual for a ranger of this sort to be uncomfortable around other people. He would keep his thoughts to himself, and not use two words when one will do. People are cruel and deceitful, but the character can always trust an animal to act in accordance with its nature. When he has to interact with humanoids, he would stay short and to the point, and speak bluntly. When he can, he would use animal metaphors to make his point.
        "If you hope to catch Drethaas, you must run like the deer all day and through the night. Can you keep up with me?"
        "The ogre is licking its wounds in its den. Now we can finish the monster."
        "We have his scent now. He won't get away."
        "I have the eyes of an eagle. No orc will pass by this place unseen."[/i]

      Wayfinder: The character lives for the opportunity to tread new lands and see things no one has seen before. He measures himself against the raw power of nature by crossing unfordable rivers, climbing impassable mountains, and mastering uncrossable deserts. The lure of treasure and the challenge of fearsome foes serve only as excuses for him to head out on his next journey. Before he dies, he wants to see more of the world than anyone before him has seen.

      He is restless and uneasy in times of idleness. He chafes at long delays, because when he's waiting for something to happen he's stuck in one spot. He would urge his companions to push on another mile, venture into just one more room, or at least give him a chance to scout just over the next hill before stopping for the night. He would keep a journal of his travels, noting the weather, the creatures he encountered, the places he visited, and the spot where he camped for each night.

      Overland travel is his special area of expertise, so he will make sure to voice his opinion when the party debates the question of how to move from one place to another. If his friends are wise, they'll listen to him.

      Because he is widely traveled and interested in a variety of things, he naturally relates new experiences to things he's seen or done before.
        "This cave's a little bit like that second chamber in the Caverns of Creeping Shadows. You remember, the one with the weird green glowing fungus balls and the gricks? Do you think we might find gricks here too?"
        "Let's find a safer place to cross. In my experience, this is just the sort of mountain stream that will batter you to pieces and carry you over a waterfall if you fall in. I don't want to have to go looking for your body."
        "This desert's got nothing on the Anvil of Searing Pain. Now that was a desert."
        "Careful! I'll bet you these orcs are headhunters, like those Blood Moon warriors we ran into a few months back. Look, they've got kukris just like those Blood Moon orcs."[/i]


      Races: Elves often choose the ranger's path. They are at home in the woods, and they have the grace to move stealthily. Half Elves who feel their elf parents' connection tot he woods are also likely to adopt this class. Humans are often rangers as well, due to their adaptability giving them an advantage in harsh conditions that the wilderness might spring upon them. Half-orc's might find the life of a ranger more comfortable than living among cruel and taunting humans (or orcs).

      Gnome rangers are more common than gnome fighters, but they still tend to remain in their own lands. Dwarf rangers are rare, but they can be quite effective. Instead of living in the surface wilderness, they are at home in the endless caverns beneath the earth. Here they hunt down and destroy the enemies of Dwarvenkind with the relentless precision which Dwarves are renown for. Lycanthropes who become rangers often prey upon humanity, becoming more dangerous than any other beast.

      Other Classes: Rangers get along well with druids and to some extent barbarians. They are known to bicker with paladins, mostly because they share the same goals but differ in style, tactics, approach, philosophy and esthetics. Since rangers don't often look to other people for support or friendship, they find it easy to tolerate people who are quite different from themselves, such as bookish wizards or preachy clerics. They just don't care enough to get upset about others' differences.

      Role: The Ranger's best role is that of a scout and secondary combatant. Without the heavy armor of the fighter to the staying power of the barbarian, the ranger should focus on opportunistic and ranged attacks. Most rangers use their animal companions as sentries, scouts, or to assist them in melee combat.

      Rangers from Ravenloft
      Like the barbarian and druid, rangers are most at home in the wilderness. Unlike those classes, rangers are often welcome in civilized lands, particularly rustic communities where the wilds press close. Like druids, rangers strive to maintain an uneasy balance between nature and civilization. Where the druid protects nature from the intrusions of mankind, however, rangers often guard humans from nature's savagery. In untamed lands like Vorostokov, they may hunt game to provide for their clans or scout out new territory. Rangers in settled lands are usually employed as game wardens for noble estates. In Sithicus, elven rangers patrol the deep forests astride monstrous stag beetles, hunting evil creatures and discouraging foreign visitors. Most folk consider rangers somewhat rustic, but their skills are generally respected. Rangers are master trackers and scouts. Rangers usually adventure to eliminate dangerous beasts and other menaces from their chosen territories. Some patrol the wilds to protect or provide for their homelands. Others, particularly lycanthropes, prey on humanity, becoming more dangerous than any beast.

      Rangers from Athas
      The wilds of Athas are a treacherous place, where a party unskilled in survival won’t last for more than a day or two. Most ranger characters learned their skills while traveling the wastes of Athas as guides, hunters, or scouts for a military organization. Many rangers enjoy good relations with druids, and some gain their first animal companion after a druid shows them how to call one to them. Rangers tend to prefer solitude or small, informal groups. The streets and buildings of an Athasian city seem as dangerous to a typical ranger as the wastes are to a typical citizen of a city-state. Human rangers are very often former slaves forced into the desert wilderness for simple survival. Halfling rangers, on the other hand, are an integral part of their aboriginal society, serving as advisors and trackers.

      Rangers from Cerilia
      Rangers are common in the untamed wilds and desolate areas of Cerilia. Given their tendencies to avoid crowds, rangers tend to make poor regents and are only rarely found in positions of political or economic power. Rangers are bound very closely to nature, able to become practically one with it, and are able to tap into the very wellsprings of the earth to power their spells. Unlike Cerilian clerics and druids, Cerilian rangers do not receive their spells from a patron deity. The limited spellcasting abilities of Cerilian rangers are rooted in their understanding of nature and the channeling of mebhaighl through their force of will alone.

      Rangers from Eberron
      Rangers might come from backgrounds similar to those of barbarians, fighters, or druids. Like barbarians, they are often found in the wild places of the world (although many make their homes in more urban environments as well). Like fighters, many rangers served in the Last War (usually as scouts) and have either retired or switched to adventuring careers. Like druids, some rangers patrol the wilds of the Eldeen Reaches, punishing poachers and protecting the creatures that live there. These Eldeen rangers are very similar in outlook to the members of the druid sects, placing a greater emphasis on martial training than on spiritual discipline.

      Rangers from Faerūn
      Vast areas of Faerūn are covered with ancient forests and populated by fantastic creatures. The rangers of Faerūn, along with the druids, occasional barbarians, and clerics of deities such as Silvanus and Mielikki, are the masters of the "empty" spaces. Rangers and druids have similar preferences for deities, although some rangers with odd interests (such as hunting undead) choose different patrons. Without a patron deity a ranger cannot cast spells. Good rangers of the North often find themselves acting in concert with groups such as the Harpers, and some eventually join that organization. However, not all rangers of Faerūn are good, and places such as the forest of Cormanthor and the High Forest are a battleground - good rangers who seek to defend the forest and its inhabitants against evil rangers who follow deities that find it natural to inflict pain on others.

      Rangers from Krynn
      Much of Krynn is vast and untamed wilderness, comprised of desert, forest, plains, and jungle. These wilds are home to the ranger. Rangers worship a god of nature that corresponds with their moral alignment: Habbakuk (good), Chislev (neutral), or Zeboim (evil). Without a patron deity a ranger cannot cast spells. As with druids, rangers mainly emerge from those races with close ties to nature, such as Kagonesti elves, centaurs, and human nomads.

      Rangers from Mystara
      Mystara is one of the early D&D worlds and was the default setting for products using the D&D Basic ruleset, which didn't originally support a ranger class. Rangers would nonetheless be at home in the wilderness areas of Mystara. A significant group closely ressembles rangers, in spirit at least, within the Empire of Thyatis. In the 3rd century AC, the emperors of Thyatis formed a pact with the Vyalia elves. This led to the creation of County of Vyalia and of the Foresters, a group of humans trained in both the arts of fighting and the magic of the elves. Members of this group shares the attitude of elves about maintaining the wilderness and not "civilizing" virgin territory.

      Rangers from Oerth
      On Oerth, like anywhere else, rangers make their life in the wilderness. Active in many locations such as the Adri forest and the Lone Heath where rangers and druids allied with the free folk of the Grandwood ward the place and resist incursions by Ahlissa and North Kingdom. The Rieuwood are heavily patrolled and defended by gray elves and many rangers, in case Ahlissa ever invades across the Grayflood. They are currently being sought for active duty in the March of Bissel. The county of Ulek has retained its territory in the Lortmils, due primarily to the staunch efforts of the Suss Rangers and mountaineers who protect the forested eastern highlands. A company of rangers was even formed, dedicated to guarding the dangerous route between the Druid's Defile and the small town of Courwood on the county's eastern frontier. The Furyondian Greenjerkins are 40-odd rangers who patrol the northern Gnarley from a small river port, Stalmaer, at the confluence of the Att and Velverdyva Rivers. Also, over two hundred Gnarley Rangers patrol the entire forest, protecting it from harm. Southwest Urnst is well served by rangers from the Celadon, mostly humans and half-elves trained at Stalwart Pines, the only known "organized" ranger school in the Flanaess.

      Rangers from Wildspace
      The ranger is a valuable addition to any exploration, scouting party, or planetary investigation, as his wilderness skills and adaptability are second to none. Humans, gnomes, and half-elves all take up the mantle of the ranger with some frequency, as do elves less interested in politics than in discovery. Dwarf rangers tend to be loners or leftovers from the tradition of spelunking scouts. The rough, solitary life of a ranger often appeals to half-orcs looking for more than meaningless brawls.

      Sources: Player's Handbook, Player's Handbook II, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Ravenloft Gaz. Vol IV, 3.5e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Eberron Campaign Setting, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, Dragon Magazine 319, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net, Dawn of Emperors : Player's Guide to Thyatis
      « Last Edit: October 12, 2021, 02:04:50 PM by MAB77 »
      Best Regards!
      MAB

      Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
      1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

      MAB77

      • Moderator
      • Dark Power
      • *
      • Posts: 6423
      Cleric
      « Reply #5 on: September 30, 2021, 01:23:46 AM »
      The Cleric

      The handiwork of the gods is everywhere—in places of natural beauty, in mighty crusades, in soaring temples, and in the hearts of worshipers. Like people, gods run the gamut from benevolent to malicious, reserved to intrusive, simple to inscrutable. The gods, however, work mostly through intermediaries—their clerics. Good clerics heal, protect, and avenge. Evil clerics pillage, destroy, and sabotage. A cleric uses the power of his god to make his god's will manifest. And if a cleric uses his god's power to improve his own lot, that's to be expected, too.

      Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

      Adventures: Ideally, a cleric's adventures support his god's causes, at least in a general way. A good cleric, for example, helps those in need. If, through noble acts, he can improve the reputation to his god or temple, that's even better. An evil cleric seeks to increase his own power and that of his deity, so that others will respect and fear both.

      Clerics sometimes receive orders, or at least suggestions, from their ecclesiastical superiors, directing them to undertake missions for the church. The clerics and their companions are compensated fairly for these missions, and the church may be especially generous with the casting of needed spells or divine magic items as payment. Of course, clerics are people, too, and they may have any or all the more common motivations for adventuring.

      Characteristics: Clerics are masters of divine magic, which is especially good at healing. Even an inexperienced cleric can bring people back from the brink of death, and an experienced cleric can bring back people who have crossed over that brink. As channelers of divine energy, clerics can affect undead creatures. A good cleric can turn away or even destroy undead; an evil cleric can bring undead under his control. Clerics have some combat training. They can use simple weapons, and they are trained in the use of armor, since armor does not interfere with divine spells the way it does with arcane spells.

      Alignment: Like the gods they serve, clerics can be of any alignment. Because people more readily worship good deities than neutral or evil ones, there are more good than evil clerics. Clerics also tend toward law instead of chaos, since lawful religions tend to be more structured and better able to recruit and train clerics than chaotic ones.

      Typically, a cleric is the same alignment as his deity, though some clerics are one step away from their respective deities in alignment. Additionally, a cleric may not be neutral (that is, neutral on both the good–evil axis and the lawful–chaotic axis) unless his deity is neutral.

      Religion: Every reasonably well-known deity has clerics devoted to him or her, so clerics can be of any religion. The majority of nonhuman clerics are devoted to the chief god of the appropriate racial pantheon. Most clerics are officially ordained members of religious organizations, commonly called churches. Each has sworn to uphold the ideals of his church.

      Some clerics devote themselves not to a god but to a cause or a source of divine power. These characters wield magic the way clerics devoted to individual gods do, but they are not associated with any religious institution or any particular practice of worship. A cleric devoted to good and law, for example, may be on friendly terms with the clerics of lawful and good deities and may extol the virtues of a good and lawful life, but he is not a functionary in a church hierarchy.

      Quote from: Ravenloft PotM Server Rules
      Clerics should worship a deity (or equivalent) from their setting and have cleric domains given by that deity, as listed on the forums.

      Background: Most clerics join their churches as young adults, though some are devoted to a god's service from a young age, and a few feel the call later in life. While some clerics are tightly bound to their churches' activities on a daily basis, others have more freedom to conduct their lives as they please, as long as they do so in accordance with their gods' wishes.

      Clerics of a given religion are all supposed to get along, though schisms within a church are often more bitter than conflicts between religions. Clerics who share some basic ideals, such as goodness or lawfulness, may find common cause with each other and see themselves as part of an order or body that supersedes any given religion. Clerics of opposed goals, however, are sworn enemies. In civilized lands, open warfare between religions occurs only during civil wars and similar social upheavals, but vicious politicking between opposed churches is common.

      Personality: Clerics are representatives of an almighty deity's authority in the mortal world. They give thanks daily to the good fortune that put them in such an enviable position. They know firsthand that the places of natural beauty, the structure of societies, and even existential cosmic laws would falter and perhaps collapse altogether without divine influence and intervention. However, deities work through agencies other than mere divine decree. In fact, gods prefer to work through intermediaries such as the cleric when possible. They use the power of their deity to make their god's will manifest. In doing so, their lot improves, as they are raised slowly up in the eyes of the deity they serve with each deed they accomplish in their god's name.

      One or more of the following character themes could apply to a cleric:

      Spoiler: show

      Giver of Blessings: Since the character is an instrument of his deity's will, he often finds himself (along with his companions) in tight spaces. In such circumstances, it is customary for the cleric to bless himself and his companions with his god's beneficence immediately prior to taking desperate action.

      Keeping such blessings to a minimum number of words is a good idea, given that the cleric is usually only moved to give a blessing when circumstances are dire.

      The character is partial to one or more of the following blessings (substituting the character's deity's name for Pelor):
        "Refresh and gladden our spirits. Purify our hearts. Illumine our powers. We lay our hope in Pelor's hands."

        "Bless us, oh Pelor, and these thy weapons which we are about to deploy in thy name, through your beneficence."

        "We humbly beseech you from the bottom of our hearts to succor us in our necessity."
        [/list]

        Missionary: The cleric believes without question that others would benefit by conversion to the worship of his deity. He has taken it upon himself to be a propagator of his religion, and draws upon one of the following methods of proselytization.

        Conversion through Exhortation: The character is a strident evangelist who exhorts others to consider his deity's worship at every opportunity. For instance, whenever he heals a companion, he murmurs:
          "Through Pelor's grace, be healed. If your belief were greater, how much greater would the relief from your wounds be?"[/list]

          On the other hand, when smiting enemies, he screams (regardless of whether his friends have yet converted):

          "When you cross me, you cross the great god Pelor and earn his wrath, and the wrath of all his disciples!"

          Conversion by Example: The character never exhorts his companions to convert, but instead serves his deity lovingly and well. He heals his companions at need, smites enemies, and accomplishes other duties required by the company he keeps.

          After months of showing how the grace of Pelor helps him through example, he is ready to choose his moment. At some point his aid, healing prayer, or other good work will come at just the precise moment to save or renew one of his companions. This is the time to whisper persuasively in his or her ear:
            "Consider what Pelor has done for you—it is through his aid that I have aided you. If you say so now, I will tell you more of Pelor later."[/list]

            In this way, the character can slowly bring one or more of his companions into the fold.

            Prayerful: The cleric knows that maintaining the channels of communication between himself and his deity is necessary, not just when his god grants his spells, but all day through. However, the adventuring life being what it is, the cleric's prayers are short and sweet, and he drops them into conversation when possible.

            For instance, whenever he makes a particularly forceful assertion, he appends one of the following phrases (substituting his deity's name for Pelor):
              "... as Pelor's grace demands."
              "... just as Pelor sweeps aside foes."
              "... so that Pelor may smile upon us."
              "... in Pelor's name, let it be so."
              "... in this we ask Pelor's aid."
              "... and in so doing we will be instruments of Pelor's peace."
              "... and in this we shall have Pelor's divine aid."
              "... for behold, Pelor has smiled on us from the very beginning."
              "... and may all sin in Pelor's eyes be washed from our souls, so that our purposes are pure."
              [/list]

              Sermonizer: The cleric is familiar with the trials and travails of his deity, especially if his god or one of his saints or other associated entities was forced to undergo a great trial to reach a higher spiritual understanding or vision. He is given to dropping in bits and pieces of this story prior to expressing his point. He hopes that by being made aware of holy example, his companions will see the wisdom of his words. For instance, he might say as part of his arguments (substituting his deity's name for Pelor):
                "... but as the One Hundred Writs of Pelor tell us ..."
                "... lest we suffer as Pelor suffered in his many trials ..."
                "... but even the purest hearts can fall. Remember Eyria, the devoted paladin of Pelor? Renowned for her piety and courage, she was slain in battle with a death knight, but in her destruction she was victorious."
                "... long before you were born and long after you've become but dust, Pelor's disciples will continue their good works and see to it that Pelor's will is accomplished."
                [/list]

                Soldier of Divinity: The character stands a little closer to the paladin ideal than other clerics. He disdains blessings and prayers, and he avoids healing his compatriots except in the direst of circumstances. Instead, he selects his spells, feats, and magic items so that his deity's divine grace directly infuses his strength at arms and defense. If he prays for just the right combination of aid, his ability to fight his god's battles comes close to equaling any warrior's combat ability, and in some cases exceeds those capabilities.

                Of course, being a soldier of his deity doesn't mean that the character can't be prayerful (see above), though his pleas to his god take on a much more military context:
                  "Move, infidel, or feel divine wrath."
                  "Kill them all, Pelor commands it!"
                  [/list]


                  Races: All the common races are represented in this class, since the need for religion and divine magic is universal. The clerics of most races, however, are too focused on their religious duties to undertake an adventurer's life. Crusading, adventuring clerics most often come from the human and dwarf races.

                  Other Classes: In an adventuring party, the cleric is everybody's friend and often the glue that holds the party together. As the one who can channel divine energy, a cleric is a capable healer, and adventurers of every class appreciate being put back together after they've taken some hard knocks. Clerics sometimes clash with druids, since druids represent an older, more primal relationship between the mortal and the divine. Mostly, though, the religion of a cleric determines how he gets along with others. A cleric of Olidammara (god of thieves), gets along fine with rogues and ne'er-do-wells, for example, while a cleric of Heironeous (god of valor) rankles at such company.

                  Role: The cleric serves as a typical group's primary healer, diviner, and defensive specialist. He can hold his own in a fight but usually isn't well served by charging to the front of combat. The cleric's domains and spell selection can greatly affect his role as well.

                  Clerics from Ravenloft
                  Clerics bear the sacred responsibility of carrying the divine message of their patron deity to his mortal followers. Of course, in Ravenloft, this message is as likely to be the Lawgiver's ceaseless demands of obedience or Zhakata's ravenous cruelty as it is to be the words of hope offered by deities like Ezra or the Morninglord. Clerics in Ravenloft may be the shepherds of their congregations, adventuring to remove the faithful from danger, or they may be itinerant priests, preaching the word of their god in the earnest hope of converting new followers to their faith. Then again, they might be depraved cultists, secretly carrying out the obscene mandates of their foul patron.

                  Clerics from Athas
                  Dark Sun has no true gods. Instead, clerics draw their power from one of the elemental planes or a sorcerer-king. Some clerics treat their favored elemental power or sorcerer-king with obeisance akin to worship, while others are more mercenary, describing their relationship in terms of power exchanged for fealty.

                  Clerics from Cerilia
                  Cerilian clerics function as described in the Player's Handbook, except that no clerics serve just a cause, philosophy, or abstract source of divine power. Every cleric in a Birthright campaign serves a specific divine power. It is simply impossible for a person to wield greater divine magic without a patron deity. Clerics may have only one patron deity at a time, but it is possible for a cleric to have a change of heart that causes a change of patron deities. Cerilian elves cannot advance as clerics except under the most unusual of circumstances.

                  Clerics from Eberron
                  Clerics are the knights of the churches of Khorvaire, trained in warfare and blessed with divine power. They fight for the causes of their religions, serving at the command of a higher authority. Most temples are staffed by acolytes who can wield divine magic but do not have the fighting prowess of clerics. Clerics are the champions and defenders of the faith. Other clerics across Eberron serve no church and claim no allegiance to any deity. They recognize the power of the deities, but not their authority over mortal life. They hold principles of alignment or other abstract ideals higher than the deities who claim these ideals in their portfolios, and they draw divine power from the pervasive spiritual force in the world instead of channeling it through deities. These clerics are usually outcasts and loners, but the reality of their power is impossible to deny, and it lends credence to their unorthodox theology. Eberron is not blessed (or cursed) with deities that walk the land and take an active role in mortal affairs. Indeed, whether the deities even truly grant divine spellcasting ability to their clerics remains an open question, since even corrupt clerics can cast spells.

                  Clerics from Faerūn
                  Faerūnian clerics function as described in the Player's Handbook, except that no clerics serve just a cause, philosophy, or abstract source of divine power. The Torilian deities are very real, and events in recent history have forced these divine beings to pay a great deal of attention to their mortal followers. All clerics in Faerūn serve a patron deity. It is simply impossible for a person to gain divine powers without one. The character may not have more than one patron deity at a time, although it is possible to change his patron deity if the character has a change of heart. In some lands, worship of multiple deities takes place in the same temple. For example, many smaller dwarven cities have a single temple for all of the dwarven deities, and the people of Rashemen worship Chauntea, Mielikki, and Mystra in the same locations. The clerics in these temples still choose a single deity as a patron, but not all clerics there share the same patron.

                  Clerics from Gothic Earth
                  Only in myths and legends are the priests of Gothic Earth known to perform miracles. It is not that they don't have the capacity for it, but because the Red Death effectively shuts out people from communing with their gods and receiving divine blessings. Being a priest on Gothic Earth is just a title, but they still play a very important part as community or religious leaders and therefore may wield considerable political power.

                  Only priests whose faith is pure actually become clerics and gain divine powers when they find their way into Ravenloft. Interestingly, these clerics undergo a transition strikingly different than those from other settings. Clerics from other worlds lose their connection with their deity and only retain spellcasting abilities. Gothic Earth clerics never such a connection to begin with, and though arriving in the Lands of the Mists does not fully restore it, they quickly come to discover that they are now blessed with divine gifts. Such revelation leads them not into a bout of depression but rather a period of elation, comforting them in their faith and beliefs.

                  Clerics from Krynn
                  Clerics of Ansalon function as described in the Player's Handbook, except that no clerics serve a cause, philosophy, or abstract source of divine power. The gods of Krynn created the world and are the original source of all magical power in the world, both divine and arcane. Clerics on Krynn serve all the deities except the deities of the three moons of magic, Solinari, Lunitari, and Nuitari. The priesthoods of Habbakuk, Chislev, and Zeboim are divided between clerics and druids. All clerics in a Dragonlance campaign must choose a patron deity. Clerics can never worship more than one deity at a time, though a cleric may switch allegiance.

                  Clerics from Mystara
                  Most nations on Mystara count clerics of the immortals among their populace. They form the ruling class in theocracies such as in Ylaruam, Hule, and the Heldannic Territories. They are rather rare among surface elves, though form the ruling class within both shadow elves societies (those of the City of Stars devoted to Rafiel, and the Schattenalfen of the Hollow World dedicated to Atzanteotl). They are exceedingly rare in the Principalities of Glantri, where religions were outlawed with the practice of clerical magic incurring a death sentence for a very long time. This law was rescinded only recently in 1018 AC, but clerics are still seen with suspicions.

                  Clerics from Oerth
                  Clerics are numerous on the world of Oerth. It boasts a large number of deities, each with its own clergy. Theocratic nations such as Ekbir, the Lendore Isles, Pale and Veluna are ruled by priests. The Oeridians and Suels societies have there fair share of clerics. Modern Olman societies have a tribal culture, with a cleric or hereditary chief leading each tribe. Many still practice annual human sacrifice to the dimly remembered Sky Gods, while lesser ceremonies require simple bloodletting and the offering of animals and plants. Clerics are less present among the Flan as their priests are more often druids. Like the sun god, Pelor, many Flan deities have strong "natural" aspects. Clerics are, however, entirely absent among the Rhennee.

                  Clerics from Wildspace
                  Almost any spelljamming ship of any size keeps a cleric on board to tend to and support the crew. These might hail from any race or culture, and religions of many sorts thrive in the system.

                  Some clerics have even been known to worship deities linked with other races, so complete is the integration of cultures.

                  Sources: Ravenloft Player's Handbook, 3.5e Player's Handbook, 3.5e Player's Handbook II, Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Eberron Campaign Setting, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, Dragon Magazine 319, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net, Wrath of the Immortals, Vault of Pandius (Mystaran Governments)
                  « Last Edit: November 15, 2023, 09:55:58 PM by EO »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Monk
                  « Reply #6 on: October 07, 2021, 05:56:12 PM »
                  The Monk

                  Dotted across the landscape are monasteries - small, walled cloisters inhabited by monks who pursue personal perfection through action as well as contemplation. They train themselves to be versatile warriors skilled at fighting without weapons or armor. The inhabitants of monasteries headed by good masters serve as protectors of the people. Ready for battle even when barefoot and dressed in peasant clothes, monks can travel unnoticed among the populace, catching bandits, warlords, and corrupt nobles unawares. In contrast, the residents of monasteries headed by evil masters rule the surrounding lands through fear, as an evil warlord and his entourage might. Evil monks make ideal spies, infiltrators, and assassins.

                  An individual monk is unlikely to care passionately about championing commoners or amassing wealth. She cares primarily for the perfection of her art and, thereby, her personal perfection. Her goal is to achieve a state that is beyond the mortal realm

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: A monk approaches an adventure as if it were a personal test. While not prone to showing off, monks are willing to try their skills against whatever obstacles confront them. They are not greedy for material wealth, but they eagerly seek that which can help them perfect their art.

                  Characteristics: The key feature of the monk is her ability to fight unarmed and unarmored. Thanks to her rigorous training, she can strike as hard as if she were armed and strike faster than a warrior with a sword.

                  Though a monk casts no spells, she has a magic of her own. She channels a subtle energy, called ki, which allows her to perform amazing feats. The monk's best-known feat is her ability to stun an opponent with an unarmed blow. A monk also has a preternatural awareness that allows her to dodge an attack even if she is not consciously aware of it.

                  As the monk gains experience and power, her mundane and ki-oriented abilities grow, giving her more and more power over her- self and, sometimes, over others.

                  Alignment: A monk's training requires strict discipline. Only those who are lawful at heart are capable of undertaking it.

                  Religion: A monk's training is her spiritual path. She is inner-directed and capable of a private, mystic connection to the spiritual world, so she needs neither clerics nor gods. Certain lawful gods, however, may appeal to monks, who may meditate on the gods' likenesses and attempt to emulate their deeds.

                  Background: A monk typically trains in a monastery. Most monks were children when they joined the monastery, sent to live there when their parents died, when there wasn't enough food to support them, or in return for some kindness that the monastery had performed for the family. Life in the monastery is so focused that by the time a monk sets off on her own, she feels little connection to her former family or village.

                  In larger cities, master monks have set up monk schools to teach their arts to those who are interested and worthy. The monks who study at these academies often see their rural cousins from the monasteries as backward.

                  A monk may feel a deep connection to her monastery or school, to the monk who taught her, to the lineage into which she was trained, or to all of these. Some monks, however, have no sense of connection other than to their own path of personal development. Monks recognize each other as a select group set apart from the rest of the populace. They may feel kinship, but they also love to compete with each other to see whose ki is strongest.

                  Personality: The character was introduced to martial techniques in a distant, hard-to-reach monastery. He first learned the eighteen basic empty-hand techniques. He learned the "heart-mind-fist" kata, he learned how to swing an eyebrow-height staff, and he finally learned how to deliver the potent cannon punch. After that, he was ready to begin actual training in the truly deadly martial arts. Years later he emerged, a champion of his martial style, but still a student seeking continual improvement and perfection through martial discipline. One day he hopes to join the great masters of his art, focusing his ki so precisely that he transcends the mortal realm altogether and partakes of immortality.

                  One or more of the following character themes could apply to a monk:
                  Spoiler: show

                  Enlightened One: The character follows a meditative way of life considered by some a religion, by others a profound philosophy, and by the uninformed simply a routine. He regards his constant search for enlightenment as a way of life, work, and an art form. One of the precepts of his philosophy is "sitting meditation" in which he sits quietly once a day, directing his awareness toward his core and breathing deeply for at least 5 minutes. As an "enlightened one", he knows many parables, called koans, that teach wisdom if considered long enough.

                  "An enlightened one lived a simple life in a hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing to steal. The enlightened one caught him and told the rogue, 'You've traveled far to find me, so you should not leave empty handed. Here, have my robe as a gift.' Confused, the thief nevertheless took the robe. Nude, his eyes on the full moon, the enlightened one said, 'I wish I could have given him this beautiful moon.'"

                  "An enlightened one visited a terminally ill man and asked, "Shall I lead you on?' The sick man replied, 'I came here alone and I go alone. What help could you be?' The enlightened one answered, 'If you think you really come and go, that is your delusion. Let me show you the path on which there is no coming and no going." These words revealed the true path so clearly that the sick man smiled and passed on."

                  History Keeper: Every monastery has its own story of origin, describing where it gained its particular style and what ancient master popularized the particular specialized form of martial arts taught there. Every monastery puts in a claim as the oldest, or alleges to teach the most "pure" form of the martial arts. The character doesn't fret about it because he knows his monastery is actually the oldest and the most authentic. He likes to tell the story of how his monastery learned the secrets of its current style.

                  "The ancient and legendary master Chandharma founded our temple five hundred years ago, and the monks took him in. In thanks, Chandharma trained the monks in the original, true forms and katas. I know the very style that ancient Chandharma once taught my forebears."

                  Races: Monasteries are found primarily among humans, who have incorporated them into their ever-evolving culture. Thus, many monks are humans, and many are half-orcs and half-elves who live among humans. Elves are capable of single-minded, long-term devotion to an interest, art, or discipline, and some of them leave the forests to become monks. The monk tradition is alien to dwarf and gnome culture, and halflings typically have too mobile a lifestyle to commit themselves to a monastery, so dwarves, gnomes, and halflings very rarely become monks. The savage humanoids do not have the stable social structure that allows monk training, but the occasional orphaned or abandoned child from some humanoid tribe winds up in a civilized monastery or is adopted by a wandering master. The evil subterranean elves known as the drow have a small but successful monk tradition.

                  Other Classes: Monks sometimes seem distant because they often have neither motivation nor skills in common with members of other classes. Monks do, however, work well with the support of others, and they usually prove themselves reliable companions.

                  Role: The monk functions best as an opportunistic combatant, using her speed to get into and out of combat quickly rather than engaging in prolonged melees. She also makes an excellent scout, particularly if she focuses her skill selection on stealth.

                  Monks from Ravenloft
                  In some ways, monks have much in common with clerics. They primarily concern themselves with matters of the spirit. Unlike clerics, however, monks place little faith in higher powers. A monk turns her eyes inward, seeking to use strict discipline, intense meditation, and focusing exercises to perfectly purify her spirit (or ki) and, through it, her flesh. Monasteries dedicated to this pursuit are nestled in the exotic realms of Rokushima Taiyoo and Sri Raji. In the latter domain, the monks (called fakirs in the Rajian tongue) test their inner strength by inflicting sometimes-grotesque physical punishments on themselves, such as piercing their flesh with iron skewers and hooks. The monk tradition also exists in the lonesome city of Paridon, where the local adherents have melded it with occult lodge traditions to create the "theological philosophy" they call the Divinity of Mankind.

                  Tales also exist of lone monks who wander other domains. Rather than joining monasteries, these monks often learn under a single master and pass on their teachings to a single apprentice.

                  Monks are keenly aware that they live in a world brimming with carnal and spiritual temptation. Those who choose to adventure do so to set themselves against these honeyed barbs, knowing that inner strength means nothing if it is never tested. Some monks are selfish, purifying their spirits in the pursuit of power, but other monks wander to help steer those souls who lack the enlightenment to protect themselves from corruption.

                  Monks are slightly more common in Hazlan than in the rest of the Core domains, but still quite rare. Hazlani monks subscribe to an odd mix of Lawgiver theology and arcane mysticism. Of particular note, within the Church of the Lawgiver, the monastic Kunduktųrs ("Guardians") have the holy duty of watching over the deceased faithful, acting as caretakers of the fanes' tombs and graveyards. Kunduktųrs take vows of silence so as not to disturb their charges. When not directly watching over the dead, they study the nature of death itself, seeking to understand the hidden truths of this most final judgment and universal law. Hazlani Kunduktųrs originated the heresy that the Lawgiver died in the Great Upheaval, leaving nothing but an empty shell of dictates and titles.

                  Monks from Athas
                  Large monasteries for training monks don't exist on Athas, and so the monks learn their techniques directly from lone, more experienced monks.

                  Popular in the gladiatorial arenas for their skill fighting without weapons or armor, many monks make their living as relatively pampered slaves of powerful nobles and templars. A monk is seen as a less dangerous slave than a psychic warrior, yet one almost equally capable of providing unusual and crowd pleasing martial displays. Athasian monks have no problem using their myriad special abilities to impress a crowd. After all, a popular (and profitable) gladiator slave is a safe, well-cared-for one.

                  Due to their popularity, monk gladiators are frequently freed in their later years, and most of them train other freemen in their ways. These free monks often follow their teachers into the arenas in search of wealth and further training. Others use their skills to survive the harsh world outside the cities, finding their abilities and discipline boons in the chaotic and unpredictable sands of Athas.

                  Monks from Cerilia
                  Cerilian monks are unheard of. If any monasteries exist they are hidden and unknown.

                  Monks from Eberron
                  Monks in Eberron are an unusual mixture of contemplative scholars and martial artists. They are called to a life of community apart from the world in which they copy books, preserve the annals of history, and practice the skills they need to defend their faith and fight for the cause of their church.

                  Monks from Faerūn
                  Monastic orders usually originate in civilized human lands. Among humans, the earliest monastic orders native to Faerūn seem to have arisen in Amn and Calimshan simultaneously with some orders immigrating from other worlds and the eastern land of Kara-Tur. Unlike clerics and druids, monks do not necessarily have to choose a patron deity (although most do).

                  Monks from Krynn
                  Though rare, small communities of monks exist in isolated places in Ansalon. They rarely let the affairs of the outside world affect their search for perfection of body and mind. Most monks on Krynn worship Majere and are members of a rare sect called Claren Elian, devoted to peace and enlightenment. These monks are lawful good or lawful neutral. Evil monks worship Sargonnas.

                  Monks from Mystara
                  Mystara is one of the early D&D setting and was the default setting for products using the D&D Basic ruleset, which didn't originally support a monk class. Oriental monk types would be rarely seen on the continent of Brun, but some may emerge from the Ethangar Khanate or Sind. Elsewhere, they could likely be see in Ochalea in the Sea of Dread, in the Empire of the Great Khan on Skothar, in Yasuko on the Davanian continent, in Shajapur in the Hollow World, and in many nations on the hidden Moon of Patera (Myoshima, Surabayang, Malcayog, Kompor-Thap, Rajahstan, or Selimpore).

                  Monks from Oerth
                  Few monastic orders (of the martial artists type) are known to exist on Oerth. Many are located on the Tilvanot Peninsula, where, in the not so distant past, a significant number of people from Kara-Tur (Toril) found themselves stranded on Oerth after a planar incident. Members of a monastic order, called the High Scarlet Order, found and allied themselves with an organization with similar ideas to its own and even (perhaps not by chance) the same colors: the secretive and fearsome Scarlet Brotherhood. Nowadays monks do form the top tier of this infamous organization. Of the original intruders from Kara-Tur, not all allied themselves with the Hidden Empire. The Sapphire Celestials, of lawful good alignment, committed themselves to serene contemplation until such time as a gate to their homeland should reappear, and choose isolation from all outside influence. The Black Order was of similar alignment but took on a more active role, sending secret missions over the entire continent and establishing small enclaves beyond the Tilvanot Plateau all in search of a new homeward route. The Golden Monks, of lawful neutral alignment, choose to simply exist on the Tilvanot Plateau in such harmony as might be possible. These orders are secretive and not widely known. The Splintered Mind is also a small order of monks, psionicists, and rogues who oppose the Scarlet Brotherhood from a position of secrecy. Elsewhere, the gods Heironeous, St. Cuthbert, Hextor, Zuoken and Xan Yae are known to have monastic orders dedicated to them.

                  Monks from Wildspace
                  Monks are rare sights in the system, though they are by no means unknown. The dwarves of Moradin's Forge once maintained a number of monasteries dedicated to instilling discipline, though most of these are now only a memory. Before the fall, though, much of the knowledge of these schools was passed on to interested humans, half-elves, and others.

                  Sources: D&D 3.5 Players Handbook, D&D 3.5 Players Handbook II, Eberron Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, TSR11364 The Scarlet Brotherhood, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, Dragon Magazine #281, Dragon Magazine 319, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net, Vault of Pandius (Asian Cultures on Mystara)
                  « Last Edit: January 09, 2022, 09:37:53 PM by EO »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Sorcerer
                  « Reply #7 on: October 08, 2021, 12:11:57 AM »
                  The Sorcerer

                  Sorcerers create magic the way a poet creates poems, with inborn talent honed by practice. They have no books, no mentors, no theories-just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers have magical power because the blood of magical beings courses through their veins. Dragons, fey, fiends and celestials all might be the source of the magic in a sorcerer's bloodline. It's true that sorcerers often have striking good looks, usually with a touch of the exotic that hints at an unusual heritage. Some hold that the claim is either an unsubstantiated boast on the part of certain sorcerers or envious gossip on the part of those who lack the sorcerer's gift.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: The typical sorcerer adventures in order to improve his abilities. Only by testing his limits can he expand them. A sorcerer's power is inborn-part of his soul. Developing this power is a quest in itself for many sorcerers, regardless of how they wish to use their power.

                  Some good sorcerers are driven by the need to prove themselves. Marked as different by their power, they seek to win a place in society and to prove themselves to others. Evil sorcerers, however, also feel themselves set apart from others-apart and above. They adventure to gain power over those they look down upon.

                  Characteristics: Sorcerers cast spells through innate power rather than through careful training and study. Their magic is intuitive rather than logical. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire powerful spells more slowly than wizards, but they can cast spells more often and have no need to select and prepare their spells ahead of time. Sorcerers do not specialize in certain schools of magic the way wizards sometimes do.

                  Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they don't have the background of arcane knowledge that most wizards have. However, they do have more time to learn fighting skills, and they are proficient with simple weapons.

                  Alignment: For a sorcerer, magic is an intuitive art, not a science. Sorcery favours the free, chaotic, creative spirit over the disciplined mind, so sorcerers tend slightly toward chaos over law.

                  Religion: Some sorcerers favor gods of magic. However, many sorcerers follow some other deity, or none at all. Most sorcerers are self-taught, with no master to induct them into a religion.

                  Background: Sorcerers develop rudimentary powers at puberty. Their first spells are incomplete, spontaneous, uncontrolled, and sometimes dangerous. A household with a budding sorcerer in it may be troubled by strange sounds or lights, which can create the impression that the place is haunted. Eventually, the young sorcerer understands the power that he has been wielding unintentionally. From that point on, he can begin practicing and improving his powers.

                  Sometimes a sorcerer is fortunate enough to come under the care of an older, more experienced sorcerer, someone who can help him understand and use his new powers. More often, however, sorcerers are on their own, feared by erstwhile friends and misunderstood by family.

                  Sorcerers have no sense of identity as a group. Unlike wizards, they gain little by sharing their knowledge and have no strong incentive to work together.

                  Personality: Sorcerers weave spells like poets compose sonnets. They require no dusty tomes, no grueling apprenticeships, no protracted study of arcane phenomena - all they need is their inborn talent to wield raw magic.

                  As a child, the character knew he was different from others, and when he uttered his first spontaneous spell, his suspicions were confirmed - sorcery infused his blood!

                  But where did this awesome gift arise from? Could it be a mere knack, or is it true that he can claim dragons as ancestors? It might be that his ability to manifest magic through mere force of will is his inheritance from those ancient creatures.

                  One or more of the following character themes could apply to a sorcerer:

                  Spoiler: show

                  Mysterious Stranger: No one truly knows the character, and he prefers to keep it that way. Though he has allies, and might even have a few friends, his background is a mystery to all.

                  Of course, in the absence of fact, rumor and legend rush to fill the void. While he might not actively spread misinformation, it pleases him to hear others tell fantastic stories about where (and how) he was born or raised, his exploits, and the true extent of his powers.

                  When other characters ask about his background, the character wouldn't ever give a straight reply. He would dance around the truth, making ominous statements in place of answers. He would let them believe what they would like - and let his actions give them every reason to believe the most fantastic possibilities.

                  In keeping his secrets, it's useful to be able to lie directly to someone's face, or to stare someone in the face until he or she slinks away nervously.

                  "Many before you have pondered my origin. Your questions, like those, must remain unanswered . . . for your own safety."
                  "You wouldn't be the first to make the mistake of underestimating my power."


                  Genealogist: The character amasses oral histories, search records, and seeks out family stories to discover the truth about his ancestors and living relatives. Though his overall goal is to prove that he is indeed descended from dragons, he has acquired a lot of secondary knowledge concerning now-defunct kingdoms, the movement of people across the landscape, great wars and philosophical movements, and other historical curiosities.

                  While still ongoing, the character's search of his family history has led him to uncover distant cousins and even a few buried family secrets. For instance, he learned that his great grandfather didn't die in service to the king's guard as everyone believes. It turns out he shipped to sea with a privateer. Over the course of decades, his great grandfather worked to become the captain of his own ship. The character has never been able to discover the final fate of his grandfather's ship, but he is constantly on the lookout for fresh information.

                  Despite the interesting revelations he discovers and the people he now knows he can count as distant relatives, his true quest remains: The character has never once turned his mind from the thought of his dragon ancestry.

                  "My grandfather had secrets that no one could have guessed. I wonder if he had a hidden hoard?"
                  "You'd do well to learn your own ancestry. How do you truly know what you are if you don't know from where you've come?"


                  Misunderstood Rebel: The character has never fit in. No one understands him, and truth to tell, he doesn't care anymore. His dark, brooding clothing, pale features, and much - tattooed flesh is part of who he is, and if people can't accept that, it's their problem, not his. Moreover, he relishes locations that others find horror - inducing, including necropolises, haunted citadels, and cursed cathedrals. Though he still draws breath, he feels as if he has something in common with ghosts, vampires, and other humanoid-shaped undead - although none have yet seemed overly interested in doing anything other than attempting to kill him.

                  The character has a knack for writing dark and dismal tales, and whether with pen or out loud, he has composed several stories featuring cursed families, being buried alive, and the fall of cities into hellish rifts.

                  "Who cares?"
                  "I wrote a story once about a girl who was dead for a year and never knew it. . . ."


                  Pretender: This character theme relies on the character having taken 1 or more ranks in Influence. His natural charisma leads him into making preposterous, but somehow reasonable-sounding claims regarding a wide variety of topics.

                  He most effectively uses this talent when playing games of chance, especially cards. For instance, when playing the high-stakes game of three-dragon ante, his ability to bluff effectively is a tactic he's come to rely on when he wants to make the other players believe his weak hand is strong, or that his strong hand is weak, depending on how the dragons fall.

                  However, when faced with stressful situations, his propensity to invent answers to hard questions out of whole cloth could get him into trouble at least as often as it helps. For example, when challenged by guards asking for credentials necessary to allow him and his friends past some threshold, he launches into a song-and-dance meant to distract:

                  "Well, of course I'd normally give you the countersign, but didn't you get the news? Spies are about, invisible, just waiting to overhear someone give the countersign at this entry. Can you imagine if they learned the countersign? Can you imagine if it was because you required me to give it to you now?"

                  "The Grand Duke sent for me. Don't give me any claptrap about not knowing who I am or that I am not on the list-the Grand Duke asked for me by name! If you don't let me past RIGHT now, I can guarantee that when I finally do see the Duke a half-hour from now because you've delayed me, I'll tell him right off I was delayed because of YOU! What 's your name, guard?"

                  Races: Most sorcerers are humans or half-elves, but the innate talent for sorcery is unpredictable, and it can show up in any of the common races. Arcane spellcasters from savage lands or from among the brutal humanoids are more likely to be sorcerers than wizards. Kobolds are especially likely to take up this path, and they are fierce, if inarticulate, proponents of the "blood of the dragons" theory.

                  Other classes: Sorcerers find that they have the most in common with members of other largely self-taught classes, such as druids and rogues. They sometimes find themselves at odds with members of the more disciplined classes, such as paladins and monks. Since they cast the same spells as wizards but do so in a different way, they sometimes find themselves in competition with wizards.

                  Role: A sorcerer tends to define his role based on his spell selection. A sorcerer who focuses on damage-dealing spells becomes a centre of the party's offensive power. Another may rely on more subtle magics, such as charms and illusions, and thus take a quieter role. A party with a sorcerer should strongly consider including a second spell caster, such as a bard, cleric, druid, or even a wizard, to make up for the sorcerer's lack of versatility. Since a sorcerer often has a powerful presence that gives him a way with people, he may serve as the "face" for an adventuring party, negotiating, bargaining, and speaking for others. The sorcerer's spells often help him sway others or gain information, so he makes an excellent spy or diplomat for an adventuring party.

                  Sorcerers from Ravenloft
                  Sorcerers are born with inherent magical powers. Depending on one's point of view, this may be a fantastic gift or a wretched curse. As a rule, the denizens of Ravenloft are highly suspicious of any beings with inherent magical powers, viewing them as both more and less than human. Common folktales, however misguided, claim that sorcerers are changelings left by the fey, or reviled practitioners of witchcraft, or even that they gain their powers through trafficking with fiends. Sorcerers are known to be common among Vistani women; the spell lists of Vistani seers are almost exclusively drawn from the schools of divination and enchantment. Male Vistani who exhibit sorcerous powers are killed at once, lest they grow to become Dukkars.

                  No sorcerer asks to be born with magic in her blood, but adventurers who continue to advance in the class have chosen to further develop their talents. Even so, sorcerers are wise to reveal their magical gifts only to those they trust.

                  As supernatural anomalies themselves, sorcerers are often fascinated by other strange phenomena. Sorcerers frequently adventure to explore the world's unnatural mysteries, seeking to unravel the riddle of their own existence.

                  Sorcerers from Athas
                  Rarest of the spellcasting classes, sorcerers combine the flexibility of psions with the potentially devastating power of the wizard. The ability to become a sorcerer seems to occur randomly, and most of those who discover they have the gift do not reveal it to anyone.

                  Unlike wizards, who typically spend many years honing their craft, sorcerers generally gain their abilities suddenly, during adolescence. Without quite understanding the destructive power they wield, most youths who discover their latent sorcery find it exciting and cast the most powerful spells they can. They often learn the difference between preserving and defiling magic the hard way.

                  Because of the destruction wrought by defilers, and the difficulty in discovering who has the ability to cast sorcerous spells, every city-state has outlawed sorcery. Known and suspected sorcerers face execution. As a result, sorcerers have learned to hide their spellcasting, by masking their arcane gestures, whispering their verbal components, and hiding on their persons the strange materials and components they need to cast spells. Many attempt to pass themselves as psions, while bolder sorcerers carry a fake spellbook, knowing that the laws are slightly more lenient on wizards than on sorcerers.

                  Sorcerers from Cerilia
                  The lands of Cerilia are inherently magical, and "true" mages (sorcerers and wizards) have learned to harness the energy of the earth itself to create both wonders and terrors. Masters of such lore are rare throughout Cerilia and such mystics are figures of mystery and destiny. The common folk of Cerilia see little difference between the two classes and are prone to use either term to refer to any practitioner of the greater arts. Sorcerers and wizards are practitioners of greater ("true") magic. Although their methods of mastering this power differ, they both focus their power through a spiritual awareness of the power of the land itself. This awareness cannot be taught; it is a matter of heredity - true mages must be born with the stuff of magic in their veins. This awareness is exceedingly rare, only those of elven descent or blooded scions (whose ancestors were touched by the gods) have any hope of mastering the forces of greater magic.

                  Sorcerers from Eberron
                  In many worlds, sorcerers claim descent from dragons, insisting that the dragon blood in their veins is the source of their power. The sorcerers of Eberron likewise point to dragons as the source of their power, but they speak of cosmic dragons: Siberys, the Dragon Above; Khyber, the Dragon Below; and Eberron, the Dragon Between. They speak of dragons who have ascended to godhood: Revaillukh the Gold, Dolleirranasha the Red, Vallidarrath the Silver, and others. They point to the magical dragonmarks, and sometimes whisper about a prophecy carved in Draconic runes on the very bones of the world. Dragons are tied to the magic of the world-and sorcerers claim to wield the magic of dragons. Sorcerers in an Eberron campaign have a more mystical bent than in other worlds. Power is rarely their sole concern - rather, they seek some kind of union with the cosmic dragons.

                  Sorcerers from Faerūn
                  Sorcerers are (along with wizards) the foremost practitioners of what Faerūnians refer to as the Art, the study and application of arcane magic. The common folk of Faerūn see little difference between the rigorous studies of the wizard and the mysterious ways of the sorcerer., but in some lands a fierce rivalry exists between the two traditions. Many wizards regard sorcerers as inexpert practitioners of the Art and servants of sinister powers better left alone. Some sorcerers see wizards as arrogant and pompous, deliberately cloaking the Art in mummery and obtuse lore. Some areas of Faerūn are more tolerant than others of the presence of sorcerers. Aglarond, a forest kingdom ruled by the insuperable sorcerer-queen known as the Simbul, is perhaps the best example of such a place. Despite differing regional attitudes toward sorcerers, sorcerous talent seems to be spread nearly evenly through the world and the various races, with the exception of dwarven born before the Thunder Blessing. True to their tendency toward chaos over law, sorcerers worship all types of deities who have something to do with magic. Lathander, Shaundakul, Sune, Tempus, and Tymora are popular with adventuring sorcerers.

                  Sorcerers from Krynn
                  Sorcerers are spellcasters who can channel arcane energy without drawing power from the moons of magic. By extending their awareness into their surroundings, sorcerers tap into the arcane energies that were used to create Krynn itself and focus those energies into magical spells. Their art is called "primal sorcery" in contrast to the highly structured practice of wizardry and High Sorcery. After the War of Souls, with the return of the deities to Krynn, some sorcerers acknowledged and honored the gods of magic, while others repudiated them and the Orders of High Sorcery. Talent for sorcery can be found in nearly all of Ansalon's races, but most commonly in humans and half-elves. Kender generally lack the ability to summon the focused concentration necessary to cast arcane spells, but rare kender do have the ability to learn the basic principles of sorcery. Dwarves and gnomes are generally not interested in learning the arcane arts.

                  Sorcerers from Mystara
                  Mystara is one of the early D&D setting and was the default setting for products using the D&D Basic ruleset, which didn't originally support a sorcerer class. The terms sorcerer and wizard in Mystara sourcebook are generally synonymous, and usually refers to the mage class of earlier editions. It is likely that they would be treated on relative equal footing. Sorcerers can be found in most nations of Mystara, with a few exceptions. They would be very rare and oddities among the halflings and dwarves, but most common among the accursed modriswerg, the moulder dwarves. They are rare and only use their skills in secrets in the Hagiarchy of Hule. In this land, any "wrong-thinkers", which notably includes all arcane casters, may be put to death upon discovery. Sorcerers are common and part of the elite within the nations of the Alphatian Empire (now a floating continent in the Hollow World), the former Alphatian holdings remaining on the Known World, and the Principalities of Glantri.

                  Sorcerers from Oerth
                  As the Greyhawk setting was mainly detailed in pre 3rd edition-D&D products, the terms sorcerer and wizard in Greyhawk sourcebooks are generally synonymous, and usually refers to the mage class of earlier editions. Little is known of actual sorcerer societies on Oerth, however, 3rd edition Living Greyhawk Gazetter, does confirm the presence of sorcerers, as per the class. In the Rhennee culture, some women become sorcerers, "wise women" whose skills and knowledge make them the subtle masters of Rhennee society. In the March of Sterich, Her Magnitude, Resbin Dren Emondav, Marchioness of Sterich, Stewardess of the Great Western Gate is a known sorceress.

                  Sorcerers from Wildpsace
                  The innate power of the sorcerer marks him as one to be respected on any world. They tend to come from the less-civilized worlds, making humans, halflings, and half-elves more likely sorcerers than members of the other races. Neither dwarves nor half-orcs tend to have the force of personality needed for true sorcerous might, while elves tend more toward the cultivated pursuit of wizardry (though elven sorcerers are far from unknown).

                  Sources: D&D 3.5 Players Handbook, D&D 3.5 Players Handbook II, Eberron Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, Dragon Magazine 319, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net
                  « Last Edit: October 27, 2021, 01:08:35 PM by EO »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Barbarian
                  « Reply #8 on: October 08, 2021, 01:00:42 PM »
                  The Barbarian

                  From the frozen wastes of the north and the hellish jungles of the south come brave, even reckless, warriors. Civilized people call them barbarians or berserkers and suspect them of mayhem, impiety, and atrocities. These "barbarians," however, have proven their mettle and their value to those who would be their allies. To enemies who underestimated them, they have proved their cunning, resourcefulness, persistence, and mercilessness.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Adventuring is the best chance barbarians have of finding a place in a civilized society. They're not well suited to the monotony of guard duty or other mundane tasks. Barbarians also have no trouble with the dangers, the uncertainties, and the wandering that adventuring involves. They may adventure to defeat hated enemies. They also have a noted distaste for that which they consider unnatural, including undead, demons, and devils

                  Characteristics: The barbarian is an excellent warrior. Where the fighter's skill in combat comes from training and discipline, however, the barbarian has a powerful rage. While in this berserk fury, he becomes stronger and tougher, better able to defeat his foes and withstand their attacks. These rages leave him winded, and he has the energy for only a few such spectacular displays per day, but those few rages are usually sufficient. He is at home in the wild, and he runs at great speed.

                  Alignment: Barbarians are never lawful. They may be honorable, but at heart they are wild. This wildness is their strength, and it could not live in a lawful soul. At best, barbarians of chaotic alignment are free and expressive. At worst, they are thoughtlessly destructive.

                  Religion: Some barbarians distrust established religions and prefer an intuitive, natural relationship to the cosmos over formal worship. Others devote themselves to powerful deities, such as Kord (god of strength), Obad-Hai (god of nature), or Erythnul (god of slaughter). A barbarian is capable of fierce devotion to his god.

                  Background: Barbarians come from uncivilized lands or from barbaric tribes on the outskirts of civilization. A barbarian adventurer may have been lured to the settled lands by the promise of riches, may have escaped after being captured in his homeland and sold into "civilized" slavery, may have been recruited as a soldier, or may have been driven out of his homeland by invaders. Barbarians share no bond with each other unless they come from the same tribe or land. In fact, they think of themselves not as barbarians but as warriors.

                  Personality: All stand in awe at the berserker fury barbarians tap at will, enhancing their strength and toughness at the expense of reason. But what do cultured people know of the frozen wastes or hellish jungles that forged their earliest experiences? The cruel vicissitudes of growing up "savage" were normal to the character. When his older brother was lost on a bear hunt one day, and his younger sister died of disease in the howling dark late one night, how could he know that in other places, they might not have had to die? These and other experiences marked barbarians, and they stand apart from those born into the comforts of civilization.

                  One or both of the following character themes could apply to a barbarian:

                  Spoiler: show
                  Fearless: The character is made of stern stuff. He's not foolish, but he's not afraid to test his mettle and resourcefulness against any foe. If he is told a foe is beyond his ability to defeat, he needs more evidence than merely the claim. He does not boast but makes bold statements that echo his experiences and resolve. Once he is actually embroiled in a conflict, he prefers a quick, urgent battle cry. A battle cry is a yell intended to rally his allies while putting fear into the hearts of enemies.

                  Tattooed: The character's flesh is scribed with one or more pictures or symbols that signify his connection with the ancient principles of his barbarian past. One or more of the following tattoos adorn his body.

                  - Arrowhead: He wears this simple pointed tattoo on his forehead. He believes that it lends him alertness in his dealings, both in combat and in his perception of the lies others tell him. Most people are certainly distracted by it.

                  - Bear: Across his chest is tattooed a mighty bear, whose inexhaustible strength is his strength, and whose capacity to keep fighting even when sorely wounded is a quality he also possesses.

                  - Butterfly: This stylistically rendered winged thing is (the character claims) a butterfly, and he tells all who admire it that it signifies everlasting life.

                  - Circle: This tattooed open circle (or hoop) is the universal symbol of wholeness, female power, and infinity. If the character is female, she has this emblem tattooed on his forehead, and all who see it know that she is an avatar of the feminine spirit.

                  - Crossed Swords: The weapons the character chooses to wield say a lot about him, but they gain greater significance when their representations are tattooed upon his flesh. Such tattoos are tokens of good luck, and as long as they are visible, the character knows that he cannot suffer lasting defeat.

                  - Demon: By tattooing a demonic image on his chest (instead of a bear), the character indicates to others that he has no love for piety, shows no mercy to his enemies, and doesn't care the least bit for propriety.

                  - Dragon Scales: The character's cheeks are tattooed with radiant dragon scales, which indicate the position of authority that was his prior to leaving his savage land, or the chiefdom that awaits him when he one day returns to forge a mighty barbarian horde.

                  - Lightning: Jagged lines scribed down the character's lower jaw and neck represent bolts of swift lightning, and he believes their presence lends him swiftness of pace and possibly of thought.

                  - Mask: In lieu of other facial tattoos, the character has chosen to cover his face with a single tattoo representing a fierce animal or Krusk the Conqueror, barbarian warlord, monster, a nature spirit, or an ancestor. The character's tribal shaman convinced him that the application of such a painful and encompassing (and disfiguring!) tattoo would allow the character to more easily contact the spirit world and gain the power of the spirit or animal represented by the mask. Alternatively, the character was shunned or cast out by his tribe. The tattoo covering his face forever marks him as an outcast to his tribe, unworthy to associate with the people of his birth.

                  - Naga: Instead of snakes spiraling up his arms, the character has tattooed human-headed nagas! The nagas represent anarchy and indicate to others who understand the symbol that he follows no law but his own, civilization be damned.

                  - Snake: Tattooed snakes coil around the character's upper arms, simple but colorful. Their heads point toward the character's head, imparting their wisdom to him in spirit, if not in voice.

                  - Spider: On the palm of one of the character's hands, hidden in normal dealings with strangers, the tattoo of a night-dark spider lurks with five of its legs extending up onto the undersides of the character's fingers. To him (and others familiar with the symbology), the spider represents trickery and even death, though others might say treachery instead of trickery. When engaged in trickery (or treachery), it is the character's habit to reveal his open palm to the victim of his trick (or double-cross) as the nature of his action becomes apparent to them.

                  - Sun Rays: On the backs of the character's hands are tattooed the long rays of the golden sun. Just like he can count on the sun rising daily, people can count on him, as this tattoo signifies.

                  - Toad: The character believes that this minor tattoo he wears on one shoulder helps protect him from witchcraft, evil spells, and demonic influences.

                  Races: Human barbarians come from the distant wild lands on the edge of civilization. Most half-orc barbarians lived among orcs before abandoning them for human lands. Dwarf barbarians are rare, usually hailing from dwarven kingdoms that have fallen into barbarism as a result of recurrent war with goblinoids, orcs, and giants. Barbarians of other races are very rare. Among the brutal humanoids, barbarians are more common than fighters. Orcs and ogres are especially likely to be barbarians

                  Other classes: As people of the wild, barbarians are most comfortable in the company of rangers, druids, and clerics of nature deities, such as Obad-Hai or Ehlonna. Many barbarians admire the talents and spontaneity of bards, and some are enthusiastic lovers of music. Barbarians don't trust that which they don't understand, and that includes wizardry, which they call "book magic." They find sorcerers more understandable than wizards, but maybe that's just because sorcerers tend to be more charismatic. Monks, with their studied, practiced, deliberate approach to combat, sometimes have a hard time seeing eye to eye with barbarians, but members of these classes aren't necessarily hostile to each other. Barbarians have no special attitude toward fighters, paladins, clerics, or rogues

                  Role: A barbarian's typical primary role in a group of adventurers is as a front-line combat specialist. No other character can match his sheer toughness. He can also serve as a good scout, thanks to his speed, skill selection, and trap sense.

                  Barbarians from Ravenloft
                  Villages huddle in the frozen wastes of Vorostokov. Nomads wander the burning sands of the Amber Wastes. Tiny homesteads struggle to beat back the cyclopean forests of Verbrek. Life for the people of these communities is a daily struggle against unforgiving terrain. Their clans need hunters, warriors, and protectors - and the most powerful of these is the barbarian. Lone barbarians can also be found in other lands, where they live as solitary hermits or mountain men and avoid the noise of civilization.

                  Among the monstrous races, barbarians are believed to be relatively common among lycanthropes and the larger goblinoids.

                  Barbarians respect physical prowess above all else; they eschew the practiced combat techniques and "dirty tricks" of the fighter, seeking to win their battles through sheer force. Any education a barbarian receives comes from folktales heard at an elder's knee, so most barbarians are intensely superstitious. The Vos of Vorostokov, for example, believe that written words inherently contain evil magics.

                  The folk of more "enlightened" cultures view barbarians as uncouth at best or drunken berserkers at worst. Tales are whispered of unsuspecting travelers who fell afoul of inbred barbarian clans who would sell the pelts of anything they could catch.

                  Barbarians usually adventure to test their might, to gain power, or to protect their lands and family.

                  Barbarians from Athas
                  The two main sources of barbarian characters in the Dark Sun campaign are the slave tribes and hunter-gatherer cultures from beyond the Tablelands.

                  Slave tribes are groups of escaped slaves and their progeny; they live in the wastes between the city-states, desperately trying to eke out a living as they avoid recapture. Life among the slave tribes is brutal and frequently short. A barbarian character might be the sole survivor of a natural disaster, slaver attack, or predation by Athas's fearsome monsters. He or she might be exiled from the tribe after a dispute with the chieftain or tribal elders. Because barbarian tribes are generally nomadic, a particular barbarian might return from a long hunt or scouting expedition to simply find no trace of his or her tribe's encampment.

                  The forest ridges northwest of the Tyr region have some barbarian halfling tribes, and the Crimson Savannah further northwest is home to thri-kreen barbarians and tribes of other races. Due north of the Tablelands is the unknown; barbarian characters could hail from there as well. Unlike members of slave tribes, these barbarians will likely be unfamiliar with the customs and power structure of the city-states.

                  Barbarians from Cerilia
                  Barbarians of almost any race can be found wherever large tracts of wilderness remain unclaimed by civilization.

                  Barbarians from Eberron
                  Despite the advanced civilization that dominates Khorvaire, barbarians live in several places both on that continent and in nearby lands. Human, orc, and half-orc barbarians emerge from the Shadow Marches and Demon Wastes. Half ling barbarians ride the Talenta Plains. Human, half-elf, and shifter barbarians fill the Eldeen Reaches, though isolated groups of elf, dwarf, and even gnome barbarians live there as well. Darguun harbors some bugbear barbarians, and Droaam is home to barbarians of other monstrous species. Some of the wilder warforged that roam the Mournland take up the barbarian class as well.

                  Beyond Khorvaire, tribes of human barbarians live on the northern shore of Argonnessen and the nearby island of Seren, serving the dragons they revere. Finally, stories abound of children stranded in Xen'drik and raised by wild beasts or savage humanoids, giving rise to another source for barbarian characters.

                  Barbarians from Faerūn
                  Free of the comforts and constraints of civilization, barbarians survive in lands that civilized folk only dwell in when they can hide behind high walls. The cosmopolitan nature of some parts of Faerūn is confusing to barbarians, but city folk are used to odd sights and usually accept barbarians without batting an eye.

                  Most Faerūnian barbarians are humans or half-orcs. They come places such as the Cold Lands, the North, the High Moors, Rashemen, and tribes ranging across the Western Heartlands. Dwarven barbarians come from icy wastes of the north, the jungles of Chult, and hidden pockets in remote mountains and hills. Elven barbarians are usually wild elves from the warm southern forests, such as Wealdath ir the Chondalwood. The only known barbarian halfling tribes live deep in the Chondalwood, rarely venturing out of the forest's green embrace.

                  Barbarians of other races are unusual, but not unheard of. Half-elven barbarians are sometimes found among human tribes native to the North or in Western Heartlands, or in the Yuirwood where humans and elves lived together in the wild for generations. Drow, moon elven, sun elven, gnome, or planetouched barbarians are generally individuals who for some reason were raised among barbaric peoples.

                  Barbarians from Krynn
                  Either born in the wilds or rejecting the comfortable life of the city, barbarians are confused by the complex rules of civilized society and are never truly comfortable behind walls. Barbarians are tough and resilient survivors. They make fierce combatants, and are both valued and feared for their prowess in battle.

                  Barbarian worship is usually casual, though tribal clerics and druids command respect. Barbarians revere the deities of nature: Habbakuk, Chislev, or Zeboim, depending on their alignment.

                  Most barbarians in Ansalon are human nomads, Kagonesti elves, or ogres. Almost all other races produce occasional barbarians, with the exception of the gnomes of Mt. Nevermind. Even kender raised in wilder regions have been known to become fierce wilderness warriors.

                  Barbarians from Oerth
                  As in any other world, the term barbarian applies to any that doesn't conform to a certain perception of what is civilization. Actual barbarians can be found in any wilderness areas across Oerth, from Hepmonaland to the Amedio Jungle and including the Rovers of the Barrens. But in the Flanaess, the very first image that is conjured when one think of barbarians is that of the savage Suel barbarians of the Thillonrian Peninsula. This isolated, mountainous region at the northeastern edge of the Flanaess is home to rugged Schnai, Frutztii and Cruski, colloquially known as the Snow, Frost and Ice barbarians.

                  Barbarians from Wildspace
                  Barbarians still stalk the more savage reaches of every world, and some choose to venture from their tribe even into the depths of space. Human and halfling barbarians come from isolated tribes of Quelya. Dwarf barbarians might hail from refugee groups fleeing the conquest of their homeworld, while some gnome clans have devolved into barbarism over the centuries. The phrase elven barbarian is a contradiction in terms, as such a character is all but unthinkable, but a half-elf cast out of society at a young age might grow up as a barbarian. Half-orcs take naturally to the raging demeanor of the barbarian.

                  Sources: D&D 3.5 Players Handbook, D&D 3.5 Players Handbook II, Eberron Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net
                  « Last Edit: October 21, 2023, 04:19:27 PM by MAB77 »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Paladin
                  « Reply #9 on: October 09, 2021, 02:13:21 AM »
                  The Paladin

                  The compassion to put one's deity before oneself, the will to uphold divine creed, and the power to defeat heathens-these are the three weapons of the paladin. Few have the personality and devotion that it takes to walk the paladin's path, but those few are rewarded with the power to protect, to heal, and to smite. In a land where scheming wizards, ruthless priests, bloodthirsty dragons, and insidious outsiders walk, the paladin is the final hope that cannot be extinguished.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Paladins take their adventures seriously and have a penchant for referring to them as quests. Even a mundane mission is, in the heart of the paladin, a personal test-an opportunity to demonstrate bravery, to develop martial skills, to learn tactics, and to find ways to do good. Still, the paladin really comes into her own when leading a mighty campaign against evil, not when merely looting ruins.

                  Alignment: Paladins must be lawful good, and they lose their divine powers if they deviate from that alignment. Additionally, paladins swear to follow a code of conduct that is in line with lawfulness and goodness. The exact details of this code vary setting to setting, deity to deity.

                  Religion: Paladins who devote themselves to a single god will select a patron deity which support the causes of goodness and order. Though not all paladins need to devote themselves to a deity, sometimes devotion to righteousness is enough. On the server, the need or not to have a patron deity is dictated by the character's setting of origin. Paladins devoted to a god are scrupulous in observing religious duties and are welcome in every associated temple.

                  Quote from: Ravenloft PotM Server Rules
                  - If required by the setting of origin, paladins, rangers and druids must also possess a deity, or they will be unable to level up.

                  - Generally, paladins may not follow evil deities. However if the setting of origin explicitly supports such a concept, an application for an exception may be submitted to the DM Team for review.

                  Background: No one ever chooses to be a paladin. Becoming a paladin is answering a call, accepting one's destiny. No one, no matter how diligent, can become a paladin through practice. The nature is either within one or not, and it is not possible to gain the paladin's nature by any act of will. It is possible, however, to fail to recognize one's own potential, or to deny one's destiny. Occasionally, one who is called to be a paladin denies that call and pursues some other life instead.

                  Most paladins answer the call and begin training as adolescents. Typically, they become squires or assistants to experienced paladins, train for years, and finally set off on their own to further the causes of good and law. Other paladins, however, find their calling only later in life, after having pursued some other career. All paladins, regardless of background, recognize in each other an eternal bond that transcends culture, race, and even religion. Any two paladins, even from opposite sides of the world, consider themselves comrades.

                  Personality: Paladins have power over evil, given to them by their glorious, almighty deity. Their devotion and pure, unwavering desire provides strength that illuminates the darkest souls, saving some and punishing those that can't be redeemed. Their faith wards them from harm, inoculates them from fear, and gives them the hands of a healer - but their hands are equally dynamic on the hilt of an avenging sword pledged to divinity.

                  When wizard scheme, paladins pray. When dragons roar, they take up their sword, fearless. When devils from the Hells steal innocent souls, they respond with sacred vengeance and send them fleeing back to the pit whence they came.

                  One or more of the following character themes could apply to a paladin:
                  Spoiler: show
                  Bound in Honor: The character follows a strict code of honor. Whenever a situation arises that might touch upon his code, he voices the particular precept of his code, as if part of a prayer to his deity. In doing so, he hopes that others will be inspired by his good example, and perhaps begin to follow parts of the code themselves.

                  The character's code includes two or more of the following principles. He might enunciate additional principles not described here, depending on the deity or cause he serves.

                  "Before all else, a paladin is faithful."

                  The faith of a paladin requires no proof - it is a heartfelt knowledge that the goodness he does, or the evil he allows to flourish, is all that he takes from this world to the next.

                  "A paladin's valor is a measure of her faith."

                  When things begin to go bad, the character's valor proves itself. When knocked low, he gets up. He does not run from conflict if it can be won, and most especially, he never leaves compatriots to a fight that is his to win. Fear is something that only less valorous men and women experience.

                  "Humility in all things."

                  The character is modest regarding his own importance and always submits to his deity's will. He knows his place, but his place is important. He is not proud or arrogant, though he challenges the unenlightened with his creed.

                  "Patience outlasts all."

                  The character understands that it might take his entire life span to make a difference in the world - he doesn't hurry, he perseveres. He has the god-supported tenacity not to quit his tasks, once taken up.

                  "Loyalty to true friends, vengeance to betrayers and foes."

                  The character knows that strength flows from solidarity, and solidarity only comes when all trust each other. Defeating the evils that plague the world is possible if all are loyal. Those who betray loyalty must be dealt with swiftly.

                  "Benevolence is a balm to all souls."

                  A paladin is charitable and desires to safeguard others from influences that would destroy their innocence or end their lives. Benevolence is no less a tool of the paladin's deity than his sword.

                  "Integrity is the foundation on which all things of value are built."

                  The character adheres to the ethical and moral standards of his deity, acting in all ways as a beacon of truthfulness that others might emulate. His character and sense of self relies upon his honesty. How can one be truthful "to a fault"?

                  "Mercy for those that deserve mercy."

                  Sometimes even the righteous can stray from the true path, and thus the character must occasionally show compassion. However, mercy for unrepentant evildoers is tantamount to doing evil himself.

                  "Generosity is the left hand of [his deity]."

                  When he is willing to give of his wealth, or even more important, his time, he shows the real strength and depth of his belief in his deity. Only someone truly comfortable with her faith has the spiritual reserve to be generous.

                  Chivalrous: The character seeks to be a paragon of the concepts of justice and morality in behavior between people. As such, he is brave in battle, loyal to his deity, and willing to sacrifice himself for that belief (see Bound in Honor, above). Toward his fellows he is merciful, humble, and courteous.

                  Most important, he is gracious and gentle to those worthy of high regard, and he might even seek to court someone he admires. If that person is unavailable and married to someone else, especially if he or she is of higher status, his chivalry leads him into a type of "courtly love." He dedicates his life to the object of his affection, expressing his appreciation from afar through an intricate system of colors and ribbons worn on behalf of his beloved and favors done in his or her name. It's an elaborate dance, a game that the players freely enjoy without expectation of commitment.

                  "For the Lady who has my heart, I dedicate this quest."
                   "Leave this to me--honor commands that the final blow be mine."


                  Merciless: Do any deserve mercy? No. Leniency and compassion are words used to describe weak dealings toward those who have been judged and found wanting. This doesn't mean that the character seeks to kill all those who, in his judgment, are weak and faithless, but it does mean that such creatures do not deserve his respect.

                  "There is no mercy, there is only judgment."

                  Reverent: The character begins almost every utterance with a reference to his god.

                  "As the truth of [his deity] tells us . . ."
                  "If [his deity] allows . . .."
                  "In the name of [his deity], the beneficent, the merciful . . ."


                  If he does not begin an utterance with a reference to his deity, he wraps up with one.
                  ". . . as [his deity] commands."
                  ". . . may [his deity] light and guard me."
                  ". . . that all may know the wisdom and majesty of [his deity]."


                  Zealous: The character is a fervent servant of his deity. He is diligent in his duties, shows enthusiasm in performing them on his deity's behalf, and displays a powerful interest in anything related to his deity, whether it's support or opposition.

                  He shows his zeal to his friends and foes in one or more of the following ways.

                  - Exultant: The character is joyful and proud when he thinks of his deity, and is given to rejoicing and triumphal shouts.

                  - Disciple: The character knows the history of his deity, and those saints and other people important to his deity. He knows the trials and tribulations of his deity and/or his deity's saints, and he reenacts those trials in a yearly ceremony. Moreover, he dresses according to a strict interpretation of any doctrine his deity dispenses.

                  - Missionary: The character know with his gut that others would be happier if they worshiped his deity as he does. To this end he consistently (though not constantly-annoyance isn't a tool of conversion) exhorts friends and strangers to convert.

                  - Tattooed: The character has shaved his head and proudly displays a tattoo of his deity's holy symbol across his brow and naked head.

                  - Tract Giver: The character always carries with him several tracts that describe the glories of his deity, and passes these out (or leaves them to be found) wherever he thinks they'll do the most good. (To this end, he has an arrangement with a printer, or at least a letterist.) He is not a vocal missionary, preferring to work in more subtle ways.

                  "Consider the benefits that would be yours if you find grace with [his deity]-surety, confidence, and comradeship, at the very least!

                  Races: Humans, with their ambitious souls, make great paladins. Half-elves, who often have human ambition, may also find themselves called into service as paladins. Dwarves are sometimes paladins, but becoming a paladin may be hard on a dwarf because it means putting the duties of the paladin's life before duties to family, clan, and king. Elf paladins are few, and they tend to follow quests that take them far and wide because their lawful bent puts them out of synch with life among the elves. Members of the other common races rarely hear the call to become paladins. Among the savage humanoids, paladins are all but unheard of.

                  Other Classes: Even though paladins are in some ways set apart from others, they eagerly team up with those whose skills and capabilities complement their own. They work well with good and lawful clerics, and they appreciate working with those who are brave, honest, and committed to good. While they cannot abide evil acts by their companions, they are otherwise willing to work with a variety of people quite different from themselves. Charismatic, trustworthy, and well respected, the paladin makes a fine leader for a team.

                  Role: The paladin's chief role in most groups is as a melee combatant, but she contributes other useful support as well. She makes a good secondary healer, and her high Charisma opens up fine leadership opportunities

                  Paladins from Ravenloft
                  No one in Ravenloft simply decides to become a paladin. They are extremely rare, the chosen ones of divine forces, selected for their spiritual purity. These divine forces imbue paladins with holy powers, appointing them to champion the meek and deliver justice to the forces of darkness. Paladins tend to see Good and Evil as living, elemental forces that should be easily divided into black and white. Of course, true paladins understand the difference between the pure, unremitting evil of a vampire and the misguided wrongs of a drunken bully, and they react appropriately. Paladins blinded by hubris quickly
                  become servants of the Dark Powers.

                  The divine forces that grant a paladin her special abilities are as faceless as the Dark Powers themselves - in fact, they may well be the Dark Powers. Evidence exists, however, that paladins are an aberration in the grand tapestry the Dark Powers have woven for themselves. Paladins posses extensive, powerful gifts in their personal life-quest against the forces of evil, but in many ways the deck seems stacked against them. The Dark Powers may seek to destroy paladins in their realm, or it may be that the Dark Powers are enraptured with the potential paladins hold, and they simply provide them with fitting challenges.

                  Paladins native to Ravenloft usually ascribe their divine powers to the prevailing deities of their homeland. They almost never adventure simply for the pursuit of lucre or personal gain: they seek out and battle evil because they know it is the right thing to do.

                  It is the rare paladin indeed who dies of old age in Ravenloft; many become fatalistic as they proceed through life, knowing that the examples they leave after their deaths will be as important as the actions they took in life.

                  Paladins from Athas
                  Like the monk, a paladin relies on her discipline to make sense of a chaotic world. While others might panic when faced by some new and unexpected threat bursting from the sands, the paladin quickly assesses the situation and forms a plan of action.

                  Athasian paladins don't worship any particular god, but they have a strong and unbending belief in the supremacy of law and goodness.

                  Paladins are extremely rare in Athas for several reasons. The idea of serving good and right for the simple rewards of inner peace and faith faded from the barren world of Athas long ago. Also, the harsh nature of the desert world puts a high premium on flexibility and adaptability, neither of which the paladin is particularly known for. In addition, dragon-kings take umbrage at a paladin's unerring goodness and continuous striving for the freedom of city-states from the tyranny of dragon-kings. Finally, most paladins are loners, as many beings in Athas can't reconcile the needs of survival with the paladin's stubborn adherence to a strict code of morality.

                  Paladins from Cerilia
                  Cerilian paladins must be devoted to a specific patron deity, chosen at the start of their career as paladins. No paladin may serve just a cause, philosophy, or other abstract source of divine power. Only the gods Haelyn, Avani, Cuiraécen, Nesirie, and Moradin accept paladins into their service. All paladins must serve one of these five deities.

                  Paladins are recognized as knights throughout Cerilia, and bear the responsibilities for behaving as such. Paladins of Haelyn bear additional privilege and responsibility as they are traditionally recognized as having the power to travel wherever and do whatever they must to execute Haelyn's justice.

                  Paladins from Eberron
                  Paladins, like clerics, are the knights of the churches, most particularly the Church of the Silver Flame and, to a lesser extent, the churches of Dol Arrah and Boldrei. Paladins are called to a strict and exalted life, and are mystically held to a higher standard than even clerics. A cleric of the Church of the Silver Flame can fall into heresy or even adopt an evil alignment and still retain all his abilities, but a paladin must rise above the corruption that plagues almost every church and cling to the highest ideals of her faith. In a place such as Sharn, in particular, where the churches are so rife with corruption, paladins arise to bring justice to the people.

                  Paladins from Faerūn:
                  Paladins in this setting must worship a deity serve various churches often as exemplars of the faith or as warriors of the various goodly or lawful gods. The exact purpose of these holy warriors is dependent on their faith, such as paladins of Mystra protecting blossoming spellcasters and guiding them to goodly use of magic, or the paladins of Ilmater seeking out and eliminating those that cause suffering such as the clergy of Loviatar. Typical gods that take on paladins include: Azuth, Bahamut, Chauntea, Helm, Ilmater, Kelemvor, Mystra, Jergal, Lathander, Moradin, Torm, or Tyr. Despite the lawful good nature of paladins, some chaotic good deities are known to host paladins, such as Selūne or Sune.

                  Paladins from Krynn:
                  Paladins are rare in the Dragonlance setting, but not entirely unheard of. The Knights of Solamnia usually take the place of knightly champions of good in a Dragonlance campaign, but paladins of the gods of good, especially of Habbakuk, Kiri-Jolith or Paladine, do rise from time to time.

                  Paladins from Oerth:
                  Many knightly orders of the Flanaess count paladins in their ranks. They form the core of the Knights of Holy Shielding and figures as members of the Knights of the Watch. King Belvor IV of Furyondy and Duke Arnon Orberend of Nyrond are themselves paladins, and many champions of good can be found in their lands. Deities such as Heironeous, god of valor, Mayaheine, goddess of justice, Pholtus, Oeridian god of light, and Pelor, the Flan god of light are all patrons of paladins.

                  Paladins from Wildspace:
                  In a setting so beset with darkness, the role of the paladin has never been more needed. Though many dwarf paladins fell in battle against the illithids, no small number still remain vigilant against evil. Paladins among the humans , gnomes and halflings often serve as community protectors. Perhaps sadly, one of the few commonalities between the elves and half-orcs is their lack of use for the paladin's code of ethics. The special abilities of paladins are bestowed by deities of law and good.

                  Sources: D&D 3.5 Players Handbook, D&D 3.5 Players Handbook II, Eberron Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net
                  « Last Edit: October 17, 2021, 02:17:07 PM by EO »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Rogue
                  « Reply #10 on: October 09, 2021, 07:41:51 PM »
                  The Rogue

                  Rogues share little in common with each other. Some are stealthy thieves. Others are silver-tongued tricksters. Still others are scouts, infiltrators, spies, diplomats, or thugs. What they share is versatility, adaptability, and resourcefulness. In general, rogues are skilled at getting what others don't want them to get: entrance into a locked treasure vault, safe passage past a deadly trap, secret battle plans, a guard's trust, or some random person's pocket money.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Rogues adventure for the same reason they do most things: to get what they can get. Some are after loot; others want experience. Some crave fame; others seek infamy. Quite a few also enjoy a challenge. Figuring out how to thwart a trap or avoid an alarm is great fun for many rogues.

                  Characteristics: Rogues are highly skilled, and they can concentrate on developing any of several categories of skills. While not equal to members of many other classes in combat, a rogue knows how to hit where it hurts, and she can dish out a lot of damage with a sneak attack. Rogues have a sixth sense when it comes to avoiding danger. Experienced rogues develop mystical powers and skills as they master the arts of stealth, evasion, and sneak attacks. In addition, while not capable of casting spells on their own, rogues can "fake it" well enough to cast spells from scrolls, activate wands, and use just about any other magic item.

                  Alignment: Rogues follow opportunity, not ideals. They are more likely to be chaotic than lawful, they are a diverse bunch, so they may be of any alignment

                  Religion: Although they are not renowned for their piety, most rogues revere Olidammara (god of thieves). Evil rogues might secretly worship Nerull (god of death), or Erythnul (god of slaughter). Since rogues are so diverse, however, many of them worship other deities, or none at all.

                  Background: Some rogues are officially inducted into an organized fellowship of rogues or "guild of thieves." Some are self-taught; others learned their skills from independent mentors. Often, an experienced rogue needs an assistant for scams, second-story jobs, or just for watching her back. She recruits a likely youngster, who then learns the skills of the trade on the job. Eventually, the trainee is ready to move on, perhaps because the mentor has run afoul of the law, or perhaps because the trainee has double-crossed her mentor and needs some "space." Rogues do not see each other as fellows unless they happen to be members of the same guild or students of the same mentor. In fact, rogues trust other rogues less than they trust anyone else. They're no fools.

                  Personality: The world owes the rogue a living. They are the ultimate opportunist, keeping their eyes open for the next big chance to come their way. Fortune favors the bold, and while they might not always fight with noteworthy valor, they certainly have the boldest of aspirations. They are tricksters, rapscallions, scoundrels. They don't fight fair, and if they can help it, they don't fight at all. Stealth, guile, and daring are their weapons. Why fight when another act of daring-such as an impossible climb or a brazen bluff-might serve to help them pass an obstacle and deliver the prize into their hands?

                  One or more of the following themes could apply to a rogue:

                  Spoiler: show

                  Braggart: The character has a true gift for self-aggrandizement and letting her mouth run away from her. Sometimes this can lead to trouble, but let's face it: Anyone as clever, quick, and good-looking as her should be renowned for her deeds, and shouldn't knuckle under in the face of so-called authority. If some jumped-up constable or high so-called noble doesn't like the way she carries herself, it's his problem, not hers. He probably wishes he had half her charm and style.

                  The character takes every opportunity to insult, belittle, and deride her enemies. What better way to show off her wit and inventiveness, while entertaining her friends? Don't let a combat pass without a quip.

                  "Are you trying to kill me with your axe or your breath, you malodorous fiend?"
                  "Hey, you dried-up old husk of a wizard! You wanted to live forever looking like that?"
                  "Where's the evil plan? Come on, you've got to have an evil plan! How can you call yourself a crazed cultist if you don't have an evil plan?"


                  Common-Born Hero: The character views herself as a champion of the people, fighting against injustice and tyranny with a sly sense of humor, a larcenous streak, and an intuitive grasp of the art of derring-do. She can't stand to let a bully go unpunished, and most monsters and villains are nothing more than particularly big and scary bullies.

                  While she is certainly happy to profit from her adventures, she lives for the gratitude and appreciation of the common folk. Returning a stolen treasure to its rightful owner - especially an owner who is otherwise impoverished - is more satisfying than simply enriching herself. Even if it's difficult to part with a hard-won prize, she trusts that suitable rewards will follow when she does the right thing. She doesn't have to give away everything she finds, but she should see to it that her successful adventures help as many people as possible.

                  "Madam, why so sad? Here, take this gold coin and buy your family a feast!"
                  "I swear on the blood of my mother, there will be justice in this town!"


                  Skulk: The character is an artist, not a common thief. She is a bold and daring warrior, but instead of putting her faith in ironmongery and clumsy charges, she seeks victory in the shadows. She has no battle cry or trademark move - she doesn't want to be seen or heard before she strikes. Some might question her courage, but none can doubt her effectiveness.

                  The character is rarely loud or boastful; she knows what she can do, and that's the only measure that counts. She finds it easier to speak little and hear much, keeping her opinions to herself. When she does voice an opinion, she tends to be terse and offer little or no explanation.

                  "I'll take care of the sentries."
                  "Give me ten minutes to get into position before the rest of you storm in."
                  "Five ogres ahead-two sleeping, three more awake. I don't want to leave them behind us."


                  Specialist: The character is a consummate professional. Master of a set of rare and valuable skills, she views adventures as jobs - nothing more and nothing less. She doesn't accompany parties to test herself against ferocious monsters or to halt the depredations of murderous villains. She goes along for her fair cut of the loot, and she has no use for the thickheaded heroics of muscle-bound sword swingers or crusading zealots. If she winds up in a fight, she probably bungled the job.

                  The character keeps notes on various obstacles she encounters, especially the ones she can't get around or through on her first try. Someday she is going to go back with the right tools (or perhaps a little more training) and defeat each and every one. She can be opinionated, and she believes that most obstacles can be overcome through the use of her special skills. She is confident and pragmatic.

                  "I never met a lock I couldn't open."
                  "Better let me go first. Otherwise someone's likely to get killed."
                  "Hmmmph. Goblin-work. Shoddy."

                  Races: Adaptable and often unprincipled, humans take to the rogue's life with ease. Halflings, elves, and half-elves also find themselves well suited to the demands of the career. Dwarf and gnome rogues, while less common, are renowned as experts with locks and traps. Half-orc rogues tend toward thuggery. Rogues are common among brutal humanoids, especially goblins and bugbears. Rogues who learn their arts in savage lands, however, generally don't have much experience with complex mechanisms such as traps and locks.

                  Other Classes: Rogues love and hate working with members of other classes. They excel when protected by warriors and supported by spellcasters. There are plenty of times, however, that they wish everyone else was as quiet, guileful, and patient as they. Rogues are particularly wary of paladins, so they endeavor to prove themselves useful when contact with paladins is unavoidable.

                  Role: The rogue's role in a group can vary dramatically based on her skill selection-from charismatic con artist to cunning burglar to agile combatant-but most rogues share certain aspects. They aren't capable of prolonged melee combat, so they focus on opportunistic sneak attacks or ranged attacks. The rogue's stealth and her trap finding ability make her one of the best scouts in the game.

                  Rogues from Ravenloft
                  Like fighters, rogues are an "everyman" hero, lacking any supernatural gifts. Where the fighter prefers confrontation, however, the rogue prefers to solve problems through intellect and guile. A rogue knows that there's no point in battling a chamber full of zombies if you can find the secret passage that bypasses them. With their extensive expertise in skills and their impressive bag of tricks, rogues can be invaluable when creeping through ancient tombs or interacting with suspicious NPCs. Rogues are commonly associated with thieves and tricksters, but they can just as easily be explorers, investigators, or even a mere - if sharp-witted - townsperson.

                  Rogues often adventure in the name of personal gains; they like to know "what's in it for them". The rewards a rogue fights for may be wealth or political power, but a rogue is just as likely to adventure to ensure the safety of a loved one or to gain the satisfaction of a mystery solved.

                  Rogues from Athas
                  Athas is a world of intrigue and treachery, of shady deals and secretive organizations—it's a rogue's paradise. Beyond the cities, among the wasteland tribes and villages, thieves live by their wits. Within the secure walls of the city states, many typically roguish occupations have become institutions unto themselves. Rogues have become pawns of the wealthy, deployed in deadly games of deceit between noble families.

                  They may come from all walks of life: slave, freeman, merchant, and noble. Many caravan masters working for one of Athas’s merchant houses are mid- to high-level rogues, and most senior members of the merchant class have at least some levels in the rogue class. Those who take valuable cargoes along the dangerous roads of Athas have to be shrewd bargainers, astute wilderness guides, and trained combatants.

                  Every city-state has one or more thieves’ guilds, although they’re circumspect enough to avoid the attention of the dragon-king. From their well-hidden lairs, the thieves’ guilds often run the black market in everything from arcane spell components to illegal drugs and poisons. Many members are accomplished burglars and bandits, surrendering a percentage of their ill-gotten gains in exchange for the guild’s protection and support. Thieves’ guilds also fence stolen goods, often selling them to less scrupulous merchant houses whose caravans then spirit the loot out of the city-state.

                  Rogues from Cerilia
                  In Cerilia, rogues are as often merchants and diplomats as thieves, a distinction often lost on those who have come out on the losing end of a mercantile transaction. Rogues are everywhere in Cerilia, but no one necessarily expects them to be thieves. Depending on their skills and inclinations, rogues may represent themselves as courtiers, scouts, sailors, or even merchant princes.

                  Rogues from Eberron
                  Rogues are found in every city, town, and village in Eberron, though most common criminals are experts or warriors. Rogues often head criminal organizations, work as spies, or serve as diplomats. Other rogues work to solve crimes either as freelance inquisitives or inquisitive agents of church or crown. A few put their skills to work hunting for treasure in ancient ruins.

                  Rogues from Faerūn
                  In Faerūn, rogues are as often diplomats and thieves, a distinction often lost on those who have come out on the losing end of a diplomatic negotiation. Rogues are everywhere in Faerūn, but no one necessarily expects them to be thieves. Depending on their skills and inclinations, rogues may represent themselves as treasure-finders, tomb-breakers, investigators, spies, bounty hunters, thief-catchers, scouts, or-most commonly-as "adventurers."

                  While it's true that not every rogue is a thief, it's also true that many rogues are. Thieves' guilds are common in Faerūn. Some, such as the Shadow Thieves of Amn or the Night Masks of Westgate, are powerful enough to dictate orders to kings and lords, and ruthless enough to enforce their edicts through intimidation, terror, and outright murder. Most guilds are short-lived local organizations that rise in a particular city or along a busy trade route, the creation of charismatic or powerful individual capable of holding such a guild together.

                  Rogues from Krynn
                  Rogues in Krynn may be thieves, troubleshooters, jacks-of-all-trades, or scouts. Thieves are more commonly found in large cities where the pickings are better than in rural areas and thieves' guilds provide support and protection.

                  Rogues from Oerth
                  The rogues of Flanaess find themselves with many prospects. From working with the dictator of Rookroost to the newly formed Knights of Dispatch that are sworn to hunting nonhumans. Even the Mouqollad Consortium employs rogues though they are barred from leadership positions.

                  Rogues from Wildspace
                  The rogue truly comes into her own in Spelljammer, whether as a wily thief, canny scout, or crafty con artist. Endless treasures lie in hidden ruins, and equal possibilities for wealth sit in the bellies of spelljamming ships soaring through space. Members of all races, from burly half-orc to the refines elf, find vast opportunities in the life of the rogue, but perhaps none more than the sly halfling.

                  Sources: D&D 3.5 Players Handbook, D&D 3.5 Players Handbook II, Eberron Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net
                  « Last Edit: October 12, 2021, 02:08:51 PM by MAB77 »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Bard
                  « Reply #11 on: October 10, 2021, 04:10:56 AM »
                  The Bard

                  It is said that music has a special magic, and the bard proves that saying true. Wandering across the land, gathering lore, telling stories, working magic with his music, and living on the gratitude of his audience-such is the life of a bard. When chance or opportunity draws them into a conflict, bards serve as diplomats, negotiators, messengers, scouts, and spies. A bard's magic comes from the heart. If his heart is good, a bard brings hope and courage to the downtrodden and uses his tricks, music, and magic to thwart the schemes of evildoers. If the nobles of the land are corrupt, the good bard is an enemy of the state, cunningly evading capture and raising the spirits of the oppressed. But music can spring from an evil heart as well. Evil bards forego blatant violence in favor of manipulation, holding sway over the hearts and minds of others and taking what enraptured audiences "willingly" give.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Bards see adventures as opportunities to learn. They practice their many skills and abilities, and they especially relish the opportunity to enter a long-forgotten tomb, to discover ancient works of magic, to decipher old tomes, to travel to strange places, to encounter exotic creatures, and to learn new songs and stories. Bards love to accompany heroes (and villains), joining their entourage to witness their deeds firsthand-a bard who can tell a marvelous story from personal experience earns renown among his fellows. Indeed, after telling so many stories about heroes doing mighty deeds, many bards take these themes to heart and assume heroic roles themselves.

                  Characteristics: A bard brings forth magic from his soul, not from a book. He can cast only a small number of spells, but he can do so without selecting or preparing them in advance. His magic emphasizes charms and illusions over the more dramatic evocation spells that wizards and sorcerers often use. In addition to spells, a bard works magic with his music and poetry. He can encourage allies, hold his audiences rapt, and counter magical effects that rely on speech or sound. Bards have some of the skills that rogues have, although bards they are not as focused on skill mastery as rogues are. A bard listens to stories as well as telling them, of course, so he has a vast knowledge of local events and noteworthy items.

                  Alignment: Bards are wanderers, guided by whim and intuition rather than by tradition or law. The spontaneous talent, magic, and lifestyle of the bard are incompatible with a lawful alignment.

                  Religion: Bards revere Fharlanghn (god of roads). They sometimes camp near his wayside shrines, hoping to earn some coin from the travelers who stop to leave offerings for the god. Many bards, even those who are not elves, worship Corellon Larethian, god of elves and patron of poetry and music. Many good bards are partial to Pelor (god of the sun), believing that he watches over them in their travels. Bards given to chaos and occasional larceny favor Olidammara (god of thieves). Those who have turned to evil ways are known to worship Erythnul (the god of slaughter), though few will admit to it. In any event, bards spend so much time on the road that, while they may be devoted to a deity, they are rarely devoted to any particular temple.

                  Background: An apprentice bard learns his skills from a single experienced bard, whom he follows and serves until he is ready to strike out on his own. Many bards were once young runaways or orphans, befriended by wandering bards who became their mentors. Since bards occasionally congregate in informal colleges," the apprentice bard may meet many of the more prominent bards in the area. Still, the bard has no strong allegiance to bards as a whole. In fact, some bards are highly competitive with other bards, jealous of their reputations and defensive about their territories.

                  Personality: The character roams the bright kingdoms and less savory regions of the world alike, amassing lore, negotiating tricky deals, scouting, gambling, spying, relaying messages, and telling epic stories. He works magic with his music, influencing the hearts and minds of both friends and foes. In the end, the best stories end up being about him.

                  One or more of the following character themes could apply to a bard:
                  Spoiler: show
                  Military Historian: This character theme requires the character to have at least one rank in Lore. He is a student of conflict, an expert on the subject of the famous battles between prehistoric tribes, ancient militaries, and modern armies between kings and necromancers. Now and then, he regales his friends with snippets of these histories. He finds it all so interesting that he knows everyone else would feel the same way, if only they were exposed to the sagas.

                  "We could learn something from the Battle of Rakdar, fought three hundred years ago. When the army of King Yria encountered an allied army of eight kings at Rakdar, it was utterly decimated by the much larger force. King Yria learned the value of alliances then."
                  "The Battle of Ceschremi sent ten thousand warriors to their graves, because reinforcements didn't arrive when Emperor Drezzar ordered. Over the years, his generals had taken the money meant to keep reinforcements at the ready and instead bought fine mansions for themselves in the countryside. Those were later burned by the Ceschremi army, which advanced unopposed."

                  Negotiator: In some groups, the character's diplomatic skills will exceed those of all his friends. To be a good negotiator, he must be fair, but stern. While the Influence skill provides the mechanical resolution of a scene, DMs enjoy hearing the gist of his negotiating points as a precursor to attempting the skill check. Really, it's all about the "spin." With the proper spin, even a three-day-dead orc can be made to sound enticing. For example, if the character is attempting to explain to a city official why his group was responsible for so much destruction in a recent street altercation, he might say: "Your honor, consider the devastation that would have otherwise been wrought. Consider the buildings unburnt, lives saved, and money still safely in coffers precisely because of our actions!"

                  On the other hand, if he is trying to trade in an unneeded magic weapon for some other trifle that he or a friend would prefer, the character could say: "Your eyes miss nothing, madam, but of course you couldn't know that this blade was once the boyhood dagger of the playwright Isheuan. Indeed, his honeyed words are a delight to all. And this blade was grasped in that same hand that also takes so ably to the pen. Consider its value now!"

                  Riddlemaster: The character absorbs stories, but he collects riddles. A good riddle is a treasure in itself, and "a thorough knowledge of riddles keeps the intellect flexible and sharp," as he is fond of saying. More than that, a knowledge of riddles can prove useful in negotiations with certain enigmatic beasts, prideful kings, or any foe whose conceit compels it to agree to test of riddles to resolve a dispute. Every bard knows at least a few riddles. Beyond these beginning few, he is constantly on the lookout for more, whether through research in dusty tomes, or by riddling with strangers and friends, ally or foe, even when there is nothing at stake. In this way, the character is able to collect ever more riddles for his growing repertoire. He is also adroit at creating his own riddles.

                  How To Write A Riddle: Use three rules when writing a riddle.
                  1) Pick a word or phrase as the answer to the riddle.
                  2) Turn the word or phrase over and over in your head, free-associating and making note of any unusual or off-the-wall idea that comes to mind.
                  3) Come up with clues about these ideas you've just generated.
                  Put it all together, tidy it up, and you might have just created a riddle that will last the ages. 

                  Spy: Even if the character doesn't have a commission, he can play up the fact that he might be working under official authority - after all, he's (supposedly) done so in the past. The character would purchase a leather-bound journal, and keeps copious notes about all his surroundings, exploits, and the doings of his acquaintances. At some later point, his habits could reveal an important clue that was missed earlier. To prevent anyone else from gleaning the same information, he keeps this journal in a cipher.

                  A cipher is a way to record information in such a way that it is obscured to those without special knowledge. In most cases, this special knowledge is a key (for simple ciphers) that provides the necessary insight for rearranging letters into their proper order or otherwise rendering a message legible. If the character ends up actually acting as a spy for a merchant guild, temple, or other organization, you can pass a note every few sessions to the DM using a simple cipher - assuming the DM aids you in this endeavor. One of the simplest ciphers replaces each letter of the alphabet with a different letter that is a certain number of letters away. For instance, if the cipher is "letter +1" (replace each letter with the one that follows it in the alphabet), then the message "J bn b tqz," when decrypted, reads "I am a spy."

                  Storyteller: The character is a repository of stories both ancient and contemporary. From the wealth of stories at his disposal, the lessons of history and adages of past bards and sages are at his fingertips. The character could use this knowledge to his advantage when he wishes to influence an ally's (or foe's) opinion about something, such as a plan of action or a proposed agreement. By preceding his point with a reference to a story (real or made up), he lends additional weight to the point he makes immediately afterward. Most sentient creatures feel the pressure of precedent of others' past experience on a similar matter, even if he's invented the story on the spot (as long as they don't know he's making it up). Of course, it's better if he actually has a story, or a piece of history told as a story, in mind before he attempts this tactic. For example, when confronted with a particular thorny problem, especially if he sees a solution, he could stroke his chin and say: "This reminds me of the time Prince Voltred tried to enter his falcon in the archery contest. Funny thing about that...".

                  Or, when the character disagrees with a conclusion, he could say: "The slave Medricar thought the same thing, when he once escaped his master to live in the forest. He figured he could survive on the wild herbs and honey he would find. Good thing he changed his mind...."

                  Or, when he believes not enough forethought has gone into an ally's proposed course of action: "Might work, yes, but you remember Darvn, who rushed into the Cave of the Yellow Skull? If he had just watched a little longer, he'd have seen the giant sleeping behind the stone."

                  Races: Bards are commonly human, gnome, elf, or half-elf. Humans take well to the wandering life and adapt easily to new lands and customs. Gnomes have a sense of humor and trickery that lends itself to a bardic career. Elves are talented in music and magic, so the career of the bard comes naturally to them. A bard's wandering ways suit many half-elves, who often feel like strangers even when at home. Half-orcs, even those raised among humans, find themselves
                  ill suited to the demands of a bard's career. There are no bardic traditions among dwarves, or halflings, though occasional individuals of these races find teachers to train them in the ways of the bard. Bards are exceedingly rare among the savage humanoids.

                  Other Classes: A bard works well with companions of other classes. He often serves as the spokesman of the party, using his social skills for the party's benefit. In a party without a wizard or sorcerer, the bard contributes his magic. In a party without a rogue, he uses his skills. A bard is curious about the ways of more focused or dedicated adventurers, so he often tries to pick up pointers from fighters, sorcerers, and rogues.

                  Role: The bard is perhaps the ultimate generalist. In most adventuring groups, he works best in a supporting role. He can't usually match the stealth of the ranger or the rogue, the spellcasting power of the cleric or the wizard, or the combat prowess of the barbarian or the fighter. However, he makes all the other characters better at what they do, and he can often fill in for another character when needed. For a typical group of four characters, the bard is perhaps the most useful fifth character to consider adding, and he can make a great team leader.

                  Bards from Ravenloft
                  Bards tend to hail from more civilized lands, where travel is easiest and audiences are most receptive. Bards in Ravenloft may take the form of traveling storytellers who offer news of distant lands, often in highly embellished form, for a hot meal and a few coins. In some cases, bards are tortured performers whose talent is barely distinguishable from their madness. These bards maintain their fragile grip on sanity by channeling their feverish imaginations into their art - and into the forces of magic. Bards are also commonly associated with Vistani entertainers - particularly those of the Boem tasque - who entrance audiences with their swirling dances and the frenzied music of their violins.

                  Many bards, regardless of birthplace, aspire to study at the famed bardic colleges of Kartakass. For a bard, little in life yields more prestige than to be admitted to the Harmonic Hall or to perform in Harmonia's amphitheater.

                  Bards are restless creatures who wander from one audience to the next. As such, their calling often appeals to those who lack communal ties, such as half-elves or giogoto.

                  Bards from Athas
                  While rare, bards do exist on Athas in small, well-organized groups known as troupes. Most bard troupes make their members wealthy not by their frequent performances in the service of nobles and templars, but in their clandestine operations.

                  As arcane spellcasters with various other abilities, bards work hard to cover their magical abilities with their performances. Spending their lives hiding behind the faēade of simple performers, bards learn the intricacies and techniques of covert activities, and as such make excellent spies and assassins. Bards try to keep their abilities secret, despite their fame and familiarity among nobles. Thus, the bard class is relatively unknown by most residents of Athas, as they are seen as mere performers.

                  Bards from Cerilia
                  Cerilian bards are students of the ancient elven art of spellsong. The first human bards were human magicians that were taught the secrets of the spellsong by elves sent to the human tribes (shortly after their arrival in Cerilia) to teach and learn from their new neighbors. The disciples of these elves founded colleges to teach, study, and improve the use of this lore.

                  Bards from Eberron
                  Bards usually don't end up as wandering minstrels or street performers - any expert with a Perform skill can fill that role. Instead, some bards use their magical abilities to unearth ancient lore, while others use their interpersonal skills and bardic music to advance their careers as spies, ambassadors, diplomats, and chroniclers. As such, bards find employ as adventurers, as well as in governments and among the mercantile houses. Zilargo produces a large number of bards, since the gnomes' love of knowledge makes them particularly well suited to this class. In other areas, bards appear most often in the large cities and towns throughout Breland, Karrnath, Thrane, and (particularly) Aundair. Bards with wilder ties are found in the Eldeen Reaches, particularly among the druid sect of the Greensingers.

                  Bards from Faerūn
                  Faerūnian bards are as likely to create their own heroic sagas as they are to sing of others' exploits. In both the Dalelands and the wilderness of the North, a semisecret society known as the Harpers recruits courageous bards of good alignments to carry on a millennia-old fight against evil. While not all bards are Harpers, the noble deeds of this group have given bards something of a heroic glow that they might not have in other worlds. Good bards who are not Harpers often carry themselves as if they were, a type of self-fulfilling prophecy that frequently causes common folk to look to bards for more than a good song.

                  Bards from Krynn
                  Astinus and the Order of Aesthetics are the historians of Ansalon, but bards are the common folk's source of news, gossip, and entertainment. Their songs and poetry become part of the lore and folk knowledge of the land, bringing history's heroes and villains to life, telling stories that touch the lives of those who hear them. Bards of good alignment revere Branchala, who teaches them to create beautiful music and poetry to lighten the spirits of those in need and to preserve the legacy of the champions of good. Neutral bards serve Gilean. They focus on the lore of Krynn, from obscure knowledge to commonplace news. The bards of evil worship Hiddukel, using their glib tongues to spread lies, make false deals, and advance their personal status and wealth. Though they worship these deities, bards are arcane spellcasters who make use of primal sorcery. The gift of magical music is usually found among those races with appreciation for art and culture, though even the savage races may have individuals whose chants and drumming produce miraculous effects.

                  During the Age of Dreams, bards who followed the teachings of Gilean established formal centers of training and learning. Some of these "colleges" survived in later ages. A small bardic college still thrives in the city of Sanction. The school admits no more than ten students at a time, who embark upon a six-year study in which they memorize hundreds of legends, songs, and epic poems. They learn different musical instruments and study forms of oratory and argument. Every twelve years, the Master Bards at the college convene to update the curriculum, which includes removing legends and songs too widespread to attract attention, as well as absorbing new works that have since found favor in the populace. A similar school in Lancton was established in the early Age of Despair and has continued to accept students to the present day. Many bards reject the idea of formalized education in such matters and simply learn the art on their own.

                  Bards from Mystara
                  Mystara is one of the early D&D setting and was the default setting for products using the D&D Basic ruleset, which didn't originally support a bard class. It is however fair to assume that bards as we know them would be well represented in most Mystaran societies of the Known World. The Antalian societies of the far north would certainly count skalds into their ranks, whereas minstrels would be popular in most courts and nations of the south. Bards play a major part in several cultures on the Savage Coast (Red Steel setting). In particular, they are quite important in Robrenn, Eusdria, Bellayne (where they serve as historians and information brokers), and among the savage tribes (where they are respected traders).

                  Bards from Oerth
                  Bards are welcome and present in most societies on Oerth. Many of them holding Ye Cind, the demigod of Music and Magical Songs, as their patron deity. Of particular note, the Colleges of the Old Lore are an order of bards appended to the druidic society of the Old Faith. Very few of these archetypal bards are left, as their traditions are primarily those of the ancient Flan. Bards of the Old Lore are distinguished from today's common bards and minstrels by their noble origins, their tradition of scholarship, and their use of druidic magic. The prospective Old Lore bard must be of human descent and noble birth, although half-elves are permitted, as well. Tradition demands that each candidate have proven skill in warmaking and stealth, in addition to surpassing grace, in order to receive druidic training. The Old Lore legacy also includes a small number of magical, stringed instruments crafted specifically for each of the seven colleges of the Old Lore. Recovery of any such instrument is of prime concern to the remaining members of these colleges, and the true enchantments worked by the ancient craftsmen come alive only at the touch of a bard of the Old Lore.

                  Bards from Wildspace
                  Bards find employment both in royal courts and aboard spelljamming vessels. Many elves find the life of a bard welcome, and humans, halflings, and half-elves all make good bards as well. Surprisingly, a fair number of half-orcs enjoy life as effective (if crude) bards. Most dwarves tend to be too dour to take up the bard's path, while gnomes tend to prefer a life of lower profile.

                  Sources: D&D 3.5 Players Handbook, D&D 3.5 Players Handbook II, Eberron Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net, AD&D Odyssey : The Savage Coast
                  « Last Edit: October 12, 2021, 02:01:59 PM by MAB77 »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Wizard
                  « Reply #12 on: October 10, 2021, 11:52:54 AM »
                  The Wizard

                  A few unintelligible words and fleeting gestures carry more power than a battleaxe, when they are the words and gestures of a wizard. These simple acts make magic seem easy, but they only hint at the time the wizard must spend poring over her spellbook preparing each spell for casting, and the years before that spent in apprenticeship to learn the arts of magic. Wizards depend on intensive study to create their magic. They examine musty old tomes, debate magical theory with their peers, and practice minor magics whenever they can. For a wizard, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Wizards conduct their adventures with caution and forethought. When prepared, they can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. They seek knowledge, power, and the resources to conduct their studies. They may also have any of the noble or ignoble motivations that other adventurers have.

                  Characteristics: The wizard's strength is her spells. Everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition to learning new spells, a wizard can, over time, learn to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. Some wizards prefer to specialize in a certain type of magic. Specialization makes a wizard more powerful in her chosen field, but it denies her access to some of the spells that lie outside that field. Like a sorcerer, a wizard can call a familiar-a small, magical animal companion that serves her. For some wizards, their familiars are their only true friends.

                  Alignment: Overall, wizards show a slight tendency toward law over chaos because the study of magic rewards those who are disciplined. Illusionists and transmuters, however, are masters of deception and change, respectively. They favor chaos over law.

                  Religion: Wizards commonly revere gods of magic. Some, especially necromancers or simply more misanthropic wizards, prefer gods of death. Wizards in general are more devoted to their studies than to their spiritual sides.

                  Background: Wizards recognize each other as comrades or rivals. Even wizards from very different cultures or magical traditions have much in common because they all conform to the same laws of magic. Unlike fighters or rogues, wizards see themselves as members of a distinct, if diverse, group. In civilized lands where wizards study in academies, schools, or guilds, wizards also identify themselves and others according to membership in these formal organizations. But while a guild magician may look down her nose at a rustic wizard who learned his arts from a doddering hermit, she nevertheless can't deny the rustic's identity as a wizard.

                  Personality: Given time enough, a wizard hopes to discover every secret of magic ever penned. The arcane secrets of the world excite them like nothing else, and the discovery of a new tome, scroll, or magical treatise makes their heart skip a beat, their face flush, and their breath come quick. Each new libram of spells they discover is another intellectual fortune, and the anticipation of what they'll find is nearly as satisfying as the actual identification of a spell wholly new to their library. While they hate leaving their sanctum with its library and arcane equipment that they use to determine the magical secrets of magic items and artifacts, it is good to now and then venture from the laboratory and actually utter the incantations, hexes, and powerful spells that they prepare daily. The craft they pursue is an art, and like any pursuit, it requires practice.

                  One or more of the following character themes could apply to a wizard:
                  Spoiler: show
                  Doting Master: The character's familiar is more than a mere adjunct of his power - it is his companion, friend, and confidant. Whenever the character eats, whether informally, or at an inn or even at a formal party, he always makes certain that his familiar samples the best tasting portions of the meal. He worries about his familiar's ability to stay warm, or at least fashionable, and so he's ordered a few custom pieces of clothing with which to outfit his familiar, including a vest, paw (or talon) gloves, and goggles. Whether or not his familiar is smart enough to respond, he asks its opinion on weighty matters. While he is immensely proud of his familiar, the character casts a critical eye at the familiars of other wizards and arcanists who keep pets. He knows that his bond with his familiar, and better yet the skill his familiar displays, is a reflection of his worth.

                  "Never mind them, Piggin. We know we're right, even if they choose not to bow to our superior knowledge of things arcane."
                  "This pie is succulent! Come, get a taste, Little Browning! Where are you?"
                  "Look there, Tibb. A raven! So bedraggled, so thin. Poor thing looks like it's on its last feathers, doesn't it?"


                  Evil Curious: The character has always told himself that he merely enjoys magic - who wouldn't? It's the best thing about living, isn't it? But he's recently realized that his impulse control might not be what it should when it comes to the discovery of new tomes and items. No matter how evil the previous owner of the item or tome, the character can't help but be curious about the spells within. However, he also knows that true evil is a lure that can cage his mind and will just as effectively as an illithid can, and it can consume all his good works and past accomplishments. To avoid that fate, he constantly looks for items and or spells that might serve as an "insulator" so that he can study evil tomes and items with some amount of spiritual protection. He has heard that such spells exist, however fallible, and he intends to find them.

                  "I have safeguards to protect me against any influences beyond my own will!"
                  "We must understand this if we are going to learn what we need to defeat the threat!"


                  Knowledgeable: As a master wizard, steeped in the arts arcane, the character knows a lot about a lot, much of which is esoteric to his comrades unschooled in wizardry. That is no reason not to make regular use of his large and mysterious vocabulary in day-to-day conversation, or to reference various entities of great power and or wizardly significance when he is surprised or otherwise disturbed. He is also familiar with a great many tomes and doesn't mind referencing them in regular conversation, especially if he claims to have penned a few of his own.

                  "By the silver scales of the Denebic Water Dragon!"
                  "Just as the gaze of Shandalfar pierces any murk..."
                  "If the dread power of the Spell of Utter Ruination could be used as a measure..."
                  "If I knew the words to the Citrine Wall of Finality, things would be different here, but..."
                  "This path reminds me of the Twelve Unsolvable Mazes of the Demon King Tatharok."
                  "Oh ho! You'd argue with the author of The Power of the Wizard - The Earth, The Planes, and the Magical Path to Enlightenment?"
                  "I don't hold too much with the mysticism infused with the spells discussed in Drawing Down the Moon, or any mysticism, really. I'm more about the art, not the theory."
                  "Well, according to what I've read in Magical Monsters: A Bestiary of Fearsome Creatures..."

                  Specialist Wizard Personalities:
                  Spoiler: show
                  Abjurers
                  "Although it's hardly a simple matter to wield the magic that will produce a blast of fire or slay a giant with a word, the highest form of the mage's art lies at the place where magic interacts with magic. To study the school of abjuration is to wield spells that manipulate the fabric of arcane power itself."

                  Abjurers are deliberate, prudent, and thoughtful, possessing an unequaled determination and resolve that allows them to carefully consider all aspects of a problem before devising an efficient and effective response. They generally regard adherents of other schools of magic as reckless and wasteful, and they continuously evolve strategies for defeating other wizards in magic duels (whether such confrontations ever become necessary or not). Whether their lives are given over to adventuring or experimentation, abjurers are always well-prepared.

                  The study of abjuration requires a meticulous and deliberate personality that generally favors a lawful alignment. Since abjuration often focuses on limiting the ability of others to do harm, many abjurers are inclined to walk the path of morality on the side of good. At the same time, the ruthless efficiency of abjuration used as a weapon against other spellcasters means that many wizards are drawn to the school by dreams of personal power that quickly override the orderly and benevolent philosophies of their fellows.

                  Though abjurers are often reluctant adventurers, good abjurers sometimes take up the life to undo the evil that magic too often spawns. Good and neutral abjurers tend to position themselves where they can prevent others from victimizing folk who lack the ability to defend themselves. Evil abjurers are often found as lieutenants or elite advisors to sinister overlords, selling their valuable skills to the highest bidder.

                  Abjurers make their homes anywhere, but most prefer smaller towns to large cities. They generally enjoy the trust and good regard of their neighbors, and are sometimes willing to use their power on behalf of others with little thought of compensation or reward.

                  Conjurers
                  "The Material Plane is nothing but a small and unimportant crossroads in the cosmos. All that exists in this physical world is a mere reflection of the iconic truths embodied in the unseen worlds that border it."

                  Confident, headstrong, and opinionated, conjurers can often seem indolent and unconcerned with the difficulties of others, rarely inclined to think their way around any obstacle or foe that can be more simply hammered down with the right application of summoned power. Because of the great control they wield over many dreadful extraplanar creatures, most conjurers view the other schools of magic with disdain--illusion and divination are trivial, transmutation and evocation are inconsequential, abjuration and enchantment are too weak, and necromancy is repulsive (possibly because, of all the schools, it alone can challenge the conjurer's sense of her own power).

                  Conjurers must be strong-willed, decisive, and just a little bit reckless to excel in their chosen field, favoring chaotic alignments and preferring quick and decisive solutions over slower and more deliberate methods of problem-solving. Like necromancers, conjurers stare unflinching into the face of dark and powerful forces, and most rarely feel that they can afford the luxury of high (in other words, good) moral standards. As such, conjurers often favor evil and neutral alignments.

                  Conjurers undergo adventures when the prospect of finding easy power and wealth seems to outweigh the risks and effort involved. They can be difficult companions, speaking their minds freely and having little patience for the opinions of those they consider inferior. It takes a leader of proven worth and unyielding strength to earn a conjurer's respect. In an adventuring group, conjurers prefer action to discussion, and tend to view overwhelming and immediate attack as the first step in any successful encounter.

                  Most conjurers prefer to live in isolated frontier or wilderness areas, both because of their lack of interest in associating with those they deem beneath them (which is to say, most people) and as a means to practice the most dangerous aspects of their craft without worrying about the neighbors complaining (or being eaten). Aside from magical research, conjurers shun all activities that would normally constitute a career or an occupation, and when funds are low, they often simply summon creatures to fetch treasure for them.

                  Diviners
                  "History is full of missed opportunities, personal tragedies, and kingdom-shattering defeats that might easily have been averted but for a single piece of information that could have changed the course of lives and worlds. Knowledge is power, and those who know all hold ultimate power in their hands."

                  Diviners are perhaps the wisest of all wizards. Like abjurers, they are often cautious and deliberate spellcasters, happy to avail themselves of every possible preparation and precaution before embarking on a hazardous course. For the diviner, though, the best of all possible preparations is to choose the course of action that will avoid conflict and peril altogether. While diviners aren't cowards (at least not all of them), few are likely to rush headlong into a fight before every other option has been exhausted. Diviners are students not only of the arcane workings of spells and magical lore but also of the mechanisms of nature, the arts and sciences, and even human behavior. Few are better judges of character than diviners.

                  In addition to being thoughtful and orderly in their affairs, diviners prize the quality of objectivity. A mind closed to any possibility (however remote or distasteful one may be) is a mind that might be closed to the truth, for the truth is not always simple or pleasant. Diviners are therefore strongly inclined toward neutral alignments, and usually favor law over chaos. Good diviners use their powers to anticipate and prevent harm to others; evil diviners use the knowledge they accumulate for their own gain.

                  Diviners are not predisposed to the adventuring life, and many accept such a career only reluctantly. Still, with her judgment, cunning, and common sense, a diviner makes a valuable addition to most adventuring parties. In combat, though, diviners sometimes hesitate, overly conscious of the consequences of making the wrong choice when life and death are on the line.

                  Diviners are loners at heart and do not make close friends easily. Even thoose who live in great cities tend to remain aloof and apart from their neighbors, avoiding interactions in the present to better study the past and future. Although they show little interest in material possessions, diviners often cover their research and living expenses by charging for their services as seers, fortunetellers, and finders of lost objects and people.

                  Enchanters
                  "The mind is the ultimate power. Any fool can oppose an enemy by physical means, but to halt a foe through the sheer force of one's will--ot to turn a most hateful enemy into a loyal ally--is the purest and most subtly effective manifestation of arcane might."

                  Charismatic, sensitive, and passionate, enchanters tend to be personable and attractive, enjoying fine arts and good conversation. Even the most blackhearted enchanter can be a mesmerizing individual--confident, self-assured, and holding others in thrall with manner and word even before the first syllables of his charm spell are uttered. Other enchanters are distant and clinical, viewing themselves as coldly rational students of the only subject worth studying--the mind.

                  Enchanters have few predilections in alignment, though their belief that individual will is the strongest force in the multiverse slants them slightly toward chaos over law. Evil enchanters believe that those who lack the ability to overcome or resist the power of the mind deserve to be servants to that power, existing only to be commanded by those with the ability to do so. Good enchanters adopt the viewpoint that bending another being to one's will is rarely right, but is preferable by far to killing. A good enchanter deprives an enemy of his volition only as long as he needs to, and, when such is warranted, often takes pains to return the subject to his normal state in such a way as to avoid a traitor's punishment at the hands of his comrades or people.

                  Enchanters are commonly the voice of reason in an adventuring party; they view physical combat as a last resort and work hard to devise options and solutions to problems that might otherwise elude their companions. Excellent team players, shrewd negotiators, and superb bargainers, enchanters favor frequenting, or living in, large towns and cities where they easily find many minds that they can study (or manipulate) with impunity.

                  Evokers
                  "The universe is the interplay of impersonal forces--some spiritual, some political, some moral, some elemental, and some who natures have yet to be revealed. Beneath the surface of the merely physical, fundamental energies form the true nature of all things."

                  The school of evocation attracts the most serious-minded, intense, and determined wizards, devoted to the mastery of their craft to the exclusion of almost all else. Notable ascetics in their personal habits, evokers favor spartan surroundings, simple garb, and plain fare, eschewing clutter and luxury as distractions that deaden one's perceptions of the real world. In personality, evokers are decisive, forthright, and often stubborn. Good evokers perceive evil as an unbalancing force that must be opposed, while neutral or evil evokers tend to be heartless, seeing the trials and ordeals of mortals as the superficial results of a larger unseen world at work.

                  Good evokers undertake adventures in response to the currents and forces they perceive in the world, striving to respond when and where evil stirs. Evil evokers, not content to settle for reaction to the universal forces around them, seek to manipulate those forces, altering their ebb and flow through their own actions. Regardless of alignment, evokers are natural leaders--fearless, inspiring, and authoritative. Among wizards, their courage on the battlefield has no equal.

                  Evokers prefer quiet and plain homes, seldom dwelling among large numbers of people. More than a few are hermits, choosing to live in the most rugged and forbidding natural sites. Common people leave evokers alone, fearing their power and the danger their reputation suggests--a reputation that many evokers do little to discourage.

                  Illusionists
                  "The universe is all in the mind that perceives it, and sensation is the first and only reality. If a tree falls in the forest with no creature to hear it, then there is no tree."

                  Illusionists tend to be flamboyant, outgoing, and self-assured, many exhibiting a hedonistic streak that can lead to dark and cruel practices in the pursuit of rare and unusual perceptions. Remarkably creative, illusionists enjoy art, literature, poetry, and music, and many are accomplished artists in their own right. Although their aptitude for scholarly pursuits is as great as that of any other specialists, illusionists spend less time in research than most, forgoing the isolation of the laboratory for the company of people and the constant thrill of manipulating the powers of sensation.

                  Illusionists have sharp minds but are not particularly deep thinkers. Pragmatic by nature, they accept the impermanence of all things, and see only futility in the acts of those who dedicate their lives to the development of all-encompassing philosophies of existence and meaning. Ilusionists have no strong alignment tendencies. While good illusionists share their creative impulses for the benefit of others, evil illusionists take their worldview to dark extremes--the beings around seem as less-than-real toys and tools to be manipulated or destroyed like any other figment or shadow.

                  An illusionist's forceful personality and sharp mind make her an equally good choice for leader or right-hand strategist of an adventuring group. Like enchanters, illusionsts know that their arts require an audience, and they enjoy the hustle and bustle of urban life, usually maintaining well-funished homes in large and sophisticated cities.

                  Necromancers
                  "Life and death are one, for all living things die in time. Death is not an ending, but a beginning. Since one's living days are but a fraction of the eternal existence of death, life is but a useless distraction to the study and understanding of the long darkness to come."

                  Brooding, humorless, and withdrawn, necromancers exhibit a fascination with life and death that borders on the obsessive. Though casual acquaintances will often view them as cold and hostile, those who befriend necromancers might come to know them as thoughtful, stoic, and loyal comrades. Most necromancers prefer solitude to companionship, though, and even the most trustworthy and valued among them can be prone to black spells of despondency during which they question the value of life and all things living.

                  Continual exposure to the forces of death and undeath can have a corrupting effect on wizards who have even the slightest inclination toward evil. Consequently, evil necromancers far outnumber good-aligned ones. Neutral necromancers are rare, since most necromancers either have a will strong enough to resist the lure of darkness, or they submit eventually to its corruption. Necromancers have little tendency toward either chaos or law; although a sense of order appeals to their clinical and meticulous nature, most necromancers are all too willing to turn their backs on the accepted norms of society in the pursuit of knowledge and power.

                  Though necromancers are generally ill suited for leadership, such an arcanist can make a valuable addition to an adventuring group, both for the formiddable power he wields and a familiarity with the dark forces of the world that makes him virtually fearless. On the other hand, a necromancer is slow to follow orders simply for their own sake, and one who disagrees with his comrades' strategy might strike out on his own at any time.

                  Necromancers who are not adventurers spend most of their time engaged in arcane research and writing, and since they have little need for the company of the living, they usually reside far from civilized regions, establishing homes in ancient castles, deep caverns, or even abandoned crypts.

                  Transmuters
                  "Like a reflection of the larger process by which worlds are built and torn down once more, all life is change. Anything that has ceased to change, to grow, to evolve from what it was ceases to be a part of the world, and the ultimate power is that which manipulates these forces of transmutation."

                  Wizards drawn to the specialty of transmutation are typically curious, sharpminded, and deeply analytical. Fascinated by the exercise of putting things together and taking them apart again, transmuters are natural tinkerers, often more interested in objects than the creatures who create and wield them. With minds attuned more to finding out how things work than to reasoning out why things are as they are, transmuters can be obsessive collectors, excellent scholars, and clear thinkers, but they aren't especially prone to profound philosophical insights.

                  As a result of their focus on change and the forces that drive it, transmuters tend to see moral matters in terms of that change. Neutral and evil transmuters believe that good and evil are relative concepts, dependent on existing conditions and seldom permanent, and so they make little distinction between them. Good transmuters look past the universal constant of change to its effects on life, aspiring to ensure that change happens for the better. Regardless of their moral standing, transmuters favor chaotic alignments, for chaos is the essence of change.

                  Eager to explore the world around them, transmuters are often eager members of adventuring groups, but in the role of loyal follower rather than reluctant leader, since they lack determination and rarely see the value in sticking to an inflexible purpose.

                  Transmuters are most comfortable in large cities, where they have access to the supplies, consultants, and other resources that their studies demand. In general, common folk are less distrustful of transmuters than they are of most other wizards; the lack of high-levle destructive or controlling capability in the magic of transmuters (notwithstanding the occasional baleful polymorph) leads most commoners to consider them inspired but harmless eccentrics.

                  Races: Humans take to magic for any of various reasons: curiosity, ambition, lust for power, or just personal inclination. Human wizards tend to be practical innovators, creating new spells or using old spells creatively. Elves are enthralled by magic, and many of them become wizards for love of the art. Elf wizards see themselves as artists, and they hold magic in high regard as a wondrous mystery, as opposed to the more pragmatic human wizards, who see magic more as a set of tools or tricks. Illusion magic comes so simply to gnomes that becoming an illusionist is just natural to brighter and more talented ones. Gnome wizards who don't specialize in the school of illusion are rare, but they don't suffer under any special stigma. Half-elf wizards feel both the elf's attraction to magic and the human's drive to conquer and understand. Some of the most powerful wizards are half-elves. Dwarf and halfling wizards are rare because their societies don't encourage the study of magic. Half-orc wizards are rare because few half-orcs have the brains necessary for wizardry. Drow (evil, subterranean elves) often take up wizardry, but wizards are quite rare among the savage humanoids.

                  Other Classes: Wizards prefer to work with members of other classes. They love to cast their spells from behind strong fighters, to "magic up" rogues and send them out to scout, and to rely on the divine healing of clerics. They may find members of certain classes (such as sorcerers, rogues, and bards) to be not quite serious enough, but they're not judgmental.

                  Role: The wizard's role depends somewhat on her spell selection, but most wizards share certain similarities in function. They are among the most offensively minded of the spellcasting classes, with a broad range of options available for neutralizing enemies. Some wizards provide great support to their comrades by way of their spells, while others may focus on divination or other facets of wizardry.

                  Wizards from Ravenloft
                  What a sorcerer gains through reluctant birthright, wizards must earn through years of toil. Wizards can call on arcane magic to bend reality to their will - they can change one creature into another, animate the dead to serve them, or summon eldritch forces to smite their foes. They command all this without even the veneer of spiritual guidance divine spellcasters receive. Endless years of study and research, combined with their need for forethought, often result in wizards developing at least mildly obsessive and controlling personalities. Some wizards grow drunk on their own power or are corrupted by the evil forces inherent in their spells and begin to think they are the sole arbiters of their fate.

                  Wizards are respected or even admired in some domains, such as Darkon and Hazlan, but often conceal their arcane powers in less accepting lands. Wizards can be found in nearly any domain, however, often lurking in remote towers or secretly using magic to further their goals in other arenas.

                  Adventuring wizards know that the study of arcane magic is a great temptation but that the rewards are just as great. Although wizards lack the physical prowess of many other adventurers, their spells can harm creatures of the night that laugh at the mightiest swing of a fighter's sword. Wizards often adventure to learn new arcane secrets and add to their power.

                  Wizards from Athas
                  Arcane magic is against the law in most of the city-states of Athas, because the dragon-kings don’t want further defiling (other than by themselves), and they’re loath to support potential future rivals. In secret, however, wizards still study the arcane arts, gathering in secret cabals, called Veiled Alliances, or reading ancient texts in solitude.

                  Except in the city-state of Tyr, using arcane magic is illegal, so by definition most wizards are criminals or rebels. Yet many of the other groups opposed to the rule of the dragon-kings and their templars distrust wizards because any wizard is a potential defiler of Athas’s remaining life energy. Wizards don’t even necessarily trust other wizards, because every wizard is sorely tempted by the additional power that defiler magic offers.

                  Most player character wizards are revolutionaries, working secretly to overthrow the dragon-kings and create a more just society in their place. However, wizards face greater temptations than most characters, because every spell they cast is an opportunity to ravage the planet further in exchange for more power. Only those wizards who never succumb to the temptation have the right to call themselves preservers. All others are, to greater or lesser degrees, defilers.

                  Wizards generally don’t reveal their true nature to others. Many wizards pretend to be psions or elemental clerics if caught casting.

                  The Veiled Alliance
                  Spoiler: show
                  In most cities (and many villages, tribes, and clans), there are secret leagues of Preservers called the Veiled Alliance. The Veiled Alliances are confederations of Preservers working together to protect their members from assassination and harassment by sorcerer-kings and other lieges. The members work together to shield each other's identities from the authorities or to help those who have been discovered to escape persecution. They are often involved in plots to overthrow their oppressive overlords.

                  There are only two drawbacks to belonging to a Veiled Alliance. First, membership is permanent. When you join one of these secret organizations, you pledge to uphold its charter until death. Anyone failing in this pledge is cast out, and the alliance assigns one of its members (usually someone experienced in such matters) to assassinate the outcast. This seems rather severe but it is a condition of affiliation that all members agree to when they join the alliance.

                  Second, all Veiled Alliances require that their members be Preservers and not Defilers. The reason for this is practical, not idealistic: even a few mages will decimate a small area if they do not practice their art responsibly. Any violation of this principle always results in the banishment (and subsequent execution) of the Defiler.

                  Although each league goes by the same name, they are in fact separate organizations. Most follow the two principles outlined above, and will extend their protection to a member of an alliance from another city (providing adequate proof of affiliation is provided). At the same time, they must be on constant watch for spies, for most rulers will stop at nothing to uncover and destroy an alliance operating within their territory. For this reason, punishments are sure and swift in any Veiled Alliance.

                  Wizards from Cerilia
                  The lands of Cerilia are inherently magical, and "true" mages (sorcerers and wizards) have learned to harness the energy of the earth itself to create both wonders and terrors. Masters of such lore are rare throughout Cerilia and such mystics are figures of mystery and destiny. The common folk of Cerilia see little difference between the two classes and are prone to use either term to refer to any practitioner of the greater arts. Sorcerers and wizards are practitioners of greater ("true") magic. Although their methods of mastering this power differ, they both focus their power through a spiritual awareness of the power of the land itself. This awareness cannot be taught; it is a matter of heredity - true mages must be born with the stuff of magic in their veins. This awareness is exceedingly rare, only those of elven descent or blooded scions (whose ancestors were touched by the gods) have any hope of mastering the forces of greater magic.

                  Wizards from Eberron
                  Wizards stand apart from the legions of others who dabble in the arcane arts on the magically charged world of Eberron: They alone are willing to devote their lives to the daunting work of arcane study. Wizards are distinguished from sorcerers and the dragonmarked by their incredible versatility - an accomplished wizard can prepare any of a hundred different spells as the situation requires. More than any other type of character, wizards have a vested interest in discovering the lost secrets of ancient Xen'drik; buried in any ancient ruin could be the secrets of a long-forgotten spell, a new weapon to add to a wizard's arsenal.

                  Wizards from Faerūn
                  Wizards, like other people who can turn a person into a toadstool with a glance, tend to be well respected or simply feared by common folk. The mightiest mortals in Faerūn are powerful wizards such as Elminster, Manshoon, and Szass Tam. Extending their lives for centuries (or, in some cases, choosing the path of lichdom and eternal undeath), these dangerous magic-wielders grow ever wiser and stronger in the ways of the Art as centuries pass by. Most practicing wizards learned the basics of the Art as apprentices to more experienced wizards. This slow form of education is reliable, and the work an apprentice performs has the advantage of paying for her duties. Other would-be wizards graduated from one of the universities of magic, common in the lands of Lantan and Halruaa in the distant south but uncommon in the northern parts of Faerūn. North of Halruaa, the best-known university of magic is located in Silverymoon. Smaller universities of magic are known in areas such as Waterdeep, Sembia, Chessenta, the Vilhon Reach, Impiltur, and Tethyr, with an illusionist's school recently opened in Damara. The methods of education used by the Red Wizards of Thay are equally as effective, even if fully half of those who begin such studies die in their torturous training regimen.

                  Wizards from Krynn
                  The three moons of magic - Solinari the White, Lunitari the Red, and Nuitari the Black - grant the arcane magic of wizardry. The magic of the moons is available to anyone, but advancement to true power comes at a price. A low-level wizard is considered an apprentice by the Orders of High Sorcery. Knowledge of 1st- and 2nd-level circle spells is unrestricted. Anyone who advances in power beyond that is required to take the Test of High Sorcery and declare allegiance to one of the Orders of High Sorcery. Those who seek to gain power without obeying the laws of the order commit themselves to the dangerous life of a renegade mage. The most important organization of renegade wizards is the Knights of the Thorn, the arcane order of the Knights of Takhisis (or Knights of Neraka after the fall of the Dark Queen). The Thorn Knights try to profit from a greater understanding of fate. Their pursuit of forbidden magic outside the laws of the Conclave allows them access to magical secrets to enhance their spellcasting.

                  Wizards from Mystara
                  Wizards can be found in most nations of Mystara, with a few exceptions. They would be very rare and oddities among the halflings and dwarves, but common (though less than sorcerers) among the accursed modriswerg, the moulder dwarves. They are rare and only use their skills in secrets in the Hagiarchy of Hule. In this land, any "wrong-thinkers", which notably includes all arcane casters, may be put to death upon discovery. Wizards form the ruling class within the nations of the Alphatian Empire (now a floating continent in the Hollow World), the former Alphatian holdings remaining on the Known World, and the Principalities of Glantri.

                  Wizards from Oerth
                  Magic plays a prominent part in Oerth's history. Wizardry is practiced within nearly every Oerthian cultures. The Baklunish are experts in elemental magic, divination, and summoning/binding extraplanar beings. Flan wizards normally work in harmony with nature, avoiding destructive magic. Suel wizards are inheritors of a long tradition steeped in dark and forbidden knowledge. In Rhennee culture, wizardry is the domain of women and the most powerful-ones, the wise-women, are respected leaders. Gnomes are known for their illusionism prowess and the magic of elves is the stuff of legends. Arcane casters are rarest in halfling and dwarven cultures, where the practice of wizardry is not encouraged.

                  Wizards from Wildspace
                  Wizards are the flip side of sorcerers, as they tend to congregate around centers of civilization. Both elves and gnomes pursue wizardry, though its potential is not lost on ambitious halflings and humans. The long-lived dwarves have the patience for wizardly pursuits, though their race has no real tradition of it. Half-elves, particularly those raised among elves, make fine wizards, while half-orcs rarely have the discipline.

                  Sources: D&D 3.5 Players Handbook, D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook II, Complete Arcane, Eberron Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net
                  « Last Edit: January 30, 2023, 07:46:41 PM by EO »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Druid
                  « Reply #13 on: October 10, 2021, 02:21:31 PM »
                  The Druid

                  The fury of a storm, the gentle strength of the morning sun, the cunning of the fox, the power of the bear—all these and more are at the druid's command. The druid however, claims no mastery over nature. That claim, she says, is the empty boast of a city dweller. The druid gains her power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. To trespassers in a druid's sacred grove, and to those who feel her wrath, the distinction is overly fine.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Druids adventure to gain knowledge (especially about animals and plants unfamiliar to them) and power. Sometimes, their superiors call on their services. Druids may also bring their power to bear against those who threaten what they love, which more often includes ancient stands of trees or trackless mountains than people. While druids accept that which is horrific or cruel in nature, they hate that which is unnatural, including aberrations (such as beholders and carrion crawlers) and undead (such as zombies and vampires). Druids sometimes lead raids against such creatures, especially when they encroach on the druids' territory.

                  Characteristics: Druids cast divine spells much the same way clerics do, though most get their spells from the power of nature rather than from deities. Their spells are oriented toward nature and animals. In addition to spells, druids gain an increasing array of magical powers, including the ability to take the shapes of animals, as they advance in level. Druids are restricted by traditional oaths from wearing metal armor. Druids avoid carrying much worked metal with them because it interferes with the pure and primal nature that they attempt to embody.

                  Alignment: Druids, in keeping with nature's ultimate indifference, must maintain at least some measure of dispassion. As such, they must be neutral on at least one alignment axis (chaotic–lawful or good–evil), if not both. Just as nature encompasses such dichotomies as life and death, beauty and horror, and peace and violence, so two druids can manifest different or even opposite alignments (neutral good and neutral evil, for instance) and still be part of the druidic tradition.

                  Religion: A druid reveres nature above all. She gains her magical power either from the force of nature itself or from a nature deity. The typical druid pursues a mystic spirituality of transcendent union
                  with nature rather than devoting herself to a divine entity.

                  Quote from: Ravenloft PotM Server Rules
                  If required by the setting of origin, paladins, rangers and druids must also possess a deity, or they will be unable to level up.

                  Background: Though their organization is invisible to most outsiders, who consider druids to be loners, druids are actually part of a society that spans the land, ignoring political borders. A prospective druid is inducted into this society through secret rituals, including tests that not all survive. Only after achieving some level of competence is the druid allowed to strike out on her own. All druids are nominally members of this druidic society, though some individuals are so isolated that they have never seen any highranking members of the society or participated in druidic gatherings. All druids recognize each other as brothers and sisters. Like true creatures of the wilderness, however, druids sometimes compete with or even prey on each other. A druid may be expected to perform services for higher-ranking druids, though proper payment is tendered for such assignments. Likewise, a lower-ranking druid may appeal for aid from her higher-ranking comrades in exchange for a fair price in coin or service. Druids may live in small towns, but they always spend a good portion of their time in wild areas. Even large cities surrounded by cultivated land as far as the eye can see often have druid groves nearby—small, wild refuges where druids live and which they protect fiercely. Near coastal cities, such refuges may be nearby islands, where the druids can find the isolation they need.

                  Personality: A druid's secret instruction occurred in caves and forests sacred to life. He learned clandestine verses, the names of stars and constellations, the cycle of the seasons, sacred songs, formulas for prayers and incantations, rules of divination and magic, and the language of animals. To this day, he still learns; as a druid, he is a lifelong student of the natural world. Why isn't everyone? After witnessing the fury of a storm, the splendor of the setting sun, and the spirit-cleansing power of a grove of aspen trees, only the most stonehearted would not be moved to protect and conserve them, and what's more, rejoice and cherish the slow-growing, natural elements of the world that form the foundation of everything else. Without the web of sun, rain, growth, death, and rebirth in nature, the vaunted civilizations of men, elves, dwarves, and other creatures would crumble like dust.

                  One or more of the following character themes could apply to a druid:
                  Spoiler: show
                  Conservationist: The character espouses a philosophy he likes to call the "conservation ethic." The conservation ethic promotes the measured use, allotment, and protection of natural lands and waters. He employs his ethic as an aid in his efforts to sustain the natural world: its forests, lakes, seas, and all the strange and wondrous creatures that live within it. In order to engender a similar ethic in his companions and others that he meets, he offers poetic references to nature when traveling, when first seeing a new vista, or when he otherwise deems appropriate:

                  "Spend a heartbeat and notice every waving leaf, every tendril of mist in the dark woods, and every humming insect."
                  "The deer, the wolf, the oak, the fish, and the great birds are our fellows, and they can be wronged, just as you can be wronged."
                  "An unchecked and untempered appetite will devour green plains and leave behind only a barren wasteland."
                  "What soul can't find peace and spiritual renewal in the forlorn cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night?"
                  "Whatever happens to the wild places, the pure waters, and the teeming beasts soon happens to us. An invisible web connects all things."


                  Friend of Animals: Small and relatively defenseless animals have no greater friend than the character. While he knows that nature is not merciful, and that the weak and old are destined to be food for young, strong predators, he also knows that mercy can selectively apply to nature. To this end he knows by sight dozens, if not hundreds, of individual small animals such as birds, gophers, and rabbits. He doesn't bore his humanoid companions with all the names he's given all the little creatures that he recognizes, unless asked. He always carries with him a small bag in which he keeps crumbs, old bones, jerky, grain, thistle, or other treats that animals enjoy, and leaves them as small offerings when convenient.

                  "See that one? Hawks rarely live as long as Shrieker. He's a tough old bird."
                  "Sometimes my friends find me around the campfire at night, and tell me stories of their day."


                  Hunter: The character is displeased when those who should know better exploit nature. But he retains a burning hatred for those things that are nature's bane by virtue of their mere existence; he hates that which is unnatural, including aberrations (such as beholders and carrion crawlers) and undead (such as zombies and vampires). From time to time, he leads raids against such creatures, especially when they encroach on natural wonders and lands that he reveres. Even while such creatures are still contained, it is better to excise them before they can cause damage to the natural world, rather than wait for the damage to happen as it inevitably will. Undead in particular have no connection to nature — they exist apart from it, a mockery of the normal cycles of life. Nature cries out each moment they are suffered to exist.

                  "Those not of creation deserve no part in it."
                  "This aberration's body must be displayed as a warning to the others."


                  Judge: The character is the guardian of unwritten ancient laws inspired by nature. As someone with such knowledge, he believes he has the power to judge those who have sinned against the natural order. When he judges, he can sentence the malefactor to be excommunicated from sacred groves, the deep woods, and all other places where nature still reigns supreme. To the extent he is able to communicate his judgments to other druids, wild animals, treants, and other creatures of the wild, his judgments stand. Of course, the easiest way to ensure his judgment is to take matters into his own hands against those who have sinned most heinously (such as undead, through their mere existence). In most cases, other druids are willing to abide by the character's judgments, if he shows through his actions that he is willing to abide by theirs. However, no civilized court of law, whether a council of village elders or a king's tribunal, recognizes the right of druids and their judgments. That's all right with him — neither does he recognize their right over sovereign nature.

                  "Primeval justice is the first arbiter and final authority."
                  "The laws of man pale before the law of nature."


                  Philosopher: Nature is red in tooth and claw, regardless of what the sentimental philosophies of so-called civilization might claim. To truly cherish all life, the character embraces the fact that bad things and good are all part of the evolving environment. When events unfold that seem initially bad or ruinous, he philosophically attempts to provide perspective to his companions.

                  "In the landscape of spring, there is neither better nor worse. The flowering branches grow naturally, some long, some short."
                  "Nature's tranquility comes like a fresh wind that blows away cares like autumn leaves."
                  "There are no sermons in stones. It is easier to get a spark out of a stone than a moral."
                  "We cannot command nature except by obeying her."
                  "Nature teaches us to either adapt or perish."


                  Teacher: Unlike many druids, who can come across as sullen and rough (albeit steadfast in their beliefs), the character enjoys teaching others just why it is so important that nature have a protector such as himself. After all, it is not obvious to the casual observer that life exists only through a subtle connection and deep interaction with all other living things. Think about it — where does the food you eat come from? We eat meat, and we eat greens. If we kill all the meat animals, or the land where the animals graze, what are you going to eat? If we build over all the farms with sprawling cities, who is going to grow your potatoes and barley?

                  "There is power in nature apart from what magic or resources we can extract from it. Sure, a grove of trees will build a house—but it can also house a spirit."
                  "Consider the herders and shepherds who conserve their cattle and sheep from season to season, extracting milk, wool, and even meat while ensuring the health of the overall herd. It is no different with the plains, forests, and lakes. We need to be tree stewards, grass shepherds, and lake wardens if we want to continue to enjoy the bounty nature provides year after year."


                  Star Watcher: The character spends so much time in the wild that he recognizes the stars and constellations of the night sky as easily as he notes the smell of flame on the wind or the spoor of a mountain cat about to give birth. He knows the various epicycles and positions of the celestial bodies, but more important, he holds that his knowledge of the positions of stars, comets, moons, and planets is useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing knowledge about what has come before, what's going on now, and what will one day come to pass. He likes to say to his companions concerning his predilection for the stars: "... by looking up I see downward." In addition, he makes a point to see the stars at least once a week, and more often if possible. If he is prevented from seeing the open sky, he at least has his personally constructed star chart, a scroll of paper on which he's inked the various stars, planets, and other celestial bodies important to him. He can while away long hours poring over his charts and drawing complicated designs meant to unleash his intuitive side, so that visions of the future might become clear.

                  "I saw a comet once that was part of no star chart I had studied. I named it after my secret desire."
                  "The stars are wise beyond all else. They looked on as this world formed, and they'll look on after this world has run through its history to the end."

                  Races: Elves and gnomes have an affinity for natural lands and often become druids. Humans and half-elves also frequently adopt this path, and druids are particularly common among savage humans. Dwarves, halflings, and half-orcs are rarely druids. Few from among the brutal humanoids are inducted into druidic society, though gnolls have a fair contingent of evil druids among them. Gnoll druids are accepted, though perhaps not welcomed, by druids of other races.

                  Other Classes: The druid shares with rangers and many barbarians a reverence for nature and a familiarity with natural lands. She doesn't much understand the urban mannerism typical of a rogue, and she finds arcane magic disruptive and slightly distasteful. The typical druid also dislikes the paladin's devotion to abstract ideals instead of "the real world." Druids, however, are nothing if not accepting of diversity, and they take little offence at other characters, even those very different from them.

                  Role: The druid enjoys extraordinary versatility. Though she lacks the sheer healing power of the cleric, she makes up for it with additional offensive power, thanks to her spell selection and wild shape ability. A druid back up by another secondary healer (such as a paladin) can prove extremely valuable to a group of adventurers. Her animal companion also provides valuable melee combat support.

                  Druids from Ravenloft
                  Druids are the pagan practitioners of a truly ancient religion who revere and draw power not from any deities, but from nature itself. According to tradition, the first druids entered Ravenloft with the domain of Forlorn, but they spread to many other lands in the centuries that followed.

                  Druids are the guardians of the untamed wilds. Most druids are secretive about their faith and avoid civilized lands, for good reason: not only do druids find the cities of mankind unsettling, they often face hostility from ignorant locals. Most folk in Ravenloft know of the druids only through the filter of folklore, and they often confuse druidic magic with witchcraft, a feared and poorly understood form of magic said to be the plaything of hags. To avoid danger, many druids pass themselves off as clerics of "modern" gods when passing through settled lands. Druids strive to preserve the purity and balance of nature. Many claim that the Lands of Mists are out of balance, tainted — or even overrun — by seeping, unnatural evil. Most druids adventure to eliminate these sinkholes of evil, restoring the natural balance and fearsome beauty of their beloved wilderness.

                  Druids from Athas
                  Druids are independent priests who ally themselves with various spirits of the land. A druid shares power with the spirit he worships, nurturing and protecting the geographical feature to which the spirit is tied. Virtually every feature of the land has a druid to protect it, but druids seldom interact with others of their kind. They serve independently, living patient, solitary lives  devoted to guarding the land.

                  Every druid must choose one geographic feature to be his guarded lands. The geographic features that a druid might make his guarded lands can vary widely. For instance, one may watch over a particular stretch of open desert, another may protect a belt of scrub grass within it, while still another might watch over a small oasis that borders on both.

                  Lower-level druids, , which encompasses player characters, may travel widely in the world. During his time of wandering, a young druid learns about the world, its ecology, the balance of nature, and the ways of its creatures.

                  Although he has already chosen lands to guard and cherish, he may spend as much or as little time on his guarded lands as he sees fit. Learning the ways of the world will ultimately help him better protect his guarded lands, for one day, his time of wandering comes to an end. From that time forward, the druid must spend half of his time on his guarded lands, watching over them and protecting them. The rest of the time, the druid must again travel to keep tabs on events that might threaten nature in general and his guarded lands in particular.

                  Druids tend not to bother or even encounter those who use their guarded lands without damaging them. Travelers who stop at an oasis to water their animals and then move on will probably never know there is a druid watching their every move. It’s a druid’s firm belief that the lands are for all to use, human and animal alike. He watches to see that his guarded lands aren’t abused in any way, but otherwise he leaves most visitors alone—with the possible exception of wizards. Understandably, druids tend to be very apprehensive about wizards who venture into their realms, as any wizard might turn out to be a defiler. Nothing can destroy the land faster than a defiler drawing power for his spells.

                  Unlike in other worlds, there’s no worldwide organization of druids on Athas. As such, there are no rules limiting the number of druids that may exist at a given level, and there are no special druidic titles such as Archdruids and the Grand Druid. These don’t exist on Athas.

                  Druids from Cerilia
                  In Cerilia, druids are priests of Erik, the god of nature and the hunt. The powerful natural magic of the druid is based in the same lore as that of the ranger, but is greatly magnified through the channeling of divine power of the druid's patron deity. Although elves have a profound link with nature that makes them particularly fine rangers, the powers of a druid are beyond their ken. The elves are adamant in their refusal to worship human gods (including Erik) and thus cannot advance as druids except under the most unusual of circumstances.

                  Druids from Eberron
                  The history of the druids in Eberron stretches back sixteen thousand years, to a time when orcs and goblinoids ruled the continent of Khorvaire. At that time, a black dragon named Vvaraak, a great student of astrology, cosmology, and the draconic Prophecy, foretold a planar invasion of tremendous magnitude. Knowing that the humanoids would have to repel this invasion on their own, she taught the first orc druids about the bond among the three dragons of legend, how to tap into their power, and how they might seal the gate between the planes the next time one opened. The invasion Vvaraak foretold occurred seven thousand years later, when mind flayers and their daelkyr overlords from the plane of Xoriat stepped through planar gateways and launched an overwhelming attack on the hobgoblin Empire of Dhakaan. Because they had kept Vvaraak's teachings alive, the orc druids were able to seal the planar gateways, striking the decisive blow in the war against the invaders. Not all druids in Khorvaire are aware of this ancient and illustrious history, and few actually recall the central cosmological teachings that enabled the druids of old to act as Gatekeepers, policing the boundaries between the planes. These few, however, still pass on Vvaraak's teachings, trusting that future generations faced with a similar threat from beyond Eberron are prepared to deal with it as their spiritual ancestors did in millennia past. Most druids come from the Eldeen Reaches, where their animistic religion is the dominant faith. Others are found anywhere that nature's spirit is strong, from the craggy mountains that house the Mror Holds to the fetid swamps of the Shadow Marches. Some druids from the Eldeen Reaches espouse radical philosophies that oppose the use of "unnatural" magic and condemn the building of settlements. Most druids are more moderate in their beliefs about the proper balance of nature, magic, and civilization.

                  Druids from Faerūn
                  Like clerics, the druids of Faerūn receive their spells from a particular patron deity, always a deity of nature or animals. However, druids do not necessarily see a clear division between nature and the divine forces that run through nature. While many people think only of forests when they think of druids, druids care also for the mountains, deserts, lakes, and even the swamps of Faerūn. Nature deities include Chauntea, Eldath, Gwaeron Windstrom, Lurue, Malar, Mielikki, Nobanion, Shiallia, Silvanus, Talos, Ubtao, Ulutiu, Umberlee, Anhur, Isis, Osiris, Sebek, Set, Thard Harr, Aerdrie Faenya, Angharradh, Deep Sashelas, Rillifane Rallathil, Baervan Wildwanderer, Segojan Earthcaller, and Sheela Peryroyl.

                  Note that on this server, druids of Mielikki are still bound by the oath not to wear metal armors.

                  Druids from Gothic Earth
                  The druids were members of a high-ranking social class in ancient Celtic cultures. They were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. They had a strong oral tradition and did not keep lore in written form. Druids are rare since they are only found among the Celtic people of Antiquity. Like clerics, they did not hold any special powers or spellcasting abilities on Gothic Earth, and only gain them upon arriving in Ravenloft. This is because the Red Death effectively shuts out people from communing with the forces of nature and to receive their blessings.

                  Druids from Krynn
                  The druids of Krynn are specialized priests of nature, serving one of three nature gods: Habbakuk, Chislev, or Zeboim. Good druids revere Habbakuk, while evil ones worship Zeboim. All others revere Chislev. Members of races with close ties to nature feel most drawn to the path of the druid, such as Kagonesti elves, centaurs, and human nomads.

                  Druids from Mystara
                  Druids of Mystara are as devoted to nature as are druids of other settings. Several Immortals have priests that are functionally druids. Be it on Brun or the Savage Coast, Ordana, Asterius, Diulanna, Zirchev, Faunus, Frey, Freyja, Mahmatti, Odin, and Thor are all confirmed to count druids among their worshippers. Though having a patron deity is not a requirement for Druids on Mystara. Some gain their powers through their reverence to Nature itself

                  Druids from Oerth
                  Druids of the Flanaess are practitioners of the Old Faith. Oerth's natural fertility has inspired the devotion of its people. The cult of the Oerth Mother (Beory) once dominated the entire Flanaess, and the traditions of her worship persist in many lands. The present hierarchy of the Old Faith is built upon the ancient religion of the druids, though deities in addition to Beory are worshiped. Mistletoe, oak leaves, and holly leaves are their emblems. Druids of the Old Faith tend toward complete neutrality. They yield only to the world-spanning authority of the legendary Grand Druid. The practices of the Old Faith are generally in accord with those of other nature priesthoods. The druids do not engage in the sacrifice of sentient creatures. The Old Faith is still widely practiced in the Flanaess, and not only in those regions dominated by descendents of the Flan peoples. The age-old sacred groves and monolithic circles of the Old Faith may include shrines dedicated to any nature deity the resident druids permit, but most often they are unadorned. While Beory the Oerth Mother is the best known deity associated with the Old Faith.

                  Druids from Wildspace
                  While most druids prefer to remain on the planet of their birth, others see the expanse of space as nature's ultimate mystery. Races with a close link to the natural world, such as elves and humans, are most often found as druids, though any individual seeking to learn more of the secrets of nature can follow the path.

                  Sources: D&D 3.5 Players Handbook, D&D 3.5 Players Handbook II, Eberron Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net, AD&D Odyssey : The Savage Coast
                  « Last Edit: August 22, 2022, 09:43:56 PM by EO »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Fighter
                  « Reply #14 on: October 10, 2021, 03:20:27 PM »
                  The Fighter

                  The questing knight, the conquering overlord, the king's champion, the elite foot soldier, the hardened mercenary, and the bandit king - all are fighters. Fighters can be stalwart defenders of those in need, cruel marauders, or gutsy adventurers. Some are among the land's best souls, willing to face death for the greater good. Others are among the worst, with no qualms about killing for private gain, or even for sport. Fighters who are not actively adventuring may be soldiers, guards, bodyguards, champions, or criminal enforcers. An adventuring fighter might call himself a warrior, a mercenary, a thug, or simply an adventurer.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Most fighters see adventures, raids, and dangerous missions as their job. Some have patrons who pay them regularly. Others prefer to live like prospectors, taking great risks in hopes of the big haul. Some fighters are more civic-minded and use their combat skills to protect endangered people who cannot defend themselves. Whatever their initial motivations, however, fighters often wind up living for the thrill of combat and adventure.

                  Characteristics: Of all classes, fighters have the best all-around fighting capabilities (hence the name). Fighters are familiar with all the standard weapons and armors. In addition to general fighting given fighter may be especially capable with certain weapons, another might be trained to execute specific fancy maneuvers. As fighters gain experience, they get more opportunities to develop their fighting skills. Thanks to their focus on combat maneuvers, they can master the most difficult ones relatively quickly.

                  Alignment: Fighters may be of any alignment. Good fighters are often crusading types who seek out and fight evil. Lawful fighters may be champions who protect the land and its people. Chaotic fighters may be wandering mercenaries. Evil fighters tend to be bullies and petty villains who simply take what they want by brute force.

                  Religion: Fighters often worship Heironeous (god of valor), Kord (god of strength), St. Cuthbert (god of retribution), Hextor (god of tyranny), or Erythnul (god of slaughter). A fighter may style himself as a crusader in the service of his god, or he may just want someone to pray to before putting his life on the line yet another time.

                  Background: Fighters come to their profession in many ways. Most have had formal training in a noble's army or at least in the local militia. Some have trained in formal academies. Others are self-taught-unpolished but well tested. A fighter may have taken up the sword as a way to escape the limits of life on the farm, or he may be following a proud family tradition. Fighters share no special identity. They do not see themselves as a group or brotherhood. Those who hail from a particular academy, mercenary company, or lord's regiment, however, share a certain camaraderie.

                  Personality: Fighters are adventuring opportunists, willing to go wherever the next fight leads them. They'll take up quests, they'll accept commissions, and they'll even consider taking on leadership roles, as long as they can practice their warrior's craft. They know fighting - none know it better. Other combatants with exotic martial styles or those who mix spells with swords obscure what is most important - who's the best? Who can put their sword in an enemy's guts first? The fighter, that's who. They are straight-up, no-nonsense people, and they know the value of their hard-won, long practiced skills. While they take great risks in hopes of receiving an equally big payout, for them the thrill of combat is at least as compelling as the loot at adventure's end.

                  One or more of the following character themes could apply to a fighter:
                  Spoiler: show
                  Comrade in Arms: In a fight, the character's best weapons are his friends. His skill in arms can get him only so far, but without a friend to screen attacks while he drinks down a potion of curing and an ally with whom he can flank a monster, his ability to win in the face of any odds would be greatly diminished. Though he's not ordinarily a sentimental person, the bonds of warfare link him with his companions, and he considers them brothers and sisters to a significant degree. He regularly puts himself in harm's way for their sake, and he likes to believe they'd do the same for him.

                  "We can take them if we work as a team!"
                  "I'll charge straight in--you take the left flank, and you the right. And how about some archery to distract them?"


                  Formally Trained: Unlike many fighters, the character has a special pedigree - his skill in the craft comes from formal training in an academy. His academy training imparted to him all the right-of-way rules in regard to attacks and defenses, should he ever be called upon to fight in a noble tournament, as opposed to the desperate battles below the ground in which he usually finds himself embroiled. He knows all the proper terms for swordsmanship, and knows that all blades fall into four major categories: foils, epees, sabers, and longswords (which are either one - or two-handed affairs). His knowledge of all the specializations and names of the thousands of blade types is nearly encyclopedic, especially with regard to the more obscure types of blades utilized by swordsmen of distant countries. While this knowledge has little practical application, he does enjoy showing it off to his companions.

                  "The difference between the bokuto, a wooden training sword, and the suburito is actually very small - the suburito is slightly heaver."
                  "The dao is like a saber - but the dao lacks a hand guard, which somewhat limits your options in a fight."
                  "If it's a sword, it has a tip, a blade, a fuller, and a hilt made up of the guard, grip, and pommel."
                  "A fuller? A fuller is a rounded groove on the fl at side of a blade. Although sometimes called ‘blood grooves,' their purpose is really to lighten the blade."
                  "Kukri is actually pronounced khu-khoo-ree."


                  Practice Makes Perfect: For the character, daily exercise is more than something to get his blood running - he sees it as a requirement of his craft. With first light, he's up doing pushups, stomach crunches, running in place, and then the all-important swordplay, whether with a comrade or practicing forms on his own. Afterward, he spends time oiling his equipment against rust and sun, and of course gives his blade a little time with the whetstone. He certainly won't go more than a week without his practice, and he prefers a daily regimen.

                  Self-Taught: The character's academy was the street, and his craft is unpolished but well tested. He doesn't know and doesn't care for all the "jargon" a few who claim to be warriors spout. He knows swords, he knows bows - he knows how to use them, who cares what they're called? The information doesn't help him in a fight, and it might get him killed if he worries too much about the cutting edge versus the thrusting tip and the rest of that sort of nonsense.

                  "I know swords--that's all I need."
                  "I knew a fellow who liked to talk fancy, just like you. He's dead now."

                  Races: Human fighters are usually veterans of some military service, typically from more mundane parents. Dwarf fighters are commonly former members of the well-trained strike teams that protect the underground dwarven kingdoms. They are typically members of warrior families that can trace their lineages back for millennia, and they may have rivalries or alliances with other dwarf fighters of a different lineage. Elf fighters are typically skilled with the longsword. They are proud of their ability at swordplay and eager to demonstrate or test it. Half-orc fighters are often selftaught outcasts who have achieved enough skill to earn recognition and something akin to respect. Gnome and halfling fighters usually stay in their own communities as part of the area militia rather than adventuring. Half-elves are rarely fighters, but they may take up swordplay in honor of the elven tradition. Among the brutal humanoids, few can manage the discipline it takes to be a true fighter. The militaristic hobgoblins, however, produce quite a number of strong and skilled fighters.

                  Other Classes: The fighter excels in a straight fight, but he relies on others for magical support, healing, and scouting. On a team, it is his job to man the front lines, protect the other party members, and bring the tough opponents down. Fighters might not understand the arcane ways of wizards or share the faith of clerics, but they recognize the value of teamwork.

                  Role: In most adventuring parties, the fighter serves as a melee combatant, charging into the fray while his comrades support him with spells, ranged attacks, and other effects. Fighters who favor ranged combat can prove very deadly, though without other melee support, they can find themselves in front-line combat more often than they might prefer.

                  Fighters from Ravenloft
                  Fighters are "everyman" heroes: men and women, lacking in any supernatural gifts, who prefer to face their obstacles head on. Fighters can be found in every settled domain and can fill any niche requiring martial skill and physical prowess. They serve as armored knights in Darkon, Nova Vaasa, and the Shadowlands, and toil as soldiers in Falkovnia's armies, but their ranks may also include anything from a constable or a bodyguard to a thuggish bandit, or even just a peasant with long practice in defending her livestock from cunning wolves.

                  Fighters tend to adventure for clear-cut, "mundane" reasons. Like anyone else, they seek to better their stations in life and secure their happiness. A fighter might adventure to seek fame and fortune, to pursue justice or vengeance, or she may simply follow her own moral imperatives. Fighters are often invaluable when battling physical threats, but without magical aid, they can find themselves all but helpless against some unnatural foes.

                  Fighters from Athas
                  Most fighters on Athas are either arena gladiators, soldiers serving in a dragon-king's army, guards of merchant caravans or a noble villa, or mercenaries.

                  Gladiators tend to focus on melee combat, because that's what the Athasian crowds like to watch. Most are slaves—the property of nobles or merchant houses—but a few have earned their freedom by fighting particularly well. Free gladiators support themselves with the prizes they earn in the arena or by training new gladiators.

                  The bulk of a city-state's army consists of conscripted slaves with only rudimentary martial training, but each dragon-king also keeps several legions of elite soldiers that constantly drill, parade, and patrol. Among the most famous—or notorious—are Urik's Obsidian Guard and the all-female Shadow Consorts of Nibenay. Most military units are commanded by a high-ranking templar in the service of the ruling dragon-king, but particularly prestigious units receive orders directly from the dragon-king they serve.

                  The merchant houses of Athas likewise have highly organized caravan guards that function like military units in their own right. Most merchant houses have mounted cavalry guards that patrol ahead of caravans and keep the trade routes clear. They also employ foot soldiers that march along with the caravan, keeping it safe from bandits and the many monsters of Athas.

                  Nobles also employ a number of fighters as bodyguards and personal retinues to safeguard their holdings. Most fighters regard employment by a noble as easy work, because most nobles are content to have their personal guards stand watch in the villa and occasionally parade through town. Only when a noble is involved in some intrigue, the slaves rise up, or a monster attacks will such a fighter see action.

                  Some enterprising freemen and smaller merchant houses have formed small mercenary companies that offer the services of experienced fighters to nobles, merchant houses, and (in times of war) even the dragon-kings themselves. Individual soldiers of fortune have always existed, but organized units-for-hire are a relatively recent development. Most mercenary companies use armed camps in the desert wastelands as their headquarters, with small business offices in the nearest city-state where they make deals and recruit new troops. Among the mercenary companies, the Black Reavers northwest of Urik and the all-Maenad Vareshi Brigade (hidden within the walls of Balic) are the most famous.

                  Fighters from Cerilia
                  Fighters are by far the most common character class and are found in every corner of Cerilia.

                  Fighters from Eberron
                  Fighters fill a number of combat-oriented roles in the world of Eberron. The Last War produced a number of veterans, from simple grunts who learned to fight and survive in the trenches along the Karrnath–Cyre front to extensively trained commandos and warband squad leaders. All of these fighters seek ways to use the skills they acquired during the war in this new age of peace. Other fighters might serve as part of a chivalric order, such as the Knights of Thrane, or have come up through a city watch or mercantile house guardian force.

                  Fighters from Faerūn
                  Fighters are at home in nearly every society of Faerūn. While they are often overlooked for praise because their skills are so common, great leaders such as Randal Morn, Bruenor Battlehammer, and the late King Azoun IV of Cormyr are very skilled warriors with reputations greater than the reach of their swords. Of course, many have risen to infamy on their fighting skills, such as Gondegal the Lost King, or the notorious assassin Artemis Entreri. Some countries have famous military or knightly orders. Cormyr is well known for its army, called the Purple Dragons. Tethyr has several knightly orders, the most accessible being the Champions Vigilant (worshiping Helm) and the Knights Kuldar of Barakmordin (worshiping the Triad of Ilmater, Torm, and Tyr).

                  Fighters from Krynn
                  Fighters are professional soldiers, mercenaries, duellists, or members of any other profession requiring skill in the arts of battle and war. Future Knights of Solamnia or Knights of Neraka are fighters during their "squire" periods. Others go on to become steel legionnaires or lead entire armies as legendary tacticians. Fighters venerate the martial deities Kiri-Jolith and Sargonnas. Some also praise Mishakal, whose clerics tend to the wounds they suffer in battle. Warfare is a sadly common occurrence on Ansalon, and people of all races take up the way of the sword to defend their homes and loved ones. Dwarves, half-ogres, and minotaurs are among the most feared soldiers.

                  Fighters from Mystara
                  Fighters are present in every society of Mystara, from the heldannic knights to the fierce mounted warriors of the Ethangar Khanate or the soldiers of the mighty army of the Thyatian empire, nations have been built on the strength of men-at-arms and hardy explorers. In the aftermath of the War of the Immortals, the current geopolitical instabilities ensure that mercenaries and other muscles for hire will find employment nearly anywhere. The Thyatian Empire is rebuilding itself, the ruler of Karameikos needs brave warriors to protect the nascent kingdom, merchant vessels seek protection from pirate raids. A fighter need but to choose to which cause one will lend its blade.

                  Fighters from Oerth
                  Fighters form the backbone of every armies on Oerth. Adventuring companies and mercenaries abound in the Flanaess, a skillful warrior will always be in demand. Military orders of renown such as the Knight Protectors of the Great Kingdom, the Knights of the Hart, the Knights of the Holy Shielding, the Knights of the Watch, and the elven Knights of Luna, defend their respective lands with fervor against forces of evil such as the Horned Society and the Orcs of the Pomarj, themselves emboldened by fierce warriors.

                  Fighters from Wildspace
                  Fighters have a place in any combat, regardless of planet, and they can be found among all races. The smaller races - gnomes and halflings - often prefer less physical means of resolving issues, and the highly cultured elves sometimes disdain brute force.

                  Sources: D&D 3.5 Players Handbook, D&D 3.5 Players Handbook II, Eberron Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, with information from the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (AD&D), Dungeon #92 (Spelljammer), Birthright.net
                  « Last Edit: July 21, 2022, 04:00:24 PM by EO »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  EO

                  • Assistant Head DM/Developer
                  • Head DMs
                  • Dark Power
                  • ******
                  • Posts: 22401
                  • The one and only, the one everyone wants to be!
                  Favored Soul
                  « Reply #15 on: November 09, 2021, 05:49:37 PM »
                  The Favored Soul

                  The favored soul follows the path of the cleric but is able to channel divine power with surprising ease. She is able to perform the same tasks as her fellow divine spellcasters but with virtually no study; to her, it comes naturally. Scholars wonder if favored souls have traces of outsider blood from unions, holy or unholy, centuries ago and generations removed. Others suggest that divine training of the proper type awakens the ability, or that favored souls are simply imbued with their gifts by their gods when they begin the cleric's path. In any case, favored souls cast their spells naturally, as much through force of personality as through study. Though this gives them extraordinary divine abilities no normal person could ever match, they see their gift as a call to action, and so in some ways may lag behind their more studious colleagues.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Favored souls are often loners, wandering the land serving their deities. They are welcomed by their churches but treated as unusual and are sometimes misunderstood. They are emissaries of their deities and outside the church's command structure—respected mystics not requiring the support normally crucial to a priest's success. This makes them sometimes revered and sometimes envied by their cleric cousins. While favored souls are occasionally disrespected for their perceived lack of discipline, devout worshipers know that they are a powerful message from, and indeed a living manifestation of, their deities.

                  Characteristics: Favored souls cast divine spells by means of an innate connection rather than through laborious training and prayer, so their divine connection is natural rather than learned. These divine spellcasters know fewer spells and acquire powerful spells more slowly than clerics, but favored souls can cast spells more often, and they have no need to select and prepare them ahead of time.

                  Alignment: Divine magic is intuitive to a favored soul, not a matter of careful prayer. This intuitive nature leads to a freer interpretation of faith and doctrine, and so favored souls tend slightly toward chaos over law. A favored soul is often of the same alignment as her deity, though some are one step away. For example, a favored soul could serve a lawful good deity and be neutral good herself. A favored soul may not be neutral unless her deity is neutral.

                  Religion: A favored soul can be of any religion, usually from a deity worshipped in one's native land. Among nonhuman races, favored souls most commonly worship the chief deity of their racial pantheon. Unlike clerics, favored souls are not able to devote themselves to a cause or a source of divine power instead of a deity.

                  Quote from: Ravenloft PotM Server Rules
                  - Favored souls should worship a deity from their setting and have a favored weapon supported by that deity, as listed on the forums.

                  Background: Favored souls learn of their connection with the divine at a young age. Eventually, a young favored soul understands the power that she has been wielding unintentionally. Favored souls, as naturally inclined divine channelers, are also born loners. Unlike clerics in a temple, they gain little by sharing their knowledge and have no strong incentive to work together.

                  Personality: Favored souls are free agents of their deity, unfettered by the strictures of a clerical hierarchy. They wander from place to place, wielding their power to advance the causes they deem worthy in the eyes of their god, or else they choose a great crusade against that which offends their deity, requiring a lifelong commitment and unswerving purpose. While the cleric comes to his power through study and discipline, the favored soul is the recipient of a great gift — or, as some perceive it, a terrible curse. How they wield the divine power burning in their heart is up to each of them.

                  One or more of the following character themes could apply to a favored soul:

                  Spoiler: show

                  Mystic: The character aspires to the divine in every aspect of his life. The difficulties and dangers around him are only temporary; he keeps his eyes firmly fixed on matters of the spirit, which are all that truly matter. He has little interest in wealth, fame, or creature comforts, since these things are transitory too. Instead, he seeks enlightenment, understanding, and spiritual growth. Some might see the character as oblivious or irrational, but those are unfair characterizations. He simply has the ability to look past fear, pain, and suffering to the eternal rewards that will surely follow. He possesses moral and physical courage in abundance, because he does not fear death or injury. He doesn't go out of his way to get hurt or killed, of course, but there is no point in fearing pain or death when one knows that their spirit will survive. While the character's comrades might not always appreciate his detachment from matters of the physical world, he is compassionate (or careful, at least, if he is evil) and fearless. Nothing discourages him. The character seeks out adventures for the right reasons - aiding others, gaining knowledge, advancing the cause of his deity, or (if the character is not good) hardening his soul and accruing power for the day when he leaves his fleshly existence behind. Monetary gain for its own sake interests the character little, but the growth he experiences in taking on any challenging experience - such as recovering an ancient treasure - means that he does not necessarily spurn his companions' quests for material gain. When circumstances permit, the character contemplates decisions carefully. He is not given to hasty action or impetuousness. Even in combat, he remains calm and deliberate. He will speak slowly and thoughtfully; avoiding undue excitement. When he encourages his friends, he reminds them that very little in the world around them has the power to do them true and lasting injury.
                  "Courage, friends; all this has happened before, and will happen again."
                  "Pain is illusory! It exists only in the mind."
                  "True strength lies within."
                  "Death is a doorway, nothing more. Fear it not."


                  Scourge of Unbelievers: The character is his deity's chosen instrument of vengeance, punishment, and righteous wrath. It falls to him to defend the innocent and harry the iniquitous. He is driven, never able to rest as long as his deity's enemies remain at large. Since he has an inclusive view of who might be considered an enemy of his deity, that means he rarely rests at all. To play such a theme, you can examine your deity's alignment, description, and dogma or credo and create a list of the creatures or people you need to smite first. Anybody not on that list is irrelevant... unless, of course, they can be recruited as allies in the character's ongoing crusade. When the adventures pits the character against foes that his deity has no special distaste for, he chafes for the opportunity to finish up and return to what's truly important: bringing the wrath of his deity down upon his or her enemies. The character is frequently inspired to scream or snarl imprecations, letting his foes know exactly who he is and exactly why he is punishing them.
                  "Pelor's light will sear you, spawn of darkness!"
                  "Pelor commands your destruction, infidel!"
                  "Naught shall avail you against the might of Pelor, demon! I will hurl you screaming back into the Abyss!"


                  Races: The innate talent of spontaneously channeling divine power is unpredictable, and it can show up in any of the common races. Divine spellcasters from savage lands or from among brutal humanoid tribes (such as orcs or half-orcs) are more often favored souls than clerics.

                  Other Classes: Favored souls have the most in common with members of other self-taught classes, especially sorcerers, but also druids and rogues. They sometimes find themselves at odds with members of the more disciplined classes, specifically clerics, whom they sometimes view as too wrapped up in doctrine and rigidly defined attitudes.

                  Role: The favored soul serves as a group's backup healer and defensive magic specialist. She can hold her own in a fight, especially if she chooses to focus on powers that aid her in combat.


                  Favored Souls from Ravenloft
                  Native favored souls are exceptionally rare within the Land of Mists, more so than in many other worlds and settings. They are absent from the history of Ravenloft's domains, though a few individuals have been born with or manifested such abilities in recent years. While favored souls ascribe their powers to the deity they serve, it remains a mystery why they don't receive their gifts in the same manner as a cleric. They're viewed by their respective faiths with guarded curiosity, usually welcomed and envied in equal measure. Among the more orthodox faiths, such as the Churches of Ezra and the Lawgiver, they may be viewed with greater scrutiny and suspicion. Most, however, choose to operate independently rather than let their inherent bond to their deity become muddled by earthly hierarchy. Ultimately, it matters little to the individual favored soul what the more traditional clergy say of them; the power of their god manifests through them, and that is all that matters.

                  Favored Souls from Athas
                  It may be surprising that favored souls would rise in a world without gods. Though not gods themselves, the powerful sorcerer-kings can tap into the power of the elemental planes and act as conduits to grant spell powers to their templars. Every now and then, a would be templar receives this power in an unexpected manner which gives rise to favored souls. Why that is is unknown, and the sorcerer-kings are not telling. To most, this marks the given individual as being above other templars, and those thus marked usually reciprocate by being fanatical in their devotion. This is a precarious and dangerous position though. High-ranking templars constantly vie for favors with their patron sorcerer-kings and suffer little opposition. This makes favored souls targets for assassination. Favored souls of Athas are thus best served by not attracting too much attention to themselves.

                  Favored Souls from Cerilia
                  A common belief on Cerilia is that favored souls are the descendants of people who were touched by the essences of the gods that died at the Battle of Mount Deismaar. However, such claim is not substantiated by any historical facts. No hereditary pattern of any sort can be observed in favored souls and they can be found equally among people with or without regency bloodline powers. They are given the same amount of respect as the priests of the gods.

                  Favored Souls from Eberron
                  The favored souls of Eberron devote themselves to specific deities of the Sovereign Host or of the Dark Six. Some are associated with other faiths, but the majority choose a single deity to emulate. Like other divine casters, such as true clerics or paladins, favored souls embody the pinnacle of devotion, and are very rare.

                  Favored Souls from Faerūn
                  Mortals who perform great services to deities, devoting their lives and work to the cause of their god or goddess, sometimes become the Chosen of that deity. Mystra's Chosen -- the seven sisters, Elminster, and others in the past -- are the most well known, but many other deities have Chosen worshipers. The Rotting Man, the hideous blightlord who corrupts and rots the Rawlinswood, is the Chosen of Talona. While some Chosen come into their status because of deeds and service, others come into the world with their deity's favor. These Chosen are known as favored souls, infants born as physical manifestations of a deity's power on Faerūn.

                  Being born a favored soul has both advantages and disadvantages. Like a cleric, a favored soul has access to her god's divine magic. Unlike a cleric, however, the magic of a favored soul is natural. As such, it is unlikely to be denied by her god. Because favored souls do not need to pray for their spells, deities don't need to approve or disapprove each and every incantation. This and the many divine powers of a favored soul make members of the class quite powerful. Despite these powers, favored souls are often hindered by a sense of inescapable destiny that surrounds their births. They didn't choose their paths and may not want anything to do with their religion. In this way, the powers of a favored soul can be a burden rather than a blessing.

                  Most Faerūnian deities have at least a few favored souls in their service. Some choose to have only one at any given time, but others spread out their favored souls among the lands in their worship. Rarely is there more than one favored soul in a given region, unless it's highly populated. Because they are often seen as direct signs from their god, favored souls rarely lead normal lives. The reason there are so few is because they create ripples in their travels, affecting everything they touch with their god's divine power.

                  Favored Souls of Gothic Earth
                  Favored souls are unheard of on Gothic Earth. That is because the Red Death effectively shuts out people from communing with their gods and receiving divine blessings. It is likely that a few rare individuals are indeed favored souls, but without divine powers or spellcasting abilities, no one, not even the favored soul himself, would know. A favored soul’s powers would only manifest upon arriving in Ravenloft.

                  Favored Souls from Krynn
                  The world of Krynn is not known to host favored souls. It doesn't mean that they do not exist, simply that they would be very rare. The gods of good, neutrality and evil all have a long history of meddling with the people of Ansalon and to, occasionally, gift them with blessings beyond those of clerics. It is very likely that some people, perceived as true priests of the gods, were in fact favored souls.

                  Favored Souls from Mystara
                  The Immortals of Mystara follow an essential cardinal rule: On the prime material plane, direct action against mortals is forbidden. That doesn't mean they cannot meddle in the affairs of mortals, but it forces them to act through indirect ways, most notably through their agents. While clerics are their most obvious ones, they can also empower people in numerous other ways. A mortal might be blessed to become the voice of an immortal and thus grow to become a favored soul.

                  Favored Souls from Oerth
                  The Flanaess is teeming with churches and cults dedicated to a wide array of deities scattered across a large number of different pantheons. Though they would still be rarer than clerics, it stands to reason that favored souls would be born every now and then. As in most other worlds, they are usually treated with curiosity, but just the same as anyone else, it is by their actions above all that they will be judged and forge a place for themselves in society. A favored soul can be of any religion. The most common deity worshiped by human favored souls in civilized lands is Pelor, god of the sun. Among nonhuman races, favored souls most commonly worship the chief deity of their racial pantheon.

                  Favored Souls from Wildspace
                  Favored souls in wildspace are usually natives of prime material worlds such as Krynn, Oerth or Toril. They usually enjoy more freedom than on their native worlds since most churches are only active in their respective worlds. This means that they are not subjected to as much scrutiny as they would be back on their homelands. To a spelljamming crew, the gifts of the gods may mean life or death when crossing the phlogiston. Favored souls are thus guaranteed to find a place where they will be welcome.
                  « Last Edit: August 22, 2022, 09:46:43 PM by EO »

                  EO

                  • Assistant Head DM/Developer
                  • Head DMs
                  • Dark Power
                  • ******
                  • Posts: 22401
                  • The one and only, the one everyone wants to be!
                  Warlock
                  « Reply #16 on: July 07, 2022, 10:43:41 PM »
                  The Warlock

                  Born of a supernatural bloodline, a warlock seeks to master the perilous magic that suffuses his soul. Unlike sorcerers or wizards, who approach arcane magic through the medium of spells, a warlock invokes powerful magic through nothing more than an effort of will. By harnessing his innate magical gift through fearsome determination and force of will, a warlock can perform feats of supernatural stealth, beguile the weak-minded, or scour his foes with blasts of eldritch power.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Many warlocks are champions of dark and chaotic powers. Long ago, they (or in some cases, their ancestors) forged grim pacts with dangerous extraplanar powers, trading portions of their souls in exchange for supernatural power. While many warlocks have turned away from evil, seeking to undo the wrongs of their former colleagues, they are still chained by the old pacts through which they acquired their powers. The demand to further the designs of their dark patrons, or to resist them, drives most warlocks to seek the opportunities for power, wealth, and great deeds (for good or ill) offered by adventuring.

                  Characteristics: Warlocks harbor great reserves of mystical energy. The font of dark magic burning in their souls makes them resistant to many forms of attack and arms them with dangerous power. Warlocks do not wield spells, but they do learn to harness their power to perform a small number of specific attacks and tricks called invocations. Warlocks make up for their lack of versatility by being tougher and more resilient than sorcerers or wizards.

                  Alignment: Warlocks are often chaotic or evil (and more than a few are both). The powers they serve can be cruel, capricious, and wild, unbound by conventional views of right and wrong. However, even warlocks who derive their powers from the most sinister of patrons have been known to turn the black powers at their command against evil. A good-aligned warlock is a grim and fearsome enemy of evil. All too familiar with the darkness lurking in his heart, he gazes unflinchingly on the evil in others and battles the foulest of foes without fear.

                  Religion: Warlocks know firsthand the power of supernatural beings, so they do not scorn religion. Evil warlocks sometimes seek the favor of cruel and bloodthirsty deities, while good warlocks often turn to the worship of noble and true deities for the strength to win the battle raging in their tortured souls.

                  Background: Warlocks are born, not made. Some are the descendants of people who trafficked with demons and devils long ago. Some seek out the dark powers as youths, driven by ambition or the desire for power, but a few blameless individuals are simply marked out by the supernatural forces as conduits and tools. The exact nature of a warlock's origin is up to the player to decide; just as a sorcerer is not beholden to the magic-wielding ancestor that bequeathed his bloodline with arcane power, a warlock is not bound to follow the source that gifted him with magic. Warlocks are not half-fiends or tieflings by default (although many creatures of those kinds become some of the most powerful and terrifying representatives of the class). The mark that the supernatural powers leave on their servants is often a mark in the soul, not the flesh. In fact, many warlocks are created by non-evil powers - wild or fey forces that can be every bit as dangerous as demons or devils. Whatever their origin, warlocks are widely feared and misunderstood. Most are wanderers who rarely stay in one place for long.

                  Origins: Though warlocks are described as arcane characters, their powers function very differently from those of the various arcane spellcasters. Although the end result of a The Dead Walk invocation might be largely indistinguishable from an Animate Dead spell, warlocks channel their magic in a way that the average wizard or sorcerer can only dream of accomplishing. Warlocks typically claim that this proficiency with magic comes from their bloodline - or, in some cases, from a pact made with powerful entities that permanently changes the individual's interactions with the supernatural.

                  The common stereotype associated with warlocks is that they all derive their powers from a fiendish heritage. In truth, while they might be the most visible and well-known examples, fiendish warlocks make up only a thin majority of all those who use invocations. Some theorists even hold that the category of arcanists known as "warlocks" actually encompasses a wider range of power sources and mindsets than commonly believed, and that further study will reveal the multitude of archetypes hiding behind the label of warlock.

                  Their powers can be granted either by powerful devils, demons, fey, slaadi, or celestials. A more detailed presentation of the various known entities capable of granting a warlock his powers follows:

                  Spoiler: show
                  Devils: The infernal denizens of the Nine Hells of Baator are the undisputed masters of crafting power-driven bargains with mortals, so it should come as no surprise that the iconic warlock is a result of such a deal. No other creatures take as much pleasure from corrupting mortals with dark powers, and the sheer number of devils who traffic in such pacts would send a chill down the spine of the staunchest paladin. From ambitious horned devils and pit fiends to the greatest archdevils themselves, these masters of artifice and duplicity take pride in sowing evil throughout the land, and endowing warlocks with their power provides ample opportunity. Among the various lords of the Nine Hells, Dispater, Mammon, Belial, Mephistopheles, and the mighty Asmodeus most actively broker such accords.

                  Warlocks whose power comes from devils are most commonly lawful evil tyrants, though rebellious chaotic exceptions exist.

                  Demons: Perhaps surprisingly, few demonic powers are responsible for the pacts that create warlocks. As any planar scholar would tell you, demons fixate on rampant destruction over planned corruption, which means that most don't have the interest (or talent) required to broker such deals. The mightiest of the common demons, such as the mariliths and balors, only rarely take the time to instill such power, and a bare few of the so-called demon princes are so inclined.

                  The best known of these is Graz'zt the Dark Prince (whom most agree resembles an archdevil in his cunning and guile). Mighty demons prefer to bestow their favor upon bloody cults of mad followers rather than reward a single individual with great power - after all, such an individual might easily become a threat to the demon prince's own rulership of his realm.

                  Warlocks whose power derives from demonkind are most commonly chaotic evil and tend toward savage brutality.

                  Fey: A growing number of warlocks draw their power from the mystical realm of faerie. Fey have always enjoyed a special link to the wild magical energy that suffuses the natural world, and most sages agree that mortals - even the long-lived elves - can't begin to comprehend the sheer untapped potential that rests within faeriekind. The rare fey that interact with human folk represent only the tip of the iceberg. True fey are more terrible and beautiful than mortal eyes can bear to perceive. Legends of rival courts of fey - one light and one dark - have persisted for ages, though the fey themselves don't share details. The increase in mortals who wield fey-given power, however, suggests that the realm of faerie might be awakening from a long slumber. Woe to those who underestimate the effect of this development on the mortal realm.

                  A feyblooded warlock is equally likely to be a well-meaning chaotic good, an unpredictable chaotic neutral, or a coldly malevolent neutral evil individual. Few have the discipline for a lawful evil bent, and most don't share the savage outlook common to chaotic evil.

                  Slaadi: As beings of pure chaos unconcerned with matters of morality, few slaadi care enough to make pacts with mortals. Some of the most potent of them, however, such as the mightiest of the death slaadi, occasionally empower warlocks for their own unfathomable reasons.

                  Warlocks whose powers derive from the slaadi can be of any alignment, but most are chaotic.

                  Celestials: The mere suggestion that the paragons of virtue would grant such dark powers to mortals seems at first to be unworthy of discussion. However, some particularly wild or chaotic celestials, such as the eladrins, share more in common with the fey than with the archons or angels. Is it so inconceivable that the mighty denizens of the Court of Stars might see fit to share some fragment of their power with charismatic mortals?

                  A warlock who has celestial power to thank for his invocations is most likely to be chaotic good, though such power has also been known to corrupt even the most well-meaning soul. For another take on a celestial-themed warlock, see the enlightened spirit prestige class.

                  Regardless of the source of his talent, the warlock might represent a heretofore "missing link" between arcane magic and innate magic - a link in the great chain that spans the distance between the racial abilities of the dragon, archon, fey, or devil and the learned abilities of the wizard. Only time will tell if these strange individuals are destined to remain exceptions to the general rules of magic, or if they presage a growing tide of characters who wield power through their bloodline.

                  Personality: Warlocks deal with things other people cannot even imagine. Only through their determination and willpower do they resist being utterly consumed by the dark power they wield. They walk the earth, free to work good or evil with their so-called gift. But even if they choose to resist evil's lure, it is a struggle they must win each and every day of their life.

                  Magic is a part of their being in a way that not even the most powerful sorcerer or wizard will ever know. In their heart burns a strange and terrible font of power, giving them the ability to perform uncanny feats with only a flick of the wrist or a wave of the hand to show for it. Warlocks are capable enough in battle, but their real strength lies in their ability to bedevil and blight their enemies with a variety of noxious curses and sinister tricks. Few people care to associate with them - but those who do find them to be capable companions indeed.

                  One or more of the following character themes could apply to a warlock:

                  Spoiler: show

                  Hellion: The character is an enfant terrible, a troublemaker who cares nothing for the expectations or sensibilities of the people around him. He delights in scandalizing those who seek to censure his behavior. He never apologizes for his actions or conceals his true nature. If the common folk are frightened of warlocks, let them be frightened! He savours the taste of their fear. When dealing with the powerful, he dispenses with etiquette and tact and speaks his mind. He takes pleasure in the gasps of shock and daggerlike glances of those who think he’s uncouth. The unwritten rules of discourse and behavior are silly and outmoded anyway, so he flaunts them at every opportunity. He doesn't need to be obscene, vile, or gross, but he feels no need to moderate his behavior or watch his words.

                  "All power is evil. Haven't you learned that yet?"
                  "Stand aside, constable! No one stops me from going where I like and doing what I please! Or would you prefer to be a toad?"
                  "You'd like my head on a pike, would you? Well, here it is - come take it if you can! Otherwise, leave me be!"


                  Reformed: The character has done terrible wrongs in his life. He has mocked the holy, plundered the weak, harried the just, and murdered the innocent. But now he repents of the evil he inflicted on the world, and earnestly strives to atone for his many crimes. By turning the powers of darkness against other evildoers, he hopes to make amends as best he can. In his travels, he might encounter those who know of his evil past. Such people might assume that his reformation is nothing more than a cynical attempt to escape justice, or perhaps a cruel sham designed to provide him with opportunities to indulge in even greater wickedness than before. In some lands he is reviled, and he walks abroad at no small risk of imprisonment or execution. In all fairness, he deserves such treatment after what he did.

                  "I've done... great evil. Those deeds darkened my soul, and every day I do all I can to erase that stain."

                  Races: Ambitious and often unprincipled, humans are the most likely to seek out the dangerous shortcuts to power that lead to life as warlocks. Half-orcs are common as warlocks as well, since they often find that the powers that create warlocks do not discriminate against individuals of mixed heritage. Warlocks of other races are rare at best.

                  Other Classes: The warlock views sorcerers and wizards as bitter rivals. He values the strength and cleverness of resourceful fighters and rogues but rarely gets along with clerics or paladins. Of course, most warlocks understand that it's a bad idea to antagonize their comrades (especially those who hold the key to healing magic), and so they work out an uneasy truce with characters who otherwise might ostracize them.

                  Role: A warlock serves much the same role in an adventuring party as a sorcerer or wizard would. He is much more limited in his abilities compared to the spell selection of spellcasters, and he must rely on his eldritch blast in place of the spell power of an arcane caster. Like a bard, he often fits best in a party that already has another spellcaster or two, since his unique abilities provide him with little magic to use for his companions' benefit.

                  Warlocks from Ravenloft
                  No other spellcaster than the warlock epitomizes more the idea that all magical powers stem from pacts with devils and their ilk. In this case it is even possibly the truth, fiendish pacts being common enough among warlocks in the Mists. As such, warlocks must take good care not to attract undue attention, lest they find themselves chased down by peasants with pitchforks. Warlocks can hail from any Ravenloft domains, but will be more common in domains where magical pursuits are allowed such as in Darkon or Hazlan for instance.

                  Warlocks from Athas
                  Warlocks of Athas also gain their powers by entering a pact with a powerful being. This includes a variety of possibilities such as powerful eldritch, elemental or fey beings, but the overwhelming source of warlock powers is through a pact with one of the Sorcerer-Kings. Many templars swear an oath to a sorcerer king in exchange for arcane power. Becoming a warlock templar is mostly a bureaucratic process, a potential candidate enters the service of, and is trained by, other templars. The candidate may be presented to the Sorcerer-King on the day he is formally inducted in the templar ranks as a warlock, but there is otherwise no interaction whatsoever with the Sorcerer-King.

                  Warlocks from Cerilia
                  Warlocks are rare in Cerilia, but they should not be discounted as irrelevant or nonexistent. Among the possibilities, a warlock could have obtained its powers simply by having a touch of Vorynn's or Azrai's bloodline, inherited from an ancestor that survived the Battle at Mount Deismaar. The idea here being that the powers of the warlock may be a raw form of magic that was unleashed as these Old Gods died. Azrai is also said to have gifted "True Magic" to some of his followers prior the cataclysmic battle, and that might precisely be a form of warlock pact. Pacts with the Fairies of Tuarhievel, the Sielwood, many other Elven domains, and even from the Shadow World itself are a common way to acquire warlock powers. The Undead Powers of the Shadow World, perhaps even the Cold Rider himself, would definitively enter pacts, providing power in exchange of one's soul and servitude. Lastly but not least, a Cerilian may also enter a pact with an outsider being, be it celestial or fiendish in nature to acquire such powers. Contrary to other worlds, fiendish pacts are actually rarer on Aebrynis. These being made only by the truly desperate or hateful.

                  Warlocks from Eberron
                  Warlocks derive their strange arcane powers from unsavory and sometimes evil forces. In Eberron, warlocks seem to have close ties to the various fiends that inhabit the Material Plane, including night hags and particularly rakshasas. In fact, some warlocks believe that they siphon power from the rakshasa rajahs imprisoned in the depths of Khyber to manifest their eldritch blast and other magical abilities. Such individuals are sought out by the Lords of Dust to serve as agents. Often these warlocks do not know the true nature of the masters they serve.

                  In the Shadow Marches, warlocks might draw their magic from a bond to the dark powers of the Dragon Below or Xoriat itself. Characters with such abilities are respected by members of the Cults of the Dragon Below, but the people of the Shadow Marches view such spellcasters with suspicion. This is one of the most likely places for warlocks to appear in Eberron.

                  Warlock is the favored class of the secretive umbragen drow who live beneath the surface, and many umbragen merge the shadowy talents of the warlock with the skills of other classes. The pious templar blends the gifts of the warlock with the healing powers of the cleric, while the dread knight strikes down his enemies with shadows and steel.

                  Warlocks from Faerūn
                  Given their dealings with often sinister otherworldly patrons in exchange for power, warlocks don't have a sterling reputation in the Realms. Even well-meaning warlocks are viewed with suspicion and justifiable caution. Some wizards feel the very existence of warlocks taints the view of their noble Art and causes the common folk to view all practitioners of magic with doubt. Some warlocks, particularly those of fey or fiendish bloodlines, are born with a propensity for their power, drawing the attention of potential patrons even from childhood. Others seek out a pact, sometimes because they can't find the power they desire elsewhere. Some warlocks forge multiple pacts, although they must eventually come to favor one over the others, as their patrons are jealous and possessive beings.

                  In the Realms, there are a number of possible supernatural origins for warlocks. The most common is an infernal source such as the fallen archdevil demigod Gargauth or the archdevils Asmodeus and Mephistopheles. These individuals represent the majority of warlocks and are, with rare exceptions, almost universally evil.

                  A small number of warlocks derive their powers from fey pacts and bloodlines. These most commonly arise from pacts with the unseelie courtiers of the Queen of Air and Darkness, but other sources exist as well. A small band of shadar-kai warlocks has been spotted along the Golden Way near Telflamm.

                  Elven powers native to Faerūn also have spawned warlocks. The chaotic energies of the deteriorating Sildėyuir have affected the births of a small number of Star Elves, creating powerful magical defenders. Led by their indomitable leader, Pherix Traeleth, they act as a defensive bridge between the Yuirwood and the Sildėyuir plane, fending off incursions on both ends.

                  A coven of fey'ri warlocks derive their power from an ancient pact with the fallen solar Malkizid. Despite the near decimation of the daemonfey army, most of these warlocks survived. They fled after being defeated by the armies of Lord Seiveril Miritar, then attempted to pick up lives halted by thousands of years of imprisonment.

                  Warlocks are present among a number of the planetouched races of Faerūn. Many tieflings who descended from infernal powers pursue dark invocations, though abyssal tiefling warlocks exist as well. A small coven of worghest warlocks is known to exist in the Mines of Tethyamar. Scholars believe that they derive their powers from a pact with the mammoth greater barghest known as Tarkomang. There are even rumors of warlock bloodlines among the celadrin in Cormanthor.

                  While the majority of fey warlocks are associated with the Unseelie Court, rumors abound that the Seelie forces have begun to experiment with pacts as well. At least a few warlocks travel Faerūn in service to Titania, combating the malevolent efforts of the Queen of Air and Darkness. Neither court is particularly influential in the Realms, but their respective presences are growing.

                  Spoiler: Detailed Information • show
                  Infernal Origins
                  Among all those likely to foster warlock bloodlines, none are more enthusiastic than archdevils. They enjoy sowing corruption and extending tendrils of control by spreading their bloodline and making pacts with Faerūnian mortals. While the most frequent archdevils trying their hands in these ventures are Mephistopheles and Asmodeus, pacts and bloodlines are fostered by most of the other archdevils.

                  The Black Star
                  Glasya, daughter of Asmodeus and slayer of the Hag Countess, is one of the most frequent employers of warlock pacts after Asmodeus and Mephistopheles. Through her agent, a Paeliryon known as Oagnuxthiode, she has cultivated a small coven of warlocks know as the Black Star in Zhentil Keep. The coven secretly lairs within the sewers and basements of Zhentil Keep, plotting for control of the city and the Black Network. An erinyes known as Eshaeris leads them in their manipulations and dark deeds, both as a game to pass her time and as a set of cards to play against her rivals, Fzoul Chembryl and Scyllua Darkhope. Eshaeris is a patient creature, and the Black Star shares this quality, using the insidious talents of its members to conquer one merchant or lordling at a time. Thus it slowly builds its power base in the city. In particular, the coven seeks to supplant members of the Zhentarim in order that they might control the organization and spread its aims toward the ultimate goal: political and economic conquest of Faerūn.

                  Disciples of Asmodeus
                  As the most powerful archdevil in hell, Asmodeus makes a great effort to maintain bloodlines and pacts among mortals. This allows him to maintain spheres of influence in different planes, cementing his position as most powerful lord. He is the most frequent patron of tiefling and half-fiend warlocks in the Realms. He jockeys for influence over these infernal servants, battling Mephistopheles for control.

                  In addition to tiefling and human pacts and bloodlines, Asmodeus also courts influence among organized lawful evil humanoids such as hobgoblins. One of his most despicable servants is detailed below.

                  Fey Origins
                  The fey of Faerūn are reclusive and mysterious. Even those druids and rangers who are friendly with the sylvan races can't claim to truly know them, much less their deepest secrets. While most fey are neutrally aligned, content to live their lives in harmony with nature, some have allied themselves with strange, dark powers. A malevolent entity with increasing influence in Faerūn, the Queen of Air and Darkness is the most common originator of warlock pacts among the fey. While small numbers of fey warlocks derive their powers from a connection to the Seelie Court, the majority are associated with the Queen and her Unseelie minions.

                  Elven Origins
                  The elves of Faerūn are at one with the land and magic, favoring more traditional sorcerous pursuits such as nature magic, wizardry, and bladesinging. Warlock heritage and pacts are almost unknown outside of two elven subgroups - the star elves and the fey'ri. The former derive their heritage from the unstable energies of their magically created home plane. The latter hold pacts with dark forces such as the fallen Solar Malkizid.

                  The Star Elves
                  Over 2000 years ago, the star elves of the Yuirwood, faced with increasingly aggressive human expansion, cast a mighty spell on a series of menhir stones, creating a realm coterminous with the forest known as the Sildėyuir. Since then, the star elves have inhabited their realm of perpetual twilight, living out their lives in peaceful seclusion. The only contact they had with Faerūn was through the Masters of the Yuirwood, a small number of rangers and druids who protect the forest from outside interference.

                  Life changed for the star elves in the last few centuries. Alien sorcerers known as nilshai invaded their realm. The invaders laid siege to sections of the realm, eroding the boundaries and thus the stability of the plane. A small number of star elves born during this period exhibited strange abilities and physical qualities. Unlike their brethren, these residents are native to the Sildėyuir and are bound even tighter to its mysteries.

                  This group of native star elves took up different pursuits, but at least ten have become warlocks. They are led by Pherix Traeleth. Pherix was the first star elf born with these strange qualities and, as such, was an outcast from his people. He was expelled from the plane at a young age, forced to wander the Realms. As a young elf bereft of any guidance but displaying incredible magical potential, Pherix came under the influence of dark powers. He unknowingly made a dark pact with Seryntalia, a sorceress in service to Mephistopheles.

                  It was only through the intervention of a band of adventurers who shared Pherix's travels that he escaped his servitude. With the support of his old comrades, Pherix redeemed himself, turning away from temptation. Soon after, he heard word that the Sildėyuir was under attack from a large band of Nilshai, and he joined a group of rangers in the Yuirwood who had heeded a call for help. Unaware of his past, the rangers accepted Pherix's help, coming to the aid of the star elves. It was only after Pherix helped them win a decisive victory against the Nilshai that the elves realized who he was. Grudgingly, they accepted Pherix back into their ranks, recognizing his loyalty and dedication.

                  Since his acceptance, Pherix has gathered other warlocks who had hidden their powers from the star elves. He splits his time between leading this band and his duties with the Masters of the Yuirwood. As a former outcast and native of the Sildėyuir, he has the experience and ability to bridge the gap between the two realms. For now, he doesn't take sides, but soon the elves must make a decision. Pherix and his coven are likely to be highly influential when the time comes, and he has a strong following among the youth of the land. As one of the most powerful warlocks in Faerun and beyond, he has the knowledge and experience to connect the star elves with the outside world.

                  The Fey'ri
                  While the star elves have derived their powers from the eroding energies of their home, the fey'ri have achieved power through pacts with dark forces. When Malkizid corrupted the sun elf house of Dlardrageth and others, he also made a number of warlock pacts. The power from these pacts remains and has been passed down several times to younger fey'ri. Despite the defeat of the fey'ri legions, the majority of warlocks survived. They now work as mercenaries, leasing their services to the highest bidders. The warlocks were directionless until their leader, a noblewoman known as Szepther Aelrothi, was contacted by a being of incredible power - an ancient servitor of the Spider Queen.

                  The elven cultures that survived the fey'ri invasion are experiencing a renaissance in Cormanthor, The High Moor, and other areas, but a dark cloud hangs above them. Unbeknownst to the settlers, a power has reemerged from deep in their pasts and it has little love for the fair folk. Wendonai the Seducer, the balor who corrupted the dark elves into worshipping the Spider Queen, has begun to slip the bonds of his 2,000 year imprisonment at the hands of the servants of Horus Re. Two years yet remain of Wendonai's exile, but he has begun to cultivate relationships with denizens of Faerūn. In the ears of the surviving fey'ri warlocks he has whispered dreams of power, glory, domination, and revenge beyond their wildest imaginations.

                  Wendonai has previously granted dark pacts with the Ilythiiri House Sethomiir and its coronal, Geirildin. When his spies reported the sundering of the fey'ri army, he knew he had found a perfect opportunity. During his 2000 years of exile, the balor experimented, learning special techniques to expand his repertoire of corruption. He can now use his fiend of corruption abilities on native outsiders such as fey'ri and tieflings. As he breaks the bonds of his banishment, he plans to subvert Szepther and her band and hopes to use them to decimate the armies of the God-Kings of Mulhorand. In return, he promises to help them exact revenge against the elves, though he has no intention of carrying out his side of the bargain.

                  Drow Origins
                  Warlocks among the drow occupy an oddly dichotomous position. They have strong links to the Abyss and to Lolth, but those ties more directly bind them to Lolth's servants-her demons-than to the Spider Queen herself. Thus, although warlocks can occupy positions of power and even become priestesses, drow expect them to be serving the church and the great houses rather than running them.

                  One exception exists to the rule that all drow priestesses must be divine spellcasters. Lolth resides in the Abyss, and many of her favored servants and minions are demons. If the powers of a drow warlock stem from bargains with (or descent from) Lolth-associated demons, she is considered blessed by the Spider Queen. If these individuals meet all the other priesthood requirements, they can hold status even though they are technically arcane spellcasters.

                  Planetouched Origins
                  The planetouched populations of Faerūn tend to have more warlocks among them than the rest of the populace. These warlocks often develop their powers in concentrations of supernatural energy. All planetouched regions in the Player's Guide to Faerun are affected, but the ones with the greatest number of warlocks are tieflings (Thay and Unther), genasi (Calimshan and Thay), celadrin (Cormanthor), and worghests (the Mines of Tethyamar). While warlocks with heritage-based powers can be found anywhere in Faerun, these are the most common sources among the planetouched races. Other planetouched races such as tannaruks, d'hin, and azerbloods may have a few warlocks in their midst, but they are not particularly common.

                  Tiefling warlocks are even more likely than others of their kind to exhibit obviously inhuman traits such as cloven hooves, a sulfurous reek, horns, a tail, or glowing red eyes. They tend to develop their powers at a young age, often encouraged by their ancestors to cultivate their horrible gifts. Other tieflings make pacts with evil outsiders to activate what they feel is dormant power within their souls.

                  In addition to employing tiefling warlocks, Thay also has at least a few genasi warlocks in the service of the Firelord. High Flamelord Iphegor Nath employs several fire genasi warlocks to defend his temple and, on occasion, perform special missions in the name of Kossuth. It is believed that Nath brokered a deal between the genasi and the primal fire elemental known as Sthes'kthes. In return for serving the primal and his master Kossuth, the genasi were granted warlock powers. The four warlocks - Arthek, Duron, Canthel, and Dzivir - are known for their fire-related invocations and equally fiery tempers.

                  Among the good races of Faerun, celadrin are one of the few that produces warlocks with inherited power. Somehow, the combination of elven blood with that of eladrins has a tendency to produce offspring with the potential to become warlocks. These children grow to become terribly beautiful defenders of the Church of the Winsome Rose. It is known that at least three of these warlocks have become eldritch theurges, warlock/clerics devoted to the worship of Hanali Celanil. Whispers abound that these mysterious servants walk the forests of Cormanthor, rekindling love among the elven settlers. Some settlers believe that they do this to ensure the survival and propagation of the elves in the forest, but others suggest that they simply enjoy seeing elves in love in Cormanthor again.

                  A truly frightening thing occurred among the goblin population of the Mines of Tethyamar. While the diminutive, green-skinned humanoids are used to worghests - goblins who have crossbred with barghests - in their midst, they are not used to the presence of powerful warlocks. These individuals are rarely the result of natural bloodlines because, generally, barghest blood is not potent enough to propagate warlocks. This all changed when the immense greater barghest known as Tarkomang moved into the area. Tarkomang is one of the largest barghests ever to live in Faerun, a monstrosity of such immense size that his goblin and worghest servants had to hollow out the inside of a small mountain to house him. In the few decades since Tarkomang entered the Mines, he has spawned a number of worghest warlocks and created pacts with residents. While generally preferring worghests for his pacts, he has granted powers to a small number of the more martial goblins. It is unknown if Tarkomang has any plans for greater domination, but his great size, mammoth appetite, and large following could become a serious problem for the nomadic populations of the Desertmouth Mountain region.

                  Warlocks from Gothic Earth
                  Warlocks are possibly the rarest of all character classes to originate from Gothic Earth, yet absolutely the most reviled. With the virtual absence of deities and celestials, it is a near certainty that Gothic Earth warlocks have obtained their powers through the joining of a sinister cult, by trying to uncover the mysteries of the Great Old Ones or by being dedicated to a powerful fiend summoned into the world. Fey beings are rumored to hold courts as well, but if that is true they remain well hidden from common knowledge. A few exceptions may exist, descendants of men and women who made a pact with a powerful being. Nefarious business in any case. On Gothic Earth more than anywhere else, warlocks best keep their secrets close to the heart lest they face an angry mob or an inquisitorial pyre.

                  Warlocks from Krynn
                  Warlocks are exceedingly rare in the Dragonlance setting and universally viewed with suspicion by most common folk. Their presence has barely been recorded in the annals of Krynn and most inhabitants will go their entire life without ever meeting one. The nature of their magic is different from the one provided by the moons of Krynn. As such they are not seen as renegade mages by the Orders of High Sorcery. They will be under hard scrutiny if discovered, but most will go unnoticed by the Conclave. The prevalent source of a warlock's power on Krynn is through a fey bloodline. While it is still possible to acquire such powers by dealing with fiends or elemental beings, these are are the exception. Celestial outsiders or the Gods of Krynn are not known as patrons of warlocks, but it should not be counted as impossible. The dark gods are after all known to grant unusual powers to their devout followers if it furthers their cause.

                  Warlocks from Mystara
                  The Immortals of Mystara are ever scheming to further the dominance of their respective Spheres of Power, though they can only do so through the actions of their mortal agents. As such they imbue their followers with powers in a multitude of ways. Any immortal is therefore a potential patron of warlocks. It is however the nefarious entities of the Sphere of Entropy, such as Alphaks, Atzanteotl, Hel, Loki or Thanatos, that are more likely to grant such powers knowing all too well that the bargains they offer will likely lead the warlock, and possibly its descendants, further into darkness and depravity.

                  Warlocks from Oerth
                  Regardless of their inherent motivations, the warlocks of Oerth share the sinister reputation of their counterparts from other settings. Though this need not be true for all warlocks, it is widely believed that one sold his soul to acquire their eldritch powers and that they are therefore not to be trusted. A point that is often all too true when the patron is of fiendish origin, be it an Archduke of Hell or a Demon-Prince of the Abyss. But a warlock patron may just as well be a celestial being, an eldritch being from other dimensions or an Archfey from the Seelie or Unseelie courts. Good or bad though, a warlock's eldritch powers make him a person most people will thread carefully around.

                  Drow Origins
                  Warlocks among the drow occupy an oddly dichotomous position. They have strong links to the Abyss and to Lolth, but those ties more directly bind them to Lolth's servants-her demons-than to the Spider Queen herself. Thus, although warlocks can occupy positions of power and even become priestesses, drow expect them to be serving the church and the great houses rather than running them.

                  One exception exists to the rule that all drow priestesses must be divine spellcasters. Lolth resides in the Abyss, and many of her favored servants and minions are demons. If the powers of a drow warlock stem from bargains with (or descent from) Lolth-associated demons, she is considered blessed by the Spider Queen. If these individuals meet all the other priesthood requirements, they can hold status even though they are technically arcane spellcasters.

                  Warlocks from Wildspace
                  The warlocks of Wildspace mostly come from the myriad of crystal spheres making up the prime material plane. Their motivations and patrons varying widely from one another. Their typical patrons are the same as anywhere else: archfey, celestials, fiendish beings, the great old ones from the far realms, and, in rare cases, even deities or immortal beings, though none escape the bad reputation warlocks have developed across the multiverse. Legends abound about the mischief of warlocks in the phlogiston and most will be wary of having one aboard a spelljamming ship.

                  Sources: Complete Arcane, Complete Mage, Player’s Handbook II, Player’s Guide to Eberron, Dragon Magazine #332 (Cults of the Dragon Below), Birthright.Net, Class Chronicles: Warlocks, Part 1, Class Chronicles: Warlocks, Part 2, Dark Sun Campaign Setting 4e
                  « Last Edit: August 22, 2022, 09:45:04 PM by EO »

                  MAB77

                  • Moderator
                  • Dark Power
                  • *
                  • Posts: 6423
                  Shaman
                  « Reply #17 on: October 03, 2023, 08:22:31 PM »
                  The Shaman

                  If a cleric's basic creed is that the handiwork of the deities is everywhere, a shaman's simple assertion is that the deities themselves are everywhere. Shamans are intermediaries between the mortal world and the realm of spirits - the vast multitude of living beings that infuse the entire world with divine essence. Shamans play a vital role in many communities - communicating with ancestor spirits, demons, nature spirits, and the most powerful of spirits, who might be considered deities. The shaman offers sacrifices, prayers, and services to the spirits, and in return gains the favor of patron spirits who bestow spells and other magical abilities upon him.

                  Note: This class is adapted from the shaman class of the D&D 3e Oriental Adventures sourcebook, supplemented with lore from the spirit shaman of the D&D 3.5e Complete Divine sourcebook. You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: Shamans often go on adventures not because of any desire of their own, but as a direct result of their unique relationship with the spirit world. Ancestor spirits often have their own agendas - deeds left undone or wrongs unavenged - and call on their shaman descendants to carry them out. Peasants and nobles alike often summon shamans if evil spirits or undead monsters cause trouble. Even nature spirits, normally unconcerned with the affairs of humanity, might request assistance from a shaman if an evil influence (such as a bajang or buso) troubles the natural world. Shamans who traffic with evil spirits are often driven to commit heinous deeds. Shamans are both blessed and burdened by their gifts and may sometimes feel like pawns in the games and machinations of the spirit world.

                  Characteristics: Shamans use divine magic, much like clerics. In addition to healing, shaman spells naturally include means of contacting and communicating with spirits, winning favors from them, or warding against their influence. Shaman spells are also more strongly oriented toward nature than cleric spells. A shaman's spells are granted by spirits rather than deities. Shamans also have some power over the undead, but not as great as clerics have.

                  Alignment: Shamans, in keeping with the indifference of the spirits, tend toward some measure of dispassion. Unlike druids, they are more tribal than solitary and involve themselves in the affairs of their fellows. Most shamans are neutral on at least one alignment axis, but it is not uncommon to find a shaman who has become so caught up in the affairs of the living that she has lost her distance from human concerns. Shamans of good alignment cooperate with kindly ancestor spirits and oppose the undead and other evil spirits. Those siding with evil spirits use the power the spirits bestow to increase their own power in the world.

                  Religion: A shaman reveres the essence of religion more than the practice. She gains her magical powers from the spirits that inhabit all things, living and dead, animate and inanimate. She combines ancestral worship with animal and nature worship. The typical shaman, like a druid, pursues a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devoting herself to a divine entity. Still, some shamans give honor to deities of nature such as either Obad-Hai (god of nature) or Ehlonna (goddess of the woodlands).

                  Background: Individuals are often drawn to the shaman class because they possess a natural gift for dealing with spirits, rather than the other way around. As with sorcerers, this gift typically manifests at puberty, though sometimes even young children display an unusual ability to see and communicate with spirits. The transition from a gifted child or young adult to a powerful shaman, however, is not easy. Those growing up in lands without a shamanic tradition are often left on their own to discover and hone their powers. In communities where shamanism is practiced, this is sometimes eased when a tribe's shaman feels that the time has come to choose a potential successor from among the young folk of the tribe. Taking the youth into her own home, she spends years teaching her student the ways of both the natural world and the spirit realm. Sometimes, a young shaman apprentice impatient with an overly cautious master strikes out on his own to seek out the knowledge he feels his master is withholding. Either way, when the time is right, a shaman-to-be spends months in the wilderness, fasting and communing with the spirits, until finding a spirit to serve as a patron in a formal and ritualized relationship. This spirit grants the character his first spells, at which point he truly becomes a shaman.

                  Races: Halflings, humans, and half-orcs are the races that more commonly give rise to the tribal cultures in which shamans flourish. While rare groups of barbaric dwarves, elves, or gnomes favor a shamanic tradition instead of a cleric or druid one, these communities are uncommon at best.

                  Other Classes: While no adventurer will begrudge a shaman's power to heal and otherwise help an adventuring party, most adventurers view shamans with at least a hint of fear, awe, or wonder. A shaman's powers are otherworldly, and the spirits that grant those powers often manifest in ways that make mundane-minded fighters and rogues more than a little uncomfortable. The shaman occupies a unique and sometimes dangerous position on the border between the spirit world and the mortal world, and many characters find that position unnerving. For their part, shamans tend to look kindly on members of most other classes, humbly offering their powers for the good of the party as a whole. They feel they must advise their comrades and protect them from the wrath of the spirits. Shamans respect druids and voodan and get along well with them, but they feel that clerics do not pay sufficient respect to the spirit world, and may form long and bitter rivalries with clerics they meet.


                  Patron Spirits
                  The Shamanistic Beliefs - Roleplay Resources thread contains a guide to help devise your patron spirit. Here is a summary:
                  • A patron spirit may be of any creature type. Ancestors and nature spirits are the most common.
                  • The patron spirit has the starting alignment of your character. This alignment will never change.
                  • You are subject to the same alignment rule as clerics and may fall from grace if yours diverge too much from that of your patron spirit.
                  • The first clerical domain pick must be from this list: Air, Animal, Death, Earth, Fire, Healing, Plant, Repose, Sun, Undeath, Water.
                  • The second clerical domain pick must be from this list: Chaos, Curse, Darkness, Destruction, Dream, Evil, Good, Knowledge, Law, Luck, Magic, Protection, Strength, Time, Travel, Trickery, War.
                  • Enter your patron spirit details in the following format in the deity field: Name (Type of spirit, alignment). Example: Pyropheles (Volcanic spirit, CN).

                  For further details about the shamans of Ravenloft and other settings consult the Shamanistic Beliefs - Roleplay Resources thread.

                  Shamans from Ravenloft
                  The ability to interact with spirits has been witnessed in most domains of the Demiplane of Dread and a native shaman can be born in any land within the Mists, though they may find themselves the victim of persecution in many of these lands. I'Cath, the Nightmare Lands, Rokushima Taiyoo, and Sri Raji are domains where a strong shamanic tradition exists. The Kagonesti elves of Sithicus also have a feral brand of animist shamanism.

                  Shamans are virtually absent from Souragne. Through cultural influence, Souragnians with the ability to interact with spirits harness their powers through the practice of voodan.

                  Shamans from Athas
                  Elemental shamanism is observed among douars of the nomadic herdsmen roaming the Tablelands and several other sentient races, including the tareks, as well as in the halfling communities of the Forest Ridge.

                  Shamans from Cerilia
                  Shamans on Cerilia are usually limited to goblins, gnolls, and other savage races. They generally gain their powers by dealing with fiends. The importance of the gods and their heritage following the battle of Mount Deismar is too significant to ignore and there is no shamanic tradition anywhere on Cerilia. The rise of a true shaman would be a rare oddity, although said individual would most likely just be thought of as a priest with peculiar gifts.

                  Shamans from Eberron
                  Shamans are rare but may be found anywhere on Eberron. They are most often part of and travel with druidic and ranger groups within the Eldeen Reaches, offering their unique knowledge and abilities to their compatriots. Shamans can be found as members of the three major druidic organizations in the Eldeen Reaches: the Gatekeepers, the Greensingers, or the Wardens of the Wood. The drow of Xen'drik are also known to have a strong shamanic tradition.

                  Shamans from Faerūn
                  The practice of shamanism is well documented in the Forgotten Realms setting. On Faerūn, they usually arise from, but are not limited to, rural cultures with tribal affectations. They can be found among the Uthgardt barbarian tribes in the Spine of the World and within several orcish and goblinoid hordes. Their presence is significantly more important on the continent of Kara-Tur, where they may be encountered in all lands from the Northern Wastes to the Living Jungle of Malatra. There they can reach the highest of offices and may play part in the politics of kingdoms and empires. They are also found within the Tuigan hordes which travel the Endless Wastes between Faerūn and Kara-Tur. Shamanistic belief may also be encountered within the communities of Maztica.

                  A core belief in many shamanic traditions is animism. The original tenet of animism is a belief that natural phenomena (which can include flora, fauna, inanimate objects, places, and even weather) have souls or spirits or are the incarnations of gods. The word "animism" in fact comes from anima, which means "spirit". Beliefs of specific animistic creeds vary. For example, some hold that bears are the only animals with souls; others see spirits in every living creature, or even inanimate objects; and still others believe in pantheons of divine figures that manifest themselves in nature. Rituals and taboos spring from these beliefs and vary accordingly but all animists are unified by their respect for nature; their philosophies emphasize working and cooperating with it rather than exploiting their natural environment.

                  Shamans from Gothic Earth
                  The practice of shamanism on Gothic Earth predates the arrival of the Red Death. Shaman and voodan are the only supported character classes able to cast divine magic while on Gothic Earth. That is because one gets his powers in a very similar manner to the Gothic Earth mystic class, by communing with spirits. Few ever do so as it is a perilous practice. Not only is magic unreliable and dangerous, the shaman or voodan exposes himself to nefarious spirits that may not always be those he expects. This leaves the character susceptible to corruption and the possibility of becoming a minion of the Red Death.

                  Shamans from Krynn
                  The practice on Ansalon is notably observed among the nomadic tribes of Abanasinia, the goblinoid hordes, the clans of gully dwarves, the Kagonesti elves, the ogres, the thanoi, the Thoradorian minotaurs, and the ursoi.

                  Shamans from Mystara
                  Shamanism is a form of mysticism spread among many early cultures of Mystara, characterized by a profound bond of an individual with the Spirit World and with the elemental spirits of nature. Though the worship of the immortals eclipsed shamanism in most cultures, some still cling to its practice in present day Mystara. Shamans are known among the people of the Athruaghin Plateau, the Ethengar Khanate, Ochalea, the orcish hordes of Thar, the Steppes of Jen, the Thanegioth archipelago, the Steppes of Yizak, and the continent of Norwold, just to name a few. They are hunted down as priests in the Principalities of Glantri.

                  Note that the spiritual leaders of the Shadow Elves from the City of Stars and those of Aengmor commonly take the title of shaman, but are clerics of Rafiel.

                  Shamans from Oerth
                  Shamanism does not have a strong foothold in the Flanaess but it is nonetheless present. Most practitioners are from savage orcish or goblinoid tribes or some other monstrous race. As such they are often perceived as the equivalent of priests for primitive cultures. That, however, is often just a cultural bias by people misunderstanding the abilities of a true shaman. In truth, while shamanism may be more often encountered in less civilized lands, the ability to interact with spirits is not solely restricted to tribal shamans. It could also be a mystic tradition passed down through generations in one's household. It is therefore possible that small cabals discretely practicing shamanism may be found in the bustling city of Greyhawk or any other nation of the world.

                  Shamans from Wildspace
                  Spelljamming crews make little distinction between priests and shamans, their gifts are welcome additions on any ship. A wildspace shaman may hail from any race and culture with a shamanic tradition from worlds that can be reached with spelljamming ships.

                  Sources: D&D 3e: Oriental Adventures; D&D 3.5e Complete Divine, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Races of Ansalon, Player's Guide to Eberron, Dragon Magazine #318; AD&D 2d Ed. Birthright Campaign Setting, Dark Sun Revised Campaign Setting, Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium II, Faiths & Avatars, The North - Guide to the Savage Frontier; D&D Basic: The Golden Khan of Ethengar, The Athruaghin Clans
                  « Last Edit: December 20, 2023, 09:29:00 AM by MAB77 »
                  Best Regards!
                  MAB

                  Dev. Relationist for the Dark Powers.
                  1 Castle Road, Castle Ravenloft, Village of Barovia.

                  EO

                  • Assistant Head DM/Developer
                  • Head DMs
                  • Dark Power
                  • ******
                  • Posts: 22401
                  • The one and only, the one everyone wants to be!
                  Healer
                  « Reply #18 on: January 20, 2024, 03:42:07 PM »
                  The Healer

                  The hurts of the world are manifold. Minor accidents are common, and usually easily dealt with. However, when conflict and all out warfare occur, they leave misery and hurt in their wake that can stagger the imagination. While good-aligned clerics are called upon to heal, their complex obligations and abilities often get in the way of pure solace and remediation. Not so the healer. One of the healer's great purposes in life is to provide protection, and failing that, healing, to all good people who require his aid.

                  Empathetic, a healer is adept both at detecting the ailments of allies and understanding the coarse, unruly thoughts of beasts.

                  Note: You can find more information on the mechanical aspects of this class on our wiki by clicking here.

                  Adventures: The healer provides aid to members of his adventuring company, the soldiers of his religion, or the alliance to which he is pledged. When a battlefield is strewn with wounded allies or an expedition team's members are sorely hurt, a healer cures the injuries of the faithful and those who have allied themselves with the side of good. A healer might accept a commission to escort a company or warband on a dangerous mission, making himself available to cast divine protections and offer divine healing. The healer is much revered for his services, and he may ask his companions for daily praise to his deity - or at least an equal share in any reward garnered after the successful conclusion of the adventure or military action.

                  Characteristics: Healers are masters of curative magic, outpacing even clerics in this regard. This focus on healing comes with a trade-off: A healer's spell list is sharply constrained, and it lacks destructive magic and violent spells.

                  Healers have some combat capability and are familiar with basic weapons and some armor.

                  Alignment: Dedicating one's life to curative magic requires a good alignment.

                  Religion: Healers revere good-aligned deities or righteous causes. Some exceptions may exist to allow healers from neutral faiths based on the setting of origin. These exceptions are listed in the setting entries below.

                  Quote from: Ravenloft PotM Server Rules
                  Healers should worship a good-aligned deity (or equivalent) from their setting, as listed on the forums.

                  Background: Some healers are unofficially attached members of religious organizations. Others wander the lands freely, either alone or in adventuring companies. Many also take up service in armies that combat evil, repel invasions, or otherwise "fight the good fight."

                  Healing all allies - no matter their philosophy - while at the same time eschewing the use of violent spells requires a selfless quality and dedication to good. A healer must be gentle, but also strong in his convictions.

                  Races: The need for healing knows no racial boundaries, and healers include members of all the common races. Adventuring healers are most often humans and elves. Healers are less common among the dwarves, who would rather prevent wounds (by smashing the enemy) than cure them.

                  Other Classes: The healer is rarely snubbed in an adventuring company. All realize that his presence could be the advantage that enables them to see their next quest through to the end. Healers sometimes clash with clerics, since clerics represent a more dogmatic view of faith and reverence toward the deities.

                  Role: A healer is easy to spot. He moves about behind an adventuring company or combat unit, applying his divine skills to bring relief to the injured. After he passes, the wounded press forward with renewed vigor, and the fallen may yet rise again.

                  Healers from Ravenloft
                  The forces that empower healers from the Land of Mists are mysterious and inscrutable. Some claim it to be the gifts of gods, others that their unshakable belief in the sanctity of life is all that is needed. Healers may be found in most domains and are usually well respected for their healing talents but must still be careful to hide their true allegiances and powers in certain lands.

                  As part of organized faiths, they are most welcome among the followers of Hala and of the Morninglord. The Second Sect of Ezra, the Pure Hearts, are also known to count healers in their ranks but they are always viewed with a hint of suspicion as they are unable to manifest Her Shield. Healers have likewise been witnessed among the good-hearted Celebrants of Humanity in far away Paridon. Very rarely, a true healer rises from the ranks of the Tepestani followers of Diancecht. Otherwise, healers may be encountered fulfilling a variety of roles for their respective communities such as an apothecary, cunning folk, doctor, or midwife. Most Rashemi groups in Hazlan have healers hidden in their ranks, though they must be extra careful, lest they be captured by the Church of the Lawgiver and burnt alive as witches or followers of Mytteri.

                  Healers are in greater numbers than clerics in the domain of Tovag. These conscripts are seldom seen in Tor Gorak as they are strictly trained to serve as army auxiliaries and are stationed within their units for most of their lives. Small corps of healers are also employed in the national armies of the signatories of the Four Towers treaty, as well as those of Falkovnia and Invidia. Those serving under terrible masters seldom do so willingly, but they are aware that others have little choice in their destiny. Their oaths still compel them to ease the pain of others as best as possible. Serving in these military units may be where they can accomplish the greater good.

                  Healers from Athas
                  Representatives of the healer class are extremely rare on Athas. The ideals they hold on to are anathema to every common sense rule of survival in the scorched land. It does not help that elemental clerics are already viewed as touched by madness, the healer's altruistic nature furthermore comes out as downright suspicious to most Athasians. Healers have to work harder to gain the people's trust but are greatly appreciated once it's been earned. They usually gain their powers in the same way as clerics through gaining the patronage of a benign elemental spirit of the land. The Rhul-Thaun halflings also have healers of their own which they call life-shapers. On Athas, these healers are not spellcasters. Instead, professional healers set broken limbs, assist during childbirth, instruct the sick in various cures and remedies, and sometimes administer herbal and life-shaped medicines. Although they no longer remember all of the principles behind life-shaping, many of the details of that art have given the halflings a better understanding of the operation of the body than that of most other Athasian races. Few of these healers' cures are based on superstitions or deceptive nostrums. They believe that the ancient rhulisti could cure all diseases and heal all wounds using their knowledge of life. A Rhul-Thaun healer may represent a life-shaper which rediscovered a hitherto unknown aspect of this knowledge, triggering their spellcasting abilities but misted before they could pass their knowledge to others under the Dark Sun.

                  Healers from Cerilia
                  Members of the healer class are rarely met on Cerilia. Among the good deities, the faiths of Haelyn and Cuiraecen are usually too militant for healers to be counted in their ranks. That is not to say there can't be healers devoted to these deities but they would struggle to maintain their vows. The goddess of passion, Laerme, might empower such individuals if it means protecting art and beauty, but they would be a rarity. It is among the followers of Nesirie, the Lady of Mourning and Goddess of the Sea, that healers are usually encountered. In a similar manner to her clerics, most of Nesirie's healers are women who have endured some tragedy that has left them bereft. Aided by Nesirie through their grief, they repay the gift by aiding others in any way they can. There are no known healers among the elves and dwarves of Cerilia. The elves do not worship the gods, while the dwarves are simply secretive and do not share their religious beliefs with others.

                  Healers from Gothic Earth
                  The healers of Gothic Earth are not known to cast any divine spells, relying instead on herbs and medical knowledge to cure ailments. The corruption of magic by the entity known as the Red Death either prevented those with the potential to cast spells from accessing this source of power or made it so dangerous to use that no spellcasting tradition was passed down to generations of healers. Not all healers from Gothic Earth gain the proficiencies of this class upon being misted. Only those demonstrating the same fervor as other members of the healer class from other worlds will, nor will they be aware of them right away either. The initial revelation of their powers usually manifests quite unexpectedly in times of great stress, being true to their vows, in situations where they are frantically working to save lives and treat grievous wounds.

                  Healers from Eberron
                  Healers played an important role during the Last War. Most healers are members of House Jorasco's Healers Guild, though some are also members of one of two very specialized religious orders. The Healing Hand of Olladra is a healer order associated with the Sovereign Host, while the Silver Knights Hospitallers are associated with the Church of the Silver Flame, and include paladins and clerics as well as healers. Both orders sent members to serve as field medics for the armies of the Last War, and both organizations still operate, focused on providing healing services to travelers and others in need, regardless of national affiliation or circumstance.

                  Healers from Faerūn
                  Healers are divine spellcasters devoted entirely to tending to the sick and injured. Healers only belong to good faiths and cannot refuse to help good-aligned wounded creatures. While in other settings healers may derive their powers from ideals or causes, in Faerūn, they must choose a patron deity. It is possible for healers to belong to any good or neutral-aligned religions, but they never associate with gods granting the death, destruction, hatred, metal, retribution, suffering (with the exception of Ilmater), tyranny, undead, or war domains. Healers are most commonly found in churches with the healing domain - Berronar Truesilver, Ilmater, Lurue, Sharindlar, and Torm.

                  Healers are unique among the members of their churches in that they typically remain entirely apolitical. It is rare for a healer to be involved in religious intrigue or to be denied spells from his deity. If he fulfills his oath to heal the sick and injured at all times, his deity has no reason to punish or refuse him. Some might find this life boring, but to a healer, anonymity and neutrality are liberating. They also make him an excellent and trustworthy midwife, physician, combat medic, and adventuring companion.

                  The Churches of Berronar Truesilver and Sharindlar share collective responsibility for the health and well being of the dwarven people of Faerūn. Sharindlar's clergy typically oversee the more "fun" aspects of health, such as sex, courtship, and romance. Sharindlar's faithful, known as thalornor (those who are merciful) are easygoing - like sisters or confidants with whom dwarves can share problems and secrets. Berronar's clergy, known as faenor (those of the home) take on the role of stern but caring matriarch, helping people with problems in a more formal role. Healers from both religions care for the sick and injured, working both on the battlefield and in medical wards. Sharindlar's healers are more likely to work on a micro-level, getting their hands dirty with local problems. Berronar's healers are more likely to work in a directorial or educational capacity, teaching and organizing healing and familial activities. It is not uncommon for healers of both religions to adventure, though the more chaotic nature of Sharindlaran healers makes them more likely to travel. The churches of both faiths run a healer's college together in Earthheart - the religious capital of The Great Rift (homeland of the gold dwarves). Graduates tend to the sick and injured in the Rift, acting as physicians, midwives, and combat medics to the multitude of dwarves living in the region.

                  Healers of Ilmater are often even more dedicated and ascetic than the paladins and clerics of the Broken God. Unlike some healers, those dedicated to Ilmater rarely refuse to help the injured of even evil and tyrannical races and groups. They never endorse or support such causes, but when an individual is in need, these healers seldom deny aid. In Heliogabalus, a group of Ilmatari worshippers runs a healer's college known as the End's Rest. This small college tends to the paladins and young recruits who defend the city as well as the local sick, pregnant, and injured.

                  Healers from Krynn
                  The healers of Krynn are divine spellcasters obtaining their powers from their devotion to the Gods of Good. Healers were known to be active before the Cataclysm that broke the land at the height of the Istaran empire. Like clerics and other divine casters, they lost all divine powers when the gods departed. Though there would always be healers serving communities, none ever displayed the powers of divine healing again until the onset of the War of the Lance when the deities returned to Ansalon. With renewed faith, divine healers were once again growing in numbers, their skills sorely needed by those opposing the Dark Queen's dragon armies. Healers lost their divine gifts once more at the end of the Chaos War as the gods left Krynn again. Some healers managed to retain a portion of their powers by turning to mysticism but it would never be as effective. This would only be temporary though, as the gods returned a few decades later during the War of Souls. As can be expected, it is Mishakal, the goddess of healing and mercy, who counts the highest number of healers among her followers. They are also present among the faithful of the other gods of Light, except Solinari, the god of white magic.

                  Healers from Mystara
                  The people of Mystara seldom differentiate between members of the healer class and clerics. To most, they are simply priests of the immortals who made particular vows. They are well respected for their healing skills and sometimes serve their communities as apothecaries, cunning folks, midwives, or doctors. They are likely to serve immortals with healing, life, or peace in their portfolios. Potential immortal patrons include Chardastes, the patron of Medicine and Healing, Ilsundal the Wise, the patron of Elves, Ka the Protector, the keeper of Life and Culture, Terra, the patroness of Life and Fertility, and Koryis, the Ochalean Patron of Peace and Prosperity.

                  Healers from Oerth
                  Healers are numerous and well respected throughout the Flanaess. While many of them gain their powers through devotion to good deities, some gain them through the sheer strength of their convictions and dedication to righteous causes or philosophies. Those who gain their powers through pious devotion are often dedicated to deities associated with the portfolios of Healing, Life, and Peace. Among the human populations, Pelor, god of the Sun and of Healing, is the most likely to count healers as followers among those of Flan ancestry. However, healers are routinely encountered in followers of Allitur, Myrrhis, Rao, and Zodal as well. The Baklunish turn mostly to Al-Asran (the Baklunish aspect of Pelor) and Al'Akbar, the god of Guardianship and Duty, for divine healing. For the Oeridian, the church of Delleb, a god of Knowledge, is known for its doctors and healers. Some of his temples are devoted solely to knowledge of the healing arts. Sotillion, goddess of Summer and Comfort, is also known to grant healing powers to her followers as it bolsters her philosophy of living comfortably. The Touv tend to turn to their Sun goddess Nola for divine healing, with the deities Berna and Vogan also known to grant healing powers to their followers. While the Suel do not have any deities particularly associated with the healing arts, healers would not be out of place among the followers of Lydia or Phyton. Only the Rhennee count no members of the healer's class in their population as they reject the use of divine magic. Other deities known to be patrons of healers include Tamara, the draconic goddess of mercy, Berronar Truesilver, the dwarven Matron of Hearth and Home, and Cyrrollalee halfling goddess of Hospitality.

                  Healers from Wildspace
                  Healers are welcomed with open arms among the crew of any spelljamming ship. Using their skills to support the crew and tend to their wounds earns them respect and gratitude. Wildspace healers may hail from any race and culture from worlds visited by spelljamming ships.

                  Some healers have even been known to worship deities linked with other races, so complete is the integration of cultures.

                  Sources: Miniatures Handbook, Player's Guide to Eberron, Class Chronicles: Scouts and Healers
                  « Last Edit: March 05, 2024, 05:54:15 PM by Krosenq »